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.
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Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection and Director's Fund, 2015
Accession Number:2015.560
Probably written at the Benedictine Abbey at Metz or Murbach; Unidentified abbess, possibly Queen Theutberga of Lotharingia, Abbey Sainte-Glossinde, Metz (late 9th century) ; Benedictine convent at Poussay, Vosges, near Metz (by 11th century–late 18th century) ; Bibliothèque des Pères Dominicains (19th century) ; Guglielmo Libri, London (sold 1859) ; his sale Sotheby's, London (March 28–April 5, 1859, no. 356, to Tite) ; William Tite, London (1859–d. 1873) ; his posthumous sale, Sotheby's, London (May 18–June 6, 1874, no. 1040, to Quaritch) ; [ Bernard Quaritch, London (from 1874)] ; Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire (until d. 1919) ; by descent to his son-in-law and daughter, James Doyle and Elisabeth Penrose (until 1932) ; by descent to their sons, Alexander P. D. and Roland A. Penrose (sold jointly 1933) ; Sotheby's, London (April 3, 1933, no. 342, to Quaritch) ; [ Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London (from 1933) ; Charles Harry St. John Hornby, London (by 1933–d. 1946; sold by his executors to Abbey) ; John Roland Abbey, London (1946–1969) ; Hornby-Abbey sale, Sotheby's, London (March 25, 1975, no. 2939, to Breslauer) ; [ Bernard H. Breslauer, New York (from 1975)] ; Helmut Beck, Stuttgart (sold 1997) ; Beck collection sale, Sotheby's, London (June 16, 1997, no. 2) ; Private Collection, London (1997–2015) ; Christie's, London (July 15, 2015, no. 20)
Catalogue of the extraordinary collection of slendid manuscripts chiefly upon vellum, in various languages of Europe and the East, formed by M. Guglielmo Libri. London: Sotheby's, March 28–April 5, 1859. no. 356, p. 82, pl. 6.
Catalogue of the extensive, important and valuable collection of books, manuscripts, autograph letters, and engravings, of the late Sir William Tite. London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, May 18–June 6, 1874. no. 1040, p. 71.
Bernard Quaritch. A General Catalogue of Books: The Supplement, 1875–77. Vol. 1. London: G. Norman, 1877. no. 10, p. 3.
Catalogue of valuable printed books, illuminated & other manuscripts ...together with Important Early Books & Mss. from the Library of the Late Lord Peckover (of Wisbech), Sold by Order of His Grandsons, A.P.D. Penrose and R.A. Penrose. London: Sotheby's, April 3, 1933. no. 342, ill. folding pl.
Munby, A. N. L., and A. R. A. Hobson. "Contemporary Collectors XXVI: John Roland Abbey." The Book Collector 10 (1961). p. 42.
Catalogue of The Celebrated Library, The Property of the late Major J. R. Abbey sold by order of the executors: The Ninth Portion, The Hornby Manuscripts, Part II. London: Sotheby & Co., March 25, 1975. no. 2939, pp. 11–15, pl. 1, ill. on frontispiece.
Engelhart, Helmut. Die Würzburger Buchmalerei im hohen Mittelalter: Untersuchungen zu einer Gruppe illuminierter Handschriften aus der Werkstatt der Würzburger Dominikanerbibel von 1246. Volume 1, Text. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte des Bistums und Hochstifts Würzburg, Vol. 34. Würzburg: Kommissionsverlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 1987. p. 56.
Engelhart, Helmut. Die Würzburger Buchmalerei im hohen Mittelalter: Untersuchungen zu einer Gruppe illuminierter Handschriften aus der Werkstatt der Würzburger Dominikanerbibel von 1246. Volume 2, Plates. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte des Bistums und Hochstifts Würzburg, Vol. 34. Würzburg: Kommissionsverlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 1987. pl. 205.
The Beck Collection of Illuminated Manuscripts. London: Sotheby's, June 16, 1997. no. 2, pp. 17–29.
Tampieri, Michèle. "L'évangéliaire de la reine Theutberge: Un joyau de l'époque carolingienne vendu à Londres." Cahiers Élie Fleur (Bibliothèque de la ville de Metz) 16 (1997–1998). pp. 15–29, ill.
Valuable Books and Manuscripts Including Cartography. London: Christie's, July 15, 2015. no. 20, pp. 22–23.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "One Hundred Forty-Sixth Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 146 (2016). p. 41.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 2014-2016." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 74, no. 2 (Fall 2016). p. 19.
Vanderputten, Steven, and Charles West. "Inscribing Property, Rituals, and Royal Alliances: The 'Theutberga Gospels' and the Abbey of Remiremont." Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 124, no. 2 (2016). pp. 296–321.
Kitzinger, Beatrice E., and Cambridge University Press. The cross, the Gospels, and the work of art in the Carolingian Age. Cambridge, 2019. p. 248 (p. 119 n. 6).
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