Background
In theVersions
This Bible, as indeed all the picture Bibles of the Middle Ages, did not contain the full text of the Bible, and contained much original commentary. Short passages only were cited, and these not so as to give any continuous sense or line of thought. But the object of the writer seems to have been chiefly to make the texts cited the basis of moral and allegorical teaching, in the manner so common in those days. In the Psalter he was content with copying out the first verse of each psalm; whilst when dealing with the Gospels he did not quote from each evangelist separately, but made use of a kind of confused diatessaron of all four combined. An attempt was made to establish a connection between the events recorded in the Old Testament and those recorded in the New, even when there does not seem to be any very obvious connection between them. Thus the sleep of Adam, recorded in the beginning ofThe Four Early ''Bibles moralisées''
The best known copy of the first version is one of the most sumptuous illustrated manuscripts preserved to us from the Middle Ages. It no longer as a single volume; it has been split up into three separate parts kept in three libraries. The first part, consisting of 224 leaves, is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The second part of 222 leaves is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris; and the third part, made up of 178 leaves, is kept in theThe later ''Bibles moralisées''
Of the seven ''Bibles moralisées'' only one, manuscript Français 167 in the Bibliothèque nationale de France at Paris, has survived in its complete form. Français 167 can be traced almost without a break from its creation in Paris for KingDate and Locations
Historians still dispute the time, place and the intended readers of the first two bibles moralisées, though consensus seems to believe that they were created during the first three decades of the thirteenth century in Paris.The theories behind the commissioning of the ''Bibles moralisées''
# There is no precise date for Vienna 2554, yet there is agreement that the manuscript is dated in the mid-thirteenth century, probably 1250s or 1260s. Vienna 2554 was written in approximately 1208 to 1215 in old French, it is theorized to have been commissioned by Phillip II Augustus, for his son, Louis VIII or his bride. achau, “God's Compass and Vana Curiositas”, 7 One expert on this subject believes this piece originated in Champagne, France. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 50 A point of reference for the dating of Vienna 2554 is the image of a mature looking bearded king at the end of Vienna 1179. This image was probably created before 1226 when Louis IX succeeded his father Louis VIII. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 51 The date of the Vienna 1179 manuscript is close to Vienna 2554, both were made after 1219. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 90 # An accepted theory regarding Toledo is that it was created on the orders of Blanche of Castile for Louis IX, this may be in connection to his marriage to Marguerite of Provence in 1234 majorite. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 183 # Oxford-Paris-London was probably also created on orders of Blanche of Castile for a related circumstance during approximately the same time period. Due to the fact that organization for Louis` marriage began in 1233 this may be the time period when this manuscript was started. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 185 # There is debate as to whether MS Additional 18719 (Add. 18719) was created at the end of the thirteenth century or the beginning of the fourteenth. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 190 # Français 166 came to be in the royal collection by 1518, how it got there remains unknown, though it has been theorized that Aymar of Poitiers may have given manuscripts to King Charles VIII while he was serving in Provence. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 284The Artists of the ''Bibles moralisées''
In the ''Bibles moralisées'' all the artists who worked on the manuscripts could not be identified, at times the number of artists who worked on a manuscript could be distinguished. For example, in the Add. 18719 manuscript, the illustrations were created by a number of craftsmen with speed and sloppiness, borders are completed crudely and in freehand. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 202 Meanwhile, in Français 167 fifteen artists were distinguished. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 232 Français 166 is different in this regard, because some of the artists were identified. Three of the five artists of Français166 were identified, including young Master of the Psalter of Jeanne de Laval, Maitre de Jouvenel, and the Master of the Geneva Boccaccio. These artists did not work at the same time but rather picking up where the one before stopped. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 279 There is a possible connection between the Limbourg brothers in 1402 -1404 and the illustrations within Français 166 first three quires. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 251Technical Analysis
In the four early ''Bibles moralisées'', only one side of each page of parchment was used; this procedure increased the size of the volume as well as made the creation of these bibles very expensive. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 13 Unlike the earlier ''Bibles moralisées'', Add. 18719 and other later ''Bibles moralisées'' used both sides of the parchment, hence costs as well as size of the manuscript was decreased. This change allowed for a more convenient one volume manuscript. Although this change may signal that money was a factor when creating later manuscripts. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 192 The text/picture blocks in the ''Bibles Moralisées'' are striking for their symmetry. Each of the pages hold 8 medallions with painted gold backgrounds, these 8 medallions are arranged in pairs, so 4 rows of two medallions. Where the medallions touch one another a stylized flower joins the two, similar flowers mark where the medallions touch the outer frame and the spaces between the medallions are decorated using squares placed over quatrefoils, in these there are painted angel busts over a gold ground. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 28 Each of the paintings within the medallions held figures that were painted on a gold leaf background, and are set on a patterned ground of blue or rose brown.Tachau, 39 As an example, in BnF MS Français 9561 129 pages are taken up with the Old Testament. Of these the earlier ones are divided horizontally in the centre, and it is the upper part of the page that contains the picture illustrative of some Old Testament event. The lower part represents a corresponding scene from the New Testament. further on in the volume, three pictures appear in the upper part of the page, and three below. Seventy-six pages at the end of the volume are devoted to depicting the lives of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. In most of the ''Bibles moralisées'', evidence shows that scribes completed the text after the decorations were completed. The text supplemented the images, being similar to a caption. This can be seen most obviously where the text goes over the gilding or the borders that had been painted for the text to fit in. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 30 A difference between MS Additional 18719 and the earlier ''Bibles moralisées'' is that MS Additional 18719 (and Add.18719) followed the usual procedure for manuscript illumination, where the scribes worked first and then the artists added images. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 199 Français 166 copies the layout and text that is used in Français 167. Meanwhile, Vienna 1179 and Toledo are very similar, at times the two be told apart in photographs, since they consist of the same layout. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.96 Français 167 is similar to Add. 18719 in that unlike the other ''Bibles moralisées'' they both sides of the parchment sheets.State of Preservation
Almost all of the manuscripts dated to the medieval period have been rebound. For example, Add. 18719 was rebound in modern times the stitching of the new binding is characteristic of the tight stitch technique that was used by the British Museum in the second half of the nineteenth century. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 191 Vienna 1179 was badly damaged by water at an early date; the damage was not equal to all pages but sufficient to require the rewriting of all the texts positioned in the upper part of the affected pages. This rewriting can be witnessed in that the scribe who restored the texts on Ruth was not the original scribe, his work was not angular and appeared more the inscriptions used in Toledo pr Oxford-Paris London, two other bibles of the ''bibles moralisées'', hence this damage was caused after the manuscript was completed. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 57 Français 167 went through an early restoration, due to extensive water damage. Three sides of the parchment leaves had been cut off in the majority of the book and replacements strips were glued on, also the text was inked again in certain places that had been affected by the replacement strips. The images that were replaced were created to imitate the originals and have been identified as having been completed by a master working for King Charles V around 1370-1380. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 236 Even the parts of Français 166 that survived were never fully completed. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 255 All the aspects of Français 166, such as the headers, drawing of the frames, paintings etc., are all in different stages of completion at different points in the manuscript. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées,258 Add. 18719 was entirely illustrated using drawings, this brings up questions about whether it was left unfinished. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 215Style
One of the artist who illustrated Add. 18719, identified only as artist E, used exceptional skills in his drawings. His figures were tall and thin with elongated necks. The figures are clothed in drapery that hangs and shows heavy angular folds. The heads sit at odd angles on the necks, often tilted sharply. The figures have broad foreheads and small chins. This artist’s work was compared to the Ashridge Comestor, British Library, MS Royal 3.D.VI, which is a different manuscript. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 209 The style used by artist E is reminiscent of the Carolingian Rheims School of art. The Rheims school also used elongated figures, with long necks and figures. The heads of some of the sketches also sit peculiarly on the shoulders and draperies in which the figures are clothed also have angular folds. The Rheims school of art produced art that gave much feeling of motion. The early Bibles moralisées are an example of the move away from the Byzantine influences, this movement is part of the early gothic art movement. The early gothic style lasted until the middle of the thirteenth century and is characterized by a softer and more realistic style than the Byzantine influenced style. “In France the style is particularly noticeable in a series of magnificent Bibles Moralisées ... done probably for the French court c. 1230–40.” artindale, Early GothicIconography
The Vienna 2554 frontispiece is famous and has often been reproduced. This frontispiece shows God`s figure bent while in the work of creation. “There is no close iconographic antecedent for this image.” In this image God is utilizing a huge pair of compasses, which are carefully balanced so as to draw and define. God’s left hand seems to be in the process of putting the disk that is the cosmos into motion. In a broadly read study of Gothic architecture by Otto Von Simpson, this image is titled “The Creator as Architect,” this theme has been important from Plato and onward. Yet the meaning of this frontispiece has been widely debated. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 47 Vienna 1179 also has a full page creator image. In this image God is seated on a backless throne and he is holding the orb of the universe in his lap. With his right hand he turns the compasses. In this image he is enclosed within a rectangular frame by a mandorla supported at the corners by four flying angels. owden, The making of the Bibles moralisées, 87 This idea of god as a creator, with images of god holding compasses has been reproduced in several of the Bibles moralisées and many debates have surrounded the meaning and origin of this idea.Codicological Information
The ''Bibles moralisées'' were created on high quality parchment paper. Each of the bibles was one of the most expensive books that had been created within medieval Europe. All of the bibles were created on large sheets of high- quality parchment in which the work was only done on one side of each parchment. achau, “God's Compass and Vana Curiositas”, p.9 Expensive paint and ink was used in the creation of the ''Bibles moralisées'' as well, for example the blue that was used for the borders, backgrounds, and clothes was lapis lazuli. Few held the resources to commission these works other than royalty. In each page of the ''Bibles moralisées'' there are eight images arranged within four columns. Each is a biblical and moralizing image that is accompanied by a text. Unlike most illuminated manuscripts where the images are secondary to the text, in these manuscripts the images are the dominant aspect, this is evident in that the manuscripts contain more than 24, 000 illustrations. reenspoon, “The Making of the Bibles Moralisees”, p.607Folios
Vienna 2554 now stands apart from the other ''Bibles moralisées'' as noticeably the smallest, consisting of 131 folios. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.12 The damage and disorder of the pages now leave little evidence of the original length of the volume. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.22 Meanwhile, Vienna 1179 is almost two times the thickness of Vienna 2554, consisting of 246 folios. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.58 MS Additional 18719 now consists of 311 folios, while the original total was 321 folios and 642 pages. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.197 Français 167 is a single volume and it contains 322 numbered folios. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.222 Lastly, Français 166 consists of one volume and 169 folios, containing 1,340 illustrations. owden, The making of the bibles moralisées, p.252Other illustrated Bibles
There is a MS. existing in the British Museum (addit. 1577) entitled "Figures de la Bible" consisting of pictures illustrating events in the Bible with short descriptive text. This is of the end of the thirteenth, or the beginning of the fourteenth, century. Of the same date is the "Historia Bibliæ metrice" which is preserved in the same library and, as the name implies, has a metrical text. The Velislai biblia picta is a 14th-century Bohemian picture bible. There are specimens of manuscript illustrated Bibles of earlier date. Examples are the Bible preserved in the library of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome; that of the Amiens Library (MS. 108), and that of the Royal Library of The Hague (MS. 69).References
Sources
;Attribution * De Laborde, A., Comte de. 1911-1913. La Bible Moralisée Illustrée Conservée à Oxford, Paris, et Londres. Paris. * * Cothren, Michael. 1984. "The Iconography of Theophilus Windows in the First Half of the Thirteenth Century", '' Speculum'' 59, (2)External links