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The Medieval Church · c. 1300s; block-printed from c. 1450

The Poor Man's Bible

Biblia Pauperum

Anonymous

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What it is

Pages pairing a scene from Christ's life with two Old Testament prefigurations and four prophets, designed to be read as much by picture as by text.

Why it lasted

One of the first books produced by block printing, and a major source for the iconography of late medieval altarpieces and windows.

Where to read it

Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.

These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.

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