Lisbon Bible: Facsimile of British Library Or.MS 2626

Lisbon Bible: Facsimile of British Library Or.MS 2626

1482

Musa, Samuel ben Samuel Ibn

During the Middle Ages, a large majority of Jews lived under Muslim rule. For Jews in al-Andalus (modern-day Spain and Portugal), the period between the Muslim Umayyad conquest and Spanish Inquisition constituted a cultural golden age known as La Convivencia, "The Coexistence." The most celebrated Jewish art form during this period was the illuminated manuscript, of which the Lisbon Bible is a stunning example. It was produced in 1482 by the last workshop in Iberia dedicated to hand-copying and illuminating Hebrew manuscripts.

Five years later, printers in Faro, Portugal, issued their first Hebrew book. Then, in 1492, the Spanish Expulsion brought the story of Iberian Jewry to a convulsive end. Though the scribes and artists who produced the Lisbon Bible could not have known it, theirs was the valedictory work of both a community and an art form, each running out of time.

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This resource is free of copyright under the laws of the United States. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534 heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the As Far As Their Books Reach: Jewish Printing and the Global Jewish Diaspora, Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Digital object made available by the Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Faro, Portugal

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Hebrew