Ebbo Gospels

St. Mark's illustration
St. Mark's illustration from the Ebbo Gospels
Year	c. 816-35
Owner	Municipal Library (Epernay, France)

The Ebbo Gospels (Épernay, Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. 1) is an early Carolingian illuminated Gospel book known for its illustrations that appear agitated. The book was produced in the ninth century at the Benedictine Abbaye Saint-Pierre d’Hautvillers, by Ebbo, the archbishop of Reims.^[1] Its style influenced Carolingian art and the course of medieval art.^[2] The Gospels contains the four gospels by Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint John, and Saint Matthew, along with their illustrations containing symbolism and iconography.^[1] The evangelists illustrations reflect an expressive art style called Emotionalism, that has a stylistic relationship with the Utrecht Psalter and the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram.^[2] In comparison to the Utrecht Psalter and the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram, the Ebbo Gospels demonstrates very energetic lines and dimension, in contrast to the Classical Roman art style of the past.^[3]