Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry

The Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, or Belles Heures of Jean de Berry (The Beautiful Hours) is an early 15th-century illuminated manuscript book of hours (containing prayers to be said by the faithful at each canonical hour of the day) commissioned by the French prince John, Duke of Berry (French: Jean, duc de Berry), around 1409, and made for his use in private prayer and especially devotions to the Virgin Mary. The Belles Heures is one of the most celebrated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and very few books of hours are as richly decorated as it. Although including all the elements that other books of hours contain, each section of the Belle Heures is customized to the personal wishes of its patron. Furthermore, the Belles Heures contains a series of story-like cycles that read like picture books. Along with the Très Riches Heures, which was also made for Jean, the Belles Heures ranks among the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages. The manuscript is now in The Cloisters in New York.

During the time that the Duke of Berry lived, France was an unsettled country, ravaged by the Hundred Years War and the Black Death, and further disrupted by revolts and rebellions. France was divided by a rivalry between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs and also had a lunatic king, Charles VI, which left the crown in contention and France unstable.

Despite the unstable situation in France, the Duke of Berry, uncle of Charles VI, built many castles and commissioned many works of art. The Duke was renowned for his acquisition and commission of manuscripts and held one of the largest and most varied collections of his age. He was a generous patron and a collector of books. Berry employed the young brothers Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg as illuminators in 1404 following the death of their former patron, his brother Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

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