The ''Codex Aureus of Lorsch'' or Lorsch Gospels (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 50, and

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, Biblioteca Documenta Batthyaneum, s.n.) is an

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Gospel Book written in Latin between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with the period of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's rule over the Frankish Empire. Both the manuscript and the carved ivory panels from the cover are rare and important survivals from the art of this period. The current location of the various original parts is: * Batthyaneum Library, Alba Iulia,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

: Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and canon tables and preliminary matter *

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

: Gospels of Luke and John, and the ivory panels from the rear cover *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London: the ivory panels from the front cover (Inv.-Nr. 138–1866)

History

It was first recorded in Lorsch Abbey (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

), for which it was presumably written, and where it was mentioned as ''Evangelium scriptum cum auro pictum habens tabulas eburneas'' in the catalogue of the Abbey's library, compiled in 830 under Abbot Adelung. Considering gold letters in the manuscript and its location at Lorsch, it was named the ''Codex Aureus Laurensius''. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the library of Lorsch was one of the best libraries of the world. In the 16th century the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

was taken to

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(Otto Heinrich removed the contents of the library to Heidelberg, creating the famous '' Bibliotheca Palatina'', just prior to Lorsch's dissolution in 1563), from whence it was stolen in 1622 during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

; in order to be easy to sell, the

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

was broken in two and the covers torn off. The richly illustrated first half reached the Migazzi Library and after that was sold to Bishop Ignác Batthyány (1741 – 1798). This section is now in Alba Iulia,

, and belongs to the Batthyaneum Library founded by the bishop. The second half is in the

. The front cover, with famous ivory

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s in a classicising style of Christ treading on the beasts and archangels, is in the Vatican Museums, and the back cover, with the Virgin and Child with saints, angels and a Nativity of Christ below, is in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The back cover of the Lorsch Gospels is divided into five panels, with a representation of the Virgin and Child seated on a throne in the center and

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and Zacharius on the sides. John the Baptist is on the left holding a scroll, while on the right Zacharius is holding incense. In the top panel there is a circular medallion framing a bust of Christ held up by two angels. In the bottom panel is a depiction of the Nativity, with Joseph, Mary, and the Christ Child in a manger. This is the scene of the birth of Christ in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

. Judging from the placement of the figures within the architectural arches, it looks as if they are taking up all of the space. The figure's shoulders are rounded as well as their stomachs and thighs, and the bottom halves of their bodies are covered by their linear drapery. A facsimile of the codex was presented as a gift to Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 16 September 2010, who in turn received a series of Hans Holbein prints from the royal collection.Pope's visit: Benedict arrives in UK
''

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'', 16 September 2010 A full digital version of the manuscript is available online from a number of sources. In May 2023, the manuscript was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Notes

References

*Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. ''Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600''. Köln, TASCHEN, 2005.

Gallery

Image:Codexaureus_05.jpg Image:Codexaureus_25.jpg Image:Codexaureus_20.jpg Image:Codexaureus_22.jpg Image:Codexaureus lorsch-evangiles-fol72v.jpg File:Ivory back cover of the Lorsch Gospels, c. 810, Carolingian.jpg, Ivory back cover

External links

Codex Aureus of Lorsch on-line
by the library in Alba Iulia
Lorsch Gospels
- digital facsimile (Bibliotheca Laureshamensis - digital)

2 (matthieu)4 (ivoire - christ)5 (reliure ivoire Marie détail)
{{Authority control Aureus of Lorsch 9th-century biblical manuscripts Manuscripts in the Vatican Library Carolingian illuminated manuscripts Ivory works of art