Miroslav Gospel – Manuscript from 1180
Documentary heritage submitted by Serbia and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2005.
The Miroslav Gospel, a manuscript dating from around 1180 with miniatures of outstanding beauty, is the representative of a group of illuminated manuscripts of specific style and iconography resulting from fusion of elements of the West (Italy) and the East (Byzantium). This Serbian script that the concept of book decoration shares with other Orthodox Slavs and the style with the miniatures originating from mid-Italian scriptoria, is actually one of the most important testimonies of the artistic influences paths made from the West to the East and back. The Miroslav Gospel documents the liturgic structure of the evangelistary and an important stage of development of the Rascian orthography, the importance of which goes beyond the mediaeval Serbia boundaries.
The valuable material - parchment and gilding - has been preserved almost completely and documents well the endowment power of Christian princes in the Balkans by the end of the 12th C. By its style which is the mixture of the influences from the West and the East, the Miroslav Gospel is the unique manuscript of its kind in the region, as well as in the world. By its beauty and uniqueness the Miroslav Gospel will influence later other manuscripts of the region, as well as of the Medieval Europe. This manuscript represents the most precious and significant document in cultural heritage in Serbia.