Profusely illustrated with people; flowers; birds and imaginary creatures; this prayer book for the Jewish Festival of Passover is one of the most richly pictorial of all Jewish texts. Meant to accompany the Passover eve service and festive meal; it was also a status symbol for its owner in 14th-century Spain.

Unlike other Spanish Haggadah manuscripts; the Barcelona Haggadah lacks the characteristic cycle of full-page Biblical narratives that normally prefaces the main text. By contrast; nearly all its folios are filled with miniatures depicting Passover rituals; Biblical and Midrashic episodes; and symbolic foods.

Particularly striking are the tooled Gothic word panels and the lush marginal foliage scrolls interwoven with human figures; birds; hybrids; grotesques and fabulous animals; as this opening shows. Occasionally; animals are portrayed performing human activities; a humorous element probably borrowed from Latin codices.

The lower panel on this page contains a mnemonic sign (memory aid) of the rituals that should be performed if Passover falls at the close of the Sabbath.