Historiated Initial V formed of Job and the Dragon,
Leaf from a glossed Book of Job on vellum,
Southern Germany, c. 1130.
This beautifully rendered initial is a rare, striking example of German Romanesque manuscript painting. This miniature introduces the Book of Job. The historiated initial V (or U, which was the same letter in medieval scriptures) is formed by the figure of Job suppressing a leviathan or dragon under his right foot, which in turn is biting his left ankle. He holds a scroll containing the verse Quis michi tribuat ut scribantur sermones mei (Who will grant me that my words may be written?).
The style remotely recalls works from the Regensburg area, namely drawings
from the Glossarium Salomonis, created in the monastery Prüfening, dated twice on 1158 and 1163 (Munich, BSB, Clm. 13002).
