The Morgan Crusader Bible of Louis IX or Maciejowski Bible or The Bible of Shah Abbas

   The Morgan Crusader Bible was originally a Picture Bible without text created for and likely commissioned by Louis IX, the crusader king of France (1226-1270). It presented Old Testament history with an emphasis on holy war and kingship. Six painters participated in the illumination of the Gothic Crusader Bible. Their miniatures are not only different in style but also in terms of colouring. A very clear difference is discernible in the rich use of gold. The original binding was lost during the centuries. Sometime after the death of Louis IX, unknown scribes added Latin texts to the margins of the manuscript. There are also more modern inscriptions added including Persian and Judeo-Persian.

43 folios are held by The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, (MS M. 638)

Two folios are kept in the Bibliothθque nationale de France (MS nouv. acq. lat. 2294).

A single folio is kept in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (MS Ludwig I 6).

Rest the cursor on a thumbnail to see the caption, click for a larger image.

01r	01v	02r
02v	Detail of panel 4 03r	Detail of upper register 03v
Detail of panel 3 04r	Detail of panel 2 04v	05r
05v	06r	06v
07r	07v	08r
08v	Detail of panel 1 09r	Detail of panel 4 09v
Detail of upper register 10r	Detail of upper register 10v	Detail of lower register 11r
11v	Detail of upper register 12r	Detail of upper register 12v
13r	13v	14r
Detail of panel 4 14v	Detail of panel 4 15r	Detail of panel 3 15v
Detail of panel 2 Detail of panel 3 16r	Large image 16v	17r
17v	18r	18v
19r	19v	20r
Detail of panel 4 20v	Detail of upper register 21r	21v
22r	22v	Detail of lower right 23r
Detail of upper register 23v	24r	Detail of lower register 24v
25r	25v	26r
26v	Detail of upper register 27r	Large image 27v
28r	Detail of upper register 28v	29r
Detail of lower register 29v	30r	Detail of panel 2 30v
Detail of lower register 31r	Detail of panel 2 31v	32r
32v	Detail of upper register 33r	33v
Detail of lower register 34r	Large image 34v	35r
Detail of upper register 35v	36r	Detail of upper register Detail of lower register 36v
37r	37v	38r
38v	Detail of upper register 39r	39v
Detail of lower register 40r	40v	Large image 41r
Detail of Uriah 41v	Detail of lower register 42r	42v
Detail of panel 3 43r	Large image 43v

Source

NAL 2294 f2 recto	NAL 2294 f2 verso
NAL 2294 f3 recto	NAL 2294 f3 verso
MS Ludwig I 6 recto	MS Ludwig I 6 verso

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Figure 49, Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, Western Europe and the Crusader States by David Nicolle

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Other 13th century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers
Index of Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers