Ingeborg Psalter
The manuscript at hand is part of a select group of manuscripts reflecting the artistic transition from Romanesque to Gothic aesthetics which occurred during the 12th century. The Ingeborg Psalter is one of the most significant and luxurious manuscripts of the early Gothic, its rich decoration reflects the fact that it was a gift for the wedding between Ingeborg, a Danish princess, and King Philip II 'Augustus' of France. Aside from its 150 Psalms, decorated with historiated initials, it also features a large number of unusually elaborate miniatures whose decisively new style and design clearly distinguished it from Romanesque predecessors and greatly influenced the art of illumination in the Gothic period.
Ingeborg Psalter
The final decades of the 12th century marked the absolute culmination of artistic creation in Paris and the surrounding provinces. One of the most significant and luxurious manuscripts of the early Gothic, the Ingeborg Psalter, was made during this period of transition and stylistic change before 1200. The book is named after its first owner Ingeborg, a Danish princess and the spouse of King Philip II August of France, who was expelled by her husband for unknown reasons shortly after their wedding.
A Bible Picture Book
The psalter begins with a richly embellished Beatus initial and the text of the following 150 Psalms is written in a luxury book script called “littera psalteralis”. From a historic point of view, this type of manuscript constitutes a precursor of the book of hours which flourished in the so-called “livre d’heures” of Flemish painting in the 14th and 15th centuries. The beginnings of both psalms and other texts are marked with initials, most of which contain ornamental decoration. Some of the psalms are ornate with large figural initials depicting scenes from the life of David.
51 Golden Miniatures
The real significance of the Ingeborg Psalter, however, lies in the large number of unusually elaborate miniatures whose decisively new style and design clearly distinguished it from Romanesque predecessors and greatly influenced the art of illumination in the Gothic period. 27 miniature pages, most of which show two scenes superimposed on one another, depict important episodes from the lives of Abraham and Moses. They are followed by the root of Jesse marking the transition between the Old and the New Testaments, and further by miniatures based on themes taken from the life of Christ, ranging from the Annunciation to the Assumption, from Pentecost to the Last Judgement and the Death and Coronation of the Virgin, down to scenes extracted from the legend of Theophilus. In this popular medieval epic, the sinner Theophilus devotes himself to the Devil and is saved by the Virgin Mary, thus introducing the Faustian motif for the very first time.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Ingeborg-Psalter
- Size / Format
- 400 pages / 30.4 × 20.4 cm
- Origin
- France
- Date
- Ca. 1200
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 27 miniature pages, most of which show two scenes superimposed on one another in register
- Content
- Calendar, Book of Psalms, and excerpts from other Biblical texts
- Artist / School
- Two anonymous artists
- Previous Owners
- Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France (1174–1237)
King Louis IX of France (1214–70)
King Charles V of France (1338–80)
Count de Lignac
Duke of Aumale
Ingeborg Psalter
Baptism of Jesus
This Romanesque miniature exhibits Byzantine influences, e.g. the gold background gives the scene a feeling of the divine, as though it was lifted out of time and space: “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.” (Mark 1:9-11)

Ingeborg Psalter
Jesse Tree
This full-page miniature illustrating the family tree of Jesus Christ is a wonderful specimen of this manuscript, which bridges the Romanesque and Gothic styles. It precedes the Gospel of Matthew, which contains the genealogy of Christ. This refined and symmetrical image is dominated by a burnished gold background with a splendid palette of primary colors.
Jesus is naturally depicted at the top within a mandorla, beneath him the Virgin Mary is seen holding a book. The two crowned musicians are David, identifiable by his lyre, and Abraham. As usual, Jesse is depicted in repose at the root of the tree. The angels and doves are symbolic of the presence and inspiration the Holy Spirit bestowed on the Old Testament prophets in the margins.

#1 Der Ingeborg-Psalter
Language: German
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ed. Guillermo Blázquez
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Éditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Eos-Verlag
- ET&B
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Helikon
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- J. Thorbecke
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- Müller & Schindler
- National Library of Wales
- Nova Charta
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Propyläen Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología
- Stainer and Bell
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi Tudomànyegyetem
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Xuntanza Editorial
- Zollikofer AG