Melisende Psalter

The Melisende Psalter (London, British Library, Egerton MS 1139) is an illuminated manuscript commissioned around 1135 in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, probably by King Fulk for his wife Queen Melisende. It is a notable example of Crusader art, which resulted from a merging of the artistic styles of Roman Catholic Europe, the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the art of the Armenian illuminated manuscript.

Seven scribes and illuminators, working in the scriptorium built by the crusaders in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, were involved in the creation of the psalter. It measures 21.6 centimetres by 14 centimetres.

This manuscript forms part of the Egerton Collection in the British Library.

The first twenty-four illustrations (on each side of the first twelve folios) depict scenes from the New Testament. New Testament images were commonly found at the beginning of western psalters, unlike in eastern psalters, but in this case the images depict scenes more common in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. The scenes depicted are the Annunciation, Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the Baptism of Jesus, the Temptation of Christ, the Transfiguration, the Raising of Lazarus, the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see illustration), the Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet, the Agony in the Garden, the Betrayal of Judas, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Descent from the Cross, the Lamentation, the Harrowing of Hell, the Three Marys at the Tomb, and the Deesis.

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