From the court painter of King Henry VIII: A beautifully printed Bible with 16 graphics by Hans Holbein the Younger
Bible of Lyon
Lyon (France) — 1541

Bible of Lyon
Lyon (France) — 1541
Latin translations of biblical texts from ancient sources, among them is the rare 3 Maccabees
Hans Holbein the Younger, court painter to King Henry VIII (1491–1547), contributed 16 graphics to the work
Copies of this "lost" Bible were confiscated and destroyed in the turmoil of the Counter-Reformation
Bible of Lyon
- Bibbia di Lione
- La Bibbia Perduta
- Verlorene Bibel von Lyon
Short Description
The so-called Lost Bible of Lyon can look back on an eventful history, as a controversial and renowned, yet eventually forbidden work of the 16th century. It contains Latin translations of biblical texts from ancient sources, among them is the rare 3 Maccabees. Printed in the 1640’s by Jean Mareschal in Lyon, the Bible of Lyon was confiscated and destroyed in the turmoil of the Counter-Reformation and only survives today in ten specimens.
Bible of Lyon
The so-called Lost Bible of Lyon can look back on an eventful history, as a controversial and renowned, yet eventually forbidden work of the 16th century. It contains Latin translations of biblical texts from ancient sources, among them is the rare 3 Maccabees. Printed in the 1640’s by Jean Mareschal in Lyon, the Bible of Lyon was confiscated and destroyed in the turmoil of the Counter-Reformation and only survives today in ten specimens.
A Forbidden Text
Jean Mareschal (ca. 1510–1590) was a printer and publisher in Lyon. He published a Bible in the years 1541–1543 that relied on ancient biblical texts. This originated from various sources and collected biblical texts, commentaries, excerpts, clarifications, etc. Thus the Bible of Lyon contains, inter alia, 3 Maccabees in Mareschal’s own translation – the first Latin translation of this text! The Book of Maccabees was nevertheless repudiated as an apocryphal text five years later at the Council of Trent. The printer in Lyon was pursued from then on by the Inquisition and had to flee to Heidelberg. His bible suffered a similar fate, it was confiscated and destroyed and thus only ten specimens survive today.
Illustrations by a Master of the Renaissance
One of these rare specimens of the so-called Lost Bible of Lyon is stored in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. The 632 pages of the printed book were illustrated by 100+ small illustrations and three full-page lithographs. The significant Renaissance painter Hans Holbein the Younger contributed 16 graphics with biblical representations – so-called icons. Hans Holbein the Younger (1498–1543) is considered to be one of the greatest artists of his time. Born in Augsburg, in the course of his life he came to England by way of Basel and France and there became the court painter for Henry VIII!
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Bibbia di Lione
La Bibbia Perduta
Verlorene Bibel von Lyon - Size / Format
- 632 pages / 35.0 × 24.0 cm
- Origin
- Lyon (France)
- Date
- 1541
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- More than 100 smaller illustrations and 3 full-page lithographs
- Artist / School
- Jean Mareschal, Guillaume Leroy
Hans Holbein Junior
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Bible of Lyon“
La Bibbia Perduta
- Publisher
- Vallecchi – Florence, 1998
- Limited Edition
- 1999 copies
- Binding
- Bound in leather. Case in solid wood.
- Commentary
-
1 volume by Giancarlo Gaeta, Marcello Brusegan, Monica Centanni
Language: Italian - More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
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