Poor Man's Bible

[1] The term Poor Man's Bible is not to be confused with the so-called Biblia pauperum, which are biblical picture books, either in illuminated manuscript or printed "block-book" form.

But despite the fact that the books, at least in their earlier manuscript versions, were created for the rich, while the carvings and windows of a great church provided free entertainment and instruction to all who entered the doors, there were strong points of similarity in both subject matter and iconography.

There is, for example a particular motif of several sheep, one of which has a foot raised to scratch its ear, which occurs in Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries in manuscript illumination, wall paintings and carved stone panels.

For the Poor Man's Bible to fulfil its aim, the viewer needs to know and to accept the Christian premise that he/she is a sinful being and as such will be brought to trial on the Day of Judgement.

A church dedicated to St Francis of Assisi might focus on the miraculous moment at which the saint, while praying before a large panel crucifix, heard the voice of God and received on his hands the signs of the wounds of Christ's crucifixion, the stigmata.

But in the narrower sense it was an organization, and, particularly when under threat of heresy, humanism, division and reform, it needed to maintain and reinforce its role in offering the right way to Salvation.

It is not uncommon to see religious paintings of the Blessed Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child and surrounded by numerous saints, including some of the 1st century, and some belonging to the particular Order who commissioned the work.

The Church of St John at Tideswell in Derbyshire has a particularly fine set of 20th-century bench-ends by Advent and William Hunstone, showing the rites of Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination.

In many Protestant churches the crucifix has been replaced by a simple cross without a figure, symbolically representing both the redeeming sacrifice and the resurrection to new life offered by Jesus.

This may be related in a continuous sequence of pictures, either in paint, mosaic, wood sculpture or stained glass, and located either around the walls of a church or, particularly in French Cathedrals, in niches in a screen that surrounds the Sanctuary, so that they might be seen by people walking around the ambulatory.

There are two complete frescoed schemes in Italy, one painted by Giusto de Menabuoi in the Baptistery of the Cathedral of Padua in the 14th century and another of about the same date by Bartolo di Fredi in the Collegiate Church in San Gimignano.

By far the best known of such schemes are the one painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and that created in bronze for the doors of the Baptistery of Florence by Lorenzo Ghiberti, the so-called "Gates of Paradise".

List of common subjects In many of the decorative schemes that illustrate the life of Jesus, the narrative is set into the context of related stories drawn from the Old Testament and sometimes from the Acts of the Apostles.

God is often depicted in the act of creation as described in Genesis[4]– making the firmament (or Earth), placing the Sun, stars and Moon in the sky or creating mankind.

Convention provided four compass points, four winds, four elements of Fire, Air, Earth and Water and four humors affecting the human nature.

Consequently, groups of four people or objects are common in Christian art, demonstrating that the Church is directly linked to the order of material and earthly things that God has put in place.

[7] Creatures such as hares, geese, monkeys, foxes, lions, camels, gryphons, unicorns, bees, and storks abound in the decorative carvings of capitals, wall arcading, ceiling bosses and the wooden fittings of cathedrals.

In one remarkable mural, in the Catacomb of the Aurelii, is the earliest image of Jesus, as he came to be commonly depicted, as a bearded, Jewish man in long robes.

Golden mosaic can be created by applying gold leaf to a single surface of a transparent glass tile, and placing the gilt inwards towards the mortar so that it is visible but cannot be scraped.

In Byzantine Italy, the application of stone reliefs of this nature spread to cathedra (bishop's thrones), ambo (reading lecterns), well heads, baldachin (canopy over altar) and other objects within the church, where it often took on symbolic form such as paired doves drinking from a chalice.

In Italy, during the Byzantine period, windows were often filled with thin slices of alabaster, which although not figurative, gave a brightly patterned effect when sunlight was transmitted through them.

The earliest known figurative stained glass panel is a small head of Christ (with many fragments missing) found in a ditch near the royal abbey of Lorsch-an-der-Bergstrasse and thought to date from the 9th century.

Because the method was very meticulous, tempera paintings are often small, and were frequently grouped into a single unit with hinged sections, known as a diptych, triptych or polyptych, depending on its number of parts.

Some large altarpiece paintings exist, particularly in Italy where, in the 13th century, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Cimabue and Giotto created the three magnificent Madonnas that now hang in the Uffizi Gallery, but were once housed in the churches of Florence.

The oldest large wooden sculpture to have survived in Europe is the painted and gilt oak Crucifix of Archbishop Gero (969-971), in Cologne Cathedral.

From the early Byzantine period there remains a number of Communion vessels, some of which, like the paten found at Antioch, have repousse decoration of religious subjects.

In the early 15th century the renowned sculptor, Donatello was commissioned to create series of figures for the chancel screen of the Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padua.

St. Mark's Basilica of Venice houses the Pala d'Oro, an altarpiece pieced together over several hundred years so that it has elements of the Gothic and the Byzantine arts.

In the Baroque period the use of mixed media reached a high point as great altarpieces were constructed out of pietra dura and marble, wood and metal, often containing oil paintings as well.

They are often dressed in elaborate satin garments decorated with metallic braid and lace, pearls, beads and occasionally jewels and may be decked with jewelry and trinkets offered by the faithful.

The window has a simple round-arched top. The stained glass is supported by a lead armature of squares and circles which divide it into many separate pictures. The upper pictures show the story of the Three Wise Men. The lower part has an assortment of biblical scenes including "The Sower". The background colour is deep blue.
The Poor Man's Bible window at Canterbury Cathedral , 13th century, reconstructed with fragments of perhaps two other windows
Round sections of two stained-glass windows both show a scene of a person kneeling at an altar while onlookers talk. The number of onlookers, small details and colour schemes are different.
Details of two windows from Canterbury Cathedral illustrating different stories but repeating the two left-hand figures, the columns, table, candlestick and book. Left – Medieval; right – Victorian
A pen and ink drawing from a medieval manuscript shows the monk kneel and bending forward beneath a line of text
Self portrait of the Benedictine monk, Matthew Paris
The sculptured section from above a Gothic door. The pointed archway has four molded bands carved with small angels. The triangular section framed by the arch has the figure of Christ surrounded by the Four Heavenly Beasts, the eagle of St John, the winged ox of St Luke, the winged man of St Matthew and the winged lion of St Mark.
Revelation – Christ in Majesty from Angers Cathedral
A Gothic fresco showing, to the right, a carved throne on which sits the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. Around the throne are four angels. To the left stands St Francis in a brown robe, looking small and humble. The colour of the background and robes is predominantly sky blue, but the ancient surface has flaked to show brown underpainting. The faces are gentle and realistic.
Redemption through Love – The Madonna and Child with St Francis, by Cimabue , in the Lower Church of St Francis at Assisi
This crudely carved statue shows St James as a bearded knight in armour with a red cloak and upraised sword. He rides a white galloping horse which is trampling the bodies of two armoured men.
The Apostles – Painted wooden statue of St James who is said to have come to the aid of the Spanish against the Moorish invaders, now in a museum, Carrión de los Condes .
The Crucifix by Cimabue in San Domenico's Church, Arezzo, Italy
A square fresco. In a shallow stage-like space is shown the empty tomb of Jesus, like a rectangular box of pink marble. Two angels sit on its edge while four Roman soldiers lie sprawled asleep in front of it. To the extreme right, walking out of the picture frame, is Jesus, robed in white and carrying a banner symbolising Victory. He gestures to restrain Mary Magdalene, who kneels at the centre of the picture in a red cloak, and reaches out both hands to touch him.
The Resurrection . Giotto di Bondone , Scrovegni Chapel, Padua . c.1305
One of ten gilt bronze panels in low relief. It shows scenes in the story of Joseph visited in Egypt by his brothers, come to beg for grain in the famine. Rear left, Joseph sits on a throne while his brothers plead. Centrally is a large circular granary surrounded by arches. To the right, a group of people load a heavy sack onto a camel. To the left, a gold cup is discovered hidden in the sack of the youngest brother, a small child. The eldest brother tears his clothes in despair.
Old Testament – Joseph in Egypt from the "Gates of Paradise", Lorenzo Ghiberti
A rectangular oil painting of three saints. It is set in a landfscape and divided in three section by craggy rocks along the side of a stream. Ss Maurus and Giles are robed in black as Dominican friars. Maurus has a bishop's staff and reads a book. Giles has his hand on the head of a doe. In the centre, St Christopher, with a wooden staff and red robe, wades in the stream carrying the Christ Child on his shoulders. The child is robed in black.
Lives of the Saints – St Christopher with St Maurus of Glanfeuil and St Giles , Memling , 1484
Photo shows four of ten statues above the door of the Abbey. They are carved in a realistic and lifelike manner, full of action. Elizabeth wears nun's habit and holds a cross, King preaches with a little black girl at his feet, Romero holds a naked indigenous baby, Bonhoeffer carries a book. They are set in traditional Gothic niches with ornate carved canopies.
20th-century martyrs, Westminster Abbey , Mother Elizabeth of Russia , Revd Martin Luther King Jr. , Archbishop Óscar Romero , Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This stained glass window is divided into five long sections, above which the stone tracery looks like a lacey medallion. The colours are not like Medieval glass; there is a lot of bright red, pale blue, apple green, mauve and pink.
Cross references – The East Window of St Mary's Chilham, UK. The five scenes of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus are paired with Old Testament scenes which prefigure these events. nineteenth century
Fresco. God is depicted as an old man with a long grey beard, wearing a pink garment. He is depicted twice, with great dynamic action. To the right, He is shown supported by angels, creating the Moon with his left hand, and the Sun, at the centre of the painting, with his right. To the left, He is shown from the back, creating the Earth, which is covered with plants and only partly visible.
The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Vegetation , Michelangelo , from the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel .
Part of a large window. It is divided into four circular panels with a quatrefoil (or four-lobed section) between them and an arched segment beneath. To the lower right, a knight, Sagittarius, is being welcomed home. At the centre a man empties a water pot, symbolising Aquarius and a two-faced figure symbolises New Year. To the upper right, are the two fish of Pisces. The other sections show each month's activities: grapevine pruning, bell-ringing and sitting by the fire.
God's Order of the Universe in the Window of the Months , Chartres Cathedral . December, January and February
A narrow section from a wing of a large painted altarpiece. Joseph is shown as an old man in a thick brown robe and blue turban. He is seated on a tall high-backed seat with a work bench in front of him. He is drilling a piece of wood. Other tools shown on the bench and floor are a hammer and chisel, an axe, an adze, a rasp, a knife, a gimlet and a plane.
St Joseph the Carpenter from a triptych by the Master of Flemalle , 1425.
A Gargoyle of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris .
A small chapel in the grounds of a monastery has the walls decorated with four tiers of frescos in rich colours, faded and damaged by the weather. The roof of the chapel overhangs the walls to protect the murals.
Moldoviţa Monastery , Romania
The curved surface of the roof of an apse is decorated with the scene of Christ in Majesty. He is robed in gold, seated on a throne in front of a depiction of the Holy City. The apostles look up at him, while Saint Pudenziana and her sister Prasede stand to either side carrying laurel wreaths. In the sky are shown the Four Holy Beasts, symbols of the Gospel writers.
Late Roman mosaics in Santa Pudenziana , Rome.
Four carved figures are set between columns and are mounted against the wide angled jamb of a medieval door. The figures are paired to illustrate two stories. To the left, a smiling angel approaches Mary who raises her hand. in the right groupt, Mary approaches her elderly cousin Elizabeth who turns her eyes to heaven. The style of the two groups is entirely different, the first being simpler and more elegant, the second having very elaborate drapery and realistic detail.
Annunciation and Visitation in Reims Cathedral .
A rose window of simple form having a circle with eight lobes like a flower. It has glass showing Christ rising into heaven watched by apostles and angels. Below are five arched windows each with a saint. Red and yellow are the predominant colours
Stained glass Ascension , Himmelfahrtskirche, Dresden-Leuben, 1901.
Painted altarpiece in the International Gothic style. The Virgin Mary and Christ Child sit to the extreme left, attended by several women. At the centre, the Three Kings stand and kneel before the child. To the right, and winding away into the distance is a procession of the king's retinue. The painting is remarkable for its elaborate and decorative treatment, many surfaces being embossed and gilded in different patterns.
Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano (1423), Florence, Uffizi Gallery .
This painting is starkly realistic and is lit by dramatic lighting. It is viewed from a low angle which reveals the Peter's face as three men work to erect the cross on which he is nailed head downwards. One man drags on a rope, one lifts and the other is beneath the cross with his shoulder under it.
Crucifixion of St. Peter , Caravaggio , 1601, Santa Maria del Popolo , Rome
The central section of an elaborately carved, painted and gilded altarpiece showing the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated in majesty and surrounded by saints and angels. Although the flesh and some details are painted in colour, most of the surfaces are gilt. The figures are all chubby-faced and have a charming quality.
Altarpiece from Chur, Switzerland.
The reliquary is a large rectangular box with a gabled lid, giving it the appearance of a small temple. It is sculptured with architectonic details in the Gothic style and rests on feet in the shape of small lions. It has nine sculptured niches on each side and three at the ends in which stand small statues of the martyrs and patron saints. While there are a number of semi precious stones in the apex of each niche, the richness of the object comes from the delicate and elaborate quality of the metalwork demonstrating many techniques such as filigree, engraving and embossing.
Reliquary of the Twenty Martyrs, Flemish, Gothic
The altar and the reredos that rises behind it together are an example of German Baroque church fitting. They have polychrome marbled surfaces of pink and grey which match the columns of the church. The reredos is heavily architectonic with columns, niches, scrolls and pediments of different shapes which rise in stages to a plinth on which rests a Medieval statue of the Virgin Mary grieving over the body of Christ. On the level below this is a statue of the Lamb of God. In the niche beneath is a silver cross of Medieval design. Beneath this is a gilt metal sacrament cupboard. The central objects are surrounded by a profusion of shiny white stucco cherubs, angels and saints. Across the front of the marble altar is the name "Jesus" is elaborate capital letters. The altar is decked with a lace-edged cloth, flowers and a Bible.
Altar of the Sacrament, Wallfahrtskirche, Steinhausen.
Saint-Thiébaut church in Thann, Haut-Rhin (Gothic, 14th century). The tympana of the main portal.