Library
|
DEFENDING THE BRIDE
|
Illuminated Manuscripts : 2
Late Antique & Mediaeval Manuscripts
is the best web site for Illuminated Manuscripts. Listed
below are a selection of my favorite links. The ones designated
with a red or green asterisk *
* are my most
favorite ones. You can scroll to the end of the list for a
link directly to their web site or you can go directly to the
high resolution images there from the links below.
Lindisfarne Gospels
See text information about Lindisfarne
Gospels.
High Resolution Images Below
***Lindisfarne
Gospels
***Beginning
of Gospel of S John
***Lindisfarne
Gospels
***Incarnation
initial ( Matthew 1:18)
Lindisfarne Gospels
Carpet page folio 94v
***Lindisfarne
Gospels
***Saint
John the Evangelist folio 209v
***Lindisfarne Gospels
***Saint
Matthew the Evangelist 25v
*Lindisfarne
Gospels
*Luke
1:1 -
The first initial and words of Luke "Quoniam
quidem multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem" (Many have undertaken to
draw up an account)
Lindisfarne Gospels
Carpet page with cross 2v
Lindisfarne Gospels
*Canon
Table 14v
Right Click the Link below and select "Open Link in New
Window"
Lindifarne Gospels
Turn the Pages (if you don't mind the manual labor)
End Lindisfarne Gospels
Other Bible Books below:
***Book
of Mulling Saint John Evangelist,
late 7th
Century, Fol. 193,
image 2
***Book
of Kells, 807 AD, Dublin, Ireland
***Christ
attended by angels 32v
*Book of Kells
*Canon
table 5r
Book of Kells
*Incarnation
initial 34r
**Book
of Kells
**Temptation
of Christ 202v
*Book
of Kells
*S
John 291v
Book of Kells
Virgin attended by angels 7v
Book of Kells
Text page with initials 183v
*Book
of Kells
*Arrest
of Christ 114v
Book of Kells
Matthew 26:31
“Tunc dicit illis Iesus omnes ous scan[dalum]”
Folio 114v
Book of Durrow, 680 AD,
Beginning of Gospel of S Mark also
image2
Book of Durrow
Carpet page with double armed cross 1v
Book of Durrow
Beginning of Luke’s Gospel
Book of Durrow
Man : Symbol for St. Matthew
Book of Durrow
Lion: Symbol of St John 191v (see text below)
Book of Durrow
Eagle : Symbol for St. Mark (see text below)
Jerome’s tradition of associating the Eagle with St. John and
the Lion with St. Mark has been reversed. The Book of Durrow
follows the tradition of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon from the 2nd
century. See Irenaeus’ work Adversus Haereses (Book
3, Chapter 11, Section 8)
Bible of S Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome
about 870 AD
Initial to Genesis: In Principio 10(viiii)r
***Bible
of S Paolo fuori le Mura
***Frontispiece
to Revelation 331(cccxxviii)v
Bible of S Paolo fuori le Mura
Frontispiece to Proverbs 188(clxxxv)v
Bible of S Paolo fuori le Mura
Frontispiece to Deuteronomy 50(lxviii)v
Ada Gospels, 800 AD
St. Matthew Evangelist 15v,
Image2, Image3
Ada Gospels,
Matthew 1:1 16r
Ada Gospels,
Luke Evangelist
Canterbury Codex Aureus, Stockholm 750
AD
Canon table 5r
***Canterbury
Codex Aureus
***S
Matthew Evangelist 9v
***Canterbury
Codex Aureus
***Incarnation
initial Matthew 1:18 11r
Canterbury Codex Aureus
Purple page with inlaid crosses 16r
***Canterbury
Codex Aureus
***S
John 150v
Canterbury Psalter during Gregorian
Mission
*David
composing the psalms 30v
Bible of Charles the Bald, Paris, 871 –
873 AD
Initial to Genesis 11r
Codex Aureus of S Emmeran, Munich 870 AD
Incipit page to S Matthew 16v
*Codex
Aureus of S Emmeran
*S
Matthew 16r
Codex Aureus of S Emmeran
Adoration of the Lamb 6r
Charioteer papyrus, very old fragment
Charioteer
Coronation Gospels, Vienna Schatzkammer,
late 8th Century
Beginning of Gospel of S Mark 77r
Coronation Gospels, Vienna Schatzkammer
S Mark 76v
Coronation Gospels
S John 178v
Cotton Genesis, at London British Museum
Abraham & angels 26v
Cotton Genesis
Lot's house Bristol 4v
Durham Gospel Fragment II, later 7th
Century
Beginning of Gospel of S John 1
**Ebbo
Gospels, Epernay, 816/35 AD
**Canon
table 13v
***Ebbo
Gospels
***S
Matthew Evangelist 18v,
Image2,
Image3,
Image4,
Image5
**Ebbo
Gospels
**Initial
page to Gospel of S Matthew
Echternach Codex Aureus, at Nuremberg Germanisches National museum, early 11th Century
Echternach Codex Aureus
Incipit Liber Evangelii Secvndv Mathevm (upside down)
[The] Beginning [of the] Book [of the] Evangelist Saint Matthew
Beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, [Upside down 445.JPG]
Echternach Codex Aureus
Saint Matthew the Evangelist
Echternach Gospels
annunciation /visitation /nativity /annunciation to shepherds
/wise men from east
Nativity
Echternach Codex Aureus
Christ in majesty
Echternach Codex Aureus
temptation of christ / calling of the four / of matthew / christ
amongst sinners
Echternach Gospels
Lion
Gospels of Otto III, at Aachen Domschatz,
c.996
St Luke
Gospels of Otto III,
Storm on Sea of Galilee
Gospels of Otto III c.996
Birth of Christ / Annunciation to the shepherds
Gospels of S Chad, early 8th
Century ?
Incarnation initial Matt. 1:18 5r
Gospels of S Chad
Portrait of S Luke 218
Gospels of S Chad
Portrait of S. Mark 142
*Gospels
of S Augustine, at Corpus Christi Cambridge
**St
Luke Evangelist Folio129v,
Image2
Gospels of S Augustine
New Testament scenes 125r
*Grandval
Bible, at London BL, about 840 AD
*Frontispiece
to Genesis 5v
Codex Amiatinus — Bible. Late 7th or
early 8th century
Florence, Bibloiteca Mediccea Laurenziana (Vulgate)
Calfskin 505 X 340 MM
Scribe Ezra Rewriting the Sacred Records
also
Image 2
Godescalc Evangelistary, Paris BN, 781-3
AD
Initial page: Vigil for Christmas 4r
Godescalc Evangelistary
Saint Luke folio 4v
Gospels, Aachen Treasury
canon tables 9r
Gospels, Aachen Treasury
The Four Evangelists folio 14v
Gospels, Aachen Treasury
Titlepage detail 19v
Gospels, at London BM Harley 2788
Initial page for John’s Gospel 162r
Gospels, London BM Harley 2788
Quoniam Quidem, Beginning of St Luke’s Gospel 109r
**Gospels
"of Francis II", Paris BN, c.850/900 AD
*S
John 147v
Gospels from Fleury, Bern, c.820
Hand of God and Symbols of Four Evangelists 8v
Gospels of Henry the Lion, at
Wolfenbuttel Cod.Guelf. 105, about 1185-6 AD
Christ in majesty detail folio 172
Gospels of Henry the Lion, Wolfenbuttel
Cod.Guelf. 105, c.1185-6 AD
Saint Matthew 21v
Gospels of Henry the Lion
Matthew's Gospel 1:1 22v
Gospels of S Medard of Soissons, Paris
BN, early 9thC
S Mark 81v
Gospels of S Medard of Soissons
Initial to Gospel of S Mark 82r
Gospels of S Medard of Soissons
Adoration of the Lamb 1v
*Soissons
Gospels, Paris BN Lat.8850
Canon tables 8v
Soissons Gospels, Paris BN Lat.8850
Quoniam Quidem S Luke's Gospel Initial page 124r
*Gospels
of S Willibrord, about 690 AD
Beginning of Gospel of S John 177
Gospels of S Willibrord, c.690
Eagle: Symbol of S John 176v
*Gospels
of S Willibrord c.690
*Man:
Symbol of S Matthew 18v
**Gospels
of S Willibrord
**Lion:
Symbol of S Mark 75v
*Gospels
of S-Vaast, Prague, late 9thC
*S
Matthew 23v
Gospels of S-Vaast
Calling of S Matthew 23v
Gospels of S-Vaast
Initial to the Gospel of S Luke 127r
Lothair Gospels, Paris BN, 849/51 AD
S John 171v
Psalter of King Louis, Berlin Staatsbibl.,
c.825-50
Beginning of Psalms 3r
Quedlinburg Itala, Berlin
Saul & Samuel 2r
*Rabbula
Gospels, Florence Laurentiana
Christ enthroned 14r
*Rabbula
Gospels
Matthew & John 9v
Rabbula Gospels, Florence Laurentiana
Ascension 13v
Rossano Gospels, at Rossano
S Mark
121r
Syriac Bible of Paris, Paris BN
Moses before Pharaoh 8r
Syriac Bible of ParisJob
46r
**Trier
Gospels 690? AD
**Two
archangels with title tablet 10r
*Trier
Gospels
*Canon
table 12r
Vienna Genesis, later than Cotton
Genesis?
Deluge 3
Vienna Genesis
Rebecca & Eliezer 13
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/bytype/manuscripts/survey/0000/71.JPG
**Vivian
Bible, at Paris BN, 845-6 AD
Frontispiece to Psalms 215v
**Vivian
Bible
Frontispiece to Gospels: Christ in Majesty 329v
Lectionary of Henry
II. 1002-1014
Annunciation to the Shepherds
See full list of Thumbnails at
Late Antique & Mediaeval Manuscripts
An introduction to illuminated manuscripts from
British Library
Ramsey Psalter is written in a script that demonstrates the disciplined and
beautiful writing achieved in England in the tenth century, and which formed the
basis of modern calligraphy. The beginning of Psalm 110 (109 in the Vulgate’s
numbering) is illustrated with a gold letter D(ixit) (He said) with acanthus
plant ornamentation. The decoration of the initial of the first words of certain
Psalms became standard in English Psalters, Harley 2904, f.144
Stavelot Bible 11th Cent Belgium Christ and 4 Evangelist
Melisende Psalter, made in the twelfth century in the crusader territories of the Middle East for Queen Melisende of Jerusalem. Egerton 1139, f.5v
Arnstein Bible, a large two-volume manuscript written at Arnstein in the twelfth century by a single scribe, a monk named Lunandus. Harley 2799, f.155
Theodore Psalter, written in eleventh-century Constantinople by a scribe called Theodore, includes 435 marginal illustrations that act as a visual commentary on the text of the Psalms. Additional 19352, f.191
A sixth-century Four Gospels, written in Italy in a beautiful rounded script
called ‘uncial’.
Harley 1775, f.193
A humble but clearly-written copy of a commentary on Paul’s New Testament letters, with decorated initials articulating textual divisions. Harley 3063, f.126
Vespasian Psalter, made in eighth-century Kent, with pictures of King David, by tradition the author of the Psalms, and the oldest surviving translation of part of the Bible into English. Cotton Vespasian A I, ff.30v–31
See more links and information about illuminated manuscripts from British Library
The Lindisfarne Gospels
The British Library which now possess this beautiful manuscript
states:
“The Lindisfarne Gospels is one of the most important inheritances from early Northumbria. Written and illuminated about 698 in honour of St Cuthbert, the famous Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 687, it is a masterpiece of book production and a historic and artistic document of the first rank.
The Lindisfarne Gospels were written and illustrated probably by Eadfrith, bishop of Lindisfarne (698-721). In the mid-tenth century a priest called Aldred added a translation in Old English above the Latin words, making this the earliest surviving translation of the Gospels into English.
“… Almost everything that it is known concerning the origin of the manuscript is derived from a note in Anglo-Saxon inserted, probably between 950 and 970, by a priest named Aldred … who also inserted an Anglo-Saxon gloss, or word-for-word translation, in the spaces between the lines of the Latin text. This note, in modern English translation, reads:
'Eadfrith, Bishop of the church of Lindisfarne, originally wrote this book in honour of God and St. Cuthbert and the whole company of saints whose relics are on the island. And AEthelwald, Bishop of the Lindisfarne islanders, bound it on the outside and covered it, as he knew well how to do.~ And Billfrith, the anchorite, wrought the ornaments on the outside and adorned it with gold and with gems and gilded silver, unalloyed metal. And Aldred, unworthy and most miserable priest, glossed it in English with the help of God and St Cuthbert...'
St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, died in 687; Eadfrith was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 698 to 721; AEthelwald from 724 to 740. Except for some minor details, the manuscript is thought to have been written and illuminated by Eadfrith and bound by AEthelwald about 698. Subsequently, possibly during AEthelwald's episcopate, Billfrith added gems and metalwork to the binding.
See links to images of the Lindisfarne Gospels
){kind=link}
Abbreviations and Definitions:
Folio, Recto, and Verso– A folio is a leaf, or a page, in a book. Each leaf has two sides. One side is called recto and the other is called verso. The side of the leaf that faces up when the leaf lays on the right side of an open book is called the recto side. The opposite side of the same leaf is called the verso and it faces up when the book is opened so that the same leaf lays to the left side. For example, when a book is open so that you could see side 15 verso you would also see side 16 recto next to it. Folio is abbreviated fol. Verso is abbreviated as “v” and recto is abbreviated as “r.” I find it easy to remember recto, right side.
More images at
Book of Hours Valencia, c. 1460
La Cité de Dieu
St. Augustine's (City of God).
Book of Hours of Simon de Varie
Paris, 1455; Vellum, 99 leaves
Early Manuscripts at Oxford University
Latin Gospels made at Landévennec,
Brittany, late 9th or early 10th century
Folio
71 verso
Folio
72 verso
Illuminated manuscripts (miniatures) from the 12th to 16th centuries
*BIBLE
LEAF, second quarter of the 13th c., England, Oxford(?)
End of
Tobit recto side of folio
Beginning of
Judith verso side of same folio
The beginning of the Book of Judith,
Deuterocanonical Books, early 13th Century.
Judith stands within the A (for Arphaxad) She points to the
crowned head of Holofernes poised on the tip of his own sword
she used to decapitate him (Judith 13:10).
Parchment leaf from the end of the Book of Tobias 13:7 - 14:17
and the beginning of the Book of Judith 3:1 - 3:3
RECTO BEGINS
I will praise him [in the land] of my captivity
[in terra] captiuitatis mee confitebor illi
VERSO ENDS
and all our goods and [families are in thy sight]
(et) uniu(er)se facultates n(ost)re atq(ue) [familie in
conspectu tuo sunt]
In the headings, PROLOG appears on the recto and iv (for IUDITH,
'Judith') on the verso.
BIBLE LEAF
ca. 1250, France,
This leaf exhibits characteristics of a more modest Bible
intended for a variety of purposes and readers
Genesis
Leaf from a Bible, ca. 1240-50, France, Paris(?)
God the Father creates Eve from Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21-22).
The Lord is conventionally shown with a cruciform halo (blue on
red), the fourth arm of the cross hidden by his neck.
Book of Kells (Gospels), early 9 c. Initial detail of man strangling a bird, latter part of Matthew's Gospel, folio 96r.
Gospels Belonging to Judith of Flanders, The Evangelists & (Crucifixion not visible), c. 1020
Prayer Books. Life of Christ in
Pictures
(high speed connection only)
Book
1,
Book 2,
Book 3.
Also see
Illuminated Manuscripts :
Page 1
See Articles at