Worth a Thousand Words: Abbey Bible Illuminated Manuscript

Abbey Bible, 1250 to 1262
via Getty's Open Content Program

I really love illuminated manuscripts. Hey, we all love a Bible with pictures, right? They enhance the whole thing.

You can find more information about this at the Getty link. Here's a bit:

The illumination and marginal vignettes of the Abbey Bible are remarkable for their liveliness and delicacy. Sensitively depicted facial expressions, rare among Bibles of this era, and dynamic compositions, reveal the artist to be a skilled storyteller.

While filled with amusing figures and spirited pen flourishes, the Bible was nevertheless intended for serious use and study. The text contains many edits, corrections, and amendments, suggesting a university origin for the manuscript. The book appears to be made for a Dominican monastery and devout Dominicans and Franciscans appear prominently in its imagery.