The Way of Poverty or of Wealth, c.1425-50 (tempera on vellum)

Newlywed is shown the rewards of reason and the punishments of fraud This manuscript, which has been dated to c.1430-1440, was previously attributed to a follower of the Bedford Master. This miniature introduces the twenty-third chapter of the allegorical poem La Voie de Povreté ou de Richesse (The Way of Poverty or of Wealth), composed by the French poet Jacques Bruyant in ca. 1342. In this manuscript, the poem is called Le Livre de Chastel de Labour (The Book of the Castle of Labor) and comprises forty-six chapters. It is an allegory of the profits of hard work. The poem concerns Newlywed, as the hero is called, who is visited one night in a dream by Want, Necessity, Suffering, and Hunger. They scold him for not having found work. He is eventually saved by Reason who shows him the paths to a virtuous life. In this miniature, Reason and Newlywed are seated before a vision of the Last Judgment. The blessed are in heaven while the damned are cast into the mouth of hell.