During the Middle-Ages and early Renaissance every person of renown and every person who had any means, possessed a book for personal devotion; a Book of Hours. This, to use a contemporary term, ‘bestseller’ contained a section called The Hours of the Virgin, a set of prayers for each of the canonical hours. It was customary to introduce each hour with a relevant miniature. Miniatures ranged from the most splendid full-page artistic gems to smaller, low-cost humble illuminations.

In practically every book of hours, whether from the Low Countries or elsewhere, Terce, the third canonical hour, is introduced by an illumination of the annunciation to the shepherds. Most miniatures adopt the same image elements: an angel emerges from the clouds, often holding a scroll inscribed “in excelsis deo”, to announce the birth of Christ. The shepherds, at times accompanied by a shepherdess, are seen working, resting or playing the bagpipes, amidst their flocks. In the majority of the terce miniatures they are not shown dancing, rather they are often surprised, startled, even bewildered at the appearance of the angel. However, from time to time the mood changes and then the shepherds dance. The two most likely places to find dancing shepherds, is either in the main miniature, or at the bottom of the page (bas-de-page) beneath the larger miniature of the annunciation moment itself.

In my previous post I pointed out that realism and a marked attention to realistic detail is a distinctive feature of early Netherlandish art, whether in manuscript or in panel painting. The two images, shown below, reveal a number of realistic features. The dancing shepherds are everyday, familiar people; their faces and expressions are lifelike. The figures are full-length, placed prominently in the foreground and are clad as 15th century peasants. In the left miniature painted by the anonymous illuminator known as the Master of the Dresden Prayer Book, the background appears authentic with the distant town accommodating a bridge, various towers, a church and a castle situated high on a hill-top. The biblical annunciation scene has shifted from Bethlehem to Northern Europe and has moved from the beginning of the first millennium to the late middle-ages. The master has relocated both time and place drawing the reader, through recognition and association, personally into the narrative. The miniature on the right, painted by artists in the circle of master illuminator Willem Vrelant also relocated time and place, although, in this case, the setting is a wide spacious field, with undulating hills, luscious trees and at the furthest point of the horizon, a church or a monastery arises.

The shepherds, in the left miniature, have dropped their staffs to form a circle with the shepherdess. One of the shepherds looks up towards the angel as the three, their hands joined, skip or gallop somewhat heavily, dancing around in cumbersome labourer’s boots. They, in contrast to the ethereal angel, are sturdy and earthbound. Unusual is that these country-folk have no musical accompaniment; in the majority of miniatures there is usually a peasant playing the bagpipes. The miniature, on the right, is also an exception. These shepherds are dancing to the melody of a flute played by the shepherd gazing upwards, seemingly perplexed by the appearance of the angel. Apparently the shepherdess and the man wearing an orange hood have not yet noticed the angel; perhaps the group was relaxing, enjoying themselves in a simple step and hop dance, when the angel unexpectedly appeared.

It is interesting to compare miniatures made in the Low Countries to miniatures created in France at approximately the same time. The left miniature, below, taken from a Book of Hours with illuminations by followers of the Master of Savoy and Jean Fouquet shows the annunciation of the shepherds in the most extraordinary setting. It is hard to believe that these beautifully dressed figures actually represent shepherds. To confirm their profession the artist has given them a few occupational props; the shepherdess holds a spindle and the shepherds, even though they are lounging on the grass, have their staffs nearby. Highly stunning is the robust bagpiper who, adorned in extravagant footwear, wearing a handsomely tailored jacket and playing gilded bagpipes, would appear more suited to a court function than amid a flock of sheep. This miniature is unquestionably exquisite but, when compared to the art of the Low Countries, it lacks realism and to my mind fails to evoke devotional sentiment. Less extreme, but lacking naturalism is the miniature on the right, made in France, presumably in Soissons. The manuscript, KB 76 G18, was once in possession of King William I of The Netherlands. The shepherds in this miniature, having heard the message from the angels, move and dance to the bagpipers tune. The figures are taut, not well-proportioned, looking more like cardboard figures than hardworking shepherds. Equally curious are the listless sheep, the strange inorganic shape at the front that divulges that the group is standing on an islet and the landscape background which only aims to be decorative.

A second place where dance images turn up is in the lower border (bas-de-page) under the main miniature. Generally a line of four or five peasants perform a simple line dance. Often these are humorous, whimsical figures, as in both cases below, executing the most basic of steps in unadorned rustic costumes. In the left folio, attributed to a follower of Simon Bening, the artist uses colour for the main folio and grisaille technique, suggesting a sculptural effect, for the borders. The framed border is monochrome. Even though the dancers are merely painted in varying hues of brown the dancing shepherds seem genuine; their body placement and the swirl of the clothing matching their easy-going movements. The colourful country folk dancing under the miniature of the two disproportionately tall shepherds, still need to decide if they are moving to the right or the left. Or perhaps they are jogging on the spot. Whatever the case, the bagpiper plays on, unperturbed.

Simon Bening (c.1483-1561), the Flemish master miniaturist who worked for the most part in Bruges, had his own workshop and specialized in the production of book of hours. He worked exclusively for the royalty, the aristocratic and the wealthy, producing masterpieces as The Golf Book, The Hennessy Book of Hours and in co-operation with other artists of the Ghent-Bruges school of Flemish illumination, the Grimani Breviary and the Rothschild Prayerbook.

In the border of the following nocturnal scene, possibly the work of Simon Bening, a row of dancing shepherds are placed directly under the main miniature. The alternating men and women, in peasant garb, dance around their sheep. Some of them, understandably dazzled, look up towards the sky. While the women stand on the spot, the men take large steps, lunging boldly sideways. This is a spontaneous dance, contrived on the spur of the moment. Glancing up along the side border a shepherd, standing on a hill with a flock of sheep behind him, plays the bagpipes.

_{Slideshow – see below for a complete list of the works}

Perhaps the dance scene, as shown in slide 1, seems familiar. In the previous blog, Nativity Scene, I presented a very similar image taken from the Rothschild Prayerbook (slide 2). The composition and movements of those sunlit dancers closely resemble their nocturnal companions. The centre man, both in movement and attire, is essentially interchangeable, and the fellows on the outer edge of the row look very much alike; except that they have swapped places. The two women, are nigh identical, both standing upright with a gentle sway of the hips, and, needless to say, the musical shepherd has secured his spot on some type of elevated obstacle.

Artists were known to adapt their original work and to reuse themes and ideas where applicable. Furthermore it was not uncommon to use stencils or templates nor to copy or partially copy a fellow artist’s work. This might help to explain why the same or very similar dance sequences appear in various manuscripts including the superlative Grimani Breviary (slide 3). Here, a very similar set of shepherds, painted in grisaille, are playfully rearranged, as well as moving in the opposite direction to the other examples. And finally in the Prayer Book of Duke Albert 1 of Mecklenburg (slide 4), a manuscript produced in Bruges and attributed to various artists including Simon Bening, a comparable image emerges. Here, the now familiar peasants, again painted in grisaille technique, decorate the border complimenting a richly coloured Nativity miniature. The dancers are almost identical to those in the other manuscripts, but a closer look at the feet protruding from under the miniature reveal that the artist has added his own personal touch. What in the first instance looks like a line dance, is in actual fact a circular dance.

The shepherd dog is an often seen figure in the illumination. Mostly they work or rest but occasionally they dance. I could not resist placing one last miniature where, not the shepherds, but the dog is dancing on tip-toe. The manuscript, now in the British Library, was produced in Lille or Tournai around c.1480 and is attributed to Jean Markant.