Reims Gospel
Emmaus monastery in Prague, the text was believed to have been written by the hand of St. Procopius
.
Description
Out of a total of 47 double-sided sheets, 16 sheets are written in
historiated initials
in the Glagolitic part and several ornamental capitals at the start of sections.
Content
The Cyrillic part includes a
pericope from 27 October to 1 March following the Greek Catholic rite.[2] The Glagolitic part covers pericopes from Palm Sunday to the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) following the Roman Catholic rite.[2] In a special postscript a Bohemian monk noted: "The Year of Our Lord 1395. These Gospels and Epistles were written in the Slavic language ... the other part was written by the hand of St. Procopius, abbot, and this text was offered by Charles IV, Emperor of the Romans, to the Slavic monastery, in honor of Saint Jerome and Saint Procopius, God, please give him eternal rest. Amen."[2]
History
The origin of the manuscript is not certain. The older part was probably written in calligraphy on the island of Krk, or in a monastery in Serbia, Bulgaria, Bohemia, Ukraine, or Russia.[1]
It was first recorded in the last half of the 14th century, in the time of
Saints Cyril and Methodius, St. Vojtěch, St. Procopius, and St. Jerome, who was considered to have translated the Gospels from Greek to the Old Slavonic language).[1] The text was believed to have been written by the hand of St. Procopius, abbot of Sázava Monastery. It was probably lost from Prague in the time of the Hussite Wars; after some time (1451[3]) it appeared in Istanbul, where the books by St. Jerome were said to be kept.[2] In 1574, it was bought by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine (from the Patriarch of Constantinople, whom he knew from the Council of Trent[2]), and donated to Reims Cathedral.[1] Because the book was nicely decorated and it was believed it had been scribed by St. Jerome, the manuscript began to be used in the coronation ceremony of French kings, who took the oath of the Order of the Holy Spirit by touching the book.[1]
In 1717,
Russian Tsar Peter the Great visited Reims and, upon seeing the manuscript, noticed the Cyrillic alphabet.[1]
During the
Order of St. Anna from the Tsar and a brilliant ring from Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I.[1]
Gallery
- Glagolic part
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See also
- List of Glagolitic manuscripts
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reims gospel book.
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