TROUT   [4] 

 
 
  The most popular devotional book of the late Middle Ages. It was modelled on the monastic Office of the Virgin, a body of psalms, prayers and other texts to be read in honour of the Virgin Mary. 

The Office was divided into eight parts, to be read during the eight canonical hours of the monastic day: Matins around 2.30 am, Lauds between 3 and 5 am, Prime at 6 am, Terce at 9 am, Sext at noon, None at 3 in the afternoon, Vespers at sunset and Compline in the late evening. In the busy secular world outside the monastery, however, it was very difficult to find the time to recite the entire Office. A shorter version was developed, called the Little Office, or more commonly the Hours of the Virgin. 

The Hours of the Virgin formed the heart of, and provided the name for, the Book of Hours. In addition to the Little Office, most books of hours contain a Calendar, designating the important feast days, extracts from the Gospels, a Litany of prayers to the Saints and, finally, the Office of the Dead. Other texts could be added; the decision about which texts to include would probably be made by the patron, perhaps in consultation with her chaplain.

(Eric Inglis, Commentary to The Hours of Mary of Burgundy.
Manuscript facsimile. London : Harvey Miller, c1995)

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