Bible of St. Paul

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frontispiece of the Book of Proverbs (180v), King Solomon

The Bible of St. Paul (also the Bible of Charles the Bald or Bible of San Paolo ) is a Carolingian illuminated manuscript that was created around 870 in the court school of Charles the Bald . Where this is to be located after the destruction of the St. Martin monastery in 853 is a matter of dispute.

description

The Bible contains 337 counted sheets of parchment , its format is 448 x 355 mm, the edges are trimmed. The codex contains 24 cover picture thumbnails, one is lost. The original last sheet has been lost. During the restorations in 1646 and 1970–1981, empty sheets were added at the beginning and at the end. The baroque binding goes back to the restoration commissioned by Abbot Giovita De Rubeis ( Iovita Roscius Romanus ), which is also reminiscent of the first leaf of the manuscript, on which a corresponding dedication with gold ink in Capitalis rustica is inscribed according to the pattern of an inscription . The next sheet is the dedication image with the depiction of an emperor enthroned.

The text is written on individual decorative pages with gold ink on a purple ground , the titles in Capitalis rustica and also Capitalis quadrata for the incipits, the Gospel text and the commentaries of Jerome in two columns in Carolingian minuscule , in the first part of the manuscript in purple ink. The Generatio Christi at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew is on fo. 262 r inscribed with silver ink and initial gold letters on a purple ground which, however, does not cover the entire page, but only the writing space required for the text. An Ingobertus ... scriba fidelis , probably a relative of Archbishop Hinkmar of Reims after Karl Ferdinand Werner, names himself in the prologue, written in gold ink on undyed parchment .

"Eius ad imperium devoti pectoris artus
Ingobertus eram referens et scriba fidelis"

After Bernhard Bischoff , Ingobert was not the only scribe, but he was probably the head of a well-organized and efficient scriptorium .

Ownership history

The codex came to Rome as a gift from Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII, probably in 875, and initially remained at the Curia. There was on fol. 2 r entered the oath formula in the 11th century, which Robert Guiskard swore in 1080 in Ceprano , but not in the final version, but as a draft, as can be seen from the text variants. Today the manuscript is in the Roman Abbey of San Paolo fuori le mura (without signature). There it has been traceable since the 16th century; in an inventory from 1641 it is referred to as a gift from Charlemagne . A note made in 1822 by Abbot Carlo Altieri , the origin of which has been lost, shows that the manuscript was loaned to Marcantonio Amulio , the cardinal librarian, for text-critical studies on the Bible, by order of Pope Pius IV , advised by Giovanni Morone was returned after a few years and found its place again in the sacristy of the basilica. In 1685 Jean Mabillon was able to examine the manuscript on his study trip through Italy, which interested him for paleographical reasons. On page 52 of his Iter Italicum , first published in 1687 , he mentions that there is heated discussion in Rome as to whether the image of the ruler in the manuscript depicts Charlemagne or Charlemagne. He himself does not comment on this question.

gallery

  • Genesis frontispiece

  • Frontispiece of the book of Deuteronomy (50r)

  • Frontispiece of the Apocalypse

literature

  • Alessandro Pratesi (Editor): Biblia sacra. Codex membranaceus saeculi IX - Bibbia di San Paolo Fuori le Mura . Rome 1993, commentary and table volume
  • Florentine Mütherich , Joachim E. Gaehde: Carolingian book painting , pp. 114–121. Prestel, Munich 1979. ISBN 3-7913-0395-3
  • Ingo F. Walther, Norbert Wolf: Masterpieces of Illumination , pp. 102–103. Cologne et al., Taschen 2005, ISBN 3-8228-4747-X

Remarks

  1. ↑ Ingobertus scriba fidelis . In: Alessandro Pratesi (Coordinatore): Commentario storico, paleografico, artistico, critico della Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Codex membranaceus saeculi IX) , Roma 1993, pp. 141-143, here p. 143
  2. ^ Bernhard Bischoff: La scrittura . In: Alessandro Pratesi (Coordinatore): Commentario storico, paleografico, artistico, critico della Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Codex membranaceus saeculi IX) , Roma 1993, pp. 177-186. Bischoff differentiates between three main scribes and equates Ingobert with scribe A.
  3. ^ Girolamo Arnaldi : Carlo il Calvo e Roma . In: Alessandro Pratesi (Coordinatore): Commentario storico, paleografico, artistico, critico della Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Codex membranaceus saeculi IX) , Roma 1993, pp. 15-79, here p. 78
  4. ↑ Alessandro Pratesi: Una bibbia emblematica . In: Alessandro Pratesi (coordinator): Commentario storico, paleografico, artistico, critico della Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Codex membranaceus saeculi IX) , Roma 1993, pp. 81–92, here 82; on the Roman minuscule of this time cf. also Bernhard Bischoff: La scrittura ibid. p. 185
  5. ↑ This goes to the addendum to fol. 337 r back: Carmina da laudem Karoli Magni , a copy of the titulus of the image of the ruler on fol. 1 r
  6. ↑ Stefano Baiocchi: Le ultime vicende della bibbia carolingia. Note dall'Archivio dell'Abbazia In: Alessandro Pratesi (Coordinatore): Commentario storico, paleografico, artistico, critico della Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Codex membranaceus saeculi IX) , Roma 1993, p. 93ff.
  7. ↑ in the edition of 1724

Web links

Commons : Bible of S Paolo fuori le Mura  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files