The Codex Wittekindeus is a 128-folio

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * Illuminated (song), "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels ( Greek: , ) is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the roo ...

, produced in Fulda Abbey in Germany around 970–980. Alongside the Gero Codex, the Codex Wittekindeus is considered one of the two "greatest works in the initial Ottonian revival of book-illumination". The

treasure binding A treasure binding or jewelled bookbinding is a luxurious book cover using metalwork in gold or silver, jewels, or ivory, perhaps in addition to more usual bookbinding material for book covers such as leather, velvet, or other cloth. The actu ...

includes four of the recycled Magdeburg Ivories, Ottonian plaques from another object that was probably destroyed in a fire. The book was long held at the church in

Enger Enger () is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Enger is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Wiehen Hills, approx. 6 km west of the town of Herford, the capital of the district. Neighbouri ...

and owes its name to

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

, Duke of Saxony, who was said to have received the manuscript from

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 ...

. It was, however, not made until long after their time; its illuminations likely derived from a lost work of the Ada School of Carolingian art. Fulda was founded by a missionary from England,

St Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

, and besides following the Carolingian tradition, the book shares features with Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts of the time, such as "fluttering, restless draperies".Dodwell, p. 154 It is now held as Codex Theol. Lat. fol. 1 in the

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany, and a property of the German public cultural organization the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (). Founded in ...

References

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20170103003604/http://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/aktuelles/presse/pressebilder/schaetze/ * * * {{Manuscript-art-stub Ottonian illuminated manuscripts category:10th-century illuminated manuscripts 970s 10th century in Germany