Text & Spirit - Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization

For the first time, the museum is showcasing its complete collection of late medieval illuminated manuscripts in the exhibition. These include books and fragments decorated with exquisite illuminations and ornaments in gold, lapis lazuli or purple. What use are books of hours from the Middle Ages to us today though? Text & Spirit sheds light on various parallels between then and now, drawing a comparison between the books of hours and today’s smartphones.

The focus lies on the impact of both as life companions, which are simultaneously means of communication and objects of prestige. Their significance reaches the status of fashionable, performative accessories. The exhibition thus offers a new perspective on medieval books of hours based on the 21st century as the age of digital communication. The exhibition is part of a digitisation project funded by the Department of Culture and Science of the City of Frankfurt am Main.