This is the second set of images from one of the finest Books of Hours in the vast collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Département des Manuscrits, Latin 1156B), made around 1430 for a noblewoman named Marguerite of Orleans (1406-66). The first set was published on Thursday, and contained an example of the calendar pages, the images accompanying the Little Office of the Virgin Mary, and the Hours of the Cross. Here we resume with the Hours of the Holy Spirit, a devotional office in which each Hour consists solely of a brief hymn, an antiphon, a versicle and a prayer. This particular group of images is especially beautiful; the one before Matins and Lauds is lost, and so it starts with Prime, with an image of the Lord’s Ascension.
At Terce, most appropriately, the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
At Sext, St Peter preaching on the first Pentecost, as described in Acts 2.
At None, the baptism of 3,000 people, also from Acts 2.
Before Vespers, the general resurrection at the end of the world.
At Compline, the Apostles are symbolically shown presiding over the celebration of baptisms.
Nearly all Books of Hours contain a series of votive commemorations very much like those in the Divine Office, and usually consisting of texts taken from it (antiphon, versicle, prayer), but which were designed to be prayed independently of it. These are usually arranged in hierarchical order, and this series starts with a prayer to God the Father...
followed by another to God the Son...
a third to the Holy Spirit...
and then one to the Trinity.
The rest are to various Saints, also arranged in hierarchical order, starting with the archangel Michael.
St John the Baptist
St Peter
St John the Evangelist
St Stephen
St Sebastian
St Lawrence
St Nicholas
St Anthony the Abbot, here tempted by the appearance of a beautiful woman. The fire burning at his feet refers to his role as the patron against skin diseases such as erysipelas and ergotism, some of which are still called “St Anthony’s fire” to this day in various places.
St Mary Magdalene
St Catherine
St Margaret, the patron Saint of the book’s original owner.
All the Saints.
Before the seven Penitential Psalms, an image of King David in prayer.
