A Few of My Favorite Things...

The Cotton Genesis (MS Cotton Otho B VI)

For anyone interested in early Christianity, the Cotton Genesis, made in the late 5th century is one of the most tragic losses of the Cottonian Fire, which destroyed so many manuscripts. The Cotton Genesis was once one of the most highly illuminated bibles, with over 300 illustrations; it's also one of the earliest bibles to survive.

The manuscript is in Greek and was probably made in Egypt. The fragments that remain illustrate some of the finest examples late antique illumination. The fragments shrank in the fire, so scholars have tried their best to recreate what the manuscript may have looked like before the fire.


One of the biggest discoveries about the illuminations in the Cotton Genesis are the mosaics in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. 110 of these mosaics were made around 1220, and were direct copies of the illustrations in the Cotton Genesis! The manuscript came to Venice after the sack of Constantinople in 1204.

So even though the manuscript is almost lost to us, St. Mark's preserves the illustrations so we can get an idea of what it looked like. It also shows that the manuscript was considered a masterpiece of illumination in the 13th century. Perhaps I'll get to see St. Mark's someday!