Initial I with unidentified virgin The iconography of this initial and a rubric on the reverse suggest that it begins an unidentified chant for the Common of Virgins. This image shows the reverse of a cutting with an historiated initial from an antiphonary. Initial Q with St. Agatha of Catania This initial begins the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of St. Agatha (Feb. 5), 'Quis es tu qui venisti ad me curare vulnera mea ...' (Who are you who has come to heal my wounds). Initial P with Sts. Peter and Paul This initial begins the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), 'Petrus et Ioannes ascendebant in templum ...' (Peter and John were going up into the temple). Initial D with St. Helena of Constantinople holding the True Cross This initial begins the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of the Invention of the True Cross (May 3), 'Helena sancta Constantini mater Jerosolymam petiit...' (Helen, the holy mother of Constantine, went to Jerusalem). The saint pictured here is St. Helena, the mother of the first Christian Roman emperor Constantine (d. 337). According legend, Helena discovered the cross upon which Christ... Initial O with an unidentified Pope The precise moment in the liturgy that this initial begins remains to be determined. The three-tiered tiara and cross staff indicated that this figure is a pope. Initial I with Mary Magdalene This initial may begin the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of Mary Magadalene (July 22), 'Laudibus excelsis omnis mundus exsultet in solemnitate sancte Marie Magdalene ...' (Let the world exalt with all the highest praises in the solemnity of Mary Magdalene). Mary Magdalene is identified here by the alabaster jar from which she took the ointment to anoint Christ's body. Initial C with the Virgin Mary borne by angels Initial D with Sts. James the Less and Philip This initial begins the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of Sts. Phillip and James, 'Domine ostende nobis Patrem, et sufficit nobis alleluia ...' (Lord, show us the Falther and it is enough for us, alleluia). Initial H with John the Baptist This initial probably begins the first antiphon of Lauds for the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist (Aug. 29), 'Herodes enim tenuit et ligavit Iohannem ...' (Herod had taken John and bound him). The style of the initials is reminiscent of Italian initial decoration, especially in the northern regions. Certain elements in the execution of the initial suggest, however, that the artist was not Italian but perhaps Spanish or Portuguese. Artists and scribes in the Iberian Peninsula were heavily influenced by the luxury choir books that came out of Italy in the late Middle Ages and...
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