Manuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a Gradual

Manuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a Gradual

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Biblical king David was regarded as the author of psalms and hence the father of medieval music. He frequently appears within illuminated music manuscripts. Sheltered within the letter A, he holds a stringed instrument known as a psaltery. “To thee have I lifted up my soul” (Ad te lavavi animam meam) begins Psalm 24, seen here, which was sung on the first Sunday of Advent, the season leading up to Christmas.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a GradualManuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a GradualManuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a GradualManuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a GradualManuscript Leaf with Initial A, from a Gradual

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.