The Book of the Four Gospels of John Banilovschii

The first half of the XVIIth century

This Slavonic book of the four gospels contains 163 pages, written by different scribes, in a rhombus-like half-inch manner, on a thick, striped, filigreed sheet of paper with various marks: crowns, horse-heads, guns, fir-trees, which reveal its various origins, from different sources and ages.

On each regular page are 25 lines written in black ink, while the footnotes, mostly ritualistic indications, are written in red ink. The initials, which are decorated with wreathed lettering, are also drawn in multicoloured inks: red, green, blue and golden, as well as the intertwined circles, the wreathed decorations and the floral stylisations which adorn the title pages.

The manuscript was probably bound in the 18th century, with wooden covers drawn over the leather. On the front cover, in the centre of the page, the scene of the Crucifixion is depicted, bordered by the figures of the four evangelists, inside as many oval medallions.


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