History of Sacred Texts and Representations of the Nativity Scene

Exhibit

History of Sacred Texts and Representations of the Nativity Scene

Dates: October 12, 2015 to January 12, 2016

The Jean-Léon Allie Library and Archives presents the exhibit History of Sacred Texts and Representations of the Nativity Scene. Showcasing items from its Rare Books Collections, the exhibit aims to bring attention to the history of the gospels and their importance for religion and theological studies. Illuminated texts, texts written in different languages and texts from different epochs will be among the items displayed.

Representations of the Nativity Scene

These four bibles show how four different artists have chosen to depict the nativity scene. Although the texts are very similar, the artistic representations vary greatly.

Nativity scenes

Upper left corner: Facsimile of the 1779 Evangeliarium Sankt Peter auf dem Schwarzwald 1961; Upper right corner: Douay Bible 1865; Lower left corner: Bibelen (Norwegen Bible) 1934; Lower right corner: Self-interpreting family Bible with illustrations by John Brown 1850.

Sacred Texts

Les Saints Évangiles (The Holy Gospels)

Image of Jesus

This translation of the gospels was collected by Henri Wallon from the works of Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet. Composed of two volumes containing the New Testament, it also includes engravings of biblical scenes. 1873.

Codex Cairo of the Bible

This book is a facsimile of the Codex Cairo of the Bible from the Karairte Synagogue at Abbasiya. The Codex Cairo is the earliest extant Hebrew manuscript. Dating from the 9th century, it was written by Moses b. Asher of Tiberias. This facsimile was published in Jerusalem in 1971.

Yevanhelion

Evangelion – This book was printed in 1743 in Ukraine. It contains the four Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke and John] and is used during the Divine liturgy and other liturgical services of the Eastern Christian Churches. For this reason, it is mostly kept on the altar throughout the year.