The Trier Gospels is a

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

book that contains the works and illustration of: Matthew,

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. It was copied by two scribes between the years 720 and 740 A.D. in

Echternach Abbey The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. The abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Willibrord, the patron saint of Luxembourg. For three hundred years, it benefited from the pa ...

The gospel is currently located at

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

Scribes

There were two primary authors of the Trier Gospels''.'' Thomas seemed to be the leader and the more accomplished Insular

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, very similar to that of the Lindisfarne scriptorium. He also practiced some art inspired by the Mediterranean style. The other Author was an unknown

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

person appeared to be a disciple which used Merovingian

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

for the ornamental initial. Most of the major initials, drawings, and writings at the beginning of the book were written by Thomas. We know his name for he did sign a couple of his pictures "Thomas scribsit" This shows his importance and that he was head scribe for the book. The last section and assembling of the book was done by the unknown Frank. His writing eventually became a combination of Merovingian and Insular styles.

Content

There were three main styles that were found in the Trier Gospels. They were respectively: Insular, Merovingian, and Mediterranean styles. This makes the Trier Gospels an important part of history for it is combining three separate art styles in a single Gospel. Insular came from England and was brought down to Echternach by

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

who helped found Echternach Abbey. Merovingian was the style that was used by the people of northern mainland Europe. This is why the unknown Frank author wrote in Merovingian for he was of northern Europe. Mediterranean was the last style used and it was from Italy. Being from Italy, this style helped put the Frankish church in a better relationship with Rome. Some of the artwork in the gospels seem to be inspired or directly taken from other gospels. One example is a portrait of Matthew that follows extremely closely with previous Roman manuscripts that were produced with the same Mediterranean style. Another example is the

canon tables Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapters ...

in the Trier Gospels, for they resemble the Augsburg Gospels with a few exceptions.

References

Sources

* * {{morecat, date=March 2024 category:8th-century illuminated manuscripts category:8th century in Luxembourg

Scribes

Content

See also

References

Sources