Medieval Books of Hours with Sienna Wells
An invitation to Friday's discussion
After our chat, the link to its recording will be posted below
Welcome! Whether you’re a longtime friend or a new kindred spirit here (I recommend visiting the Village Green to get your bearings), I’m delighted to be a companion to you through the liturgical year.
Pax+bonum, Kristin.
I’m forever fascinated with Medieval Books of Hours (which may go without saying, if you’ve been here for awhile!) The textures, colors, endlessly creative ways of portraying Scripture and hagiography, intricately detailed borders…that sacramental eye toward all the flora and fauna of nature…they’re just the most gorgeous vessels of Medieval timekeeping.
And I suppose that’s what really strikes me most about the Book of Hours: the way it’s a visual union of time and prayer. It marks the sanctity of time, weaving Scripture and Sacred Tradition through the unique life of the book’s owner.
So, my friends, I’m over the moon to let you know that Medieval manuscripts specialist Sienna Wells will be joining us on Friday for a show-and-tell of some Medieval Books of Hours - as well as Q&A time!
One of Sienna’s many gifts is her eye toward the unspoken stories embedded in each Medieval manuscript that she studies…she notices every detail of interaction with the Book of Hours.
“In the process of creating the catalogue, it became very important to me to highlight the human element in medieval books, and the journeys they lived through. From scribal mistakes and the interactions between illuminators and scribes…to physical acts of devotion including kissing and the rubbing of miniatures by owners in their prayer books…to the many hands that helped produce manuscripts, the many owners - and the women who were part of that history.”
Sienna Wells is a Medieval Manuscript Dealer and Historian. She joined Tom W. Ayling Rare Books & Manuscripts in 2024 and is a specialist in medieval and renaissance manuscripts.
Sienna’s Masters thesis was about the Book Of Hours of Nicolas Rolin (Yates Thompson MS 45), and details about her first catalogue of medieval manuscripts can be found here.
Sienna also posts videos about manuscripts and the world of rare books to Instagram and TikTok.
Courtesy of Tom W. Ayling web site
I hope you can join Sienna and I for a fascinating conversation! Here are all the details…
