Illustrated Thirteenth-Century Book of the Four Gospels in Greek and Latin

The manuscript, written in Greek and Latin, is one of the most important Byzantine liturgical manuscripts. The earliest information about this manuscript comes from the time when it came into the possession of Cardinal Nicolas Ridolfi, nephew of Pope Leo X and a great collector of precious books. He had assembled a considerable number of Greek manuscripts, many of which were donated by Lascaris, a Greek scholar. After the Cardinal’s death in 1550, Pietro Strozzi, the Marshal of France, who had a passion for books and read Greek, brought it to France. On his death, his cousin, Catherine of Medici, came into possession of his collection. And, in 1599, the books were transferred to King Henry IV of France and integrated into the king’s collection. The text of this book of four gospels was written in two columns, in Greek and in Latin. The Greek text was finely executed in the four gospels, while that of the Latin text was never completed. Only Mathew’s Gospel and most of the Gospel of Mark have a complete Latin translation. The Gospels of Luke and John only contain partial translations. The incompleteness of the Latin parts and the traces of ink stains from the Latin text on the Greek text would suggest that the Greek text was written prior to the Latin one.

The Greek text and part of the Latin text have been written in four different coloured inks, whose purpose was to distinguish the figures from the words, and this has given the manuscript a polychromatic effect that is very rare in Byzantine manuscripts. The application of this polychrome would suggest that the Greek scribe was inspired by Western practices that were mainly used in Gothic manuscripts.

The Western influence is also visible in certain iconographic details of its miniatures. The Paris Gr. 54 is illustrated with fifty-one miniatures, of which twenty-five are unfinished and five are sketched. The Gospel of Mathew contains the greatest number of unfinished miniatures (12), while those of Mark, Luke, and John only contain four, six, and one respectively. The selection of evangelical passages meant that the episodes relating to the miracles were chosen, and the parables, and the cycle of the Passion of Christ. The illustration of Paris Gr. 54 was mainly based on the model of the Four Gospels of Athos Mon. Iviron Gr. 5. Twenty-seven subjects are depicted in the Athos Iviron 5 which were intended to be reproduced in the Paris Gr. 54, taking up the same place in the evangelical text.

The manuscript was probably completed around the end of the Latin occupation of Constantinople, and was commissioned by a Latin patron. The presence of the Latin translation shows that the manuscript was not intended for a Greek patron but rather a Latin emperor who resided in Constantinople during the years of the occupation. The very close relationships developed between the Eastern and Western peoples at this time and the marriages of Latin emperors with Byzantine princesses would suggest that this manuscript was intended as a marriage gift or to mark a meeting between emperors.