Nevertheless, the Bible of Avila was mentioned in an inventory of ecclesiastical cult

obj ects in the cathedral of Avila in the 16th century, where it was described as being "very

good, large, and written by hand on parchment."' In January 1869 it was moved to its

present location in the National Library of Spain, by the decree of seizure issued by Mr.

Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla.8

 The history of the Bible of Avila, as previously explained, is clear and generally

accepted. However, problems arise when attempting to place the bible in a chronological

frame. There have been a number of attempts by different scholars-who I will discuss in

short-to date this manuscript, but their dating have proved to be inconclusive. The main

area of dissent regarding the chronological controversy has to do with the three different

sections in the Bible of Avila: the Italian, the Spanish, and the three illuminated folios of

the Life and Passion of Christ.

 One of the first art historians to suggest a date for the Bible of Avila was Samuel

Berger in 1893. In his study Histoire de la Vulgate Pendantddd~~~~~ddddd~~~~ les Premiers Siecles du

M~oyen Age, he places the origin of the Bible of Avila in Italy in the beginnings of the 13th






Valencia: Universidad de Navarra, 1999, pp. 353. Rodriguez Velasco mentions that the
calligraphy of the added inscription relates to other examples found in the 14th century.

S"Inventario de los obj etos de culto, ornamentos y libros; y de las rentas y censos que
posee la fabric de la Iglesia." Fol. CXX, Archivo Historico Nacional, Seccion de
Codices, 1247, 926-B. Cited by Maria Rodriguez Velasco, "Iconografia del Nuevo
Testamento en la Biblia de Avila," p. 353.

SGuillermo Schulz, "Las Miniaturas de la Biblia de Avila," Boletin de la Sociedaddddddddddddddddd
Espaiola de Excursionista~s, vol. V, 1898, pp. 100, does not identify further who this
person is besides his name.