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Godescalc
( fl c. AD 781–3). Carolingian scribe. He is known from the dedicatory poem in an Evangeliary (or Gospel Lectionary; Paris, Bib. N., MS. nouv. acq. lat. 1203; see MANUSCRIPT, fig. 9), which has subsequently been named after him. It is clear from the poem (fols 126v–127r) that Godescalc was commissioned to write the manuscript by Charlemagne and his wife Hildegard. The verses also mention Charlemagne’s march to Italy (781), on which Godescalc accompanied him, and the baptism of the King’s son Pepin in Rome; the manuscript was therefore written between 781 and the death of Hildegard in 783. It consists of 127 purple leaves of parchment (310*210 mm) with two columns of script in gold and silver ink; the main text is in uncial, the headings in capitals and the dedicatory poem in the newly developed miniscule script. The codex is sumptuously ornamented: six miniatures at the beginning, initials introducing the individual lessons, and with each page surrounded by a decorative frame. The first four images show the Evangelists (fols 1r–2v; see CAROLINGIAN ART, fig. 6) with their symbols in the upper corners. The series of portraits is completed by an image of Christ Enthroned (fol. 3r). The sixth miniature shows the Fountain of Life (fol. 3v); it is the earliest example of this uncommon theme in Carolingian art. The Godescalc Evangeliary is the first of a series of manuscripts from the Court School of Charlemagne (see CAROLINGIAN ART, §IV, 3). All the images are based on models from Italy and Byzantium; they show some artistic uncertainty, especially in the rendering of figures. By contrast, the initials masterfully unite Insular forms (see INSULAR ART, §3) with those from late antiquity.
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