The Du Bourg Family

In the Middle Ages, most people did not own books unless they were of nobility, and were literate. Therefore, if someone did own a book, it would have most likely been their most prized posession. However, once book-making shops started to become more common during the Renaissance, more people had access to books, including laypeople. In particular, during the 15th century, wealthy women owned a Book of Hours, which is a small prayer book. At this time, it was expected that every decent woman owned a Book of Hours, which she would read throughout the course of the day. 

This particular Book of Hours was owned by the Du Bourg family in the early 1600s. According to my research, the woman depicted on folio 55 is likely the person for whom the book was commissioned. However, we do not know if she was a member of the Du Bourg family. The scripture depicted here appears to have been written by a member of the Du Bourg family, and recounts the birth and baptizing of their son, Pierre Du Bourg. This is not at all surprising, as recroding important family events in the cover leaves of a Book of Hours was a normal practice, as the book would have been a treasured item in the family.

The translation states that the Du Bourg's son was baptized in 1608 at the church Saint André le Bas, which is located in Vienne, France. It also mentions the son's godmother, Laurence Camu(?), who could also be his grandmother, the Lady of Chaponay. Yet on the other hand, the scripture further states that their son was baptized in 1609 in the house of the lord of Verney by noble Pierre du Verdonay (Verdonnet?) in the presence of his godmother and grandmother, Françoise des Granges. Due to this discrepency in the script, it is difficult to know precisely when and where Pierre Du Bourg was baptized. 

Today, the Du Bourg Book of Hours resides in the Permanent Collection at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. In 2005, Professor Evelyn Staudinger who is an art history professor at Wheaton purchased the book from the Les Enluminures Gallery in Chicago with the Newell Bequest Fund. The college decided to purchase the book for teaching purposes, and indeed the book has been and continues to be used to teach the history of illuminated manuscripts and Latin. 

Text sources:

Master of Jean Charpentier, The Du Bourg Book of Hours. Translated by Edward Gallagher, Professor of French. Tours: Workshop of Master of Jean Charpentier, 1475.

Christopher de Hamel, A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, Boston: Phaidon Press Limited, 1986.

Sandra Hindman, Book of Hours/Livres d'Heures, Chicago: Imprimerie Schiffer, 2000.

Image Source: 

http://mdid.wheatoncollege.edu/result.aspx, accessed April 20, 2014.