Mass of the Virgin
Texts and Images
This was the most popular of the various masses which were often included in Books of Hours which were taken to church as well as used at home. The Mass of the Virgin was celebrated in church every Saturday, the day dedicated to Mary. Opening with a small miniature of St Luke painting the Virgin, the text is surrounded by a full border with the Tree of Jesse. The preceding leaf, now lost, probably contained a full-page miniature facing this page and constituting another double spread.
St Luke painting the Virgin and Tree of Jesse (Mass of the Virgin)
According to medieval tradition, the Virgin sat for a life portrait to St Luke, a gifted artist. Here, St Luke appears to have started colouring the Virgin’s image on the panel. The Tree of Jesse was a subject with a long tradition in medieval art and biblical studies. Based on Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 11:1-3), it was considered an Old Testament prefiguration of the Incarnation and the virginal birth of Christ. The image also visualised the account of Christ’s genealogy found at the beginning of St Matthew’s Gospel – the very text that forms the central part of the Mass of the Virgin.
Two artists collaborated on this page. The small miniature of St Luke painting the Virgin, with the initial E accommodated within the arched frame, was probably painted by the Master of James IV of Scotland or a close associate who had access to his image models. The Tree of Jesse was completed by the Master of St Michael.