The Bible historiale is the most widely used French Bible of the Middle Ages. The canon Guyart Desmoulins wrote it shortly before 1300 based on the Historia Scholastica. About 140 examples are known, most of which contain numerous miniatures. The habilitation thesis deals with the artistic design of these Bibles, the content and meaning of the images.
The Bible historiale reached the peak of its popularity in the second half of the 14th and the first years of the 15th century. Most of the highest quality examples come from this period. To date, there has been a lack of systematic evaluation of the image decoration. For the study, 73 representative manuscripts were examined, which together contain more than 6,000 miniatures. Precise information can now be given about the principles of illustration, the selection of image themes and the painterly execution. For example, the large-format cover images show tendencies towards standardization that can be explained by a rationalized workshop operation. This is contrasted with rare and complicated iconographic designs that indicate the client's personal influence.
The list of known owners shows that the Bible historiale as a richly illustrated manuscript was distributed primarily in the area around the court. Particularly magnificent examples were created for the kings and dukes of the Valois. The court was therefore not the initiator of the Bible historiale, but it was its most important multiplier.
From a type-historical point of view, it is of interest that the characteristic distribution of the image themes, including a focus on the books of Genesis and Exodus, also corresponds to later illustrated Bibles, such as the Prague Wenceslas Bible. The research results therefore also go beyond the narrow subject of the study.
About the author:
Thomas Flum is Professor of Medieval Art History at the Université de Franche-Comté (UFC) in Besançon. He studied art history, classical archeology and musicology in Heidelberg, Paris and Freiburg i. Br. and received his doctorate in 2000 with the dissertation “The late Gothic choir of the Freiburg Minster. Building history and design” (University of Freiburg i. Br.). His research focuses on the art and architectural history of the Middle Ages, book illumination, architecture and urban planning of the Baroque period, Parisian art and architectural history of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as monument preservation and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
