Codex Calixtinus

The Book of Jacob (Latin Liber Sancti Jacobi, more often Codex calisetinus or Codex Calixtus called ) is a collection of manuscripts from the 12th century. It was Pope Calixtus II Attributed falsely, where she was, however, probably compiled by French scholars Aimeric Picaud. It came as a suggestion to visit the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela.

Content

The book consists of five parts, all of which are in a more or less distinct connection to Saint James and the pilgrimage to his shrine:

• The first part contains texts and chants for Mass and Divine Office at fixed days of James. A special feature is among other things a large number of tropical to the fair.
• A second part contains 22 stories of miracles that are attributed to James. Many of them act of pilgrims who come on their journey in need.
• The third part tells of the transfer of the body of James to Spain.
• The fourth part is a tale about the battles of Charlemagne in Spain. As the author is mentioned in the handwriting of Bishop Turpin of Reims ( 748-795 ). However, this attribution is wrong, why is spoken in reference to the text of Pseudo- Turpin.
• The fifth part is a pilgrim's guide, which describes different routes to Santiago de Compostela, especially the four main ways Turonensis Via, Via Lemovicensis, Via Podiensis and Via Tolosana. Furthermore, churches are enumerated, should visit the pilgrim, and it warned of dangers along the way.
• An appendix contains a series of two-part compositions. For the most part these are pieces that were to be found in the first part in a unanimous version.

Importance

Of particular interest for the historical sciences are of Guides and the miracle stories, as they provide an insight into the conditions of medieval pilgrimages. In turn are for musicology the polyphonic compositions of importance because it is one of the first sources in the polyphonic pieces not in a music theory textbook, but in an apparently imaginary occur in practice book.

→ See also: Way of St. James

Theft of the manuscript in 2011

Since 5 July 2011, the Codex, encamped in the safe of the archives of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was missing and was regarded as missing. A year later, on 4 July 2012, they found the precious book undamaged in the garage of an electrician again, which had previously been regularly engaged in the cathedral, but then dismissed in the wake of austerity measures and together with his family except the Codex apparently had stolen even more treasures from the cathedral.