The Belleville Breviary (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS lat. 10484, 2 volumes) is an illuminated

breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such ...

. It was produced in Paris some time between 1323 and 1326 by the artist known as

Jean Pucelle Jean Pucelle (c. 1300 – 1355; active c. 1320–1350) was a Parisian Gothic-era manuscript illuminator who excelled in the invention of drolleries as well as traditional iconography. He is considered one of the best miniaturists of ...

,Deuchler (1971), 253 probably for

Jeanne de Belleville Jeanne de Clisson (1300–1359), also known as Jeanne de Belleville and the Lioness of Brittany, was a French / Breton former noblewoman who became a privateer to avenge her husband after he was executed for treason by the French king. She cros ...

, the wife of Olivier IV de Clisson. The breviary is divided into two volumes of 446 and 430 folios. Volume 1 contains the prayers used during the summer, while volume 2 contains those used during the winter. The manuscript was owned by Jeanne de Belleville. It was later owned by

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...

and his son Charles VI. Charles VI gave the manuscript to his son-in-law

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...

gave it to

Jean, Duc de Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

. Jean gave it to his niece Marie, who was a nun at

Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one ...

. It was purchased in 1454 by another nun at Poissy, Marie Jouvenal des Ursins.

Notes

References

*Deuchler, Florens. "Jean Pucelle – Facts and Fictions". ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin''. Volume 29, no. 6, 1971 *Walther, Ingo; Norbert Wolf. ''Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600''. Köln: Taschen, 2005

External links

Digitised facsimile (volume Summer) on GallicaDigitised facsimile (volume Winter) on Gallica
Illuminated breviaries Bibliothèque nationale de France collections {{RC-book-stub