Trajan and Hadrian, miniature in a 15th-century manuscript

What it is

This is a painted miniature in a 15th-century manuscript held by the British Library as Royal 19 E V. It is attributed to the Maître aux inscriptions blanches, a painter known from his work of that period. The picture shows an older bearded emperor with a gold crown and blue mantle over gold armour, holding a sword. A kneeling young man in a pink robe reaches toward him, and a woman in a blue dress and a man in green stand nearby. Red and gold text lies below the picture.

Why it matters

The miniature is a later artwork, made more than a thousand years after Trajan's reign. It shows how medieval readers imagined Roman emperors, dressing them in gold armour and crowns of their own time. Hadrian, who succeeded Trajan, appears beside him, so the scene links the two rulers. It reveals the tastes and beliefs of its own makers as much as Roman history itself.

Look closer

• What clothing and objects show that the artist was not painting Roman dress?
• How do the poses of the emperor and the kneeling young man show their relationship?
• What might a medieval reader have learned from this picture, and what might they have missed?