Early Medieval ArtBook of Kells

St. GallGodescalc Evangelistary

Utrecht PsalterMagdeburg Ivories

Chi Rho Iota pageBook of Matthew, chapter one, verse eighteen from The Book of Kellslate 8th or early 9th centuryoxgall inks and pigments on vellum

Illuminated tugra of Sultan Suleyman, from Istanbul, Turkeyc. 1555-1560ink, paint, and gold on paper

Who are the four evangelists?• Matthew – symbol: winged man or angel

• Mark– symbol: winged lion

• Luke– symbol: winged ox or bull

• John– symbol: eagle

According to tradition these four men wrote the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament.

However, Elaine Pagels (a professor at Princeton University) makes a case for other Gnostic Gospels by Thomas and Judas as well as others; these gospels were not included in the orthodox text of the new testament.

Elaine Pagels: The Gnostic Gospels

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of St. Thomas

Page with Mark the EvangelistBook of Mark, Godescalc Evangelistary781-783ink, gold, colors on vellum

Page with Christ in MajestyBook of Mark, Godescalc Evangelistary781-783ink, gold, colors on vellum

Hitda CodexThe Annunciationc. 1020IlluminationHessische Landesbibliothek, Darmstadt

What is the annunciation?When the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive God’s child; according to apocrypha, at the very moment the archangel Gabriel makes this pronouncement, Mary becomes pregnant.Christ appears in her womb!

York PsalterExpulsion from Paradise c. 1170Illumination on parchment, 290 x 185 mmUniversity Library, Glasgow

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Utrecht Psalter ca. 850

detail from Utrecht Psalter ca. 850

Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples

Aachen Gospels of Otto IIIc. 1000

The Garden of Gethsemane

The Kiss of Judas

Aachen Gospels of Otto IIIc. 1000

Fécamp Psalterc. 1180Illumination on parchment, 170 x 110 mmRoyal Library, The Hague

Feeding the Pigs with Acornsc. 1180Illumination on parchmentKoninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag

Falconryc. 1180Illumination on parchmentKoninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag

The Martyrdom of St Lawrence1190sIllumination on parchmentKoninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag

St. Lawrence was martyred during Emperor Valerian’s persecutions of Christians in A.D. 258. He refused to turn over the church’s treasure to the prefect and instead gave it to the poor; he was arrested and tortured on a burning gridiron.