Book of Hours of Louis of Orleans Facsimile Edition

This extraordinary book of hours contains an Augustinian-style calendar that states the date when it was made, 1490. It also contains the Hours of the Virgin, the Penitential Psalms, the litanies, the Office of the Dead, the stations of the Cross, the Hours of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Hours, prayers, readings from the Gospels and the seven Petitions to the Saviour. The reference to Saint Louis, the autograph of Louis of Orleans (later King Louis XII) and the portrait on fol. 11v indicate that the manuscript belonged to Louis XII.

The illuminations in this tiny manuscript are quite exceptional. The elaborate layout of its illustrations with sumptuous floral margins, especially in the biblical cycle, is a rare trait in most books of hours. The marginalia is often divided into sections with grotesques, birds, animals and other motifs.