Gospel Book (British Library, Add MS 40618) facts for kids
The British Library, Add MS 40618 is a very old and special book. It's an illuminated Irish Gospel Book from the late 700s. This means it's a handwritten book with beautiful pictures and decorations. Later, in the 900s, some new parts were added by Anglo-Saxon artists.
This book contains parts of the Gospel of Matthew, most of the Gospel of Mark, and all of the Gospels of Luke and John. It has three surviving Evangelist portraits, which are pictures of the people who wrote the Gospels. One portrait is original from the 700s, and two were added in the 900s. The book is kept at the British Library and is known by its catalog number 40618.
Contents
What is the British Library, Add MS 40618?
The Book's Physical Details
This ancient book has 66 pages, called vellum folios. Vellum is a type of parchment made from animal skin. Each page is about 130 by 105 millimeters, which is roughly the size of a small paperback book. The main text area on each page is 101 by 73 millimeters.
The pages are grouped together in sections called gatherings, usually with 16 or 20 folios. The original back cover, made of oak wood, is still there. There's also a vellum cover from another book that was used to wrap this manuscript starting in the 1600s.
Missing Pages and Additions
Over time, some parts of the book have been lost. The first 18 pages of Matthew are missing, so the text starts at Matthew 21:32. Two more pages are gone from between Matthew and Mark. The rest of Mark, Luke, and John are complete.
The very last page of John was also lost. But a scribe, or writer, from the 900s replaced it with a new page. The original portraits of Matthew, Mark, and John are also missing. In the 900s, new portraits were added. Today, only the portraits of Luke and John from that time still exist.
Writing Style and Scribes
This manuscript is a pocket gospel, meaning it's small enough to carry easily. The text follows the Irish Vulgate tradition, which is a Latin version of the Bible. It also has a few Old Latin readings, which are even older versions.
The book was written by three different people using a pointed Insular minuscule style. This was a common handwriting style in Ireland and Britain. One scribe only wrote a few lines on folio 51. A scribe named Edward the Deacon wrote the Anglo-Saxon page at the end of John. He used an Anglo-Saxon minuscule script, which had some features of Carolingian minuscule, a style from mainland Europe. Edward added a colophon, a note by the scribe, in large, simple letters called rustic capitals. It says: "QUI LEGAT ORAT PRO SCRIPTORE EADVVARDO DIACONE" which means "may he who reads this pray for the scribe Edward the deacon."
Art and Decoration in the Manuscript
Evangelist Portraits
The portrait of Luke is the only original picture left from the 700s. It looks a lot like the portraits found in another famous book called the Book of Mulling. The Anglo-Saxon pictures, added in the 900s, are an early example of the Winchester Style. This style was influenced by art from the Carolingian Empire in Europe.
Decorated Initials
The manuscript originally had decorated initial letters at the start of sections. These were removed in the 900s, and new zoomorphic initials were painted over them. Zoomorphic means they were decorated with animal shapes.
The way these initials are placed is quite unusual. Usually, a new paragraph starts on a new line with a big initial. But in this book, the text often continues on the same line. The initial is then placed in the margin next to where it should have been. This system was also used in some ancient Greek manuscripts, like the Codex Alexandrinus. You can also find gold crosses in the margins of John, which were probably added in the 900s too.
History of the Manuscript
This special book is believed to have belonged to King Athelstan, who ruled England in the 900s. He might have been the one who ordered the "modernization" of the book in the 900s, adding the new portraits and initials.
On folio 66 verso, the back of page 66, there's a partly erased message from the 1100s that says "iste est liber sanct......" This means "this is the holy book of..." Also on this page are two notes about who owned the book. One says William Newman owned it in 1538. The other says Robert Lancaster owned it in 1662. The British Museum bought the manuscript at an auction in 1922.
