Supervisors info:
Γαγανάκης Κωνσταντίνος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Ευρωπαϊκής Ιστορίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Γιαντσή- Μελετιάδη Νικολέτα, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Μεσαιωνικής Ιστορίας της Δύσεως, ΕΚΠΑ
Παπαθανασίου Μαρία, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Νεότερης Ευρωπαϊκής Ιστορίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The Books of Hours were lavish, illustrated books of Christian prayers designed for the private practise of the religious duties of the laity and they are regarded as the most popular and impressive Catholic prayer books of the late Middle and Renaissance ages. These precious artifacts, were quite costly, due to their being written with extreme care and the fact that they contained sophisticated and unique illustrations, all according to the owner’s wishes. By the 13th century, nearly every noble family in Europe possessed such a manuscript, as a mean of demonstrating their wealth and religious dedication. Hence, their contents and their publicity render these books as exceptional tools of understanding these preceding societies, inseparably connected with religion.
The historical course of these manuscripts, though, will change radically due to the arrival of printing, which will allow their massive production. As a result, these books will be transformed in a common good, which could be obtained not only by the elite, but by anyone who could read. This exact transformation gave the chance to the regime to control their edition and even the chance to intervene to their content.
This paper aims to examine Books of Hours as a tool that contributes to our better understanding of the religious practices of the laity before and after the arrival of the Reformation in England. In the first chapter there is a brief introduction about the origin, the contents and the use of these Books. The religious practices of the laity before the arrival of the Reformation, which seem to be an alloy of paganistic tradition and Christian faith, are discussed in the second chapter. In the third chapter, the changes that the invention of printing brought upon the production and spread of these Books are examined on a great scale.
In the fourth and the fifth chapter, are mentioned the changes that occurred to the content of these Books after the arrival and the establishment of the Reformation, as during the years of 1530-1540, radical changes took place to the realm of England that defined the future evolution of these prayer books. Apart from the examination of the changes that occurred upon the existing Books, the Books of Hours or Primers that the regime edited and printed in order to spread the Protestant dogma shall be also analysed.
Keywords:
Books of Hours, Primers, prayers, Protestantism, Reformation, England, Tudors
