
St Augustine (354-430): Enarrationes in Psalmos
Illuminated manuscript on vellum.
Upper Austria, Lambach Abbey, second half of the 12th century.
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St Augustine (354-430): Enarrationes in Psalmos
Illuminated manuscript on vellum.
Upper Austria, Lambach Abbey, second half of the 12th century.
Hide caption
St Augustine (354-430): Enarrationes in Psalmos
Illuminated manuscript on vellum.
Upper Austria, Lambach Abbey, second half of the 12th century.
Hide caption
St Augustine (354-430): Enarrationes in Psalmos
Illuminated manuscript on vellum.
Upper Austria, Lambach Abbey, second half of the 12th century.
Hide caption
St Augustine's commentary on Psalms 51-100, known from the time of Erasmus as Enarrationes in Psalmos. The commentary on the Psalms, composed over a long period, was both the most extensive and most influential of Augustine's exegetical works; it came to be regarded as an essential component of a monastic library. Because it was so vast it was usual for it to be copied, as at Lambach, in several volumes.
One figure dominates manuscript production at Lambach during the second half of the 12th century: the scribe and artist identified as Gottschalk. The delightful orange and purple penwork initials of this volume of Augustine are characteristic and extremely fine examples of the work of this artist. The features that have been isolated as distinguishing his style from that of his followers are all found here - stem bands with rows of circles, the ring-like buds or berries, halos outlined with circles, red dots on cheeks.