Egbert Psalter
The Egbert Psalter , also called Gertrud Psalter , is a work of Ottonian book illumination and was created in the Reichenau painting school . The manuscript is now under the signature Cod. 136 in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Cividale . Together with nine other works from the Reichenau Monastery, the manuscript was included in UNESCO's list of World Document Heritage in 2003.
description
The parchment manuscript in the format 23.8 × 18.8 cm comprises 233 sheets. The book decorations include 19 full-page miniatures . The manuscript is named after Archbishop Egbert von Trier (977–993). The Psalter's donor picture cycle comprises four full-page pictures. In the first picture a monk Ruodbrecht hands over the psalter to Egbert enthroned in the second picture. On the third dedication picture, Egbert presents the manuscript to St. Peter , the patron saint of Trier Cathedral, depicted on the last picture .
At the beginning of the actual psalter there is a representation of King David , opposite a decorative page with the first letter of the first psalm. In front of every tenth psalm there is a double decorative page, each showing a former Bishop of Trier, opposite an initial decorative page with the first letter of the next psalm. The series begins with the Holy Eucharius , Valerius and Maternus , who, according to legend, were sent to Germania by Peter himself. The bishops and archbishops are all shown standing in prayer position with hands open upwards, the arms partly spread out, partly brought together in front of the chest. The bishops all have a nimbus and are designated as holy in the inscription. This row of bishops, which is unusual for a Psalter, is explained by the political claim of the Trier bishops to have the primacy of the bishops of Gaul and Germania. A parallel row of bishops is on the St. Peter rod, also donated by Egbert .
classification
The psalter was probably created around 980 in Trier or more likely in the Reichenau monastery and belongs to the so-called Ruodprecht group, which is named after the monk depicted on the picture of the donor of the manuscript, who may be the book artist. The Egbert Codex is considered the most important work of this group of manuscripts , along with the Evangelistar from Poussay .
history
The manuscript, which was intended for the Trier Cathedral after the donor's picture, came into the possession of the Polish Princess Gertrud, the wife of Isjaslav I , in Russia in the 11th century . There two layers with a calendar, prayers and miniatures in the Byzantine style were added to the manuscript and added to fol. 41r added the image of an enthroned Mother of God. In the 12th century the manuscript was owned by the Andechs-Meran family , and legend has it that Elisabeth of Thuringia used it. Elisabeth's uncle, Berthold , Patriarch of Aquileija , brought the manuscript to Cividale.
literature
- The Psalter Archbishop Egberts von Trier, Codex Gertrudianus, in Cividale. Festschrift of the Society for Useful Research in Trier to celebrate its centenary, published on April 10, 1901. Historical-critical study by Heinrich Volbert Sauerland . Art historical study by Arthur Haseloff . Self-published by the Society for Useful Research, Trier 1901 text volume , picture book .
- Franz J. Ronig (Ed.): Egbert. Archbishop of Trier 877-993. Commemorative publication of the Diocese of Trier on the 1000th anniversary of death , Volume 1 (catalog and table volume), self-published by the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier in 1993
- Giuseppe Bergomini (ed.): Miniatura in Friuli. Catalogo della Mostra . Introduzione di Gian Carlo Menis. Udine: Istituto per l'Enciclopedia del Friuli - Venezia Giulia, 1985, pp. 11-18 with numerous illustrations in b / w, 1 color plate (King David) between pages 6 and 7
- Thomas Labusiak : The Ruodprecht group of the Ottonian Reichenauer book painting. Image sources - ornamentation - stylistic prerequisites . (Monuments of German Art). German publishing house for art history, Berlin 2009
- Wolfgang Schmid: Between piety and politics: Relics in the Middle Ages. The example of Archbishop Egbert of Trier. In: Georg Mein / Heinz Sieburg (ed.): Media of Knowledge. Interdisciplinary aspects of mediumship. (= Literacy and liminality 4) Bielefeld 2011, pp. 65–97
Web links
- Publications on the Egbert Psalter in the Opac der Regesta Imperii
- Egbert Psalter , overview and complete reproduction of the Codex: Cividale del Friuli, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, cod. CXXXVI.
Remarks
- ↑ Egbert. Archbishop of Trier 977–993. Catalog of the exhibition Trier 1993, catalog no. 3, Miniatura in Friuli indicates the height as 290 mm, the catalog Bernward von Hildesheim and the age of the Ottonians 23.9 cm.
- ↑ a b Egbert. Archbishop of Trier 977–993. Catalog of the exhibition Trier 1993, catalog no.3