Book of Hours
T. Davis Bunn
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· 12 ratings · 322 pages · Published: 01 Jan 2000
Books of hours were usually written in Latin (the Latin name for them is horae), although there are many entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages, especially Dutch. The English term primer is usually now reserved for those books written in English. Tens of thousands of books of hours have survived to the present day, in libraries and private collections throughout the world.
The typical book of hours is an abbreviated form of the breviary which contained the Divine Office recited in monasteries. It was developed for lay people who wished to incorporate elements of monasticism into their devotional life. Reciting the hours typically centered upon the reading of a number of psalms and other prayers. A typical book of hours contains:
A Calendar of Church feasts
An excerpt from each of the four gospels
The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The fifteen Psalms of Degrees
The seven Penitential Psalms
A Litany of Saints
An Office for the Dead
The Hours of the Cross[2]
Various other prayers
Most 15th-century books of hours have these basic contents. The Marian prayers Obsecro te ("I beseech thee") and O Intemerata ("O undefiled one") were frequently added, as were devotions for use at Mass, and meditations on the Passion of Christ, among other optional texts.
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