Missal (Sarum), folio 15r

From folio 15r, the manuscript proceeds through the Proper of Time, the Proper of Saints, and the Common of Saints, along with votive Masses, the marriage rite (Ordo ad facienda sponsalia), the visitation of the sick, the commendation of the soul, and the Office of the Dead.

Alongside the full-page miniatures, the manuscript is richly furnished with historiated initials — decorated letters whose bodies contain narrative or figural scenes relating to the text they introduce — nearly all set, like the miniatures, against gold grounds.

The picture shows folio 15r on which the Proper of Time opens with a large P initial, illustrating the introit "Ad te levavi" ("Unto thee have I lifted up my soul"). A kneeling bearded man raises a small nude figure representing his own soul, flanked by a building on the left and an altar bearing a lit candle on the right, with a bust of Christ appearing above in a cloud.