Admire the Rossano Gospels’ Miniatures of the New Testament

Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, also known as the Rossano Gospels, is a Greek uncial manuscript from the 5th-6th centuries AD, discovered in 1879, containing the gospels of Matthew and Mark and kept in the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Rossano, Italy.

Of the 14 illuminations, 12 illustrate episodes from the life of Christ. One is the cover of the whole manuscript and the last one is a portrait of Saint Mark, which occupies the whole page.

The illuminated pages tell of the earthy adventure of Christ, his encounters with humanity, and his becoming a man in an ascending climax that led to his resurrection. 

Some claim that it was written in the South of Italy, even some suggest in Rossano itself. But most agree that it was likely written in an eastern center. Probably Antiochia in Greece, or a center in Asia Minor such as Efeso, Cappadocia or Costantinople in Turkey or Alexandria in Egypt.

Whether the Codex came from the east is still unclear. The most popular theory is that it was brought to Italy by a group of monks escaping iconoclastic persecutions in the 8th century. At that time Rossano was an important fortress-city and political center, known as Byzantine Rossano.

The Gospels is a summary of the platonic and Greek Byzantine ideologies of "beautiful," "true," and "good."

The Codex had a huge influence on the copying of manuscripts, which was very popular in the 4-5th centuries in Rossano, Italy. 

The Gospels display a perfect synergy between faith, science, religiosity, and refined technique in both the texts and illuminations. It's full of passion and pathos and imbued with deep spirituality.