Erasmus, Marcellinus and Peter of Rome

Marcellinus and Peter of Rome share a feast day on 2 June. Marcellinus was a priest and Peter an exorcist who were both decapitated during the rule of Emperor Diocletian. Standing between the two men we see Erasmus of Formia, bishop of Antioch, who also has his feast day on 2 June. He, too, underwent several forms of torture during Diocletian’s rule - with instruments such as maces, lead pipes, boiling resin, sulphur, lead and oil - but he survived all of them unscathed. Eventually he was killed with a winch that was used to pull out his internal organs through his belly. He carries a small windlass in reference to his death. The room in which the three men are standing clearly shows how the illuminators were constantly looking to keep the sanctoral depictions interesting. Underneath the round, silver windows, saints are depicted in green relief, each wearing a golden nimbus.