Biblical revision was perhaps the most important of
his many literary occupations, and this volume is reasonably believed to
be the actual copy prepared for presentation to Charlemagne under the
reviser's own superintendence, possibly, in part at least, the work of
his own hand. It is a large folio, finely written in a neat minuscule,
mainly Saxon hand, with uncial initials in two columns. The miniatures,
including their architectural details, are in the Roman manner, the
ornaments partly Byzantine, partly Celtic. The great similarity of
design between different manuscripts is strikingly exemplified by a
comparison of three borders from (_a_) the Evangeliary of St. Vaast of
Arras, fol. 28 _v._ (see Delisle); (_b_) the Evangel. in National
Library, Paris, anc. fds. Lat. 257 (see Louandre), and Evangeliary No.
309 Bibl. de Cambrai (see Durieux).
[17] Plate in t. 1 of Louandre.
Indeed, comparisons of this kind are very instructive frequently as
suggestive of _provenance_, as each working centre would have its own
set of models and designs. Of course, comparison of the MSS. themselves
is out of the question, but the comparisons can often be effected by the
student's having Louandre, Durieux, Fleury, Labarte, etc., by his side
during the examination of any given period.
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