St. Ambrose
St. Augustine
ca. 1440
The Netherlands, Utrecht
MS M.917/945, pp. 244–245
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
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Archbishop Ambrose wears a miter and holds a book and crozier. He was famous for preaching sermons that could reconcile the bitterest of enemies, and in the border, natural enemies—mussels and the crab, which likes to feast on mussels' flesh—cohabit in harmony. Bishop Augustine also wears a miter and holds a crozier. He holds his attribute, a heart pierced by two arrows, a sign of his remorse over the sins of dissipation he committed in his youth. Larger pierced hearts, suspended on chains held by demons and angels, form the border.