1520-1530: Book of Hours with miniatures Simon Bening

Breviary (Book of Prayers or Book of Hours) with miniature “September”, attributed to Simon Bening from Bruges, around 1520 or 1530.

Simon Bening (1483-1561) is considered to be part of the Flemish Renaissance. The border illustration at the bottom left of the miniature is one of the few depictions of the medieval colf game. Three colvers, each with their own colf stick and ball, can be seen playing towards a hole and a spectator. Centuries before the emergence of the modern game of golf, people already knew what ‘putting’ was.