Image of the Month for December: The Annunciation to the Shepherds
This
festive image of the Annunciation to the shepherds is taken from a Latin
incunable book of hours from 1488, printed in Paris by Philippe Pigouchet for
the Parisian publisher Simon Vostre. The book contains a series of beautiful
metalcuts that illustrate the Christmas story.
The shepherds and seated shepherdess are identified by the sheep, their staves, and pipes. Above their heads, two angels are shown announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds. The scroll they carry holds their message: Gloria in altissimi[s] Deo in terra p[ax], “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace”.
Books of hours were devotional books of prayer used by individuals at home rather than in church. The books served as personal religious guides, with calendars of feast days, popular psalms, and, at their heart, a set of daily prayers to the Virgin tied to the hours of the day. The image of the Annunciation accompanies the psalms and prayers for terce, which were said at 9am. They often contained a very large number of illustrations - both because they were pleasing to look at, and also because their messages could be understood by children and those whose ability to read was limited. The images also provided an opportunity for spiritual reflection and prayer for salvation. At the foot of the page is the first verse of the sixty-ninth Psalm: “Deus in adjutorium meum intende," with the response: "Domine ad adjuvandum me festina…”, an aid to meditation on the life of the Virgin.
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Horae ad usum Rothmagensem, (Paris: Philippe Pigouchet, for Simon Vostre, 30 April 1498).