The Interpretations of Hebrew Names: Bible leaf, c. 1250, Italy

Early Bibles often incorporated a wide variety of aids and addenda, such as calendars and tables of lections, biblical summaries and devotional treatises, to facilitate prayer, preaching and study.

Guiding readers through the long and complex text of the Bible, none was as popular as the "Interpretations of Hebrew Names in alphabetical order". It was usually found at the end of the Bible after the Apocalypse.

Recto: Ruled in red with text written in brown ink on fine vellum in Latin in a precise gothic minuscule script in three columns of 55 lines. The text is written in remarkably tiny and well formed letters, so small that there are four lines of text to the centimetre, or nine lines to the inch. Two Lombard style Illuminated initials in red and blue.

Verso: As Recto.

Origin: Italy, probably Bologna.

Date: c. 1250

Content: The leaf contains a section of the "Interpretations of Hebrew Names in alphabetical order", (Interpretationes hebraicorum nominum secundum ordinem alphabeti) starting with the initial 'I'.

Condition: This leaf is in fine/excellent condition having clear text with no ink loss and supple, bright vellum. The leaf is unconditionally guaranteed genuine.

Notes: When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, he was well aware of the importance of names. The Vulgate transliterated many of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek proper names of the Bible.

The text comprises a long alphabetical list of Latinised Hebrew words, followed by their meanings, translations or explanations. For the most part they are names of characters in the Old Testament such as David, Jethro, Ruth, Obadiah, Naomi, etc. as well as places like Hebron and Jericho, but the list also included frequently used words.

With few exceptions, the IHN is found in Bibles only after c. 1230; earlier versions are found in non-biblical manuscripts.

Size: Size of leaf: approx. 200x135 mm. Text and illuminated area : approx. 150x100 mm.