Book of Isaiah with Commentary Book of Isaiah with Commentary

The commentary on the Book of the prophet Isaiah from the Old Testament is accompanied by miniatures which show great similarities to those in the Song of Songs (Msc.Bibl.22). Both manuscripts were probably created together in the Reichenau scriptorium.

In the centre of the left-hand image, Christ sits on a throne and bears a scroll in his right hand. Six seraphs surround him. Christ’s left hand directs the observer’s eye to the opposite page.

Underneath, a building resembling a temple houses an altar from which an angel with six wings takes a piece of red-hot coal with a pair of tongs. In the picture on the right-hand page, the angel touches the mouth of the prophet with the coal in order to clean his lips before they pronounce holy words. Isaiah stands in the first letter of the word ‚Visio‘, between two pillars bearing a gable and curtains.