2-743-483 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum), Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve, 1450-1465. Blockbooks, in which images and text are carved from a single woodblock, were the earliest form of printed text in Europe, preceding the invention of moveable type. The Biblia Pauperum is an early blockbook bible that served as a handbook for poor clerics and friars in northern Europe. The folios here feature a New Testament scene flanked by two from the Old Testament. The page to the left depicts the baptism of Christ centered between Pharoah’s drowned army in the Red Sea and spies returning with grapes from Canaan. The page to the right illustrates the temptation of Christ bordered by Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and the temptation of Adam and Eve. Arched windows above and below the main scenes contain the prophets flanked by explanatory texts.