Lamb of God Lamb of God sung or recited during the fraction of the Host. It is said to have been introduced into the Mass by Pope Sergius I (687–701). "Agnus Dei" has been set to music by many composers, usually as part of a Mass setting. In Christian iconography, an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb, since the Middle Ages, usually holding a standard or banner with a cross. This normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. Often the cross will have a white banner suspended from it charged with a
Holy Family with Christ as Imperator mundi the Baptist" (Dresden). It may be the earliest in the series and takes a more traditional approach, with the infant Christ and John the Baptist standing on a simple parapet and a black background, rather than the curved parapet and more nuanced background in the London example. John holds a scroll bearing Ecce Agnus Dei and points to Christ, who is shown as 'imperator mundi' or 'emperor of the world', holding a cross and an orb. There are gold highlights on the Virgin's veil, whilst behind her is a female saint, most probably her mother saint Anne or perhaps John's