Bible of San Paolo fuori le Mura

The Bible of St. Paul ( also Bible of Charles the Bald or Bible of San Paolo ) is a Carolingian illuminated manuscript, which was built around 870 in the Court School of Charles the Bald. Where this is to locate after the destruction of the monastery of St. Martin 853, is controversial.

Description

The Bible contains 337 parchment leaves counted, their format is 448 x 355 mm, the edges are trimmed. The Codex contains 24 tracks image thumbnails, one is lost. The original last leaf has been lost, at the restoration in 1646 and 1970 to 1981 blank pages at the beginning and at the end were added. The baroque cover goes back to the Abbot Giovita De Rubeis ( Ioviţă Roscius Romanus ) commissioned restoration, to which also the first leaf of the manuscript recalls, on which, after the pattern of an inscription a zoning them with gold ink in Capitalis rustica is registered. Next sheet follows the dedication image with a representation of the enthroned emperor.

The text is written on each decorative sides with gold ink on purple ground, the tracks in Capitalis rustica and Capitalis quadrata for incipits, the Gospel text and the commentaries of Jerome columns in Carolingian minuscule, in the first part of the manuscript with violet ink. The generations of Christ at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel is on fo. 262R with silver ink and gold initials inscribed on purple ground, which, however, does not cover the entire page, but only the necessary space for the text font. The writer probably called in the prologue, written in gold ink on parchment undyed, a Ingobertus ... scriba fidelis, according to Karl Ferdinand Werner a relative of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims.

" Eius ad imperium Devoti pectoris artus Ingobertus eram referens et scriba fidelis "

According to Bernhard Bischoff Ingobert was not the only writer, but probably the head of a well organized and efficient scriptorium.

Ownership history

The Codex has come as a gift of Charles the Bald for Pope John VIII probably 875 to Rome and initially stayed at the Curia. There was on fol. 2r entered the oath as the 11th century, Robert Guiscard in 1080 conjured in Ceprano, but not. In the final version, but as a draft, as is clear from the text variants Today, the handwriting in the Roman abbey of San Paolo fuori le mura is (without signature). There they can be traced back to the 16th century, in an inventory of 1641 it is called a gift of Charlemagne. From a 1822 -built note by Abbot Carlo Altieri, whose originals are lost, it is apparent that had advised the handwriting on the orders of Pope Pius IV, to which Giovanni Morone, borrowed from Marcantonio Amulio, the Cardinal librarian, for text-critical studies of the Bible and had been returned after a few years and had again found its place in the sacristy of the Basilica. 1685 Jean Mabillon could investigate on his study tour of Italy, the handwriting that interested him from palaeographical reasons. On page 52 of his 1687 first published Iter italicum he mentioned that vigorously discussed in Rome, whether the ruler image in the handwriting of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald performing. He himself takes no position on this issue.

Gallery

Frontispiece of the book of Deuteronomy ( 50r )

Frontispiece of the Apocalypse