Single Leaf from a Decretum by Gratian: Quadruple Arcade with Concordance of Greek and Latin Alphabets
Unknown Artist
c. 1160–1165
Medium
ink and tempera on vellum
Dimensions
sheet: 44.8 × 32 cm · framed: 63.5 × 48.3 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1954.598.b
About this artwork
This leaf was excised from a copy of the handbook of church law known as the Decretum written by Gratian, an Italian Camaldolese monk active in Bologna from about 1130 to 1140. The style of the illumination and the script date the leaf to between 1160 and 1165. In November 1164, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, took refuge at Pontigny as a result of his conflict with King Henry II of England. During his stay, Becket immersed himself in the study of church law, as evidenced by his later u...