The Bible Illuminated: How Art Brought the Bible to an Illiterate World

by Karen York (Editor)

From a world lit only by fire, some of the most beautiful Bibles were created, illuminated, and enlivened with breathtaking illustrations.

Within The Bible Illuminated you will be introduced to kings and queens, monks and nuns, scribes and artists, librarians and historians, as well as modern-day collectors all hoping to preserve history by putting personal touches on their own copies of the most influential book of all time -- the Bible. Discover the geographical, theological, and historical contexts of these documents, as well as how illustrations disseminated the Bible among a mostly illiterate population. Be transported across the globe, across thousands of years, and across numerous cultures as you explore the history, narrative, and impact of illustrated manuscripts in The Bible Illuminated. Exquisite reproductions of the finest manuscripts and detailed descriptions combine to create a stunning, authentic, and powerful book that will become a keepsake treasured for generations. Immerse yourself in the Bible in a visually creative way that awakens the imagination and journeys you through history with emotional impact.

Genres: Art, Christian, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published November 14, 2017

Reviews

[Bruce Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely magnificent medieval illumination and brief descriptors make this book a rewarding experience.

[Zack McCullough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start with the positives. This book has beautiful images of medieval manuscripts. The color illustrations are nice and I enjoyed seeing the interesting and sometimes quite bizarre art from this time. However, the subtitle of the book implies that the book will explain or demonstrate clearly how these images were used to communicate the Bible to a mostly illiterate world. But it doesn't really do that. Instead it simply describes each manuscript seperately, telling who made it, who funded its creation, and what happened to it. It becomes really repetitive quickly. Occasionally the book will explain what certain terms mean or will point out recurring motifs like the four writers of the gospels being represented by four figures. (Man, bull, eagle, and lion) But it basically feels like one is walking through a museum reading the little placards describing exhibits. But this makes sense as the book was made by the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Overall, I don't regret reading this, and I did learn some interesting things, I just wish it had been written with more of a narrative or something that tied things together.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thoughts:

There are several reasons why I love this beautiful book:
1. I read stories about how and why the illuminated manuscripts were created, who they were passed down to, and how they survived to our current time.
2. Brief definitions are in most of the chapters. Two examples: “What is a Psalter?” And, what sources of materials were used to create the manuscripts.
3. Vivid, bright, colorful, detailed illustrations of the manuscripts.
4. A favorite in the book is the Theodore Psalter. This book includes the 150 Psalms with illustrations of stories of David.
5. Other favorites are the Book of Kells, Psalter of Queen Melisende, Winchester Bible, the Bedford Book of Hours, and The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany.

The illuminated books and manuscripts were most often created for and given to wealthy royal people. They were literate. Most of the common everyday people were not literate, but they wouldn’t have seen these books. So I am unclear about the subtitle explaining the book.
Over-all, this is a wonderful book.

[Joel Vandenbergh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book displaying pages from various manuscripts showing the process of Biblical Illumination. This process allowed people to understand what the Bible was teaching through the use of pictures within them. Seeing these beautiful pictures makes me want to go back to different museums, such as the British Library and see them again. Would love to go see the Book of Kells and Lindisfarne Gospels one day! This book also contains brief explanations about the known provenance of the various manuscripts and interesting facts about each, which, in many cases, added to the beauty exhibited.

[Amy Reasoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all what I thought it was going to be. Based on the subtitle, I imagined this would be a look at the role of illuminated texts and also iconography and church art in communicating the gospel to a largely illiterate church in medieval times. And while it did touch a little on that, this is basically a coffee table book of illuminated manuscripts, with short excerpts about the history and museum acquisition of each manuscript. It's a lovely book, and I enjoyed reading it, but I wish there had been a foreward or back matter that had gone into greater detail about the use of the art in the church and in discipleship during the Middle Ages.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information but only a minimal amount of information on each featured codex. It also has beautiful illustrations of each but again it only has a few on each. This is definitely more of an introductory overview on each subject but still a really neat read.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just under 200 pages, this book is a treasure of biblical doctrine in the more accessible form of pictures. While some may fail to appreciate this books aesthetics and pedagogical intent, tens of thousands have been moved closer to heaven by it. Highly recommended!

[Larry Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, beautiful images!!

[Amanda Almeida · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of illuminations and info about them. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t a book about art in medieval times bringing the word of God to the masses.