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COML 259 Vikings: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies (HC)

Comparative Literature 259 Vikings: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies (Mills) Spring 2017

The Pemberton Bible, English Psalter, and Bible index at Haverford

  • The Bible index is J. Rendel Harris MS 44

France (?), 13th/14th century

Fol. 1ra-IRC Concordantia verborum bibliae

After fol. 235 a fragment of parchment pasted to the rear cover contains the last 8 lines of text. Word entries being with capitals in red or blue. The first word of each letter of the alphabet is decorated with flourishes in the opposite color. At fol. 72va-73rb some words are written in red.

Illustration from the Pemberton Bible

Pemberton Bible, Opening page of the Canon of the Mass.  Christ sits in majesty surrounded by the four evangelists represented as the Ox (Luke), the Lion (Mark), the Angel (Matthew) and the Eagle (John).  Beneath a priest consecrates the Eucharist for the mass.  (Source: Special Collections, Haverford College)

 

In recent years scholars have turned to early printing with new interpretations based on social and economic history.  They have also researched the connections between printing and the visual in a variety of areas including science, geography and religion.  Longer term investigations have seen commonalities between early printing and manuscripts.

See the books listed on these pages for further reading about book production, history, and usage. 

Learning about Medieval Manuscripts

Manuscript Facsimiles