This page is one of only three in the manuscript, together with the following folio 128r and folio 77r, which are not enclosed by bunches of flowers, but in which the entire page is dedicated to its central subject. This is particularly momentous, with cause, in a Book of Hours, with the page in this case consecrated to the glorification of the Virgin Mary. She appears in the centre, distinguished from the rest of the page in a circle of glory that sends forth beam after beam of rays going forth to meet those issuing from the Dove of the Holy Spirit above her. Inside this circle of glory she is throned in majesty, her hands clasped, wrapped in a magnificent blue cloak with pure white lining. A packed assembly of haloed saints form what could be called her heavenly court, sitting closely all round her, some with open or closed books, many of them looking at the Virgin or in an attitude of prayer. The miniaturist has placed her within a series of concentric radiant circles of which the innermost is as a rainbow and the outermost form a series bearing inscriptions that glorify her, some written in letters of luminous colour and some in more sombre hues. In the final circular space before the external gold border are written the words, Saluto te sancta Maria regina celorum et domina angelorum ei salutione quod salutavit te angel ('I salute thee Saint Mary, queen of heaven, lady of the angels, with the words with which the angel saluted thee'), and inside the next circle is written, Gabriel dicens: Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus ('Gabriel saying: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus'). The Dove of the Holy Spirit which crowns this glorious multiple encirclement is itself crowned by an imposing God the Father. He has a cruciferous halo and bears the pontifical triple crown surmounted by a small cross while in his hands he holds the globe of the world and a cross. Kneeling at his feet is a crowd of angels whose colouring marks them as those closest to God, the cherubim and seraphim, with once more the Virgin Mary in their midst on the left, kneeling this time and wearing a royal crown. On the right is a smaller figure of Christ, recognizable by the globe he carries in his left hand and the sign of benediction he is making with his right hand. Several bright red and blue seraphim and cherubim tightly surround the group formed by God the Father, the Virgin, and Christ, while a group of haloed saints press closely behind them. But the central stage seems to belong to the Holy Spirit, above the circle of glory encompassing the Virgin.
At this point it should be noted that this miniature reaches a rare high point, twice. First, it is exceptional to see the figure of Christ kneeling as a counterpart to the Virgin Mary, also kneeling, in Christian religious art of the Late Middle Ages. In addition we have this original disposition of the persons of the Trinity making way for Mary, and thus being transformed into a composition allowing us to speak of a quaternity.
Right at the foot of the folio are three scenes. In the centre, most probably, is the recipient of the Book of Hours, kneeling with his patron saint standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder, and between them the red crest of the Montauban family. An inscribed scroll has the words Miserere mei Deus ('God, have pity upon me'). On the left is a strange and enigmatic scene, with Christ pulling on the hood of an old seated man holding a cane. And finally on the right we have Saint Michael the Archangel in a victorious scene. A small, naked couple have taken refuge with the archangel in order to escape from a pursuing demon whom the archangel is successfully repelling.
This page is one of only three in the manuscript, together with the following folio 128r and folio 77r, which are not enclosed by bunches of flowers, but in which the entire page is dedicated to its central subject. This is particularly momentous, with cause, in a Book of Hours, with the page in this case consecrated to the glorification of the Virgin Mary. She appears in the centre, distinguished from the rest of the page in a circle of glory that sends forth beam after beam of rays going forth to meet those issuing from the Dove of the Holy Spirit above her. Inside this circle of glory she is throned in majesty, her hands clasped, wrapped in a magnificent blue cloak with pure white lining. A packed assembly of haloed saints form what could be called her heavenly court, sitting closely all round her, some with open or closed books, many of them looking at the Virgin or in an attitude of prayer. The miniaturist has placed her within a series of concentric radiant circles of which the innermost is as a rainbow and the outermost form a series bearing inscriptions that glorify her, some written in letters of luminous colour and some in more sombre hues. In the final circular space before the external gold border are written the words, Saluto te sancta Maria regina celorum et domina angelorum ei salutione quod salutavit te angel ('I salute thee Saint Mary, queen of heaven, lady of the angels, with the words with which the angel saluted thee'), and inside the next circle is written, Gabriel dicens: Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus ('Gabriel saying: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus'). The Dove of the Holy Spirit which crowns this glorious multiple encirclement is itself crowned by an imposing God the Father. He has a cruciferous halo and bears the pontifical triple crown surmounted by a small cross while in his hands he holds the globe of the world and a cross. Kneeling at his feet is a crowd of angels whose colouring marks them as those closest to God, the cherubim and seraphim, with once more the Virgin Mary in their midst on the left, kneeling this time and wearing a royal crown. On the right is a smaller figure of Christ, recognizable by the globe he carries in his left hand and the sign of benediction he is making with his right hand. Several bright red and blue seraphim and cherubim tightly surround the group formed by God the Father, the Virgin, and Christ, while a group of haloed saints press closely behind them. But the central stage seems to belong to the Holy Spirit, above the circle of glory encompassing the Virgin.
At this point it should be noted that this miniature reaches a rare high point, twice. First, it is exceptional to see the figure of Christ kneeling as a counterpart to the Virgin Mary, also kneeling, in Christian religious art of the Late Middle Ages. In addition we have this original disposition of the persons of the Trinity making way for Mary, and thus being transformed into a composition allowing us to speak of a quaternity.
Right at the foot of the folio are three scenes. In the centre, most probably, is the recipient of the Book of Hours, kneeling with his patron saint standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder, and between them the red crest of the Montauban family. An inscribed scroll has the words Miserere mei Deus ('God, have pity upon me'). On the left is a strange and enigmatic scene, with Christ pulling on the hood of an old seated man holding a cane. And finally on the right we have Saint Michael the Archangel in a victorious scene. A small, naked couple have taken refuge with the archangel in order to escape from a pursuing demon whom the archangel is successfully repelling.
