Medieval Prayer Books
I haven’t read this book, but as a lover of medieval mysticism and spirituality, I find it intriguing, based on this review on the Christian History & Biography website:
At his death in 1434, a “London wax-chandler” named Roger Elmsley bequeathed to “a favourite godchild ‘a prymmer to serve God with,’” a prayer book small enough to be tucked into a capacious medieval sleeve or worn on the belt, the way people today wear cell phones. Such prayer books, some of them much more elaborate and unwieldy than the popular pocket versions, were keyed to the daily offices – hence the generic term “Book of Hours,” by which they were known. In his new book, Marking the Hours: English People and Their Prayers, 1240-1570, Eamon Duffy considers these aids to devotion from many different angles, opening windows on medieval piety and provoking reflection on our own devotional practices.
Continue reading the review, “Praying by the Book”
At his death in 1434, a “London wax-chandler” named Roger Elmsley bequeathed to “a favourite godchild ‘a prymmer to serve God with,’” a prayer book small enough to be tucked into a capacious medieval sleeve or worn on the belt, the way people today wear cell phones. Such prayer books, some of them much more elaborate and unwieldy than the popular pocket versions, were keyed to the daily offices – hence the generic term “Book of Hours,” by which they were known. In his new book, Marking the Hours: English People and Their Prayers, 1240-1570, Eamon Duffy considers these aids to devotion from many different angles, opening windows on medieval piety and provoking reflection on our own devotional practices.
Continue reading the review, “Praying by the Book”
Labels: Spirituality
posted by Darrell Grizzle | 11:11 AM
2 Comments:
Interesting. Thanks.
I went to read the Amazon review of this book and I found this juicy tidbit about the mini prayer books:
"Manuscript prayers, biographical jottings, affectionate messages, autographs, and pious paste-ins often crowd the margins, flyleaves, and blank spaces of such books. From these sometimes clumsy jottings, viewed by generations of librarians and art historians as blemishes at best, vandalism at worst, Duffy teases out precious clues to the private thoughts and public contexts of their owners"
Hope you are having a great day. I enjoyed your poems to your feline furbaby and wanted to steer you towards some more at: http://kittyfeatherpress.blogspot.com/
Scroll down when you get there to read Laura's felicious poetry.
Blessings in abundance, MW (=^;^=)
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