While a date of 926 can be considered too early for the Morgan Beatus, a date after 945 is generally rejected as well. This is based on the position that the Moralia in Iob illuminated by Florentius was completed in that year and depends on Maius for its decorative work. Two examples suggest the accuracy of this position.
Both the Moralia and Beatus open with acrostic labyrinths. This is not unusual in itself. Spanish manuscripts had made use of this device as early as the time of Alfonso II (792-842) to indicate book ownership. The Morgan Beatus follows this tradition with an acrostic reading Sci Micaeli Lib, the abbreviation for Book of St. Michael. The Moralia labyrinth, however, makes use of the device as a personal petition form the artist. Theoretically this innovation is later than the Morgan Beatus because it was not used by Maius.
A more significant relationship between the Moralia and Morgan Beatus is the connection between the two manuscripts depiction of the enthroned Christ. John Williams compares the opening miniature of the Moralia with folio 87 of the Morgan Beatus. His argument is that "the angels and mandorla resemble (each other) to such a degree, including color, that one must have been based upon the other. Since details of the subject in the Moralia reflect still other Beatus miniatures, Florentius must have been borrowing from Maius." Whether one agrees with Williams' sequence or not, it cannot be denied that the enthroned Christ illustrations of the two manuscripts are closely related.
The Moralia Christ (fig. 10) is related to Beatus folio 87, 231v, and 112. The Moralia Christ is enthroned in a mandorla supported by two angels and flanked by two others. The Mandorla border contains 15 flower-like, eight pointed stars identical to those of Morgan f.112. The Morgan illuminations shows two supporting angels identified as cherubim and seraphim draped in yellow, as are the supporting angels of the Moralia. The four figures at the base of the Morgan depiction are identified as seniores, or the four elders. In the Apocalyptic tradition these elders are associated with the evangelists. This is precisely how four figures in a similar position are identified in the Moralia.
Further similarities are found with Morgan f.87. Here we see the Lamb of God enthroned in a mandorla, surrounded by the four winged creatures, the elders and musicians. The two supporting angels above are identical in color and position to those in the Moralia Christ. Furthermore, both miniatures have blue borders with eight-point stars. The Lamb even stands against a red background, just as Christ in the Moralia. Perhaps the most striking parallel, however, is between the Moralia Christ and Morgan f.231v. Both have red-robed supporting angels on the upper edge of the mandorla, Both Christ figures are sit against a red background in a blue bordered mandorla containing white stars. The two figures of Christ gesture toward an open book although their respective thrones are different. Because of these significant connections, and the fact that the Moralia Christ is the oldest full-page enthroned Christ with Evangelists in the Spanish tradition, has convinced Williams that Florentius must have based his image on the Apocalyptic imagery of Maius. Therefore, the Morgan Beatus must have been complete before 945.
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