from The Hours of Catherine of Cleves (facsimile) by John Plummer (1964)
SUFFRAGE
Dressed in a deacon's dalmatic (with the names of Jesus and Mary in gold) rather than in his usual bishop's vestments, the saint holds a book and a sword, the instruments of his martydom. In the lower border, composed of feather-like leaves and delicate rose and crimson flowers, are two dragonflies devouring a fly or a bee. This subject may be explained by Saint Valentine's patronage of beekeepers. [M-P269] (Pl.130)
Master of Catherine of Cleves. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves: St. Valentine. c.1440. Franco-Flemish.
