Christ in Majesty with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist: Single Leaf from a Book of Rules

In this complex image, the Virgin and St. John stand next to Christ at the Last Judgment as the final trumpets blow. Assembled below are members of the Confraternity of St. John the Evangelist in Venice, robed in white with the insignia of their order: a pastoral staff and crosses. This beautiful page comes from a mariegola, or the book of rules of this confraternity. During the late Middle Ages, every town had one or more confraternities, organizations of lay people who undertook to carry out the ideals of the Franciscans and Dominicans. Confraternities were created for the special veneration of a saint or the Holy Sacrament (the body and blood of Christ). One of their tasks was to strengthen the faith of their members.