The Book of Hours of the Weaving Virgin

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he manuscript Inv. 15452 of the Foundation Lázaro Galdiano constitutes a specimen of the Book of Hours, an important and relevant bibliographic category in 15th century Europe.

The copies that show this title present some well-defined features in relation with the structure, the material, the content and the social function. From the coded point of view, the manuscript pieces assigned to this type are considered to be authentic jewels for the quality of the raw material, the creation of highest order of the product and the display of the artistic resources.

This copy amply responds to this standard: it is elaborated with a fine vellum and very purified pigments. The handcrafted technique is excellent and its decoration and illustration are exquisite. Due to its manufacture, the manuscript is a clear exponent of the best French style of 15th century. The Book of Hours constitutes a very particular style as regards its content. It contains necessarily fixed parts, such as a calendar, a small office of the Virgin Mary, the penitential psalms with the corresponding litany, an office for souls and suffrages.

This fundamental thematic group could be enriched with other complementary texts such as prayers, other Hours and various devotions. In the present case, the canonical elements Obsecro te and O intemerata, the Hours of the Cross, the Hours of the Saint Spirit and a representative specimen of suffrages can be also found. Among the traditions established in this universe of pious practices, the one represented here follows the Roman custom. As it is well-known, these volumes personify the ideological tendencies emerging in 14th century European society: the development of individualism, the taste for introspection, the willingness to practise a religiosity released from the Clergy and the motive of finding fame through ornate rituals - a part of it was the Book of Hours, an ostensible jewel - and the continuation of various practices that demonstrated the good knowledge of reading and the harmony with the spiritual interests of the moment. The fact of "saying the Hours" supposed to have on oneself a luxurious object that meant to belong to a privileged group for its social condition, purchasing power, its form of education and its capacity of being fashionable. In one word, the Book of Hours was a "status symbol" for its owner. The success of this kind of manuscripts resulted in a high demand for the volumes. The most valued ones came from the workshops established in the Netherlands and in France. The cities of Ghent, Bruges and Paris were the authentic commercial centres of artistic works. Among them, this kind of products contributes to a large extend to their fame. In the realisation of such books intervened numerous craftsmen who worked in the reproduction of some models that evolve with time.

The stylistic features are adjusted to new influences appreciated in other cultural registers. Said manuscript represents a culminating moment of the book technique for its classical high quality.

Its creators express themselves with a language that oozes skill in the field of the decorative shapes, in the iconographic program, in the layout of the page and in the outline of the writing. The achieved visual balance, perceptible through a simple view of the copy is corresponded in the content.

The texts included in the work were most frequently followed by the faithful before the phenomenon of a piety excessively dramatic and which turned to signs bordering on superstition. The lack of ornamental excess in the treatment of the margins of the leaves, the serene beauty of the miniatures and the elegance of each detail convert this manuscript in a model of French style at its pick of quality.

Features:

• Original preserved in the Foundation Lázaro Galdiano.
• Format of the work: 15.3 x 20.5cm.
• Special paper in treated and aged parchment.
• Old-style paper sewed with vegetal thread.
• Leather binding.
• Presented in an elegant case.
• Study book of the work.
• A unique certified and numbered print of 995 copies.
• Pages: 356

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