"But while the exhibition offers a beautiful and instructive display of manuscript artistry, it risks presenting a sanitized vision of the book's history, one that glosses over the fundamental power dynamics and conflicts inherent in medieval religious life. By framing these "gloriously illuminated" Psalters as impacting Medieval men and women in general, the exhibition risks creating the illusion of widespread engagement and access."
"The Book of Psalms (often called "Psalms" or the "Psalter") is a central book in the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament. At its core, it is an anthology of 150 sacred Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers that were originally set to music for use in temple worship and often attributed to King David, though there were many authors. The English term "Psalms" derives from the Greek word psalmoi, which originally meant "songs sung to stringed instruments.""
An exhibition traces the Psalms' influence on medieval Europeans by displaying illuminated Psalters from the 6th to 16th centuries. The Psalms are a shared Jewish and Christian inheritance, an anthology of 150 Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers originally set to music for temple worship and often attributed to King David. Christian interpretation frequently reads the Psalms messianically, while Jewish tradition emphasizes liturgical and historical contexts. Many surviving Psalters are lavishly illuminated and prohibitively expensive, indicating restricted access and elite ownership. The visual splendor of these manuscripts can obscure conflicts and power dynamics shaping medieval religious practice and communal access.
Read at Hyperallergic
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