Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
illuminated manuscript book of hours
The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (French pronunciation: [tʁɛ ʁiʃz‿œʁ dy dyk də beʁi]; lit. 'The very rich Hours of the Duke of Berry'), or Très Riches Heures (also referred to more colloquially as "The Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry") is an illuminated manuscript that was created between c. 1412 and 1416. It is a book of hours, which is a Christian devotional book and collection of prayers said at canonical hours that originated in the 13th century as a means of bringing daily prayer to the laiety, or laypeople. The manuscript was created for John, Duke of Berry, the brother of King Charles V of France, by Limbourg brothers Paul, Johan and Herman. The book is now MS 65 in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France.
Consisting of a total of 206 leaves of very fine quality parchment, 30 cm (12 in) in height by 21.5 cm (8+1⁄2 in) in width, the manuscript contains 66 large miniatures and 65 small. The design of the book, which is long and complex, has undergone many changes and reversals. Many artists contributed to its miniatures, calligraphy, initials, and marginal decorations, but determining their precise number and identity remains a matter of debate. Painted largely by artists from the Low Countries, often using rare and costly pigments and gold, and with an unusually large number of illustrations, the book is one of the most lavish late medieval illuminated manuscripts. The work was created in the late artistic phase of the International Gothic style.
When the Limbourg brothers and their sponsor died in 1416 (possibly victims of plague) the manuscript was left unfinished.
“Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry” enters the record as illuminated manuscript book of hours. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Très, Riches and Heures can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Très, Riches and Heures provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q211062. VIAF identifies the subject as 177784386. The Library of Congress control number is n50036806. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1412 and 1416.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.