Leaf from a Psalter with Historiated Initial (B): King David

c. 1450

Italy, Florence

Medium

ink, tempera, and gold on parchment

Measurements

Sheet: 45.7 x 34.3 cm (18 x 13 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski 1964.149

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The larger size of this leaf indicates it could be used by a group of readers.

Description

Books of hours evolved from psalters, books that contained the Old Testament book of Psalms (sacred songs) for use in churches. Psalters also included calendars, prayers for the dead, and a specific group of prayers known as the Hours of the Virgin. By the 1200s, laypeople were requesting psalters without the cumbersome psalms, and thus the book of hours was born. This leaf contains Psalm 1, which begins with a large, decorated B containing an image of King David kneeling with a plucking instrument on the ground. The text says beatus vir qui non abit, or “blessed is the man.”