Portland State Magazine Spring 2015

10 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE SPRING 2015 MOST BOOKS tell a story through the words on the page, but Portland State Library’s new Book of Hours weaves a tapes- try richer than words. Through the feel of its pages, its colors, its calligraphy and artistic illuminations, it tells the story of the people who created and owned it five centuries ago. An exhibit of the book—the first intact medieval manu- script in the library’s Special Collections—was created by PSU students enrolled in a unique seminar taught winter term by art history professor Anne McClanan. “Texts of Time: The Portland State Book of Hours and the Medieval Manuscript Tradition” is on display in the library through June 31, and highlights students’ research on the book. The Book of Hours was the most common manuscript in the middle ages. It consists of a cycle of prayers and psalms to be recited at specific times of day—an abbreviated form of the devotions performed by monks. The most famous of these books were lavishly illuminated and owned by the wealthy, but middle class people often had their own, more modest versions—like the one at PSU. The PSU Book of Hours lacks the detail and personalization that would indicate it was owned by a noble, but McClanan’s students are fairly certain that the original owner was a bour- geois man or woman who most likely acquired the manuscript in Paris between 1450 and 1475. “Still, it displays exquisite floral decoration in its margins,” says McClanan. “These borders come alive with vivid red and blue blooms, all set against delicate curving lines that are characteristic of Parisian manuscripts of the time.” APART FROM its beauty, the PSU Book of Hours’ illustra- tions and hand lettering reveal the similarities and differences between the pre-modern mindset and that of today. For instance, modern people think of time much differ- ently, says McClanan. For us, time is an arrow flying into the future—a moment happens and then it’s gone. But the medieval mind understood time quite differently—as a cycle of hours, days, months and seasons that recurred regularly and varied little. The Book of Hours is a tangible example of this concept of time. The challenge for students in McClanan’s Medieval Manu- script Exhibition Research and Design Workshop was to make sense of the book and decide what kind of story they wanted the exhibit to tell. They asked questions such as, How was the book made? How was it used? What was its significance as a religious object, or as a personal possession? The seminar also had an interdisciplinary aspect. In addition to undergraduate art history students, participants included a graduate student in French philology—the study of historical texts—and a post-baccalaureate researcher in chemistry who was interested in art conservation. The chemistry student, Kenna Miller, worked with her advisor who specializes in art conservation, chemistry professor Tami Lasseter Clare. Miller analyzed the chemical composition of the ink and parchment to gain insight into how or where the manuscript was made. The results of the chemical analysis are integrated into the exhibit. THE MANUSCRIPT’S purchase and student research were supported by private funds and individuals. The library purchased the manuscript through a new special acquisitions fund supported by the estate of alumnus Gordon Hunter. Research materials and lab costs were covered through Normandie and Bob Holmes, who fund Special Collections projects. And in February, Portland philanthropist Richard Brown funded a trip for the seminar students to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Center to meet with professional curators and get a behind-the-scenes look at how they develop manuscript exhibits. The exhibit is also available to view online at bit.ly/PSUBookOfHours.  Suzanne Gray is marketing manager for the PSU College of the Arts. A BOOK OF HOURS STORY WR I T T E N B Y SUZANNE GRAY The Pa st