JEANNE D'EVREUX

Jeanne D'evreux Book of Hours

Jeanne D'evreux Book of Hours

One of the most extraordinary monuments of fourteenth century art is a prayer book in the Cloisters in New York City. Its size (94 X64 mm (3 5/8 X 2 3/8 inches) appears to hardly justify its characterization as a monument, but closer examination reveals its extraordinary nature. The manuscript has been identified with a book described in the 1401 and 1416 inventories of the collection of Jean, Duc de Berry. The inventories identify the book as The Hours of Pucelle, and are described as being illuminated in black and white for the use of the Preachers.

The use of this technique of tones of gray known as grisaille is exceptional in a book of the early fourteenth century. The rubric beneath the miniature of the Arrest of Christ states that the manuscript is made for the usum predicatorum or the use of the preachers (Dominicans). An entry in the inventory of Charles V's jewels at Vincennes is consistent with the Berry entries. Here the manuscript is described as being bound with the Arms of Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. The preciousness of this book is suggested by its inclusion in the inventory of jewels and not as part of the Charles V's library. An entry in the will of Jeanne d'Évreux of 1371 lists a petit livret d'oraisons that was bequeathed to her nephew Charles V. This entry also reitterates that the book was made by Pucelle and that it had been commissioned by her husband Charles IV who reigned between 1325 and 1328. In all likelihood, Charles presented the book to the fourteen year old Jeanne as a wedding present in 1324.

Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, folio 160.

Grandes Heures, made for John of Berry, folio 11

Examination of the book itself reveals that it is a tour de force. The small size of the book and the use of the grisaille technique are also highly unusual at this date. Whereas we will see that manuscripts were regularly the product of collaboration with different specialists responsible for the scribal work, decoration, and the illustration, the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux was largely the work of Pucelle. Although a separate scribe was responsible for transcribing the text, many of the unique features of the manuscript including its small size and illustrative plan had already been planned for before the scribe began work.

Note here also the very creative treatment of the opening historiated initial where the D becomes its own structure housing Jeanne d'Evreux while a guard sits to the left of the initial barring entrance into the Queen's space.

The illustrative plan of the manuscript is also exceptional. This is evident in the Hours of the Virgin. It was already conventional in this period to open each hour with a half-page miniature illustrating an episode in the infancy story of Christ. In the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux each hour is introduced with two miniatures, a full-page miniature illustrating an episode from the Passion of Christ paired ...