Saint Mark inspired by the prophets (Evangelium of Otto III, BSB Clm 4453, F94v)

Mark is depicted seated holding a long scroll on his shoulders. he is surmounted by a lion (his symbol) and Moses. He holds five books on his lap: this is the pentateuch, i.e. the first and main five books of the Old Testament.

Surrounding his symbol are four prophets: Jonah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah.

At his feet, on either side, a scribe turns away from Mark before turning to transcribe what he says (which the scroll, or volumen, figures) onto a book (codex). The one on the left appears to be holding an inkwell, while the one on the right, though turned away, is writing.

In fact, it was only after the evangelists, at the end of the 1st century, that we gradually moved from the Roman volumen, made of papyrus, to the medieval codex, made of parchment. Here, the volumen scroll seems to represent the original word of the gospel.