A medieval book of hours is fascinating because of its peculiar place as both a physical object and a spiritual guide. Because of this duality, Books of Hours function to further both the material and spiritual wealth of those who could afford to own them, essentially making the rich even richer because they proved wealth and status on two different planes. To break down this idea, it is helpful to look specifically at an image (Austrian National Library Cod. 1857, fol. 14r) from the Hours of Mary of Burgundy.
First, just to own a Book of Hours, you had to be pretty wealthy. During the 1300’s, books cost on average 97 pence[1]. An average book would have perhaps a few simple illuminations or some decorated initials; a bare bones book with no illuminations would be a bit cheaper. Using this handy dandy site , we learn that 97 pence is somewhere around 3,000 pounds ($3897 of American money). So only the top 10% of people could afford to own a Book of Hours. That means that just owning a Book of Hours was a status symbol. It would be like owning a car in New York City; just having one means you are pretty well off.
That is just the tip of the iceberg for how Books of Hours function as status symbols, however. There was a good deal of variety between how detailed a Book of Hours could be, which means that you could really deck out your book if you wanted to show that you were truly upper crust. Think of this as owning a brand new Benz in NYC to continue our previous metaphor.
Mary of Burgundy sits reading her Book of Hours in the foreground while imagining a heavenly scene in which she is in the presence of the Virgin Mary in the background. (Austrian National Library Cod. 1857, fol. 14r)
Mary of Burgundy’s Book of Hours is like owning a Lamborghini. First, just look at the level of detail in this one image. The velvet in her dress looks soft and touchable and her veil is actually see-through and extremely delicate. The ethereal church behind her has an extraordinary level of detail without feeling heavy or oppressive. These kinds of artistic choices would have been expensive because no ordinary illuminator could have created this image. This website, that Dr. Farber at the University of Oneonta designed for his students, examines specific details in this illumination, such as the fact that the light in the chapel is actually slanting the wrong way based on traditional cathedral design. Such a minute artistic choice would require a skilled and knowledgeable artist instead of just someone who could draw traditional religious figures. This detail implies knowledge of architecture and a deep level of thought into how artistic choices would reflect on Mary’s spiritual wealth as well.
In addition to the fact that the art itself could be shown off to demonstrate how much was spent on the illumination, there are a multitude of material possessions shown around Mary that imply wealth. For example, who sits in their window and just happens to have a bolt of expensive brocade fabric and a jeweled necklace lying around while they are praying? Even the velvet of Mary’s dress implies high status. Therefore, the outer layer of this image accentuates Mary’s material wealth and social status.
However, beyond just the clear way that this image speaks of monetary wealth, it also demonstrates a particular kind of spiritual wealth and ownership of the divine. First, in the spiritual cathedral, Mary is actually in the presence of the Virgin. This in itself implies a certain kind of spiritual value because not just anybody gets to actually see the Virgin. That kind of vision usually is reserved for saints or at least monks/nuns. Additionally, even though the Virgin is kind of separated by being seated on a decorated carpet further demarcated by large candlesticks at each corner with small angels lounging on the floor next to them, she is on the same physical plane as Mary of Burgundy, which is different than this image in the Catherine of Cleves Book of Hours (MS M.945, fol. 1v). Although Catherine’s book is on the same material wealth level as Mary’s, in this image, Catherine is depicted with a higher level of spiritual humility. The Virgin and Jesus are completely encased in a mandorla and are also inside a cathedral. Catherine is kneeling next to the Virgin, outside the mandorla, with one hand just barely entering the cathedral, suggesting that she is not entirely in the same physical or spiritual space as the Virgin, like Mary of Burgundy.
Now one might argue that perhaps Mary is not trying to claim any kind of religious status in this image, but is just a truly devout person and this is her ultimate fantasy. However, instead of being a private, one-on-one devotional scene, Mary’s image takes place in a public place, which we know because there are two men in the background conversing and because she appears to have brought her ladies in waiting, who aren’t in the real scene, into this imagined scene. This implies that Mary wants other people to see and appreciate the impressive spiritual moment she is having, which makes it some kind of proof of spiritual proficiency.
Also, in the foreground image, Mary is reading out of her Book of Hours silently to herself, a typical practice of royal medieval women. However, in the spiritual cathedral, Mary has her ladies in waiting with her. It is unclear exactly how often women would have read aloud from their Book of Hours since most of our understanding of female religious practice comes from images meant to show the women “not necessarily as they were but as they wished to be perceived”[2]. However, because Mary is imagining herself with other (lesser) women in a church setting where religious services were said aloud with a call and response (which was written into a Book of Hours), it could be assumed that Mary is imagining an oral reading. Going one step further, in an oral reading from her Book of Hours, Mary would be doing the call, which is normally reserved for a priest and her ladies answering with the response. This implies spiritual importance because Mary is potentially taking the role of a liturgical (male) figure. This importance echoes into the real, liturgical world of the Church beyond just an imagined scene.
If you were still thinking about giving Mary the benefit of the doubt as to whether or not this image is meant to demonstrate status on multiple levels, the cherry on top, in my opinion, is that Mary is wearing a richer, more decorated dress than the Virgin (!!). While the Virgin wears her traditional rich blue robe with a hint of gold edging, Mary of Burgundy is decked out in blue and gold brocade, making her the second thing the eyes is drawn to after looking at the Virgin. How’s that for proving how awesome and rich, both spiritually and materially, you are?
[1] Overty, Joanne Filippone. “The Cost of Doing Scribal Business: Prices of Manuscript Books in England, 1300–1483.” Book History 11.1 (2008): 1-32. Web.
[2] Taylor, Andrew. “Displaying Privacy: Margaret of York as Devotional Reader.” Cultures of Religious Reading in the Late Middle Ages Instructing the Soul, Feeding the Spirit, and Awakening the Passion (2013): 275-95. Web.