A breviary (from Latin brevis, 'short' or 'concise') is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use.

Before the rise of the mendicant orders (wandering friars) in the thirteenth century, the daily services were usually contained in a number of large volumes. The first occurrence of a single manuscript of the daily office was written by the Benedictine order at Monte Cassino in Italy in 1099. Mendicant friars travelled around a lot and needed a shortened, or abbreviated, daily office contained in one portable book, and single-volume breviaries flourished from the thirteenth century onwards.

Before the advent of printing, breviaries were written by hand and were often richly decorated with initials and miniature illustrations telling stories in the lives of Christ or the saints, or stories from the Bible.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Breviary 1450s Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*990 True Color 151 Kb
	Breviary 1450s Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*989 True Color 150 Kb
	Breviary 1450-75 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1041 True Color 121 Kb
	Breviary 1450-75 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1009 True Color 131 Kb
	Breviary c. 1460 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1038 True Color 209 Kb
	Breviary c. 1460 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1007 True Color 196 Kb
	Breviary c. 1470 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1030 True Color 178 Kb
	Breviary c. 1470 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1018 True Color 185 Kb
	Breviary c. 1490 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1044 True Color 198 Kb
	Breviary c. 1490 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*1054 True Color 215 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851), 230 x 160 mm British Library, London	765*1200 True Color 230 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851), 230 x 160 mm British Library, London	805*1200 True Color 219 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851), 230 x 160 mm British Library, London	629*900 True Color 75 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851) British Library, London	1200*668 True Color 111 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851) British Library, London	1024*600 True Color 111 Kb
	Breviary of Isabella of Castile c. 1497 Manuscript (Additional MS 18851) British Library, London	900*1020 True Color 153 Kb
	Breviary c. 1460 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*963 True Color 186 Kb
	Breviary c. 1470 Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*963 True Color 170 Kb
	Breviary 1490s Manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague	700*938 True Color 149 Kb