Spectacular medieval books on show in Bruges

Back in the Middle Ages, people from both the higher and the lower classes were concerned with the present as well as the hereafter. Reading from handwritten devotional books, they recited all kinds of prayers (matins, lauds, primes, terces, sexts, nones, vespers and complines) at fixed times during the day and night to beg protection from illness and for their later salvation. Plague, epidemics and especially cancer worried them. Cancer was said to be a disease ‘that no doctor can cure’. Faith and medicine went hand in hand.

Prominent people wanted to be seen with refined versions of such books of hours: parchment or sturdy paper copies decorated with gold leaf and miniatures in the most precious colours and encased in covers of leather-covered wood or brass. These small books were an essential tool in the exercise of godliness but therefore also reflected the social status of their owners. Faith reached out to vanity for those who were portrayed by masters, such as Jan Van Eyck, Hans Memling or Petrus Christus. In addition to masterpieces of art, the exhibition shows specimens of lesser quality: almost worn out, with signs of use, such as candle wax, smudges and notes, such as the dates of birth and death of the owner's family members.

Fifteenth-century splendour will be on show until 7 October at the Groeninge Museum in Bruges.