Hamburg Polyglot

[Polyglot Bible]. Biblia Sacra Graece, Latine & Germanice opera Davidis Wolderi; in usum ecclesiarum Germanicarum.
Seven volumes bound as four in black silk.
Hamburg: Jacobus Lucius Juni, 1596. (Prothro B-109)

The “Hamburg Polyglot” includes the texts of the Greek Septuagint, St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, the modern Latin versions of Sante Pagnini (Old Testament) or Théodore de Bèze (New Testament), and Luther’s German. As a Bible intended for scholars, this polyglot edition is unusual in that it features a rich program of illustration. Full page engravings embellish the title page and dedication pages (bearing the coats-of-arms of King Christian IV of Denmark and the Archbishop of Bremen), while fine woodcuts based on earlier designs by Lucas Cranach (1472–1553) introduce virtually every book of the Bible. Exhibited are the engraved title page to the first volume, portraying St. Jerome, Luther, and the Septuagint scholars, and woodcut illustrations showing Ruth and Boaz in the fields (Ruth 2) and the Conversion of St. Paul (Acts 9). Bridwell Library’s silk-bound copy was hand-colored for Thomas von dem Knesebeck (1559–1625), a prominent nobleman of Lower Saxony.

THE ELIZABETH PERKINS PROTHRO BIBLE COLLECTION