Getty Museum

Gospel Lectionary

Date

late 10th century

Medium

Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and ink

Culture

Ottonian

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

Used by the deacon during the celebration of the Mass, a Gospel lectionary contains readings from the Gospels arranged in the order in which they are read during the liturgical year. Large painted initials introducing the readings for the major celebrations of the Christian calendar and 180 smaller decorated initials marking the beginning of the remaining readings adorn this Ottonian lectionary. Executed in gold and silver, outlined in red ink, and composed of stylized, intertwining vines, these initials are exquisite examples of a type that was a hallmark of Ottonian illumination. The use of gold and silver emphasizes the letters as the building blocks of the text through which God's teachings are communicated. The manuscript was probably produced either at Reichenau in southern Germany or at Saint Gall in Switzerland. Reichenau was known for the many opulent manuscripts produced there under imperial patronage. Saint Gall had a large scriptorium where, during the ninth century, more than a hundred monks worked copying and ornamenting manuscripts. Saint Gall had a long tradition of scholarship and art production reaching back to the age before Charlemagne.

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