Prayer Bead with the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion Prayer Bead with the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion Prayer Bead with the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion (MS 17.190.475) is a small south Netherlandish prayer nut, carved in fine-grained boxwood, and dated to c 1500–10. It is now in the collection of The Cloisters, New York. Originally the bead would have been part of a complete rosary set, and its size suggests its use as an "Ave bead", where the supplicant would recite the "Hail Mary". Objects of this type were in great demand in the early sixteenth century. Apart from use in private veneration,
Queen of Heaven is sung in the time from Trinity Sunday until the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent. In the vernacular, as a prayer to the Virgin Mary, the Hail Holy Queen is the final prayer of the Rosary. A German Benedictine monk, Hermann of Reichenau (1013–1054), allegedly composed it and it originally appeared in Latin, the prevalent language of the Catholic Church until Vatican II. Traditionally it has been sung in Latin, though many translations exist. In the Middle Ages, "Salve Regina" offices were held every Saturday. In the 13th century, the custom developed to greet the Queen of Heaven