The Hitda Codex is an eleventh-century

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 ...

containing an

evangeliary The Evangeliary or Book of the Gospels is a liturgical book containing only those portions of the four gospels which are read during Mass or in other public offices of the Church. The corresponding terms in Latin are and . The Evangeliary develo ...

, a selection of passages from the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

, commissioned by Hitda, abbess of Meschede in about 1020. It is held at

University and State Library Darmstadt The University and State Library Darmstadt ( (ULB)) supplies literature and information for members of the Technische Universität Darmstadt and the population of Darmstadt and southern Hesse. Purposes of the institution include education, resear ...

. Hitda is depicted in the book's dedication miniature presenting the codex to the convent's patron,

Saint Walburga Walpurga or Walburga (; ; ; 71025 February 777 or 779) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name for the eve of her ...

. St. Walburga stands on a pedestal in the center of the composition, and has a golden halo surrounding her head. Behind the two women is the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

that Hitda oversees, which fills the entire background. The illuminations are highlights of the Cologne school in the later phases of the

Ottonian Renaissance The Ottonian Renaissance was a renaissance of Byzantine art, Byzantine and Late Antiquity, Late Antique art in Central Europe, Central and Southern Europe that accompanied the reigns of the first three Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian Dynasty, ...

. The Hitda Codex contains the only surviving ''Life of Christ'' cycle of illuminations produced in Cologne from this period.Noted by R. Schilling, reviewing the exhibition of Carolingian and Ottonian illuminated manuscripts at the Kunstmuseum Berne, in ''The Burlington Magazine'', 92 No. 564, March 1950:82. The cycle's cultural context has been replicated by Henry Mayr-Harting.

Gallery

File:Hitda-EvangeliarHeilungSchwiegermutter.jpg, The Healing of St Peter's mother-in-law File:Healing of the demon-possessed.jpg, Healing of the demon-possessed File:Hitda Codex - dedication miniature f6r - DarmBib 1640.jpg, Dedication miniature File:Hitda-Codex-Healing of a man with a withered hand.jpg, Healing of a man with a withered hand File:HitdaMeschedeDarmstadtCod1640fol171.jpg,

Jesus and the woman taken in adultery Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (or the ) is a passage (pericope) found in John 7:53–John 8#Pericope adulterae, 8:11 of the New Testament. It is considered by many to be Pseudepigrapha, pseudepigraphical. In the passage, Jesus was t ...

File:11th-century painters - Hitda Codex - WGA15922.jpg,

Raising of the son of the widow of Nain The raising of the son of the widow of Nain (or Naim) is an account of a miracle by Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of Luke Luke 7, chapter 7. Jesus arrived at the village of Nain during the burial ceremony of the son of a widow, and raised the youn ...

File:MajestasDominiHitdaC.jpg,

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

File:Meister des Hitda-Evangeliars 003a.jpg,

Baptism of Christ The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament ( Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghta ...

File:Meister des Hitda-Evangeliars 004.jpg,

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

File:HitdaMeschedeDarmstadtCod1640fol117r.jpg,

Calming the storm Calming the storm is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, reported in Matthewbr>8:23–27 Markbr>4:35–41 and Lukebr>8:22–25(the Synoptic Gospels). This episode is distinct from Jesus' walk on water, which also involves a boat on ...

Notes

{{Authority control Christian illuminated manuscripts 11th-century illuminated manuscripts Ottonian illuminated manuscripts