Unfinished Leaf from a Gradual, with the Initial F ("Fuit homo"): John the Baptist

The large initial “F” in this leaf frames an unfinished representation of John the Baptist. John points upward with his right hand, suggesting his famous command to “Behold the Lamb of God.” The text following the illuminated letter makes up the gradual for the Vigil Mass of John the Baptist, whose feast day fell on July 24.

This unfinished leaf provides great insight into an illuminator’s working method. The ruling, text, and music came first; these are completely finished, and allowed the manuscript to be bound and used even though its decoration was incomplete. John, on the other hand, is only outlined in pen. The artist went one step further with the monkey hanging on the letter “F” and the small boy in the border, first drawing them and then adding an initial base color. In contrast, the beautiful bird in the border is completely finished.