Glockendon Hours

Glockendon Hours

Nikolaus Glockendon was the last great master of hand-made book art in Germany. His illuminated manuscripts count among the most highly valued that were ever produced by medieval European illumination. Named after the unbelievably talented master, the Glockendon Hours is one of his most exclusive works and stands out not only because of its noble illustration, but equally so because of its historically significance. The work was made for the young prince of the church, Albrecht von Brandenburg and contains prayer texts for his private devotion. It is adorned with 43 enchanting, full-page miniatures and 62 richly embellished initials.

The End of an Era

When the artist Nikolaus Glockendon appeared, the art of making books by hand was already displaced by book printing to a large extent. As a result, the native of Nuremberg was one of the last illuminators who composed his texts and pictures by hand. Simultaneously, he was one of the most gifted artists in his field. He worked for the wealthiest German princes and had the favor of Albrecht Dürer, probably the greatest artist to come out of Nuremberg. It was also Dürer who made Glockendon known to his eventual patron, Albrecht von Brandenburg. Alongside the prayer book for Cardinal Albrecht, Glockendon produced masterpieces for Duke Johann of Saxony and Duke Albrecht of Prussia.

A German Prince of the Church

Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg was already the Archbishop of Mainz at the age of 23, and as such Metropole of the church province of Mainz, sovereign lord of the Archbishopric of Mainz, Prince-Elector, and Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and eventually a Cardinal of the Roman Church. As a promoter of the selling of indulgences and a high-ranking ecclesiastical dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, he was one of the most important and popular opponents of Martin Luther. In a time during which political life in Germany was characterized by religious upheavals, the strictly religious Catholic and art-lover Albrecht primarily prayed and meditated by himself. It was for this purpose that he commissioned Glockendon with the furnishing of a private book of devotion, worthy of the high-rank of the Prince of the Church.

Enchanting Pictorial Decoration

The harmonious, full-page miniatures of the prayer book show scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and continuously refer to their high-ranking commissioner. An image shows the Coat of Arms of the Archbishop of Mainz in splendid colors. The biblical scenes were transposed into the medieval world. The Salvation History of the New Testament is pictured in the large-format miniatures and is framed by scenes from the Old Testament, which, in the eschatological worldview of the Middle Ages, predicted the events of the New Testament. 62 splendid historiated initials, which were completed by Glockendon’s no-less talented associate Georg Stierlein, ennoble the meticulous script of the prayer book. A highpoint of the enchanting illumination of the work is represented by a graphic print by Albrecht Dürer, which was appended to the manuscript in 1523.