Jean Du Pré’s Printed Missal for Bishop Thomas James and the Breton Diocese of Dol

Abstract

This article examines the first printed missal for the Breton diocese of Dol (1502), commissioned during the episcopate of Thomas James (d. 1504). Printed by the well-known Parisian Jean Du Pré, the missal – surviving now as a unicum – emulates his earlier liturgical incunables in design and illustration. The French gothic-style missal contrasts sharply with the Italian Renaissance manuscript missal commissioned by the Bishop while governor of the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome during the papacy of Sixtus IV (1471-1484). By placing the new missal in the context of contemporary liturgical books and the Bishop’s other sponsorship, we glimpse a distinct motivation that differentiates his public transactions from his private patronage. In commissioning the new missal, Thomas James ensured that the printed book largely conformed with the traditional format of French manuscript missals, as he sought to promote the public celebration of uniform liturgical practices throughout the diocese.