c. 1495

Book of Hours with Calendar, for Rome Use

This manuscript, like most books of hours, begins with a calendar of saints' days. In the Christian tradition, each day of the liturgical year is associated with the veneration of one or more specific saints or with the celebration of an important holy event. Here, the primary saints' days and most significant holy days are written in gold. Illustrations of the saints surround the text on each page, along with the zodiac sign of the particular month at the bottom left and a scene depicting related seasonal activities at the bottom right.