| The Golden Bible of the Century contains 280 illuminations and 1,400 illuminated capital letters coming from more than 70 European libraries and collections, which were performed by the best writers of the time. This way the spiritual unity of Europe and the Near East is clear and we gain a new knowledge of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, between Hebrew heritage and its conservation by the Catholic church. In choosing the illustrations, consideration was given to the strict connection between the test and the image. Not only does the Golden Bible of the Century take its images from biblical and evangelist manuscripts, but also iconographic manuscripts, Psalters, pericopes and books of hours, so that it reflects the continuous contrast (that includes all literary culture) of the Medieval era with the stories and promises in the Holy Scriptures. The wide range of illustrations, Christian rather than millenary illuminations, gives an impressive documentation of the changed interpretation of the bible. This is also very closely tied to the change in iconographic representations, where we can recognise the antique conception of the world and faith together with the historic background. |
