The two gorgeous covers that encased the psalter belonging to Baldwin IV’s grandmother, Queen Melisende of Jerusalem.
The Melisende Psalter may only be the size of a modern paperback, but it features rich gold illuminations inside and was originally enclosed in a binding of two beautiful carved ivory panels decorated with turquoises and garnets that make it one of the most precious surviving artefacts from the war-torn Crusader kingdoms.
The upper cover (left) shows scenes from the life of David along with battles between the virtues and vices, accompanied by Latin inscriptions. The lower cover (right) is designed after a passage in the Gospel of Matthew:
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
It depicts emperors clothed in different garments of Byzantine fashion performing acts of mercy. The bird labelled ‘Herodius’ at the top of the cover may be a reference to the man who possibly commissioned the book: King Fulk of Jerusalem, Melisende’s husband. In Bestiary tradition, the biblical herodius was equivalent to the fulica (coot).
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