This richly illuminated gradual fragment, dated ca. 1525–1550, is from Nakło nad Notecią, Poland, approximately 100 km north of Poznań. It offers a glimpse into the refined devotional and artistic life of pre-Tridentine Central Europe, delicately poised between tradition and the tides of reform.

Now housed in the John Frederick Lewis Collection of European Manuscripts at the Free Library of Philadelphia, this leaf features a large historiated initial D, in which angels reverently encircle and adore the Christ Child. Rendered in earthy pigments—primarily ochres, iron oxide reds, and verdant greens—the visual composition evokes a celestial atmosphere, intensified by the radiant nimbus above the infant Christ and the cherubic faces that populate the surrounding clouds.

The Latin texts on both sides of the leaf draw from a constellation of biblical sources traditionally associated with the Christmas liturgy. The recto proclaims Christ’s divine sonship and eternal priesthood: [Tecum principium in di]e virtutis tuae, in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero ante luciferum genui te. Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis, donec ponam ini[micos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum] (Psalm 109:3 in the Vulgate numbering). The verso features: [Attollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini, portae] aeternales: et introibit rex gloriae (Psalm 23:7 in the Vulgate numbering), Revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro salutare Dei nostri (Isaiah 40:5), and Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te (Psalm 2:7 in the Vulgate numbering). Each of these passages resounds with themes of messianic revelation and royal epiphany, aligning the infant Christ with Old Testament prophecies of divine kingship and salvific glory.

The sequence of chants on this leaf may reflect a departure from the standard Roman order for the Christmas Midnight Mass, which could suggest a local variation shaped by regional liturgical practices. Rather than beginning with Dominus dixit ad me, the traditional Introit, the leaf opens with Attollite portas (Psalm 23), followed by Revelabitur gloria Domini (Isaiah 40), and only then Dominus dixit ad me (Psalm 2). This atypical progression may reflect a deliberate artistic and theological choice to depart from chronological narration in favor of a thematic presentation of the Nativity:

1. Psalm 23 sets the stage with a royal summons for the King’s arrival; 

2. Isaiah 40 intensifies the moment with the promise that divine glory will be revealed; 

3. Psalm 2 culminates in the declaration of Christ’s divine sonship. 

Visually anchored by the illuminated Nativity scene placed just before Dominus dixit, the sequence forms a coherent arc of entrance, revelation, and fulfillment. In this context, the arrangement may be understood as a form of textual centonization, weaving together distinct scriptural passages to convey a unified theological message.