Book of Hours (Use of Metz) (c. 1440): Art, History and Details

Book of Hours (Use of Metz) (c. 1440) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The first seven folios of this book list dedications for Metz churches and indulgences, or ways to receive forgiveness for sins, that are unique to that diocese, or area of jurisdiction of a bishop. The city of Metz, situated on the Moselle River, was the cultural and commercial capital of Lorraine during the 1400s. It was also the location of an important bishopric and therefore the center of a growing book trade.

Object facts

• Title: Book of Hours (Use of Metz)
• Date: c. 1440
• Culture: France, Metz
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
• Dimensions: Sheet: 14.2 x 9.4 cm (5 9/16 x 3 11/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1942.1514

A detail from the museum

It is believed that medieval men and women read their books of hours aloud, not silently.

Collection credit

Bequest of Julia Morgan Marlatt

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.