Image
© Hildesheim, St Godehard |
THE NATIVITY
Luke 2:7
A complex structure, looking more like the whole of Bethehem than a stable,
frames the Nativity. The Virgin lies diagonally on the right, her hand
raised signifying speech, addressing the pensive Joseph. The star and
angel hover above the crib. Unusually, there are animals both above and
below the crib (AP, 54,82).
Animals licking the Christ child are found in Ottonian manuscripts from
Fulda (B.L. Egerton MS 809). Anglo-Saxon manuscripts provide examples
of individual features on this page: the angel above Mary and the pensive
Joseph is found in the Missal of Robert of Jumièges; the diagonally
placed Virgin is in the Benedictional of St Aethelwold (Rouen, Bibliothèque
Municipale, MS.Y.6; London, British Library, MS. Add.49598) Nearly all
Anglo-Saxon manuscripts place the crib, with its animals, below the Virgin’s
couch while Carolingian examples place the crib centrally between Mary
and Joseph. The St Albans Psalter clings on to both these traditions,
retaining the beasts below the couch and placing the crib with more beasts
centrally. (AP, pl 102)
Quire 2.
Thread or stitch holes for protective curtain
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