Psalter
Texts and Images
Psalms 1, 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97 and 109 introduce the eight groups into which most 13th-century French Psalters were divided for daily recitation. These eight Psalms open with historiated initials painted on highly burnished gold grounds by a single artist (Hand B). Most of them show King David in prayer and scenes illustrating the Psalms’ opening verses. Ordinary Psalms open with fully illuminated ornamental initials – pink or blue letters on gold grounds, or gold letters on pink and blue grounds, with green or black added in initials painted by two of the assistants (Hands 3 and 5 respectively).
David and Bathsheba (Psalm 1)
The full-page Beatus initial contains the opening words of Psalm 1 written in gold on the right. In the upper bowl of the B, David peeps through a window in his castle, watching the bathing Bathsheba. Below, he kneels before God, repenting for his adultery. This image, painted by Hand B, and the almost identical Beatus initial in the Psalter of St Louis (Paris, BnF, MS lat. 10525, fol. 85v) are the only known examples of this subject appearing at Psalm 1.