Jacob's Book

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Codex Calixtinus, Folio 4r, Apostle James (around 1130/40)

The Jakobsbuch (Latin Liber Sancti Jacobi , more often called Codex Calixtinus or Codex Calixtus ) is a composite manuscript from the 12th century. It was incorrectly attributed to Pope Calixt II , although it was probably compiled by the French scholar Aimeric Picaud . It was created as a suggestion to visit the reliquary of the apostle James in Santiago de Compostela .

content

The book consists of five parts, all of which have a more or less clear connection to St. James and the pilgrimage to his sanctuary:

  • The first part contains texts and chants for mass and prayers of the hours for the feast days of James. A special feature is, among other things, a large number of tropics at the fair.
  • A second part contains 22 narratives of miracles which are ascribed to James. Many of them are about pilgrims who find themselves in need on their journey.
  • The third part tells of the transfer of the body of James to Spain.
  • The fourth part is a story about the battles of Charlemagne in Spain. Bishop Turpin of Reims (748–795) is named as the author in the manuscript. However, this ascription is incorrect, which is why the author of the text is called pseudo-Turpin .
  • The fifth part is a pilgrimage guide describing various routes to Santiago de Compostela, especially the four main routes Via Turonensis , Via Lemovicensis , Via Podiensis and Via Tolosana . Churches that the pilgrim should visit are also listed and warnings of dangers along the way are given.
  • An appendix contains a whole series of two-part compositions. For the most part, these are pieces that were already in the first part in a unanimous version.

meaning

The pilgrim guide and the miracle stories are of particular interest to the historical sciences, as they allow an insight into the conditions of medieval pilgrimages. For musicology, again, the polyphonic compositions are important, since it is one of the first sources in which polyphonic pieces do not appear in a music theory textbook, but in a book that appears to be intended for practical use.

→ See also: Way of St. James

Theft of the manuscript in 2011

Since July 5, 2011, the codex, which was stored in the safe of the archives of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , was missing and was thought to have disappeared. A year later, on July 4, 2012, the valuable book was found undamaged in the garage of an electrician who had previously worked regularly in the cathedral, but was then dismissed as part of austerity measures and apparently together with his family in addition to the Codex had stolen other treasures from the cathedral.

literature

Web links

Commons : Codex Calixtinus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Codex Calixtinus  - Sources and full texts (Latin)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herbers, Klaus: The Way of St. James - With a medieval pilgrim guide on the way to Santiago de Compostela. P. 27.
  2. ^ Archivalia , accessed on: July 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Robo del siglo: desaparece el Códice Calixtino de la Catedral de Santiago (Spanish), accessed on: July 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ Le manuscrit médiéval ~ The Medieval Manuscript (French), accessed on: July 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ Report at the Süddeutsche Zeitung , accessed on: July 8, 2011
  6. ↑ dpa: Police find stolen «Jacob's book». Codex Calixtinus. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. July 4, 2012, accessed June 27, 2013 (German).
  7. ↑ Stolen Codex Calixtinus Found on: www.caminosantiago.eu, accessed on: June 27, 2013.