A squire's Book of Hours

Scientific research sheds new light on an extraordinary manuscipt from the Bonnefanten collection.

Exceptional

Books of Hours are much more than just books with important prayers. These ‘bestsellers avant la lettre’ are an intimate reflection of medieval devotion and social status. They were produced in large numbers to bring devotion from the church into the homes. This way, believers could pray at home too. We often know very little about the owners and makers of these books, as they were made by anonymous writers and illuminators. One book in the Bonnefantencollection, with a rare inscription, is an exception to this rule. A new transcription and interpretation provides a unique glimpse into the protagonists behind this manuscript.

The Inscription

At the end of a series of prayers on folio 34 (see fig.), it says in Old French:

“Les heures appartiennent. A noble homme Loys de la Porte escuyer seigne[ur] de Gra[n]tdort faictes et escriptes par Jacques Greslier p[res]b[yte]re I’an mil. V.c et trois.”  

Translation:

‘The Hours belong to the nobleman Louis de la Porte, squire of the lord of Grandort, made and written by Jacques Greslier, priest, in the year 1503.’  

What the inscription tells us

This inscription tells us who made the book, when, and for whom. It mentions the year 1503, the patron Louis de la Porte, the scribe and maker priest Jacques Greslier, and the context in which the book was created, with Louis as a squire in the service of the lord of Grandort.

This also shows the interesting collaboration between the low nobility and the clergy. Squires like Louis de la Porte, often had enough resources to commission manuscripts of this kind, while priests, like Greslier, supplemented their income by copying texts. The fact that this priest both copied the text and produced the book highlights his important role in the creative process. He worked closely with specialists, including the artist (miniator) for miniatures and margin decorations, the parchment maker for the writing material, and rubricator for adding red highlights. Altogether, this Book of Hours is much more than a religious ‘utensil’: it's a very valuable artwork too. The richer the decoration, the more precious the book and the higher the social status of the patron.

Scratched out

A mysterious detail is that the word ‘squire’ is scratched out in the inscription. It suggests that the status of Louis de la Porte may have changed. He might have been knighted. This minor change adds another layer of meaning to the manuscript, which offers religious and social insight into the time in which it was made.

Written by Sara Bakvis, intern Old Masters Bonnefanten, MA student Art History at the University of Amsterdam. Transcripton by Breghtje Dik, Dottoranda I Promovendus, Università degli Studi di Firenze. 

Header: Jacques Greslier (scribe and maker), Book of Hours by Louis de La Porte with miniatures and writing by two different hands, 1503, ink and tempera on parchment, Bonnefanten Collection, long-term loan Bisschoppelijk Museum Bisdom Roermond, inv. no. 2000532. Photo: Peter Cox.