Initial U with St. John the Baptist This initial begins the hymn sung at Vespers for the feast of St. John the Baptist, (June 24), 'Ut queant laxis resonare fibris...' (Free from the guilt of your servants unclean lips). John holds a scroll inscribed with his words from the Gospel of John (1:26), 'Ecce agnus dei ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi' (Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world). This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from a ferial psalter. This side of the leaf, the true recto, contains the hymn sung at Lauds for the feast of St. Anthony (June 13), 'Iesu lux vera mentium ...' (Jesus, the light of the world). Initial D with King David pointing to his mouth This initial egins Psalm 38, 'Dixi custodias uias meas ut non delinquam in lingua mea...' (I will watch my ways so as not to sin with my tongue), which was read at Matins on Tuesdays. David, who was believed in the Middle Ages to have composed the psalms, points to his mouth, acting out the first words of the psalm. This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from a ferial psalter. This side of the leaf, the true recto, contains the hymn sung at Matins on Tuesdays 'Consors paterni luminis ...' These initials have been attributed to Bonifacio Bembo, an illuminator active in Cremona and Milan from 1447 and 1477. These leaves can be dated to ca. 1444-1477. Script: Rotunda
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