I have before referred to St. Jerome's testimony as to the splendour of some books even in his day; and I may just mention the present of the Emperor Justin to Pope Hormisda, made between the years 518 and 523, and including a splendid copy of the Gospels" sub hujus episcopatu multa vasa aurea venerunt de Græcia, et evangelia cum tabulis aureis, cum gemmis preciosis pensantibus lib. 15." &c.* As to the period, however, with which we are particularly engaged, Leo III., who was pope when it began, (having been raised to the pontificate in the year 795,) gave to one church "Evangelium ex auro mundissimo cum gemmis ornatum pensans libras .... ;" and to another (as I have already stated) a copy which seems to have been still more splendid. + When the abbot Angilbert restored the Abbey of St. Riquier, in A.D. 814, he gave to it (beside two hundred other books) a copy of the Gospel, written in letters of gold, with silver plates, marvellously adorned with gold and precious stones.§ Ansegisus, who became abbot of Fontenelle in A.D. 823, ordered the four Gospels to be written with gold, on purple vellum, in the Roman letter; and lived to see the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John completed. At the translation of the remains of St. Sebastian and St. Gregory to the monastery of St. Medard, at Soissons, in A.d. 826, Lewis the Debonnaire gave several rich presents; and, among others, a copy of the Gospels, written in letters of gold, and bound in plates of the same metal, of the utmost purity. Hincmar, who became archbishop of Rheims in the year 845, caused a Gospel to be written for his church in letters of gold and silver, and bound in gold, adorned with gems; ** and another, specially for the crypt to which the remains of St. Remigius were translated, bound in the same way (parietibus aureis gemmarumque nitore distinctis). +t Leo IV., who became pope two years later, gave four catholic books (quatuor catholicos libros) to the church of the Virgin Mary, thirty miles from Rome, (unum Evangeliorum, alium Regnorum, Psalmorum, atque Sermonum,) ‡‡ of which I do not find that they were peculiarly ornamented; but he gave to another church a copy bound in silver plates -"codex Evangeliorum cum tabulis argenteis." §§ Of the splendid donations of his successor, Benedict III., who became pope in ments to which his work has reference, no other idea than that of giving—that is, offering what was not rejected. Whether he meant this, I do not know. He might be mistaken on that point, as well as with regard to its contents; for it was not a New Testament, but a book of the Gospels, as we learn from a letter dated 3rd Oct. 1717, and published by Martene in his second Voyage Litteraire. The writer says, "Le Livre aux Evangiles que je vis dans l'Abbaye de Saint Emeram, est encore une rare et très riche antiquité, c'est un don de l'Empereur Henry IV. On m'a dit que Maximilien, grand-père du Duc de Baviere d' à present, ne sçavoit assez l'admirer, et qu'il en avoit offert sa ville de Stranbingen avec ses dépendances; mais les bons moines, persuadez que ce Duc les leur reprendroit ensuite, quand il voudroit, trouverent convenable de refuser un si bel offre.”—p. 177. * Conc. iv. 1416. Ib. vii. 1083. See No. V. for July 1835, p. 27. || Mab.ibid., tom. vi. p. 597. Ibid. viii. 388. § Mab. Act. Sanct. O. B.,tom. v. p. 110. ** Flodoardi Hist. Remen., 1. iii., c. v. ap. Sirmondi Op., tom. iv. p. 113, tt Ib. c. ix. p. 119. Conc., tom. viii. p. 22. §§ Ib. p. 27. A.D. 855, I have already spoken; and I may here add, that during his time the Emperor Michael sent as a present to St. Peter's (by the hand of the monk Lazarus, "pictoriæ artis nimie eruditi") a Gospel, of most pure gold, with divers precious stones. + Everhard, Count of Friuli, whose will of the year 861 has been already mentioned, beside his Bible, bequeathed to his children a considerable number of other books; and among them "a Gospel bound in gold-another in ivory -another in silver-another, which is not described." A charter of William, Abbot of Dijon, relating to the monastery of Frutari, in Piedmont, (and probably of the year 1014,) mentions, among the presents made to the monks of Dijon, to reconcile them to the withdrawment of the recent foundation from dependence on them, "textum unum auro gemmis et lapidibus mire ornatum."§ Just in the same year we find the Emperor Henry II., who has been already mentioned in connexion with Meinwerc, Bishop of Paderborn, making a similar donation to the church of Mersburg; || and a few years afterwards (in 1022), on occasion of his recovery from illness, at the monastery of Monte Casino, he presented to it a copy of the Gospels, covered on one side with the most pure gold, and most precious gems, written in uncial characters, and illuminated with gold. Returning the same year into Germany, he had an interview with Robert, King of France, on the banks of the Meuse, the common boundary of their dominions; but of all the rich presents offered by that king-presents of gold, and silver, and jewels, beside a hundred horses, completely and sumptuously equipped, and each bearing a knight's armour-the emperor accepted only a copy of the Gospels, bound in gold and precious stones, and a reliquary of corresponding workmanship, containing (or supposed to contain) a tooth of St. Vincent, for himself, and a pair of gold ear-rings for the empress.** The biographer, and almost contemporary, of Ansegisus, (who was abbot of St. Riquier, near Abbeville, and died in 1045,) informs us that he contributed greatly to the enlargement of the library; and specifies— "Librum Evangelii, Sancti vitamque Richari Est et Episto-liber-larum, atque Evangeliorum, Desiderius, who became abbot of Monte Casino in the year 1058, (and who was afterwards Pope Victor III.,) provided his monastery with many costly books; ‡‡ and the Empress Agnes, who came, as + Conc. viii. 231. • No. V. ubi supra. Glab. Rod. ap. Baron. an. 1023. iii. II. Dach. Sp. 877. Mab. A. S. viii. 400. tt Mab. A. S. viii. 446. ‡‡ Librum quoque Epistolarum ad missam describi fociens tabulis, aurea una, altera vero argentea, decoravit. Codicem etiam Regulæ B. Benedicti pulcro nimis opere deintus comtum, a foris argento vestivit; similiter fecet et de Sacramentoriis altariis uno et altero, et duobus nihilominus Evangeliis et Epistolario uno." Leo Mar. ap. Mub. A. S. ix. 594. After this we read, "Non solum autem in ædificiis, verum etiam in libris describendis operam Desiderius dare permaximam studuit ;" and in what may be called a very respectable catalogue we find, "Evangelium majorem auro et lapidibus pretiosis ornatam, in quo has reliquias posuit: de ligno Domini et de vestimentis Sancti Joannis Evangelista.”—Ibid. p. 609. * Leo Marsicanus says, like another Queen of Sheba, from the remote parts of Germany, to behold another Solomon, and another temple, made many rich gifts (dona magnifica) to the church, and, among the rest, a copy of the Gospels, with one side (or, if I may so speak, one board) of cast silver, with chased or embossed work, very beautifully gilt. Paul, who became abbot of St. Albans in the year 1077, gave to that church "duos Textus auro et argento et gemmis ornatos;" + and, in the same year, a charter of Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, giving the church of Avalon to the monastery of Clugny, (and containing a "descriptio ornamenti ipsius ecclesiæ,") mentions three copies of the Gospels; which, I presume, formed a part of the 115 books belonging to it: "Textus unus aureus, et unus argenteus, aliusque dimidius."‡ In a charter of A.D. 1101, concerning the church at Beze, we find a Textum Evangelii, 66 coopertum de argento," used in the manner already repeatedly referred to, in the conveyance of property. § The author of the history of the monastery of St. Hubert-en-Ardennes (who wrote in 1106) tells us, that in his time there was remaining in the monastery a very fine copy of the Gospels, adorned with gold and gems. Ralph, Bishop of Rochester, in 1114, gave a "textum pulchre deauratum" to his church;" ¶ but I do not feel certain that in this case the word "textus" means, as it generally does when it stands alone, (and obviously does in the cases referred to,) a copy of one or more of the Gospels. There can, however, be no doubt as to the gift of Walter, a successor in that see, who became bishop in 1148, and gave "textum Evangeliorum aureum.” ** Perhaps the instances which I have given are more than enough to induce a suspicion that copies of the Gospels, and even such as were of a splendid and costly description, were not unfrequently to be met with even in the Dark Ages; and yet they are not the notices which most strongly and obviously lead to such an opinion. Some may even consider the fact that a book was given to a church, or a monastery, as implying that it was not already possessed; and I will therefore add one or two instances, which shew that churches not uncommonly (I believe I might say all churches that were at all respectably endowed and appointed) had more than one such book. We are not, I apprehend, to suppose that the monastery of Glastonbury had no copy of the Gospels when Brethwold (who had been a Chron. Cas. Lab. iii. c. xxx. p. 609., and Mab. A. S. ix. 602. + M. Paris, Vit. S. Alb. Abb., tom. i., p. 51. Chron. Bes. ap. II. Dach. Spic. p. 436. ။ III. Dach. Spic. p. 412. Superest optimus sanctorum Evangeliorum textus auro gemmisque paratus ; superest psalterium auro scriptum per denos psalmos capitalibus litteris distinctum." IV. D. & M. 919. Martene adds, in a note on the word "psalterium,""Hactemus servatur in Andaginensi monasterio pretiosissimum psalterium auro elegantissime exaratum, non a Ludovico Pio, ut credit auctor, sed a Lothario ipsius filio donatum, ut probant versus qui initio codicis reperiuntur." The verses, and a full account of this psalter, with a copy of the portrait of Lothaire contained in it, he has given in his second Voyage Litteraire, p. 137. ** Ibid. 345. Ang. Sac. i. 342. monk there, and became bishop of Salisbury perhaps in A.D. 1006,) sent them two. * Olbert, already mentioned, and who was abbot of Gembloux until A.D. 1048, gave to his monastery (beside the Bible mentioned in the preceding number,) one gold and three silver copies of the Gospels, and one silver copy of the Epistles.† Among the furniture of his chapel, bequeathed by King Robert (whose present to the Emperor Henry has just been noticed) to the church of St. Anian, at Orleans, were "deux livres d'Evangiles, garnis d'or, deux d'argent, deux autres petits ;" and John, Bishop of Bath in 1160, implied a bequest of more than one copy to the Abbey church when he left to the blessed apostle St. Peter, and to his servants the monks, (inter alia,) all that he had collected "in ornamentis ecclesiasticis," or, as he proceeded to specify, "in crucibus, in textibus, in calicibus," &c.§ I quote this instance because the reader will observe that these costly books were considered as a part of the treasure of the church, rather than merely as books; and, indeed, the bishop bequeathed them as a distinct legacy from his whole library (plenarium armarium meum), which he also gave to the church. For this reason, as well as for another, I will also mention another case, although-perhaps I should say because it is nearly a century more modern than the period with which we are engaged. At a visitation of the treasury of St. Paul's, in the year 1295, by Ralph de Baudoke, or Baldock, the Dean, (afterwards bishop of London,) it appears that there were found twelve copies of the Gospels, all adorned with silver, some with gilding, pearls and gems; and another, which presents an unusual feature-Textus ligneus desuper ornatus platis argenteis deauratis cum subtili triphorio in superiori limbo continens xi capsas cum reliquiis ibidem descriptis." || I call the decoration of the Gospels with relics an unusual feature, because, though I have not intentionally suppressed it, it has appeared in only one of the cases already mentioned; and, common as the custom might afterwards be, I do not believe that it was so (if indeed it could be said to exist as a custom at all) before the thirteenth century. I know of only one other exception, which belongs to the twelfth century, and will be noticed presently. There is another circumstance which throws some light on this point. It may be supposed that great care was taken of these books; and in fact they were frequently kept in cases as valuable, in respect of ornament, as themselves. Often, indeed, I apprehend, the case was the most valuable of the two, and is mentioned among the treasure of the church when the book which it contained is not noticed, because there was nothing uncommon about it, and no particular circumstance * Guil. Malm. ap. Gale, tom. iii. 325. Fleury, t. xii., p. 491. + Mab. A. S. viii. 530. § Dugd. Mon. i. 186. || Dugd. Monast. iii. 309, 324. Beside the parts of the Scriptures mentioned above, there were six Epistolaria, four Evangelistaria, two Bibles, (one "de bona litera antiqua," and the other "in duobus voluminibus nova peroptimæ literæ,") a glossed copy of the Epistles of St. Paul, the same of the Gospels of St. Luke and St. John, two copies of St. Matthew and St. Mark, with the commentary of Thomas Aquinas, and the twelve prophets, glossed. as to its writer or donor which was thought worthy of record. From some of the notices, however, of these cases or coverings, we get farther ground for supposing that there were not unfrequently a good many copies of the Gospels in a church or monastery. For instance, in the St. Riquier return, already more than once referred to, beside the Bibles which I have noticed, and besides three other copies of the Gospels and five lectionaries containing the Epistles and Gospels, we find "Evangelium auro Scriptum unum, cum capsa argentea gemmis et lapidibus fabricata. Alia capsa evangeliorum duæ ex auro et argento paratæ."† A passage, too, in Ado's Chronicle, given by Du Cange, seems to imply that the place to which it refers had several copies, "Viginti capsas evangeliorum ex auro purissimo, gemmario opere cælatas;" and William of Malmesbury, in the account which he gives of the chapel which King Ina made at Glastonbury, tells us that twenty pounds and sixty marks of gold were used in making the "Coopertoria Librorum Evangelii."§ Two objections which may be made to the evidence arising from these capsa, though they do not seem to me to be of any weight, it may be fair to mention ;-first, that we are not certain that they had in all cases as many books as they had cases for holding them; and, secondly, that as these capsa were costly and ornamental, those who wrote the history of their monasteries might be tempted to pretend that they had more than they really possessed. If, however, these same monkish chroniclers, in describing their premises, had told us that the abbot's stable contained twelve or twenty stalls, we should be apt to infer, that though some of them might be empty, or the number of the whole exaggerated, it was nevertheless no very uncommon thing for an abbot to be pretty well furnished with horses; and some such inference, confirmed as it is by direct evidence, I think we may fairly draw with regard to books. Hitherto I have only spoken of those costly and precious volumes which, as I have already remarked, were considered as belonging to the treasury rather than to the library of the church. They were, Capsa, or coopertoria-for it is not necessary to speak of the camisia (chemises) librorum, which I suppose to have been only washable covers to keep the books clean, -or thecæ, or, as I have only once found the word used, bibliotheca. At the dedication of Rippon church, Archbishop Wilfrid (who lived till 711)— quatuor auro Scribi evangelii præcepit in ordine libros Ac thecam e rutilo his condignum condidit auro." (Godwin de Præs., 654.) Or, as the prose historian who wrote soon afterwards informs us, it was a sort of + Chron. Cent. ap. Dach. Spic., ii. 310. VOL. IX.-March, 1836. 2 L |