‘The Art of the Scribe’ – Winner in the British Book Awards

Art of the Scribe book and Britich Book Award TrophyI was absolutely stunned and truly delighted that my latest book for the British Library (published in March 2025) won in the ‘Scholarly, Academic and Reference’ category of the British Book Awards sponsored by the British Printing Industries Federation.

I was thrilled when I heard that the British Library had nominated my book for this Award, even more so when it was shortlisted.

However, I did practise my loser’s smile, not looking too disappointed, but the other book was a worthy winner (as in the BAFTAs)!

 

When it came to this category, there were three other books that looked like very worthy winners, and having looked at them, I was pretty sure who would win – not mine.

When the book wasn’t even Highly Commended (Runner Up), I took a bit of a back seat – it had been a good evening, and at least the book was shortlisted.

 

 

 

 

Then came the ‘And the Winner is …’ moment. I absolutely couldn’t believe it when ‘The Art of the Scribe’ was announced with this citation on the left (also in the ‘Book of Winners and Nominees’ given to everyone afterwards)! It was just tremendous!

 

 

 

 

Winning Team! Art of the Scribe editor, Alison Moss, John Lee, Head of Publishing at the British Library and Patricia Lovett, authorThe Award was presented by Heather O’Connell, Publishing Consultant, Coach and Trainer at Bluebird Consulting. When I thanked her afterwards she actually said something on the lines of when we saw your book we hardly thought it worth looking at the others, it stood out so much! Also on the platform was heather herself and Lucy Mangan, artist and author (right)

 

 

And the double spread in the ‘Book of Winners and Nominees’ which was distributed after the presentations was a thrill too.

 

April in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

April in the in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry April is the month for engagements in the Trés Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, and shown here is a very elegant group dressed in rich fabrics with the happy couple giving and taking the engagement ring. The striking blue of the cloak of the man on the left, the woman sitting, that of the sky, and the semicircles above completely balances in the painting.

 

 

April heavens in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de BerryAt the top of the image, as with all of these Labours of the Month in the Très Riches Heures, is a semicircle with repeated fine shell gold lines encasing two wide blue borders. The sun in its winged chariot and pulled by horses – picked out by shades of blue and highlights of gold – are in the inner one, and in the outer one are the astrological signs for the month – Aries the Ram and Taurus the Bull.

April in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry castleOn many such pages the Van Lymborch Brothers include one of the Duc de Berry’s castles and houses, and that is the case here. This time it’s the Château de Dourdan with it’s fine red tiled roof, high walls, and many conical towers.

Men fishingBelow the castle are the tiniest of boats, two of them, each containing a man rowing. Between them the floats for a net attached to each of the boats are shown by tiny dots, and to the left is what looks like a weir.

 

Walled gardenCarefully and exquisitely painted is the edge of a stone building with four diamond leaded light windows, and a walled garden with well-kept beds and fruit trees in blossom – appropriate for the month. Some plants are being trained up the back wall – espaliers – and there is a trellis separating parts of the garden.

 

 

 

But the main focus is the engagement with the four main figures in the foreground. Their clothes are rich and colourful, the ultramarine blue of the man on the right offering the engagement ring is particularly striking, especially in contrast to his gloriously plumed red hat! His bride-to-be looks suitably modest as she accepts the ring; she’s wearing a paler blue gown decorated with a regular deeper blue pattern, which so cleverly changes according to the folds lower down as she hitches up the skirt. Behind them are probably her parents, her mother in a rather sombre black dress but with bright red sleeves for contrast, looks as if she is encouraging her daughter to accept, and her father on the left, in a subdued grey gown with gold trim, is supporting his wife. His gown may be sombre but note that extravagant black hat and those red stockings!!

Two women one in a pretty pink dress clinched at the waist with a gold belt, her flaxen hair loose and falling in waves to her waist, wears a circlet of gold roses, on her head, and her companion, with a rather strangely shaped ultramarine blue hat decorated with pearls and a gold medallion, has a deep blue dress and a black and white over-tunic. It looks as if they may be picking flowers perhaps to create bouquets on such an auspicious day.

Yet again the Van Lymborch brothers have created a wonderfully joyful page, full of details and painted exquisitely.

For more Labours of the Month click on these links:  JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberJanuary, February and https://www.patricialovett.com/march-in-the-tres-riches-heures-of-the-duc-de-berry/

 

 

 

King John’s Tomb

Tomb of King JohnKing John really hasn’t got a good press, especially compared with his older brother, Richard the Lionheart of Robin Hood fame, John just doesn’t have that same star quality, despite him being the favourite of his father, Henry II. As the youngest son of Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine, he wasn’t expected to either inherit significant lands – leading to his nickname ‘John Lackland (Jean sans Terre) – nor to become king as he did in 1199.

There are reasons for his unpopularity of course, John lost much of the land ruled by the English in France and raised heavy taxes for military campaigns to try to get it back. And then there is the famous Magna Carta, sealed, not signed, at Runnymead, forced on John by his nobles.

Head of King John on his tombJohn died of dysentery while on a campaign in eastern England and died in Newark on the night of 18–19 October 1216. His wish was that he should be buried at Worcester Cathedral so that he could be near the shrines of the Anglo-Saxon saints St Oswald and St Wulfstan, and small effigies of the saints appear next to him on the top of his tomb – one of them is just visible by to his head. His complete  tomb, looking back down the nave is above.

Manuscript image of King John's funeralJohn’s funeral is depicted here in a later British Library manuscript (Egerton MS 3028, f.6r) where the text also states that John was buried between his two favoured saints. The image, though, doesn’t show the many mounted knights in armour who accompanied John’s coffin to its final resting place.

 

 

 

 

Remains of King John's hoseWhen John’s tomb was opened they found that some of the textiles had amazingly survived. These fragments are of the fine hose in which he was buried. The fabric is so fine that it’s difficult to know whether they were made from woven material or knitted.

 

 

 

 

Embroidered textiles wrapped round King John's bodyAnother piece of fabric is this beautiful embroidered cloth, it shows a lion (the lion of England?), in raised stitches, with gold and silver thread on the head; this was wrapped round John’s body.

 

 

 

 

 

King John's shoesAnd this is the sole of one of his shoes; it’s made of leather and there are clear indications that not only has it been worn – it looks quite rough and the stitching shows wear and tear – but there is even an indentation as the shoe moulded round his feet!

 

 

 

 

Tiled pavement around King John's tombThe glorious tiled pavement looks mediæval with its terracotta background and yellow pattern, but they are in fact Victorian and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and made by the firm Godwin of Lugwardine, the design being copied from the surviving historical tiles. It does give John’s rather sombre chest tomb a colourful background.

 

 

 

 

Worcester CathedralIt does seem quite amazing that this historical tomb has survived since 1216 and so, too, the artefacts found within it.

 

 

 

 

All photographs © Patricia Lovett 2026

March in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

This ‘miniature’ (it’s quite big!) for March in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry is one that was not finished by the Van Lymborch Brothers. It is their original drawing, and they painted a portion of the Château of Lusignan over five years from 1411 to 1416 (no doubt working on many other paintings at the time!), but it was completed by Barthélemy d’Eyck around 1446. The Labours of the Month for March as depicted here are ploughing, pruning vines, sowing seed and grazing sheep.

 

 

As an aside: The painting in the Très Riches Heures above by Barthélemy d’Eyck is not of the best and certainly not up to the standard of the Van Lymborch Brothers. This is not because d’Eyck wasn’t competent, as it is thought that he was the Master of the Aix Annunciation and Master of René d’Anjou – the titles alone being evidence of excellence – and this painting on the left shows that he certainly had the highest of standards, so it is likely that this miniature, too, is unfinished by him.

 

 

The main figure on the foreground is the ploughman, who certainly does not look happy in his work! His grey outer tunic is frayed at the hem, and has also been patched with a square of red fabric. His stockings too have big holes in the knees. His black hat pulled low over his brow covers a red scarf. The rich ultramarine blue of his under-tunic, though, suggests either a level of wealth not obvious in his other clothing, or a need to introduce this precious pigment perhaps as a balance to the glorious blue of the semi-circle of the heavens at the top. This and the red really do make this figure pop in a rather dull beige area, drawing the eye downwards.

 

The depiction of the plough is particularly fine with the metal coulter making the vertical cuts clearly shown as well as the mouldboard which lifts and turns the soil. The contrast between the ploughed and non-ploughed field is well marked.

 

 

An indication that even d’Eyck didn’t finish this large miniature is shown by the two oxen pulling the plough. They have no heavy collars to attach them to the plough and only the flimsiest of one rein joining them to the ploughman – certainly not enough to control two strong animals.

 

At the crossroads of the intersection is a carved stone monument. the stepped hexagonal plinth leads to a hexagonal column on which are carved figures, three can be seen. Above that on a carved stone platform are more figures and the pillar is topped by a decorated spire.

 

 

 

The section of figures pruning vines is particularly sketchy and is clearly not completed. There is also a confusing area which at first could be thought to be a figure half-buried using a mattock, but on closer examination the tool is sitting on the ground beside a black hat and a piece of white cloth.

 

The depiction of the Château of Lusignan is also incomplete, lacking the precision and detail shown in other months of the year. With round towers, one topped by a golden dragon, stout walls and dwellings inside it is very much a castle, but without the finishing touches and finesse of those depicted in other months.

As with all the Labours of the Month, the main image is topped by the precisely drawn shell gold and rich ultramarine blue semicircles of the appropriate signs of the Zodiac, here Pisces is giving way to Aries. Inside the semicircle, the Sun is being pulled by winged horses.

This is a typical tour-de-force of design by the Van Lymborch Broethers, but it is a pity that neither they nor Barthélemy d’Eyck finished it.

For more Labours of the Month click on these links:   JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberJanuary, and February

December in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

The ‘Labour’ of the Month for December in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry is boar hunting as evidenced by this rather gory image of a dead boar lying in its own blood having been hunted by dogs. It is hardly a labour apart from for the huntsmen involved! Three men are really struggling to control the dogs even though the boar is clearly dead.

 

The huntsman on the right in the miniature is blowing a horn, which is attached to his body by thick leather straps going over his right shoulder; he is supporting the horn in his right hand which is awkwardly twisted round (it would be more natural if it was held with his hand the other way round so that his thumb is the most visible with the tips of his fingers indicating the grip). In his other hand he holds a long spear. The white highlights really do stand out on the horn, and also the single dot as the white of his eye. He is wearing a fur hat, a glorious blue tunic which looks thick and warm and which is pulled in by a black belt, and he also wears a black undershirt with black boots.

 

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - huntsman in red tunic holding back a hunting dogOpposite him is a burly fellow with tousled hair and a bushy beard endeavouring to pull a brown dog which is wearing a heavy thick collar away from the boar. He is grabbing it by the ears, and the dog’s expression clearly shows that it is not enjoying the restraint! On the right of this huntsman’s red tunic are straps to leash the dogs. The dog’s teeth and the spittle from its mouth show how fierce these dogs are!

 

 

 

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - huntsman in red tunic holding a fierce dogThe third figure in this image is another huntsman looking rather disgruntled. He is wearing a blue hat with strips hanging over his shoulders, and his tunic is red and brown with a black and white check band over his shoulder; this tunic is held in with a black belt from which are hanging both his hunting horn and leashes for the dogs. He is holding on to a lead which is wound round his wrist and attached by a blue collar to a large brown dog clearly resisting being pulled away, as can be seen by the acute angle of its back legs and the way in which its collar is being pulled from its neck. Despite his two-coloured tunic his socks with large holes are falling down and his expression is one where he looks as if he wants to get back in the warm!

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - hunting dogs attacking a boarThe dogs look so vicious and I pity the poor boar who mustn’t have had much of a chance with this pack! They are beautifully painted, though, and the way in which they are pulling at the boar is depicted so well – there is a real tension there.

 

 

 

 

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - Chateau de VincennesAs with many of the images in this manuscripts, one of the Duc de berry’s castles is shown in the distance. This time it’s the Château de Vincennes, its towers stand proud over the canopy of winter trees.

 

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - semi circle of depiction of the heavens at this monthEach month has a semi-circle of the heavens and astrological signs heading the main image, and December is no different. Sagittarius gives way to Capricorn and the sun chariot, drawn by four horses, relentlessly moves across the sky in the centre.

December in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - single pageYet again the incredible and inventive designs of the Van Lymborch Brothers are evident in this richly painted miniature.

 

 

 

 

 

For other months please click here for July, August, September, October, November, January, February

January in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

January Labour of the Month in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de BerryChristmas wasn’t really celebrated in historical times as a major festival, that was left to the New Year when gifts were exchanged, this was called the étrenne, and where the Duc de Berry was concerned, gifts were lavish and expensive. The Labour of the month for January in many Books of Hours was feasting and warming by the fire. There are some miniatures where people have taken their shoes off so that the heat from a fire is more effective.

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry - table with foodJean, Duc of Berry, is no different, but it is on a different scale altogether! Here in this magnificent colourful image for January, Three men are serving meat at the Duc’s table laden with food, using large knives to do so.

It has been suggested that the two men with their backs to the viewer are pages as they have white linen napkins, one with his over his shoulder, and the other across his body. They may also be to hand to pass to the Duc de Berry when he has rinsed his hands removing the grease from the meat. One of them is wearing spurs, even indoors, indicating that he is ready at any moment to fight for his master.

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry large plate of meatThe Duc’s table, covered by a large white linen cloth, is laden with food including chickens and suckling pigs on a huge platter; they are carved by the green-tuniced figure almost in the centre of the image. Some of the carved meat is already on the Duc de Berry’s golden plate. Next to him is his finger bowl to rinse his greasy fingers, although they seem remarkably small as they rest on the table in front of him.

 

 

 

Two little lapdogs are standing on the table with their backs to the chickens and suckling pigs. Although they have their own golden plate, it is pretty unlikely, if my experience of dogs is anything to go by, that they would ignore this huge mound of meat!

The Duc’s white greyhound, meanwhile, is lying down on a rush-matting-covered floor waiting patiently for the kneeling man in sombre clothes enlivened with a red scarf to cut some pieces of meat for him.

 

 

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry firescreen behind the DucThe other usual activity for January’s Labour of the Month is warming by the fire and it is no different in this image. Although he is wearing thick robes and a fur hat, the Duc is here sitting in front of a roaring fire protected by a woven circular firescreen supported by a central carved light wood pole. The flames from the fire can be seen above this. A rush (?) screen such so close as this to the Duc and the fire doesn’t seem that sensible with the sparks from the fire being thrown out!

 

 

 

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry possibly a Van Limbourch BrotherOthers in this image are wearing fur hats and the two behind the Duc, both shown above and in the enlargement here, are thought to be two of the Van Lymborch Brothers. The one nearest to the Duc is leaning rather familiarly on the back of the Duc’s blue-covered bench. Both are wearing matching grey robes, with the one in front having a fur collar and a dark grey or black red tipped scarf, and the one behind warming his elegant fingers by the fire.

The detail on the woven firescreen can be seen better here, with the radiating ‘spokes’ and carefully woven weft, and the change of pattern nearer the edge.

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry golden saly cellar in the shape of a boatThe 1st of January was also a time for gift giving, and it is possible that the magnificent golden salt cellar, to the right of the image, was one such. It is in the shape of a boat and at one end is a figure of a bear, the Duc’s symbol. Between 1401 and 1416 the Duc commissioned 119 objects, gave 231 gifts, and received 358 gifts from 136 different people – some gift giving, and the gifts were probably more than a pair of socks!!

 

 

 

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry enlargement to show textile detailIn this enlargement of the man almost in the centre of the image, the lavishness of the court dress and excellency of skill of the Van Lymborch Brothers is clearly seen. His tunic is lined with brown fur and the thickness of it can be seen in the way that it hangs and the slight bunching above his black belt – although, of course, this could also be due to the generosity of the Duc’s table! A delicate darker green pattern covers his tunic which is shown slashed in two places, and there is a gold chain dangling from an elaborate collar hanging right down to the hem. The grey-blue pattern, fringing and folds are clearly depicted on the linen napkin which is draped over his shoulder.

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry enlargement to show textile detailSimilarly, the man next to him has a fur-lined tunic which is slashed but it is light and dark gray in vertical sections this time with a green leaf pattern overall. His wide, rather low slung belt is carefully painted and long tassels hang down from it. Just shown is his dark grey fur-lined cloak folded carefully over one shoulder.

 

 

 

 

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry enlargement to show Zodiac detailSimilar to the other calendar pages in this Book of Hours, this page is topped by a deep blue, ultramarine, semi-circular depiction of the Zodiac at this time with Aquarius the water carrier following Capricorn. The sky is studded with shell gold stars, and, in the centre of the semi-circle, the sun in its winged chariot pulled by four horses relentlessly moves across the sky.

January in the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry to show feastingThe exceptional skill of the Van Lymborch Brothers results in this tour-de-force which must have delighted their patron, the Duc de Berry, when he opened this book.

Other calendar pages are here: and February NovemberJulyAugustSeptember, October and February

February in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

December is the month for keeping warm indoors and for cutting wood for fires and taking it into the towns. This is shown for the Labour of the Month in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry. The scene on the left certainly looks very chilly!

 

 

To the right of the miniature a man is stamping his feet in the cold, and his head and upper body are covered with a blanket with his hands raised to his mouth, blowing on them to warm them up. The bee skeps to his right are covered in snow as is the wagon just in front of him.

 

 

 

 

Just above him the woodcutter is swinging his axe to chop down wood for the fires. It must be warm work as he has tucked his blue tunic into his waistband to show his white underpants. To his left a man and a donkey are taking the wood to the town. Note the snow covered hayrick.

 

Interestingly, this image of the man and donkey shows sketched lines from the underdrawing and indicate the way in which the Van Lymborch Brothers altered the final painting from that planned as they worked. The donkey is loaded either side with neatly chopped logs.

 

 

Outside the mainly white sheep with a few black ones huddle together in a wattle-walled enclosure. The roof is thatched but there is a very obvious hole which would have let in the snow. Outside birds peck at seed left on the ground, and there are bound faggots of wood ready to be put on the fire.

 

 

The people who come off best in this image are the three lucky enough to be indoors and sitting in front of a blazing fire. It is painted as though the wall of the building has been removed so we can see the scene. A woman in a glorious blue robe with a black headdress has rather primly raised her dress to her calves revealing a white underskirt. Her companions, a man and a woman sitting on what looks like a blue padded settle, are not quite so delicate – their clothes have been raised to above their knees and it is clear that they have nothing on underneath!

 

As with all the Labours of the Month in this magnificent book, the scene is topped with a semicircular depiction of the heavens and the appropriate signs of the Zodiac. The sun in its winged charity is painted in shades of blue with a glorious gold sun, and wends its way in the centre of the semicircle; on the outer rim, also with a blue background are the signs of Aquarius, the water carrier, and Pisces, fish swimming in opposite directions tied together forever with a cord.

As with all the  miniatures in this glorious book, it is a tour-de-force. Anyone looking at the picture would feel the chill and extreme cold in this snow scene and the figures illustrate clearly the Labours for December from those working outside and being cold to those inside and enjoying the heat.

For other Labours of the Month from this  book click for November, JulyAugustSeptember, and October

November in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

Pannage or ‘common of mast’ is an ancient traditional of letting pigs run in woodlands and forests to eat acorns and nuts. It’s shown here in the Labour of the Month for November painted in exquisite detail by the three Van Lymborch Brothers for the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry. Pigs are busy eating acorns in the foreground with others in the woods.

 

Each page for the Labours of the Month is topped with a semi-circle of the Zodiac symbols associated with the time of year, here Scorpio can be seen on the left and Sagittarius on the right, both are in shadow within the glorious ultramarine background. In the middle of the semi-circle the relentless movement of the sun in a chariot is drawn by four winged horses.

On the left of the image a man wearing a pink tunic and a black scull cap holds in his hand what looks like a whip. This is possibly to knock more acorns from the trees, although if it is a whip, it doesn’t look long enough to be effective on the tall trees on the right. He has grey socks pulled up to his knees and it looks like garters are tied round at the top to keep them up. His dog looks totally fed up sitting beside him!

 

 

 

The pigs are shown in great detail, busily eating the acorns on the ground, and even the acorns, at this tiny detail, are clearly depicted. When magnified each ‘nut’ is sitting in a cup and there is even a highlight of white on each one.

 

 

It is quite amazing how much detail the Van Lymborch Brothers have put into the pigs. The body has been painted in various shades of brown to give shape, and then white and brown bristles have been added individually with short strokes of the brush; there are more white bristles where there needs to be highlights as here on the face of the middle pig.

 

 

 

Even the curly tails have been painted as this pig, backside in the air, buries his face in bushes to get at the acorns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a similar way, the leaves on the trees give great depth to the woodland with even individual leaves in various shades of green being indicated.

 

 

 

This page is yet another tour-de-force from the Van Lymborch Brothers who have most admirable skills in being able to change 3D into 2D.

For other Labours of the Month from this book click for July, August, September, and October.

 

October in the Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

The Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry are lavish in the extreme, written in a precise and regular Gothic Textura, accompanied by exquisite paintings by the three Van Lymborch Brothers. There’s more on the Duc de Berry in a previous blogpost here. Each month of the year shows a calendar of saints’ days, feast and holy days, with a Labour of the Month opposite. October is the month for preparing the soil, breaking it down to fine tilth by harrowing, and sowing seeds before winter sets in.

Atop each calendar page is a semi-circular painting of the sky at that time of year with the star sign of Libra giving way to that of Scorpio. In the inner part of the hemisphere is the relentless passage of the sun, drawn by in this case wingèd horses rather than a wingèd chariot. The subtleties in shades of ultramarine blue to depict this scene really are incredible.

In many of the Van Lymborch paintings the palaces, castles and châteaux of the Duc de Berry are included, and this calendar page is no exception; this time it’s the Palais de Louvre in Paris. This is a magnificent building having a high surrounding wall with round towers, boxy projections over the wall, and battlements with arrow slits. The palace itself inside the wall is huge, as would be expected, with again round towers and battlements, cone-shaped roofs and many chimneys.

In the foreground a man with a black head covering, dressed in what looks like an expensive red tunic with a black pouch attached to a belt around his waist, rides a horse with a rather impractical white saddle cloth – in fact the whole ensemble looks more appropriate for a courtier than a man working the soil. The horse is pulling a harrow, a wooden frame with spikes underneath, to break up the lumps in the soil, remove weeds and create a suitable seedbed. Note the scarecrow behind holding a bow and arrow. It doesn’t seem to be that effective with all the birds around. There are even white strings stretched out over that far bed to try to keep birds off the seeds.

The painting of the harrow is particularly detailed with the struts of the wooden frame and the spikes going in to the ground clear even at this tiny scale. A heavy stone balanced on the harrow ensures that it doesn’t just bounce along on the surface. Magpies and crows are nearby ready to peck at any worms disturbed by the process, and the Van Lymborch Brothers in their usual ‘earthy’ way even include yellow horse droppings in this painting. Note the number of tiny brush strokes with various colours of brown and some white which give such a good effect in depicting the soil.

 

 

The man sowing the seeds also wears a brightly coloured tunic, this time in blue, with his pouch at his waist just below the white ‘apron’ arrangement which holds the seeds being scattered by his right hand. The pouch itself is intriguing; it looks as if it is expandable with a ‘concertina’ of pink leather or fabric between the two black covers, the visible top one being decorated. Two straps, one with a buckle, hang down from the wider side of the pouch and would be used to close it when there is less inside. His expression is not a happy one, and this may be because he is cold – look at the holes in his stockings and the way in which they are frayed at the bottom – or he may just be fed up that the seed he’s sowing is being eaten so quickly by the birds. The detail in such a small figure is simply amazing!

Yet again the Van Lymborch Brothers have excelled themselves in terms of exquisite and supreme craftsmanship, attention to detail and recording farming activities for the month.

There are other blogposts on the months in the Très Riches Heures: July here, August here, and September here.

September in The Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry

September, © 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

September is the month for harvesting fruit, and this is shown as the Labour of the Month in The Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry. Here workers are bending over picking grapes from vines and loading them on to barrels on a cart drawn by oxen on the right of the picture, and on to a donkey with panniers in the middle, both to be taken to the press. As always the scene is set with a brilliant ultramarine sky and topped by an arch showing the appropriate signs of the Zodiac.

 

September signs of the Zodiac. © 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

As would be expected at this time of the year, the Zodiac signs are Virgo followed by Libra, encircling the sun in its wingèd chariot rolling ever onwards. Two shades of ultramarine have been used – a paler one for Virgo and a darker one for Libra, and the signs are painted painted subtly in similar colours highlighted with gold, but are still easily visible. The semi-circles are inscribed by shell gold lines drawn with compasses, and these are divided into smaller sections such as days and phases of the moon.

Château de Samour
© 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

In each calendar page the Van Lymborch Brothers depict a castle, château or palace owned by the Duc de Berry and this page is no exception. The building shown is the Château de Saumur in the Loire Valley. It seems as if the architect has had a field day on turrets, towers and chimneys as these totally dominate the skyline. There are also crenelations under and on top of many of the towers adding to the decoration of the building. The access to the Château is by a high bridge, separated from the building itself by a wooden drawbridge for defence, which can be easily raised if the building is attacked.

Harvesting grapes
© 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

In the foreground workers are busy bending over to harvest grapes – it is interesting that the vines are so low requiring such stooping; not being a viticulture specialist, this may have been the way of growing grapes at the time and it was only later when the vines were trained on wires. Two of them are standing up, a woman, who looks pregnant, is adjusting her headgear which has a long length of cloth trailing down her back, and the other, looking rather young, is eating probably a bunch of grapes. The donkey with almost full panniers is waiting patiently for more bunches to be loaded on to his back.

Grapes loaded into barrels on a cart drawn by oxen are being taken off to the winery
© 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

On the right of the image, grapes are harvested by one man bending over. He’s wearing jaunty blue socks and a short brown tunic – it’s a good thing he’s also wearing white pants! Oxen are waiting patiently ready to pull the cart of grapes loaded into barrels off to be made into wine.

 

September in The Très Riches Heures
© 2025 Patricia Lovett MBE

As with every image in The Très Riches Heures painted by the Van Lymborch Brothers, the imagination in design, exquisite execution at such a small scale and exuberance is wonderful and truly admirable (yes, and enviable!).