ADVENT CALENDAR 2022

Illuminated manuscript leaf made in Paris, France, c. 1410–1420. Glencairn Museum collection, Bryn Athyn, PA, 07.MS.636. To view a zoomable version of this Nativity on Google Arts & Culture, **click on the image**.

5. MANUSCRIPT MINIATURE WITH THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS

This illuminated manuscript leaf on vellum, from a 15th-century French Book of Hours, depicts the biblical story of the Annunciation to the Shepherds. The miniature painting illustrates the portion of the Nativity narrative in which an angel appears to a group of shepherds keeping watch over their flock at night: “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:10–11).”

The text (in Latin) on this leaf is the opening of Terce, one of the prayers to be recited at certain hours throughout the day: "Make haste, O God, to deliver me; Make haste to help me, O LORD" (Psalm 70).

Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2022 Advent Calendar.