The Medieval Calendar

• A sumptuously illustrated guide to the vigils, moveable feasts and saint’s days that marked the medieval year
• All examples are drawn from The Morgan Library’s unparalleled manuscript collection, and illuminated by the lucid explanations of the collection’s curator
• Ideal for those with an interest in medieval history, its literature or religion, who have wondered about the significance of these markers

The intricacies of the medieval calendar are examined in this sumptuously illustrated volume, featuring many of the finest examples from The Morgan Library’s unparalleled collection. The lucid and concise text explains the complexities of Vigils, octaves, Egyptian Days, Golden Numbers, Dominical Letters, movable feasts and the key role played by the saints days, including the colours in which they are written as well as their rankings and gradings. A royal thirteenth-century Breviary made for a French queen to use in the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris is fully reproduced, transcribed and analysed to reveal its true meaning. The author also shares his step-by-step method to localise a medieval calendar and discover its use; readers learn how to assess a calendar’s roster of liturgical feasts as a key to revealing the place where it was destined to be used. Published to accompany a major exhibition, this volume provides a fascinating view into the mysteries of the Middle Ages.

Roger S. Wieck is the Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York.