bavarikon4UDescription
The manuscript was created around the year 1000 on the island of Reichenau/Lake Constance. The same scribe wrote all three parts of the main text. Two corresponding illustrations of the Song of Songs and of the Book Daniel were added on facing pages. Each of them consists in an introductory image on the left and an elaborate full-page historiated initial on the right. The miniatures constitute an early work by the Liuthar group at Reichenau. The illustration to the Song of Songs (fol. 4v/5r) depicts the procession of the baptised to the Cross. It is led by the allegorical figure of the Church (Ecclesia) that offers a chalice to the baptised. Opposite, the enthroned Christ is shown in the initial O, the opening of the Song of Songs ("Osculetur"). Surrounded by seven choirs of angels, Christ is led towards the faithful by Ecclesia. The illumination for the Book Daniel (Bl. 31v/32r) illustrates Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a colossus with feet of iron and clay. Opposite, the prophet Daniel is shown writing, while an angel draws his attention to this vision. In 2003, the manuscript was accepted by the international committee of the UNESCO programme "Memory of the World" for inclusion in the world documentary heritage. // Datum: 2017