Biblia pauperum

As poor Bible (Latin Biblia pauperum = Bible for the poor), the medieval collection of a certain number of leaves is known, on which figuratively mostly one scene is framed from the New Testament or its associated tradition of scenes and texts from the Old Testament.

In the Romanesque art form was sometimes used in larger churches as frescos, such as in the lobby of the Gurk cathedral.

Structure and Content

Usually one side of a Biblia Pauperum is divided into nine parts: the focus (1) is either a scene from the life of Jesus Christ illustrated, tells the story of the birth, childhood, the public ministry or the Passion of Jesus, or of the beginnings of Christianity, the end of history and the beginning of the eternal kingdom of peace of Christ. Above and below the central scene of four figures ( 2-5 ) are arranged, either by biblical prophets, poets and people, provided with a corresponding text passage. Often the theme right ( 6) and left ( 7), each a scene from the Old Testament (incl Apocrypha) is framed, which are both just in their own text boxes (8-9) explained and brought into relation to the main screen. In the selection of the two wings pictures (6 and 7) a story is often chosen, the right and one that has occurred after the covenant at Sinai.

The Biblia Pauperum is a kind of concordance, the passages from the Old and New Testament as a type and antitype (typology ) brings with each other. This is also the terms " Figurae typicæ Veteris Testamenti atque antitypicæ Novi Testamenti " ( figurative images of the Old and New Testaments ), or "Historia Christ in figuris " ( History of Christ in pictures ). Typical late medieval arms Bibles consist of about forty such scenes are in chronological order, making a harmony of temporal sequence is created, which is not given in the surviving texts so. The arms Bibles were produced as a block either in the book of woodblock printing, each page individually printed on one side and then two pages were stuck together or the individual leaves were hand painted on one side; the whole was bound as a book.

Such an edition of the Bible was because they contained only a part of the biblical stories, much cheaper and easier to handle than the manuscript of an extensive full- text, and the arms Bibles found as one of the first block books widely used. In addition, the assignment of eight vorneutestamentlichen texts often included a kind of commentary on the New Testament, the early church history and its future, which facilitated the understanding and teaching the core story.

History and reception

The invention of the Biblia Pauperum is Ansgar from Bremen attributed. This is supported by a handwritten note on a Bible of the Poor in Hanover and matching of images remains that were found in the cathedral of Bremen. However, the references arms bible for this type of representation is the first time in a library catalog in Wolfenbüttel.

The exact purpose of the arms Bibles is not known. However, they had some influence in the dissemination of religious mysteries and the motifs were used by preachers and artists. The selection of stories is reminiscent of the medieval Lenten veils, the combination of image and one beneath it, two-piece, tight Reimvers of the great Lenten cloth.

A special role is played by the fact that a story from the pseudo - Gospel of Matthew input in the core of the otherwise canonical texts found: The story of the fall of the gods in Egypt upon entering of the infant Jesus in the city Sotinen.

With the proliferation of printed Bibles full in the 16th century the arms Bibles lost importance and were almost forgotten.