Excerpt from Two Hundred and Fifty Books, Manuscripts and Autograph Letters This very choice twelfth-century French Manuscript is written on 544 leaves of the very finest thin vellum, with two columns to the page and fifty lines to the column. The ornamental letters throughout are in red and blue, with light pen-drawn ornaments extending up and down the margin of the opposite colour to the letter itself, while at the commencement of each book is a larger and more elaborate initial, worked in both colours, with curved ornament inside and more elaborate marginal ornament, also in two colours. The Manuscript commences with the Preface of St. Jerome, the Author of this revision, and before each Book is a short Prologue. The text of the Bible ends on leaf 300, and it is followed, immediately, by the "Interpretationes Bible," which concludes on the recto of leaf 540. At the foot of the last column are nine lines of Invocations to the Blessed Virgin, each line divided into two parts ending with a similar rhyme. The eight pages following contain the Kalendar, and the last page a Table for finding Easter. French Manuscripts of this very curly period are of great rarity, but when absolutely complete (such as the present Manuscript) they arc superlatively rare. Bound for the Cardinal de Bourbon, "Charles X." The binding is probably the work of Nicolas Eve (the first). The present exceptionally beautiful and important copy is ruled with red lines, and is in black morocco. The sides are plain except for a three-line border, each line separately tooled. The backs are flat with a similar border running round them. The linings are of white paper, and the edges of the leaves are gilt. On the backs are two devices. The upper has the Arms of France with a "Baton peri," or a baton which does not extend the full extent of the shield; this is surmounted by a Cardinal's hat. The lower device has a lily branch surrounded by the motto, "Superat candore et odore." These are the devices used by Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, who, in 1589, was put forward by the Guise party as King with the title of "Charles X." This splendidly printed Edition of the Hebrew Bible is the First which was issued by Robert Estienne. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.