Vele schoone beelden die noyt ghesien en waren: new pictorial and meditative layers in Thielman Kerver’s 1522 Dutch-language book of hours
- Editor(s):
- Melion, W.S.; Pieper, C.; Smith, P.J.; Traninger, A.
Abstract
The Parisian printer Thielman Kerver published eight Dutch-language Books of Hours between 1500 and 1522. From the very beginning of his engagement with the Book of Hours in Dutch, Kerver introduced important visual innovations. As declared on the title page of the edition of 1522, a new image cycle, never seen before by readers of Dutch-language Books of Hours, had been added to the Penitential Psalms and the Vigil. Focusing on the metalcuts that tell the story of King David and accompany the Penitential Psalms, this chapter explores the new pictorial elements introduced in Kerver’s final edition and argues that they provided readers with a detailed narrative upon which to meditate while reciting the psalms and taking on the voice of the Psalmist as their own. Simultaneously, the episodes from David’s life could also have prompted readers to create a narrative of their own, based on personal experience.
