October is National Book Month! There’s nothing like the binding of the Morgan’s Lindau Gospels to celebrate a text. One of the most important of all medieval treasure bindings, the front cover is made of gold and precious jewels like emeralds, sapphires, pearls, garnets, and amethysts. At the center is a gold figure of Christ on a jeweled cross, surrounded by ten other figures. The manuscript itself, on view in the Historic Library's East Room, contains the text of the four Gospels along with standard supplementary material, such as prefaces for each of the Gospels, chapter listings, and twelve richly illuminated canon tables. What are you doing this month to celebrate books and reading? ___ Lindau Gospels, (MS M.1) in case in Mr. Morgan's Library. The Morgan Library & Museum, Photography by Graham S. Haber, 2016. (fb)

In the third and second centuries BC, an influential Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible emerged. Known as the Septuagint (meaning “seventy,” referring to the purported number of translators involved), this version quickly became the most common biblical text for the substantial Greek-speaking Jewish diaspora and eventually for early Christians as well. This leaf, currerntly on view in "Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Medieval Art and Life," belongs to one of the best-preserved examples of a Greek Psalter from late-antique Egypt. Manuscripts such as this were produced not only by the Jewish diaspora in Egypt but also by nascent Christian communities, which would come to be known as the Copts. __ Fragment of an Ancient Greek Psalter (Bodmer 24) Egypt, ca. 225-325 Washington DC, The Museum of the Bible, MS 170.18v Glazed Pane 230 x 125 mm (papyrus) Courtesy Museum of the Bible Collection. All rights reserved. © Museum of the Bible, 2024. [Illuminated manuscripts, Medieval art, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval paintings, Renaissance art, Renaissance paintings] (fb)