The Book of the Four Gospels of Paladie

1489 - the manuscript and the binding; bound again in 1569

The manuscript contains 207 parchment sheets, in folio, of which the first three and the last four are blank. They were probably meant to be filled with illustrations, which, for unknown reasons, were not made.

The titles of the Gospels are calligraphed only in gold, the decorations of the initials, in gold and coloured inks, while the decorations on the sides were marked only in red ink, as usual.

On the front cover is depicted in relief The descent of Jesus into hell, in the presence of a few characters: the prophet kings David and Solomon, Adam and Eve, taken by Jesus out of their graves, as well as the four evangelists. An inscription in Slavonic on the upper side indicates the title of the scene: Voscresenie, which means The Resurrection. The entire composition is inside a frame decorated with flowery stylisations.

On the second cover, The Assumption of the Holy Virgin is depicted. The characters of the scene are the twelve apostles and a few bishops, and Jesus who wears a cross-like nimbus and holds his mother’s soul as an infant.


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