Prayer Book of Bishop Leonhard von Laymingen of Passau

This late medieval German prayer book is an example of a highly personal devotional item. It was originally made ca. 1440 for Leonhard von Laymingen, bishop of Passau (fl. 1423-1451). The text primarily features a series of prayers to various saints as well as prayers for travelings. Many illuminations and some text pages have been excised, but the book is nonetheless extensively decorated. The prayer book's illuminations consist of thirty miniatures and four historiated initials that complement the text, usually with illustrations of saints. Bishop von Laymingen appears in his prayer book several times kneeling before the saint to which that particular prayer is dedicated. Additionally, the Laymingen coat of arms appears twenty times throughout the book.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Leonhard von Laymingen, Bishop of Passau, 1423-1541, by commission; Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.