book of hours

views updated May 29 2018

book of hours Book containing the prescribed order of prayers, rites for the canonical hours and readings from the Bible. Such books, developed in the 1300s, were often lavishly decorated by miniaturists and served as status symbols. The most celebrated book of hours to survive is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1413–15), illustrated in part by the Limbourg brothers.