# Cycle of Old and New Testament Images, Possibly Prefatory Cycle for a Psalter

- By: Northern France or Flanders
- Date: c. 1250 (bound 2003)
- Medium: Manuscript with 58 full-page miniatures on parchment, with gothica textualis inscriptions in red (probably post-production addition) and black in French and Latin (only on ff. 9v-10r), ruled in graphite, with 2 (modern) fly leaves upper…
- Classification: Book
- Dimensions: Image, average: 12 × 10 cm (4 3/4 × 3 15/16 in.); Sheet: 17 × 12 cm (6 3/4 × 4 3/4 in.)
- Culture: Northern France
- Credit line: Anonymous gift
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/71515)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/f898128c-fbaa-928a-c9c9-22806f2cce81/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Altogether six miniatures in this small volume chronicle the story of Noah as an exemplar of virtue and trust: on the left, Noah helps his family escape the flood; on the right, a dove with an olive leaf signifies their deliverance. Such full-page miniatures that served as the primary means of relaying the story, without text, also served as reminders of proper and improper behavior. They probably once prefaced a psalter, or book of Psalms, which both lay and religious communities recited on a daily basis.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0