Getty Museum

Initial Q: Saint Michael and the Dragon

Date

about 1240–1250

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, and silver leaf

Culture

German

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

Dressed in a brilliant red robe, Archangel Michael spears a dragon and stands on it triumphantly. Although perhaps not evident at first, Michael and the dragon actually inhabit a large initial *Q* . Four doglike beasts join to form the circular part of the letter while the dragon's tail literally serves as the tail of the *Q* . This historiated initial introduces Psalm 51, which speaks of the eventual triumph of God over those who are wicked. The image of Archangel Michael conquering a dragon, inspired by the Bible's description of the Apocalypse, was commonly paired with this psalm. The Latin text of the psalm continues below the *Q* in gold letters on alternating grounds of pink and blue, *Quid gloriaris* ... (Whoever glories...).

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