Bible Leaf, France, circa 1260

Original leaf from a medieval manuscript pocket Bible, of the Crusades period, used in the study of theology or preaching of the Gospel around medieval countryside. Written in Northern France, probably Paris, with Latin gothic script, ruled in red and written in brown ink on animal vellum. Rubricated chapter numbers, three multi-lined illuminated Lombard style initials and elegant marginal penwork in red and blue. The gothic text is written in remarkably tiny and very well formed letters, so small that there are ten lines of text to the inch. This leaf contains text from Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 48:19 – 51:11.