Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England: Three Women and Their Books of Hours

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England is the first major study of three profusely illustrated, textually diverse books of hours, the De Lisle, De Bois, and Neville of Hornby Hours, all of which were made for three English laywomen: Margaret de Beauchamp, the wife of a baron and loyal royal servant; Hawisia de Bois, a member of a distinguished knightly family; and Isabel de Byron, the matriarch of a rising gentry family.
Through detailed analysis of the manuscripts' visual and textual programs, and by embedding the books within a rich interpretive context constructed from religious and secular literature, sermons, and a broad range of artistic and historical evidence, Kathryn A. Smith examines how the three books mediated the devotional experience of their owners and constructed and confirmed their sense of personal, familial, local, and social identity. The study explores the potential functions of illustrated books of hours – as vehicles for penitent self-examination, familial, and dynastic commemoration and legitimation, and instruction of one's children – and reveals how the manuscripts' contents and design accommodated these functions. Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England offers new insights into the issues of female patronage and book ownership, lay literacy, and the roles and uses of imagery in later medieval religion.

Arts & Photography

Smith, Kathryn A.

History & Criticism

British Library and University of Toronto Press

The Taymouth Hours, a devotional volume from 14th-century England, is remarkable for the series of nearly 380 images in its lower margins. In the first major study of this enigmatic manuscript, Smith argues that it was commissioned for Edward IIIs sister Eleanor of Woodstock; analyses the content of its texts and illustrations; and explores how these stories relate to the self-fashioning of their royal female viewer. The complete manuscript is reproduced on the accompanying DVD.

The Taymouth Hours: Stories and the Construction of the Self in Late Medieval England

British Library Publishing

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth Century England: Three Women Patrons and their Books of Hours

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England is the first major study of three profusely illustrated, textually diverse books of hours, the De Lisle, De Bois, and Neville of Hornby Hours, all of which were made for three English laywomen: Margaret de Beauchamp, the wife of a baron and loyal royal servant; Hawisia de Bois, a member of a distinguished knightly family; and Isabel de Byron, the matriarch of a rising gentry family.Through detailed analysis of the manuscripts' visual and textual programs, and by embedding the books within a rich interpretive context constructed from religious and secular literature, sermons, and a broad range of artistic and historical evidence, Kathryn A. Smith examines how the three books mediated the devotional experience of their owners and constructed and confirmed their sense of personal, familial, local, and social identity. The study explores the potential functions of illustrated books of hours – as vehicles for penitent self-examination, familial, and dynastic commemoration and legitimation, and instruction of one's children – and reveals how the manuscripts' contents and design accommodated these functions. Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England offers new insights into the issues of female patronage and book ownership, lay literacy, and the roles and uses of imagery in later medieval religion.

Religion & Spirituality

University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England is the first major study of three profusely illustrated, textually diverse books of hours, the De Lisle, De Bois, and Neville of Hornby Hours, all of which were made for three English laywomen: Margaret de Beauchamp, the wife of a baron and loyal royal servant; Hawisia de Bois, a member of a distinguished knightly family; and Isabel de Byron, the matriarch of a rising gentry family.
Through detailed analysis of the manuscripts' visual and textual programs, and by embedding the books within a rich interpretive context constructed from religious and secular literature, sermons, and a broad range of artistic and historical evidence, Kathryn A. Smith examines how the three books mediated the devotional experience of their owners and constructed and confirmed their sense of personal, familial, local, and social identity. The study explores the potential functions of illustrated books of hours – as vehicles for penitent self-examination, familial, and dynastic commemoration and legitimation, and instruction of one's children – and reveals how the manuscripts' contents and design accommodated these functions. Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England offers new insights into the issues of female patronage and book ownership, lay literacy, and the roles and uses of imagery in later medieval religion.

The Taymouth Hours is one of the most fascinating illuminated manuscripts of late medieval England, but the circumstances of its commission have remained elusive for more than a century. In this first comprehensive study of the Taymouth Hours, Kathryn A. Smith traces the manuscript’s origin to Philippa of Hainault, queen of Edward III, and Edward’s sister, the thirteen-year-old Eleanor of Woodstock.
Smith provides a detailed analysis of the manuscript’s program, particularly the relationships between its marginal imagery and the devotional texts these images border, and embeds the Taymouth Hours within the historical, political, religious, and artistic contexts of early fourteenth-century England and northern Europe. Generously illustrated, the book also comes with a digitized edition of the entire manuscript. This feature allows readers to examine high-quality images of each folio while following along with Smith’s text.

The Taymouth Hours: Stories and the Construction of Self in Late Medieval England

University of Toronto Press

Contents:K. A. Smith and Carol H. Krinsky; Lucy Freeman Sandler: An Appreciation J. J. G. Alexander; 'Mansueta Asinella': An Unusual Image of a Book Presentation to Marguerite de France, Duchesse de Savoie (1523-74) J. Backhouse; Patronage and Commemoration in the Beaufort Hours W. Cahn; The Pictorial Epitaph of Lambert of Saint-Bertin M. H. Caviness; Marginally Correct R. K. Emmerson; Visualizing the Vernacular: Middle English Early Fourteenth Century Bilingual and Trilingual Manuscript Illustrations G. B. Guest; Structuring Old Testament History in the Psalter of Louis IX A. B. Hagens; Leaves of a Fourteenth-Century Franco-Flemish Antiphonary Owned by John Ruskin (1819-1900) E. Inglis; The Production and Program of Fouquet's Boccaccio C. M. Kauffmann; An Illustrated Life of Christ in Verse S. L'Engle; The Naked Bishop: Baring the Body to Express the Law M. M. Manion; Imaging the Marvelous and Fostering Marian Devotion: The Miracles de Notre Dame and French Royalty R. Mellinkoff; Two Erotic Women Warriors: Sexy, Violent, and Lethal M. A. Michael; Planning for Style: A Preliminary Reading of the De Lisle Psalter Virgin and Child N. Morgan; The Bohun Apocalypse M. M. Nishimura and David Nishimura; Rabbits, Warrens, and Warenne: The Patronage of the Gorleston Psalter N. F. Regalado; Fortune's Two Crowns: Images of Kingship in Paris, BnF MS fr. 146 Roman de Fauvel J. E. Rosenthal; An Unprecedented Image of Love and Devotion: The Crucifixion In Judith of Flanders' Gospel Book K. L. Scott; The Remains of a Missal: Chetham's Library MS 6713 E. Sears; Scribal Wit in a Manuscript from the Chatelet: Images in the Margins of Boileau's Livre des metiers (Paris, BnF MS fr. 24069) C. R. Sherman; Representations of Maternal and Familial Roles in French Translations of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Economics, Book I J. Stratford and C. Reynolds; The Foyle Breviary and Hours of John, Duke of Bedford, in the British Library W. M. Voelkle; More Medieval Alphabet Soup: Another Unique Catherine Initial From the Mosan Psalter-Hours R. S. Wieck; Trial by Fleur: The Earliest Work by the Master of Walters 219 Bibliography of the Writings of Lucy Freeman Sandler Indexes and other apparatus.

Tributes to Lucy Freeman Sandler: Studies in Illuminated Manuscripts

Brepols Publishers

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Books by Smith, Kathryn A.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Smith, Kathryn A.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England: Three Women and Their Books of Hours

The Taymouth Hours: Stories and the Construction of the Self in Late Medieval England

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth Century England: Three Women Patrons and their Books of Hours

Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth Century England: Three Women Patrons and their Books of Hours

The Taymouth Hours: Stories and the Construction of Self in Late Medieval England

Tributes to Lucy Freeman Sandler: Studies in Illuminated Manuscripts