Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
in Middle Bulgarian
History of the Bulgarian language
The History of the Bulgarian language can be divided into four major periods:* prehistoric period ;...
, prepared and illustrated during the rule of Tsar Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
in the Second Bulgarian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
. The manuscript is regarded as one of the most important literary treasures of the medieval Bulgarian culture and arguably the one with the greatest artistic value.
The manuscript, currently housed in 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,...
(Add. MS 39627), contains the text of the Four Gospels illustrated with 366 (or 352, depending on the grouping) miniature
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
s and consists of 286 parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
folios, 33 by 24.3 cm in size, later paginated with pencil. Folio 74, most likely the one where the miniature illustrating the Judgement Day scene was, has been cut and stolen in modern times.
History
The manuscript was written by a monk named Simeon in 1355–1356 on the orders of Ivan Alexander. It is not certain whether Simeon also illuminated the Tetraevangelia or simply was a copyist and calligrapher. The handwriting of the manuscript shows definite similarity with the Manasses Chronicle (1344–1345), another product of the Tarnovo Literary SchoolTarnovo Literary School
The Tarnovo Literary School of the late 14th and 15th century was a major medieval Bulgarian cultural academy with important contribution to the Medieval Bulgarian literature established in the capital of Bulgaria Tarnovo...
of the time. The manuscript was initially plated with gold, gems and pearls, but part of this plate later disappeared and was replaced with the current one.
After the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1393, the manuscript was transported to Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
possibly by a Bulgarian fugitive. It spent a number of years there and was later bought on the orders and with the resources of Prince Alexandru cel Bun
Alexandru cel Bun
Alexander cel Bun was a Voivode of Moldavia, reigning between 1400 and 1432, son of Roman I Mușat. He succeeded Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, initiated a series of reforms while consolidating the status of the Moldavian Principality....
, which is evidenced by a red-ink marginal note on folio 5.
The later fate of the manuscript until its arrival in the Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
monastery of Agiou Pavlou
Agiou Pavlou monastery
Agiou Pavlou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos, located on the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki, Greece....
(St Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
) is uncertain, but the document was recorded as part of the monastery's collection in the 17th century. English traveller and collector Robert Curzon (later Baron Zouche
Baron Zouche
Baron Zouche is a title that has thrice been created in the Peerage of England.-Genealogy:The de la Zouche family descended from Alan de la Zouche, sometimes called Alan de Porhoët and Alan la Coche , a Breton who settled in England during the reign of Henry II. He was the son of Vicomte Geoffrey I...
), who visited the monastery in 1837, was given the Tetraevangelia as a present by the abbot. This saved the manuscript from being destroyed by the fire that burnt down the whole monastery and its entire collection in the end of the 19th century.
Curzon released an inventory of his collection of manuscripts in 1849, thus marking the first time the Tetraevangelia was presented to the scientific world. Direct work with the original was, however, impossible, which caused speculation, supposition and rumours related to the manuscript.
After Curzon's death in 1873, his entire collection was given to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in 1917 by his daughter Darea, which enabled more detailed scientific research of the document. When the British Library was created in 1973, the manuscript was transferred to the British Library.