Stockholm Codex Aureus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stockholm Codex Aureus
List of illuminated manuscripts
Title: Stockholm Codex Aureus
Date created: mid 8th century AD
Size: ___________________
Dimensions: 395 x 315 mm
Document type: Celtic Illuminated Manuscript
Subject: ___________________________
Gallery: link here
Library: Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, MS.A.135

The Stockholm Codex Aureus (also known as the "Codex Aureus of Canterbury") was written in the mid-eighth century in Southumbria, probably in Canterbury, and is now in the Swedish Royal Library at Stockholm. Southumbria produced a number of important illuminated manuscripts during the eighth and early ninth centuries, including the Vespasian Psalter, the Stockholm Codex Aureus, three Mercian prayer books (the Royal Prayer book, the Book of Nunnaminster and the Book of Cerne), the Tiberius Bede and the Royal Bible.

The codex is richly decorated, with vellum leaves that alternately are dyed and undyed, the purple-dyed leaves written with gold, silver, and white pigment, the undyed ones with black ink and red pigment. The style is a blend of that of Insular art, as in the Chi-Ro initial shown, and Continental art of the period.

In the ninth century it was stolen by the Vikings and Aldormen Aelfred had to pay a ransom to get it back. Above and below the Latin text of the Gospel of St. Matthew is an added inscription in Old English recording how, a hundred years later, the manuscript was ransomed from a Viking army who had stolen it on one of their raids in Kent by Alfred, ealdorman of Surrey, and his wife Wærburh and given to Christ Church, Canterbury. It reads:

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I, Ealdorman Alfred and Wærburh my wife obtained these books from the heathen army with our pure money, that was with pure gold, and this we did for the love of God and for the benefit of our souls and because we did not wish these holy books to remain longer in heathen possession. And now they wish to give them to Christ Church to the praise and glory and honour of God..."

Afterwards the ransom was donated to Christ Church, Canterbury. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was in Spain, and in 1690 it was bought for the Swedish royal collection and so returned to Scandinavia.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • De Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.
  • Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600. Köln, TASCHEN, 2005.