[19]
[19] A characteristic Othonian Evangeliary of the eleventh century,
executed at the Abbey of Stavelot, may be seen in the Royal Library at
Brussels.
[Illustration:
BIBLIA SACRA
12TH CENT. (LATE)
_Brit. Mus. Harl. MS. 2799, fol. 185 v._]
[Illustration:
EVANGELIA (PARIS USE)
C. 1275
_Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 17341, fol. 120 v._]
Many twelfth-century initials look like designs in metal-work placed on
the panelled grounds of coloured enamels. But the rapid development of
the vine-stem coils out of the stemless foliages of the Carolingian and
Winchester styles is one of the wonders of the early German revival
after the accession of the Emperor Otho I. A still greater improvement
takes place after the marriage of his son Otho II. to the Princess
Theophano, daughter of Romanus II., attributable, no doubt, to a fresh
accession of artistic enthusiasm from the home of the new Empress. In
point of elegance of design, beauty of curve, adaptation of every part
to its share in the composition, nothing could be finer than the initial
letters of the Othonian period of illumination. The year 963 introduced
Greek fashions and Greek artists into Germany, the results of which are
at once traceable in the increased splendour of monastic illumination in
that country.
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