Full page from LSU Book of Hours

January Calender Page

Title

The title of this manuscript is Book of Hours.  The horea is in the simplest form, a prayer manual. Most books include a calendar of holy days and the prayers needed for divine intervention from the Virgin Mary on the owner’s behalf. Normally said by clergy, lay people who could afford a Book of Hours were able to say the prayers for themselves.  Theoretically, lay people could increase their piety level and increase the intercession of the Virgin Mary and other Saints on their behalf (more prayers equal more piety).  Each Book of Hours was individually created to order during the 12^th through 15^th centuries, (Leaves, par. 1) and could include other intercessory prayers, Mass prayers or psalms.   

Context

England and France were at war with each other during the reign of Henry the V in England and Charles the VI in France which finally concluded with a marriage and the birth of a royal son named Henry.  This solution only served to split the nobility of France when both Henry V and Charles died, making Henry the VI the king of England and France before he was an adolescent.  With France split and portions refusing to acknowledge the young king, court life could be difficult and potentially life threatening (Allmand). 

Unfortunately for young Henry VI, he had uncles who preferred the throne over him.  The stage was set for another war between England and France. But how much of this information was known to the general public living day by day is unknown.  Extrapolating from other regions, some news was carried via word of mouth but life went on with daily chores, cares and necessity.

Joan of Arc arrived on scene at this point to help Charles, the Dauphin and heir to the throne, overthrow the treaty and his nephew.  Her story doubtless made it around the country as she told of hearing the voice of the Virgin Mary, the Saints and God telling her to lead men to battle.  Yet for her success, she was ultimately executed for witchcraft.  Joan was not royalty nor could she read, but her devotion came to known throughout France for the fervor and passion she felt.  Later manuscripts did depict paintings of Joan of Arc as a warrior of God.

Author

Given the liturgical nature of the Book of Hours, there is no specific author or creator for the book.  Rather, scribes compiled a book based on a patron’s request.

Donor Information

            Louisiana State University houses a rare book collection that includes the Book of Hours discussed in this paper.  The history behind the gift of the manuscript is rather intriguing, however.  A donor, named John S. McIlhenny, presented the gift as the two millionth entry  in the LSU library system.  Mr. McIlhenny donated many items to the Louisiana State system over a span of 20 or so years, including parts of his uncle’s ornithology collection including, but not limited to, original sketches by John James Audubon and James Gould.  His uncle, Edward Avery McIlhenny, in addition to be a conservationist, founded the Tabasco company which is still a family owned business today. 

Binding and size

When acquired by Louisiana State University, the original sewing of the codices still appeared to be intact but the binding from the 15^th century had already been replaced with a 19^th century binding and no information was available about the original.  Juxtaposing from other manuscripts of the same time frame, however, bindings were generally created from leather over wooden boards and were the last step in the process of finishing the manuscript (Brown, 1994, p. 22).  The 19^th century binding was on the book so snug as to prevent any real access to the pages. The library quickly had the manuscript rebound, allowing for study (personal communication, E. Smyth March 28^th 2012) and viewing. 

Figure 2- new binding on the Book of Hours.  Bound by LSU in late 20th century

Size

7.72 inches x 5.51 inches

Handwriting

 Figure  . After the decipit, the handwriting changes to smaller letters with a slight slant. The ruling lines can also be seen.

Figure   . Although sideways, the handwriting in the last four lines changes from broad and bold to smaller with a few distinct changes. 

From evidence on numerous folios, at least 3 or 4 distinct hand writings appear in the manuscript.  Lowercase a shows at least 3 different variations throughout the folios with a possible fourth although fatigue could cause the slight deviation.  On folios 9, 20 and again on 101, the variations in the q and g can be seen more readily than other letters.  In the pictures above, the handwriting changes size, shape and style part way through the page leaving no doubt that another scribe took over the copy work.  The second figure shows only a few lines of change, almost as if the scribe was trying to squeeze in the last few words.   Fortunately, there are a few letters that appear different in more than size which indicates more than a space problem.  Was this due to time constraints, illness, or some other vexing problem? Unfortunately the records are lost on original ownership so we shall never know.