The legend of Veronica occupies a prominent place in the work. It is divided into two parts, the Veronica (660 ll.; the legend in a narrower sense in ll. 89- 196) and the Vespasianus (278 ll.). In fact, Vespasianus is a continuation of Veronica. Yet it would seem as if the beginning of the legend of Veronica was inserted later in a story about the life of Jesus; the place it occupies in that is, however, anything but self-evident. An inverse process seems also possible: if Veronica and Vespasianus form a whole in terms of content, the Jesus-vita could have been given a place in the whole.

After the prologue in which the Trinity, especially the Holy Spirit, is invoked for inspiration, the poet immediately starts with the story of Veronica. Apparently, she belongs here among Jesus’ followers, along with Luke. Impressed by the person and actions of the Lord, Veronica begs the painter Luke to make her a portrait of Jesus. After repeated attempts (3 times!), he fails to make a good likeness. Jesus then offers Veronica to visit her and have a meal with her. At her home Jesus washes his face and dries it with a cloth. The impression of his face is then preserved on the cloth. Jesus informs Veronica that only after his death will the cloth show miraculous power. Next follows a Life of Jesus which relates successively: The baptism in the river Jordan, the temptations by the Devil in the desert, the betrayal by Judas, the tortures, Jesus before Pilate, the crucifixion (with references to the legend of the True Cross, The Good Thief, the Descent into Hell and the Longinus legend), the deposition from the Cross by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, the resurrection and the visit of the three Marys to the tomb, the episode of the Men of Emmaus, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the Ascension. The poet ends his Veronica with the preaching of the apostles, and a short closing prayer. The Vespasianus continues the history with the explicit time indication “forty-two years and one day later”. In Rome, the emperor Vespasianus is suffering from a terrible disease. Wasps have nestled in his head, flying in and out. From Palestine he receives information that there should be a man living there who is curing many people of diseases: Jesus, the Son of God.