Mazarin Bible

Cardinal Mazarin's copy of the two-volume Bible from the Mainz print shop of Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1400–68)
The 42-line text was surrounded by individually-inserted tendrils and opulent initials in luminous colors
Each specimen was left with blank spaces for initials and marginalia and was decorated individually

Mazarin Bible

Inc. 1 Bibliothèque Mazarine (Paris, France)

Description

Mazarin Bible

The Mazarin Bible is one of 49 surviving Bibles that originated in the Mainz printshop of Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1400–1468) between 1452 and 1454. By using movable metal type, Gutenberg managed to revolutionize book production worldwide. His famous 42-Lined Bible is considered his magnum opus due to its high aesthetic and technical quality. The two-volume book in folio format contains the texts of the Old and New Testaments and, after printing, could be decorated with individual book decorations according to the taste of the respective client, which were added by hand in the spaces provided for this purpose. The copy from the illustrious Paris library of the French diplomat and cardinal Jules Mazarin (1605–1648) is one of the most luxurious copies. The 42-line text is framed by beautiful and imaginative floral and foliate borders, while opulent initials in bright colors mark different sections of the text. A true masterpiece from the early days of printing in Europe.

Mazarin Bible

Almost everyone knows it, the 42-lined Gutenberg Bible, which originated in Mainz between 1452 and 1454. The so-called Mazarin Bible comes from the library of Cardinal Mazarin (1605–1648) in Paris and is one of 49 surviving specimens worldwide of the Gutenberg Bible. With the help of a staff of around 20, Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1400–1468) could print 180 each of the two-volume Bible in folio, whereby the first part contains the Old Testament and the second primarily has the prophets of the Old Testament and the New Testament. A manuscript of the Parisian standard text of the Latin Vulgate, which is the 4th century translation by St. Jerome, served as the foundation of the text. Even though there are no full-page miniatures in the Bible, the decorative tendrils and initials of this important book of the incunable period make it a luminous masterpiece.

Gutenberg as a Revolutionary

When Johannes Gutenberg began to print with moveable metal type and the book press in 1450, he probably did not think that his innovations would substantially influence book printing and unleash a true media revolution. The new method of book production spread quickly through Europe and the entire world and is considered today to be a key element of the Renaissance. Thanks to its high aesthetic and technical quality, the Bible is famous today as Gutenberg’s primary work.

Filigree Illumination

None of the known Gutenberg Bibles is furnished with full-page miniatures and thus the Mazarin Bible does not contain any pictures on single pages that illustrate the text. Having said this, inventive drawings and wonderful initials were individually added by hand after printing, making each specimen unique. For the most part, this décor consists of splendid flowering tendrils that amply fill the free spaces around the field of text. Enchanting animals like the majestic peacock are added here and there to these romantically floral motifs, which still gleam today in bold colors.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Mazarin Bibel
Biblia sacra Mazarinea
La Bible de Gutenberg: ouvrage documentaire
Bible mazarine
Bible de Gutenberg
Biblia latina
42-line Bible
Type: Print on paper
Size / Format: 2 vols.: 908 + 694 pages / 40.9 × 20.9 cm
Origin: Germany
Date: Ca. 1455
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Gothic
Early Prints
Genre: Bibles / Gospels
Language: Latin
Illustrations: Numerous hand-painted large and smaller pen-flourish initials, dozens of red and blue lombards, and occasional marginalia
Content: Old and New Testaments

Available facsimile editions:

Detail Picture

Mazarin Bible

“P” Initial

This blue acanthus leaf “P” initial from the commentary by Saint Jerome that proceeds the Book of Genesis incorporates a human face exhaling to the left. It is characterized by delicate pen strokes from the artist who was contacted by the purchaser of this manuscript. The initial and marginal décor are seamlessly incorporated into the printed text produced from Gutenberg’s workshop. Red and blue ink were chosen both for aesthetics and because they were among the most expensive colors.

Single Page

Mazarin Bible

Beginning of Psalm 1, Beatus Vir

The Gutenberg Bible represents a hybrid work combining the new technology of the printed book with traditional illumination from manuscripts. Its type was meticulously arranged in the printing press to not only create the perfectly uniform columns of Latin text, some printed in red, but to also leave spaces for elaborate initials to be completed by hand.

The artist created various small initials in red and blue at the beginning of each sentence on this page, but the large “B” initial was created with a particular degree of detail. It is used to adorn the opening lines of the Book of Psalms: Beatus vir or “Blessed is the man”. Included among the details is a human dace depicted looking out from the spine of this embellished initial.