At a time when books can be written and distributed to millions by high-speed computer, there is no earthly reason why anyone would need to spend $5.5 million to create an illuminated manuscript of the Catholic Bible, featuring calligraphy applied by hand on calfskin parchment and other bookmaking methods dating back to the Middle Ages.
And yet, that may be exactly why such a project was launched in 2000 by monks from St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. They're not doing it because they have to, but because they want to, for the glory of God and the enrichment of those who view the work.
An exhibit opening today at the Walters Art Museum tells the story of this 10-year effort to create the first handwritten, illuminated Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine monastery since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago.
FOR THE RECORD - An article in Sunday's You and Arts & Entertainment section misstated the name of the master calligrapher directing the St. John's Bible project featured in a Walters Art Museum exhibit. He is Donald Jackson.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.
The St. John's Bible: A Modern Vision Through Medieval Methods presents 44 pages from two volumes of the monks' seven-volume Bible, scheduled for completion in 2010. This large-scale manuscript, about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall when open, is being created in Wales for the monks under the direction of David Jackson, master calligrapher and senior scribe to Queen Elizabeth II. It has already been hailed as a masterpiece of calligraphy and bookmaking, especially for the innovative way in which images and text are combined. The Walters' exhibit features original folios from the Books of Wisdom, on display for the first time outside the St. John's campus, and the Books of Prophets.
Although portions of the manuscript have been displayed before, the Walters' exhibit is different from any previous showing because it puts the new Bible in a historical and global context for the first time, rather than showing it in isolation.
The Walters has one of the world's finest collections of illuminated manuscripts, including thousands of books from Europe, Asia and Africa. Co-curators Kathryn Gerry and Ben Tilghman, both from the Walters staff, have designed an exhibit in which pages from the St. John's Bible are interspersed with 49 historic manuscripts and rare books from the museum's collection, including a 17th-century Torah scroll, a 15th-century Koran and "The Elephant Book," an accordion-fold manuscript from Thailand.
