"And
in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain,
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven
from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most
rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great,
high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels,
and on the gates the names of the twelve
tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed..." —
Revelation 21: 10—12
This
manuscript contains the Apocalypse, or the Book of Revelation.
Shown here is the descent of New Jerusalem, symbolizing the
start of a new millennium of happiness. Made in Germany in
the early fifteenth century, this manuscript is identified
by its bookplates as having been a part of the library at
the Cistercian Abbey of Cîteaux in France and later
in the collection of James Lenox, one of the founders of The
New York Public Library and an avid collector of early Bibles.
