Cycle of Old and New Testament Images, Possibly Prefatory Cycle for a Psalter

Altogether six miniatures in this small volume chronicle the story of Noah as an exemplar of virtue and trust: on the left, Noah helps his family escape the flood; on the right, a dove with an olive leaf signifies their deliverance. Such full-page miniatures that served as the primary means of relaying the story, without text, also served as reminders of proper and improper behavior. They probably once prefaced a psalter, or book of Psalms, which both lay and religious communities recited on a daily basis.