Leaf from a Book of Hours: Initial D: Massacre of the Innocents (1 of 2 Excised Leaves)
Unknown Artist
c. 1300–1330
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
13 × 9.7 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
1999.126
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Books of Hours were Christian devotional books with texts, prayers and psalms for Christian devotion which were written primarily for laymen. They were popular in circles of the rich, educated nobility. Just like this leaf, which was probably made in France at the beginning of the 14th century, the pages of the Books of Hours often show elaborate decoration to invite the reader to take a closer look. After the great plague, individual piety flourished and the Book of Hours also experienced its h...