Black books of hours

The term Black books of hours refers to a type of Flemish illuminated manuscript lettered on vellum soaked on black dye or ink before they were lettered or illustrated, usually with gold or silver leaf, to an unusual and dramatic effect. There are seven surviving examples, mostly dating from 1460–70.

The parchment was soaked in an iron-copper solution and as a result could only be inscribed with gold or silver lettering. The process was both expensive and corrosive to parchment, so surviving examples are few and generally in poor condition. These manuscripts were produced in the mid to late 15th century for high-ranking members of the court of Philip the Good and Charles the Bold and, given their novel visual appeal, were probably prized more highly than more conventional books of hours.

The Burgundian court had a preference for dark, somber colourisation, and the extant works in this style were mostly commissioned for them. Only the most wealthy nobility could have afforded such books, and a contemporary taste for mournful colours - often reflected in the styles of the day - was reflected in the black, gold and silver of the manuscripts. Some of the miniatures in the books, notably in the Morgan library Black Hours, are linked to a follower of Willem Vrelant due to stylistic resemblance to faces from some of his known works.

The surviving manuscripts of this type include;

Horae Beatae Marie Secundum usum curie romane, c 1458

Black Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza; f32v, 33r. The Evangelists and John Gospels

Folios from the "Hours of Mary of Burgundy", c 1477

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