3-042-561 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Initial I: Scenes of the Creation of the World and the Life of Christ; Abbey Bible, about 1250-1262. Additional Info: A soaring initial I opens the book of Genesis, announcing, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." These two pages serve as a dramatic beginning for the sacred scriptures. Roundels embedded within the vertical bar of the letter I at the center of the two pages detail the story of the Creation and intersect with scenes from the life of Christ spanning the bottom border. These close visual links between the Old and New Testaments emphasize Christ's role in redeeming Adam and Eve's original sin.