TEXT FROM HOMILY XXVI ON JOHN 20:19-31.

FRAGMENT OF A VELLUM MANUSCRIPT BIFOLIUM, FROM GREGORY THE GREAT'S "HOMILIAE IN EVANGELIAE."

(Germany: ca. 1100). 120 x 200 mm. (4 3/4 x 8"). Single column, 21 extant lines in a late Caroline hand.

◆Recovered from a binding and thus noticeably browned and stained, several small holes (costing perhaps 30 letters), other imperfections, but still a very presentable specimen, the ink dark, and with loss of legibility in only one small place.

This is an early fragment in a distinctive hand, lacking the heaviness of other scripts of the period, and with a feeling of the elongated grace of the humanistic. Despite having previously been used as a binding scrap, the fragment remains extremely legible, partly because of the clarity of the scribal hand. Elected pope in 590, Gregory I (ca. 540-604), also known as Gregory the Great, was one of the most influential pontiffs in the history of the Church. In addition to revising liturgical worship, he wrote extensively on theology, offering homespun wisdom rather than esoteric debates. His "Homilies on the Gospels" were intended to be preached to common people (rather than a monastic audience), and as a consequence were greatly admired for their straightforward language and pastoral relevance. (ST18310b)

Price: $1,500.00