Register a SNAP EBT card with Amazon


Try Amazon Audible Plus



Coptic-Arabic Gospel
Institut Catholique Ms. Copte-Arabe 1, 1249-50 AD.
Folio 4v. : 3rd illumination of the Gospel of Matthew

The Magi before Herod


Les Mages chez Hérode
Devant Hérode et son assistant, s’avancent de la droite les trois Mages à cheval. Les figures, détruites, sont nimbées, selon une règle générale qui, tout au cours du manuscrit, attribue le nimbe à tous les personnages, même ceux qui ne sont pas des personnages bibliques ou saints.
Inscriptions arabes (voir ill. pleine page) : Hérode et Les Mages. Hérode


The Magi in Herod's palace
Before Herod and his assistant, on the right the three Magi come forward on horseback. The figures, defaced, have haloes as a general rule, throughout the manuscript, haloes are attributed to all characters, even those who are not biblical or saints. [Compare Warqa wa Gulshah]
Arabic inscriptions (see Fig full page.) Herod and the Magi. Herod

The Massacre of the Innocents


Le Massacre des Innocents
Deux femmes dessinées sur la droite assistent au massacre d’enfants par des soldats armés d’épées. L’une d’elles se tient la tête.
Les enfants sont représentés aux pieds des soldats.
Le soldat en tunique rouge sur la gauche tient un enfant, la tête en bas.


The Massacre of the Innocents
Two women drawn on the right attending the killing of children by armed soldiers with swords. One of them holds her head.
The children are represented at the feet of the soldiers.
The soldier in red tunic on the left holds a child upside down.


Christ and the Centurion of Capernaum


Le Christ et le Centurion de Capharnaüm
Le Christ accompagné de deux apôtres.
Face à ce groupe, un autre est conduit par le centurion portant une épée non dégainée et s’adressant au Christ.
Inscriptions arabes (voir ill. pleine page) : le centurion, le Seigneur, deux apôtres


Christ and the Centurion of Capernaum
Christ accompanied by two apostles.
Facing this group, the other is led by a centurion, carrying a drawn but not unsheathed sword, addressing Christ.
Arabic inscriptions (see Fig full page.): The centurion, the Lord, two apostles



Source: L'évangéliaire copte-arabe de la Bibliothèque de Fels
Also available at bibliotheque-numerique.icp.fr



Referenced as figure 172 in The military technology of classical Islam by D Nicolle
172A to 172C. Manuscript, A - Beheading of the Baptist, B - Massacre of the Innocents, C - Centurion at Capernaum, Gospel, 1249-50 AD, Coptic, Institut Catholique Ms. Copte-Arabe 1, ff. 4v and 18v, Paris (Ler C).




Folio 18v, Beheading of John the Baptist, Coptic-Arabic Gospel. Institut Catholique Ms. Copte-Arabe 1
Folio 56v, Betrayal by Judas; Christ Captive; Pilate Condemns Christ, Coptic-Arabic Gospel. Institut Catholique Ms. Copte-Arabe 1



See also Illustrations from a Coptic Gospel, Damietta, Egypt, 1179-80
Ayyubid Rider on a Bowl, 13th Century

Other 13th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers