Manuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of Hours

Manuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of Hours

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This single leaf was separated from the Suffrages of the Saints section of a book of hours, and celebrates Saint James the Greater. James is represented here with a staff and satchel, as if he were a religious pilgrim. St James’ shrine at Santiago de Compostella, at the northwest tip of Spain, was one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Europe in the Middle Ages, and remains so today. Because of the belief that the body of the apostle James washed up on the shore nearby, the scallop shell became the emblem of the shrine. Here the manuscript border extends the theme of pilgrimage with the beautiful images of walking sticks, satchels and the scallop of St James’ shrine.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with Saint James the Greater, from a Book of Hours

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.