Gero Codex

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Dedication cycle of the Gero Codex: Gero presents the Codex to St. Peter (fol 6 v )
Dedication poem of Gero to Peter (fol 7 r ). Excerpts in German translation:

“Gatekeeper of heaven, ornament and golden light of the world, prince of the church, named Peter after the rock, to whom the highest power is given to solve earthly debts.

Accept, I beg, your servant's worthless gift. Because I bring what I can, not how much I have to raise as a debtor. For this service I have brought you the booklet. This should be preserved for your honor for all time. If a deluded enemy takes it away, let him incur the wrath of the Lord for the guilt of the crime.

Peter, may your door to heaven be open to Gero. "
Dedication cycle of the Gero Codex: The scribe Anno hands the work to Gero ( fol 7 v )
Initial S from the Gero Codex ( fol 103 v )

The Gero-Codex is the oldest of medieval manuscripts of the reputed schools of the monastery Reichenau can be attributed. It was probably made around the year 969 for the later Archbishop of Cologne, Gero . The manuscript is an outstanding example of Ottonian book illumination and was in the list of world cultural heritage of UNESCO added. It is an evangelist or pericope book that contains the gospel texts of the church year . It was put together in such a way that it contained the parts of the Gospels necessary for Holy Mass and could thus be used during the liturgy . The manuscript is now kept in the Darmstadt University and State Library under the signature Hs. 1948.

Artist and donor

The writer and probably also the illustrator was, according to the dedication ( fol 8 r ), a monk named Anno from the painting school of the Reichenau monastery . There he is occupied as a subdeacon for 958. According to Anno, a group of Reichenau manuscripts is called an Anno group. These include the Petershausen Sacramentary ( Heidelberg University Library , Cod. Sal. IXb), the Epistolar in Cambridge ( Fitzwilliam Museum , McClean 30) and a missal fragment in Paris ( BnF , Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal, Ms.610). According to older research, the artist is said to have been called Eburnat. Accordingly, there is also the name Eburnat group. In the dedication text, Anno asks the client Gero for prayers for himself and expresses the hope that one day he will receive the same heavenly reward as the founder can expect.

It is possible that the last three pages, written in a slightly smaller font, are from another hand.

According to the dedication poem, the manuscript was written for Gero, who dedicated it to Saint Peter for a basilica dedicated to him. Since the Cologne Cathedral is consecrated to St. Peter, this allowed Gero to identify with Archbishop Gero of Cologne. The fact that the founder Gero is referred to as “ Basilicae Petrie custos ” and thus not yet as archbishop is decisive for the dating . If so, the work would have to be dated before the year 969. If the curator title was used to describe the archbishopric, it would fall between 969 and 976. Since Gero is not depicted in the episcopal regalia in the dedication image, the thesis that it was made before 969 is likely.

The motif Geros for the foundation is mentioned in the dedication poem. He hopes that Peter will open the door of heaven to him as a thank you for the gift. There is no information about other motifs. Gero, who came from an important noble family and probably belonged to the Cologne Cathedral Chapter, showed that he had the means to have such a magnificent manuscript made. He may have hoped that this would give him competitive advantages in a future archbishopric election.

description

Appearance and text

The 30 × 23 cm manuscript consists of 176 parchment leaves . These are each 29.7 × 22.2 cm in size. The work contains 298 readings for the church year. The binding consists of leather-covered wooden covers. The wooden lids are original, but have been covered with new leather. These have a depression in the middle that originally contained an ivory work. During restoration work in 1949, the spine of the book was renewed with suede. Instead of the endpaper made of paper, parchment was used.

It is written in Carolingian minuscule from the 10th century. The front pages are made of Capitalis rustica . The type area is divided single column and 21 lines per page.

Images and initials

The handwriting is significant because of eight illustrations. These full-page miniatures are:

  • Anno's dedication to the founder Gero,
  • whose dedication of the manuscript to the apostle Peter ,
  • four representations with one evangelist each ,
  • the representation of Maiestas Domini ( The Majesty of the Lord )
  • and the women at the tomb of Jesus in the Easter initial M.

The images of the Evangelists and the Maiestas Domini are based on the portrayals of the 150 years older Lorsch Gospel . On fol 1 Matthew is shown, followed by Marcus , Lucas and Johannes . Following the example of the Ada school , the evangelists are depicted under arched architecture in a sitting and writing pose. Above their heads are the usual symbols of the people depicted. The depicted are shown in three-quarter profile and thus maintain a distance from the viewer. In particular, the arrangement of the evangelists at the beginning of the work refers back to the Lorsch Codex .

On the recto sides next to the pictures there are ornamentally framed areas in purple. On these are verses written in gold ink on the people depicted. The image of Maiestas Domini (fol 5 v ) is in an ornamental circle frame with medallions of the four symbols of the evangelists. The series of dedicatory pictures begins on fol 6 v . On this, Peter and Gero are depicted under a stylized church building. Various aspects emphasize the differences between Gero and Peter. The differences in size between the two figures are particularly significant. Peter is exaggerated by the nimbus , throne and also avoidance of eye contact with Gero as well as by the coloring. In contrast, Gero, dressed in priestly robes, looks humbly up to Peter. What is unclear is the interpretation of the two sticks / keys in Peter's hand, which run out in letters. Some read this as Petr. others see the letters FR for forum as a term for jurisdiction. On fol. 7 v you can see the monk Anno, who hands over the finished book to the seated donor Gero. In contrast to the different colors of the background in the case of Petrus and Gero in the first dedication image, the figures of Anno and Gero are shown against a pale blue background. In this picture, Gero is the dominant figure due to his size, throne-like seat and splendor of the robes. In contrast, the monk Anno Gero presents the finished book in a humble manner.

Also with the dedication pictures there are labeled purple tablets on the recto sides. The following pages (fol 8 v -10 r ) are blank. This is followed by two pages with magnificent initials in gold, purple and other elements. Similar initial pages can be found on fol 13 r and fol 85 r . On the other hand, on fol 86 r there are depictions of women and angels in front of Jesus' empty tomb in the M of the name Maria. At the beginning of the Gospel of Pentecost there are two decorative pages. On the first, gold script is used on purple. The second shows a richly ornamented S on a green background. The Gospel of Natale S. Petri also begins with a decorative page. In total, there are other smaller initials about 4–5 lines high in the text on almost every page of the work. The initials are used to mark sections and make reading easier. In some cases, figurative representations such as a gray heron or the "ear snake" appear in other initials.

meaning

Majestas Domini (depiction of the enthroned Christ, surrounded by the symbols of the evangelists) (fol.5v)

The codex shows how book illumination in the time of the Ottonian kings is based on models from the Carolingian era. The figurative representations of the Gero Codex are the earliest from the Reichenau scriptorium. In addition to these representations, the Gero Codex contains a number of decorative pages with ornamental initials. The tendril ornaments in the codex reveal models from the monastery of St. Gallen. The Gero Codex itself established a tradition in which the other nine manuscripts of the Eburnant group or the Anno group of the Reichenau School of Illumination are found.

No other of the Reichenau manuscripts was based as strongly on Carolingian models as the Gero Codex. The concept of the dedication pictures can already be found in " De laudibus sanctae crucis " by Hrabanus Maurus .

In particular, there are close references to the Lorsch Gospels. However, it is unclear to what extent Anno knew the older work itself. However, there are clear differences. The background of the miniatures in the Lorsch Gospels is more atmospheric and the figures do not appear as monumental as in the Gero Codex. Overall, the images in the younger Codex are designed in a simpler way. The graphic element is more important than perspective and the depiction of nature. In relation to the architectural elements, the figures are significantly larger than in the Carolingian model and appear simplified. The intentional simplicity and severity in Ottonian painting emphasize the sacred content.

The importance of Annos and his work lies primarily in the fact that he has apparently taken up and combined suggestions from other works of Carolingian, Byzantine and possibly also Roman origin in his work.

Whereabouts

The Evangelist Matthew in the Gero Codex ( fol 1 v )

Which owner the manuscript had over the centuries can only be guessed by clues. Initially, it belonged to the Cologne Cathedral Library for a long time and may have served liturgical purposes. But in the middle of the 18th century, in Joseph Hartzheim's library directory, the work no longer appears. It used to be believed that it was owned by the Grafschaft monastery . Since it was known as the “painted book of Wedinghausen” at the beginning of the 19th century, it is now generally assumed that the manuscript from Cologne came to the Premonstratensian Monastery of Wedinghausen , founded in 1170, at an unknown point in time . It is possible that the book was already part of the founding liturgical equipment there.

It remained in the monastery for several centuries until 1803 when the monastery was dissolved. The new sovereign, Landgrave Ludwig I of Hessen-Darmstadt , was personally interested in old art treasures and manuscripts. The Landgrave and later Grand Duke were particularly interested in three works. The contemporary description was imprecise. The book called the Codex with the Deer was later identified as the Hillinus Codex . This is now in the Cologne Cathedral Library (cathedral manuscript 12). As Codex of Meschede was Hitda Codex (Darmstadt Hs.1640) and as a painted book Wedinghausen called the Gero-Codex. The Landgrave had the last two books transported to Darmstadt.

The book was one of the particularly valuable possessions of the Darmstadt Court Library. It retained this importance in the course of the development to today's University and State Library Darmstadt . The Gero Codex has been owned by the State of Hesse since 1948 . The book is available to a wider audience as a digital facsimile edition on CD and online.

On 30 August 2003, the Gero-Codex was alongside nine other manuscripts of the Reichenau reputed schools, including the Bamberg Apocalypse (Bamberg State Library Msc.Bibl.140) and the Pericopes of Henry II. (Bavarian State Library Clm 4452), in the list of world cultural heritage of UNESCO included.

Exhibitions

For conservation reasons, the original is rarely seen in exhibitions. Even to celebrate the inclusion in the 2004 World Document Heritage program, only a particularly carefully crafted full facsimile was shown on the island of Reichenau . In the period from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010, the Gero Codex was shown in an exhibition in the Wedinghausen Monastery in Arnsberg. At its core, this exhibition only showed the codex, which was displayed in an air-conditioned display case. For conservation reasons, the room was darkened and the book was only illuminated with one light source in such a way that the book illuminations came into their own. A student project from the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences has also shown a multimedia presentation in the remaining rooms of the exhibition area with images and texts on the design of the book, history and backgrounds.

literature

  • Leo Eizenhöfer, Hermann Knaus: The liturgical manuscripts of the Hessian state and university library Darmstadt. OCLC 4870742 , Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1968, pp. 107-112 (online version) .
  • Anton von Euw : The Darmstadt Gero Codex and the artistically related Reichenau splendid manuscripts. In: Anton von Euw, Peter Schreiner (ed.): Kaiserin Theophanu. Meeting of the East and West at the turn of the first millennium . Commemorative publication of the Cologne Schnütgen Museum for the 1000th year of death of the Empress. Volume 1. Schnütgen Museum, Cologne 1991, pp. 191–225.
  • Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. City archive, Arnsberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-928394-26-0 .

Web links

Commons : Gero Codex  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Peter Michael Kleine: Faith and Hope. The Gero Codex. Symbol of believed reality. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, corrected version OCLC 682101094 .
  2. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 49, p. 53.
  3. ↑ PW Hartmann: The large art dictionary.
  4. ↑ Tobias Burg: The signature. Forms and functions from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. Münster 2007, p. 85.
  5. ↑ Leo Eizenhöfer, Hermann Knaus: The liturgical manuscripts of the Hessian state and university library Darmstadt. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1968, p. 108.
  6. ↑ Michael Gosmann: Power and Wealth. Gero - person and history. In: Ders., Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex returns. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in the Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 75f.
  7. ^ City of Arnsberg: press release .
  8. ↑ Leo Eizenhöfer, Hermann Knaus: The liturgical manuscripts of the Hessian state and university library Darmstadt. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1968, p. 108.
  9. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 49, p. 57.
  10. ↑ MDR: Insignia of Power  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.mdr.de  
  11. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 58.
  12. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 54.
  13. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in the Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 55f.
  14. ↑ Leo Eizenhöfer, Hermann Knaus: The liturgical manuscripts of the Hessian state and university library Darmstadt. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1968, p. 108. Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz (eds.): The Gero Codex returns. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 59.
  15. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 53.
  16. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 66.
  17. ↑ Katrin Ueberholz: The scribe-monk Anno. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 67.
  18. ↑ Michael Gosmann: Power and Wealth. Gero - person and history. In: Ders., Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex returns. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 82.
  19. ^ For example: Klaus Gamber: Codices liturgici latini antiquiores. Freiburg (Switzerland) 1968, p. 462.
  20. ↑ Leo Eizenhöfer, Hermann Knaus: The liturgical manuscripts of the Hessian state and university library Darmstadt. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1968, p. 107.
  21. ↑ Michael Gosmann: Power and Wealth. Gero - person and history. In: Ders., Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex returns. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 82, p. 89.
  22. ↑ Silvia Uhlemann: The Gero Codex in Darmstadt. Path and preservation of a document of human history . In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 27.
  23. ↑ Silvia Uhlemann: Shine in purple and gold. UNESCO recognizes the Gero Codex of the LHB as a world document heritage. In: Information and opinions from the Technical University of Darmstadt. 24, 2003, H. 7, ISSN  1614-8789 , pp. 1-2.
  24. ↑ Silvia Uhlemann: The Gero Codex in Darmstadt. Path and preservation of a document of human history. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, p. 29.
  25. ↑ Sabine Grabiwoda, Stefan Weirich: The Gero Codex. New media meet ancient book illumination. In: Michael Gosmann, Peter Michael Kleine, Kathrin Ueberholz: The Gero Codex is back. The painted book of Wedinghausen. Documentation volume on the exhibition of the Gero Codex in Wedinghausen Monastery from October 24, 2009 to January 17, 2010. Arnsberg 2010, pp. 97–99.