Featured - Book of Hours Alexandre Petau

For centuries, knowledge was passed down primarily through oral tradition. Written texts were rare and precious, as they were copied by hand by monks or scribes. This activity was not only enormously time-consuming, but also required skills that much of the population lacked: writing and reading. Literacy rates in some areas were lower than 90 percent! From the 15th century onwards, the printing press slowly but definitively changed this.

In the first phase of printing (1450–1500), individual lead letters were used that still had to resemble handwritten texts. We call these printed texts incunabula. The Boekentoren holds around 700 of them, with the oldest dating from 1466. The technique of printing spread from Mainz throughout Europe, making texts increasingly accessible. The role of the Catholic Church in this transition was so dominant that the majority of texts covered religious subjects.

Heritage highlight

The getijdenboek van Alexandre Petau (1610-1672),also known as the Horae Romanae. Although it was made in the fifteenth century, when the printing press was already in use across Europe, this richly decorated work was still written by hand.

Since its creation in Rouen, a city in Normandy, this book of hours has travelled a long way. It was originally owned by René of Anjou (1409-1480). Later, Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) came into possession of the object. She stayed in Ghent in 1650, where she most likely forgot it at Saint Peter’s Abbey. It eventually found its way into the collection of book collector Alexandre Petau. So, thanks to that one mistake by Queen Christina, our collection now holds one more Flemish masterpiece!

This really is an object meant for use. A book of hours is a prayer book that laypeople used on a daily basis.

The illustrations were added after the text, in the early sixteenth century. The illustrators from Paris-Rouen, inspired by the Ghent-Bruges style, created no less than 46 large miniatures and countless gold-embellished letters. No other manuscript by this group of miniaturists is known in Flanders, which makes this manuscript exceptionally rare making it a cognized Flemish masterpiece.

Mastery in miniature

The book is richely illustrated with unique illuminations. There are some recurring elements, though, such as: flowers, fruits, and animals. Those elements were placed against a plain background, a style that was developed by Flemish miniaturists, in the tradition of the Flemish Primitives.

The book of hours contains various prayers, that the faithful were required to recite at certain times of the day. It contains several readings from the Gospels. They are decorated with miniatures depicting scenes from the Bible.

The book of hours also contains a beautifully illustrated calendar, which reflects its religious character: each month lists a series of saints who were venerated at that time. Every month is accompanied by two miniatures. The left-hand image always depicts a scene connected to that particular month. In July, for example, you can see a man and a woman harvesting. The right-hand miniature for each month always shows a zodiac sign.

On display

You can now admire the het getijdenboek van Alexandre Petau in the Boekentoren, where four display cases provide a cross-section of the rich heritage collection.

Would you like to browse through this manuscript at your leisure? Then you can find the fully digitized version in our catalogue!