• Brittany (?)
• Loire Valley (?)
• North-Western Francia (?)
• Chartres (?)

Cathedral of Chartres

• Gospel-book
• Exegesis
• Poetry

• Pseudo-Jerome, Expositio IV Evangeliorum, inc. Primum querendum est omnium librorum (1r-v)
• Jerome, Letters to Pope Damasus (2r-4r)
• Eusebian canons (4v-9v)
• Preface to Matthew's Gospel (9v-11v)
• Eusebius, Letter to Carpianus (11v-12r)
• Ailerán, poem on the Gospel canons, inc. Quam in primo spetiosa quadriga (12v-13r)
• Depiction of the agnus Dei (13v)
• Depiction of the symbol of Saint Matthew (man) (14r)
• Depiction of the Annunciation (14v)
• Gospel of Matthew, preceded by preface and capitula (15r-63v)
• Depiction of the Nativity (64r)
• Depiction of the symbol of Saint Mark (lion) (64v)
• Gospel of Mark, preceded by preface and capitula (65r-95v)
• Depiction of Peter and Paul receiving from Christ, respectively, the keys and the Law (96r)
• Empty folio (96v)
• Gospel of Luke, preceded by preface and capitula (97r-143v)
• Gospel of John, preceded by preface and capitula (144r-178r)
• Depiction of the symbol of Saint John (eagle) (146r)
• Depiction of the dance of Salome before Herod and the beheading of Saint John the Baptist (146v)
• Depiction of Herodias receiving the head of the Baptist, and funeral of the Baptist (147r)
• Capitulare evangeliorum (178v-188v).

• Possibly written in Brittany

This MS is also known as 'Chartres Gospels', although there is no clear indication suggesting that it was written there. According to Bischoff (Kat. §4756), this Gospel-book was written in a centre receiving influences from Tours and, possibly, Brittany, but he was plainly unwilling to commit to any particular geographical area, let alone a specific scriptorium. The following comments, offered on the BnF Archives et Manuscrits web page for this MS, agree substantially with Bischoff's view: 'La copie a peut-être été réalisée dans un centre de la vallée de la Loire [...] ou en Bretagne, sous influences insulaire et continentale (notamment tourangelle), mais nous ne savons rien de sûr concernant son origine.' This Gospel-book offers a rich iconography (cf. Davezac 1978), and in due course this may help art historians to identify more precisely the area where it was written.

Interestingly, a fragment of Pseudo-Jerome's Expositio IV Evangeliorum (a text which Bischoff ascribed to the milieu of Irish exegesis, cf. Bischoff 1976: 108–9; ), headed by the formula In nomine Dei summi (cf. Lemoine 2008: 197), can be found at fols 1r-v and 188r-v (note in particular the insular shape of the letter g at the bottom of fol. 188r); a copy of the same text is contained in Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.10.16, probably written in Brittany. A further Irish affiliation is provided by the presence of a copy of the poem on the Gospel canons, attributed to Ailerán, at fols 12v–13r.

BnF Archives et Manuscrits; Davezac 1978; EBGB 11; Fleuriot 1983: 104; Lemoine 2005: 21; Lemoine 2008: 193, 197; MPF §39; Simpson (McKee) 1999: 283, 289.

• https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8423840t