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Pentateuch from Plantin’s Polyglot Bible

The Plantin Polyglot or Biblia regia constitutes the third large-scale polyglot bible edition in European history, after the famous Complutensian polyglot of 1514–7, and Johns Hopkins’ superb copy of the Genoa polyglot psalter of 1516. Many of the original 1,200 copies were lost in a shipwreck en route to Spain. A handful of copies of the Plantin Polyglot Bible are found today in European and American libraries.

Published in eight volumes between 1569 and 1572 in Antwerp by the leading printer of the northern Renaissance, Christopher Plantin (around 1520–89), this bold project was underwritten directly by King Philip II of Spain. Produced by an international team of linguists, biblical scholars, and more than 40 printers, the Plantin Polyglot is a breathtaking masterpiece both of philology and typography. It is, simply put, one of the most famous books ever printed.

The first volume of Johns Hopkins’ copy, which is used frequently for teaching and scholarship, is in need of conservation treatment. It contains the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—in the original Hebrew with parallel translations in Latin and Greek as well as an Aramaic commentary (targum) below the main texts.

Conservation Treatment

Remove from current binding, mend and guard all spine folds and other tears/losses in paper, re-sew, and re-bind using conservation-grade materials and structure.

You Renew the Face of the Earth: Psalm 104

Barbara Wolff (b. 1949) is one of the rare contemporary artists using the techniques of medieval manuscript illumination. She paints on vellum—animal skin—and highlights her work with silver, gold, and platinum foils. Her work has been exhibited at The NY Illustrators Club, The Jewish Theological Seminary, Yeshiva University Museum, The Museum of Biblical Art, and the Morgan Library & Museum. Her exploration of the world of nature as it relates to Biblical texts has been enriched by her background and work as a renowned natural science illustrator.

The ten illuminations that comprise You Renew the Face of the Earth illustrate passages from Hebrew Psalm 104, a song in celebration of all creation. This great hymn to the divine in nature directs our awareness to the miracle of our world. The sentiments expressed in this psalm have a particular relevance to our own era, a time of growing consciousness of the profound effect of human enterprise on nature, and of questioning our role as stewards of our planet.

In a number of the paintings, Wolff has portrayed flora and fauna that the ancient Psalmist would certainly have known, and that may still be found in the land of Israel today. She has included the flowers and grasses of its fields and forests, birds which pass through the land each spring and fall, and sea creatures of the Mediterranean, from a precious Murex snail to the great whales.

“And the Mountains Rose” (vv. 5-8), from *You Renew the Face of the Earth: Psalm 104*, fol. 2.

“The Earth is Full of Thy Creatures” (v. 24), from *You Renew the Face of the Earth: Psalm 104*, fol. 7.

“Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Formed” (vv. 25-6), from *You Renew the Face of the Earth: Psalm 104*, fol. 8.

Lavishly Illuminated Hebrew Bible from Medieval Spain

The Kennicott Bible counts among the most significant medieval manuscripts from Spain. It is a noble, exceptional work containing a Hebrew Bible, which contains the text Sefer Michlol by Rabbi David Kihmhi alongside the Tanakh.

The colophon at the end of the manuscript, in which the scribe has immortalized himself by name, is a special feature that is extremely useful to scholarship: in 1476, the famous Moses Ibn Zaraba completed the work with the help of the illuminator Joseph Ibn Hayyim in La Coruna in northwestern Spain.

The 922 pages of this Hebrew Bible, which is amazingly preserved in its original gorgeous binding, combines an exuberant and golden splendor of ornaments, carpet pages, and figurative representations, often of a humorous character. The manuscript received its name from the Hebraist and Christian cleric Benjamin Kennicott, who researched the manuscript in the 18th century.

Gem of Medieval Ottonian Manuscript Illumination

This superlative facsimile of the Hitda Codex, a masterpiece of manuscript production from Cologne during the Ottonian era, replicates an exquisite Christian Gospel book with twenty-two full-page miniatures rich in detail and painterly drama. The original manuscript was produced around 1000-20 and its extensive series of images of the life of Christ paired with monumental full-page framed inscriptions is unique in the history of manuscript art.

Commissioned by Abbess Hitda for her convent at Meschede and dedicated to Saint Walburga, this codex stands out for its depictions of women in relationship to the divine. Among these are many images of Virgin Mary, as one might expect, especially in the nativity and infancy scenes. But less familiar women—Saint Peter’s mother-in-law, a widow whose son Christ raises from the dead, and a woman accused of adultery—play roles in the miracle scenes.

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