Christ is Born as Man's Redeemer: Detail, the Annunciation
Although it is the unusual way of depicting the Trinity that strikes one at first, this part of the tapestry is essentially an Annunciation. Gabriel enters at left with the sceptre he customarily carries in Annunciations, and on the scroll wrapped around it we read segments from the first phrase he spoke to the Virgin, ave maria gratia plena, "Hail Mary full of grace." Mary folds her hands over her breast in a gesture of humility while Humility itself (the crowned woman) reaches toward the angel.
The Trinity is portrayed in a manner that would have more currency in the 17th century and then vanish: three men who look like identical triplets, identically dressed and with identical crowns and sceptres. The two behind Mary are probably the Father and the Holy Spirit, corresponding to Gabriel's words, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee." The Son sits in front of the Virgin's womb, reflecting the Nativity that is to come. He places his head on his hand, a gesture also seen in some images of him after the scourging on Good Friday. Such a reference to the Passion might also explain the ambiguous placement of the humilitas label, partly on Humility herself but partly also on the Son's cape.
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Photographed at the Cloisters by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.