IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 129: Private Prayer across Time and Media in the Late Middle Ages, I: Temporality in Prayer Books
Monday 6 July 2026, 11:15-12:45
| Sponsor: | Participation through Prayer in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World (PRAYTICIPATE - CA23143) |
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| Organisers: | Anna Dlabacova, Centre for the Arts in Society, Universiteit Leiden Thor-Oona Pignarre-Altermatt, Institut des Civilisations, Arts et Lettres / Centre d'Analyse Culturelle de la Première Modernité, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve |
| Moderator/Chair: | Thor-Oona Pignarre-Altermatt, Institut des Civilisations, Arts et Lettres / Centre d'Analyse Culturelle de la Première Modernité, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve |
| Paper 129-a | Structuring Time: A 21st-Century Reimagining of a Medieval Book of Hours (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Lay Piety, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Religious Life |
| Paper 129-b | From the Passion of Christ to the Cyclical Nature of Liturgical Practices: Temporality in Prayer Books, as Exemplified by MS Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, TP2858 (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - German, Lay Piety, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Monasticism |
| Abstract | Prayer is a deeply temporal practice, structured not only by words but also by books, images, and material scripts that shaped devotional rhythms. From the rubrics and paratexts of prayer books to the poetics of Marian lyrics and rosary cycles, from the eschatological imagery of the Last Judgment to the meditative engagement with sacred images, prayer offered ways to inhabit, organize, and transcend time. This strand examines the intersections of prayer with literary, textual, and visual media, showing how cycles, repetitions, and material forms shaped devotion across late medieval Europe. By placing prayer books, lyrics, and images side by side, the sessions explore how sacred time was marked, represented, and re-imagined in manuscripts, literature, and devotional art. Together, these contributions highlight how private prayer shaped temporal experience through its textual structures, poetic forms, and visual mediations. |