Book of hours of Margarete de Foix, Duchess of Brittany
The book of hours of Margarete de Foix, Duchess of Brittany, reminds with fervent prayers that the chances of a peaceful succession were slim. The example of Burgundy may not have brought much comfort to Margarete de Foix and her husband as they waited for a son. Your concern is expressed very clearly in this book of hours, which compellingly reflects the tensions in which men and women lived at that time.
description
- Liturgy of Paris . France , around 1470–1480. 17.6 × 10 cm, IV + 288ff.
- 24 Calendar - illustrations , 12 large miniatures , 25 smaller miniatures.
- Victoria and Albert Museum , London , Salting Collection No. 1222
The above illustration shows "The Flight into Egypt" and stands between the end of the Non and the beginning of Vespers . The eye is drawn by the hills, towers and river landscapes in the background to the fortified city of Jerusalem , where the Holy Family is fleeing. Immediately behind the mule is an angel , as if to the small group in front of the pursuing soldiers of Herod protect. A farmer cuts the grain as a representation of the apocryphal miracle of the sower . According to this legend , Mary asked the sower to tell the soldiers that he had seen a family pass while they were sowing. A wheat field was then in full growth to hide the fleeing family. When the farmer said this, the soldiers gave up the pursuit, believing that the persecuted were already too far away to be caught up with.
Below the text, which is written on undyed parchment , the murder of the innocent children in Bethlehem is depicted. On the right is Herod giving instructions with his scepter while the soldiers go about their work.
The intercession prayer to St. Sebastian , which is dedicated to St. St. Christophorus follows, has a special type of border that was used in the last part of this book of hours. The border on each side is painted on a continuous matt gold surface, birds, animals, insects, snails, as well as some human figures and drolleries between colorful flowers and acanthus branches are depicted on this magnificent background .
Almost in the center of the picture, St. Sebastian - tied to a tree - shot at with arrows. However, as is common in medieval art , it shows few signs of suffering. Usually the saint is depicted as a young man or even as a boy, originally it was reported of the martyr from the 3rd century that he was more mature when he challenged the emperor Diocletian .
Margarete de Foix, Princess of Navarre , (1449–1486), daughter of Gaston IV , Count of Foix and Bigorre , was the second wife of Francis II , Duke of Brittany , and mother of the famous heiress Anna , who by marriage united their duchy with the French crown with two successive French kings, ending a long period of mutual rivalry and petty wars.
The intercessory prayer against sterility , underpinned by a list of saints and martyrs of the "Kingdom of Breton", closes with a special mention of Francis II and his wife Margaret. The wording shows that their daughter Anna was already born, but they were hoping for a son to ensure the independence of the duchy, a hopeless endeavor as events showed. So this prayer was inserted between 1477 and 1486.
It provides an interesting insight into the ambiguous attitude of medieval subjects towards their rulers . Francis II of Brittany earned displeasure because of excessive gallantry , his contemporary Charles the Bold of Burgundy was criticized for the opposite reason , because he did not lead the indulgent life expected by great princes at the time. In fact, they both made the same mistake: they only fathered daughters.
literature
- The book of hours of Margarete de Foix, Duchess of Brittany. In: John Harthan: Books of hours and their owners. German translation by Regine Klett. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) et al. 1977, ISBN 3-451-17907-5 , pp. 122-125.