| Abstract
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This essay explores the potential of calligraphy for engaging sacred text through an analysis of two works by Donald Jackson, British calligrapher and creator of The Saint John’s Bible. Closely situating these works in the contexts of the twentieth-century Roman-alphabet calligraphy revival, in Jackson’s own career, in his own writings on calligraphy, and in the context of his medieval predecessors, reveals not only a visual but a multisensory exegesis of scripture through reading, seeing, hearing, touching, and moving. Through his use of lettering and gilding to engage many different sensory modalities, Jackson’s works exemplify the Bible’s role as an iconic text in which script becomes image. Theologically, they embody an incarnationality revealing the spirit of the scribe and the Spirit inspiring the scribe. This essay explores the potential of calligraphy for engaging sacred text through an analysis of two works by Donald Jackson, British calligrapher and creator of The Saint John’s Bible. Closely situating these works in the contexts of the twentieth-century Roman-alphabet calligraphy revival, in Jackson’s own career, in his own writings on calligraphy, and in the context of his medieval predecessors, reveals not only a visual but a multisensory exegesis of scripture through reading, seeing, hearing, touching, and moving. Through his use of lettering and gilding to engage many different sensory modalities, Jackson’s works exemplify the Bible’s role as an iconic text in which script becomes image. Theologically, they embody an incarnationality revealing the spirit of the scribe and the Spirit inspiring the scribe.
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