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Initial "I" (Initium Evangelii)
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Medieval Europe )
Two confronted leonine or feline animals, viewed from above, and a profile winged dragon with a human face and foliate tail fill the shaft of this letter "I." The "I" is topped by red and green foliage and a frontal, bearded human face, which, although lacking a cross-halo, resembles depictions of Jesus in medieval art. The tail of the "T" includes a frontal, bearded devil-like face, painted blue and equipped with what appear to be horns. Perhaps the arrangement of figural and animal elements in this initial is meant to evoke the idea of spiritual struggle or the victory of Jesus, above, over the devil, below.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Priory scriptorium of Rochester Cathedral, England, 12th century [possible reference in catalog in Textus Roffensis, Rochester Cathedral Library Ms. A.3.5, fol. 230r; more certain reference in 1202 library catalog in British Library Ms. Royal 5 B.XII, fol. 2r]; Leon Gruel, Paris, before 1931 [mode of acquisition unknown, no. 1138]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, before 1931, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
United Kingdom, England, Rochester, Rochester Priory (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 15 3/16 x W: 11 1/8 in. (38.5 x 28.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.18.29R
