What is this?
The Morgan Bible is a medieval picture Bible that contains over 380 scenes from the Old Testament. The illuminated manuscript brings alive the Biblical stories, but with the Bible being set in thirteenth-century France; most of its stories are dedicated to kings or heroes, especially King David. Forty percent of the pages in this manuscript are dedicated to David.This page, titled MS M638 13r, retells events from the Book of Judges. The protagonist in these events is Gideon; a historically timid yet praised judge who ruled over Israel. The folios are interpreted from a Christian perspective. This page of the Morgan Picture Bible illustrates the triumph and defeat in battle in order to demonstrate the importance of religion in the Crusades.
In the upper left, Gideon and his companions arrived at the altar of Baal, a pagan god, and begin to shatter the altar as instructed by God. In the upper right, Gideon is guided by an angel to assemble an army by the golden trumpet. In the lower half of the manuscript, Gideon relies only on three hundred men to defeat the Midianite army as they cry aloud: “the Sword of the Lord and Gideon.”
The strategic connection between the Old Testament and thirteenth-century France indicates the role of the manuscript in a medieval context; the powerful religious context allows for the people of France to reflect on this for hope in the time of the Crusades.