In recent years, scholarship on the medieval Bible has progressed vastly. Yet a beginner's guide to what the Bible was – and was not – remained to be written. An introduction to the Bible in the Middle Ages fills this gap admirably. Frans van Liere provides more than just an introduction to the medieval Bible as a book by branching out into intellectual and religious culture, including, for instance, excursus on exegesis and chronology. The book's focus lies almost exclusively on the Latin Christian tradition, but it also offers the occasional look towards Judaism. The first three chapters cover the Bible in the narrowest sense: its contents, text and material culture. The following three chapters examine how the Bible was read by giving a first insight into methods of interpretation, and into social and educational contexts. The final chapters provide an overview of its influence and dissemination in society, as well as of medieval vernacular translations and paraphrases – though limited to certain languages and regions only, due to the constraints of the book. This volume also includes observations on encounters with the Bible via art, drama, liturgy, private devotional practice and sermons. Without taking any prior knowledge for granted, van Liere introduces and lucidly explains technical terms (‘The interpretation of Hebrew names', first mentioned on p. 39, must have slipped under the radar, not being highlighed as a title and left uncommented), clears up misconceptions and brings to light open questions in the field. To give just two examples, he debunks the widely perpetuated claim that the medieval Church opposed vernacular translations out of principle, and offers a glimpse at the still under-researched medieval perceptions of the canon of Scripture. Every chapter concludes with a brief thematic bibliography and offers a summary of resources for further study, always with special attention to digital resources. The book contains a dozen black-and-white illustrations, and three useful appendixes (‘Comparative canon chart’; ‘Names for biblical books'; ‘Schematic genealogy of Old Testament translations’). It concludes with a general bibliography plus three sets of indices, making the book even more easily navigable. The purpose of the book – to offer a first introduction to novices to the field – has unavoidably led to some oversimplifications that do not, however, detract from its great value. Van Liere has provided a clear, well-structured work that makes the material easily accessible and digestible. The work also lends itself to reading just individual chapters, as the most important information is repeated, and each section can stand on its own. For a newcomer to the medieval Bible, An introduction to the Bible in the Middle Ages is an excellent guide that invites the reader to do more work in the field.