Similar
David from BL Eg 2045, f. 138 - Public domain medieval manuscript
Image from BL Harley 4374, f. 237v
Biblia - Rare book, public domain, Library of Congress scan
Biblia - Rare book, public domain, Library of Congress scan
Man and woman from BL Royal 10 E IV, f. 30v
Vita et Fabulae - Rare book, public domain, Library of Congress scan
Caesar moving into Brundisium (Brindisi) after Pompey has left the city; Pompey before embarking dug up all the ground inside the city, cutting trenches and fixing stakes and palissades through the streets
Bəhram Gur yeddi gözəlin yanında
Wild man embracing a woman from BL Royal 10 E IV, f. 72
Related
The anointing of Saul from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 115
Capture of Adonibezek from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 103
The Preacher from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 294v
Anointing of Solomon from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 134v
Capture of Adonibezek from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 103
The Preacher from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 294v
Amelekite relating the death of Saul from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 124
Jeremiah lamenting from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 361v
Fool from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 262
The anointing of Saul from BL Royal 15 D III, f. 115
Summary
Detail of a miniature of the anointing of Saul. Image taken from f. 115 of Bible historiale, the early version. Written in French.
The BL Royal Manuscript Collection, also known as the Royal Collection, consists of over 2,000 manuscripts that were once owned by the British monarchs, including English and later British kings and queens from the late 12th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts are notable for their historical and artistic value.
The collection was initially stored in various royal libraries and palaces, such as the Tower of London and Westminster Palace. During the English Civil War in the 17th century and the subsequent Interregnum, many royal treasures, including manuscripts, were dispersed and sold. Some manuscripts were lost, destroyed, or ended up in private hands.
In 1757, King George II donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum (which later became the British Library), where the manuscripts were integrated into the museum's collections. This marked the formal establishment of the Royal Manuscript Collection within the British Museum.
Bible Historiale was composed between 1291 and 1295 by priest and canon Guyart des Moulins, who added a prologue in 1297 announcing his recent election as dean of his canonial chapter at the collegial church of Saint Pierre d'Aire-sur-la-Lys. Describing his own role as translating and "ordering" the text, Guyart censored or omitted portions of the Bible that "should not, according to reason, be translated", rearranged materials "so that the laity might find them better ordered" and, on rare occasions, added further commentaries of his own or from other sources to produce the work known as the Bible Historiale. The work was copied in many manuscripts, of which more than a hundred survive, most of them richly illuminated, some with more than 300 miniatures, including La Bible historiale complétée (Proverbs - Revelation), France, Central (Paris?), Grand Bible historiale complétée à prologues, and more.