Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

Title: Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

Maker Credits: Paul, Herman, and Jean Limbourg. Later editions from Barthélemy d’Eych and Jean Colombe. 

Date: 1411-1416 AD. Later editions were made in the 1440’s, and 1486-1489 AD.

Format: Illuminated manuscript, calfskin vellum parchment, ink, liquid gold, ultramarine blue

Location of Production: France

Annotation:

Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry is one of the most famous manuscripts from the 15th century. The manuscript is an example of a Book of Hours, which were quite common at the time. These Books of Hours began to emerge in the 13th century and were used for private spiritual worship. The books contained prayers that had specific hours when they should be said to honor the Virgin Mary. What made these books unique is that they were specifically for the wealthy. The books were written in medieval Latin, which was taught through formal education. At the time, those who went through formal education were the clergy, nobility, and other wealthy parties, so it was mostly those of a high social class that could even read any Book of Hours. With that being said, there were exceptions of people who weren’t as affluent learning to read medieval Latin. Regardless, owning a Book of Hours was still almost exclusively for the wealthy, as the books were extremely expensive. They would cost approximately as much as a small farm or a nobleman’s estate at the time. The high cost was due to the amount of labor that went into producing these books from multiple different artisans, including scribes, illuminators, bookbinders, and goldsmiths ("Book of Hours," 2026). 

Books of Hours were not all the same flat rate, as commissioners could pay more for increased detail and gold decoration for their personal editions. That was the case with Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, which was commissioned by the Duke of Berry. He was a French prince at the time and spent a lot of money on his Book of Hours, making it one of the most extravagant and decorated manuscripts to ever exist. It was made of premium calfskin vellum, liquid gold, and ultramarine blue, which was as expensive as, if not more expensive than, the gold at the time. The elaborate designs and artworks crafted by the Limbourg brothers, as well as the composition of the manuscript, are perfect examples of how decorated initials, colored lettering, and other manuscript or visual elements were used and viewed as high quality. This manuscript also showcased how visual literacy and textual literacy were entangled together, working side-by-side for the audience's comprehension (Norman, 2026). 

The result of the Book of Hours, like Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, was granting access to private religion mostly to the upper class. The high cost of these books, along with the fact that they were written in medieval Latin, meant that it was mostly wealthy members of society who could own these written prayers and worship through their own discretion. Those who were of a lower class would usually rely on verbal accounts for religious meaning, taking away their power and making them conform to whatever the wealthy said about religion.