Painted Prayers

In Painted Prayers, the two key elements of Books of Hours are explored: the glorious illuminations and the texts. 107 color plates reproduce stellar pages from Books of Hours that range from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries and come from all the major manuscript-producing countries of Europe: France, Belgium, The Netherlands, England, Italy, and Spain. Mr. Wieck's text offers explanations and translations of key passages from the various "Hours," psalms, Gospel lessons, hymns, litanies, and private prayers found in a typical Book of Hours. The Book of Hours is explored from illuminated manuscripts to the early printed editions of the same texts, leading us from the piety of the Gothic era into the culture of the Renaissance.