THOUSAND YEAR OLD GOSPEL WRITTEN BY CHRISTIAN WOMEN DISCOVERED
Christie's London announced on November 13, 2025, the discovery of a 1,000 year old Gospel manuscript believed to have been written by a community of Christian women in medieval Germany. The manuscript will be auctioned on December 10, 2025, as part of Valuable Books, Manuscripts and Photographs, with an estimated value between $880,000 and $1.26 million.
The Gospel is linked to the Abbey of Essen, an early center of women's scholarship in medieval Europe. It is one of fewer than ten Latin manuscripts from the 10th century or earlier to appear at auction in the past century, and possibly the first connected to a female scriptorium, where manuscripts were copied and illuminated by women scribes.
Written in elegant Carolingian minuscule, the clear, legible script established by Charlemagne's educational reforms and used widely across Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries, the text includes prayers "for the veiling of handmaidens of God," a phrase used for women taking religious vows. These elements strongly suggest it was created by canonesses, aristocratic women who lived devotedly while maintaining wealth, literacy, and social status.
At least two scribes worked on the manuscript, identified through subtle variations in script. The work likely took months or even years to complete, as the pace of writing in such a monastic scriptorium would have been shaped by religious and liturgical duties that occupied several hours each day.
The scriptorium at the Abbey of Essen flourished under Abbess Mathilde II and became one of the centers of learning under Ottonian rule. The community maintained a rich and extensive library that went well beyond a typical monastic collection. Some 50 fragments and codices from this great library survive today. After the abbey's dissolution in 1803, most manuscripts entered German institutions.
Professor Rosamond McKitterick, world renowned expert in medieval history and the Frankish kingdoms, stated, "This is a wonderful codex, carefully presented and beautifully written very early in the 10th century. It deserves further serious study."
Locked away for nearly a century, the manuscript was only recently identified as an early 10th century Gospel. After the dissolution of the abbey at Essen, the Gospels entered the collection of August Friedrich Christian Vilmar, theologian, author, and professor at Marburg, before being acquired by an American seminary in 1869.
Eugenio Donadoni, International Specialist for Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at Christie's, commented, "It is an extraordinary privilege to have a manuscript of this importance at Christie's, and with such a compelling connection to women's scholarship."
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
Medieval Christian women copied Scripture by hand for years.
While the world burned around them, these canonesses preserved the Word of God with extraordinary care and craftsmanship. They didn't complain about patriarchy. They didn't demand recognition. They served Christ through meticulous devotion to His Word.
This Gospel proves what modern culture tries to erase: Christian women have always been powerful agents of faith, scholarship, and cultural preservation. Not by demanding equality, but by demonstrating excellence.
These women shaped European civilization through prayer, discipline, and intellectual rigor. Their legacy shames our generation's shallow complaints about Christian oppression of women.
TAKE ACTION
1. Christie's Auction: View the manuscript during public exhibition December 6 to 10 at Christie's London. Details at www.christies.com.
2. Support Christian scholarship: Donate to organizations preserving Christian manuscripts like The Museum of the Bible at www.museumofthebible.org or call +1 (866) 430-6682.
3. Teach your daughters: Use this discovery to show young Christian women their rich heritage of scholarship and devotion. Share this story in your church and homeschool communities.
