An extensively illustrated compendium of 45 expertly selected illuminated bibles that transport the reader through 1,000 years of history and across the Christian world
For two millennia the Bible has inspired the creation of art. Within this legacy of remarkable art and beauty, illuminated biblical manuscripts offer some of the best evidence for our understanding of early Christian painting and artistic interpretations of the Bible.
Compiled and written by two internationally renowned experts, this beautiful book immerses the reader in the world of illuminated manuscripts of the Bible. Through its pictures we are transported across 1,000 years of history, passing chronologically through many of the major centres of the Christian world. Starting in Constantinople in the East, the journey moves on to Lindisfarne in the North, to imperial Aachen, back to Canterbury, then to Carolingian Tours in western France. Later we view some of the riches of Winchester, Mozarabic Spain, Crusader Jerusalem, the Meuse valley, northern Iraq, Paris, London, Bologna, Naples, Bulgaria, the Low Countries, Rome and Persia. Our journey ends in Gondar, the capital of imperial Ethiopia. Forty-five remarkable books – each a treasure in its own right – provide our itinerary through time and across continents. Together they enable us to explore and revel in the extraordinary art and beauty of illuminated biblical manuscripts, some of the finest but least-known paintings from the Middle Ages.
Contents List:
Introduction: One Thousand Years of Art and Beauty
The Bibles
1. The Golden Canon Tables
Canon Tables of Eusebius of Caesarea, in Greek Constantinople, 6th or 7th century [Turkey]
Glimpses of early Christian splendour in Constantinople
2. The Lindisfarne Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin, with added interlinear gloss in Old English
Lindisfarne, c. 700 (added gloss, Chester-le-Street, c. 970) [UK]
Spectacular Anglo-Saxon Ornament
3. The Vespasian Psalter
Psalter, in Latin, with interlinear gloss in Old English
Kent, 1st half of the 8th century [UK]
The Earliest Narrative Initials in Western Europe
4. The Harley Golden Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Aachen?, Carolingian Empire, c. 800 [UK]
The Gospels Written in Gold
5. The Canterbury Royal Bible
Bible, in Latin (incomplete, now comprising the Four Gospels only)
Canterbury, 1st quarter of the 9th century, [UK]
An Early Canterbury Bible
6. The Moutier-Granval Bible
Bible, in Latin
Tours, 2nd quarter of the 9th century [France]
Symbolic Figurative Art
7. The Lothar Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
Aachen, c. 842–55 [Germany]
An Imperial Psalter
8. The Aethelstan or Coronation Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Lobbes, south of Brussels, last quarter of the 9th century, or 1st quarter of the 10th century [Belgium]
A Royal Gift
9. Guest-Coutts New Testament
New Testament, in Greek
Constantinople, middle of 10th century [Turkey]
An Illuminated New Testament from Constantinople
10. The Harley Psalter
Psalter, in Latin (Psalms, incomplete)
Canterbury, 1st half of the 11th century [UK]
An Anglo-Saxon Masterpiece
11. The Old English Hexateuch
Hexateuch (Genesis-Joshua), in Old English
Canterbury, 2nd quarter of the 11th century [UK]
The Earliest Illustrated Western Vernacular Bible
12. The Harley Echternach Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Echternach, middle of the 11th century [Luxembourg]
Ottonian Imperial Style
13. The Tiberius Psalter
Psalter, in Latin, imperfect, with Old English gloss
Winchester, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 11th century [UK]
A Grand Christological Cycle
14. Theodore Psalter
Psalter, in Greek
Constantinople, 1066 [Turkey]
A Byzantine Visual Commentary on the Psalms
15. The Silos Apocalypse
Revelation and Beatus of Liébana’s commentary,
St Jerome’s commentary on Daniel, in Latin
Silos [Spain], 1091 (text) and 1109 (decoration) [Spain]
A Spanish Vision of the Apocalypse
16. The Stavelot Bible
Bible, in Latin
Stavelot, near Liège, 1093–97 [Belgium]
Monumental Art
17. The Egerton Gospel Lectionary
Gospel Lectionary, in Latin
Germany, c. 1100 [Germany]
Illuminating the Liturgy
18. The Burney Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Constantinople, 10th century (script) and 2nd quarter
of 12th century (portraits) [Turkey]
An Imperial Tetraevangelion
19. The Psalter of Queen Melisende
Psalter, in Latin
Jerusalem, between 1131 and 1143 [Middle East]
A Psalter for a Crusader Queen
20. The Winchester Psalter
Psalter, in Latin and French with the Apostles Creed
and some prayers in French
Winchester, England, middle of 12th century [UK]
An Illustrated Bilingual Psalter
21. The Worms Bible
Bible, in Latin
Frankenthal, near Worms, c. 1148 [Germany]
A Romanesque Giant Bible
22. The Floreffe Bible
Bible, in Latin
Meuse valley, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 12th century [Germany]
Visual Biblical Exegesis
23. The Arnstein Bible
Bible, in Latin
Arnstein, Germany, c. 1172 [Germany]
A Grand Monastic Bible
24. The Harley Greek Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Cyprus or Palestine, late 12th century [Middle East]
A Gospels to Aid Devotion
25. Syriac Lectionary
Gospel Lectionary, in Syriac
Mosul, between 1216 and 1220 [Syria / Middle East]
A Syrian Visualization of the Gospels
26. The Harley Bible moralisée
Moralized Bible (Maccabees and the New Testament),
in Latin, Paris, 2nd quarter of 13th century [France]
Royal Instruction
27. Apocalypse
Revelation, with extracts from the commentary
of Berengaudus, in Latin, imperfect
London or Westminster, c. 1260 [UK]
An English Illustrated Apocalypse
28. Bolognese Bible
Bible, in Latin
Bologna, c. 1280–1300 [Italy]
Italian Splendour
29. Gospel Lectionary of the Sainte-Chapelle
Gospel Lectionary, in Latin
Paris, last quarter of 13th century [France]
Picturing the Gospels in Medieval Paris
30. The Queen Mary Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
London?, 1st quarter of 14th century [UK]
Unprecedented Psalter Illustration
31. Welles Apocalypse
Revelation, with commentary in Anglo-Norman French,
bound with Peter of Peckham, La lumere as lais
England, c. 1310 [UK]
Revelation in the Vernacular
32. Holkham Bible Picture Book
Bible Picture Book, with captions in Anglo-Norman French
London, c. 1320–30 [UK]
The Bible in Pictures
33. The St Omer Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
Norfolk, c. 1330 (with later additions) [UK]
Glorious Marginal Imagery
34. Bible of Clement VII
Bible, in Latin
Naples, c. 1330–40 [Italy]
A Papal Bible
35. The Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander
The Four Gospels, in Slavonic of Bulgarian character
Turnovo (?), 1355–56 [Bulgaria]
Slavonic Emulation of Byzantine Splendour
36. Bible historiale of Charles V
Bible historiale completée moyenne: Genesis to the Apocalypse, in French
Paris, 1357 [France]
The Bible as History
37. Paduan Bible Picture Book
Bibbia istoriata: Exodus to Joshua, in Italian
Padua, c. 1390–1400 [Italy]
The Old Testament in Pictures
38. King’s Biblia pauperum
Biblia pauperum
The Hague, c. 1395–1400 [Netherlands]
The Old Testament revealed in the New
39. The Great Bible of the Kings of England
Bible, in Latin
London, c. 1410–13 [UK]
A Late Medieval Giant Bible
40. Bible historiale of Charles of France
Grande Bible historiale à prologues: Genesis to the Apocalypse
Paris, c. 1420 [France]
Learning Wisdom from the Bible
41. Dutch History Bible
Utrecht Bible: Genesis to Esther
Utrecht, c. 1440–45 [Netherlands]
Seeing Salvation in the Netherlands
42. Edward IV’s Bible historiale
Bible historiale: Tobit to Acts, in French
Bruges, 1470 (script) and c. 1479 (illumination) [Belgium]
A Bible fit for a King
43. The Gospels of Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Rome, 1478 [Italy]
A Renaissance Cardinal’s Gospel book
44. Armenian Gospels
Four Gospels, in Armenian
Isfahan, 1608 [Middle East]
Painting the Gospels in Persia
45. Ethiopian Octateuch and Gospels
Octateuch, Four Gospels and Apostolic Canons, in classical Ethiopic (Ge'ez)
Gondar (?), late 17th century [Ethiopia]
Reviving Former Ethiopian splendour
Further Reading
Index
About the Authors:
Dr Scot McKendrick is Head of Western Heritage Collections at the British Library, and Dr Kathleen Doyle is the Lead Curator, Illuminated Manuscripts at the same institution. Scot and Kathleen edited and contributed to 1,000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts (2013) and, with Professor John Lowden, Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination (2011), which was shortlisted for the William M.B. Berger Prize for British Art History (2012). Together they wrote Bible Manuscripts: 1,400 Years of Scribes and Scripture (2007), and contributed to Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2007).
