This 14th century miniature painting illustrates the Christian ceremony of Baptism. By this point in Western European history, Baptisms were performed on infants and included a ritual exorcism: it was thought that every human was born with sin inherently, and this evil had to be removed in order for the child to enter God’s grace. In fact, exorcisms only left the Catholic rites after Vatican II, and they were part of many other Christian baptism rituals well into the 20th century.
Source(s): Treaty of Devotion, Castle of Chantilly, 14th c miniature. Alamy stock photo.
