Book of Hours were prayer books designed for the laity, but modeled on the Divine Office, a cycle of daily devotions, prayers and readings, performed by members of religious orders and the clergy. Its central text is the Hours of the Virgin. There are eight hours (times for prayer ): Matins, Lauds. Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. During the Middle Ages, the leaves making up a Book of Hours were written by hand on expensive parchment and beautifully illuminated with jewel-like pigments and gold leaf. These illuminated manuscripts combined the collaborative efforts of an array of highly skilled craftspeople; requiring the joint labors of the parchmenter, professional scribes to write the text in Gothic script, artists to illuminate the pages with decorations, and masterful binders to complete the process.

This fine vellum leaf is from a French Book of Hours. The text is written in black/brown textura script with elaborately illuminated, large initials painted in red, blue, white and gold leaf. On both sides one of the margins is decorated with flowers and leaves in bright colors. The French text (rather than Latin) is from the Seven requests; a prayer that was ubiquitous in French Book of Hours during this period.

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