Initial R with the Christ Child descending like dew and arising from the earth This initial begins the Introit for the Saturday Mass of the Virgin Mary during Advent: 'Rorate celi de super ...' (Send down dew from above, O Heavens). The unusual iconography of this scene can be explained by the words of the Introit. Translated in full, the Introit, from Isaiah 45:8, is: 'Send down dew from above, O Heavens, and let the clouds rain down the just one; may the earth be... This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from a gradual. This side of the leaf, the true verso, continues the Introit for the Saturday Mass of the Virgin Mary during Advent, which begins on the front. Instructions to the illustrator regarding the rubrication and the layout of the staves have been erased in the right recto margin but are still partially visible. Script: Rotunda
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