This manuscript was created under the influence of the Austin Canons, also known as the Augustinians, in a time of papal schism.

[2] This person who it was intended for must have been very young, due to the fact that the Pater noster, which is the Lords Prayer, is preceded by an alphabet, indicating that the book was to be used as a primer.

[1] Much seems to indicate that the book was made for King Canute VI of Denmark, and commissioned by Bishop Eskil of Lund who was actually one of the artists.

[1] The bishop was in France between 1158 and 1168, where he met an artist who seems to have subsequently traveled to England and oversaw the creation of this psalter in Lincoln.

[1] Although there is uncertainty about who it was for, it has been suggested that it was made for Roger de Mowbray, a crusader and religious benefactor known to have founded a number of Augustinian and Cistercian monasteries and nunneries.

The Copenhagen Psalter begins with a calendar and a set of full-page miniatures illustrating the life of Christ.

One of the first illuminations shown is the Annunciation where the angel Gabriel greets the Virgin Mary and a dove that is the Holy Spirit.

The Virgin is recovering after giving birth in the foreground and the Christ Child, swaddled, with a red halo, lies in the manger in the background, admired by the animals in the stable.

The calendar inside of the Psalter shows the English ancestry; it is written in black in but some of the calligraphy is in red, blue, or green.

[1] Five or six English artists participated in painting its exquisite miniatures of the Life of Christ and 166 historiated and decorated initials.