Leaf from a Book of Hours: Ape Hunting Wild Boars (recto) and Ape Fishing (verso)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
The litany of the saints is among the most ancient and emotional Christian liturgical texts, dating in the West to at least the AD 400s. In a book of hours, the litanies is a list of saints’ names expressed in hierarchical order and individual rank. These names were recited rhythmically as invocations, followed each time by Ora pro nobis (Pray for us). In this way, saints were called upon by sinners seeking forgiveness and salvation. The bas-de-page (lower margin), features an ape hunting wild boars: both animals were symbolic of vice and lust. Perhaps deriving from a fable, the scene could be amusing or diversionary, but it was likely instructive for the medieval owner of the book.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionSimilar works
Leaf from a Book of Hours: Ape Fishing (verso)
Leaf from a Book of Hours: Ape Hunting Wild Boars (recto)
Leaf from a Book of Hours: Office of the Dead: Angel Chasing a Devil (recto) and Two Devils (verso)
Bifolio from a Book of Hours: Text (verso)
![Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale](https://thumbs.arkivism.com/cma-135735.jpg)
Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale
Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Initial E with Ornamental Border Containing a Seated Satyr and a Bird Eating Grapes (recto) and Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso) (2 of 3 Excised Leaves)