Gospel Book

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Charlemagne and his successors, who valued learning, accorded outsize value to books of all kinds. The Gospel Book, which contained the Bible’s several versions of the life of Jesus, reigned supreme. No churchman, court advisor, noblewoman or king would want to be without one. Its pages and covers were consistently deemed worthy of the highest quality decoration. In this example, perhaps made for a queen, painted illumination is reserved for the Canon Tables, an elaborate concordance used to compare and contrast passages from the four gospel texts. Here, splendid arcades organize the essential information. The decoration is so varied and lively–to the point of whimsy at times–that turning the pages approximates an extraordinary architectural tour.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art