Carolingian Gospel Book (British Library, MS Add. 11848)
Encyclopedia
British Library, Additional Manuscript 11848 is an illuminated
Carolingian
Latin
Gospel Book
produced at Tours
. It contains the Vulgate
translation of the four Gospel
s written on vellum
in Carolingian minuscule
with Square and Rustic Capitals
and Uncial
s as display scripts. The manuscript has 219 extant folio
s which measure approximately 330 by 230 mm. The text is written in area of about 205 by 127 mm. In addition to the text of the Gospels, the manuscript contains the letter of St. Jerome to Pope Damasus and of Eusebius of Caesarea
to Carpian, along with the Eusebian canon tables. There are prologues and capitula lists before each Gospel. A table of readings for the year was added, probably between 1675 and 1749, to the end of the volume. This is followed by a list of capitula incipits and a word grid which were added in the Carolingian period.
was produced at the Monastery of St. Martin at Tours
between 820 and 830, under the abbacy Fridugisus
, who was the successor of Alcuin
. It is the earliest known Gospel Book from Tours to contain four Evangelist portrait
s. The location of the book is uncertain until the 18th century. There is a book stamp on folio 1 that indicates that the volume belonged to Count Suchtelan, the Russian Ambassador to Stockholm in the 18th century. In the early 19th century it belonged to Lord Strangford. It was sold at Sotheby's in August 1831 and was purchased by Samuel Butler
, Bishop of Lichfield. The British Library
acquired the book along with the rest of Bishop Butler's collection of manuscripts.
The manuscript contains canon tables set within architectural arcades which are decorated with zoomorphic and foliate designs. There are four Evangelist portrait
s. Each evangelist is shown as a scribe and is identified by a half-length symbol above him and by an inscription. The portraits show some similarities to some Insular
manuscripts and some Court School manuscripts, as might be expected given the nationality Fridugisus, who was English, and from his connections to the Carolingian court. The portraits have been described as being "coarsely executed". The manuscript also contains a decorated title page and incipit page for each gospel. There are also decorated major and minor initials. The major initials are done in early Franco-Saxon style and were done by a different artist than the one who did the portraits.
. The original colored stones were replaced by jewels in 1838 for Bishop Butler. There are relic
s of finger bones from an anonymous saint embedded on the interior of the boards. The clasps for the volume were probably replaced in the 19th century.
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
produced at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
. It contains the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
translation of the four Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s written on vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
in Carolingian minuscule
Carolingian minuscule
Carolingian or Caroline minuscule is a script developed as a writing standard in Europe so that the Roman alphabet could be easily recognized by the literate class from one region to another. It was used in Charlemagne's empire between approximately 800 and 1200...
with Square and Rustic Capitals
Rustic capitals
Rustic capitals is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. As the term is negatively connotated supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call the script canonized capitals.Rustic capitals are similar to Roman square capitals, but...
and Uncial
Uncial
Uncial is a majuscule script commonly used from the 3rd to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters are written in either Greek, Latin, or Gothic.-Development:...
s as display scripts. The manuscript has 219 extant folio
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
s which measure approximately 330 by 230 mm. The text is written in area of about 205 by 127 mm. In addition to the text of the Gospels, the manuscript contains the letter of St. Jerome to Pope Damasus and of Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
to Carpian, along with the Eusebian canon tables. There are prologues and capitula lists before each Gospel. A table of readings for the year was added, probably between 1675 and 1749, to the end of the volume. This is followed by a list of capitula incipits and a word grid which were added in the Carolingian period.
Provenance
The codexCodex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
was produced at the Monastery of St. Martin at Tours
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
between 820 and 830, under the abbacy Fridugisus
Fridugisus
Fridugisus, also known as Fredegisus or Fredegis of Tours , was a monk, teacher, and writer....
, who was the successor of Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
. It is the earliest known Gospel Book from Tours to contain four Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediæval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of...
s. The location of the book is uncertain until the 18th century. There is a book stamp on folio 1 that indicates that the volume belonged to Count Suchtelan, the Russian Ambassador to Stockholm in the 18th century. In the early 19th century it belonged to Lord Strangford. It was sold at Sotheby's in August 1831 and was purchased by Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler (schoolmaster)
Samuel Butler FRS was an English classical scholar and schoolmaster of Shrewsbury, and Bishop of Lichfield. His grandson was Samuel Butler , noted author of the novel "Erewhon"....
, Bishop of Lichfield. The British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
acquired the book along with the rest of Bishop Butler's collection of manuscripts.
Decorations
Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediæval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of...
s. Each evangelist is shown as a scribe and is identified by a half-length symbol above him and by an inscription. The portraits show some similarities to some Insular
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of Ireland and Great Britain. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe...
manuscripts and some Court School manuscripts, as might be expected given the nationality Fridugisus, who was English, and from his connections to the Carolingian court. The portraits have been described as being "coarsely executed". The manuscript also contains a decorated title page and incipit page for each gospel. There are also decorated major and minor initials. The major initials are done in early Franco-Saxon style and were done by a different artist than the one who did the portraits.
Binding
The volume still has its Carolingian treasure binding dating from the ninth century. The covers were refurbished in the 14th and 19th centuries. The covers are oak panels covered in embossed silver. The front cover has the figure of a seated Christ in Majesty enclosed within a rectangular frame decorated with stones and foliate designs. The majority of the medal work is 9th century typical of mid-ninth century Carolingian metalwork. In the four corners of the frame are enamels of the four evangelist symbols, which were added in the fourteenth century. The enamels were probably produced at LimogesLimoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
. The original colored stones were replaced by jewels in 1838 for Bishop Butler. There are relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of finger bones from an anonymous saint embedded on the interior of the boards. The clasps for the volume were probably replaced in the 19th century.
Further reading
- Monumenta Germaniae HistoricaMonumenta Germaniae HistoricaThe Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...
. Poeta Latini Aevi Karolini, Volume IV, p. 928. - Catalogue of Ancient Manuscripts, Volume II, Latin, pp. 26-28.
- Rand, E.K. A Survey of the Manuscripts of Tours, Medieval Academy of America Publications, no. 3, Studies in the Script of Tours, I (1929), no. 78.
- Koehler, W. Die Karolingischen Miniaturen, I, Die Schule von Tours (1930), no. 19.
- Hubert, J., Porcher, J. and Volbach, W.F. Carolingian Art (London, 1970), pp.126-128, 350, pls 114-115.
- Garrison, M., Nelson, J.L. and Tweddle, D. Alcuin and Charlemagne. The Golden Age of York (York, 2001), no. 55.
External links
- Image of top cover board.
- Carolingian manuscripts: a brief introduction
