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Priceless ninth-century masterpiece Bible returns to Swiss homeland
AFP ^ | 07/03/2025

Posted on 03/09/2025 3:55:48 PM PDT by george76

The Moutier-Grandval Bible, an illustrated ninth-century masterpiece considered one of the finest manuscripts in the world, is back in Switzerland, where it miraculously survived the ages in impeccable condition...

The priceless Bible was produced in Tours in France in around 830-840, before making its way to Moutier-Grandval Abbey, in the mountainous Jura region in northwestern Switzerland.

Now in the care of the British Library, the 22-kilogramme (50-pound) manuscript is being loaned for three months to the Jura Museum of Art and History in the region's tiny capital Delemont.

It is only the second time it has been loaned from London, after being shown at the Jura Museum in 1981, when 32,000 people flocked to see it...

a miracle: this mediaeval masterpiece has survived the ages, the circumstances of history; it has escaped ransacking, wars, fires, revolutions, and has reached us in remarkable condition

....

When it returned on Tuesday, "the emotion was palpable: more than 1,200 years of history were in our hands..

Around 100 Bibles were produced during the same period in Tours, of which 18 have survived intact, including only three that are illustrated. The Moutier-Grandval Bible is the best-known.

'Joy, awe and wonder'..

The Bible is going on show in the museum's basement, behind a thick steel door. Sealed inside a glass cabinet, it is the only object in the bare, darkened room.

It is open on the first page, showing a vivid illustration of the story of Adam and Eve -- its colours still remarkably bright -- from the Book of Genesis.

For optimum conservation conditions, only five people at a time are allowed in the room, for five minutes only.

...

The 450 leaves, or 900 pages, measure 50 by 37.5 centimetres (20 by 15 inches

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature; History; Religion; Society
KEYWORDS: bible; epigraphyandlanguage; france; godsgravesglyphs; middleages; swiss; switzerland; tours; toursinfrance

1 posted on 03/09/2025 3:55:49 PM PDT by george76
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To: george76

Probably safer in Switzerland from the muzzies.


2 posted on 03/09/2025 4:00:44 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Yes


3 posted on 03/09/2025 4:03:07 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

Very cool bible, as well.


4 posted on 03/09/2025 4:04:01 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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5 posted on 03/09/2025 4:18:53 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

This Bible was put together by Benedictine Catholic Monks. IT seems to have gotten to England after the protestants took over the region where the Benedictine Monastery was.

So one has to ask how exactly did this Catholic Bible end up with the protestant Church of England and then now in the London Museum.

Perhaps some protestants here can help me out with the history from the protestant side.


6 posted on 03/09/2025 4:51:35 PM PDT by CTrent1564
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To: george76

Amazing!

Reminding me of the Book of Kells, in Dublin.


7 posted on 03/09/2025 4:59:36 PM PDT by Jane Long (Jesus is Lord!)
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To: george76

https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/07/a-carolingian-masterpiece-the-moutier-grandval-bible.html


8 posted on 03/09/2025 5:25:27 PM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14/12 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15/12 - 1030am - Obama team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: PghBaldy

Thanks


9 posted on 03/09/2025 6:38:41 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

what language is it written in?


10 posted on 03/09/2025 6:46:51 PM PDT by RaceBannon (Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for )
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To: RaceBannon

Vulgate Bible text, Latin


11 posted on 03/09/2025 7:06:57 PM PDT by jjotto ( Blessed are You LORD, who crushes enemies and subdues the wicked.)
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To: CTrent1564

From the article:

The Bible was left behind by canons and forgotten about until it was found, according to legend, in a Delemont attic in the late 1810s or early 1820s. It was sold to an antiques dealer in 1822.

It was eventually sold to the British Museum in 1836 for £750, or $93,600 in today’s money.


12 posted on 03/09/2025 8:27:14 PM PDT by Inyo-Mono
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To: Inyo-Mono

I did not read the article, ok. I went and read it but still I have questions. How did it get into a private attic if it was in a Catholic Monastery, when that region went protestant, someone must at that time shut down the monastery and then took the Bible and put into a private persons hand, obviously not a Catholic.

Still trying to figure out who did this wonderful Catholic Bible produced by Benedictine Catholic Monks wind up in Protestant hands in Delemont in a private persons attic.

It is in Latin and is in reality our Bible (Catholics).


13 posted on 03/09/2025 8:53:58 PM PDT by CTrent1564
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