Golf book


The Golf Book is the common name for an illuminated manuscript Book of Hours in the Use of Rome, dating from the 1540s. Only 23 pages remain of the original work created by the renowned illuminator Simon Bening and his studio in Bruges. It owes its popular name to one illustration in the calendar, depicting people playing a game resembling golf. The book is believed to have been created for a Swiss patron, as evidenced by a miniature painting of St Boniface of Lausanne.

Description

The extant folios of the Golf Book are adorned with 21 full-page miniatures and numerous smaller paintings. In its current state, the book commences with a page belonging to the suffrages of the saints, depicting a bishop, likely St Boniface of Lausanne. The subsequent section comprises fragments of the Little Office of the Virgin, illustrated with a cycle of the Passion of Christ. The primary miniatures exhibit influence from a series of engravings of the Passion attributed to the Master of the Gardens of Love.
The last section features the calendar. The representation of each month covers two facing pages, with a full-page illustration on the left-hand page showing the occupations of the months.
At present, the extant folios of the book are in the wrong order; the suffrages of the saints and the Office of the Virgin are placed before the calendar.