A Text Uncovered The Giant Bible of Saint Maximin

The Giant Bible recently acquired by the National Library of Luxembourg is an extraordinary artifact for several reasons. Its monumental size alone – it weighs about 25 kilograms and, when opened, spans 80 cm in width and 55 cm in height –, combined with amendments written over several centuries, makes it a unique piece. The core of this Bible was written in the late 11^th century, but additions and revisions continued to be made until the 16^th century at the Abbey of Saint Maximin in Trier. Its 16^th-century binding, made of wooden boards covered with pig skin, further enhances its impressive physicality.

The materiality of medieval manuscripts, often overlooked, plays a significant role here. Written on parchment, this Bible required the hides of over 230 cows – a considerable economic investment. The process of preparing the hides, known as ponçage (polishing), was laborious. Typically, a cowhide would be folded once to produce two leaves (four pages), forming what is called a bifolium. This format is referred to as in-folio (in-2°).

While most of the leaves of our Bible were trimmed, a few leaves, folded and therefore preserved before the 16^th-century rebinding, still reveal traces of prickings – faint lead markings that guided the writing. Some leaves even show repairs to the parchment.

Analysing the book’s physical form also sheds light on its stages of composition and writing. Medieval books were made up of gatherings (cahiers), typically in the form of quaternios – four bifolia sewn together, producing 16 pages. This Bible can be divided into five sections, though most of the transcription was made by a single scribe (Scribe A). The first section contains the Octateuch (the first eight books of the Old Testament); the second holds the Books of Kings; the third, the Prophets; the fourth includes the wisdom books, the hagiographers, and the Maccabees; and the final part comprises the New Testament. At the beginnings and ends of these gatherings, signatures or réclames – repeated words from the next leaf – helped prevent errors during binding. Without going into details, it is mainly at the beginning and at the end of the outermost quires that one finds anomalies or valuable indications about the binding, sewing, layout process, etc. – let us note, for example, the signature ‘x’, which is the quire’s sequence number, or the ‘catchwords’, that is, the repetition of the first word of a leaf on the verso of the previous leaf, to prevent the bookbinder from making mistakes during the sewing process.

The layout is remarkably consistent, with the written area measuring 42–43 cm by 27–28 cm and typically containing 50–51 lines per page across two columns.

The elegant Carolingian minuscule script was primarily executed by scribe A in the late 11^th century, with scribes B and C assisting with prologues and chapter tables. A fourth, contemporary hand entered corrections.

Over the centuries, other scribes from the abbey of Saint Maximin added prayers and liturgical readings, hereby proving the Bible’s use in communal worship. In total, the hands of 15 scribes, spanning five centuries, are distinguishable.

The manuscript’s decoration showcases a clear hierarchy, ranging from simple embellishments to grand initials that mark the beginning of each book. These reflect a close collaboration between the scriptoria of Trier and Echternach. The final and initial lines of each biblical book are written in a mix of scripts – minuscule, capital and uncial – often alternating between black and red. Red ink is used for chapter headings, initials, and, occasionally, to indicate dialogue, as in the Song of Songs. 

Some folios retain their original running titles in black ink to aid navigation.

The manuscript’s primary decorations consist of initials with interlaced foliage, traced in red ink and hollowed out. Backgrounds are richly colored with shades of red, blue, green, and yellow.

While the aesthetic remains consistent throughout, the artist introduced some variety: (1) letter bodies are split with interlacing knots, reminiscent of the Bible of Echternach commissioned by abbot Regimbert (BnL, Ms 264).

(2) Red-outlined initials, with hollowed out frame and sharply delineated backgrounds filled in purple, red, blue, or shades in gray, red, and yellow reminiscent of marble.

(3) Initials framed by geometric shapes, filled with green, red, or purple.

The vegetal motifs echo those in the Giant Bible of Echternach, and the almost total lack of figurative ornaments are in conformity with the austere aesthetic canon set by abbot Regimbert.

Finally, the Bible features two frontispiece pages, divided into two painted frames: (1^v) in red, blue, and yellow, and (5^v) in red, blue, and green. On fol. 1^v, the backgrounds are saturated with green and purple, devoid of text, with the green areas likely intended for inscribing the rubric of the Book of Genesis. On fol. 5^v, the ten bands of the five colors used by the miniaturist for the vine initials (yellow, red, blue, purple, green) are distributed in perfect harmony between the two columns, containing the title of the Prologue of Jerome to the Pentateuch. This time, the reference is no longer to the Giant Bible produced in Echternach around 1070-1080, but rather to the production from the previous generation, hearkening back as it does to the time of the Codex aureus of Nuremberg.

The Bible’s monumental nature is further reflected in its 16^th-century binding, likely the third it has had. The original binding, now lost, was probably prestigious. The current binding is crafted from white pigskin over thick wooden boards. The central field is adorned with acroteria and surrounded by five levels of frames, featuring two plant motif roulettes and a distinctive Trier roulette with four biblical scenes: the Original Sin, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Crucifixion (dated 1559), and the Ascension. Another binding from Saint Maximin using this same roulette identifies the binder as Otto Nauticus, a priest from Trier and custos of the monastery. This workshop also produced bindings for external clients, including the library of Echternach, as evidenced by several surviving examples.

The Giant Bible stands as a testament to the skill and devotion of medieval scribes and craftsmen. From the painstaking parchment production to the elegant illuminations, it captures centuries of cultural history. Its size, decoration and ongoing revisions over centuries highlight its significance as both a sacred object and a living document, cherished and used throughout its long history.