Free Essays on Why Blacks Would Be Religious During Slavery

"Why Blacks would be religious during slavery" Religion has always been a strong factor in the Black community. Many of us have grown up knowing and worshipping our Christian God. What many fail to realize is that this has not always been the case. In Africa, before the Middle Passage, natives practiced many different religions and were very spiritual. While being brought forcibly from their homeland, Africans were also forcibly removed from their religion. Former practices were not allowed and the spirits of the slaves were constantly tried and consistently broken. When the slaves were encouraged to, and finally adopted the religion of their masters, it was for a variety of different reasons. Everyone needs something to believe in, something which gives hope. If you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. Slaves lived in such poor conditions with no hopes of differing circumstances, to have religion, and believe that there is a purpose to life and situations in it gives people the motivation to survive. Religion was also an outlet to the everyday toilsome work that the slave life consisted of. Sundays at church and gathering for meetings at the "bottoms" allowed for rest, fellowship, and togetherness. One of the more important concepts religion allowed for, was an avenue by which slaves could communicate with each other. By singing religious hymns, that held underlying meanings, slaves could deliver and receive important messages without the master suspecting foul play. Faith is a powerful weapon against people and a life set against someone . Without religion, slaves would have had very little to believe in and very few to trust.... Free Essays on Why Blacks Would Be Religious During Slavery Free Essays on Why Blacks Would Be Religious During Slavery "Why Blacks would be religious during slavery" Religion has always been a strong factor in the Black community. Many of us have grown up knowing and worshipping our Christian God. What many fail to realize is that this has not always been the case. In Africa, before the Middle Passage, natives practiced many different religions and were very spiritual. While being brought forcibly from their homeland, Africans were also forcibly removed from their religion. Former practices were not allowed and the spirits of the slaves were constantly tried and consistently broken. When the slaves were encouraged to, and finally adopted the religion of their masters, it was for a variety of different reasons. Everyone needs something to believe in, something which gives hope. If you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. Slaves lived in such poor conditions with no hopes of differing circumstances, to have religion, and believe that there is a purpose to life and situations in it gives people the motivation to survive. Religion was also an outlet to the everyday toilsome work that the slave life consisted of. Sundays at church and gathering for meetings at the "bottoms" allowed for rest, fellowship, and togetherness. One of the more important concepts religion allowed for, was an avenue by which slaves could communicate with each other. By singing religious hymns, that held underlying meanings, slaves could deliver and receive important messages without the master suspecting foul play. Faith is a powerful weapon against people and a life set against someone . Without religion, slaves would have had very little to believe in and very few to trust....

Book of Hours - Illuminated Prayer Book for the Wealthy

Book of Hours - Illuminated Prayer Book for the Wealthy A book of hours was a prayer book containing appropriate prayers for specific hours of the day, days of the week, months, and seasons. Books of hours were usually beautifully illuminated, and some of the more notable ones are among the finest works of medieval art in existence. Origin and history   Initially, books of hours were produced by scribes in monasteries for use by their fellow monks. Monastics divided their day into eight segments, or hours, of prayer: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nones, Compline, and Vespers. A monk would set a book of hours on a lectern or table and read from it aloud at each of these hours; the books were therefore fairly large in format. The earliest known monastic books of hours were created in the 13th century. By the 14th century, smaller, portable books of hours with less complex liturgical systems were being produced for use by individuals. By the 15th century, these lay books of hours were so popular they outnumbered all other types of illuminated manuscript. Because the artwork was so splendid, books of hours were too expensive for all but the wealthiest of patrons: royalty, nobility, and occasionally very wealthy merchants or artisans. Contents Books of hours would vary according to the preferences of their owners, but they always began with a liturgical calendar; that is, a list of feast days in chronological order, as well as a method of calculating the date of Easter. Some included a multi-year almanac. Often books of hours included the seven Penitential Psalms, as well as any of a wide variety of other prayers devoted to favorite saints or personal issues. Frequently, books of hours featured a cycle of prayers dedicated to the Virgin Mary. illustrations Each section of prayers was accompanied by an illustration to help the reader meditate on the subject. Most often, these illustrations depicted biblical scenes or saints, but sometimes simple scenes from rural life or displays of royal splendor were included, as were the occasional portraits of the patrons who ordered the books. Calendar pages often depicted signs of the Zodiac. It wasnt uncommon for the owners coat of arms to be incorporated, as well. Pages that were largely text were often framed with or highlighted by foliage or symbolic motifs. The illustrations of books of hours and other manuscripts are sometimes called miniatures. This is not because the pictures are small; in fact, some could take up the entire page of an oversized book. Rather, the word miniature has its origins in the Latin miniare, to rubricate or to illuminate, and thus refers to written pages, or manuscripts. Production   Monastic books of hours were produced, as were most other illuminated manuscripts, by monks in a scriptorium. However, when books of hours became popular among the laity, a system of professional publication evolved. Scribes would write the text in one place, artists would paint the illustrations in another, and the two products were put together in a bookbinders hall. When a patron ordered a book of hours to be made, he could select his favorite prayers and subjects for illustration. In the later middle ages, it was also possible to purchase a pre-produced, generic book of hours in a stationers shop. Materials   Books of hours, like other medieval manuscripts, were written on parchment (sheepskin) or vellum (calfskin), specially treated to receive ink and paint. The writing surface was invariably lined to help the scribe write neatly and evenly; this was usually done by an assistant. By the time books of hours became popular, the inks used in manuscripts were almost always iron gall ink, made from the gallnuts on oak trees where wasp larvae were laid. This could be tinted different colors through the use of various minerals. Ink was applied with a quill pen a feather, cut to a sharp point and dipped in a jar of ink. A wide variety of minerals, plants, and chemicals were used to tint paints for the illustrations. The color sources were mixed with arabic or tragacinth gum as a binding agent. The most vivid and expensive mineral used in paint was Lapis Lazuli, a blue gemstone with gold flecks which in the Middle Ages was found only in present-day Afghanistan. Gold and silver leaf were also used to marvelous effect. The brilliant use of the precious metals achieved gave illumination its name. Significance to Medieval Art Books of hours offered artists the opportunity to display their skill to the best of their abilities. Depending on the wealth of the patron, the finest materials were used in order to achieve the richest and most vivid colors. Over the centuries of the book formats popularity, art style evolved into a more natural, vibrant form, and the structure of the illuminated page changed to allow more expression on the part of the illuminators. Now known as Gothic illumination, the works produced in the 13th through 15th centuries by clerical and secular artists alike would influence other art styles, such as stained glass, as well as the art that would follow in the Renaissance movements. Notable Book of Hours By far the most famous and splendid Book of Hours ever produced is Les Trà ¨s Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, produced in the 15th century.