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 is a lovely, small leaf from a pocket-sized Book of Hours. This leaf includes one initial in red, blue and burnished gold, as well as vines, leaves and flowers in the margin on recto. The text includes part of the Hours of the Virgin, and beginning with the large letter "M" on recto, the text translates in part as:

The Angel Gabriel was sent unto Mary the virgin espoused unto Joseph.
Hail full of grace, our Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.

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Condition: A

Very minor soiling.