Illuminated around 1500 by the artist
Jean Poyer, The Hours of Henry VIII
receives its name from the possible but
unproven eighteenth-century tradition
that holds King Henry of England once
owned this splendid manuscript. By
following the simple instructions, you
can explore every painting of this
Renaissance masterpiece and learn
how Books of Hours helped their readers
to pray.
Books of Hours contain more or less
standard texts—Calendar, Gospel
Lessons, Hours of the Virgin, Hours
of the Cross, Hours of the Holy Spirit,
Penitential Psalms with Litany, Office
of the Dead, and Suffrages—as well as
a number of common accessory
prayers. Based on the frequency and
variety of added devotions, it appears
that scribes included these for owners
who wished to personalize their prayer
books.
St. Adrian: Martyrdom of Adrian
Border: Christians in Prison (fol. 181v)
The miniature shows Adrian's
two-part martyrdom. He is seated
on the anvil, his intestines having
already fallen out, as two
executioners begin to hack off his
legs. Adrian looks heavenward, while
in the background Natalia prays
contentedly; the emperor, at the
left, directs the torture.
Adrian (or Hadrian) was a young Praetorian Guard in Nicomedia under Emperor Maximian (r. 286–305). The soldier was converted by witnessing the steadfast confidence of a group of Christians under torture. Impressed by their constancy, he asked to be counted among their ranks. Needless to say, Adrian was promptly arrested and imprisoned. His new wife, Natalia, (a secret Christian) was overjoyed, ran to the prison, and encouraged him to remain firm in his new faith, kissing his chains. When he learned the date of his impending martyrdom, the saint convinced the guards to allow him to tell his wife so that she could witness the event.
On the day of his death (ca. 300), Adrian was first beaten so severely that his "bowels fell out." After he was returned to prison, the emperor ordered that the legs of all the imprisoned martyrs be broken on an anvil and cut off. Natalia, who was present, additionally requested that the guards cut off her husband's hands, so that he would be equal to other saints who had suffered more. After Adrian's death Natalia managed to get away with a hand (holding it to her bosom), taking it with her to Argyropolis, where she died peacefully.
In the margin a jailer guards
the imprisoned Christians who
prompted Adrian's conversion.
(Feast day: September 8, the
translation of his relics to Rome)
