Monk giving a chalice and host to Mary of Egypt from BL Royal 10 E IV, f. 286

The Decretals of Gregory IX (Latin, Decretales Gregorii IX), also collectively called the Liber extra, are an important source of medieval Canon Law. In 1230, Pope Gregory IX ordered his chaplain and confessor, St. Raymond of Penyafort, a Dominican, to form a new canonical collection destined to replace all former collections. Raymond of Penyafort, O.P., (ca. 1175 – 6 January 1275) was a Spanish Dominican friar in the 13th century. He is honored as a saint in the Catholic Church and is the patron saint of lawyers, especially canon lawyers.

In medieval illuminated manuscripts, bas-de-page scenes are unframed, sometimes whimsical images that appear below the written text and may or may not refer to it.