Art Institute of Chicago

Saint Gregory as Author

Scriptorium of Weingarten Abbey

Date

1188/1200

Medium

Opaque watercolor on parchment

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This striking author portrait honors Saint Gregory, who reigned as Pope Gregory the Great from 590 to 604. He is shown in the act of writing his homilies, with the dove of the Holy Ghost perched on his shoulder to provide inspiration. This leaf, illuminated on both sides, is apparently all that remains of a manuscript of the life of Saint Gregory written in the monastic scriptorium of Weingarten Abbey not far from Lake Constance during the time of Abbot Meingoz (1188–1200). In this period, the learned tradition of text and illustration was still preserved through the work of the monastic scribes, but secular workshops catering to the demand for books for new universities, administrative bodies, and other clients would soon dominate.

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