The Virgin and Child Enthroned

The Virgin Mary, crowned as queen of heaven, sits below a canopy that bears the inscription in Latin, "Hail queen, merciful virgin." She holds a chubby-cheeked Christ child, who reaches back to grab her long, flowing hair. A group of elegantly dressed saints, at left, and a group of angels, at right, adore the child. The illuminator has placed the scene within an illusionistic frame that resembles the carved wooden frames of late medieval altarpieces. It harmonizes with the frame of the miniature showing the Tree of Jesse on the facing page. The text, the opening of a prayer service in honor of the Virgin, appears as if on a hinged panel in front of the scene.