This is a picture of Saint Margaret. Being a saint, she refused to renounce her faith. So she was locked up in a cell. The devil, disguised as a dragon, came to eat her.
This is a picture of Saint Margaret. Being a saint, she refused to renounce her faith. So she was locked up in a cell. The devil, disguised as a dragon, came to eat her.
You can just see the end of her robe hanging out of its mouth. But like in most stories, the devil didn't get his own way. Margaret was a smart girl and as soon as the dragon swallowed her, she made the sign of the cross. So she managed to escape. You can see how stunned the beast was by looking at its face. When you hear this story, you understand why Margaret is the traditional patron saint of pregnant women. After all, someone escaping safely from someone's else's belly is a miracle.
Fifty shades of Grisaille
This picture is painted in a style called grisaille. Grisaille was a kind of mediaeval Instagram filter. Painting in monochrome was all the rage. This book was produced around 1455 for Duke Philip the Good. He was so proud of it that he had his own picture included a couple of times.
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The book is called a book of hours. It's full of prayers that you can say at home, not in church.