Description

The story of the Assumption of Mary, as the feast is called in Western Christian tradition, is described in the 13th-century book Legenda Aurea. Christ comes to the Mother of God to take her soul, in the form of a child, to heaven. The disciples are gathered and rally around the bier. The procession is then disrupted by Jefonias, who wants to knock over the bier. This is punished by the archangel Michael, who cuts off his hands. After Jefonias repents, his hands grow back.