Getty Museum

Decorated Text Page

Date

early 9th century

Medium

Tempera colors and gold and silver paint

Culture

Carolingian

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

The elegant banded border with a foliate motif seen on this page is typical of the kind of decoration used on most of the text pages of this lectionary. The Biblical books of the Gospels, arranged according to the liturgical year in this manuscript, were some of the texts reviewed and corrected at Charlemagne's request. The standardization of religious works was one of the great projects undertaken by the emperor. The revised texts were copied and disseminated throughout the lands Charlemagne controlled in an effort to impose order and uniformity across a vast empire. Even Carolingian manuscripts such as this one, with somewhat restrained painted decoration, were treated as precious objects due to their sacred contents and the costly materials required for their creation.

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