Holy Family 

University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives. For a digitization of the entire book, see:

https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:fx71cw89v

Hore beate Marie virginis secundum romanum totaliter ad Longu sine require: cum multis suffragiis & orationibus. Catholic Church, [1510?], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

BX2080.A2 1510 

Printed just before the European Reformation, this book of hours was likely objected to by Protestant and Catholic reformers. Both the contents and the colorful depictions of Mary and Jesus’s lives were typical of the pre-Reformation emphasis on personal relationships with sacred figures and small moments of casual daily devotion. For example, the red lips and cheeks of Jesus and Mary in the illustration above were in line with the beauty standards of the day, but Reformers thought the use of makeup was deceitful and criticized vibrance in all aspects of the church. Martin Luther wrote in 1522 that books of hours were among the “harmful doctrines which are misleading and deceiving Christians” through their prayers to saints, indulgences, and thoughtless recitations. The book of hours was such a common form of religious text that it was able to survive the Reformation, but lost the vibrant colors, many illustrations, and focus on Mary seen in this edition. 

This volume, dedicated to the life of the Virgin Mary, was intended to be consulted for hourly prayers, teaching readers how to act as a good Christian and cultivating personal relationships with God, Mary, and the saints. The book of hours was the most common book of its time, its sales supporting the fledgling printing industry and helping literacy spread. This edition was made in 1510—near the peak of the genre’s popularity—in Paris by the Hardouyn (Hardouin) brothers. Printed and then hand-illustrated, it was affordable to the middle class. Evidence of the affordability can be seen in the opaque paint and rushed application, small margins, limited application of red, and lack of backing on the shell gold, while its use is visible in the finger-stained margins on some pages. 

Bound in velvet, and written in Latin on entirely or partially vellum pages, the efforts to reconcile the unavoidable aesthetic of printing with the established typology of manuscripts are seen in the unnecessary red ruled lines bordering blocks of text, and occasional meaningless numbering of lines. Hand-painted metalcut illustrations and architectonic gold frames, and frequent drop caps allow the reader to locate themselves in the book. A title page begins the book by announcing the printer and the inclusion of new additions, a new convention tied the publisher’s need to create their own market. 

Emily Friedenberg