Editing Book of hours (section)

==The luxury book of hours==
[[Image:Hastings book of the hours.jpg|thumb|right|The lavish illusionistic borders of this Flemish book of hours from the late 1470s are typical of luxury books of this period, which were now often decorated on every page. The butterfly wing cutting into the text area is an example of playing with visual conventions, typical of the period.<br>(Among the plants are the [[Veronica (plant)|''Veronica'']], ''[[Vinca]]'', ''[[Viola tricolor]]'', ''[[Bellis perennis]]'', and ''[[Chelidonium majus]]''. The lower butterfly is ''[[Aglais urticae]]'', the top left butterfly is ''[[Pieris rapae]]''. The Latin text is a devotion to [[Saint Christopher]]).]]

In the 14th century the book of hours overtook the psalter as the most common vehicle for lavish illumination. This partly reflected the increasing dominance of illumination both commissioned and executed by laymen rather than monastic clergy. From the late 14th century a number of [[bibliophile]] royal figures began to collect luxury illuminated manuscripts for their decorations, a fashion that spread across Europe from the [[House of Valois|Valois]] courts of France and the [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]], as well as [[Prague]] under [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] and later [[Wenceslaus, King of the Romans|Wenceslaus]]. A generation later, Duke [[Philip the Good]] of Burgundy was the most important collector of manuscripts, with several of his circle also collecting.<ref name=Thomas1979>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Marcel |title=The Golden Age; Manuscript Painting at the Time of Jean, Duc de Berry |date=1979 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=0701124725}}</ref>{{rp|8–9}} It was during this period that the [[Flanders|Flemish cities]] overtook Paris as the leading force in illumination, a position they retained until the terminal decline of the illuminated manuscript in the early 16th century.

The most famous collector of all, the French prince [[John, Duke of Berry]] (1340–1416) owned several books of hours, some of which survive, including the most celebrated of all, the ''[[Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry]]''. This was begun around 1410 by the [[Limbourg brothers]], although left incomplete by them, and decoration continued over several decades by other artists and owners.  The same was true of the ''[[Turin-Milan Hours]]'', which also passed through Berry's ownership.

By the mid-15th century, a much wider group of nobility and rich businesspeople were able to commission highly decorated, often small, books of hours. With the arrival of printing, the market contracted sharply, and by 1500 the finest quality books were once again being produced only for royal or very grand collectors. One of the last major illuminated book of hours was the ''[[Farnese Hours]]'' completed for the Roman [[Alessandro Farnese (cardinal)|Cardinal Alessandro Farnese]] in 1546 by [[Giulio Clovio]], who was also the last major manuscript illuminator.