Salzburg Pericopes
Encyclopedia
The Salzburg Pericopes is a medieval Ottonian
illuminated
gospel pericopes
made c. 1020 at St. Peter's Monastery
, Salzburg
, during the reign of Henry II
, the last Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor
. It was made for Hartwig von Ortenburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg
.
Unlike a Gospel Book
, gospel pericopes contain only the passages from the gospels which are to be read during the liturgical year
, making it easier for the priest celebrating Mass
to find the gospel reading
. The manuscript contains 19 gilded miniatures
, 70 richly decorated initial
s in addition to other illuminations. The 70 extant folios measure 372 mm by 290 mm.
In 1800, Napoleon's forces took it to Paris from the Salzburg Cathedral. It is in the collection of the Bavarian State Library
in Munich.
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
illuminated
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
gospel pericopes
Pericope
A pericope in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, thus forming a short passage suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture....
made c. 1020 at St. Peter's Monastery
St. Peter's Archabbey, Salzburg
St Peter's Archabbey, otherwise St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg is a Benedictine monastery in Austria. It is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, if not in fact the oldest.-History:...
, Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, during the reign of Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
, the last Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. It was made for Hartwig von Ortenburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
.
Unlike a Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
, gospel pericopes contain only the passages from the gospels which are to be read during the liturgical year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
, making it easier for the priest celebrating Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
to find the gospel reading
Gospel (liturgy)
The Gospel in Christian liturgy refers to a reading from the Gospels used during various religious services, including Mass or Divine Liturgy . In many Christian churches, all present stand when a passage from one of the Gospels is read publicly, and sit when a passage from a different part of the...
. The manuscript contains 19 gilded miniatures
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
, 70 richly decorated initial
Initial
In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a work, a chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is derived from the Latin initialis, which means standing at the beginning...
s in addition to other illuminations. The 70 extant folios measure 372 mm by 290 mm.
In 1800, Napoleon's forces took it to Paris from the Salzburg Cathedral. It is in the collection of the Bavarian State Library
Bavarian State Library
The Bavarian State Library in Munich is the central "Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria and one of Europe's most important universal libraries. With its collections currently comprising around 9.39 million books, it ranks among the best research libraries...
in Munich.
Further reading
- Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600. Köln, Taschen, 2005.