Initial D with God blessing David and another figure among his sheep This initial begins the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the second Sunday after Pentecost, 'Deus omnium exauditor est ipse misit angelum suum ...' (God who hears all things, sent his angel). This response is from Psalm 151, an apocryphal psalm ascribed to David. The psalm and this response describe how God took David away from his flock to anoint him. The initial thus seems... This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from an antiphonary. This side of the life, the true recto, contains the preceding antiphons from the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the second Sunday in Pentecost. Initial F with St. John the Baptist This initial begins the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24), 'Fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen Iohannes erat ...' (A man was sent by God whose name was John). This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from an antiphonary. This side of the life, the true verso, continues the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. John the Baptist. Initial M with St. Benedict of Nursia receiving the Rule and giving it St. Romuald and his friars This initial begins the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. Benedict (Mar. 21), 'Mundum vocans ad agni nuptias ...' (Calling the world to the marriage of the Lamb). The rule of St. Benedict is the set of instructions and teachings on leading the monastic life that became the foundational text of Western monasticism. This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from an antiphonary. This side of the life, the true verso, continues the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia. Initial L with the Martyrdom of St. Laurence of Rome This initial begins the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. Lawrence of Rome (Aug. 10), 'Levita laurentius bonum opus operatus est ...;' (The Levite Laurence has wrought good work). St. Laurence was martyred in 258 during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Valerian. According to his legend he was tied to a gridiron and placed over a fire to slowly burn to death. This image shows the reverse of a leaf with an historiated initial from an antiphonary. This side of the life, the true verso, continues the first response of the first nocturn of Matins for the feast of St. Laurence. These leaves can be dated to ca. 1270-80. Script: Rotunda
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