Ada Group

Ada Group.
Term applied to a group of stylistically related Carolingian manuscripts from the Middle Rhine region; they take their name from the Ada Gospels (Stadtbibliothek, Trier), which has a dedication to Ada, ‘the servant of God’, who is said to have been a sister of Charlemagne. The manuscripts are sumptuously illuminated, with much use of gold and heavy colours, combining Early Christian and Byzantine models in style and iconography. A few ivory book covers closely related in style to the manuscripts have also been included within the group, notably those for the Lorsch Gospels (c.820); the front is in the Vatican, the back in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (the manuscript itself is divided between the Vatican and the library at Alba Iulia, Romania).