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Image 657 (This image by courtesy of Sotheby's) From the recently rediscovered Macclesfield Psalter (c.1320-30), probably from Gorleston, Norfolk, and closely related to the Gorleston Psalter. This double page spread contains all of Psalm 119 and the opening of Psalm 120. The large illuminated intial depicts King David as a bearded saint kneeling in prayer, as God emerges from a cloud to bless him. The initial is partly formed by the body of a bird-like hybrid dragon, who prods at David's back with one talon while its head loops over to stare back at him from the right as well. In the roundel top left: the curly-haired head of a young man. Across the bottom of both pages: a grotesque with a face in its bottom; a kneeling figure, hatted and gesturing with surprise towards a naked man with bright orange headgear, seated backwards on a donkey. On the right hand leaf the illuminated initial 'L' contains the head of a dog spewing forth leaves, marking the beginning of Psalm 121. At the foot of the left page a grotesque creature holds onto a branch, while a woman reaches out towards the right, where a naked man is depicted riding a donkey backwards. This may symbolise folly (this naked man, like the Fool in image number 642, wears an orange headdress), or may refer to the contemporary punishment for adultery.

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