Brittany Gospels (Brittany?, late 9th century)
This inconspicuous little volume is St John’s oldest book
This Gospel book was produced in the late 9th century, probably in Brittany, though England has also been suggested. During the Middle Ages, illustrations, prayers, and a charter were added to it. These later elements offer tantalising glimpses of its past, but leave many questions unanswered.
The first two folios contain additions. Folio 1v shows a beautiful, yet unfinished full-page illustration of an evangelist beneath a canopy, holding a pen and book, while an angel leans towards him. It was copied from a late 9th-century Gospel book (London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius A.ii) once associated with Otto I and later given to Christ Church, Canterbury. This suggests that St John’s MS 194 was also at Canterbury, where the illustration was probably copied in the 10th century.
This Canterbury connection is strengthened by 12th-century copies of a charter from 979 in Latin and Old English. These record King Æthelred’s grant of land to Christ Church.
The four Gospels are written in two columns in neat Caroline minuscule. After the Gospel of John, a cryptographic scribal note in an invented alphabet, Greek, and distorted Latin letters emphasises the scribe’s labour, a conventional medieval expression rather than a secret message.
A full digitization of this volume is available at the Digital Bodleian. Find out more about the manuscript in this blog post.