Drogo Sacramentary

The Drogo Sacramentary (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS lat.

Metz was an important bishopric: Charles the Bald was crowned in the Basilica, and Louis the Pious and his illegitimate half-brother Drogo the Bishop are buried there.

He embellished his cathedral in Metz with works which rank among the highlights of Carolingian art in beauty and preciousness.

In the image, the dead and tortured body of Christ spouts water and blood, which are collected by a female figure recognizable as Ecclesia, the Church, in a chalice, that would become entangled with the Holy Grail legend in the future.

The Serpent entwines the base of the cross and figures representing the Sun and Moon witness the event from above.

Folio 71v of the Drogo Sacramentary, ca. 850: a decorated initial 'C' contains the Ascension of Christ.
Decorated initial T from Drogo's personal sacramentary.