Book of Samuel Single Leaf, Winchester Bible

Medieval England produced many illuminated manuscripts, but none were quite as impressive, or as large, as the Winchester Bible. The largest 12th century English Bible produced, the Winchester Bible was, quite likely, the brainchild of the bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, brother to King Stephen of England. A great patron of architecture and literature, Bishop Henry commissioned this Bible, which today, is comprised of 468 leaves of parchment and stands nearly three feet tall. Unfortunately, this masterpiece was never completed; although the text is complete, several of the illuminations are either missing or incomplete. This page is an impressive exception.

Depicting several scenes from the book of Samuel, this is the only painted leaf, although there are two other, full-page drawings in the Bible today (a third is missing). The banner image at the top depicts Saul, standing with the sword to the left, watching David kill Goliath. The middle banner image includes two scenes: first, Saul pauses before throwing a spear at David and, in the next scene, Samuel is seen anointing David. In the final, lower banner image, Joab is seen killing Absalom and, next, David is shown mourning the death of his son. Although there is no question that this leaf was intended for inclusion in the Bible, it is unclear whether it was ever placed; given its current condition, it might have been on display in some manner in the medieval period. This impressive, vivid series of images demonstrates Bishop Henry’s unrealized intentions for this project: a testament to faith in word and scene.