Beatus of Liébana - Valcavado Codex

Beatus of Liébana - Valcavado Codex

The Valcavoda Beatus, also known as the Valladolid Beatus, is considered to be “one of the most impressive works of art from Spain”. Originating from the year 970, the manuscript is an impressive work from the Monastery of Santa Maria in Valcavado. The famous commentary on the Book of Revelation by Beatus of Liébana is illustrated in gorgeous pictures. With that, the Valcavoda Beatus stands firmly in the traditions of marvelous, large-format, richly illustrated Beatus Manuscripts of the 10th century. Also worthy of note in this marvelous specimen of the medieval Beatus tradition of northern Spain are the numerous pieces of evidence pointing to its patron, the artist who created it, and even the exact time of its creation.

Straight through Spain

The Beatus of Liébana - Valcavado Codex is stored today in the collection of the historic library of the University of Valladolid, which is why it is also known as the Valladolid Beatus. The term Valcavado Codex comes from its place of origin, the Monastery of Santa Maria in Valcavado in northern Spain. It was stored in the church there until the 16th century. The manuscript came to Madrid through a secretary of Philip II. The Valcavoda Beatus finally resurfaced in Valladolid in the 17th century. There it is stored to this day, over 1,000 years after its creation, and counts among the most important Spanish works of art!

An Impressive Masterwork

An interesting indication of the origins of the Beatus is found on the third page of the manuscript. It is recorded there that the work on the manuscript lasted exactly from June 8th to Spetember 8th, 970. The work was commissioned by Abbot Sempronius of Santa Maria in Valcavado. A certain Obeco was the miniaturist and scribe who executed the work. The manuscript’s 460 pages are adorned with 97 magnificent miniatures. These sometimes double-paged depictions are characterized by an impressive style, which manifests itself in the gorgeous, large almond eyes of the figure, for example. The numerous marginal notes and references in the text, which either come from the scribe himself or were added later, are remarkable. Altogether, the codex, which was stored at is place of origin until the 16th century, is in extremely good condition.

The Famous Apocalypse Commentary

The foundation of this splendid piece of illumination is the magnum opus of Beatus of Liébana (d. 798): the commentary on the Book of Revelation in twelve books. This groundbreaking work, originating from shortly before 800, offered illuminators and miniaturists the opportunity to test innovative visual inventions away from the common iconography of biblical tales. The biblical text of John’s revelation about the end of the world, with its numerous fantastical, mysterious, and hard to interpret symbolic pictures has not lost any of its fascination today. Nonetheless it needed a detailed explanation, which Beatus of Liébana delivered with his commentary. The 30+ known manuscripts of this commentary, all of them masterpieces of northern Spanish illumination in the Middle Ages, bear witness to the fact that the Apocalypse inspired artists to true flights of fancy. The Valcavado Codex is one of these magnificent attestations of such fantastic art!