The Landévennec Group is a group of 10th and 11th century

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

s of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

from Basse-Bretagne, probably all from the

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

Landévennec Abbey Landévennec Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery at Landévennec in Brittany, in the department of Finistère, France. The present monastery is a modern foundation at the site of an early mediaeval monastery, of which only ruins survive. First ...

. Influenced by

insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin language, Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland ...

, they are marked by their representation of the evangelists as humans with animal heads.

List

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

Breton Gospel Book (British Library, MS Egerton 609) British Library, Egerton MS 609 is a Breton Gospel Book from the late or third quarter of the ninth century. It was created in France, though the exact location is unknown. The large decorative letters which form the beginning of each Gospel are si ...

: provenance from

Marmoutier Abbey, Tours Marmoutier Abbey — also known as the Abbey of Marmoutier or Marmoutiers — was an early monastery outside Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. In its later days it followed the Benedictine order as an influential monastery with many dependencies. H ...

, entered the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in 1836 *

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, Burgerbibliothek, MS 85: dating to 850-900, once belonged to

Fleury Abbey Fleury Abbey (Floriacum) in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Loiret, France, founded in about 640, is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, and possesses the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia. Its site on the banks of the ...

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 8: dating to 850-900, brought by monks fleeing from Landévennec after its destruction by the Vikings in 913, who settled in

Montreuil-sur-Mer Montreuil-sur-Mer (; or ; ), Montreuil-on-the-Sea, is a subprefecture in the Pas-de-Calais Department in northern France. Though commonly called by this name since at least the twelfth century, it was legally known as Montreuil until 31 Decemb ...

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, Médiathèque, MS 960: dating to 909, Gospels, known as the Saint-Gildas-de-Ruys Gospels * Oxford,

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, Auct. D. 2. 16: dating to 900-950, given to

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

by bishop Leofric. *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, Harkness Gospels, MS 115: dating to 890-910, named after its former owner, who donated his book collection to the New York Public Library in 1928, with two other more classical Romanesque miniatures added in the 11th century.

References

Sources

Evangéliaires carolingiens de Bretagne
*René Crozet, Les représentations anthropo-zoomorphiques des évangélistes dans l'enluminure et dans la peinture murale aux époques carolingienne et romane, vol. 1e année, avril-juin 1958, pages 182-187, chap. n° 2 *Jonathan J. C. Alexander, « La résistance à la domination culturelle carolingienne dans l'art breton du IXe siècle: le témoignage de l'enluminure des manuscrits », dans Landévennec et le monachisme breton du haut Moyen Âge, Actes du colloque du XVe centenaire de l'abbaye, 1985, p. 269-280 *Louis Lemoine, « Le Scriptorium de Landévennec et les représentations de saint Marc », dans Mélanges François Kerlouégan, Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté, 1994 (), p. 363-380 {{DEFAULTSORT:Landévennec Group 10th-century illuminated manuscripts 11th-century illuminated manuscripts Egerton Collection Bodleian Library collection Manuscripts in the New York Public Library