Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Codex Argenteus – the ‘Silver Bible’
Inscribed 2011
What is it
The Codex Argenteus – the ‘Silver Bible’ – is a remnant
of a liturgical book of the four Gospels written in the
Gothic language for Arian Christian Church services in
the early 6th century.
Why was it inscribed
The ‘Silver Bible’ contains the most comprehensive
extant text in the Gothic language and is one of the
world’s best-known remaining artefacts from Gothic
culture. Its historical value lies in its contribution
to the spread of Christianity.
Where is it
Uppsala University Library, Uppsala, Sweden
42 Codex Argenteus – the ‘Silver Bible’
The Codex Argenteus is a book for use in religious liturgy
that contains the selected portions of the Gospels to be
read during church services. The book was written in the
early 6th century in northern Italy, probably in the city
of Ravenna.
At that time, Ravenna was the capital of the Ostrogothic
Kingdom which stretched from modern-day southern
France across to Serbia and took in all of Italy. However,
in AD 553 the Ostrogoths were defeated after a long and
costly war by the forces of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine
Empire which was then at almost the greatest extent
of its power. As a result, Gothic language and culture
largely disappeared.
The Codex Argenteus contains the most comprehensive
still existing text in the Gothic language. It is part of the
4th-century translation of the Bible from Greek into Gothic
by Bishop Wulfila, an Arian preacher who had converted
the Germanic tribes and was said to have constructed the