Walters Ms. W.751, Corvey Gospel fragment Gospel fragment Principal cataloger Walters Art Museum curatorial staff and researchers since 1934 Cataloger Walters Art Museum curatorial staff and researchers since 1934 Editor Herbert, Lynley Editor Noel, William Copy editor Bockrath, Diane 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 manuscript consists of four folios from a Gospel Book that was likely made at the monastery of Corvey in Western Germany during the last quarter of the tenth century. Dating to the reign of Otto I, these pages are a magnificent example of early Ottonian manuscript illumination. The heavily ornamented pages, which introduce the Gospels of Luke and John, shine with gold and jewel-like colors against dyed purple grounds. These pages combine monumental classicizing square capitals on purple grounds with rich and complex interlace. This fragment contains the opening pages of Luke (fols. 93-94) and John (fols. 137-138) that were originally part of Rheims, Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. 10, a Gospel Book originally owned by the Chapter Library of the Cathedral of Rheims until it was confiscated, along with the rest of the cathedral's manuscripts, during the French Revolution. Related manuscripts include Pierpont Morgan Library Ms. M. 755 and New York Public Library Ms. 1. Baltimore The Walters Art Museum W.751 The primary language in this manuscript is Latin. 1v - 4v Gospel fragment Inicium sancti evangelii secundum Lucam Incomplete; only contains incipit pages for Luke, fols. 1v-2v; incipits for John, fols. 3v-4v

Thick, with suede surface on flesh side

 Foliation: iii+4+ii31.2 24.2 25.3 19.7 Two sets of foliation: seventeenth or eighteenth-century ink foliation upper right corners (fols. 93, 94, 137, and 138); modern pencil foliation very top right corner which reflect current fragmentary condition

iii, 1(2), 2(2), ii None None Fragment consists of two bifolia

 Hard point ruling All illumination consists of heavily decorated incipit text in gold letters on purple ground within interlace-filled frames, with letters ranging from one to twenty-two lines in height; large initial pages for Luke, fol. 2r, and John, fol. 4r, with intertwining letters decorated with knotwork and interlaced foliate designs; "Inicium" page for John, fol. 3v, has interlace cross with roundels containing birds in four quadrants, and roundels with beasts in corners; palette of gold, purple, yellow, red, blue, lavender, and green Frontispiece for the Gospel of Luke Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. Luke Full-page miniature Incipit page for the Gospel of Luke Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. Luke Full-page miniature Decorated page Continuation of the incipit of the Gospel of St. Luke Full-page miniature Frontispiece for the Gospel of St. John Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. John Full-page miniature Incipit page for the Gospel of St. John Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. John Full-page miniature Decorated page Continuation of the incipit of the Gospel of St. John Full-page miniature

Modern English crushed dark blue morocco by W.H. Smith and Son, first half of the twentieth century; gold tooled outer fillet and lettering, which read "EVANGELIORUM FRAGMENTA MS. SAEC. IX;" inside: wide borders of morocco with triple fillet gold tooled; vellum doublure and flyleaves

 Third quarter of the 10th century CE Corvey, Germany Written in the Monastery of Corvey on the Weser River in Germany ca. 940-975, during the reign of Otto I, based on style and paleography Originally part of a Gospel Book belonging to the Chapter Library of the Cathedral of Rheims until the French Revolution, now Ms. 10 in the Rheims Municipal Library Sir Thomas Phillips, London, ca. 1855 (Ms. 14122), noted on bottom of fol. 1r A. Chester Beatty, acquired privately from Phillips collection in December, 1920 Walters Art Museum, Oct. 1952, from Mrs. Chester Beatty through Maggs Brothers Relevant Works Greene, Belle da Costa and Meta P. Harrsen. The Pierpont Morgan Library Exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts. New York: Private print, 1934, p. 6, no. 11. Wixom, W. "Twelve Masterpieces of Medieval and Renaissance Book Illumination: A Catalogue to the Exhibition: March 17 - May 17, 1964." Vol. 51. Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1964, pp. 43-45, no. 1. Miner, Dorothy. "Since de Ricci - Western Illuminated Manuscripts Acquired since 1934: A Report in Two Parts: Part 1". XXIX-XXX. Journal of the Walters Art Gallery. 1966:68-103. Korzus, Bernard. Kunst und Kultur im Weserraum, 800-1600; Ausstellung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Vol. 2. Münster in Westfalen, 1966, pp. 477-478, cat. no. 164, fig. 162 (fol. 3v). Randall, Lillian M.C. Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1984, pl. 1. Calkins, Robert G. A Medieval Treasury: An Exhibition of Medieval Art from the Third to the Sixteenth Century. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, 1968, pp. 114-115, no. 23. Phillipps, Sir Thomas. The Phillipps Manuscripts: Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum in bibliotheca D. Thomae Phillipps, bt. London: Holland Press, 1968, no. 14122. Schardt, Alois J. Das Initial: Phantasie und Buchstabenmalerei des frühen Mittelalters. Berlin: Rambrandt-verlag, 1938, pp. 58-61. Miner, Dorothy E. The New Purple Gospel Manuscript. 5 no. 3. Bulletin of the Walters Art Gallery, 1952, pp. 1, 3-4. Faye, C. U. and W. H. Bond. Supplement to the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. New York, 1962, pp. 198-199, no. 567. Queens College. The World as Symbol: an Exhibition of Medieval Art. Flushing: Paul Klapper Library, 1959, p. 26, no. 82. 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 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 Judaism Talmud Collection of Sermons Notable Notable binding Textbook Scholarly compendium Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Literature Japanese Japan Nordic Scandinavia Catalog Dictionary Spanish Colonial Mexico Mayan Liturgical Devotional Scriptural Theological Legal Historical Scientific Scientific -- Medical Literary -- Prose Literary -- Poetry Philosophical Astrological Sufi English Christian Illumination Manuscript Scripture Ottonian Walters Art Museum Gospels German Medallion Miniature Ornament Painting Germany 10th century