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Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
14881
label
Initial ""I"" (Initium Evangelii)
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
14881
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Initial ""I"" (Initium Evangelii)
description
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
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.
date
ca. 1130 (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
folios (leaves)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
38.5
height
28.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 15 3/16 x W: 11 1/8 in. (38.5 x 28.3 cm)
Source extras
cul
English
style
Romanesque
med
ink and pigments on cream-colored parchment of medium thickness
creator_ids
6197
collection_ids
MSS
MED
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ad53fc5d37e3c59e