Women and their Books of Hours
I’ve chosen to focus this study on the books of hours produced for women, in order to understand their place in medieval religion. The analysis of individual manuscripts, including the nature of their production and use, is a helpful and nuanced lens for an accurate understanding of medieval religious culture, particularly that of women, which is often ignored or downplayed.
Many books of hours known to have been used by women contain portraits of their owners, often in the act of payer. These owner-portraits imply that upper class laywomen—the women who could afford such luxury items—were commonly actively involved in religious devotion, often through the study of books, meaning that, in addition to being active members of the church, women in the era were at least somewhat literate in both the vernacular and in Latin (4).
Medieval texts intended for women carry strong messages concerning female character and moral behavior. Texts and illuminations dedicated to the Virgin and other female saints draw attention to the qualities of motherhood, piety, humility, and purity; qualities the Church had for centuries been encouraging women to aspire to (5).
4. Penketh, Sandra “Women and Books of Hours.” in Women and the Book: Assessing the Visual Evidence. London, UK: The British Library, 1997.
5. Penketh “Women and Books of Hours”, pg. 273