Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Gospel Book (MS M.728)

001, MS M.728, front cover
002, MS M.728, inside front cover
003, MS M.728, front endleaf 1 recto [fol. i].
004, MS M.728, front endleaf 1 verso.
005, MS M.728, fol. 1r
006, MS M.728, fol. 1v
007, MS M.728, fol. 2r
008, MS M.728, fol. 2v
009, MS M.728, fol. 3r
010, MS M.728, fol. 3v
011, MS M.728, fol. 4r
012, MS M.728, fol. 4v
Seated man at left

Among the largest cities in Roman Gaul, Reims was also a center of artistic renewal in the Carolingian empire. This efflorescence was fostered by enterprising archbishops like Hincmar of Reims (806–882), who renovated several important monasteries in his domain, including Saint-Remi just outside the city walls. Preserving the relics of St. Remigius, who baptized King Clovis and converted the Franks to Christianity, the monastery laid claim to a fundamental moment in Frankish history. Likely commissioned by Hincmar for Saint-Remi’s rededication, this manuscript—among the largest produced at Reims—was written entirely in gold ink. Its evangelist portraits are deeply classicizing, a reference to the city's ancient past.

Gospel Book Reims, France, ca. 860. Purchased in 1927, MS M.728, fols. 94v–95r