The Crusader Bible - 1240s
"The Crusader Bible, also known as the Morgan Picture Bible, the Maciejowski Bible, and the Shah ‘Abbas Bible, is not only one of the greatest medieval manuscripts in the Morgan, it also ranks as one of the incomparable achievements of French Gothic illumination." The Morgan Library and MuseumThumbnails of all images here.Wikipediakeyword: biblex11/25/25The Crusader Bible (also called the Morgan Picture Bible or Maciejowski Bible) is a mid‑13th‑century illuminated picture book of Old Testament stories, created in Paris and now chiefly housed at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. It is famous for its vivid, large‑scale miniatures that recast biblical battles and scenes in the armor, weapons, and architecture of contemporary Gothic, crusading‑era France.Origins and dateThe manuscript was produced around 1250, likely in Paris, and has long been associated with the circle or court of King Louis IX of France, a major crusader ruler.It originally functioned purely as a sequence of images without text, designed as a lavish luxury object rather than a standard reading Bible.Content and imageryThe surviving 46 folios contain hundreds of scenes from selected books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, especially Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel, with a strong emphasis on the life and battles of King David.The miniatures are noted for intense color, extensive use of gold, and detailed depictions of 13th‑century warfare, clothing, and daily life, making the manuscript a key visual source for Gothic art and medieval military history.Later inscriptions and languagesAlthough first made without words, the pages later acquired explanatory captions in Latin, then Persian, and later Judeo‑Persian and Hebrew, added by successive owners who wanted to gloss the images for new audiences.These multilingual notes turn the book into a record of cross‑cultural movement between Latin Christendom and the Islamic and Jewish worlds.Travels and ownershipIn the early 17th century the manuscript belonged to Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, bishop of Kraków, whose name gave rise to the title “Maciejowski Bible.”He had it presented as a diplomatic gift to Shah Abbas I of Persia, after which it remained in the Middle East before folios were later dispersed and eventually acquired in large part by the Morgan Library in the 20th century.SignificanceArt historians regard the Crusader Bible as one of the greatest Gothic picture manuscripts, both for the quality of its painting and for its unusually rich cycle of Old Testament imagery.For modern viewers, it serves both as a devotional reimagining of scripture through a crusading lens and as a remarkably detailed snapshot of 13th‑century French material and visual culture.Source: Perplexity.ai-- G. Ly
