Cleveland Museum of Art

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Text (verso)

Boucicaut Master

Date

c. 1415

Medium

ink, tempera, silver, and gold on vellum

Culture

France, Paris

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In a book of hours, the suffrages generally appear at the end of the manuscript and consist of prayers to particular saints, often illustrated by miniatures. Saints were the protectors and patrons of medieval people, and countless owners of books of hours must have been consoled by reciting these prayers and readings that contained elements of praise and pleas for intercession. This miniature introduces the suffrage to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, an early virgin martyr of the Christian Church cruelly killed by the Emperor Maxentius (died AD 312). The text begins: Gaude dulcis katherina virgo martr (Rejoice dear Catherine, virgin and martyr). Catherine appears with a palm branch, the symbol of martyrdom, and is flanked by Saints Geneviève and Margaret, two other virgin martyrs of the early church.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.