SS. Peter, John the Baptist, and Martin
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows and with special assistance of Mrs. Frederick B. Adams, Sr., Mrs. Robert Charles, Mr. Laurens M. Hamilton, The Heineman Foundation, Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, Mrs. John Kean, Mr. Paul Mellon, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Morgan, Mr. Lessing J. Rosenwald, Mr. and Mrs. August H. Schilling, Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, Mrs. Landon K. Thorne, Mrs. Alan Valentine, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Whitridge, and Miss Julia P. Wightman, 1970
This small miniature for the Mass of All Saints includes three popular saints, each identifiable by his attributes. Peter, wearing a papal tiara, holds the keys to heaven. Beneath his cloak, John the Baptist wears a camel skin and holds the Lamb of God on his book. Martin, dressed as a bishop, shares his cloak with a beggar. This small image was originally juxtaposed with a full-page miniature that is lost. Its disappearance makes any attempt to reconstruct the original context of the remaining depiction challenging.
Hours and Masses for the Seven Days of the Week
The most unusual texts in Catherine's manuscript are the series of Hours and Masses for every day of the week. Medieval Christian tradition associated certain figures or themes with different days. Thus Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, was the Lord's Day; Thursday was connected with the Eucharist since that sacrament was instituted on Holy Thursday; and Monday was the day of the dead, since their torments were suspended on Sunday but recommenced the following day. In Catherine's prayer book, the themes for the Hours and Masses of the seven days of the week are:
Sunday | the Trinity |
Monday | the Dead |
Tuesday | the Holy Spirit |
Wednesday | All Saints |
Thursday | the Blessed Sacrament |
Friday | the Compassion of God |
Saturday | the Virgin. |
Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern