The Discovery and Translation of the Body of Saint Anthony

The Discovery and Translation of the Body of Saint Anthony relates the remarkable life story of Saint Anthony Abbot, followed by an account of the miracles associated with his relics after his death, both in French (Invention et translation du corps de Saint Antoine). A full-page miniature divided into four scenes is devoted to each half of the narrative near the beginning of the manuscript, and a series of historiated initials decorates the rest of the text. The illuminations are executed in a grisaille technique, where the predominant purple-gray is sometimes heightened with gold or embellished with other touches of color. The most imposing and accomplished illumination in the book is a half-page miniature placed at the end that shows the patron of the manuscript kneeling in prayer before Saint Anthony Abbot. This image, likely by the Flemish artist Dreux Jean, is surrounded by a full border that incorporates the still unidentified coat of arms of the patron.