Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram

Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram

This spectacular specimen of Carolingian Illumination is worthy of an emperor, specifically Charles II (823–877) the Bald, grandson of the famous Charlemagne (742–814). He became King of West Francia and Italy in 840, while the rest of the Frankish Empire was divided among his brothers. Their brotherly love was exceeded by their ambitions, and they often varied between cooperation and conflict with one another. He eventually secured the imperial crown in 875, but was unable to reunify the empire entirely as the nations of Germany and France began to emerge from the rupture. Nonetheless, his reign corresponded with the late-period of Carolingian art, during which time some of the movement’s most splendid works were created. The Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram consists of a Gospel book with richly illuminated pages protected by one of the most spectacular bindings to survive from the Carolingian era. It is a great tome measuring 42 x 33 cm and was certainly intended to impress all who saw it. The Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram is a true masterpiece of medieval art and one of the finest artifacts of the Early Middle Ages.

From the Emperor’s Scriptorium

This Carolingian masterpiece is dated exactly to the year 870, it originated from the Palace School of Charles the Bald, but where this was, or whether it was in a fixed place, is debated. The previous court school at St. Martin’s in Tours was ravaged by a Viking raid in 853, so the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris is considered to be a likely candidate. Liuthard and Beringer are identified as the monks responsible for the work, which contains seven full-page miniatures (plus an eight added in the 10th century), twelve canon tables, ten historiated initials, and incipits. The beautifully framed text is written entirely in gold ink and is executed in a neat uncial script. The use of extremely expensive purple vellum not only attests to the costliness of the commission, but further emphasizes the gold script. Rich, dark paints dominate the color palate of the miniatures, whose figures have elegantly draped classical garments and sweeping gestures. The sheer richness of the manuscript’s embellishment indicates that it could only have come from an imperial patron and was certainly meant to be a sign of his sophistication and prestige. After its creation, another artfully decorated page with the central image of an abbot holding the manuscript in his hands was added to the Evangeliary between 975 and the year 1000. The attached caption, which identifies the "unworthy" abbot, can be attributed to the tenure of Abbot Ramwold of Regensburg, who died there in the year 1000.

Connection to St. Emmeram

The name of the manuscript is a nod to its repository for the next 900+ years: Regensburg’s St. Emmeram Abbey, which was itself rose to become an important center of manuscript production in the coming century. Charles the Bald apparently bequeathed the manuscript to his cousin Arnulf of Carinthia (ca. 850–899), who ruled much of modern Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary before overthrowing his uncle Charles III (839–888), commonly known as Charles the Fat, to become King of East Francia in 887. According to an 11th century record, Arnulf donated the manuscript to St. Emmeram’s in Regensburg in 893. He would invade Italy at the beginning of the following year at the instigation of Pope Formosus (ca. 816–896), eventually being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 896. In the source of Secularization, the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram was brought in 1811 to the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, where it is stored under the shelf mark Clm 14000 and represents a highlight of that prestigious collection today.

A Truly Spectacular Binding

Precious gemstones, figural depictions in relief, and so much gold: this is what makes the cover of the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram one of the greatest treasures to survive the Middle Ages. The cover’s emeralds, sapphires, rubies, garnets, agate, and pearls are held in place by golden acanthus leaves, which were more intricate than the plain “claws” created by earlier goldsmiths. The Carolingians believed in the spiritual powers of gemstones and minerals as well as their connection to heaven. Christ in Majesty takes center stage in repoussé relief, he is seated atop the world and holds a book on his knee with a Latin transcription of John 14:6 – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” Surrounding Christ are four reliefs, also from finely wrought gold, depicting each Evangelist in portrait with a scene from their respective Gospel. Most of these luxury bindings, which were particularly popular in Carolingian and Ottonian book art, were pilfered in later centuries – their gold was melted down and their gems were removed and used in jewelry and the binding replaced with a simpler leather one. In many instances, only the gems were removed and subsequently replaced with faux gems made of colored glass. That this binding has survived completely intact is a gift to art historians and gemologists alike.