Multi-Media
The Golf Book by The British Library
Subject
English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)
Description
The manuscript known as the Golf Book is famous for its lively depictions of sports and pastimes. It takes its name from one of its illustrations which shows an early game of golf. Only parts of the original manuscript survive, including the calendar which is exhibited here.
Technical Support
You can try accessing the book directly from the British Library's page located at: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/virtualbooks/index.html#sthash.xMAlULzj.oF6NDfIR.dpuf
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Content Provider
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest libraries.
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Background Information
The Golf Book is a book of hour, a collection of devotional texts for private prayer. Books of hours were very popular between the 13th and 16th centuries. Each one was unique because it was written and illustrated according to the needs and desires of the person who commissioned it.
The original owner of the Golf Book is unknown, but it was produced by Flemish artist Simon Bening, the leading master of illumination in the 16 century. Bening had a workshop in Bruges, and it is likely that the Golf Book was produced there in the early 1540s. His daughter Levina was also a miniature painter who went on to work as an artist in England.
The British Library purchased the manuscript in 1861. The binding is of purple velvet with silver metalwork and crystal.
British Library Add. MS 24098
