Israelites Fighting for Freedom
F. 12r of the Morgan bible is almost entirely occupied by images of battle. The upper register depicts the diminutive figure of Ehud sneaking into Eglon's castle to slay him in his throne. Ehud thrusts his knife into the king's abdomen, spilling his entrails and causing him to fall sideways. Ehud is then shown at the top of the castle, summoning the Israelite army to fight the surviving Moabites. The soldiers gallop in from the left brandishing swords, lances, and battle axes as they occupy the majority of the register, forcing the death of Eglon to take up less than half of the space. The forward tilt of the Israelite figures reinforces the surging energy of the chaotic scene. The lower register portrays yet another battle. Twenty years after the Israelite's freedom from the Moabites, they again have fallen under the control of another group, the Canaanites. The illumination depicts the Israelite battle for freedom from their overlords. On the left, the priestess Deborah instructs the army, under the direction of Barak, to attack the Canaanites fleeing on horse-drawn carts. Numerous enemy soldiers fall out of the cart with bodily wounds seeping blood. One unfortunate victim is crushed under the wheels of a cart, causing his entrails to ooze out of his body. Just as in the upper register, the portion showing Deborah's instruction inhabits less than half of the space, while the battle occupies the remaining area.
F. 47v from the Psalter places much more prominence on the figure of Deborah and her divine authority to instruct the Israelites, than on the military superiority of the righteous soldiers. On the left of the miniatures, Deborah, followed by figures who await her command, points to the right towards the Canaanites crowded into a single cart moving out of the scene; the only figure on foot is the Canaanite king. While both sides are fully dressed in thirteenth-century chainmail, only two of the figures hold weapons. The swords point upwards, avoiding any direct engagement. The illumination does not depict violence, creating an implied victory for the Israelites, as opposed to the bloody triumph on the Morgan folio.