Image: Grégoire de Tours, Histoire des Francs, livres 1 à 6, page de frontispice

Description: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, books 1 to 6, Frontispiece page. Luxeuil or Corbie, end of the 7th century BnF, Manuscripts, Latin 17655 fol. 2 Transcribed in a cursive script that is difficult to read, this famous work recounting Merovingian history is decorated with initials whose cloisonné geometric or zoomorphic motifs, enhanced with bright colors, illustrate the decorative vocabulary used in Merovingian Gaul in the 7th century. The frontispiece, composed of a title with enclosed letters under a triple arcade in the Luxeuil style, is a good illustration of the Merovingian decorative vocabulary. The cloisonné geometric elements, to which fish and birds are added, are enriched with palmettes and fleurons that announce the Carolingian art.
Title: Grégoire de Tours, Histoire des Francs, livres 1 à 6, page de frontispice
Credit: Bibliothèque Nationale
Author: Gregory of Tours
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No