I discovered this last night on BoingBoing: A cockney version of the bible from the days of Chaucer. In November, the British Library published a facsimile version (about $100). It includes a translation (the original is in Anglo-Norman French).
Noah and his ark
Here is a video from the British Library showing many of the pages:
9-minute video of the bible from the British Library
Following is a review of the bible from Amazon UK:
“This celebrated medieval picture-book tells the Biblical story, focusing upon the Creation to the Flood, the Life of Christ, and the Apocalypse, with the help of illustrations of everyday 14th-century England. It is based on the biblical narrative but also includes plenty of apocryphal episodes, for example Christ surfing on sunbeams as a child, and God telling Noah to hurry up with the Ark so that he is forced to finish the top section in wicker rather than wood. The costumes, tools, weapons and buildings in the pictures give a near documentary-style representation of many occupations in the age of Chaucer, such as dyer, smith, carpenter and midwife. This distinctive manuscript has now been carefully photographed and reproduced on special paper designed to replicate the look and feel of the original vellum. The facsimile includes Michelle P. Brown’s full transcript and translation of the text, and a commentary based on her unrivaled knowledge of the period.”
