Ravenelle Hours

Both stylistically and in subject matter it is a typical representative of books of hours made in Paris at this time.

[9] It was bought by Uppsala University Library from a private collector in Gävle in 1953 after being displayed at an exhibition the year before.

It is partially rather worn, showing that it has been used frequently and was not made only for display or ostentation (unlike some more elaborate books of hours).

[11] It is written in French and Latin, and structured similarly to many other books of hours made in Paris at the end of the 14th and early 15th century.

It contains a calendar with names of saints, the Hours of the Virgin, the Penitential Psalms, the Office of the Dead and several individual prayers.

The figures still display ideas of beauty typical for the 14th century such as wavy hair and round cheeks; and the folds of their dress are occasionally rendered in a conservative way for the time.

[14] The book is currently bound in a dark red leather binding, signed by the French bookbinder Lortic and probably made at the turn of the twentieth century.

[9][15] The front cover is decorated with gilded and blind tooled fleurs-de-lis, and the spine is labelled with gilt lettering.