Bible of St Louis

Each page pairs Old and New Testament episodes with illustrations explaining their moral significance in terms of typology.

The miniatures are accompanied by the Bible text and by a short comment on the typological relationship between the two images.

The manuscript has been kept for the past eight centuries in the Cathedral of Toledo, except for a fragment of eight leaves which is now in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York as MS M240.

It is generally believed that the first reference to the Bible of St. Louis can be found in the second will and testament of Alfonso the Wise, of January 10, 1284.

The original was lost, but an early copy reads as follows: "E mandamos otrosi, que las dos biblias et tres libros de letra gruesa, cobiertas de plata, é la otra en tres libros estoriada que nos dió el rey Luis de Francia, é la nuestra tabla con las reliquias, e las coronas con las piedras é con los camafeos é sortijas, é otras nobles que perteneçen al Rey, que lo aya todo aquel que con derecho por nos heredare el nuestro señorío mayor de Castilla é León".

Fernando III, Alfonso's father, was a cousin of Louis IX and there were close links between the French and the Castilian royalties.

According to a note in the ‘Historia Ecclesiastica de Toledo’ by J. Roman de la Higuera,[3] Alfonso had also left his possessions that were in Toledo at that time to his rightful successor, in a document apart from the will written in Seville.

The fact that the three-volume historiated Bible was separately mentioned in the will written in Seville could mean that it was in the possession of Alfonso at that time.

From this, one might conclude that the Bible ended up in the Cathedral of Toledo only after the death of Alfonso in 1284, perhaps as a donation from Sancho.

Since Alfonso was crowned king during the participation of Louis IX on the seventh Crusade, one can suspect that the manuscript arrived in Spain after 1254.

She speaks to the young king, her son Louis IX, who listens respectfully while he holds the gold bull hanging upon his chest.

According to John Lowden,[10] the scene suggests the dedication of the Bible by his mother to the young king.

The bottom section of the miniature shows two people, smaller in size (thus lower in rank).

Since the miniature depicts a young, unmarried king, the work must be dated in the time frame between his coronation and his marriage.

[11][12] The Bible of St. Louis consists today of three volumes kept in the treasure of the Cathedral of Toledo and a fragment of 8 folios (one quire) kept in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

There are two parchment flyleaves at the beginning and at the end of the volume, with an additional paper flyleaf at the back.

The first volume opens with a full page illumination showing the Pantocrator, God the Son, as the Creator of the universe.

The first volume contains 1.529 miniatures with text excerpts from the books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Regum i.

The 1.792 miniatures illustrate excerpts from: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

The volume is illustrated with 1.520 miniatures and is dedicated to the New Testament, containing texts from the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of Paul, James, Peter and John, the Epistola catholica judae and the Apocalypse of St. John, up to chapter XIX:15-16.

There are some exceptions, the books of Chronicles I and II, III Ezra, Baruch, and the Maccabees are not in the Toledo Bible.

[17] The miniatures were painted on a background of burnished gold and a wide range of colors (blues, greens, reds, yellows, grays, oranges and sepia) was used.

The Bible is a portrayal of medieval life in the first half of the 13th century with pictures of men, the social groups that existed, vices and virtues, apparel, customs, beliefs, games and ideals.

The second generation of Bibles Moralisées consists of the three-volume manuscripts Oxford-Paris-London and Toledo-Morgan.