Solomon Observing the Measuring of the Timber
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
Having cut the tree and shaped the timber, the carpenter measures it with string. Solomon, dressed as he was in the previous miniature, again oversees the activity, scepter still in hand. The wood, however, always found to be either too long or too short for use in the temple, is rejected.
Hours and Masses for the Seven Days of the Week
The most unusual texts in Catherine's manuscript are the series of Hours and Masses for every day of the week. Medieval Christian tradition associated certain figures or themes with different days. Thus Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, was the Lord's Day; Thursday was connected with the Eucharist since that sacrament was instituted on Holy Thursday; and Monday was the day of the dead, since their torments were suspended on Sunday but recommenced the following day. In Catherine's prayer book, the themes for the Hours and Masses of the seven days of the week are:
Sunday | the Trinity |
Monday | the Dead |
Tuesday | the Holy Spirit |
Wednesday | All Saints |
Thursday | the Blessed Sacrament |
Friday | the Compassion of God |
Saturday | the Virgin. |
Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern