The Hitda Codex is an eleventh-century
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 ...
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 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, commissioned by Hitda,
abbess of Meschede in about 1020. It is conserved in the Hessische Landesbibliothek,
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...
, Germany. Hitda is depicted in the book's dedication miniature presenting the codex to the convent's patron, St Walburga.
The
illuminations are highlights of the
Cologne school in the later phases of the
Ottonian Renaissance. The Hitda Codex contains the only surviving
''Life of Christ'' cycle of illuminations produced in Cologne from this period. The cycle's cultural context has been replicated by Henry Mayr-Harting.
[Henry Mayr-Harting, ''Ottonian Book Illumination. Part One: Themes. Part Two: Books'', sect. III, London, 1991.]
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– 8:11 of the New Testament. It has been the subject of much scholarly discussion.
In the passage, Jesus was teaching in the Second Temple after co ...
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 chapter 7. Jesus arrived at the village of Nain during the burial ceremony of the son of a widow, and raised the young man ...
File:MajestasDominiHitdaC.jpg, Christ in Majesty
Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) 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, whos ...
File:Meister des Hitda-Evangeliars 003a.jpg, Baptism of Christ
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Beth ...
File:Meister des Hitda-Evangeliars 004.jpg, Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...
File:HitdaMeschedeDarmstadtCod1640fol117r.jpg, Calming the storm
Notes
{{Authority control
Christian illuminated manuscripts
11th-century illuminated manuscripts
Ottonian illuminated manuscripts