Hortus Deliciarum, Die Geburt Christi

The Virgin Mary reclines on a decorated bed within a rocky landscape, while the infant Jesus lies in a stone manger attended by an ox and a donkey. To the right, Joseph sits in a contemplative pose as shepherds approach, while angels and a prominent vertical star oversee the scene from above. The composition uses flat, vibrant colors and heavy outlines characteristic of Romanesque illumination.

The Hortus Deliciarum was a monumental medieval encyclopedia compiled by Herrad of Landsberg to provide a 'garden' of all human and divine knowledge. It serves as a vital record of 12th-century theology and natural philosophy before the rise of Scholasticism and the recovery of the full Aristotelian corpus.