St. Augustine Gospels

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The St. Augustine Gospels (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Lib. MS. 286) is an illuminated Gospel Book which probably dates from the 6th century.

This manuscript is one of the oldest bound European books in existence, and are thus invaluable to the history of book creation. It is traditionally considered to be one of the volumes brought by St. Augustine to England in 597 AD, and it was in England in the late 7th or early 8th century when corrections were made to the text in an English hand. It was certainly at St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury in the 11th century, when documents concerning the Abbey were copied into it. The manuscript was given to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. It is still produced for the enthronements of new Archbishops of Canterbury.

It is written in an Italian uncial hand which is widely accepted as dating to the 6th century. The text was corrected in an insular hand in the 7th or 8th century.

The manuscript once contained evangelist portraits for all four Evangelists. However. only the portrait for Luke is still extant (Folio 129v). A full page miniature on folio 125r prior to Luke contains twelve narrative scenes from the Passion. (See illustration at right.)

[edit] References

• De Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.