Exquisite illuminated pages from the 1455 Book of Hours of Simon de Varie, who was a wealthy court official. Each page is hand painted, often by reknown artists. These books were extremely expensive and were prized possessions of the very wealthy. This page shows the martyrdom of St. Sebastian - he is shot through with arrows. but did not die from these wounds. He was tended by Irene (later Saint Irene). After his recovery he went to speak to Emperor Diocletian of his faith and was beaten to death.

---

Size: 2268px × 3408px
Photo credit: © CBW / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: arrows, book, de, death, faith, grey, hours, illuminated, illumination, killed, manuscript, martyr, martyrdom, martyred, master, masters, mediaeval, medieval, murder, painting, paintings, saint, sebastian, shot, st