Hereford GospelsLibrary or archive where the manuscript kept Hereford, Hereford CathedralCatalogue Number (Shelfmark) MS P. I. 2Language LatinScript Insular minuscule | Century VIIIOrigin England or Wales |
The Hereford Gospels is an 8th century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book in insular script minuscule script, with large illuminated initials in the Insular style.
The manuscript was likely produced either in Wales (along with the Ricemarch Psalter and possibly the Lichfield Gospels) or in the West Country of England near the Welsh border.
The decoration has features relating to pre-Christian Celtic style, featuring spirals, tri-partite divisions of circles (common in La Tene culture), and zoomorphic figures.
It is now housed in Hereford Cathedral in the largest surviving "chained library" - a library in which the books are chained down, so as to prevent theft. Hereford Gospels IllustrationsIllustration 1  | Page (Folio): 102 illuminated initial letter with animal head | | |
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