An entirely different tradition lies behind the grand letters on the opening page of
a Psalter (Plate 3.7). Painted at the same time as Plate 3.6, the only “classical”
element here is the Latin language. Rather, the page owes much to the decorative
style of the British Isles, as illustrated (for example) by Plate 2.7 (on p. 69). “Beatus
vir,” (“Blessed is the man”), the first words of the first psalm, are here given
luminous treatment with the use of gold leaf and a restrained palette. The page is then
framed with designs of the same colors, with interlaced birds and dragon heads at the
corners.
