Leaf Excised from an Antiphonary: Initial Q with Saints Peter and Paul
Unknown Artist
c. 1325
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
32.3 × 21.9 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2003.171
About this artwork
The sheet belonged to an antiphonary, a large liturgical book used by the choir for chanting. It contains all the music and texts needed for daily services in the church. In South Flanders, where this manuscript originates, the Confrérie des Charitables de Saint-Éloi has been active since 1188, when a plague wave raged in the region. This brotherhood was in charge of giving bread to the poor, caring for the sick, consoling the dying, burying the dead, and giving them a burial.