Major works of Byzantine book illumination

The main works of Byzantine book illumination are those illuminated manuscripts that were created in Byzantine times and are highlighted in art-historical literature as works of particular artistic rank (see especially the general overviews given in the literature list). Byzantine book illumination developed from late antique book illumination and continued this immediately in the Eastern Roman Empire. Usually the epoch of Justinian I (527-565) is regarded as the beginning and first high point of Byzantine art, since Constantinople now became the determining reservoir for all artistic forces of the entire empire, who had their most important patron in the emperor. A clear stylistic separation from the main works of late antique illumination is not possible because of the continuity of style. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 , the Byzantine Empire and with it its art came to an end.

List of manuscripts

Illustration	Common name	Dating	Localization, painting school	Content; particularities	signature
	Cotton Genesis	5th century	Alexandria	genesis	London, British Library , Ms. Cotton Otho B VI
	Viennese Genesis	Early 6th century	Constantinople	genesis	Vienna, Austrian National Library , Cod. Theol. size 31
	Viennese Dioscurides	Early 6th century	Constantinople	Herbal Book	Vienna, Austrian National Library, Cod. Med. gr. 1
	Codex purpureus Rossanensis	Early 6th century	Syria	Gospels	Rossano, Diocesan Museum
	Codex Sinopensis	Early 6th century	Constantinople	Gospels	Paris, Bibliothèque nationale , Suppl.gr. 1286
	Rabbula Gospels	6th century	Syria	Gospels	Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana , cod. Plut. I, 56
	Chludow Psalter	between 780 and 815	Constantinople	Psalter	Moscow, History Museum , MS. size 129d
	Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzen	879 to 882	Constantinople	Homilies	Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. size 510
	Paris Psalter	around 975	Constantinople	Psalter	Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS gr. 139
	Menologion of Basil II	before 1000	Constantinople	Menologion	Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat.gr. 1613
	Madrid illuminated manuscript of the Skylitz	between 1070 and 1080	Constantinople	Synopsis Historion ; 574 miniatures	Madrid, Spanish National Library , Codex Vitr. 26-2
	Greco-Latin Gospels	second half of the 13th century	Constantinople	Gospels, with parallel translation in Latin, during the Latin rule in Constantinople	Paris, Bibliothèque nationale , Gr. 54

literature

• Kurt Weitzmann: Late Antiquity and Early Christian Illumination. Prestel, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-7913-0401-1
• Ingo F. Walther, Norbert Wolf: Masterpieces of book illumination. Taschen, Cologne et al. 2005, ISBN 3-8228-4747-X

Web links

Commons : Byzantine book illumination  - collection of images, videos and audio files