ABSTRACT
Lured by the consummate skill of artists, the sumptuous nature of materials, and the visual opulence of miniatures, women, according to the French poet Eustache Deschamps, simply could not resist books of hours. Books of hours consist of a series of hymns, psalms, and prayers interspersed with antiphons, versicles, and responses, that were to be recited by lay readers at the eight canonical hours of the day. Reciting the prayers of the Hours of the Virgin, with their themes treating the early life of Jesus, provided women with yet another salient way to express their devotion to Christ's humanity. By the late-fourteenth century, laywomen were eager to convey the advantages of the Hours and the books that facilitated them to their daughters as part of a larger program of education. Women's reading communities were promoted not only through the practices of reading, teaching, and discussion, but also through images that depicted women with books and as readers and educators.
