- Carolingian Gospel Book (British Library, MS Add. 11848)
British Library, Additional Manuscript 11848 is an illuminated
Carolingian Latin Gospel Book produced atTours . It contains theVulgate translation of the fourGospel s written onvellum inCarolingian minuscule with Square andRustic Capitals andUncial s as display scripts. The manuscript has 219 extant folios 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 ofSt. Jerome toPope Damasus and ofEusebius of Caesarea toCarpian , along with the Eusebiancanon 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
codex was produced at the Monastery of St. Martin at Tours between 820 and 830, under the abbacyFridugisus , who was the successor ofAlcuin . It is the earliest known Gospel Book from Tours to contain fourEvangelist 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 bySamuel Butler, Bishop of Lichfield . TheBritish Library acquired the book along with the rest of Bishop Butler's collection of manuscripts.Decorations
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 earlyFranco-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
Limoges . The original colored stones were replaced by jewels in 1838 for Bishop Butler. There arerelic 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.References
* [http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts/HITS0001.ASP?VPath=c!/inetpub/wwwroot/mss/data/msscat/html/9989.htm&Search=11848&Highlight=F British Library catalogue entry]
Further reading
*"
Monumenta Germaniae Historica . 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
* [http://prodigi.bl.uk/Illimages/iBase/components/228/22849_2.jpgImage of top cover board.]
* [http://www.humanities.uci.edu/spanishandportuguese/spanish/medievaliberia/manuscript_glossary_C-D.html Carolingian manuscripts] : a brief introduction
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