ALTERNATIVE TITLES – Apocalisse di Bamberg – Bamberg Apocalypse – Apocalypse de Bamberg – Bamberger Apokalypse – Apocalipsis de Bamberg – Apokalipsa Bamberska.
FEATURES – Codex on parchment, 295 x 204 mm, 212 pp.
ORIGIN – Germany (Reichenau Abbey). Other 2 important coeval manuscripts were produced in the same scriptorium: the Gospels of Otto III (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4453) and the Pericopes of Henry II (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4452).
CHRONOLOGY – 11th century (1001-1020).
PATRONAGE AND OWNERS – The codex was commissioned by Emperor Otto III (980-1002). Due to premature death of Otto III, the manuscript remained unfinished, but his successor, Henry II, also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant (973-1024), had it completed. Henry II and his wife, Cunigunde of Luxembourg (978-1039), donated the precious codex to the Collegiate Abbey of St. Stephan at Bamberg.
CURRENT LOCATION – Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg.
GENRE – Christianity; Apocalyptic literature / Beatus of Liébana.
CONTENTS – Last book of the New Testament and Gospel lectionary.
LANGUAGE – Latin.
DECORATION – 57 miniatures on gilded background (e.g. the tetramorph with the four symbols of the evangelists on f. 10v, the Crucifixion and Deposition on f. 68v, the Pentecost on f. 73r). Over 100 gilded initials (e.g. f. 5r, f. 32r, f. 64v).
STYLE – Ottonian. The Ms. Bibl. 140 represents the only example of an Ottoman-style Apocalypse that has survived to the present day.
EXTERNAL LINKS – Staatsbibliothek Bamberg – Kaiser-Heinrich-Bibliothek (digitized manuscript).
Data sheet: Illuminated Facsimiles
Bamberga
FACSIMILE EDITION
Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document. The facsimile reproduces as close as possible the codicological characteristics of the original document. The binding might not correspond to that of the original document as it appears at the present moment.
Publisher – Salerno Editrice (Rome, 2002). Facsimile in co-edition with Faksimile Verlag (Lucerne/Munich, 2002).
Series – Codices Mirabiles (n. 4).
Limited edition – 980 copies.
Binding – Red leather with blind embossing, according to the example of another coeval manuscript.
Commentary (Italian) – Baumgärtel-Fleischmann, Renate; Shalem, Avinoam; Christe, Yves; Pippal, Martina; Schneidmüller, Bernd; Wind, Peter; Wünsche, Peter; Klein, Peter K.
Slipcase – Acrylic glass box.
ISBN – 88-8402-375-0.
Copyright photos: Salerno Editrice
