"Book of Hours (for Female Use)"
Book of Hours (for Female Use) currently housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which is the focus of this study, was produced in France, likely Amiens, for the use of a female patron in the mid-15th century, though the exact provenance is unknown. As with most medieval manuscripts, it was made with tempera, ink and gold on parchment, bound in calf skin over boards.
This particular book of hours, though elaborately decorated, contains few large miniatures, making their placement all the more important. As the exact origin of the work is unknown, we must rely on interpretation of the contents and their contexts to tell us about the book’s owner. The prominence of two major suffrages to St. Avia and St. Augustine are of particular importance, as indicated by their three-quarter page miniatures. Both saints are related to childbirth and children, suggesting that the original owner was likely a young mother (6).
St. Avia was a saint of great importance in Northern France, notable as a patron of small children. This miniature, which introduces the suffrage to St. Avia, depicts the saint wearing a dress of blue, cloaked in purple, holding a book. Her depiction is reminiscent of Mary, the Holy Mother, who would also have been of great importance to the original owner. Invoking her likeness here not only implies St. Avia’s role as a mother, but also her importance to the original owner.
Often in medieval books of hours, the Hours of the Virgin was the most heavily illuminated section, comprised of eight prayers to be read at the canonical hours, each typically introduced with a miniature depicting a scene from Mary’s life (7). In this manuscript, these are instead introduced with smaller historiated initials, as opposed to full page miniatures. Hence this miniature dedicated to St. Avia, in comparison to the rest of the rather unadorned manuscript, highlights the owner’s particular devotion to the saint. The devotional needs of the young mother who likely owner the book are represented through the placement of detailed miniatures.
6. "Book of Hours (For Female Use)." Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Accessed April 28, 2017. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/book-of-hours-for-female-use-53365.
7. Manion “Women, Art, and Devotion”, pg. 37