Christ in the Harrowing of Hell (Tiberius Psalter)

A tall, haloed Christ dominates the left side of the frame, leaning forward to reach out to a group of naked, pleading figures emerging from the yawning maw of a monstrous beast at the bottom right. Christ is dressed in flowing robes with intricate, linear folds and wears a cruciform nimbus. Beneath his feet, he tramples a bound, grotesque, hairy demon representing the devil. The figures being rescued reach upward with their hands, their bodies rendered in a delicate, sketch-like style against a plain parchment background.

This illumination illustrates the doctrine of the 'Harrowing of Hell' (Descensus Christi ad Inferos), the belief that Christ descended into the underworld between his crucifixion and resurrection to liberate the righteous souls of the Old Testament. It reflects the theological focus of late Anglo-Saxon monastic culture, drawing on apocryphal traditions found in the Gospel of Nicodemus.