The Emperor's Bible (Uppsala, UUB ms C 93; ), also known as Codex Caesareus, Codex Caesareus Upsaliensis or the Goslar Gospels, is an 11th-century

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

currently in Uppsala University Library, Sweden. Despite its name, it is not a Bible '' per se'', but a Gospel Book. The book was made in the scriptorium of Echternach Abbey in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and is one of four preserved large Gospel Books made there during the 11th century. It was commissioned by Emperor Henry III and donated by him to Goslar Cathedral in Germany, where it remained until 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 ...

(1618-1648). It was then lost for about 100 years. Its previous richly decorated cover was also lost at this time at the latest. The book later appeared again in the possession of Swedish diplomat and civil servant . At the death of his son, it was acquired by

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. The manuscript is richly decorated with miniatures, including full-page depictions of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

, illuminated canon tables and a depiction of the emperor donating the book to the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s of Goslar Cathedral. It is written in

Carolingian minuscule Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one ...

and is overall well-preserved.

History

The Emperor's Bible was commissioned by Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor and donated by him to Goslar Cathedral. The book contains a miniature depicting the coronation of Henry and his wife Agnes of Poitou, and another miniature shows the emperor presenting the book to the

s of the cathedral, Jude the Apostle and Simon the Zealot. This indicates that the book was donated to the church before the death of the emperor in 1056, but after the church was consecrated in 1051. The book was made in the scriptorium of Echternach Abbey. The abbey had been producing illuminated manuscripts since the 8th century, but its production peaked at the time when the Emperor's Bible was made in the 11th century. It is one of four large gospel books made in Echternach which are still preserved, the others being the Codex Aureus of Echternach (today in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, Germany), the Golden Gospels of Henry III (today in

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

, Spain) and a third book which is only partially preserved (today in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

in Paris, France). The Emperor's Bible is the youngest within this group. All are stylistically inspired by the Trier Gospels, made in Echternach sometime after 980. The book remained the property of Goslar Cathedral until the

. Swedish troops occupied the city of Goslar between 1632 and 1634, and during this time the book vanished. While many valuable books were taken by the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

as loot during the war, it is less likely that the book was taken by Swedish troops since the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

city of Goslar was allied to the equally Protestant Swedes. The whereabouts of the book for approximately the next 100 years are unknown, but in 1740 it is known to have been in the possession of the Swedish civil servant and diplomat , who was an avid book collector and who also wrote his name in the book. The book eventually passed to his son, and upon his death in 1805 it was bequeathed to

, where it is still kept.

Description

Despite its name, the Emperor's Bible is not a full Bible but a Gospel Book. It also contains

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

's preface to the gospels, short prefaces ahead of each individual gospel, illuminated canon tables and pericopes, short texts used for specific festivals. All the text has been written by a single

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

in the script known as

. The book contains 159 folios or leaves, each measuring by . The folios are made from high quality

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...

and the manuscript is generally very well preserved. The book is profusely decorated. Each gospel text is preceded by a full-page miniature showing the respective Evangelist together with his symbol. There are in addition two other full-page miniatures. One depicts Christ in heaven, crowning Henry III and Empress Agnes. The other shows, as mentioned above, the emperor presenting the book to the patron saints of Goslar Cathedral. There are also a few purely decorative full-page illustrations, five decorative

initial In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter (books), chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin ''initiālis'', which means '' ...

s which also occupy entire pages, and the aforementioned canon tables which go on for a total of 12 full pages. In addition to this, there are also enlarged capitals within the text, decorated in gold and green. The book is bound in sturdy oak covers. These were probably originally covered with gilded silver and semi-precious stones, but at some point—at the latest during the Thirty Years' War—the book was stripped of its valuable cover, and re-bound in blue

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

during the 17th century. The velvet has since been removed and is kept separately, together with silver clasps once used to keep the book tightly shut.

References

Works cited

External links

Complete digitalisation of the book, together with annotations
{{Books 11th-century Christian texts Gospel Books 11th-century illuminated manuscripts Luxembourgian art Echternach Uppsala University Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

History

Description

References

Works cited

Further reading

External links