Winter Breviary from the Diocese of Constance

Though the introduction of the printing press to Europe in the 1450s created a steady supply of affordable books, wealthy bibliophiles retained a taste for manuscripts (books copied by hand). Book makers, whose workshops were flourishing amid the rise of cities and universities, responded by filling manuscript pages with flamboyant penwork and lively inhabited initials to attract the eyes and open the wallets of potential buyers. This captivating breviary, a compendium of sacred texts intended for use in daily prayer, belongs to this final flourishing of late medieval manuscript production. As a "winter" breviary, designed for use from November 30 to June 24, it may once have formed half of a two-volume set.

The manuscript’s clever, almost mischievous illuminations have a fairytale quality, featuring knights, ladies, builders, and bagpipers in keenly observed contemporary clothing. These figures, some of whom represent saints, often make clever allusions to the texts they accompany. While the specific compilation of prayers in this book was intended for use in a monastic setting, its finely drawn decorations reveal the practiced hand of a professional illuminator. This means the manuscript was likely commissioned on behalf of a monk or nun from an affluent family.