The Bobbio Jerome (Milan,

Biblioteca Ambrosiana The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library in Milan, Italy, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the Ambrosian art gallery. Named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, it was founded in 1609 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, whose agen ...

MS S. 45. sup.) is an early seventh-century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

copy of the '' Commentary on Isaiah'' attributed to St.

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

. The manuscript has 156 pages and measures 235 by 215 mm. It is a

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid skin an ...

that previously contained a sixth-century copy of the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Ulfilas Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goth of Cappadocian Greek descent who served as a bishop and missionary ...

written in Gothic

uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one ...

, with

Rustic capitals Rustic capitals ( la, littera capitalis rustica) is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. Because the term is negatively connoted supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals, Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call ...

as a display script. The illumination of the manuscript consists of a large initial N on page two of the manuscript and several other minor initials. The N is as large as nine lines of the main text. It is written in black ink and decorated by whorl and cross patterns and pelta motifs. There are touches of green and orange. The cross bar is formed, in part, by two fish bent to form an S curve. The form of the N is comparable to the initial INI monogram of the opening illumination of the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

found in a fragmentary Gospel Book from Durham Cathedral. On page two there is an inscription connecting the manuscript to Atalanus, who was St.

Columbanus Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

's successor as abbot of the monastery at Bobbio. Atalanus died in 622. If this inscription is accepted as authentic, then this manuscript was produced before 622, making its initial N one of the earliest Insular style initials, preceding even the

Cathach of St. Columba The Cathach of St. Columba, known as the Cathach (meaning "the Battler"),O'Neill (2014), p. 12 is a late 6th century Insular psalter. It is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland, and the second oldest Latin psalter in the world. Its cumdac ...

. this initial can be compared with the few decorated ones in

Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care (Troyes, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 504) Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

, from Rome, and about twenty years older.

References

* Alexander, J. J. G. ''Insular manuscripts, 6th to the 9th century''. Survey of manuscripts illuminated in the British Isles; v. 1. London : H. Miller, 1978. 7th-century illuminated manuscripts Christian illuminated manuscripts Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts Books about Christianity {{manuscript-art-stub