Prayer books and books of hours from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

bavarikon's selection shows the diversity of prayer books, devotional books and books of hours, which served religious devotion with their very different forms, languages and presentation.

Prayer and meditation is practiced in all religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. Prayers are spoken by people in very different languages all over the world: by lay people and clergy, men and women, the nobility and citizens. Prayer and devotional books are available in many languages and translations, in handwritten and printed form. They are used according to a fixed order in religious services or according to personal choice, in places of worship or in private rooms, in communion with other or by individual prayers.

In Christianity, the psalms contained in the Old Testament served as prayer texts for many centuries. The Psalter developed as a separate book for prayer, devotion and liturgy very early on. In many cases, the books begin with a calendar that indicates the feasts of the saints, with the special days of prayer.

The way people prayed changed fundamentally in the late Middle Ages. The devotional absorption in prayer became more important than the number and sequence of psalms and prayers. The prerequisite for this is an understanding of the text. Which is why more and more prayer books were created in vernacular language and regional dialects at that time, with the illustrations also becoming increasingly richer and some of them being created by renowned artists of the time. The pictures give the praying person a better understanding of the text, but can also serve as a guide for piety exercises.

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek's collection also includes prayer books for other religions and cultures. The two-part manuscript of the Jewish festival prayer book Machsor (Cod.hebr. 4(1 and 2) is shown as an example in bavarikon. The harem lady Düzdidil's prayer book (Cod.turc. 553) and an Ottoman prayer book for the seven days of the week designed as a paper cutting book (Cod.turc. 428) are prominent representative from Islamic culture.

• The objects of the collection "Prayer books and books of hours from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek" available in bavarikon

Further collections of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek on the subject in bavarikon

• Ascetic works from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
• Bibles and biblical books from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
• Liturgical works from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
• Religious texts from non-Christian cultures from the holding of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
• Theology and philosophy - works from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library).

To the collections by topic of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek