Codex Argenteus

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A page of the Codex Argenteus Wulfila bibel.jpg
A page of the Codex Argenteus

The Codex Argenteus (Latin for "Silver Book/Codex") is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript, originally containing part of the 4th-century translation of the Christian Bible into the Gothic language. Traditionally ascribed to the Arian bishop Wulfila, it is now established that the Gothic translation was performed by several scholars, possibly under Wulfila's supervision. [1] Of the original 336 folios, 188including the Speyer fragment discovered in 1970have been preserved, containing the translation of the greater part of the four canonical gospels. A part of it is on permanent display at the Carolina Rediviva building in Uppsala, Sweden, under the name "Silverbibeln" (i.e. "The Silver Bible"). [2]

Contents

History

Origin

The Codex Argenteus (literally: "Silver Book") was probably written for the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, either at his royal seat in Ravenna, or in the Po valley or at Brescia; it was made as a special and impressive book written with gold and silver ink on high-quality thin vellum stained a regal purple, with an ornate treasure binding. Under Theodoric's reign, manuscripts of the Gothic Bible were recopied. [3] After Theodoric's death in 526, the "Silver Bible" is not mentioned in inventories or book lists for a thousand years.

Discovery

187 leaves of the original 336 parchment folios were preserved at the former Benedictine abbey of Werden (near Essen, Rhineland). The abbots at Werden were imperial princes and had a seat in the Imperial Diet. While the precise date of the "Silver Bible" is unknown, it was discovered at Werden in the 16th century.

The remaining part of the codex came to rest in the library of Holy Roman emperor Rudolph II at his imperial seat in Prague. [4] In 1648, after the Battle of Prague from the end of the Thirty Years' War, it was taken as war booty to Stockholm, Sweden, to the library of Queen Christina of Sweden. In 1654, after her conversion to Catholicism and her abdication, the codex went to the Netherlands among the property of Isaac Vossius, her former librarian. In the 1660s it was bought and taken to Uppsala University by Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, who also provided its present lavishly decorated binding.

The codex remains at the Uppsala University Library in the Carolina Rediviva building. On 5 April 1995, parts of the codex which were on public display in Carolina Rediviva were stolen. The stolen parts were recovered one month later, in a storage box at the Stockholm Central Railway Station. [5] [6]

The details of the codex's wanderings for a thousand years remain a mystery; it is unknown whether the other half of the book may have survived.

In 1998 the codex was subjected to carbon-14 analysis, and was dated to the 6th century. [7] It was also determined the codex had been bound at least once during the 16th century. [8]

The Speyer fragment

The final leaf of the codex, fol. 336, was discovered in October 1970 in Speyer, Germany, 321 km south-east of Werden. [9] It was found at the restoration of the Saint Afra chapel, rolled around a thin wooden staff, contained in a small reliquary [ citation needed ] originating in Aschaffenburg. The leaf contains the final verses of the Gospel of Mark.

Publications

First publication mentioning Gothic manuscript appeared in 1569 by Goropius Becanus in his book Origines Antwerpianae:

So now let us come to another language, which the judgement of every man of distinguished learning at Cologne identifies as Gothic, and examine the aforesaid Lord's Prayer written in that [language] in a volume of great age belonging to the monastery of Werden in the district of Berg, about four miles from Cologne. This [volume] was kindly made available to me, with his notable generosity towards all researchers, by the most reverend and learned Maximilien Morillon, from among the papers of his late brother Antoine. [10]

In 1597, Bonaventura Vulcanius, Leiden professor of Greek, published his book De literis et lingua Getarum sive Gothorum. It was the first publication of a Gothic text altogether, calling the manuscript "Codex Argenteus":

In regard to this Gothic language, there have come to me [two] brief dissertations by an unidentifiable scholar - shattered planks, as it were, from the shipwreck of the Belgian libraries; the first of these is concerned with the script and pronunciation [of the language], and the other with the Lombardic script which, as he says, he copied from a manuscript codex of great antiquity which he calls "the Silver". [11]

But he was not only the first who enabled the learned world to make the acquaintance of the Gothic translation of the Gospels in Gothic script, but also the first who connected this version with the name of Ulfilas:

With all due respect to these writers, I should think that the use of Gothic scripts existed among the Goths long before the time of Wulfila but that it was he who first made it known to the Romans by translating the Holy Bible into the Gothic language. I have heard that a manuscript copy of this, and a very ancient one, written in Gothic capital letters, is lurking in some German library. [12]

Part of the Lord's Prayer from De Literis & Lingva GETARUM Sive GOTHORUM, 1597, p.33. Oratio Dominica.jpg
Part of the Lord's Prayer from De Literis & Lingva GETARUM Sive GOTHORUM, 1597, p.33.

In his book Vulcanius published two chapters about the Gothic language which contained four fragments of the Gothic New Testament: the Ave Maria (Luke I.28 and 42), the Lord's Prayer (Matt. VI.9-13), the Magnificat (Luke I.46-55) and the Song of Simeon (Luke II.29-32), and consistently gave first the Latin translation, then the Gothic in Gothic characters, and then a transliteration of the Gothic in Latin characters.

In 1737, Lars Roberg, a physician of Uppsala, made a woodcut of one page of the manuscript; it was included in Benzelius' edition of 1750, and the woodcut is preserved in the Linköping Diocesan and Regional Library. Another edition of 18547 by Anders Uppström contained an artist's rendition of another page. In 1927, a facsimile edition of the Codex was published.

The standard edition is that published by Wilhelm Streitberg in 1910 as Die Gotische Bibel (The Gothic Bible).

Script and illumination

Detail of the Codex Argenteus
, Matthew 5:34, a scan of the 1927 facsimile edition. The highlighted section is an abbreviation of the Gothic cognate of "God". Detail of Codex Argenteus.jpg
Detail of the Codex Argenteus, Matthew 5:34, a scan of the 1927 facsimile edition. The highlighted section is an abbreviation of the Gothic cognate of "God".

The manuscript is written in an uncial script in the Gothic alphabet, reportedly created by Ulfilas. The script is very uniform, so much so that it has been suggested that it was made with stamps. However, two hands have been identified: one hand in the Gospels of Matthew and John and another in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. The illumination is limited to a few large, framed initials and, at the bottom of each page, a silver arcade which encloses the monograms of the four evangelists.

In the 1920s, German conservator Hugo Ibscher worked on the conservation of the Codex. [13]

Contents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulfilas</span> Goth bishop and theologian (c. 311–383)

Ulfilas, also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goth of Cappadocian Greek descent who served as a bishop and missionary, participated in the Arian controversy, and is credited with the translation of the Bible into Gothic. He developed the Gothic alphabet – inventing a writing system based on the Greek alphabet – in order for the Bible to be translated into the Gothic language. Although the translation of the Bible into the Gothic language has traditionally been ascribed to Ulfilas, analysis of the text of the Gothic Bible indicates the involvement of a team of translators, possibly under his supervision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Rediviva</span> Main building of the Uppsala University Library

Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed by Axel Johan Anderberg and Peter Celsing. The name, literally "Carolina Revived", was given in remembrance of the old Academia Carolina building, which had functioned as the university library for most of the 18th century. Carolina Rediviva is the oldest and largest university library building in the country. It is also the site where the Codex Argenteus and the Cancionero de Upsala are kept.

<i>Skeireins</i>

The Skeireins is the second-longest known surviving text in the Gothic language, after Ulfilas' version of the Bible. It consists of eight fragments of a commentary on the Gospel of John which is commonly held to have originally extended over seventy-eight parchment leaves. It owes its title to the 19th-century German scholar Hans Ferdinand Massmann, who was the first to issue a comprehensive and correct edition of it: "Skeireins" means "explanation" in Gothic. The manuscript containing the Skeireins text is a palimpsest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic alphabet</span> Alphabet used for writing the Gothic language

The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet used for writing the Gothic language. Ulfilas developed it in the 4th century AD for the purpose of translating the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Ihre</span>

Johan Ihre was a Swedish philologist and historical linguist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uppsala University Library</span>

The Uppsala University Library at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books and periodicals, manuscripts, musical scores, pictures, and maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Brixianus</span> 6th-century Latin Gospel Book

The Codex Brixianus, designated by f, is a 6th-century Latin Gospel Book which was probably produced in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciscus Junius (the younger)</span>

Franciscus Junius, also known as François du Jon, was a pioneer of Germanic philology. As a collector of ancient manuscripts, he published the first modern editions of a number of important texts. In addition, he wrote the first comprehensive overview of ancient writings on the visual arts, which became a cornerstone of classical art theories throughout Europe.

<i>Annolied</i>

The Annolied is an Early Middle High German poem in praise of Archbishop Anno II of Cologne. Anno died in 1075 and the poem, probably written in the years immediately after his death, can be seen as part of a campaign for his canonisation, which was finally achieved in 1183.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic Bible</span> Bible translation

The Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible is the Christian Bible in the Gothic language spoken by the Eastern Germanic (Gothic) tribes in the Early Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anders Uppström</span> Swedish philologist

Anders Uppström was a Swedish philologist, particularly known for his work on the Codex Argenteus, the manuscript of Bishop Wulfila's Gothic Bible translation held by the Uppsala University Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonaventura Vulcanius</span> Flemish humanist

Bonaventura Vulcanius was a Flemish humanist who played a leading role in Northern humanism during the 16th and 17th century. He was a professor of Latin and Greek at Leiden University for 30 years and published various books in the Latin language. He was also a poet.

A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extracanonical works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gospels of Henry III</span> Illuminated Gospel Book

The Golden Gospels of Henry III, also Codex Aureus of Speyer or Speyer Gospels, is an eleventh-century illuminated Gospel Book. The manuscript contains the Vulgate versions of the four gospels plus prefatory matter including the Eusebian canon tables. It was probably produced at the Abbey of Echternach under the patronage of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1046, Henry donated the manuscript to Speyer Cathedral to commemorate the dedication of the cathedral's high altar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple parchment</span> Parchment dyed purple with gold or silver lettering

Purple parchment or purple vellum refers to parchment dyed purple; codex purpureus refers to manuscripts written entirely or mostly on such parchment. The lettering may be in gold or silver. Later the practice was revived for some especially grand illuminated manuscripts produced for the emperors in Carolingian art and Ottonian art, in Anglo-Saxon England and elsewhere. Some just use purple parchment for sections of the work; the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon Stockholm Codex Aureus alternates dyed and un-dyed pages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic language</span> Extinct East Germanic language

Gothic is an extinct East Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizeable text corpus. All others, including Burgundian and Vandalic, are known, if at all, only from proper names that survived in historical accounts, and from loanwords in other languages such as Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, and French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Carolinus</span> 6th- or 7th-century Biblical manuscript

Codex Carolinus is an uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated to the 6th or 7th century. It is a palimpsest containing a Latin text written over a Gothic one. The Gothic text is designated by siglum Car, the Latin text is designated by siglum gue or by 79, it represents the Old Latin translation of the New Testament. It is housed in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euthalian Apparatus</span>

The Euthalian Apparatus is a collection of additional editorial material, such as divisions of text, lists, and summaries, to the New Testament's Book of Acts, Catholic epistles, and Pauline epistles. This additional material appears at the beginnings of books, in the margin of the text, and at the ends of books, as well as in line and paragraph separations. This material is traditionally associated with the name of Euthalius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emperor's Bible</span> 11th-century manuscript

The Emperor's Bible, also known as Codex Caesareus, Codex Caesareus Upsaliensis or the Goslar Gospels, is an 11th-century illuminated manuscript currently in Uppsala University Library, Sweden. Despite its name, it is not a Bible but a Gospel Book. The book was made in the scriptorium of Echternach Abbey, and is one of four preserved large Gospel Books made there during the 11th century. It was commissioned by Emperor Henry III and donated by him to Goslar Cathedral, where it remained until the Thirty Years' War. It was then lost for about 100 years. Its previous richly decorated cover was also lost at this time at the latest. The book later appeared again in the possession of Swedish diplomat and civil servant Gustaf Celsing the Elder. At the death of his son, it was acquired by Uppsala University.

References

  1. Ratkus, Artūras (2018). "Greek ἀρχιερεύς in Gothic translation: Linguistics and theology at a crossroads". NOWELE. 71 (1): 3–34. doi:10.1075/nowele.00002.rat.
  2. Metzger, Bruce M. (1977). The Early Versions of the New Testament. Oxford University Press. p. 378.
  3. Miller, D. Gary (2019). "The Goths and Gothic". The Oxford Gothic Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 4. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198813590.003.0001. ISBN   9780198813590. LCCN   2018956032. S2CID   198009307.
  4. Uppsala University Library Archived 2004-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Totte, Thomas. "Kuppen mot Silverbibeln" (PDF) (in Swedish). National Library of Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  6. Köster, Lena (July 15, 2012). "Mysterier kring Silverbibeln". Upsala Nya Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  7. "Silverbibeln daterad med kol-14-metoden" [Codex Argenteus carbon date determined]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Uppsala. TT. April 7, 1998. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  8. "Silver Bindings carbon dated". Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  9. Fotografie "Speyer-Fragment des Codex argenteus", rlp.museum-digital.de
  10. Origines Antwerpianae, Liber VII. Gotodanica: Ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1569, p. 740.
  11. De literis et lingua Getarum, 1597, p.4. Note that according to this Vulcanius did not himself invent the epithet 'Argenteus' but found it in the notes of an unidentified precursor.
  12. De literis et lingua Getarum, 1597, p.3
  13. Rolf Ibscher: Hugo Ibscher zum Gedächtnis. In: Das Altertum, Volume 5 (1959), pp. 183–189.

Further reading