Melisende Psalter

Presentation of Christ from the Melisende Psalter

The Melisende Psalter (London, British Library, Egerton MS 1139) is an illuminated manuscript commissioned around 1135 in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, probably by King Fulk for his wife Queen Melisende. It is a notable example of Crusader art, which resulted from a merging of the artistic styles of Roman Catholic Europe, the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the art of the Armenian illuminated manuscript.

Seven scribes and illuminators, working in the scriptorium built by the crusaders in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, were involved in the creation of the psalter. It measures 21.6 centimetres by 14 centimetres.

This manuscript forms part of the Egerton Collection in the British Library in London.


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