The Ebbo Gospels (Épernay, Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. 1) is an early

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

illuminated

Gospel book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

known for an unusual, energetic style of illustration. The book was produced in the ninth century at the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbaye Saint-Pierre d’Hautvillers Hautvillers Abbey, or more formally the Abbey of St Peter, Hautvillers (french: Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers), is a former Benedictine monastery in the Hautvillers commune of the Marne department in north-eastern France. The abbey remained ...

Ebbo, Archbishop of Rheims

The Gospel book contains a poem to

Ebbo Ebbo or Ebo ( – 20 March 851) was the Archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German serf on the royal demesne of Charlemagne. He was educated at his court and became the librarian and councillor ...

(also spelled Ebo), and so is dated within the time he was

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, usually to the period c. 816-835 before he was deposed. Ebbo also held Rheims from 840-841 and the Gospel book may have been made for his return (Chazelle, 1074). This gospel book and related works had a direct influence on

Carolingian art Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about 780 to 900—during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs—popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for th ...

and the course of medieval art (Berenson, 165).

Style

Each page is 10 in by 8 in. The illustration has its roots in late classical painting. Landscape is represented in the illusionistic style of late classical painting. Greek artists fleeing the

Byzantine iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...

of the 8th century brought this style to

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

and Reims (Berenson, 163). The vibrant emotionalism, however, was new to

and also distinguishes the Ebbo Gospels from classical art. Figures in the Ebbo Gospels are represented in nervous, agitated poses. The illustration uses an energetic, streaky style with swift brush strokes. The style directly influenced manuscript illumination for decades, as the

Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram The Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14000) is a 9th-century illuminated Gospel Book. It is named after Emmeram of Regensburg and is lavishly illuminated. The cover of the codex is decorated with gems and ...

bears witness (Calkins, 211). The

Utrecht Psalter The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript in the Netherlands. It ...

is the most famous example of this school (Berenson, 163). Commentators have noted the similarity between the

and the Ebbo Gospels. The

evangelist portrait Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediaeval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Ma ...

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

in the Ebbo Gospels is similar to the illustration of the psalmist in the first psalm of the Utrecht Psalter (Benson, 23; Chazelle, 1073). Other images in the Ebbo Gospels appear to be based on distortions of drawings which may have been from the Utrecht Psalter (Chazelle 1074). According to Goldschmidt (cited in Benson, 23): File:Ebbo gospels john.jpg File:Meister der Neuen Hofschule Karls des Großen 001.jpg

References

* * * *{{cite journal, first1=Celia, last1= Chazelle, title=Archbishops Ebo and Hincmar of Reims and the Utrecht Psalter, journal=Speculum, volume=72, issue=4, date=October 1997, pages=1055–1077, doi=10.2307/2865958, jstor=2865958 *Ross, Nancy,
Carolingian Art
',

Smarthistory Smarthistory is a free resource for the study of art history created by art historians Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Smarthistory is an independent not-for-profit organization and the official partner to Khan Academy Khan Academy is an Americ ...

, undated Gospel Books 9th-century biblical manuscripts Carolingian illuminated manuscripts

External links

Full Digital Reproduction of Ebbo Gospels