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Sophie Rabitsch, Inge Boesken Kanold, Christa Hofmann 73
tige and symbolic value22, were mostly produced in Late Antiquity and the early Middle
Ages, from the 5th to the 11th century. They were commissioned by churches, emperors,
kings and other individuals of high status23. Purple codices are first documented in written
sources in the 3rd and 4th century, while the oldest preserved examples originate from the 5th
century24. The zenith of their production was in the 6th century25. Jerome (†420)26, one of
the early Church fathers, complained about this custom:
Parchments are dyed purple, gold is melted for lettering, manuscripts are decked with jew-
els, and Christ (in the form of this poor) lies at the door naked and dying.27
As the quotation from Jerome demonstrates, the text was written with silver or gold ink.
Few surviving codices like the Vienna Genesis were illuminated28. Other valuable exam-
ples of purple codices are the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis29, the Codex Sinopensis30, or
the Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus31. Most surviving manuscripts are Greek, Latin (Evan-
gelium Palatinum32), or Gothic versions of the Gospels (Codex Argenteus33)34. At the end
of the 6th century, the production of purple manuscripts seemed to ebb in the Latin world.
Reasons for this could be the decrease of the clientele, scarcity of the necessary materials as
well as the decline in technological knowledge. Under the Carolingian dynasty, the produc-
tion of purple manuscripts was revived, focusing on Gospel books such as the Gospels of
Saint-MĂ©dard de Soissons35, the Godescalc Evangelistary36 or the Vienna Coronation Gos-
pels37. Charlemagne represented himself as the new Constantine and defender of Christian-
22 Aceto et al., 2014, p. 54.
23 Quandt, 2018, p. 121.
24 Zimmermann, 2003, p. 65.
25 Denoël et al., 2018, p. 3.
26 Trost, 1991, p. 12.
27 Jerome, Epistulae XXII, 32 (ad eustochium) in Labourt, 1949-63, p. 147.
28 Zimmermann, 2003, pp. 65–66.
29 Mid-6th century, Rossano, Biblioteca del Seminario arcivescovile s. n.
30 Around 550–600, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. suppl. Grec 1286.
31 6th century, Vienna, Austrian National Library, Codex theol. gr. 31, f 25–26. Trost, 1991, pp. 14–15.
For further information see: Sörries, 1993..
32 Late 5th century, Trento, Castello de buoncosiglio, Ms. 1589.
33 Around 545–550, Uppsala, Uppsala University Library, DG 1.
34 Trost, 1991, p. 13.
35 9th century, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 8850.
36 781–783, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat.1203.
37 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. XII. 18. Denoël et al., 2018, pp. 2–4.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Title
- The Vienna Genesis
- Subtitle
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Editor
- Christa Hofmann
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Size
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Pages
- 348