The Phylactery of the Man with the ribbed bonnet

On the left shoulder, a fragment of a phylactery can be distinguished: this is the classic attribute of prophets.

However, a prophet is not typically depicted as wealthy and powerful, as might be assumed from the character's ostentatious attire.

One possible figure is the priest and scribe Ezra, who returned from Persia around 459 BCE with the mission to resettle the exiles on their land and to restore the Temple of Jerusalem.

Biblia sacra, ex translatione S. Hieronymi, cum prologis, Ville de Reims, bibliothèque municipale, cote Ms 23.
Biblia sacra, ex translatione S. Hieronymi, cum prologis,
Ville de Reims, Bibliothèque municipale, cote Ms 23.


Bible de Sens, après 1180, Bibliothèque municipale de Clermont-Ferrand, 0001 (001) p. 174
Bible de Sens, après 1180,
Bibliothèque de Clermont Auvergne Métropole,
MS 1, p. 174. Licence Ouverte