Text only

Page 173 Commentary

Previous - translation & transcription - Next

Image © Hildesheim, St Godehard
Psalm: 51
Iconography: Christ sits holding a staff and book indicating that he will destroy malice. The woman personifies malice, the mother of all sin, and she is being embraced by a man who offers her a wedding ring. Why do you glory in malice...You have loved malice more than goodness. The woman's foot is being gnawed by a snake/dragon. She also represents the sinful Eve because God told the serpent he would lie in wait for her heel (Genesis 3:15). Around her neck is a purse- the love of money being the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). The seven people in the group probably represent the seven deadly sins, with lust in the foreground embracing malice.
Art: The large size of this initial marks a three-fold division in the psalter. The letters [uid gloriaris] have been omitted after the initial Q. If the initial was one line shorter, these letters could have fitted above in malitia.This miscalculation could be connected with the start of the quire.
Thread stitch:
Historical Relevance:
Quire: First page of quire 11



 

Go to

Go to

•
•
•
A collaboration between History of Art and Historic Collections
University of Aberdeen - King's College - Aberdeen - AB24 3SW
  University of Aberdeen  
dombibliothek@bistum-hildesheim.de
© 2003