description Khludov Psalter Overview
The Khludov Psalter is an illustrated Byzantine manuscript produced in Greek around the middle of the ninth century. Now held by the State Historical Museum in Moscow, it is especially notable for marginal images that comment directly on the Byzantine Iconoclast controversy, often comparing iconoclasts with figures who abused Christ. It is an important source for scholars of Byzantine art, theology, political conflict, and manuscript culture.
help Khludov Psalter FAQ
Why are the margins of the Khludov Psalter so important?
Its margins contain 208 miniatures that link particular psalm verses to biblical scenes and contemporary religious arguments. Small visual connections and adjacent captions often show exactly which words an image interprets.
How does the Khludov Psalter attack Byzantine Iconoclasm?
Several images equate the destruction of icons with the soldiers' abuse of Christ during the Crucifixion. One famous miniature pairs a soldier offering Christ vinegar with an iconoclast applying whitewash to an image of Christ.
Where is the Khludov Psalter now?
The manuscript is held by the State Historical Museum in Moscow as MS D.129. It entered the collection through the bequest of the nineteenth-century collector Aleksey Khludov.
When and where was the Khludov Psalter made?
It was created in Constantinople around the middle of the ninth century, near the end of or shortly after the Iconoclast controversy. Its Greek psalm text is surrounded by unusually direct and polemical imagery.
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