Beatus vir

As the "initial par excellence it stimulated the ornamentalizing impulse of the medieval artist to ever-increasing heights of fantasy".

In bibles the first letter of each book was also enlarged and illuminated in grand manuscripts, producing more beatus initials.

[9] Psalm 112 has been included in various places in Western Christian liturgy, especially in the context of vespers, and has been popular for musical settings, which are generally known by their opening words, Beatus vir.

[12] Today probably the best known is Claudio Monteverdi's setting of 1640, SV 268, from his Selva morale e spirituale, also known as the Vespers of 1640.

This piece is still often performed by itself, and has been described as "one of the most attractive and inspired settings of the Selva morale and one of the few sacred works of Monteverdi’s later years that has become widely known.

Pieces called Beatus vir are catalogued by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (6 settings: H.175, H.154, H.199, H.208, H.221, H.224 (Ps.