Leaf from a Psalter with Historiated Initial (B): King David
Unknown Artist
c. 1450
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Dimensions
45.7 × 34.3 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski
Accession Number
1964.149
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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 instrum...