The Old English Hexateuch or Old English Illustrated Hexateuch refers to a richly illuminated manuscript

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 in London - British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

, Cotton MS Claudius B.iv. It contains an Old English translation of the Hexateuch

Hexateuch

The Hexateuch is the first six books of the Hebrew Bible . Some scholars propose that Joshua represents part of the northern Yahwist source , detached from JE document by the Deuteronomist and incorporated into the Deuteronomic history, with the books of Judges, Kings, and Samuel.Reasons...

, which is the earliest vernacular translation of the first six books of the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

, i.e. the five books of the Torah — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers

Book of Numbers

The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....

 and Deuteronomy — and Joshua

Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....

. Another copy of the text, without lavish illustrations but including a translation of the Book of Judges

Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...

 (hence also called the Old English Heptateuch), is found in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 509.

The manuscript was probably compiled in the second quarter of the 11th century at St Augustine's Abbey

St Augustine's Abbey

St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent, England.-Early history:In 597 Saint Augustine arrived in England, having been sent by Pope Gregory I, on what might nowadays be called a revival mission. The King of Kent at this time was Æthelberht, who happened to be married to a...

, Canterbury. It incorporates translations and a preface by Ælfric of Eynsham

Ælfric of Eynsham

Ælfric of Eynsham was an English abbot, as well as a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as Ælfric the Grammarian , Ælfric of Cerne, and Ælfric the Homilist...

, while the remaining parts of the translation were carried out by anonymous authors. Peter Clemoes suggests that Byrhtferth of Ramsey was responsible for the compilation as well as for parts of the translation.

One or, more likely, several artists accompanied the narrative with 394 coloured drawings, containing about 550 scenes, many of which are unfinished, at varying stages of completion. The settings do not attempt to represent Old Testament life as anything different to that of contemporary Anglo-Saxons, and so give give valuable depictions of many aspects of the Anglo-Saxon world. The heavy illustration suggests that it was designed mainly for lay use.

Editions

• Dodwell, C. R. & Clemoes, Peter (eds.). The Old English Illustrated Hexateuch. Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile; 18. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1974. Facsimile
  Facsimile
  A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
  
  edition of British Library, Cotton MS Claudius B.iv.
• Crawford, Samuel J. (ed.). The Old English Version of the Heptateuch, Ælfric's Treatise on the Old and New Testament and His Preface to Genesis. Early English Text Society; 160. London: Oxford University Press, 1969. Critical edition of the text.
• Marsden, Richard (ed.). The Old English Heptateuch and Ælfric's "Libellus de veteri testamento et novo". Early English Text Society; 330. Oxford: Oxford U. P., 2008.

Secondary literature

• Barnhouse, Rebecca. Text and image in the Illustrated Old English Hexateuch. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1994. Dissertation.
• Mellinkoff, Ruth. "Serpent Imagery in the Illustrated Old English Hexateuch." Brown, P. R., et al. (eds.) Modes of Interpretation in Old English Literature: essays in honour of Stanley B. Greenfield / edited by Phyllis Rugg Brown. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986.
• Withers, Benjamin C. The Illustrated Old English Hexateuch, Cotton Claudius B.iv.: the frontier of seeing and reading in Anglo-Saxon England. Studies in Book and Print Culture. London: British Library, 2007. ISBN 9780712309400.
• Withers, Benjamin C. "A 'secret and feverish genesis': the Prefaces of the Old English Hexateuch." The Art Bulletin; 81:1 (1999): 53-71.
• Withers, Benjamin C. & Barnhouse, Rebecca (eds.). The Old English Hexateuch: aspects and approaches. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute, 2000.