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Understood to be eyewitnesses to the texts they wrote, the presence of the Gospels-Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John—in these lectionaries served to "authenticate" the gospels.
This leaf is from a lectionary (a book of gospel readings used in church services) that was presented to the Holy Trinity Monastery at Chalke in Constantinople by the Empress Katherine Komnene in 1063.
The tools of the scribes trade are laid out before the evangelist: a stylus (a pointed tool for writing, drawing, and engraving), a pair of dividers (a device resembling a compass, used for dividing lines and transferring measurements), pens, a knife, a burnisher (polishing tool), and inkpots.
Leaf from a Gospel Lectionary with the Evangelist Luke
Byzantium, Constantinople, 1057-63
Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1942.1511
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