Masland Library Blog

Philadelphia Biblical University was privileged to host a display featuring one of the volumes of the Saint John’s Bible for a month. This display was simply lovely and reminded me just how influential the Bible has been to Western civilization and culture. Before I go into that let me tell you about the Bible. The Saint John’s Bible is a work that has spanned more than a decade. Saint John’s seminary in Minnesota houses a significant number of early pre-printing press manuscripts. When the president of the university and the director of the manuscript library had dinner together they conceived the idea that it would be a marvelous task to create a new manuscript using the old techniques used prior to the print press. It took a number of years to get the team and finances in place, but as of this year the 8 volumes housing the Bible (with Apocrypha) and a volume representing the artistic team and donors is now complete.

The manuscript at Saint John’s is printed on vellum which is made from animal skin, is translucent and is the traditional material that manuscripts were written on in the days before the printing press. They used minerals and gold leaf for their numerous illustrations found throughout the text. The process of constructing the original volume was completed in a scriptorium in Wales however because the volume would permanently reside at Saint John’s the Bible would reflect the flora and fauna of Minnesota. It would also reflect the more worldwide culture and technology that we found in science (DNA is pictured in the illustration reflecting Jesus’ ancestry).

Donald Jackson, the Queen’s official calligrapher, was in charge of designing the script that would grace the pages of manuscript. He was also in charge of the team who worked on the illustrations and final product. Over a year was spent designing the script that would be used, the illustrations, and the sequencing before anything could be placed on the vellum sheets. Once the script was finalized and the illustrations approved they began the laborious process of uniting script and illustrations. For the first time since the printing press the Bible would be handwritten from start to finish using the same methods used at scriptoriums in medieval and renaissance eras.

The Masland Library hosted a copy of the Gospels/Acts volume as well as a number of framed prints from August 26-September 23. The use of paintings and calligraphy is simply stunning even as a reproduction. The first page of each book had a whole page illustration, while similar is style each reflected the tone of the book. To see more of these pages you can view the Bible from start to finish at the following web address: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/see/explore.htm.

What struck me most about this Bible wasn’t just that it was beautiful, but how the beauty of the illustrations reflects the beauty that God created. If you take a look at the Library’s art, Christianity, and culture section you will see that this section is growing and most of the growth has taken place within the last decade. The protestant church has moved away from the idea that art is separate from their faith and I think that is amazing and proper. Everything we do, everything we produce comes from who we are and the worldview we hold. Therefore as the Bible states we should be more than the world because our God is greater than the world; and after all God created the world for us in all its beauty and mystery. The Bible may not be in the Library anymore, but if you are interested in artistic expression you can still view and checkout books that may inspire you in your creative or spiritual journey. I would also point out that we currently are hosting an exhibit of Jonathan Hardesty’s work in the museum area of the Biblical Learning Center and will be hosting an evening talk/chat with Makoto Fujimura on October 26 starting at 7:00pm.

~Laura

Freeman, Michael. "Inscribing The Word, Photographs." Smithsonian 31.9 (2000): 78. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Print

Ola, Per, and Emily D'Aulaire. "Inscribing The Word." Smithsonian 31.9 (2000): 78. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Sept. 2011.