Gospel Book

Unknown; Valhramus

about 826–838

Tempera colors, Tempera Colors

J. Paul Getty Museum

An illuminated manuscript page features three sets of columns and arches, each containing lists of text and Roman numerals. The columns are red and purple, with green and red arches. This Christian manuscript, a copy of the four Gospels, features a restrained but aesthetically pleasing decorative program, including architectural elements, small crosses, and gold and red letters executed in a neat hand. A set of multicolored arcades, evocative of the ancient marble columns frequently re-used in church architecture during this period, spans twelve pages. These pages feature the Eusebian canon tables, a system for showing correspondences between the four Gospel texts that was developed by the bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius (d. c. 340). This manuscript was copied by a monk named Valhram, who included his name in a cip