Codex epistolaris Carolinus

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The Codex epistolaris Carolinus is a collection of 99 letters from incumbent popes to the Carolingian rulers ( Karl Martell , Pippin the Younger and Charlemagne ) from the period 739/740 to 791. The collection is preserved in a single manuscript , the closer Meaning as Codex epistolaris Carolinus and is under the shelf number 449 in the Austrian National Library . As an authentic and contemporary source in which those involved in politics take a direct stand, it is of great source value for the history of the 8th century.

Information about the creation of the collection is provided by the preface (“Praefatio”) of the manuscript, according to which Charlemagne ordered in 791 all letters from the popes to his grandfather, his father and himself "to be restored and copied [... ] because he had seen that due to their old age and negligence they were already partly worn out and destroyed [...] so that his followers did not lack any useful testimony of the Holy Church ”. The senders are a total of seven popes, namely Gregory III. , Zacharias , Stephan II. , Paul I. , Stephan III. , Hadrian I and the antipope Constantine II. The texts are sorted according to the period of office of the sender, but the various letters of a Pope are usually not listed chronologically. The letters of Constantine II, who was deposed and whose pontificate was declared illegal, are at the very end of the Codex. In research, it is controversial whether the collection originally also contained letters from the Byzantine emperors to the Carolingian rulers and therefore only exists in a reduced number today.

The only manuscript in the collection that still exists today was created in the 9th century and is recorded as part of the library of Archbishop Willibert of Cologne (870–889). Characteristic are the almost square dimensions of the manuscript, which indicate that it was possibly also made in Cologne. The texts of the letters are contained in Carolingian minuscule and are all supplemented by a preceding summary that was written down in Capitalis rustica . In terms of design, the Praefatio is also highlighted through the use of the Capitalis rustica and also through rubrications . The handwriting is well preserved and shows hardly any signs of use. The first complete edition of the text was published in 1613 by Jakob Gretser , the first critical edition in 1867 by Philipp Jaffé .

Web links

expenditure

  • Wilhelm Gundlach (Ed.): Codex Carolinus. In: Epistolae Merowingici et Karolini aevi. Volume 1 (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Epistolae. Volume 3). Weidmann, Berlin 1892, pp. 469–657 ( digitized version ) (authoritative critical edition).
  • Florian Hartmann , Tina Orth-Müller (eds.): Codex epistolaris Carolinus. Early medieval papal letters to the Carolingian rulers (= selected sources on the history of the Middle Ages. Freiherr vom Stein memorial edition. Volume 49). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26806-1 (with translation and introduction).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Florian Hartmann, Tina Orth-Müller (eds.): Codex epistolaris Carolinus. Early medieval papal letters to the Carolingian rulers. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26806-1 , p. 22.
  2. ^ "Eo quod nimia vetustatae et per incuriam iam ex parte diruta atque deleta conspexerat, denuo [...] renovare ac rescribere decrevit [...] ut nullum penitus testimonium sanctae ecclesiae profuturum suis deesse successoribus videatur". Translation according to: Florian Hartmann, Tina Orth-Müller (Eds.): Codex epistolaris Carolinus. Early medieval papal letters to the Carolingian rulers. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26806-1 , p. 33.
  3. ↑ Florian Hartmann, Tina Orth-Müller (eds.): Codex epistolaris Carolinus. Early medieval papal letters to the Carolingian rulers. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26806-1 , p. 11.
  4. ^ Claudia Zey : Review by: Achim Thomas Hack: Codex Carolinus. Papal epistolography in the 8th century. In: sehepunkte 8 (2008), No. 10 [15. October 2008].
  5. ↑ Florian Hartmann, Tina Orth-Müller (eds.): Codex epistolaris Carolinus. Early medieval papal letters to the Carolingian rulers. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26806-1 , p. 11 f.