Paris Psalter
| Paris Psalter | |
|---|---|
| Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris | |
| Also known as | Psalter of Paris |
| Type | Illuminated manuscript; psalter |
| Date | c. 900 AD |
| Place of origin | Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Language | Greek |
| Scribe | Unrecorded |
| Patron | Possibly Byzantine imperial or aristocratic patron |
| Material | Parchment, pigments |
| Size | 36 × 26 cm (folio) |
| Format | Codex |
| Script | Byzantine minuscule |
| Contents | Book of Psalms; 14 full-page illuminations depicting the life of King David |
| Illumination(s) | Classical revival style; personifications; pastoral and architectural backgrounds |
| Exemplar | Classical Roman models from 3rd–5th centuries |
| Other | Part of the Macedonian Renaissance; combines classical Roman imagery with medieval Christian themes |
The Paris Psalter (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. gr. 139) is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript, 38 x 26.5 cm in size, containing 449 folios and 14 full-page miniatures. The Paris Psalter is considered a key monument of the so-called Macedonian Renaissance, a 10th-century renewal of interest in classical art closely identified with the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (909–959) and his immediate successors.
In the classification of Greek biblical manuscripts, it is designated by siglum 1133 (Rahlfs).