Aachen Gospels (Ada School)

The Treasury Gospels, also called Carolingian Gospel Book is a Carolingian illuminated manuscript, which originated at the beginning of the 9th century at the court school of Charlemagne. The Gospel Book belongs to a group of manuscripts, referred to as a group of Viennese Krönungsevangeliars. It belonged to the treasury of the church of the Aachen Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne and is now exhibited in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury. The Treasury Gospels is next to the Ottonian Liuthar Gospels thus the older of the two major provided here show medieval manuscripts.

Description and classification

Handwriting

The Code includes a format of 30.1 x 23.3 cm on 280 parchment leaves the texts of the four Gospels - each with the prefaces - whom Jerome prologue ( fol. 2r -. Fol 5r ) and the so-called Damasusbrief. They are all single column written in Carolingian minuscule, whereas titles and headings are highlighted in Capitalis rustica. The Gospels are part of a full-page miniature ( fol. 14v ), and on twelve pages ( fol. 8v -. Fol 14r ) canon tables prefixed as concordance tables to the Gospels. These are surrounded by architectural frameworks that reflect a late antique template around 400 AD and - unique in the entire Carolingian illumination - have the entablature type.

There are, among others, unusually, the four Evangelists shown on a page in a hilly area with raised horizon, which forms around each of the four an illusionary space. The landscape line as the boundary to the horizon almost silhouetted trees appearing in front of a pink evening sky. By the age of transparency of the colors sketches have become visible, which show that initially has been planned an architectural background in the form of zinnennbekrönten walls. The evangelists are depicted dressed with wide white togas with white haloes at different ages from youth to old age, and probably also as personifications of the four temperaments in the manner of ancient philosophers. Sitting in front of their writing desks Matthew are writing, Mark, as he dips the pen into the inkwell, see Luke and John reading in the meditation of the written word. The evangelists are facing away from each other and seem to accomplish their work in isolation, which is, however, offset by the ornate with a hint of filigree and gemstone jewelry frame and the uniform landscape again: The four authors are each in their own way a common goal, namely the proclamation word of God and the poor. This reference is also made ​​to the unity and consistency of the four Gospels as written testimonies and manifestations of a combined truth of faith, the Christian Gospel. Thus the statement of the representation is a highly theological, as with most medieval works of art of the case. The arrangement of the evangelists in the four corners of the landscape also refers to the four quarters of the world. As these four parts of the earth in the Augustinian philosophy therefore only together can form a world so capable of the four scriptures together only to preach the gospel a. The unique design comes from a Greco- Italic familiar with the painting of the late ancient masters.

Except for above presentation and a decorative side with the decision taken in golden and silver Capitalis rustica title of Matthew's Gospel on a purple ground in an ornament frame can be found in the unfinished manuscript no more miniature.

The last pages of Evangliars contain the Capitulare evangeliorum, a list of on Sundays and public holidays in the church to be read Evangelienperikopen ( fol. 258r ).

Golden Book Cover

The handwriting was used until 1972 as a book cover lid from the Ottonian period, in the middle of a Byzantine ivory relief of the late 10th century (ca 1020) with a goldsmith frame with a representation of Mary with the baby Jesus. The book cover was probably part of a donated by Emperor Henry II altar equipment, which is also attributed to the Pala d' Oro in Aachen Cathedral.

The center is the ivory tablet, which as Hodegetria ( Wegweiserin ), one of the five types of iconographic representations of Mary in the Eastern Church is the Mother of God. It points to Christ as the Savior. The relief is at the same time the center of the running in the longitudinal and transverse axes decorated with precious stones and cloisonne enamel jewelry lands which constitute, a Gemmenkreuz. The Hodegetria is framed top and bottom of four made ​​of hammered gold sheet relief panels depicting scenes from the life of Christ: birth, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The size is about one third of this scenic representations, the ivory plaque found on the right and left of the four symbols of the Evangelists also in gold repoussé work. These eight gold reliefs are stylistically very closely related to those of the golden altarpiece of the Aachen Cathedral, which is why the emergence in the same goldsmith's workshop is close, which is believed to localize in Fulda. The outside frame forms a wide border with rich ornamentation of precious stones and filigree.

In his division is the book cover in the tradition of Carolingian book covers. Perhaps therefore the Ottonian cover replaces an older Carolingian binding. Temporally and stylistically it is probably the Codex aureus Epternacensis the next.

In the 19th century the book covers a revision has been subjected. The gold reliefs were nachgetrieben and exchanges the symbols of Matthew and Mark.