Celtic / Insular Illuminated Manuscripts:Book of Kells
Book of Armagh
Book of Cerne
Book of Deer
Book of Dimma
Book of Durrow
Book of Mulling
Cathach of St. Columba
Durham Gospels
Hereford Gospels
Lichfield Gospels
Lindisfarne Gospels
Carolingian Manuscripts:Ebbo Gospels
Echternach Gospels
Sacramentary of Gellone
Romanesque / Protogothic manuscripts:
Martyrdoms of St. Peter & Paul (MS 28)
Passionale (MS Harley 624)
Gothic manuscripts:
Bestiary (MS Sloane 3544)
Miscellaneous manuscripts:
| Book of DeerLibrary or archive where the manuscript kept Cambridge University LibraryCatalogue Number (Shelfmark) MS. Ii.6.32Language Latin, Old Irish, Scottish GaelicScript Irish minuscule | Century XOrigin ScotlandOfficial Foliation 86Dimensions 54x107 mm |
Most famous Gospel Book for being the earliest surviving Gaelic literature from Scotland. It may be the oldest surviving manuscript produced in Scotland (from Lowland area).
 The Latin text contains portions of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, a portion of an Office for the Visitation of the Sick, the complete text of the Gospel of John, and the Apostles' Creed. It ends with a colophon in Old Irish. The Gospel texts are based on the Vulgate but contain some peculiarities unique to Irish Gospel books. The texts are written in an Irish minuscule text, apparently by a single scribe.
The manuscript derives its name from the monastery of Deer, mentioned in the Gaelic texts and the Latin Charter of King David I. Unfortunately, the foundation at Deer has left no other trace of its existence, although a Cistercian monastery, founded nearby in 1219, owned some of the lands mentioned in the Gaelic texts. The manuscript came to Cambridge University Library in 1715 when the library of John Moore, Bishop of Norwich, was purchased by King George I and presented to the University.
A number of additions were made to the manuscript, the earliest being a communion service for the sick. Additions made in the eleventh-twelfth centuries include the account of the foundation of a monastery by St Columba and St Drostan, land grants to the house, and a brieve of King David I in favour of the "clerics of Deer". It is reasonable to assume that the manuscript was at Deer in Aberdeenshire when the additions were made.
There are seven Scottish Gaelic texts written in blank spaces surrounding the main items. These marginalia include an account of the founding of the monastery at Deer by St Columba and St Drostan, records of five land grants to the monastery, and a record of an immunity from payment of certain dues granted to the monastery. There is also a copy of a Latin deed granted to the monastery by David I of Scotland protecting the monastery from "all lay service and improper exaction." The Gaelic texts were written by as many as five different hands. These represent the earliest surviving use of Gaelic in Scotland and are important for the light they shed on the development of Gaelic in Scotland.
The manuscript is illuminated. It has a complete and well thought out illumination program. There are four full page Evangelist portraits. Each portrait faces a page of text surrounded by a border of interlace. Each of these text pages has a large decorated initial. The book opens with a full page miniature of the four evangelists and closes with two facing pages each also with a full page miniature of the evangelists. The final text of John ends with a half page miniature of two men. There are small decorated initial letters throughout the text. There are also ten pages, all in the final half of the book, with marginal drawings of men, animals, or simple doodles. Book of Deer IllustrationsIllustration 1  | Page (Folio): 1v Four Evangelists | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 2  | Page (Folio): 2r page with simple frame and initial letter | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 3  | Page (Folio): 4v Portrait of Matthew the Evangelist (or probably Abraham?) | | |
Illustration 4  | Page (Folio): 5r decorated frame and Chi Rho monogram | | |
Illustration 5  | Page (Folio): 16v Portrait of Mark the Evangelist | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 6  | Page (Folio): 17r decorated frame and initial letter I | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 7  | Page (Folio): 29v Portrait of Luke the Evangelist | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 8  | Page (Folio): 30r decorated frame and initial letter Q | | |
Illustration 9  | Page (Folio): 41v Portrait of John the Evangelist | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 10  | Page (Folio): 42r decorated frame and initial letter I | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 11  | Page (Folio): 84v portraits (possible, of Evangelists) | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 12  | Page (Folio): 85v Crucifixion: four people around the cross | Vector Clipart  |
Illustration 13  | Page (Folio): 86r Cross on a circle and, possible, four Evangelists | Vector Clipart  |
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