The 1473 Gospel Book, the oldest such item in the treasury of the Putna Monastery, is also one of the most precious manuscripts of Romania’s national patrimony.
It was copied by Hieromonk Nicodemus on June 17, 1473, and bound on November 23, 1489, by order of Stephen the Great. Written on parchment, in black ink and, in places, in gold, this Gospel Book is a genuine masterpiece of the illumination art in Moldavia.
From an artistic point of view, the Gospel Book distinguishes itself through its exceptionally careful script. The ornaments—those commonly found in manuscripts of the period—were executed with great finesse, using materials of very high quality. The titles are written in gold, as are some initials composed of intricate interlacing. In other initials, as well as in the frontispieces with interlinked circles and vegetal motifs, gold alternates with exceptionally brilliant polychrome inks. Borders with vegetal and geometric motifs frame the remarkable portraits of the Evangelists, each rendered on a full page.
Fifteen years later, the founder had the manuscript bound in costly gilt silver covers. On the front cover, adorned with amethyst cabochons, the following Slavonic inscription can be read: “Io Ștefan Voivode, by the mercy of God Prince of the Land of Moldavia, son of Bogdan Voivode, hath this Gospel bound at the monastery in Humor, in the year 6995 <1487>, on the 20th of November.”
The pious and Christ-loving emperor, Io Stephen Voivode, Prince of the Land of Moldo-Wallachia, hath this Gospel Book written by the hand of the hieromonk Nicodemus and gave it to the monastery in Humor, for the commemoration of his soul and of his parents and his children. At that time, Father Gerontius was abbot. It was completed on the 17th of June, in the year 6981 <1473>.
Stephen the Great’s title of emperor is striking in what strikes from the dedicatory inscription. Married to Princess Maria Asanina Palaiologina, a relative of Constantine XI, the last emperor of Byzantium, the Prince of Moldavia assumed both the supreme title and the duty of defending Christendom—a pledge to which he remained faithful until his death.
The Gospel Book had a rather turbulent fate. After being placed at Humor Monastery, on the eve of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s campaign in Moldavia (1538), Abbot Paisius sent the manuscript to the fortress of Ciceu. It was later found there by Petru Rareș, who took it with him to Istanbul, where it remained until 1541, when Rareș regained the throne and returned to the country.
The prince then returned it to Humor Monastery, where the manuscript remained until 1654, when it was taken by the Cossacks of Tymofiy Khmelnytsky. After their defeat, the manuscript came into the possession of General János Kemény, from whom it was redeemed by the Prince Gheorghe Ștefan of Moldavia, who again placed it at Humor Monastery on the 25th of September 1657.
The monastery was closed by the Austrian authorities in 1786, and the Gospel Book was sent to Putna Monastery, where it remained until November 27, 1826, when it was transferred to the diocesan chapel in Chernivtsi by order of Bishop Isaia Baloșescu.
What makes the 1473 Gospel Book really unique is the portrait of Stephen the Great – the only illuminated portrait of him and the only one in which he is depicted kneeling. The scene unfolds against a gold background in the upper half and a green one in the lower half. The ruler of Moldavia wears a crown and is dressed in Western-style attire, tailored from brocade, with a shirt, close-fitting trousers, and red boots. With both hands, he offers the bound Gospel Book to the Mother of God, who is seated on a throne and holds Christ the Child in her arms.
For unknown reasons, this votive image remained unfinished: the second figure, who should have presented the book together with Stephen the Great, was never painted, nor was it part of the decorative border.
In 1881, Bishop Melchizedek of Roman discovered it in Chernivtsi, from where it was brought to Iași and Bucharest, to the Romanian Academy. At the Academy, the presentation of the votive image put an end to a dispute concerning the appearance of the Voivode.
In 1906, the manuscript was included in the exhibition organized in Bucharest on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the reign of King Carol I of Romania. After that year, the manuscript reached Dragomirna Monastery and later Putna, in 1957, marking 500 years since the accession of Stephen the Great to the throne.
The Gospel Book entered the custody of the National History Museum in Bucharest in 1971, where it remained until 2004, when it was returned to Putna Monastery.
Its journey through history resembles that of the one who commissioned it: difficult, yet victorious—light for the benefit of mankind, a path toward Christ.
