Codex Aureus

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he script used in the Codex Aureus is known as Carolingian minuscule because it was adopted by the Palace School set up by the Emperor Charlemagne in the royal residence in Aix-la-Chapelle as part of his wide-ranging reforms.

The Gospels are written on 171 sheets of parchment measuring 50.7 x 33.5 cm. The writing is arranged in two columns. These noble proportions are an ideal background for the extraordinary decoration and illumination of the Codex.

The letters in which the Codex is written are large, and the script is a model of regularity and harmony, with no apparent blots or corrections. The gold ink was thickly applied so that it could be burnished and has kept all its original splendour to this day.

The way in which certain parts of the written text are decorated, using large letters with a predominantly ornamental value to make them stand out, and the extension of this ornamentation to a large variety of frames or borders around the letters, make this Codex an exquisite example of its genre.

The miniatures are undoubtedly among the most beautiful works of the German school. The most outstanding is the almost primitive portrait of the Virgin, seated on a Byzantine chair, receiving the Codex Aureus from the hands of Henry III, while his consort Agnes receives the Virgin's blessing. There are other remarkable pages, for example the portraits of the four Evangelists which appear just before the texts of their respective Gospels.

Collections of the four Gospels are what their name implies: ~= the first four books of the New Testament with the accounts of the life death and glory of Jesus Christ as recounted by the Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Codex Aureus or Golden Codex was written around 1035, during the reign of the Emperor Conrad II, although it was commissioned by Henry III. As might be expected given their status and the fact that the work was commissioned by their family, both rulers and their wives, Gisela and Agnes, appear in several places in the Codex, including the cover.

The Codex Aureus is one of the most beautiful books in the Escorial Library and also one of the outstanding manuscripts of the post Carolingian period; it was probably produced in the scriptorium at Echternach, a Benedictine monastery which enjoyed the direct protection of the Ottonians.

Before becoming one of the treasures of the Escorial Library, of which it was one of the original volumes, the Codex belonged to Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian. While it was in Margaret's possession, it was consulted by Erasmus of Rotterdam as he was writing one of his key works, the Novum Testamentum.

Documentation Kit

Containing a luxurious handmade portfolio covered in cloth with a selection of four beautiful sheets ready to frame. A descriptive documentation of the work and full evaluation of the volume on video is also available. The Documentation Kit is priced at $US400- plus postage.

• Portfolio: 555 x 395 mm.
• Pages: 507 x 335 mm.

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