
“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord) and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke: 2:22-24).
The story of Christ’s Presentation at the Temple is told only in Luke’s Gospel, and includes the story of a righteous man named Simeon, who was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Messiah.
And so most depictions of Christ’s presentation at the Temple, also include Simeon taking Christ in his hands.
This image from a medieval Book of Hours, probably written for the De Grey family of Ruthin, Wales, in 1390, is an exception. Here we see the haloed-baby being handed by Mary to a clean-shaven priest who is ready to wrap the child in a white cloth. Joseph is behind them with grey hair and beard; as tradition dictates, he appears much older than Mary.
Books of Hours such as this were popular in the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. From the mid-13th to the mid-16th century, there were more Books of Hours published than there were Bibles.
Books of Hours were used by lay people in their daily devotions and they typically included a calendar, Gospel lessons, the Hours of the Virgin, the Cross and the Holy Spirit.