Editing Book of hours (section)

{{short description|Type of Christian devotional book, popular in the Middle Ages}}
{{for multi|the prayers said at certain times of the day in various Christian denominations|Canonical hours|the book by Rainer Maria Rilke|The Book of Hours|the closely related devotional and educational text|Primer (prayer book)|8=Book of hours (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Meester van Catharina van Kleef - Getijdenboek van de Meester van Catharina van Kleef4.jpg|thumb|Opening from the [[Hours of Catherine of Cleves]], c. 1440, with Catherine kneeling before the Virgin and Child, surrounded by her family heraldry. Opposite is the start of [[Matins]] in the [[Little Office]], illustrated by the ''Annunciation to [[Joachim]]'', as the start of a long cycle of the ''[[Life of the Virgin]]''.<ref name=Plummer>{{cite book |author-last=Plummer |author-first=John |title=The Hours of Catherine of Cleves |location=New York |publisher=George Braziller |date=1966 |pages=plates 1–2}}</ref>]]
[[File:'Adoration of the Magi' from a Book of Hours (© 2016, Society of Antiquaries of London).jpg|alt=Image of a Book of Hours|thumb|An early 15th-century French book of hours ([http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/e35529d5-bd27-4022-a81b-de8934cc596c MS13], [https://www.sal.org.uk Society of Antiquaries of London]) open to an illustration of the 'Adoration of the Magi'. Bequeathed to the Society in 1769 by the Revd Charles Lyttleton, Bishop of Carlisle and President of the Society (1765-8).]]

'''Books of hours''' ({{langx|la|'''horae'''}}) are Christian [[prayer book]]s, which were used to pray the [[canonical hour]]s.<ref name="Pearsall2014">{{cite book |last1=Pearsall |first1=Derek |title=Gothic Europe 1200-1450 |date=11 June 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-88952-6 |page=158 |language=English |quote=The book of hours was the favourite prayer-book of lay-people, and enabled them to follow, in private, the church's programme of daily devotion at the seven canonical hours.}}</ref> The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the [[Middle Ages]], and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval [[illuminated manuscript]]. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, [[prayer]]s and [[psalm]]s, often with appropriate decorations, for [[Christianity|Christian]] devotion. Illumination or decoration is minimal in many examples, often restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of psalms and other prayers, but books made for wealthy patrons may be extremely lavish, with full-page [[miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniatures]]. These illustrations would combine picturesque scenes of country life with sacred images.<ref name=Lyons2011>{{Cite book |last=Lyons |first=Martyn |title=Books: A Living History|publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60606-083-4 |location=Los Angeles}}</ref>{{rp|46}} 

Books of hours were usually written in Latin (they were largely known by the name {{lang|la|horae}} until "book of hours" was relatively recently applied to them), although there are many entirely or partially written in [[vernacular]] European languages, especially Dutch. The closely related [[primer (prayer book)|primer]] is occasionally considered synonymous with books of hours{{snd}} a medieval ''horae'' was referred to as a ''primer'' in [[Middle English]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Women's Books of Hours in Medieval England: Selected Texts Translated from Latin, Anglo-Norman French and Middle English with Introduction and Interpretative Essay |first=Charity |last=Scott-Stokes |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |series=Library of Medieval Women |location=Woodbridge |date=2006 |page=1}}</ref>{{snd}} but their contents and purposes could deviate significantly from the simple recitation of the canonical hours. Tens of thousands of books of hours have survived to the present day, in [[library|libraries]] and private collections throughout the world.

The typical book of hours is an abbreviated form of the [[breviary]], which contains the [[Canonical hours|Divine Office]] recited in [[monastery|monasteries]]. It was developed for [[laity|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 [[psalm]]s and other prayers. 

A typical book of hours contains the [[Calendar of saints|Calendar]] of [[Liturgical year|Church feasts]], extracts from the [[Four Gospels]], the Mass readings for major feasts, 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]] and the [[Hours of the Cross]].<ref>[http://www.chd.dk/tutor/HSCruce.html Hore de Cruce], Danish Royal Library. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224090922/http://www.chd.dk/tutor/HSCruce.html |date=December 24, 2008 }}.</ref> Most 15th-century books of hours have these basic contents. The Marian prayers {{lang|la|Obsecro te}} ("I beseech thee") and {{lang|la|O Intemerata}} ("O undefiled one") were frequently added, as were devotions for use at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]], and meditations on the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] of [[Christ]], among other optional texts. Such books of hours continue to be used by many Christians today, such as the Catholic “Key of Heaven” prayer books, the [[Agpeya]] of Coptic Christianity or [[The Brotherhood Prayer Book]] of Lutheranism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood |url=http://llpb.us/ |publisher=Evangelisch-Lutherische Gebetsbruderschaft |access-date=16 April 2022 |language=English |quote=In short, the Brotherhood Prayer Book is a fully catholic book of hours refracted through the lens of the Lutheran confessions.}}</ref>