Morgan Bible

The book consists of miniature paintings of events from the Hebrew Bible, set in the scenery and costumes of thirteenth-century France, and depicted from a Christian perspective.

[1] The book consists of paintings of events from Hebrew scripture but are given a setting in the customs and costumes of thirteenth-century France, concentrating on stories of kings, especially David.

It includes portions of "Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel" with a particular emphasis on early Israelite heroes who are presented as models of kingship to learn from.

The level of detail included, from architecture to siege engines to haircuts, provides historians with valuable clues as to what life was like at the time, while the stylistic changes and subtle variations in the story-lines give some insight into one of the most powerful men in Europe.

[9] A suggestion by Allison Stones, expanding on conclusions by others such as François Avril, that it was instead illuminated in northern France around 1250 has not won general acceptance.

Under Louis IX, France took a militant position against the enemies of Christendom, taking an active part in the Seventh and Eighth Crusades.

[1] The creation of the Morgan Bible falls around the time Louis IX went on his first crusade, and the style of using modern clothes on biblical figures appears in other works he commissioned around this time such as the Sainte-Chapelle chapel in Paris, whose stained glass is in the same style, suggesting they may have been used to legitimize his position at home and among the other crusaders.

[1] After the death of Louis IX, ownership passed to his brother, Charles of Anjou who defeated Naples in 1266 and founded the Angevin Dynasty.

[6] In 1604, Cardinal Maciejowski gifted the Bible to Shah Abbas through a delegation, as is evidenced by the inscription of folio 1 that reads in Latin (translated by Daniel Weiss): “Bernard Maciejowski, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Bishop of Cracow, Duke of Siewierz, and Senator of the Kingdom of Poland with sincere wishes offers this gift to the supreme King of the Persians at Cracow the mother city of the kingdom of Poland on the seventh of September 1604.”[6] It officially reached the Shah back in Isfahan in 1608.

[6] When Phillipps died, his collection went to his daughter, and then to his grandson, who eventually began selling it off in order to pay off debts.