Vorau Picture Bible
Picture Bibles were hugely important in the Middle Ages for transmitting biblical knowledge and events to a population that was semi-literate. The Bible Historiale went a step further by combining biblical and secular history, thus creating a kind of universal history stretching from the present back to Creation. To make the information even more accessible, they were usually written in vernacular instead of Latin. The most beautiful among these German-language Bible Historiale is undoubtedly the Vorauer People's Bible. The four-volume work boasts 559 miniatures rendered skillfully in watercolors and possessing a complex expressiveness that was unique for the time, as is the precise dating of the manuscript's completion.
Vorau Picture Bible
The end of the Middle ages was marked by great spiritual, social, and economic upheavals. These are also reflected in the manuscripts of that time, which can be regarded as outstanding documents of this cultural development. This was especially true of the Bible Historiale, a synthesis of biblical and secular history. Biblical stories were developed through them by secular-historic and philosophical digressions to a type of medieval universal-history that stretches from Creation to the present. Historical gaps in the biblical events were closed with legends and terrestrial history-works. Written in the language of the people, the Bible Historiale filled the demand by offering religious-educational edification on the one hand and also served to widen the knowledge of the population through an accessible history book.
559 outstanding miniatures
Among the approximately 100 German-language Bible Historiale, the Vorauer People's Bible occupies the highest position in an artistic sense. Altogether 559 miniatures accompany the text written in a Bavarian-Austrian dialect. These incredible miniatures are spread across 4 volumes:
1. The New Testament
2. The Old Testament I
3. The Old Testament II
4. The Old Testament III
The Most Beautiful German Picture Bible
The artists colored the skillfully executed quill pen drawings in shining watercolors with their own expressionistic tendencies. The figures are expressed with an inner and outer emotionality indicating an attempt at characterization and individualization -- style-characteristics that were noticeably absent from the "High Art" of the time. Originally, the miniatures were primarily used to interpret the texts and to illustrate the manuscript, but they also fill another function for the present day observer: they document medieval life in a most diverse way. Throughout the illustrations, the Vorauer People's Bible turns into a virtually inexhaustible source for the costumes and decorations of the time. The text of the Vorauer Peoples Bible was executed very carefully in Austrian bastarda and as such is easily legible. The text was written in red while the initials are in red and blue.
Provenance
The Vorauer People's Bible can be exactly dated to its time of completion. Folio 447v contains details of the dates by the scribe: "Also hat ein endt dy wibel dy alt ee vnd ein tail der newen ee vnd ist geendt waren in vigilia omnium sanctorum anno domini M °CCCC °67". The day of the completion was therefore the 31. 10. 1467. The name of the scribe is not mentioned. With all likelihood, it was someone well informed in religious matters, probably a minister from the region of southern Germany. The manner in which the manuscript came to the library of Vorau has not yet been determined. Its first mention there is in the year 1733 and since that time has been regarded as its major treasure.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Vorauer Volksbibel
- Size / Format
- 920 pages / 40.5 × 28.5 cm
- Origin
- Germany
- Date
- 1467
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 559 colored pen drawings and numerous initials
Vorau Picture Bible
Adam in the Garden of Eden
As a joyful God reigns overhead in the clouds, Adam is shown walking through the Garden of Eden in a blissful state of nude ignorance and presumably naming the animals that surround him. This miniature shows the period directly preceding the creation of Eve and depicts Paradise as a walled garden. The enclosed garden or hortus conclusus as a metaphor for paradise goes back to ancient Persia and symbolizes the Immaculate Conception as well as having numerous other allegorical connotations.

Vorau Picture Bible
Cain and Abel
In the Book of Genesis, Cain famously slays his brother Abel after God rejects his offering in favor of his brother’s, and then lies about it, earning him the curse and mark of Cain. Aside from being the first two children of Adam and Eve, the brothers possess tremendous symbolic value, representing everything from the birth of evil to the rise of agriculture.
The miniatures are inserted in line with the two-column German text. On the left, the brothers present their burnt offerings at the altar, Abel the shepherd presents the choicest lamb of his flock while Cain merely offers a bushel of grain. The following scene shows Abel lying on the ground, head already bleeding from a wound, as Cain raises the hoe to strike again.

#1 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Special Edition in 1 Volume)
Language: German
#2 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Full set of 4 volumes)
Language: German
#3 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Volume 1)
Language: German
#4 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Volume 2)
Language: German
#5 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Volume 3)
Language: German
#6 Die Vorauer Volksbibel (Volume 4)
Language: German
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