Prayerbook of the Holy Festivals
The Prayerbook of the Holy Festivals, also known as the Missal of Reims, is one of the most beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the French High Gothic style and was made in France between 1285 and 1297. The sumptuous missal was created as the basis for the communal celebration of mass in the parish of Saint Nacasio in Reims and contains, among other things, the corresponding prayers in the order of the church year. Written in masterly, almost calligraphic Textura Formata, the missal was lavishly decorated with a total of over 100 miniatures, 20 of them full-page, in splendid colors and furnished with precious gold leaf, which are often artfully presented to the reader by large marginal figures. Additionally, the biblical pictorial program is complemented by 32 wonderful historiated initials and 24 ornate medallions, making the manuscript a breathtaking testimony to medieval liturgy.
Prayerbook of the Holy Festivals
One of the most beautiful and splendid missals, which was created in the Middle Ages, can be found today in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. It is a missal that was made between 1285 and 1297 in France. The liturgical work contains prayer texts for reading during the joint mass and served as a calendar for the feasts and holidays of the liturgical year. It is adorned with over 100 miniatures in luminously intense colors and with the employment of noble gold leaf. The precious, meticulously-written illuminated prayer book counts among the absolute highpoints of Western European illumination at the end of the 13th century.
A Liturgical Rulebook
A missal is a liturgical work that describes the course of the holy mass for the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays, feast days, and workdays. It contains prayers for the various church festivities, which would be sung or spoken by priests as well as the texts typical to any church service, such as the Kyrie eleison, the Gloria, and the Lordβs Prayer. The Missale Remense was made for the Church of St. Nacasio in Rheims. Here it was used and carefully handled over many years and could be read exclusively by priests of the church.
A Masterpiece of French Gothic
The splendid visual adornment of the missal is a unique example of the outstanding illumination of the French High Gothic style. Elegant, elongated figures with slim limbs and sublime facial features illustrate the ceremonial prayer texts of the manuscript. Differentiated color gradations as well as accents of precious gold leaf causes the miniature pages to shine. The calligraphic script of the codex was completed as painstakingly and splendidly as the images. Luminous, rich red and golden ornaments furnishing the historiated initials introduce the texts of the respective liturgical activities and as such, important passages are written in various color schemes.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Missal of Saint-Nicaise
Das Gebetbuch der Hochfeste
Missale Remense
Missale aus Reims
Missal of Reims
Misal de Reims - Size / Format
- 672 pages / 23.3 Γ 16.2 cm
- Origin
- France
- Date
- 1285β1297
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Script
- Gothic Textura Formata
- Illustrations
- 105 miniatures, 20 of them full-page; 32 historiated initals; 24 medaillons
- Content
- Missal
- Previous Owners
- Church of St. Nacasio in Rheims
Peter Dubrovsky
Prayerbook of the Holy Festivals
Death of the Virgin Mary
This large historiated initial C contains a multi-figure depiction of the death of the Virgin Mary in its oval inner compartment in a very small space. The Virgin Mary lies peacefully on a bed of precious fur, surrounded by mourning apostles. A charming detail are their feet, which can be seen through a recess in the bedstead. Parallel to this moving scene, the upper third of the image shows heaven, in which Mary has already been taken up by God and sits on his lap like a crowned statue. Two angels worship the Queen of Heaven and her Creator, who also happens to be her Son.
Prayerbook of the Holy Festivals
The Creator of Heaven and Earth
This magnificent and, in comparison to the rest of the picture program, relatively simple full-page miniature shows God as the Creator of the heavens including sun and moon, the animals in the water, on land and in the air as well as Adam and Eve. It seems to depict the arguably best-known moment in the Book of Genesis: "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply [...]." (Gen 1:28)
As on so many pages, an Old Testament prophet - in this case Jeremiah - unrolls an explanatory commentary on the scene in the margin. The Latin inscription is a combination of several sayings from the biblical book of Jeremiah and translates roughly as: "You will call me Father, says the LORD, who made heaven and earth. By his strength and wisdom he has established the heavens."
#1 Misal de Reims
Language: Spanish
(3,000β¬ - 7,000β¬)
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