This image shows the opening of a bifolium with an historiated initial from a Bible. The verso contains passages from Judith 3:9 - 5: 19. The recto, opposite, contains passages from Esther 2:20-4:14. The Book of Judith is one of the deutero-canonical books included in the Vulgate Bible. It tells the story of the Old Testament heroine Judith, a Jewish widow. This initial depicts the moment when Judith beheads Holofernes, the leader of the Assyrian army. While the Jewish city of Bethulia was under siege, Judith entered the Assyrian camp to seduce Holofernes only to slay him in his sleep. Her... Lewis E M E M 43:3-6 are sister leaves. It appears that each bifolium was removed from the same Bible to be re-used as a folder to hold legal documents. The upside-down inscriptions at the bottoms of this bifolium and its sister leaves, all dating to the sixteenth century, make reference to sales and acquisitions between various parties, indicating that these bifolia might have been recycled... We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Roger S. Wieck in dating and localizing these leaves. Script: Rotunda
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