Tiberius Psalter facts for kids
The Tiberius Psalter is a very old and important book from England. It's a type of book called a Psalter, which contains the Book of Psalms from the Bible. This special book was made around the time of the Norman conquest of England, which happened in 1066. It was created at a place called New Minster, Winchester. Today, you can see the entire book online on the British Library website, where it is known as Cotton MS. Tiberius C.vi.
Contents
What Makes the Tiberius Psalter Special?
The Tiberius Psalter is famous for its beautiful pictures, called "miniatures." These aren't just any pictures; they are the earliest known set of "prefatory miniatures" in a Psalter. This means they are a series of pictures placed at the beginning of the book before the main text starts. This idea of adding a picture story at the start became very popular in other old books later on.
Stories in Pictures: David and Christ
The pictures in the Tiberius Psalter tell stories from the lives of two important figures: David (who was a king in the Bible) and Jesus Christ. The artists who made this book linked these two stories together, showing how events in David's life could be seen as foreshadowing events in Christ's life. This way of connecting stories is called "typology."
Art Style of the Psalter
The artwork in the Tiberius Psalter shows a special style of Anglo-Saxon art from that time. It's sometimes called the "third style" because it mixes different art styles, especially from Winchester and another famous book called the Utrecht Psalter. Many of the pictures are drawn with tinted outlines, which was a popular English art style. Some parts, like a picture of King David on his throne, are fully painted with colors.
History and Condition of the Book
Experts have studied the Tiberius Psalter for many years to figure out exactly when it was made. At first, they thought it was from the mid-11th century, around 1050. But more recently, the British Library, which now owns the book, suggests it was made in the third quarter of the 11th century, meaning a bit later than first thought.
Damage and Restoration
Sadly, the Tiberius Psalter is not complete, and it was damaged in a big fire in 1731. This fire happened at the Cotton Library, where the book was kept. The fire burned the top corners of the first few pages. In 1894, the book was carefully put back together. Each original page was mounted individually into a new, larger book. The original pages are about 248 by 146 millimeters in size.
What's Inside the Pages?
After some introductory material, the book has 24 pages with drawings. Five of these drawings show scenes from the life of King David, and eleven show scenes from the life of Christ. The book also has beautiful large letters and decorated borders at the beginning of important sections, like the start of Psalm 1. These decorations feature a style called "acanthus foliage," which was common in Winchester art. The psalms in the book also have notes written between the lines in Old English, which was the language spoken in England at that time.
Images for kids
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F. 8r, David and the Lion
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F. 8v, David, facing Goliath
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F. 9r, Goliath slain
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F. 9v, Saul and David
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F. 10v, Temptation of Christ
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F. 12r, Arrest of Christ
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F. 13v, Women at the tomb
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f. 14r. Doubting Thomas
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F. 18v, Christ in Majesty
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F. 30v, Enthroned David
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F. 31r Beatus initial
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F. 31v Psalm text page
