The Christian Church fostered private devotion as well as communal prayer. Priests, monks, and nuns recited the Divine Office using breviaries, and laypersons recited shorter prayers using books of hours. The latter referred to the eight canonical hours, that is, the eight times each day when Christians were supposed to pause for prayer: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. The most popular sequence, in honor of Mary the Mother of God, was known as the Hours of the Virgin. It was often accompanied in prayerbooks by two other canonical sequences of prayer–the Hours of the Cross and the Hours of the Holy Spirit.

Books of hours constituted the dominant form of private prayer for laypersons from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Thus these little books were in high demand for 300 years, and were illustrated to satisfy buyers, who included the bourgeois as well as the nobility. Illuminations gave readers visual images to help them focus on the theme of a prayer, and they also served as bookmarks. Most books of hours were written in Latin, although in the Netherlands during the 15th and 16th centuries they were written in the Dutch vernacular.

Breviary

Benedictine monks at the monastery of St. Giustina in Padua used this book to recite the Divine Office. The pages on display present the litany of the saints.

Obtained before 1878 by A.D. White.

Annunciation

The Annunciation: the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin that she will be the Mother of God. This episode was recalled during Matins, the canonical hour that was said together with Lauds before sunrise.

Gift of William G. Mennen.

Nativity

The Nativity: the birth of the Savior in the stable at Bethlehem. The Christmas episode was commonly recalled at the hour of Prime (hora prima), which was the "first" hour after sunrise. In this book, however, the Nativity was recalled at the hour of Terce (hora tertia), that is, the "third" hour after sunrise, or approximately 9 A.M. Such variations reflect regional differences; this one suggests that the book was produced in the vicinity of Troyes.

Gift of Mrs. Pauline M. Rubens.

Adoration of the Magi

The Adoration of the Magi: the wise men from the East worship the infant Savior. The Epiphany narrative was recalled at the canonical hour of Sext (hora sexta), that is, the "sixth" hour after sunrise, or about noon.

Gift of Mrs. Pauline M. Rubens.

Christ Carrying the Cross

Christ Carrying the Cross: St. Veronica wipes blood from the face of Christ and receives his image. This episode was recalled at the canonical hour of Sext, according to the Passion cycle.

Obtained before 1878 by A.D. White.

Crucifixion

Crucifixion: Christ dies on the Cross, flanked by his mother Mary and St. John. This central episode serves as the image for the Hours of the Cross, which guided meditation on the sacrifice of Christ and was often recalled after the Hours of the Virgin.

Gift of Benno Loewy.

Resurrection

Resurrection: Christ emerges triumphant from the tomb. This joyous ending to the tragedy of the Crucifixion was recalled at Compline, the canonical hour that completed the day.

Gift of Mrs. William E. Gurley.

Pentecost

Pentecost: the Holy Spirit descends upon the Blessed Virgin and the apostles fifty days after the Resurrection, imbuing them with divine gifts for their missionary service. This episode in the Church’s history was the theme of the Hours of the Holy Spirit. Like the Hours of the Cross, this sequence of prayers was recited seven times a day (omitting Lauds), after the Hours of the Virgin.

Obtained by A.D. White.