St Augustine Gospels

The evangelist portrait of Luke

Folio 125r contains 12 scenes from the Passion

The St. Augustine Gospels (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Lib. MS. 286) is an illuminated Gospel Book which probably dates from the 6th century.

This manuscript is one of the oldest bound European books in existence, and are thus invaluable to the history of book creation. It is traditionally, and plausibly, considered to be one of the volumes brought by St. Augustine to England in 597 AD, and it was in England in the late 7th or early 8th century when corrections were made to the text in an English hand. It was certainly at St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury in the 11th century, when documents concerning the Abbey were copied into it. The manuscript was given to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. It has traditionally been used for the enthronements of new Archbishops of Canterbury, and today is taken to Canterbury Cathedral by the librarian of Corpus for the ceremony.

The main text is written in an Italian uncial hand which is widely accepted as dating to the 6th century - Rome or Monte Cassino have been suggested as the place of creation. The text was corrected in an insular hand in the 7th or 8th century.

The manuscript once contained evangelist portraits for all four Evangelists. However. only the portrait for Luke is still extant (Folio 129v). Small scenes from the Life of Christ are set in the architectural frame to the portrait.

A full page miniature on folio 125r prior to Luke contains twelve narrative scenes from the Life of Christ, all from the Passion except the Raising of Lazarus. This was included because, following John 11.46 ff. it was considered the immediate cause of the Sanhedrin's decision to move against Christ. As in the few other surviving cycles of the Life from the 6th century, the Crucifixion itself is not shown, the sequence ending with Christ carrying the Cross.

Compared to other cycles of the time, such as that in mosaic at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, the Passion scenes show an emphasis on the suffering of Christ that was probably influenced by the art of the Eastern Empire and shows the direction Western depictions were to follow in subsequent centuries.

From top left the twelve scenes shown are:

• Christ's entry into Jerusalem
• Last Supper
• Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
• Raising of Lazarus
• Washing of feet
• Betrayal of Christ
• Arrest of Jesus
• Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus
• Mocking of Christ
• Pontius Pilate washes his hands
• Christ led from Pilate, orEcce homo (?)
• Christ carrying the Cross

References

• De Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.
• G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, 1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, ISBN 853313245