Recent from talks
Evangelium Longum
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Evangelium Longum
The Evangelium longum is an illuminated manuscript Latin evangeliary that was made around 894 at the Abbey of Saint Gall in Switzerland. It consists of texts drawn from the Gospels for the use of the preacher during Mass.
The scribe was the monk Sintram. The treasure binding, a cover with carved ivory plaques and metal fittings, was made by the monk Tuotilo. The book measures 398 x 235 mm.
Today, the original evangeliary is located in the abbey library of Saint Gall and can be found in the Codex Sangallensis under Cod. 53. It belongs to the permanent exhibition of the abbey library. It is available online as part of the “e-codices”-project of the University of Fribourg.
The Evangelium longum is arguably the best documented book of the Middle Ages. Not only are the patron and the artists that were involved in its creation known by name, but also the year of production of the manuscript can be exactly determined. During a dendrochronological investigation, the date when a tree was felled is calculated by means of its growth rings. Such an examination was conducted on the wooden parts of the book cover in the 1970s. Dating to the year 894 is confirmed by a tale about the origin of the Evangelium longum that was written around 1050 and belongs to the Casus Sancti Galli by Ekkehard IV.
The story of the manuscript begins with the ivory plaques measuring over 500 cm2 that were incorporated into the book cover. In the Casus Sancti Galli, Ekkehard comments on these plates as follows: "These were, however, former wax tablets to write on, like the ones that Charlemagne, according to his biographer, usually placed beside his bed when he went to sleep". These plates, which were formerly used by Charlemagne as writing pads, were probably bequeathed by the Emperor to the archbishopric of Mainz and thence came into the possession of Hatto, at that time Archbishop of Mainz (891–913). When Hatto had to accompany King Arnulf (850-899) to Italy, he asked his friend, Abbot Salomo of Saint Gall (890-920), to keep his treasure save during his absence. However, instead of guarding it as promised, Salomo III soon spread a rumour about Hatto’s death and took possession of his treasure. Whereas he donated most of it to the poor and gifted another part to the Minster of Constance, he also incorporated part of the treasure, for instance the two ivory plates, into the Saint Gall monastery treasure. Then he commissioned his most talented artist, the monk Tuotilo († 913) with the adornment of the plates and the monk Sintram, who was known to be a talented penman, to write an evangeliary.
As Johannes Duft and Rudolf Schnyder explain, for a long time it was falsely believed that Tuotilo had only ornamented one of the two plates, as Ekkehard writes in his report that "one of these [ivory plates] was delightfully adorned with imagery; the other was of most delicate smoothness, and precisely that one Salomo gave Tuotilo to carve". Examinations with regard to the age of the carvings revealed, however, that they derive from the same time and the same hand, namely that of Tuotilo.
The Evangelium longum, whose name is derived from its extraordinary oblong format, was supposed to serve as a showpiece evangeliary (dt. “Prachtevangelistar”) for important events such as the major church festivals or the arrival of guests of high-rank. Interestingly, the pericopes that form the content of the book, were created for the cover, not vice versa.
The crucial element of the Evangelium longum’s cover are the two ivory plaques that were carved by Tuotilo. Now as then, their size is considered extraordinary. Ekkehard writes that the plaques are of a dimension, "as if the elephant furnished with such teeth had been a giant compared to his conspecifics". Pieces of bone were used in order to mend holes in the ivory.
Hub AI
Evangelium Longum AI simulator
(@Evangelium Longum_simulator)
Evangelium Longum
The Evangelium longum is an illuminated manuscript Latin evangeliary that was made around 894 at the Abbey of Saint Gall in Switzerland. It consists of texts drawn from the Gospels for the use of the preacher during Mass.
The scribe was the monk Sintram. The treasure binding, a cover with carved ivory plaques and metal fittings, was made by the monk Tuotilo. The book measures 398 x 235 mm.
Today, the original evangeliary is located in the abbey library of Saint Gall and can be found in the Codex Sangallensis under Cod. 53. It belongs to the permanent exhibition of the abbey library. It is available online as part of the “e-codices”-project of the University of Fribourg.
The Evangelium longum is arguably the best documented book of the Middle Ages. Not only are the patron and the artists that were involved in its creation known by name, but also the year of production of the manuscript can be exactly determined. During a dendrochronological investigation, the date when a tree was felled is calculated by means of its growth rings. Such an examination was conducted on the wooden parts of the book cover in the 1970s. Dating to the year 894 is confirmed by a tale about the origin of the Evangelium longum that was written around 1050 and belongs to the Casus Sancti Galli by Ekkehard IV.
The story of the manuscript begins with the ivory plaques measuring over 500 cm2 that were incorporated into the book cover. In the Casus Sancti Galli, Ekkehard comments on these plates as follows: "These were, however, former wax tablets to write on, like the ones that Charlemagne, according to his biographer, usually placed beside his bed when he went to sleep". These plates, which were formerly used by Charlemagne as writing pads, were probably bequeathed by the Emperor to the archbishopric of Mainz and thence came into the possession of Hatto, at that time Archbishop of Mainz (891–913). When Hatto had to accompany King Arnulf (850-899) to Italy, he asked his friend, Abbot Salomo of Saint Gall (890-920), to keep his treasure save during his absence. However, instead of guarding it as promised, Salomo III soon spread a rumour about Hatto’s death and took possession of his treasure. Whereas he donated most of it to the poor and gifted another part to the Minster of Constance, he also incorporated part of the treasure, for instance the two ivory plates, into the Saint Gall monastery treasure. Then he commissioned his most talented artist, the monk Tuotilo († 913) with the adornment of the plates and the monk Sintram, who was known to be a talented penman, to write an evangeliary.
As Johannes Duft and Rudolf Schnyder explain, for a long time it was falsely believed that Tuotilo had only ornamented one of the two plates, as Ekkehard writes in his report that "one of these [ivory plates] was delightfully adorned with imagery; the other was of most delicate smoothness, and precisely that one Salomo gave Tuotilo to carve". Examinations with regard to the age of the carvings revealed, however, that they derive from the same time and the same hand, namely that of Tuotilo.
The Evangelium longum, whose name is derived from its extraordinary oblong format, was supposed to serve as a showpiece evangeliary (dt. “Prachtevangelistar”) for important events such as the major church festivals or the arrival of guests of high-rank. Interestingly, the pericopes that form the content of the book, were created for the cover, not vice versa.
The crucial element of the Evangelium longum’s cover are the two ivory plaques that were carved by Tuotilo. Now as then, their size is considered extraordinary. Ekkehard writes that the plaques are of a dimension, "as if the elephant furnished with such teeth had been a giant compared to his conspecifics". Pieces of bone were used in order to mend holes in the ivory.
Recent media