Medieval Book of Hours donated to University Library

Recently, the University of Groningen Library was gifted a fifteenth-century manuscript, a book of hours. At the time of its creation, books of hours were incredibly popular in the Low Countries for use in private worship. People believed that reading the prayers in the book (out loud) at set times helped one to be a good Christian.

One of these people was Brecht, the first owner of this book of hours. Her book has a remarkable history and connection with Groningen, as Jos Biemans and Anne Korteweg explain in Het boek van Brecht. Een nieuw getijdenboek voor de Universiteitsbibliotheek Groningen, published by UGP.

The book of hours itself has been photographed from cover to cover. These photos can be seen online in our repository.