The Hours of Philip the Bold

Prayers in French and Latin

Texts and Images

The prayers to be said at Mass or addressed to Christ, the Virgin and saints are illustrated with images of the relevant object of veneration. Prayers written during the original campaign received small miniatures, while those added in the 15th century were illustrated with images of varying sizes and formats.

This 15th-century miniature was painted by Dreux Jean, Philip the Bold’s valet de chambre and illuminator, who was entrusted by the Duke with numerous additions to the Grandes Heures as well as its rebinding in two volumes in 1451. St Anne is accompanied by the Virgin and Child, and by angles playing a harp and a lute. The open book on her knees alludes to the popular image of St Anne teaching the young Virgin to read. The frame features Philip the Bold’s devices: the golden fusils and flints of the Order of the Golden Fleece.