A collection of liturgical materials, containing computational texts and tables, a breviary with incipits of the spoken and chanted texts for the Mass for the principal feast days of Saints, a gradual with neumes and a sacramentary. Illustrated with several miniatures, executed in the monastery of St. Gall around 850. Between two sections, on page 304: Old High German confession and creed ("St. Galler Glauben und Beichte III").
Online Since: 05/24/2007
Antiphonary, dating from around the year 1000, with Calendar and Gradual (written and provided with fine neumes probably by the monk Hartker), Ordo Missae and Sacramentary. An invaluable monument of music history.
Online Since: 06/12/2006
Superbly crafted Sacramentary of St. Gall from the time of Abbot Norpert of Stablo (1034-1072) for the celebration of the Mass. With Calendar, Gradual and Sacramentary, illustrations include five full-page, high-quality miniatures of the principal feast days of the liturgical year (Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost).
Online Since: 06/12/2006
Superbly crafted St. Gall sacramentary from the time of Abbot Norbert of Stablo (1034-1072) for the celebration of the Mass, containing a calendar of saints, a list of incipits of the spoken and chanted texts for the Mass on the principal feast days of saints and the sacramentary itself, which is illustrated with four splendid full-page miniatures, two full-page initials and numerous smaller initials.
Online Since: 06/12/2006
This plenary missal, produced in St. Gall, which contains all chants and prayers of the Mass, consists of the following parts, written partly in the 11th and partly in the 14th century: liturgical calendar; sequences (without melodies); gradual; Masses (with prayers, readings, and chants for the Proper of the Mass); Canon of the Mass; sacramentary; lectionary. On p. 232 (opposite the Te igitur), there is a full-page picture of the crucifixion with two kneeling monks.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Pontifical missal of St. Gall Abbot Ulrich Rösch (1463-1491). The manuscript consists of two parts: the first part (p. 5-102) was written by the Wiblingen conventual Simon Rösch, the second part (p. 103-236) was perhaps not added until after the death of Abbot Ulrich Rösch. Only the prefaces (p. 83-102) have melodies in German plainsong notation ("Hufnagelnotation") on 5 lines. There is also the abbot's coat of arms (p. 5) and an image of the crucifixion with medallions of the four evangelists (p. 70). Several pages have book decorations in the form of borders and initials, sometimes with gold leaf.
Online Since: 10/07/2013
Pontifical-missal of the St. Gall Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564) – the finest 16th century manuscript in Switzerland.
Online Since: 12/31/2005
A volume of the Gospels, made to order for an unknown customer in about 1470/1480, possibly in the workshop of the book illustrator Rudolf Stahel of Konstanz. It contains Latin Gospel readings for the most important holy days of the church year. Illustrated by at least two artists with 21 full-page illustrations, including the symbols of the four evangelists and representations of the most important holy days throughout the year. In 1658 the volume was presented by the court official Fidel von Thurn to Abbot Gallus Alt (1654-1687) and decorated by a book illuminator with his crest.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
A volume of canonical readings for the mass, opulently illuminated for Bishop of Augsburg Marquard von Berg (1575-11591), with a heraldic crest page, a full-page miniature, many scenes along the lower margin representing the important holy days of the church year, and artful flowers and flowerlike ornaments, possibly by Nurnberg book illustrator Sebastian Glockendon the Younger. The manuscript came into the possession of soldiers during the Thirty Years War and was later sold to the St. St. Gall monk and Vicar of Wil, Bernhard Hartmann, who presented it in 1641 to St. Gall Abbot-Bishop Pius Reher (1630-1654).
Online Since: 12/09/2008
Epistolary originating from Reichenau/St. Gall, illustrated with a portrait of the epistle-writer Saint Paul and five painted Christological miniatures from the third quarter of the 11th century.
Online Since: 06/12/2006
Gradual from St. Gall, dating from the 12th century, with two illustrations of the monk Luitherus.
Online Since: 09/14/2005
Deluxe manuscript for the celebration of the Mass in the monastery of St. Gall, dating from 1050/70, containing sequences of the St. St. Gall monk "Notker the Stammerer" (died 912).
Online Since: 12/31/2005
A Benedictional from the diocese of Mainz, written and decorated with about 200 gold initials and a full-page miniature of Christ as Savior of the World; from about the year 1000, during the tenure of Archbishop Willigis (975-1011). Obtained by the Cloister of St. Gall at an unknown point in time (oldest evidence: in St. Gall by about 1600). It contains the prayers of benediction to be sung by the bishop, ordered according to the church year.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
Book of hours, composed for an unknown female convent in the diocese of Basel: excellent example of early Gothic book art. With a Calendar, 14 miniatures of the life of Christ and Mary, the Psalter, Canticles and an All Saints' Litany.
Online Since: 06/12/2006
This is a collection of liturgical works from the monastery of Disentis, written in the second half of the 12th century, most likely around 1200. In sequence, the volume contains a calendar (pp. 2-13), a psalter (pp. 15-90) and a hymnary (pp. 91-110), a (mixed) capitulary and collectarium (pp. 116-186), as well as an antiphonary, a lectionary, and a homiliary (pp. 203-638). Highlights from the point of view of manuscript decoration include the initial “B” at the beginning of the psalter (p. 15) and a picture of the crucifixion (p. 89). This breviary is one of the very few surviving medieval manuscripts from the monastery of Disentis. The manuscript came to Kempten around 1300; as early as the 15th century, the Disentis Breviary was held in the Abbey Library of St. Gall.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
This small prayerbook contains four large textual units, of which three could be called Marian prayers. A short psalter that connects the first verse of each psalm with an Ave Maria (pp. 5–35), an extensive litany of saints (pp. 37–68), the “Joys of Mary” (pp. 69–180), and another short psalter that is structured like the first text, except that throughout it uses a different Psalm verse instead of the initial verse (pp. 180–200). The manuscript is entirely written by a skilled hand and contains rubrics and initials in red and blue ink. The text is preceded by two full-page illuminations (p. 2 Enthroned Virgin and Child, p. 3 the Flagellation of Christ). The mention of St. Abundius of Como (p. 56) suggests a possible place of origin for the codex. Thus Scherrer suggests that it could have been copied in Italy for Benedictines; Scarpatetti thinks that it was produced in or for a lay chapter or a women's convent. On p. C can be found a likely post-medieval ownership mark by a certain Jodokus Graislos in Greek script. In the eighteenth century, the book received its current, unadorned binding and an ownership mark of the St. Gall-dependent convent of St. Johann im Thurtal (p. 1), whence the manuscript came to the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 09/22/2022
Book of hours of high-quality production and stylistically well-written (pp. 1-193, following four paper flyleaves). The miniature on p. 24, representing St. Veronica with the veil, is particularly noteworthy. Christ's face was later damaged. A full-page miniature on p. 163 is at the beginning of the Office for the Dead. The manuscript's initials are decorated with gold leaf, as well as the pages with miniatures - for example pp. 24, 38, 52 and 132 - containing figural decorative elements such as representations of animals. In the 16th century the manuscript seems to have reached the Eastern Alemannic-speaking area and have come to St. Gall.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This small-format prayer book in German contains prayers to Christ, on the Passion and on Communion, to Mary, Mother of God, and to various saints, further prayers on various topics, reflections on the Passion, and devotions according to Johannes Gerson. On f. 38v and 39r there are two full-page miniatures. They depict Christ on the cross with Mary and John (f. 38v) and the Pietà with the instruments of torture (Arma Christi, f. 39r). The manuscript was probably written for a women's convent or for female users, although some male forms also appear in the prayers. According to the ownership note on f. 185r, in the 17th century the book was owned by the Benedictine Convent St. Wiborada in St. Georgen above St. Gall.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
The Directorium perpetuum of the monastery of St. Gall, commissioned by Abbot Franz von Gaisberg (1504–1529), consists of seven volumes (Cod. Sang. 533–539). A total of 36 regulae contain the liturgical rules for the Liturgy of the Hours for all possible annual calendars, due to the variable date of Easter. Each rule begins with Epiphany; the rules for the holidays of the Christmas season until the Vigil of Epiphany (which do not depend on the date of Easter) are compiled in Cod. Sang. 539. Cod. Sang. 533 contains the first and second rule, for when Easter falls on March 22nd and 23rd (reference date in the codex: Septuagesima, January 18th/19th). The illumination of the manuscript is by Nikolaus Bertschi from Rorschach: p. 6 contains a full-page miniature (at the top a Lamentation of Christ with the donor, below Saint Gall and Saint Othmar supporting the coat of arms), p. 7 and p. 65 have initials in gold leaf and richly decorated borders. Unlike the following volumes, this volume was not written by Fridolin Sicher.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
The Directorium perpetuum of the monastery of St. Gall, commissioned by Abbot Franz von Gaisberg (1504–1529), consists of seven volumes (Cod. Sang. 533–539). A total of 36 regulae contain the liturgical rules for the Liturgy of the Hours for all possible annual calendars, due to the variable date of Easter. Each rule begins with Epiphany; the rules for the holidays of the Christmas season until the Vigil of Epiphany (which do not depend on the date of Easter) are compiled in Cod. Sang. 539. Cod. Sang. 535 contains the 11th through 17th rules, for when Easter falls between the 1st and the 7th of April (reference date in the codex: Septuagesima, January 28th to February 3rd). The illumination of the manuscript is by Nikolaus Bertschi from Rorschach and an assistant: p. 6 contains a full-page miniature (at the top a Lamentation of Christ, below Saint Gall and Saint Othmar supporting the coat of arms), p. 6a, 54, 108, 164, 211, 263 and 317 contain initials in opaque colors (p. 164 on a background of gold leaf) with scrolls or richly decorated borders. This volume was written by the St. Gall cathedral organist Fridolin Sicher.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
The Directorium perpetuum of the monastery of St. Gall, commissioned by Abbot Franz von Gaisberg (1504–1529), consists of seven volumes (Cod. Sang. 533–539). A total of 36 regulae contain the liturgical rules for the Liturgy of the Hours for all possible annual calendars, due to the variable date of Easter. Each rule begins with Epiphany. Cod. Sang. 539 contains the seven possible rules for the holidays of the Christmas season (which do not depend on the date of Easter) until the Vigil of Epiphany. The illumination of the manuscript is by Nikolaus Bertschi from Rorschach and an assistant: on p. 4 a full-page miniature, on pp. 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85 and 101 initials in opaque colors (partly on a background of gold leaf) with scrolls or richly decorated borders. This volume was written by Fridolin Sicher, St. Gallen cathedral organist.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This large-format antiphonary from the Cloister of St. Gall, produced in the year 1544 at the request of Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564), contains songs to be sung during the liturgy of the hours on holy days throughout the year. The scribe who wrote this volume was the cleric, cathedral organist and calligrapher Fridolin Sicher (1490-1546), the illuminator who made the 22 figured initials and the full-page double illustration at the beginning of the antiphonary is unknown.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
An opulently illustrated large-format gradual containing four-part vocal pieces, from the Cloister of St. Gall, written and illuminated in the year 1562. By order of Prince-Bishop Diethelm Blarer, the Italian Manfred Barbarini Lupus from Correggio composed these challenging vocal pieces, Father Heinrich Keller (1518-1567) wrote the text, and the manuscript illustrator Kaspar Härtli from Lindau on the Bodensee illuminated the first pages with the important holy days of the church year. The volume has richly ornamented borders and numerous miniatures, among them five of full-page size, and contains the heraldic shields of St. Gall monks living at that time; the ornamented pages include many depictions of musical instruments of the period (some of which are no longer known).
Online Since: 12/09/2008
Large-format antiphonary with chants in four parts, written and illuminated between 1562 and 1564. By order of Prince-Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564), the Italian Manfred Barbarini Lupus from Correggio composed the pieces for four voices - antiphons, responsories, hymns and psalms for the principal feast days of the liturgical year as well as passions according to Matthew, Mark and Luke. Father Heinrich Keller (1518-1567) wrote the text and the illuminator Kaspar Härtli from Lindau on Lake Constance created a full-page All Saints picture with Christ on the cross (f. IVr), as well as a donor portrait with the coats of arms of the then-living members of the St. Gall monastic community (f. 1r).
Online Since: 06/23/2014
This manuscript, named after the person who commissioned it, Abbot Franz Gaisberg (abbot 1504-1529), contains assorted historiographic and hagiographic texts: a history of the abbots of St. Gall with coats of arms, epitaphs of St. Gall abbots and monks, the history of the St. Gall abbey (Casus sancti Galli) for the years 1200-1232 by Konrad von Fabaria, the anonymous Vita of Notker Balbulus († 912), together with a copy of the records of his beatification process in 1513 and the legends of saints Constantius, Minias, and Roch. The codex was written by the organist and calligrapher Fridolin Sicher of the St. Gall Abbey (1490-1546).
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The so-called Wandalgarius manuscript containing the Lex Romana Visigothorum, the Lex Salica and the Lex Alamannorum. An important legal manuscript, written and decorated with numerous colored initials and a miniature of a crowned lawgiver in the year 793 by the cleric Wandalgarius in Lyon. It contains the laws of the Visigoths (Lex Romana Visigothorum), the Salian Franks (Lex Salica) and the Alemanni (Lex Alamannorum). It is the oldest precisely dated manuscript in the Abbey Library of St. Gall.
Online Since: 12/12/2006
This composite volume, written between 1425 and 1425 in the Lake Constance regions, though not at the Abbey of St. Gall, contains Latin versions of a great many computistic/astronomical/cosmographical treatises, including the widely disseminated work De sphaera mundi by John of Sacrobosco and his arithmetical foundation work Tractatus de algorismo. The manuscript, organized according to the calendar, also contains illustrations: the twelve signs of the zodiac, a map of the winds, sketches of the ecliptics of the sun and moon, planets and constellations, a diagrammatic guide for bloodletting, a set of early medieval Terra Orbis-type world maps, and (on pages 265 and 266) twelve simple illustrations for the months with brief rhyming proverbs in German derived from the nature- and landscape-dominated everyday life of the people of the late middle ages.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (Lucan, 39-65 AD), "De bello civili" (also known as the "Pharsalia"). Epic poem on the civil war between Pompey and Caesar (48 - 45 BC).
Online Since: 06/12/2006
Manuscript compilation consisting mainly of grammatical texts, written in a variety of hands in about 800 in the monastery of St. Gall. Some of the texts in this codex are the oldest extant versions, and the text of the anonymous treatise De scansione heroyci versus et specie eorum is the only known surviving version in the world. Grammars include the Ars major and Ars minor by Donatus, a complilation of the two Donatus grammars by Peter of Pisa, the work De metris des Mallius Theodorus, the Ars grammatica by Diomedes, and both De arte metrica and De schematibus et tropis by the Venerable Bede.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
Manuscript compilation from the St. Gallen scriptorum, dating from around 800 and containing numerous grammatical treatises.
Online Since: 12/31/2005
The Abba-Ababus-Glossar in palimpsest form, one of the oldest manuscripts in the Abbey Library which survives in book form. This glossary, in which each Latin word is explained using another, was apparently written over older texts from the 5th century in the Cloister of Bobbio. The texts underneath, which vary in legibility, include fragments of the Psalms and of the book of Jeremiah from the Old Testament as well as extracts from works by the grammarian Donatus and the Roman poet Terence. Includes a miniature of a speaker in declamatory pose.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
Abbot Otmar Kunz's (1564−1577) small format prayer book, with several pages of rich decoration (flowers, vines, animals), was written and illustrated in 1574 by unknown artists. Especially noteworthy are two full page miniatures. On p. 4, Abbot Otmar Kunz, dressed in ceremonial regalia, kneels in a landscape with a city, hills and trees, above him is God with the terrestrial globe and with his hand raised in blessing. On p. 10, the St. Gall abbot, dressed in a simple monk's habit, kneels with Mary and John beneath the Cross of Christ. The prayer book contains (from p. 11 on) the so-called 5 Passion Psalms (Ps 22, 31, 55, 69, 109). These are followed by the 15 Gradual Psalms, the vigil for the deceased, as well as the 7 Penitential Psalms with the Litany of the Saints. After the death of Abbot Otmar, a scribe with the initials FVF added a prayer (pp. 105−109); probably this was Brother Ulpianus Fischer from Überlingen, who joined the Abbey of St. Gall in 1583. In 1594, the former abbot's prayer book belonged to St. Gall monk Georg Spengler († 1609), who was born in Wil. In 1599 the manuscript received its current binding with blind stamp decoration.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Collected Fragments Volume II from the Abbey Library of St. Gall ("Veterum Fragmentorum manuscriptis codicibus detractorum collectio tomus II"). Among other texts, this volume contains 110 smaller and larger single leaves from the oldest Vulgate version of the Gospels, produced in northern Italy (Verona?) in about 410/420, fragments of Psalm manuscripts in Latin and in Greek from the 7th and the 10th centuries respectively, and a large number of Irish fragments from the Abbey Library dating from the 7th through the 9th century, including a picture portraying Matthew the Evangelist with his emblems (p. 418), a full-page decorated cross (p. 422) and a "Peccavimus" decorative initial (p. 426).
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This Festschrift for Fr. Aegidius Hartmann (1691–1776), dean of St. Gall, is titled Corona gloriae et sertum exultationis. The monastery community dedicated it to the dean on the occasion of the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood on 16 October 1766. Three poems, odes and eulogies each praise Fr. Aegidius Hartmann as minister of the sacraments, as pastor and as priest celebrating this jubilee. Each poem is preceded by an emblem of a flower in a garden; the three sections each begin with a wreath of three flowers. The Festschrift was drawn and probably also written by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (who also wrote the four-volume antiphonary Cod. Sang. 1762, 1763, 1764 and 1795). At the end of the manuscript, two small-format booklets contain texts honoring Abbot Beda Angehrn. He received the first of these, titled Duplicis piique voti unanimis consensio, in 1778 from students in Kreuzlingen. The second, titled Alte und neue Dichtkunst. Ein Tafelgesang, was also presented in 1778 by the Imperial Abbey Petershausen in Constance. Both texts were probably meant for a musical performance since they contain arias and a choral piece each, but they lack any musical notation.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
Winter part of a large-format antiphonary, written and decorated by Fr. David Schaller (1581–1636). The summer part is contained in Cod. Sang. 1769. In the beginning there is a calendar for January to April and for December (pp. 4-8), followed by the Proprium de tempore (pp. 9–285), the Proprium de sanctis (pp. 291–377) and the Commune sanctorum (pp. 387–451). The title page consists of a full-page miniature, which represents the Lactatio sancti Bernardi in the upper third, and in the lower third it shows Gallus and Otmar flanking the coat-of-arms of the Princely Abbey of St. Gall under Abbot Bernhard Müller (1594–1630). There are several large initials in gold leaf on colorful backgrounds decorated with vine scrolls and with borders in the margins (p. 9, 63, 109, 244, 291, 345 and 387). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This vesperal in a distinguished binding was commissioned by Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn (1767−1796); it was written in 1774 by Joseph Adam Bürke (chronogram with the name of the scribe on p. 92), an alumnus of the Gymnasium (preparatory school) of Neu St. Johann that was led by St. Gall monks, and richly illustrated by Father Notker Grögle (1740−1816). The volume contains the incipits of the chants for Vespers (antiphons and hymns), written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines, for the feasts of Jesus Christ and of the saints for the entire liturgical year. It is divided into the parts Proprium de tempore (pp. 1−36), Proprium sanctorum (pp. 37−80) and Commune sanctorum (pp. 81−92). This manuscript was held in the choir library of St. Gallen Cathedral until 1989. Then it was transferred to the archives of the cathedral parish of St. Gall, and in 2014 it came to the Abbey Library of St. Gall. The volume, which consisted of 96 pages in 1774, was certainly used for the liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Gall until the 1930s. The mostly handwritten additions and supplements (after p. 97) date from the 19th century. Also glued and bound into the volume are texts from unspecified printed liturgical publications of the 19th and early 20th century. Noteworthy among the illustrations is the oldest pictorial depiction to date of the newly built “Gallusmünster”, today the Cathedral of St. Gall (p. 72). On the flyleaf is the finely drawn coat of arms of Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
The layperson who commissioned this book of hours is not known by name, but left definite personal traces on the book: he had a full page portrait miniature of himself painted on Fol. 11v, kneeling and accompanied by a coat of arms. The presence of such a prominent portrait of the benefactor indicates considerable ambition on the part of the book's commissioner, who was probably a member of the merchant class. In addition, the portrait was painted by a more talented artist than the other miniatures in the manuscript, which are made in the style of woodcuts. The book of hours could have been intended for use in eastern France. Stylistically, the work displays a provincial character.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
The origin of this manuscript in the northern French-Flemish border region can be determined from its liturgical features, its leather binding with stamped designs and the inscription Robiers Plovrins as well as by a comparison with stylistically similar manuscripts. Another book of hours illustrated by the same artist is held at Claremont near Berkeley, California (USA). This exemplar is a somewhat cruder imitation of the style of scribe and book illustrator Jean Markant, who was quite popular around 1500 in Lille. The commissioner of this volume is unknown.
Online Since: 06/08/2009
This book of hours with a tall, narrow format is a true pocket book, and the framing of the miniatures with architectural elements, crowned volutes, putti, and garlands displays a definite Renaissance influence. The book is illustrated with 16 full-page illuminations and 21 smaller, simpler miniatures by a different artist. One of the full-page illustrations shows the coat of arms of the person who commissioned the book: he was a certain Michel de Champrond (d. August 1, 1539), Lord of Ollé, Advisor and Paymaster of the King. This would indicate that a well-to-do personage, not of noble birth, but part of the court circle, had an elaborate, richly decorated and partially customized prayer book made by a middle quality manuscript workshop as late as the 1530s, when printed Books of hours were already widely available.
Online Since: 06/08/2009
This highly unusual textual object contains three pastiches of cut-out colored initials and twelve Flemish miniatures from the second half of the 16th century, glued to newer parchment pages and outlined during the 19th century, such that the composite images are presented as if they were painted on a single, matted page. The miniatures were taken from a personal prayer book that belonged to Anne of Cleves (1515-1557).
Online Since: 07/31/2007
According to the colophon at the end of the Gospel of John, this copy was completed by Ibrāhīm ibn Būluṣ ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥalabī in Cairo. It is written in a clear nasḫī script; the illustrations, provided by the Aleppo illustrator and icon-painter Ğirğis bin Ḥanāniyā, portray the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as 43 scenes from the life of Jesus. The Arabic title, "This book is the holy, pure Gospel and the illuminating, shining light", is given at the end of the Gospel of John. This codex is currently on long-term loan from the Pandeli family to the library of St. Gall Abbey.
Online Since: 11/03/2009
Liturgical manuscript (Sharaknots), written by the copyist Awetis in Khizan in the province Van in the year 1647 (1096 according to the Armenian calendar). It contains 11 large miniatures and 28 miniatures in the margins, executed and signed by the painter Yovanes Gharietsi. He was one of the most fascinating artists of the late School of Vaspurakan. The manuscript is part of certain hymnals, created for private customers in the region of Lake Van and characterized by bright colors and interlace ornamentation. The manuscript features the Armenian Khaz-notation. The text contains the collection of hymns in use in the Armenian Church, in the same order as in a Hymnarium printed as a first edition in Amsterdam in the year 1664. Three more hymnals of this type, also the result of the collaboration of these two artists, are known: two in Jerusalem and one in Jerewan. Attached in the beginning and at the end are two sheets of parchment containing a part of the Proprium de Sanctis from a Latin breviary from the 13th/14th century.
Online Since: 04/23/2013
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome in Latin, with a calendar in French and a selection of saints venerated in Paris. It contains 17 miniatures created in Paris around 1408/10 in the artistic circle of the Master of Boucicaut, one of the most influential illuminators of the early 15th century. The Master of the Mazarine contributed to the ornamentation, as did pseudo-Jacquemart, who belongs to an older generation of artists and whose contribution can be recognized in the famous Books of Hours of the Duke of Berry. The image of David was painted on an inserted double leaf; it can be attributed to a follower of the artist who illuminated the Breviary of John the Fearless.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours in Latin and French, written in the second quarter of the 15th century in Paris, but not illuminated until 1490 in Paris or perhaps in Tours by various artists who shared the work. Two miniatures as well as the decoration of the calendar and of the Office of the Dead are the work of an artist from the circle of the Maître François, a close collaborator of the Master of Jacques of Besançon, who honors Notre-Dame in a veduta of the city of Paris (f. 93r). The luminous colors and the monumental forms of the other miniatures attest to the influence of Jean Bourdichon of Tours. This artist can probably be considered responsible for the Master of the Chronique Scandaleuse, who, during the creation of this manuscript, was still working under the guidance of Jean Bourdichon.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar in French. The miniatures are framed by borders decorated with plants that were executed with great botanical precision. This examplar from the late period of the French Book of hours, preserved in its entirety, was illuminated by an important master from this late phase of French book illumination. He was influenced by the Master of Claude de France und was recently identified as the Master of the Lallemant-Boethius. In the small pictures on the borders, he tries to compete with Jean Bourdichon, who introduced realistic flower borders in the marginal decoration of Anne of Brittany's Grandes Heures and in other major works. The Master of the Lallemant-Boethius is also guided by Flemish book illumination of his time. On f. 1r one can read the name of Agnès le Dieu, the owner of the codex in the year 1605.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar containing a selection of saints for Langres. The manuscript was illuminated and dated in 1524 by a Master of Bénigne Serre, who was known by the name of his client, a highly-ranked official of the King of Burgundy. The artist was a hitherto unknown illuminator from the circle of the “1520s The Hours Workshop,” which framed the miniatures with Renaissance architecture or added naturalistic flowers and animals to borders. This manuscript contains a number of unusual images, e.g., for the Lauds of the Office of the Virgin, the meeting of Joachim and Anna at the city gate of Jerusalem replaces the usual image of the Visitation. In the 18th century, the manuscript was owned by the family Bretagne of Dijon, whose family members wrote a „Livre de raison“ on several appended pages.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Two artists, active around 1440/50, contributed to the decorations of this book of hours: the older one, who created only the three miniatures on f. 13v, 105v and 140v, is part of the “Goldrankenstil,” while the younger one is characterized by greater physicality and more vibrant coloring because he was influenced by the innovations of the contemporary painting of the van Eyck brothers. This second artist is responsible for the completion of the Turin-Milan Hours in the year 1440 and also contributed to the Llangattock Book of hours. In 1813 the manuscript was given to the prioress of the Cloister of the Bernardine Sisters of Oudenaarde by the Prince of Broglie.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar for the use in Poitiers. All main miniatures are by the Master of Poitiers 30, whose name is derived from two of the miniatures he created in a missal for use in Poitiers, which is kept in the local city library. Earlier he was known by the name Master of Adelaide of Savoy, for whom he created the book of hours Ms. 76 in the Condé Museum in Chantilly. He belonged to the circle of the Master of Jouvenel des Ursins, but was most active in Poitiers, where he influenced later local book illumination.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A latin book of hours with calendar, containing a selection of saints for Paris as well as several French prayers. At the end of the book, there are tables for the changing holidays beginning with the year 1640; thus it can be assumed that the manuscript was completet around this time. The majority of the miniatures are by the Master of Coëtivy, who presumably also created all compositions and thus also the preliminary drawings. The hand of a second illuminator, who can be identified as the Master of Dreux Budé, is found in the faces of Mary in the image of the birth of Jesus (f. 83v), the Adoration of the Magi (f. 92v) and the Coronation of the Virgin (f. 107r).
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Various artists contributed to the illumination of this book of hours. Some simple miniatures are the work of an artist who trained in the circle of the Master of John the Fearless. Many faces of Mary were created by the Master of Marguerite of Orléans, an important book illuminator around 1430. In the 15th century, the manuscript belonged to Guillaume Prevost, as attested by the baptismal entries written in the “Livre de raison” (f. 186v).
Online Since: 12/20/2012
In addition to the unusual book for King Charles VIII described in Utopia Cod. 111, there is another book of hours that was painted by the same artist. Its border decoration remained incomplete, and all the large images follow not the usual canon of images for books of hours, but instead depict unconventional motifs. What strikes the eye in both manuscripts is the motif of the family tree of Adam, which creates an optical link between the volumes and which is not found in other of the book decorator's manuscripts. The almost identical mass of foliage also suggests that the two volumes could belong together, produced for the king at a certain time interval from one another. The premature and unexpected death of Charles VIII after his accident at the Château d'Amboise may explain why the second manuscript was never completed.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This book of hours was a present from the Parisian publisher Anthoine Vérard to the French King Charles VIII (1470-1498). The monarch was one of the most important figures for the French book trade from 1480 on. His collecting is inextricably linked with the luxurious printed materials of the bookseller and publisher Anthoine Vérard. Especially remarkable are the borders: the margins of all pages are decorated with a pictorial narrative of eight consecutive images showing events from the Old and New Testament. Also noteworthy is the didactic value of this book of hours, since each pair of images has a commentary of several explanatory verses in Middle French. Stylistically this book is closely related to Cod. 110, which was probably also created for the king and was by the same artist.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This codex contains prayers, blessings and poems for a wedding ceremony, following the custom of the Jews of the island of Corfu. Additional poems are by a variety of poets, some by writers of the Hebrew Golden Age in medieval Spain, others by local authors, such as Elieser de Mordo. This manuscript is of great significance due to a cycle of sixty full-page illustrations from the Book of Genesis, executed in gouache. The illustrations are accompanied by Hebrew inscriptions, usually biblical verses identifying the scenes. They are the work of an artist, probably trained in Venice, who added his monogram in different variants (MC or M.C. MF.) to almost all of the illustrations. The left to right sequence of the pages suggests that a Christian artist must have first created the illustrations, and that the Hebrew texts were added afterwards. This manuscript from the first half of the 18th century, created on the island of Corfu, may have been a bridal gift from a member of the de Mordo family, a family which played an important role on the island at a time when the Venetian rule had to be defended against Ottoman attacks.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
The titel of this mohel book (circumcision book) from 1716 is Book of the Lord's Mystery with the [commentary] "Golden Scepter"; based on the style and script of the scribe (Sofer), it can be attributed to Aryeh ben Judah Leib of Trebitsch (Moravia), who was active in Vienna. The manuscript contains several illustrations of various scenes: among others on the title page there is a depiction of a group of people in a synagog engaged in a discussion. It is noteworthy that not only men, but also women are present. The second folio shows the archangel Raphael with the young Tobias, who is carrying home a fish to cure his father's blindness. The archangel Raphael as guardian angel of children is a motif that usually occurs only in Christian art. Aryeh ben Judah Leib might have used an unknown Catholic model in order to better illustrate the protective function of circumcision for Jewish boys. In his writing, Aryeh ben Judah was guided by Amsterdam letters and thus initiated the fashion of be-otijjot Amsterdam ("with Amsterdam letters"), producing manuscripts with Amsterdam (print) fonts.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
In addition to the Seder Birkat ha-Mazon ("Grace after Meals"), this mid-18th century manuscript contains the Birkhot ha-Nehenin ("Blessings over Enjoyments"), the Shalosh Mitzvot Nashim ("Three Commandments for Women") and the Seder Keri'at Shema al ha-Mittah ("Reading of the Shema before retiring at night"). The passages relating to the three commandments imposed on women indicate that the book was meant as a bridal gift. Besides the image on the front page, the book contains 22 smaller colored illustrations. A Hebrew phrase on the the title page refers to the place of origin, Deutschkreutz in Burgenland (Austria). Based on stylistic characteristics of the script and decoration, the manuscript can be attributed to the scribe and illustrator Aaron Wolf Herlingen.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
The psalms in this manuscript are subdivided according to the days of the week on which they are to be read and, with exception of the psalms for Friday, these daily sections have decorated monochrome or multicolored initial word panels. The manuscript has an architectural title page representing Moses and Aaron standing in arches. Particularly impressive is the picture at the beginning of the first Psalm where, following the initial word ashre, on folio 6v is a depiction of King David sitting outside on the terrace of a palace, playing the harp while looking at an open volume, which most probably represents his psalms. This Braginsky manuscript has been copied and decorated by Moses Judah Leib ben Wolf Broda of Trebitsch, who is also responsible for perhaps the most famous decorated Hebrew manuscript of the eighteenth century – the Von Geldern Haggadah of 1723. Including this Braginsky psalter, a total of seven manuscripts by Moses Judah Leib are known, produced between 1713-1723. The brown mottled calf binding carries the emblem of the De Pinto family of Amsterdam tooled in gold on both the front and the back covers.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This Miscellany for Life Cycle Events from the last third of the 15th century was probably a wedding gift. It was copied by Leon ben Joshua de Rossi of Cesena. It contains: prayers for circumcision; a formula for a marriage contract from Correggio 1452 (without names); texts for marriage rituals, including a hymn with the acrostic El'azar; a marriage contract, concluded in Parma in 1420 between Judah, son of Elhanan of Ascoli Piceno, and Stella, daughter of Solomon of Mantua; prayers recited at the cemetery with a Grace after Meals for mourners; a ritual for avoiding bad dreams; Ka'arat kesef, an ethical poem by the 13th-century Provençal poet Jehoseph ben Hanan ben Nathan Ezobi; finally, added in a different hand, a personal prayer by Moses Latif for Joab Immanuel Finzi. Immediately following the contract, there is a depiction of a bridal couple (f. 10v). The bride's headdress, clothing and veil correspond to the contemporary fashion of Ferrara, which confirms that the manuscript is of Italian origin, perhaps even from Ferrara.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This Passover Haggadah with a Yiddish translation of the hymn Had Gadya (f. 23r) was copied and illustrated by Nathan ben Simson of Mezeritsch (now Velke Mezirici, Tschechische Republik). It contains, among others, a decorated title page, a cycle depicting ceremonies performed during the Jewish Passover seder, nine text illustrations, and a cycle for the concluding hymn Had Gadya (f. 23r).
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This manuscript is a masterpiece of Jewish book art by Aaron Wolf Herlingen, an artist born around 1700 in Gewitsch, Moravia, who worked in Pressburg (now Bratislava), Vienna, and perhaps elsewhere. About 40 manuscripts signed by him are extant today. This manuscript is ornamented with 60 painted illustrations and three word panels with decorated initials. The title page depicts Moses and Aaron on either side of the title. The area below the title shows the Israelites wandering through the desert and manna falling from heaven, alongside Moses, Aaron and their sister Miriam. Such a very unusual depiction of Miriam suggests that this Haggadah was produced for a woman of that name. At the end of the text there are two songs - one in Hebrew, the other in Aramaic - Echad mi-yodea and Had Gadya, with their respective Yiddish translations.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
The Hijman Binger Haggadah is a typical example of Hebrew manuscript decoration in Central and Northern Europe at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. Picture cycles accompany the written content. The illustrations show similarities to later Haggadot by Joseph ben David of Leipnik, such as the Haggadah from 1739 (Braginsky Collection B317) and suggest that a Haggadah by this artist served as Hijman Binger's model. Another rare feature of this manuscript is a map of the Holy Land, which was added at the very end (f. 52).
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This book of prayers for the Mohel, who performs circumcisions, consists of only a few leaves; according to a note on the title page, it was a gift from Mendel Rosenbaum to his brother-in-law Joseph Elsas of Nitra (now in Slovakia, but formerly in Hungary). The manuscript is signed by Leib Zahr Sofer (scribe); the work of this unknown artist shows a close formal relationship to that of the most important calligrapher and illustrator working in Nitra in the early 19th century, Mordecai ben Josl (alias Marcus Donath). The final page has a calligram with the figure of Moses, holding the Tablets of the Law in one hand and pointing to the Pentateuch with the other hand.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This codex was copied by Eliezer Sussman Mezeritsch and illustrated by Charlotte Rothschild (1807-1859); in addition to the Hebrew text, it contains a German translation. The Haggadah was created by the artist for her uncle Amschel Mayer Rothschild on the occasion of his 70th birthday. This is the only Hebrew manuscript known to have been illuminated by a woman. Charlotte Rothschild was inspired by Christian and Jewish works, e.g., medieval manuscripts, the biblical cycle painted in the Vatican loggias by the workshop of Raphael and the copperplate engravings of the printed Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695. Charlotte Rothschild left her initials in only a single picture, the seder scene of the Passover celebration, on the back of a chair in the foreground of the picture (p. 42). This manuscript presumably served as model for the famous artist Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (1800-1882). In his memoirs he recalls that as a student he created sketches for Charlotte Rothschild.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
Until the Braginsky Leipnik Haggadah was acquired for the Braginsky Collection in 2007, this Haggadah was not known in scholarly literature. It was illustrated by Joseph ben David of Leipnik in 1739. Like most of the Haggadot at that time, this exemplar is largely dependent on the copper engravings of the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712. The characteristics of Joseph ben David's illustrations, whose work is well-known, are rendered here in an exemplary manner. The color palette is dominated by subtle gradations of color and shades of pastel. Frequently recurring motifs in his Haggadot, based on older models, are the illustrations of the Paschal lamb, the matzah and the bitter herbs. Eating these is part of the feast of Passover, during which it is tradition to read the Haggadah together.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This thin little book with a gilt embossed leather binding contains the prayers for the celebration on the evening before the new moon; it was commissioned by Elieser (Lazarus) von Geldern in Vienna. Following convention, the title page shows Moses and Aaron. The writer and illustrator Nathan ben Simson from Meseritsch (Velké Meziříčí) in Moravia was among the most prominent artists of illustrated Hebrew manuscripts in the first half of the 18th century. Between 1723 and 1739, he created at least 23 such works.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This miniature book contains the Grace after Meals with the usual supplements for Hanukkah and Purim, as well as various blessings, such as the Shema prayer before retiring at night or for the enjoyment of certain things. The book has an illustrated title page, 19 individual illustrations, five decorated boxes containing individual letters or initial words and a decorated text passage. On the title page the artist did not record his name, but did note that the manuscript was created in Nikolsburg (Czechia) in 1725 during the reign of Emperor Charles VI. Like other Birkat ha-mason, this one, too, was written for a woman: a fly-leaf, added later, contains an elaborate ornament with a dedication to Fradche, wife of Moses Gundersheim. A comparison with the writing and illustrations in a similar work from 1728 in the Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen (Cod. Hebr. XXXII) shows that both Birkat ha-mason manuscripts were created by the same artist, namely Samuel ben Zewi Hirsch Drenitz, who was active in Nikolsburg.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This miniature prayer book is the result of a unique collaboration of two of the most eminent Viennese representatives of 18th century Jewish book art. Aaron Wolf Herlingen wrote and illustrated the title page, Meschullam Simmel ben Moses from Polná created the other drawings and probably also wrote the prayer texts. Evidently this little book was a wedding present. The miniature prayer book contains a total of nine illustrations of the text as well as four richly decorated initial words. The prayer book belonged to the “respectable and wise maid Hindl”. The manuscript also contains entries regarding the birth of her children between 1719 and 1741.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Until it was acquired by the Braginsky Collection, this little book with the Birkat ha-mason from 1741 had not been known to research. Clearly it had originally been meant for a woman, probably as a wedding present. In addition to the title page with an architectural frame and the figures of Moses and Aaron, there are six more illustrations in the text, among them a very rare depiction of a woman only partially immersed in a ritual bath (12v) and also a rather conventional depiction of a woman reading the Shema prayer before retiring at night (17r). This little book was copied and illustrated by Jakob ben Juda Leib Schammasch from Berlin. He is known as one of the most productive Jewish manuscript artists in Northern Germany.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This marriage contract was made in one of the most important Jewish communities of Italy, the Adriatic seaport of Ancona, which also was a leading center of ketubbah illustrations. The main episode at top center, depicts the prophet Elijah ascending to heaven, riding in his fiery horse-drawn chariot, while his amazed disciple, Elisha, watches below. This scene thus refers to the first name of the bridegroom, Elijah Mordecai, son of the late Judah mi-Cerrata. The other two biblical episodes appear in the cartouches at the center of each of the side borders. At right, the scene of the Triumph of Mordecai, refers to the second name of the bridegroom, Mordecai. Depicted at left is the scene of David holding the head of Goliath; it is to be understood as a reference to David Camerino, father of the bride Tova, daughter of David, son of Abraham Obedai Camerino of Senigallia.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This decorated ketubah, as well as Braginsky Collection K29 produced just six years earlier, represent the height of ketubah illustration in Ancona. The text of this ketubah is centered under the arch supported by a pair of ornamental columns. While arches were commonly used as framing devices in ketubah decorations since the earliest known ketubot from the Cairo Genizah, the gold letters inscribed here against the blue spandrels provide an additional meaning. The six square Hebrew letters, an acronym for Psalms 118:20: “This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous may enter”, signify that the bridal couple is symbolically passing through the heavenly gate into a sanctified stage in their life. A depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac, an allusion to the bridegroom whose second name is Isaac, is located in a cartouche at the top center. This scene, a symbol of faithfulness and messianic promise that appears on many italian ketubot, has been the most popular biblical story in Jewish art over the ages. The female figure beneath has not been identified so far.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The Roman ketubot (sing. ketubah), the Jewish marriage contracts, in general are distinguished by their elegant Hebrew calligraphy, decorative designs, and attractive appearance. The most popular decorative themes include biblical episodes, allegorical representations, and delicate micrographic designs. The contractual text of this Braginsky Collection ketubah is surrounded by an architectural frame featuring a pair of marble columns entwined by gold leaves and topped with Corinthian capitals. A large cartouche rests on the arch supported by the columns. In it is a pastoral landscape in which stand a man wearing a long robe and a bare-breasted woman, joined around their neck by a long chain of pearls with a heart-shaped pendant. Enhancing the allusion of matrimonial harmony are family emblems of the bridal couple that appear next to each other in a cartouche above the central allegorical image. The emblem at the right, above the central allegorical image, depicting a rampant lion climbing a palm tree, is that of the groom's family, Caiatte, whereas the emblem at the left, portraying a rampant lion touching a white column, belongs to the family of the bride, De Castro. Finally, the influence of Italian culture is demonstrated in the cartouche at the bottom, with the depiction of Cupid lying next to his bow and quiver.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
The marriage of Joshua, son of Isaac Hayyim Recanati, and Dona Esther Sarah, daughter of Raphael Recanati, established a union within this widely ramified, wealthy and influential Sephardic family. Written on a document that is painted with illusionistic effect, the actual text of the ketubbah is in the right column and the conditions are in the left column. These are surrounded by rococo architecture in central perspective, with the family emblem at the top flanked by two cupids. The name of the groom is honored with a medallion that depicts Joshua commanding the sun to stand still (Joshua 10:12–13). Two female figures hold the ends of a gold ribbon with the inscription “Be fruitful and multiply!”
Online Since: 10/10/2019
Small book of hours in Latin, very much cut, containing the Seven Psalms, the Cursus beate virginis Marie, the Office of the Dead, the Cursus de passione Domini and various prayers. The decoration consists of various initials with wine scroll ornamentation and one full page miniature (5v) - unfortunately partially damaged - which depicts an Ecce homo with the donor kneeling in front of it with his coat of arms to his right. Mention of the indulgence of Popes Gregory and Callixtus III (1455-1458) (f. 139) makes it possible to narrow the date to the second half of the 15th century, while the style of the book decoration suggests an origin in Southern Germany, perhaps in Augsburg, in the circle of the book illustrator Johannes Bämler.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
Breviary in two volumes, created in 1493 for Jost von Silenen († 1498), the Bischop of Sion from 1482 until his dismissal in 1497. Richly decorated, the miniatures are the work of an itinerant artist active in Fribourg, Bern and Sion during the final decades of the 15th century and known by the name Master of the breviary of Jost von Silenen. At the beginning of the 16th century, he continued his work in Aosta and Ivrea, where he took the name Master of George of Challant.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Breviary in two volumes, created in 1493 for Jost von Silenen († 1498), the Bischop of Sion from 1482 until his dismissal in 1497. Richly decorated, the miniatures are the work of an itinerant artist active in Fribourg, Bern and Sion during the final decades of the 15th century and known by the name Master of the breviary of Jost von Silenen. At the beginning of the 16th century, he continued his work in Aosta and Ivrea, where he took the name Master of George of Challant.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Fragment of an official document from the Republic of Venice; it contains an illuminated page and a part of the index of the “commissione” of Cristoforo Duodo, procurator of San Marco de ultra from 1491 until 1496. After the doge, the procurators held the highest office in the Serenissima; upon their election, they had capitularies drawn up, usually illuminated, containing their oath and the list of their “commissione,” i.e., of the specific tasks to which they committed themselves by their oath. This fragment follows 21 commissions of Venetian procurators from the 15th century; it is distinguished from the others by its illumination, which is attributed to a high-level Venetian master trained in the circle of Leonardo Bellini, and also by the rare depiction of the patron saint of not only the procurator, but also his wife.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
The so-called "Zürcher Psalter" (Zurich Psalter) or "St. Galler Psalter" (St. Gallen Psalter), written and decorated in the scriptorum of the monastery of St. Gall, with numerous initial capitals as well as with the oldest extant artistically sophisticated miniature found in the St. Gallen manuscripts, from about 820/830. Includes appended All Saints Litany and computational tables and diagrams. Used daily by the monks in the liturgy of the hours.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
This richly illustrated manuscript of Rudolf von Ems' Chronicle of the world was written in the 1340s, probably in Zurich (in the same writing workshop as the 1346 book of statutes of the Zurich Grossmünster). Its iconographic program is closely related to that of the Chronicle of the World currently held in St. Gall (Vadian Collection Ms. 302). Ms. Rh. 15 came to Zurich in 1863 from the library of the dissolved Rheinau Abbey.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
The Rheinau Psalter, Ms. Rh. 167, is among the preeminent treasures of the Zurich Central Library. Its miniatures are a product of the highest level of artistry of the High Gothic painting of this period around 1260, which is also true for the sophisticated color and painting techniques that were used. In contrast, the script, while of quite good quality, cannot be counted among the highest examples of the art of writing. The commissioner of the manuscript must be sought in the area of Lake Constance, probably in the city of Constance, which was very important in the politics and church politics at the time of the interregnum. In 1817, Father Blasius Hauntinger purchased the manuscript from Melchior Kirchhofer in Schaffhausen for the Benedictine Rheinau Abbey; in 1863, the manuscript, along with the Rheinau Abbey Library, became part of the Cantonal Library (today Central Library) in Zurich.
Online Since: 12/20/2012