The Art of the Bible : Illuminated Manuscripts from the Medieval World (Hardcover)

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 Liebana’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 Liege, 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 moralisee
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 completee 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 a 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