Getty Museum

Decorated Incipit Page

Date

about 1120–1140

Medium

Tempera colors, gold, and silver

Culture

German

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This page opens Saint John's Gospel with the words *In principio erat verbu[m], et verbu[m] erat apud d[eu]m, et d[eu]s erat verbu[m]; hoc erat in principio apud d[eu]m* (In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God; and the word was God; the same was in the beginning with God). The grand *I* on the left is the first and largest of the letters, followed by the *N* at the upper right. Decorated with leaves, vines, and filigree, the letters continue in descending scale. A design reminiscent of the appearance of expensive imported Byzantine silks provides a fitting background for the gold and silver letters. This lavish adornment of a page devoted entirely to words reinforces the text's message, that Christianity is a religion of the word.

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