Most well read Christians would have recognized many of the figures.

Christians had been using symbology for centuries as a way of providing the illiterate with shorthand to identify characters in art. If an artist wanted to depict Saint Lucia/Lucy they’d show a young woman carrying eyes on a platter. It would indicate to the viewer not only who the woman was, it’d also act as a reminder of her saint story. This bookplate is filled with such symbols.

You already recognize Moses with the commandment tablets, horns of light, and rod. Opposite of him is his brother Aaron shown dressed as the high priest of Israel. The cornice of the building contains the heraldic symbols of each of the 12 tribes of Israel each in front of a tent, connecting the figures Moses and Aaron more solidly with the Exodus.

Above and below the building are the four evangelists, each with their symbol Matthew (winged man/angel), Mark (lion), Luke (ox/bull), and John (eagle). Each has a stylus and is shown in the process of authoring their gospels.

Center top is the lamb with a cross representing Jesus Christ. At the very top is the holy characters for the name of God (Yahweh) in Hebrew, the Tetragrammaton, representing God the Father. Between them is the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. The rest of the men are the Apostles.

Staying in the center, To the lamb’s right is Peter holding the keys of heaven. Above Peter is Andrew with his saltire cross. On the other side is likely Jude. Swords aren’t completely unique symbology. So that one I’m less certain about. The guys with the flute and cup aren’t ringing any bells for me.

On the left behind Matthew are two indeterminate Apostles then Thomas with an Axe and Bartholomew with a knife. Both of those represent the way they were martyred beheaded with axe and flayed with knife.

On the right behind Mark are likely Simon with the saw, James the Just with the Club, St James son of Zebedee with the Scallop shell on his hat, and I don’t know again. Several of the Apostles were associated with clubs, spears, saws, just like with swords; so my identifications may be wrong on some of them. But as a set it’s very clearly the Apostles.

To viewers at the time some of these figures would be more familiar. I doubt anyone in Great Britain would miss Saint Andrew and his big saltire cross. But he’s a bit less familiar to modern, non-Scottish, folks.