The word “Mahzor,” means “cycle" and is familiar to most Jews as the term used for the prayer book for the High Holidays and festivals. However, in medieval times, the term Mahzor was used to refer to prayerbooks that contained the complete cycle of prayers for the entire year.

The Bamberg Mahzor, completed in Bamberg, Germany, in 1279, includes prayers for the entire year according to Ashkenazi custom. It is distinguished by its Ashkenazi script and the style of its decoration. 

The images in the rondels at the bottom is an illustration of the biblical story of the Akedah—the Binding of Isaac. On the right, we see Abraham wearing a Jew hat but with a less bird-like face than other images in this manuscript; he is carrying the knife with which he will slaughter Isaac, the barely drawn small person to Abraham’s right. In the left rondel we see the ram that will replace Isaac for slaughter.