Walters Ms. W.524, Gospel Book Letter from Eusebius to Carpianus Canon tables Gospels Gospel Book Eusebius, of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, ca. 260-ca. 340. Cosmas, Indicopleustes, active 6th century Principal cataloger Parpulov, Georgi R. Editor Herbert, Lynley Editor Noel, William Copy editor Joyal, Stephanie Contributor Bockrath, Diane Contributor Emery, Doug Contributor Noel, William Contributor Tabritha, Ariel Contributor Toth, Michael B. Conservator Owen, Linda Conservator Quandt, Abigail The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

 This is a relatively early copy of the Gospels in the original Greek, remarkable on account of its calligraphic handwriting, illustrations, and prefatory material, the latter including Gospel prefaces by the sixth-century Cosmas Indicopleustes. It contains four full-page miniatures. The volume is now incomplete and misbound. Four miniatures in the collection of the late Dr. Seigfried Amberg-Herzog, Switzerland, were taken from this manuscript. Baltimore The Walters Art Museum W.524 The primary language in this manuscript is Greek, Ancient (to 1453). 1r - 254v Gospel Book 1r - 1v Letter from Eusebius to Carpianus Euse[bios Karpianō] agapētō adelphō chairein 2r - 3v Canon tables Only first six canon tables of original ten are preserved 4r - 254v Gospels Του κατα Ματθαιον Ευαγγελιου Incomplete and out of sequence: fols. 4r-5v: chapters list for Gospel of Matthew; fol. 5v: verses in praise of Evangelist Matthew; fols. 15r-16v: Cosmas Indicopleustes’ preface to Gospel of Matthew; fols. 7r-14v, 17r-87r: Gospel of Matthew; fols. 87v-88v: chapters list for the Gospel of Mark; fol. 88v: verses in praise of the Evangelist Mark; fols. 90r-142v: Gospel of Mark; fols. 143r-144v: chapters list for the Gospel of Luke; fol. 145r: verses in praise of the Evangelist Luke; fols. 147r-148r: Cosmas Indicopleustes’ preface to Gospel of Luke; fols. 149r-204, 228, 205-10, 227, 211-226, 246, 252, 249, 238-39, 250, 240, 251r: Gospel of Luke; fols. 247r-248v: Cosmas Indicopleustes’ preface to the Gospel of John; fol. 248v: verses in praise of the Evangelist John; fols. 232r-233, 241-244, 234, 237, 235, 229, 253, 254, 230, 239, 245v: Gospel of John. [For further details, see bibliography, Parpulov, 2004.]

Good quality, smooth, and without defects

 Foliation: i+254+i17.5 12.2 11.5 7.5 Twentieth-century pencil in upper right corners of rectos (followed here); earlier pencil foliation in lower right corners of rectos

i, 1(10,-1,7,8,9), 2(8), 3(2), 4-5(8), 6(10,-3,7), 7-9(8), 10(10,-3,7), 11-12(8), 13(2,-1), 14-16(8), 17(10,-4,8), 18-19(8), 20(12,-1,5,7,9), 21(2,-1), 22(2), 23-29(8), 30(8,-2,6), 21-32(8), 33-34(2), 35(2,-1), 36(4), 37-38(2), 39(2,-1), 40(4), 41(2,-1) 42(4), 43(*,-6,7,8), i None None Quires begin on fols. 1(1), 7(2), 15(3), 17(4), 25(5), 33(6), 41(7), 49(8), 57(9), 65(10), 73(11), 81(12), 89(13), 90(14), 98(15), 106(16), 114(17), 122(18), 130(19), 138(20), 146(21), 147(22), 149(23), 157(24), 165(25), 173(26), 181(27), 189(28), 197(29), 205(30), 211(31), 219(32), 227(33), 229(34), 231(35), 232(36), 236(37), 238(38), 240(39), 241(40), 245(41), 246(42), 250(43). The first and last quires are reconstituted from single leaves and are modern constructions. The original order of the folios currently extant in this manuscript was 1-3, 4-5, 15-16, 7-14, 17-88, 89, 90-145, 146, 147-148, 6, 149-204, 228, 205-210, 227, 211-226, 246, 252, 249, 238-239, 250, 240, 251, 247-248, 231, 232-233, 241-244, 234, 237, 235, 229, 253, 254, 230, 236, 245. Fol. 146, containing an image of the Apostle James preaching, evidently belonged to a lost volume of the Acts and Epistles that once formed a pair with the present manuscript. Four leaves in the collection of the late Dr. Siegfried Amberg-Herzog, Switzerland, come from the Walters manuscript: Nativity before fol. 7; Baptism before fol. 90; Annunciation before fol. 149; Anastasis before fol. 232.

 Written in majuscule, which distinguishes it from Gospel text proper Written in minuscule bouletée; text in two similar but distinct hands, fols. 229r-230v, 232r-237v, 241r-245v, and 253r-254v written by second hand Text written in red ink, surrounded by decorative frame Tables are surrounded by decorative frames Originally, each of the four Gospels was preceded by an image of the respective Evangelist paired with a depiction of an appropriately selected New Testament scene. The author portraits are now partly in disorder: the New Testament scenes have been separated from the book and are now preserved in a private collection in Switzerland; Matthew is lost; Luke has taken his place; the place of Luke is occupied by an image of the Apostle James preaching, which must have originally preceded the Epistle of James in a lost second volume containing the Acts and Epistles. The Evangelist Luke and the Apostle Paul Full-page miniature

The labelling inscriptions read: "ho ha(gios) Loukas," "ho ha(gios) Paulos." Trans.: "St. Luke," "St. Paul."

The Evangelist is shown writing his Gospel, while Paul, who according to tradition instructed him, raises his hand in a gesture signifying speech.

 The Evangelist Mark and the Apostle Peter Full-page miniature

The labelling inscriptions read: "ho ha(gios) Mar[kos]," "ho ha(gios) Petros." Trans.: "St. Mark," "St. Peter."

The Evangelist and Apostle are paired here in a manner similar to the miniature on fol. 6v.

 The Apostle James preaching Epistle of James Full-page miniature

The Apostle is labelled as "ho ha(gios) Iakōbos." Trans.: "St. James".

This image can only have been a frontispiece to the Epistle of James, a text not found in the present manuscript. It is very similar in style to the Evangelist portraits and must come from a second volume, paired with this one and now lost, which contained the Acts and Epistles.

 The Evangelist John and his disciple Prochorus Full-page miniature

The two figures are labelled "ho ha(gios) Prochōros" and "ho ha(gios) Iōannēs ho Theologos." Trans.: "St. Prochorus," "St. John the Theologian."

John is shown receiving inspiration from God, symbolically represented as a hand reaching out of the sky. The Evangelist's disciple Prochorus is writing under dictation. This scene is more suitable as a frontispiece to the Book of Revelation, but it was often used as one for the Gospel of John, too. This is one of the earliest examples of it in Christian art.

Early twentieth-century; fawn velvet over wooden boards, rebacked with leather; modern parchment flyleaves and pastedowns; the entire book block has been trimmed, partly to eliminate damage that the leaves’ margins (including those of the miniatures) had suffered from fire

 First half of the 10th century CE Byzantine Empire Greek village of Aidonochori, December 1907 Dr. Robert Forrer (d. 1947), Strasbourg, method of acquisition unknown Seen by H. R. Willoughby “in a Paris bookstore,” 1928 Henry Walters, Baltimore, acquired before 1931 Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest Relevant Works K. W. Clark, A Descriptive Catalogue of Greek New Testament Manuscripts in America (Chicago, 1937), 351–52 with pl. lvi M. L. Agati, La minuscola "bouletée" (Vatican City, 1992), 87-88 R. S. Nelson, The Iconography of Preface and Miniature in the Byzantine Gospel Book (New York, 1980), 76–79 K. Weitzmann, “An Illustrated Greek New Testament of the Tenth Century in the Walters Art Gallery,” in Gatherings in Honor of Dorothy E. Miner, eds. U. E. McCracken et al. (Baltimore, 1974), 19–38; repr. in: K. Weitzmann, Byzantine Liturgical Psalters and Gospels (London, 1980), no.ix G. Vikan, ed. Illuminated Greek Manuscripts in American Collections: An Exhibition in Honor of Kurt Weitzmann (Princeton, 1973), 62–65, cat. 5 K. Weitzmann, Die byzantinische Buchmalerei des 9. und 10. Jahrhunderts: Addenda und Appendix. (Vienna, 1996), 90-91, with figs. 677–81 G. R. Parpulov, "A Catalogue of the Greek Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum", Journal of the Walters Art Museum 62 (2004), 70-187, eps. 93-96 N. F. Kavrus-Hoffmann, "Tenth-Century Greek Gospels at the Walters Art Museum: Writing Styles and Ornamental Motifs", Journal of the Walters Art Museum 62 (2004), 21-34, eps. 21-27 Art Medicine Museum Poetry Script Muhammad, the Prophet Kashmiri Horses Walters Art Museum Document Astrology Devotion History Legal Literature -- Poetry Literature -- Prose Liturgy Philosophy Science Science -- Medicine Scripture Sufism Theology Mineralogy Logic Geography Geomancy Cosmology Cartography Fortune-telling Koran Qur`an Firman Palimpsest Prayer Bible Gospels Psalter Missal Lectionary Book of Hours Antiphonary Homilary Processional Horologion Breviary Hymnal Chronicle Maghreb Sub-Saharan (West) Africa Turkey Afghanistan Central Asia Egypt England India Iran Iraq Pakistan Germany France Austria Netherlands Ethiopia Armenia Flanders Greece Mamluk Mughal Ottoman Ottonian Armenian Byzantine Abbasid Qajar Rajput Christian Arabic Austrian Dutch Egyptian Fatimid German Indian Islamic Persian Safavid Timurid Turkish Umayyad English French Flemish Ethiopian Carolingian Calligraphy Colophon Headpiece Illumination Illustration Medallion Miniature Ornament Painting Early Abbasid script Ragini Romanesque Gothic Watermark Grotesques Historiated initial Inhabited initial White-vine lettering Textura Batarda Humanistic Uncial Accordion book Album Book Codex Manuscript Heraldry Saint's Life Drawing Grisaille Binding New Abbasid style Musical notation Russia Romania Charter Russian Genealogy Mass book Prayer book Gospel Lectionary Psalter-Hours Treatise Grammar Gloss Pontifical Private devotional text Gradual Protective scroll Scroll 10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 8th century 9th century Block book Caroline minuscule Central Arab lands (Near East) Chart English secretary hand Kufic Gothic book hand Original binding Treasure binding Gospel Book Spanish Spain Italian Italy Coptic Scrapbook American United States Maryland Historical Society Friendship book Friendship Biography Liturgical Devotional Scriptural Theological Legal Historical Scientific Scientific -- Medical Literary -- Prose Literary -- Poetry Philosophical Astrological Sufi English Christian Codex Illumination Manuscript Walters Art Museum Byzantine Gospels Book Greece Scripture 10th century