The Beatus Vir Initial

King David, crowned and seated with his psaltery, fills the bowl of a historiated initial B — the opening letter of Psalm 1, Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum, "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked." Because Psalm 1 begins the entire Psalter, its initial traditionally received the most lavish decoration in the book, sometimes consuming a full page on its own; this leaf, made for a woman's private devotion in the Premonstratensian rite, follows that convention with a dense gold-ground border and richly modeled drapery. David's psaltery — the stringed instrument depicted in his hands — gives the Psalter, the biblical book of psalms, its very name. The leaf traveled from Rhineland Germany through the collection of English bibliophile Sir Thomas Phillipps before Henry Walters acquired it for Baltimore.

Maker

Unknown Rhineland illuminator

Date

late 12th–early 13th century

Medium of the original

Illuminated manuscript

Original held by

The Walters Art Museum

Credit

The Walters Art Museum

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-00923