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

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 breviary

Breviary

A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...

. It was produced in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 some time between 1323 and 1326 by Jean Pucelle

Jean Pucelle

Jean Pucelle was a Parisian Gothic-era manuscript illuminator, active between 1320 and 1350. His style is characterized by delicate figures rendered in grisaille, accented with touches of color....

. It was probably produced for Jeanne de Belleville, the wife of Olivier 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 King Charles V of France

Charles V of France

Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...

 and his son Charles VI

Charles VI of France

Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...

. Charles VI gave the manuscript to his son-in-law King Richard II of England

Richard II of England

Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

. Henry IV of England

Henry IV of England

Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

 gave it to Jean, Duc de Berry

John, Duke of Berry

John of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...

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

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

 at Poissy

Poissy

Poissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.In 1561 it was the site of a fruitless Catholic-Huguenot conference, the Colloquy at Poissy...

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

External links

• Web gallery of Art