Teacher Instructing Pupils
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
Knowledge, the fifth gift of the Holy Spirit, is represented by this delightful schoolroom scene. Inspired by the Dove, the older kneeling student reads from a book proffered by his teacher. The young man's scroll reveals his inspiration, quoting from Psalm 2, verse 12, that the key to knowledge is the learning of discipline. The seated teacher holds a bundle of switches, the instrument of reprimand and attribute for instructors in the Middle Ages.
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