Sub-project: Codices Augienses et Sangallenses dispersi
January 2008 - December 2009
Status: Completed
Financed by: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (http://www.mellon.org/)
Description: In most cases, the manuscripts originally held by medieval libraries have been removed to other locations. This is also the case with the St. Gall and Reichenau manuscripts. By means of a virtual manuscipt library, however, scattered collections can be virtually reconstituted. Under the auspices of this subproject, a selection of manuscripts originally held by the Abbeys of St. Gall and Reichenau, now distributed among various collections in Switzerland, was virtually gathered together by the end of 2009. This subproject was also made possible by support from the Mellon Foundation (New York).
All Libraries and Collections
The Hornbach Sacramentary is an important work of Ottonian book decoration. It was made before 983 at Reichenau for the Benedictine Abbey of Hornbach (Palatinate). The manuscript is also called the "Eburnant-Codex" in honor of the scribe who wrote it. It was probably acquired by the Cathedral library at Solothurn in 1439. It is listed as item No. 38, Colleccionarius Antiquus, in the catalog of provost Felix Hemmerli. The political programme of Charlemagne included the standardization of religious life following the example of the Roman liturgy from the time of Pope Gregory the Great. To follow this practice, one used a "sacramentary" containing the prescribed prayers and mass texts. This version was replaced by the "missale curiae" in about 1220.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
The composite manuscript VadSlg Ms. 292 combines three independently produced parts, bound together in about 1460 at the Abbey of St. Gall. The first part is a Psalter from the 9th century; whether it was produced in St. Gall is questionable. The hymnal from the 12th century that comprises the second part contains a dedicatory illustration showing the scribe Eberhard presenting his book to Gallus, while Pope Gregory sits at a podium writing down songs that that a dove representing the Holy Spirit is whispering in his ear. The third part is a fragment containing prologues to the Psalter.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
These fragments from late antiquity are among the oldest surviving copies of the Gospels in the "Vulgate" Latin version edited by Jerome († 420). The manuscript was most likely produced in northern Italy before his death. In the early middle ages it came into the possession of the Abbey of St. Gall. These particular leaves were attached to the spine and inner side of the cover for reinforcement, as part of a new binding applied to VadSlg Ms. 292 during the reorganization of the library in about 1460.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
This Evangelary with an unusual, nearly square format and full-page illuminated initials was written and decorated in the late 9th century at the Abbey of St. Gall. The binding, which was originally covered in bright silk brocade in red, yellow, and green, is equally unusual. Remnants of this material can still be found on the inner edge of the cover. The volume was annotated by Ekkehart IV during the 11th century; there are also some verses in his hand at the end.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
This unimposing composite manuscript contains six works of differing content types and origins, bound together under the auspices of the librarian of St. Gall in about 1460. The individual elements were produced independently of one another during the 9th or 10th century. Some are incomplete, lacking the beginning, the ending, or both. Nevertheless, this composite manuscript received attention from early on, as some of the component parts are important for the texts they transmit. This volume contains the only early medieval transmissions of the Langobard Chronicle by Andreas Bergamensis and the life of the Irish saint Findan. The "Admonitio ad filium" by the Greek church father Basilius and the "Visio Pauli", an early christian vision of the afterlife, are among the oldest of textual artifacts.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
The homilies of Gregory the Great in an 11th century script, with red initials and captions. The work was already included in a 10th/11th century book catalog as being held in Pfafers, and it remained in the cloister library after the devastating fire of 1665 as well as after secularization in 1838. On the front and back flyleaves and pastedowns are fragments of the Historia ecclesiastica by Eusebius Caesariensis (9th/10th century).
Online Since: 12/21/2009
The Pfafers manuscript of the Vitas Patrum or Adhortationes sanctorum patrum ad profectum perfectionis monachorum was produced during the first half of the 9th century. It contains teachings of the fathers of Christian monasticism, who were extremely well received during the middle ages and had a strong influence on hagiography. This text was written by one hand and includes black, red and yellow filled initials and captions. On the front and back pastedowns are fragments of a homiliarium.
Online Since: 12/21/2009
The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville appears in this St. Gall manuscript from the second third of the 9th century, which is characterized by reorgainizations of the text as well as numerous corrections and additions made during the same period. The schematic drawings are in color, and the flyleaf contains a fragment with Anglo-Saxon minuscule from the end of the 8th century.
Online Since: 07/31/2009