Bathsheba's Bath and the Seven Deadly Sins: A New Interpretation of a Visual Narrative Strategy in Late Medieval Books of Hours

Abstract

When the story of Bathsheba's Bath appeared in Late Medieval Books of Hours, it always prefaced the Penitential Psalms in these manuscripts. Traditionally, these Penitential Psalms were associated with the Deadly Sins. This article will explore the visual and textual implications of this iconography in relation to its placement in Books of Hours and it will emphasize the visual narrative strategies that the artists used to prepare the reader-viewer for the appropriate performance of penitence.