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• 1 2021-11-03T13:52:56-07:00 What does this tell us about the Crusades? 11 plain 2023-01-14T09:15:36-08:00 By Emma VanSeveren '23
  
  The presumed patron of the Morgan Picture Bible, King Louis IX, “took greatest personal interest in religious commissions that reflected both his extreme personal piety and his desire to elevate the status of the monarchy through close association with the divine.” In other words, King Louis IX was dedicated to religious commissions that could outline his militant Christian kingship, while his leadership in the crusades would achieve this ideal as reality.
  In the decade following Louis’s decision to embark on crusade, the royal chapel Sainte-Chapelle and the Morgan Picture Bible were produced. Both of these affirmed the king's crusading ideals.
  The use of the Old Testament in the Morgan Picture Bible suggests the importance of historical kingship and holy war in medieval France. The Morgan Bible presents themes such as the “historical inevitability of war, the nature of sacrifice and unpredictability of God’s will, and the responsibilities of sacred kingship.” The emphasis on holy war is seen on this page by the destruction of a pagan statue, the assembly of an army, and a miraculous victory during war.
  
  This page displays an epic battle, soldiers, horses, and a moment of religious resolution; but most importantly, it showcases the violent nature of the military. This page illustrates the religious conviction that controlled the Crusades; establishing that the violence had a purpose. 
• 1 2021-11-03T13:52:34-07:00 Where did this go? 11 plain 2023-01-14T10:21:49-08:00 By Emma VanSeveren '23
  
  The early ownership of the Morgan Bible is unclear.  Scholars believe that after the death of King Louis IX of France, the Morgan Bible was passed along to his younger brother Charles I.  It was probably under Charles I that the Latin text was added to the Bible.
  
  The first recorded owner of the Morgan Bible was Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, the Bishop of Poland. Maciejowski most likely obtained the Bible while studying for the priesthood in Italy.
  Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski in 1604 gifted the Bible to Shah Abbas; this is recorded on the first folio: “Bernard Maciejowski, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Bishop of Cracow, Duke of Siewierz, and Senator of the Kingdom of Poland with sincere wishes offers this gift to the supreme King of the Persians at Cracow the mother city of the kingdom of Poland on the seventh of September 1604.”
  
  In 1608, Shah Abbas, while in Persia, had the Persian inscriptions added to the Bible. At a later date in history, perhaps around 1722 when Afghans conquered Isfahan, the royal treasury and library were looted. The manuscript reached a Persian Jewish person, who then added the Judeo-Persian Inscriptions.
  Eventually, the manuscript reached Cairo, the capital of Egypt, where it was purchased by a British employed collector, John d’Athanasi.
  The manuscript was brought to London to be sold at auction. It was purchased by London dealers Payne and Foss, who then sold it to Sir Thomas Phillipps. Following his death, his daughter, Katherine inherited his belongings. 
  On December 10th, 1910, Sotheby’s, on behalf of the Phillipps Trustees, offered the manuscript to Pierpont Morgan for £10,000. At first, Morgan declined the sale and when he died in 1913, all new acquisitions to his collection stopped. After his death, the library and the collections were inherited by his son John Pierpont Morgan, Jr.; who eventually founded the Morgan Library in 1924. However, in 1916, Belle da Costa Greene, the librarian of the Morgan collection, had a second opportunity to buy the manuscript. She jumped at the chance at purchasing it for the original 1910 asking price, without waiting for permission from John Pierpont Morgan, Jr., Pierpont Morgan's son and heir. The Morgan Crusader Bible became the centerpiece of the Morgan collection and sparked J.P. Morgan's interest in continuing his father's work. 
  The 48 original folios of the Morgan Picture Bible no longer reside together as a full series. 43 folios find their home in Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, while two folios reside in the National Library of France. The J. Paul Getty Museum is now home to a single folio. Two of the original folios are thought to be missing.  
  
   
• 1 2021-11-03T13:51:11-07:00 Why was this made, and how was it used? 11 plain 2023-01-14T08:42:55-08:00 By Emma VanSeveren '23
  
  The Morgan Bible is believed to have been made as a political statement under the crusader King Louis IX of France. The Franks, under the command of Louis IX, viewed themselves as the rightful descendants of the Old Testament heroes shown in this manuscript.  They viewed their engagement in battles in the Holy Land as connected to the battles in the Holy Land fought by the Israelites. King Louis IX also used his role in the crusades to legitimize his reign at home.
  
  In general, Christian Bibles in the Middle Ages were used to present the teachings of Christianity. Illustrated, or illuminated, Bibles could be used by monks and other missionaries to spread Christianity in the years before widespread literacy. However, the size and luxury of this illuminated manuscript suggest elite patronage. An illuminated manuscript of this size and luxury would require high intellectual, artistic, and financial resources. 
  
  When the Morgan Bible was first made, it contained only images, without any text. (The texts you see on the folio were added later.) The initial lack of text meant that the audience of this manuscript needed to be knowledgeable about the Old Testament, otherwise they would not be able to recognize the characters and events on the folio.
• 1 2021-11-03T13:49:16-07:00 When was this made? 10 plain 2023-01-14T09:47:22-08:00 by Augusta Holyfield '22
  
  The manuscript was created between 1244 and 1254, the decade surrounding King Louis IX of France's first crusade. King Louis IX was born in 1214 and ruled France from 1226 to 1270, taking the throne when he was just 12 years old. During his reign he defended France against rival kingdoms, expanded his territory, and reformed the French legal system. The kingdom of France experienced a economic and political golden age under his leadership.
  
  King Louis IX chose to participate in the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) in order to keep a vow he made while praying for recovery from a serious illness. The goal of the Seventh Crusade was the defeat the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt and Syria, thereby clearing the path to the Holy Land. Louis iX and his army sailed to Egypt, landing in early June of 1249. They quickly captured the port of Damietta, but their march through the Nile River delta to Cairo went slowly. Unused to the summer heat and the tidal patterns of the Nile, it was difficult for the crusaders to make progress. On February 8th of 1250, the crusaders won a Pyrrhic victory against the Egyptian army, and were eventually forced to retreat back to Damietta. The Battle of Fariskur on April 6th was the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade. The Crusaders were annihilated and King Louis IX was captured. After a ransom of 400,000 livres tournois were paid and Damietta was surrendered, King Louis was released and lived in Jerusalem for 4 years. He returned to France in the spring of 1254 with his surviving army. 
  
  For another object associated with the Seventh Crusade and the crusaders' defeat in Egypt, see the Sword Pommel of Pierre de Dreux.