User:Godsy/Paris Bible

Paris Bibles were a format of the Bible written in the thirteenth century,  the first bibles to be regularly produced as a single volume book. There were two primary factors that led to this.

First, the thirteenth century saw the development of very tiny script, known as "microscript." This in turn was a reaction to twelfth century copying practices, which favored extravagant, large lettering and illuminations. The microscript allowed the text of the Bible, for the first time, to be placed into a single volume in a practical manner.

Secondly, the students studying at the University of Paris, a university that specialized in Theology, were in need of a standarized copy of the Scriptures which could function on a more systematic level. To this end, the Paris Bible saw the first real efforts at placing the books of Scripture into a standard "order" - something which was neither necessary nor possible when the books appeared as separate volumes. The order selected for the Paris Bible had a large influence on that still used today. It consisted of: