Book of Hours
The Book of Hours ("Horarium", "Horae", "Livre d'heures", "Stundenbuch") is a medieval book of prayers for the laity. First made in manuscript form and embellished with miniature paintings as illustrations done by artists, from about 1480 the Book of Hours was also printed with wood or copperplate engravings. The term "Book of Hours" derives from its contents and use, with prayers to be said at the Canonical Hours as well as the Church Calendar, Offices for private devotions, to the Virgin and the Office for the Dead as well as penitential Psalms. Some Books of Hours reveal regional variation or variants depending on the monastic order that produced them. The centre for the manuscript Book of Hours was France, specifically Paris and the Loire region, where a great many manuscript illuminators (Bourdichon, Fouquet, Marmion, Pucelle) specialised in Books of Hours. In Italy and Flanders, on the other hand, there were only a few, albeit outstanding, examples, such as the Visconti Book of Hours or the Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves.
