Old Testament Miniatures with Latin, Persian, and Judeo-Persian inscriptions
France, Paris, 1240s

Scholars believe that the Picture Bible was commissioned by Louis IX of France, the Capetian monarch who built the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to house the crown of thorns before leaving for the first of his two crusades in 1248. The Bible later passed to the cardinal of Cracow, who then offered it as a diplomatic gift to the great Persian Muslim shah 'Abbas in the early seventeenth century. The manuscript eventually fell into the hands of Jewish owners, probably during the eighteenth century. These various owners left Latin, Persian, and Judeo-Persian inscriptions around the images. With these inscriptions, the keepers of the manuscript used their languages to assert their ownership of the book, appropriating its narrative contents and assimilating it into their own cultures.

The Latin captions are the earliest. They can be labeled as "early fourteenth-century," and were possibly made by a scribe trained in Bologna. The Persian captions come next. They were added in 1608 or shortly after, when the manuscript was presented to Shah Abbas in Isfahan. The Judeo-Persians are last, and according to the translator, they were probably made in 1722 or shortly after, as that year Isfahan was sacked by the Afghans. She supposes that at that time the book was looted by an Afghan soldier and was possibly exchanged with an Iranian Jew.

The Picture Bible is illustrated with saturated colors and exquisite detail. In order to make its lessons relevant to readers, the creators of this Bible set Old Testament stories in contemporaneous environments. For example, depictions of architecture evoke the castles and houses of thirteenth-century French towns and battle scenes are illustrated with thirteenth-century armor, weapons, and battle insignia.

MS M.638 (fol. 23r)

A Plea for Help
As Saul drives oxen in from the fields, he is met by anguished messengers from Jabesh-Gilead. Nahash the Ammonite has encamped outside the city and threatened to gouge out the right eye of every inhabitant. The king, enraged, slaughters two oxen and cuts them into pieces. The pieces are sent throughout Israel with a message: either follow Saul and Samuel into battle or expect the same to be done to your oxen. (1 Kings 11:1–7)

Marshaling Forces
Saul, crowned, bearing a scepter, and seated on an ivory throne, greets the warriors of Israel. The foremost kneel before the king and pledge their fealty. A standard bearer rides along in a supply cart. Behind Saul, a royal attendant assures a messenger from Jabesh-Gilead that help is at hand. (1 Kings 11:7–9)

Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern, www.faksimile.ch.
Content consultant: Richard Leson