Leo Bible

Leo Bible

In the second quarter of the 10th century, Leo Patrikios, the highest chamberlain and treasurer of Byzantium, commissioned a biblical manuscript in Greek. The illustrated work is the earliest transmission of a Byzantine picture Bible. The manuscript, written in highly-valuable Greek script, contains 13 full page, iconic miniatures. The so-called Leo Bible is a true book treasure has survived the centuries.

Original Book Art

The Leo Bible originates from a court scriptorium in Constantinople. Gifted masters meticulously fleshed out the Greek script and valuable miniatures. The pictures are counted among the first painted bible scenes that were ever produced. The destruction of depictions of Christian saints in the course of the iconoclasm ended and the ban on Christian imagery had been lifted by the mid–9th century. The Bible pictures show graceful, iconic scenes from the lives of important biblical figures, a few miracles of Jesus Christ, and pictures of the veneration of Leo Patrikios.

Graceful Bible Scenes

The valuable miniatures of the work shine in a splendid variety of colors and are ennobled with expensive gold decoration. The opening scenes of the bible show an icon of the Virgin Mary, who in Greek is called Theotokos or “God-bearer”. In this scene, Leo Patrikios presents the Bible manuscript to the Mother of God, who presents it to her son in typically iconic fashion. This and other awe-inspiring pictures take the modern beholder back into a long-gone age. Today the Leo Bible is housed in the Vatican Library.