Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Pea Vines and a Girl Kneading Bread (recto) and Ornamental Boarder with Carnations, a Thistle, and a Cook Ladling Soup (verso) (1 of 3 Excised Leaves)

This leaf and others in the collection were excised from the same prayer book. They reveal the charm of secular decoration such as satyrs or domestic activities like cooking. Such details would have been a sumptuous delight to the original owner. The original book was a highly personalized volume apparently written and illuminated in North Germany as suggested by internal textual references. The prominent inclusion of Saint Godehard (died 1038), Bishop of Hildesheim, in the calendar (not visible) would suggest that the manuscript was produced in that city.