Emperor's Bible
The Emperor's Bible (Uppsala, UUB ms C 93;
The manuscript is richly decorated with miniatures, including full-page depictions of the Four Evangelists, illuminated canon tables and a depiction of the emperor donating the book to the patron saints of Goslar Cathedral. It is written in Carolingian minuscule and is overall well-preserved.
History
The Emperor's Bible was commissioned by Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor and donated by him to Goslar Cathedral. The book contains a miniature depicting the coronation of Henry and his wife Agnes of Poitou, and another miniature shows the emperor presenting the book to the patron saints of the cathedral, Jude the Apostle and Simon the Zealot. This indicates that the book was donated to the church before the death of the emperor in 1056, but after the church was consecrated in 1051.[2]
The book was made in the
The book remained the property of Goslar Cathedral until the
Description
Despite its name, the Emperor's Bible is not a full Bible but a Gospel Book.[2] It also contains Jerome's preface to the gospels, short prefaces ahead of each individual gospel, illuminated canon tables and pericopes, short texts used for specific festivals. All the text has been written by a single scribe in the script known as Carolingian minuscule.[2] The book contains 159 folios or leaves, each measuring 38 centimetres (15 in) by 28 centimetres (11 in).[3] The folios are made from high quality vellum and the manuscript is generally very well preserved.[3]
The book is profusely decorated. Each gospel text is preceded by a full-page miniature showing the respective Evangelist together with his symbol. There are in addition two other full-page miniatures. One depicts Christ in heaven, crowning Henry III and Empress Agnes. The other shows, as mentioned above, the emperor presenting the book to the patron saints of Goslar Cathedral. There are also a few purely decorative full-page illustrations, five decorative initials which also occupy entire pages, and the aforementioned canon tables which go on for a total of 12 full pages.[4] In addition to this, there are also enlarged capitals within the text, decorated in gold and green.[2]
The book is bound in sturdy oak covers. These were probably originally covered with gilded silver and semi-precious stones, but at some point—at the latest during the Thirty Years' War—the book was stripped of its valuable cover, and re-bound in blue velvet during the 17th century. The velvet has since been removed and is kept separately, together with silver clasps once used to keep the book tightly shut.[2][3]
References
- JSTOR 2850744. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Emperor's Bible". Uppsala University Library. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d Andersson-Schmitt & Hedlund 1989, p. 121.
- ^ Andersson-Schmitt & Hedlund 1989, p. 122.
Works cited
- Andersson-Schmitt, Margarete; Hedlund, Monica (1989). Mittelalterliche Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Uppsala: Katalog über die C- Sammlung (in German). Vol. 2. Stockholm: 1989. pp. 121–122. ISBN 9789155421502.
Further reading
- Nordenfalk, Carl (1971). Codex Caesareus Upsaliensis: an Echternach gospel-book of the eleventh century. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell. OCLC 795752.
- Beissel, Stephan (1900). "Das Evangelienbuch Heinrich III, aus dem Dome zu Goslar in der Bibliothek zu Uppsala". Zeitschrift für christliche Kunst (in German). XIII: 65–96. . Retrieved 23 December 2020.