Book of Hours of Gregory XIII

Famous for commissioning and being the namesake of the Gregorian calendar, which continues to serve as the internationally accepted civil calendar today, Pope Gregory XIII (1502–85) was also a great patron of the arts and sciences as well as an avid supporter of the newly formed Jesuits. As such, he is considered to be one of the most important popes of the modern age. The Pope’s personal book of hours is one of the finest specimens of its kind to survive to the present, which has been wonderfully preserved thanks to the fact that he donated the codex to the Vatican Library on November 5th, 1578, where it has remained ever since. The décor exhibits French influences and is adorned with gold, richly colored foliage, flowers, animals, and figures. Mostly concerned with scenes from the lives of saints and the Gospels, the text is adorned with elegant initials and fantastic miniatures from a team of artists. Two documents are included in the codex, which are relevant to the patron’s pontifical reign: the canon of the reform of the Gregorian calendar with the months October-December 1582 (presented in a 21x16 cm format), and the Map of the seven churches – destinations for the pilgrimage of the great Jubilee announced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1575 (presented in a 28.5x37 cm format).