Nikolaus Glockendon (d. 1534)
Christ Among the Doctors
Manuscript illustration
Biblioteca estense universitaria, Modena, Italy
This version of Luke 2:41-52 presents the moment when Mary and Joseph arrive (far left). According to the commentaries the subject of the colloquy was the divine plan expressed in scripture and about to be fulfilled in Christ. Thus between the two front columns three men consult a volume of scripture. The man to the left of those three also has a book. Like most works before the mid-16th century, this illustration presents the colloquy as calm and decorous.
The scene is placed under a structure similar to a
ciborium
A canopy over an altar in a church, standing on four pillars — Google Definitions
,
with the child sitting just where the altar would be, a reference to the Eucharist and to the Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. Above the arches of the structure are three roundels with riders on horseback. The middle rider is a woman sitting sidesaddle. I do not know what these represent, but the figures flanking them are identifiable as St. Blaise (on the left, with a candle and mitre), Moses (left center, horns), David (right center, harp), and a soldier in contemporary armor and holding a sword.
The Wikimedia page for this image identifies the small scene at the bottom as "Samuel's Presentation of Saul ([I] Samuel 10:17-27)." The image shows no one who might be identified as Saul, perhaps because in the first part of that passage Saul has hidden himself to avoid being chosen king.
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Source: this page at Wikimedia Commons.
