French Books of Hours Making an Archive of Prayer, c.1400}}}1600 [Paperback]

How was the Book of Hours created and used as a book and what did it mean to its owners?The book of hours was a 'best-seller' in medieval and early modern Europe. This interdisciplinary study offers a full account of how it was used as a book  how it was read to guide prayer and teach literacy and what it meant to its owners as a personal possession.The book of hours was a 'best-seller' in medieval and early modern Europe. This interdisciplinary study offers a full account of how it was used as a book  how it was read to guide prayer and teach literacy and what it meant to its owners as a personal possession.The book of hours was a 'best-seller' in medieval and early modern Europe, the era's most commonly produced and owned book. This interdisciplinary study explores its increasing popularity and prestige, offering a full account of the book of hours as a book  how it was acquired, how it was read to guide prayer and teach literacy and what it meant to its owners as a personal possession. Based on the study of over 500 manuscripts and printed books from France, Virginia Reinburg combines a social history of the book of hours with an ethnography of prayer. Approaching the practice of prayer as both speech and ritual, she argues that a central part of the book of hours' appeal for lay people was its role as a bridge between the liturgy and the home. Reinburg describes how the book of hours shaped religious practice through the ways in which it was used.Introduction; Part I. A Social History of the Book of Hours: Prologue to Part I; 1. Culture and commerce; 2. Owners and their books; 3. Prayer book and primer; Part II. An Ethnography of Prayer: Prologue to Part II; 4. Words and rites; 5. A fragment of a religion; 6. Prayer to the Virgin Mary; Conclusion; Bibliography. This significant contribution to the history of Christianity will interest a wide range of students and scholars. Highly recommended.
Choice French Books of Hours brings together in one accesslS0