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Distributed for Bodleian Library Publishing

The Hours of Marie de Medici

A Facsimile

With an Introduction by Eberhard König
A stunning facsimile copy of an illuminated manuscript owned by the French queen Marie de Medici.

At the turn of the fifteenth century, private devotionals became a specialty of the renowned Ghent–Bruges illuminators. Wealthy patrons who commissioned work from these artists often spared no expense in the presentation of their personal prayer books, or “books of hours,” from detailed decoration to luxurious bindings and embroidery.

This manuscript owes its name to the French queen, Marie de Medici, widow of King Henri IV. The manuscript was painted by an artist known as the David Master, one of the renowned Flemish illuminators of the sixteenth century. Fine architectural interiors, gorgeous landscapes, and detailed city scenes form the subjects of three full-size illuminations and forty-two full-page miniatures. It is one of the finest examples of medieval illumination in a personal prayer book and the most copiously illustrated work of the David Master to survive.

Together with a scholarly introduction that gives an overview of Flemish illumination and examines each of the illustrations in detail, this full-color facsimile limited edition, bound in linen with a leather quarter binding and beautifully presented in a slipcase, faithfully reproduces all 176 leaves of the original manuscript.

432 pages | 338 color plates | 5 1/2 x 8 | © 2016

Literature and Literary Criticism: Romance Languages

Medieval Studies

Religion: Religion and Literature


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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

THE SEQUENCE OF PICTURE AND TEXT

A Spectacular Beginning

The Virgin and the Veneration of the Sacred Host

Evangelist Portraits and Passion Scenes

The Office of the Virgin

The Penitential Psalms and the Litany of Saints

The Office of the Dead

Prayers to God and the Virgin Mary

The Suffrages

HISTORICAL CONCLUSIONS

The Scribe
The Artist
Notes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE FACSIMILE

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