Rohan Hours

The Rohan Hours is an outstanding illuminated manuscript that can look back on an incomparable history. To this day, parts of its origin- and ownership-history remain a riddle of historical research. What is known about this codex is that it is a private prayer and devotional book. The Rohan Hours certainly disregarded the strict rules of composition for medieval books of hours and reinvented this book genre. Its pictorial program differs from all previous image cycles, integrates novel themes, and distinguishes itself through a fantastic wealth of ideas. The exceedingly-richly-ornamented work, written in Latin, boasts at least one miniature on each of its over 460 pages. Found among them are 12 full-page, 54 half-page, and 466 mid-sized miniatures.

A Commission of the House of Anjou?

The book of hours bears the name of a later owner from the House of Rohan. The ruling house of Rohan was an important Breton noble family, after which the palaces in Paris and Strasbourg were named, as well as the noble horsemen in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The manuscript was most likely commissioned by a member of another famous noble house. Since no written records exist concerning the origin of the book of hours, its patronage can be determined through the consideration of similar codices. In doing so, it points to Jolanthe of Aragón, the wife of Louis II of Anjou, who had the personal prayer book made for one of his sons, presumably for René. The ruling family of Anjou, one of the wealthiest noble houses in all of France, was known for its love of the visual arts and realized some of the most precious illuminated manuscripts, which originate from the Middle Ages.

A Moving Story

The coat of arms of the Rohan family entered the codex when it was painted over one of the pages of the book of hours, thus giving the Rohan Hours its name. Its first owner was presumably the son of Jolanthe of Aragón, René of Anjou. He was defeated in 1431 at the Battle of Bulgnéville by Antoine de Vaudémont, the father of Maria of Lothringen, who was married to Alain IX de Rohan. René of Anjou was taken prisoner in the confusion of the battle, and the precious Rohan Hours could have come into the possession of the House of Rohan as part of the imposed ransom. How long the Hours remained in the possession of the Rohan family cannot be said with certainty. A note on the first page of the manuscript verifies that in the 18th century, it was stored in a Jesuit library in Paris. Later, it came into the possession of the Duke de La Vallière, from whose collection it reached the Royal Library. The successor to which is the French National Library in Paris, wherein the historically significant book of hours is still to be found today.

A Unique Artistic Diversity

Without a doubt, several French masters participated in the design of the astounding book of hours. Some miniatures originate from the quill of the incomprehensibly-talented, so-called Rohan Master. This artist produced the impressive full-page depictions as well as some of the smaller miniatures of the work. He was equally responsible for the outlining of the figures and backgrounds of most of the other likenesses in the work, whose colorful design was taken over by the assistants from his art studio. The half-page miniatures were made by a no-less-gifted, ingenious illuminator, who was probably a talented student of the Rohan Master. The remaining embellishments of the work, which are highly diverse in their design, were entrusted to additional assistants of the head designer. For the first time in history, the hand-written book of hours featured miniatures that filled an entire page. The widely-varying image program shows not only the remaining pictorial-scenes from the Office of the Virgin Mary, the Intercession, and the Office of the Dead. Twelve Labors of the Month accompanying a calendar are particularly impressive and are characterized by the excitement of the time, and the signs of the zodiac appear above them almost like unholy signs floating in the sky.