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

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...

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

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

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') 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 ...

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

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

's rule over the

Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks d ...

. 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 (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...

, Alba Iulia,

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

: Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and

canon tables Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern text ...

and preliminary matter *

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

: Gospels of Luke and John, and the ivory panels from the rear cover * Victoria and Albert Museum, London: the ivory panels from the front cover (Inv.-Nr. 138–1866)

History

It was first recorded in

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (german: Reichsabtei Lorsch; la, Laureshamense Monasterium or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms. It was one of the most renowned monasteries ...

( Germany), 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, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

was taken to Heidelberg (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 was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

; in order to be easy to sell, the

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

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 Ignác Batthyány (born 30 June 1741, Németújvár (present-day Güssing), Kingdom of Hungary; died 17 November 1798, Gyulafehérvár (present-day Alba Iulia), Principality of Transylvania) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Transylvania. He was ...

(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 back cover, with famous ivory reliefs in a classicising style of

Christ treading on the beasts Christ treading on the beasts is a subject found in Late Antique and Early Medieval art, though it is never common. It is a variant of the "Christ in Triumph" subject of the resurrected Christ, and shows a standing Christ with his feet on anim ...

and

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other rel ...

s, is in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several o ...

, and the front cover, with the

Virgin and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent i ...

with saints, angels and a

Nativity of Christ The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...

below, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. A

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

of the codex was presented as a gift to Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

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
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 16 September 2010 A full digital version of the manuscript is available online from a number of sources.Pal. lat. 50 (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)
- digital facsimile (mostly in English)], with larger images than th
version at the Romanian National Library

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

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 Gospel Books, Aureus of Lorsch 9th-century biblical manuscripts Manuscripts of the Vatican Library Carolingian illuminated manuscripts Ivory works of art