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The Seeon Evangeliary or Evangeliary of Henry II (German: Evangelistar aus Seeon, Seeoner Evangelistar or Evangelistar Heinrichs II) is an evangeliary created at Seeon Abbey between 1002 and 1014. Today it is kept in the Bamberg State Library under the record number Msc. Bibl. 95)
In the two page dedication miniature (fol. 7v–8r), King Henry brings a book with a bejeweled cover to donate to the theotokosMary. She stands in for Bamberg Cathedral. As in the Seeon Pontifical, in the rites celebrating the Kermesse the name of Mary is highlighted through the use of capital letters along with the patrons of the cathedral: Saint Peter and George. The two pages are identical in composition, in the manner of a diptych. Arches supported by columns form a well structured frame, enclosed by purple background flecked with gold. Figures of equal size seem to float with the archway on a gold ground, which is a stylistic feature typical of Ottonian illumination. Only the nimbus of Mary indicates her primacy over Henry. The two figures are labelled in capital letters: HEINRICVS REX PIVS ("devout King Henry") and S[an]C[t]A MARIA ΘEOTOCOS (Holy Mary, mother of God), using the Greek letter theta to represent the th of theotokos.
The silk cover is unusual: cloth was frequently part of sumptuous book bindings, but was rarely used on its own. In this case a flexible sheet of parchment was covered with samite in two shades of red. The individual fields of the pattern are alternately decorated with pairs of birds and busts. The binding was most probably made towards the end of the tenth century in an imperial Byzantine workshop in Constantinople.
Gude Suckale Redlefsen dates the evangeliary before 1012 because the manuscript was certainly intended for the high altar of the east choir of Bamberg cathedral, which was consecrated to Mary on the 6 May 1012, along with the main cathedral altar. The reference to Henry as "rex" (king) indicates that the book was produced before Henry's coronation as Holy Roman Emperor in 1014.
In the register of the Bamberg cathedral treasury of 1736 the Evangeliary is named among seven "Antiquities" which were distinguished for their extraordinarily rich bindings but were nevertheless kept in the cathedral library rather than the cathedral treasury.
Gude Suckale-Redlefsen. Prachtvolle Bücher. in Josef Kirmeier, Bernd Schneidmüller, Stefan Weinfurter, Evamaria Brockhoff (ed.): Kaiser Heinrich II. 1002–1024. Catalogue of the Bayerische Landesausstellung 2002, Bamberg, 9 July to 20 October 2002 (= Veröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur. Vol. 44). Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Augsburg 2002, ISBN978-3-927233-82-9, pp.273–274.
Gude Suckale-Redlefsen. Die Handschriften des 8. bis 11. Jahrhunderts der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg (= Katalog der illuminierten Handschriften der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Vol. 1). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN978-3-447-05117-0, pp.108–111 (Digitised version).
Werner Taegert. Schatz für die Ewigkeit – Buchstiftungen Kaiser Heinrichs II. für seinen Dom. in Norbert Jung, Wolfgang F. Reddig: Dem Himmel entgegen. 1000 Jahre Kaiserdom Bamberg 1012–2012. Katalog der Sonderausstellung (= Veröffentlichungen des Diözesanmuseums Bamberg. Bd. 22). Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2012, ISBN978-3-86568-754-8, pp.100–101 (with further bibliography).
Bamberg is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in 2022. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby Babenberch castle. Cited as one of Germany's most beautiful towns, with medieval streets and buildings, the old town of Bamberg with around 2,400 timber houses has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
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Cunigunde of Luxembourg, OSB, also called Cunegundes, Cunegunda, and Cunegonda and, in Latin, Cunegundis or Kinigundis, was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. She ruled as interim regent after the death of her spouse in 1024. She is a saint and the patroness of Luxembourg; her feast day is 3 March.
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The Aachen Gospels are a Carolingian illuminated manuscript which was created at the beginning of the ninth century by a member of the Ada School. The Evangeliary belongs to a manuscript group which is referred to as the Ada Group or Group of the Vienna Coronation Gospels. It is part of the church treasury of Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, now Aachen Cathedral, and is today kept in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury. The Treasury Gospels and the more recent Ottonian Liuthar Gospels are the two most significant medieval manuscripts on display there.
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The Sacramentary of Henry II, also called the Regensburg Sacramentary, is a manuscript of liturgical texts, which was created in Regensburg at the order of Emperor Henry II. It is among the most significant works of Ottonian illumination. The manuscript was gifted to Bamberg Cathedral by Henry II, was part of the Cathedral treasury until 1803 when it became part of the Bavarian State Library as a result of Secularisation. It remains there today, stored under the inventory number clm 4456. It is modelled on the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram donated by Charles the Bald in 870.
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.
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