Codex Sangallensis 878 is a manuscript kept in the library of the Abbey of St. Gall, in Switzerland. It dates to the 9th century and probably originates in

Fulda monastery The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiasti ...

. It contains mainly excerpts of grammatical texts, including the ''Ars minor'' and ''Ars maior'' of

Aelius Donatus Aelius Donatus (; fl. mid-fourth century AD) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. Works He was the author of a number of professional works, of which several are extant: *Ars maior – A commentary on Latin grammar. * Ars minor – ...

, the grammar of

Priscian Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...

, the '' Etymologiae'' of Isidore of Sevilla and the grammar of Alcuin. Furthermore, it contains a presentation of the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as ...

, the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewis ...

, the

Anglo-Saxon runes Anglo-Saxon runes ( ang, rūna ᚱᚢᚾᚪ) are runes used by the early Anglo-Saxons as an alphabet in their writing system. The characters are known collectively as the futhorc (ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ ''fuþorc'') from the Old English sound va ...

and the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

Younger Futhark The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries. The r ...

, the latter in the form of a short

rune poem Rune poems are poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem ...

known as the '' Abecedarium Nordmannicum''. Bischoff (1980) considers the manuscript a personal collection or '' brevarium'' of Walahfrid Strabo's, who from 827 was in Fulda as a student of

Hrabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...

, and from 838 was abbot of the

Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Char ...

. Hrabanus himself is known to have been interested in runes, and he is credited with the treatise ''Hrabani Mauri abbatis fuldensis, de inventione linguarum ab Hebraea usque ad Theodiscam'' ("on the invention of languages, from Hebrew to German"), identifying the Hebrew and Germanic ("Theodish") languages with their respective alphabets.

References

*Bischoff, Bernhard (1980). ''Die südostdeutschen Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit'', Wiesbaden.

External links

Cod. Sang. 878
(online scan at unifr.ch) Manuscripts of the Abbey library of Saint Gall 9th-century manuscripts German literature Grammar books Runic manuscripts {{Grammar-book-stub