The Psautier des Saint Louis manuscript, which is held in the National Library in Paris, holds an outstanding place even amongst an immensely rich array of codices. Manufactured for one of the most important rulers of the Middle Ages, whose reign in France was known as the "Golden Age, the manuscript almost approaches the status of a relic. Saint Louis IX embodied the ideal Christian ruler, whose deepest religious beliefs determined his behaviour as a man and a king. From a number of different sources, we know that the king dedicated himself to daily religious readings. The assumption that between the years 1253 and 1270, he prayed directly out of this Psautier, which was both artfully created and written for him, is well justified. The Latin text of psalms is preceded by a magnificent cycle of pictures, with 78 full-page miniatures from the Old Testament and represents the highpoint of Gothic French Book Art."