Thursday, June 23, 2011

9th century Carolingian "LI" monogram.


This is "LI" monogram from a the start of the Matthew in a gospel book in the British Library (Egerton 609, folio 8r). The text of the manuscript is in Carolingian minuscule, yet this is not at all what one thinks of being "Carolingian". With the knotwork and zoomorphi terminals, this initial is squarely within the Insular tradition represented by the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels.

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