Volume 67, Issue 7, 1 October 2018

On the cover: Christ appears as a Leper in a Boat, detail from Book of Hours, Use of Rome (The Dunois Hours), tempera on vellum, ca. 1440-1460, Anonymous (French, ca. 1430-1465). Yates Thompson 3, The British Library Board, London, UK. Reproduced with permission. The owner and patron of this luxuriously illuminated prayer book was Jean de Dunois, (1424-1468), the illegitimate son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans. After his father died, and his half-brother had been captured by the British at the Battle of Agincourt, the so-called “bastard of Orléans” became the acting head of his family, and was a warrior in military campaigns with Joan of Arc. This small, portable book of prayers would have provided the patron with spiritual guidance, with illustrated daily devotions. On this page, the 4th-century St. Julian Hospitaller is shown in an episode in which he was charitably giving a ride to a stranger in a boat, when it was revealed to him that the stranger was none other than Jesus, in the guise of a leper. The rattle, staff, and body-covering garments indicate the requirements at that time for a person with that disease. However, as much leprosy then was feared, devout Christians were encouraged to practice charity towards sufferers, and indeed, in this case, Jesus was the recipient of this kindness. (Mary & Michael Grizzard, Cover Art Editors)