A Uniquely Awe-Inspiring Illuminated Manuscript

The Medieval Year: 13th Day before the Kalends of January, 6th Day before the Nativity of the Lord

The Medieval Year, a weekly feature of the Via Mediaevalis newsletter, gives us an opportunity to appreciate calendrical artwork from the Middle Ages, reflect on the basic tasks and rhythms of medieval life, and follow the medieval year as we make our way through the modern year. Please refer to the first post in this series for more background information!

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Last week, we admired some images from a Book of Hours that I described as one of the most magnificent books ever made. This week, I want to share with you a Book of Hours that is certainly not as magnificent, but may actually be more remarkable and impressive, when all aspects are considered. In fact, this manuscript is a contender for the title of most remarkable book ever made—however, the reason for this will not become apparent until the end of the article. Make sure you don’t scroll down too soon! If you look at the end of the post before contemplating the artwork and soaking in its beauty, you won’t get the full effect.

In addition to exploring the depictions of the labors of the month, as is our custom, we’ll take advantage of this delightful manuscript to enjoy some charming, meditative artwork for Christmas, which in medieval calendars was written as Nativitas Domini (or, less commonly, Domini Nativitas), meaning “the birth of the Lord.” Let’s begin with the labor for November: