Pentecost
Judgment of Solomon
ca. 1440
The Netherlands, Utrecht
MS M.917/945, pp. 52–53
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
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The Tuesday Hours of the Holy Spirit begin with these juxtaposed images. On the left is Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, who were then inspired to convert the world. The smaller miniature illustrates the first of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom, the first gift, is illustrated by Solomon's sagacity in determining the true mother of a disputed child by threatening to cut the baby in two. (The baby's real mother renounces her claim, raising her hand to prevent the strike of the sword.) The happy resolution of the dispute is illustrated
in the bottom border.