Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Illuminated manuscripts from
the Ottonian period produced
in the monastery of Reichenau
(Lake Constance)
Inscribed 2003
What are they
A dispersed set of ten manuscripts, dating from c.965 to
1020, produced during the Ottonian period in Germany.
The illuminations in the Reichenau manuscripts feature
miniatures of the life of Christ and portraits of emperors.
Why were they inscribed
The manuscripts are magnificent examples of Ottonian
art and represent the climax of medieval German
manuscript illumination. They were written and
decorated for the emperor or high representatives
of the church at a time when the Reichenau
scriptorium flourished.
Where are they
Libraries in Munich, Bamberg, Darmstadt, Trier and
Paris, the cathedral treasury at Aachen and the Museo
Archeologico Nazionale at Friuli
After the decline of the Carolingian Empire at the end
of the 9th century, political consolidation, the renewal
� Pages from the Book of Pericopes of Emperor Heinrich II. The illuminated manuscripts
created at the Reichenau monastery by Lake Constance in the 10th century are supreme
examples of German medieval artistry.
Pages from the Book of the Gospels of Emperor Otto III. �
of the idea of the Holy Roman Empire under Ottonian
rule and the reform of the church all contributed
to a period of cultural revival. With sponsorship from
the emperor and influential imperial bishops, the
great churches of the empire were provided with
priceless equipment and choice manuscripts. The
intense intellectual, cultural and religious climate
inspired artistic masterpieces as demonstrated by
these illuminated manuscripts. The illustrations reflect
the spirituality of the time, and their ambitions can be
inferred from the models on which the new art was based:
paintings from Late Antiquity, the Carolingian period
and Byzantium. Yet their intention was not imitation,
but creative new design.
The ten selected manuscripts were produced
in the scriptorium of the Benedictine monastery
of Reichenau (Lake Constance) between c.965 and
1020. While three of the manuscripts represent the
earlier period, the other manuscripts selected were
produced during the high period of the workshop and
are the most outstanding examples of the Ottonian art
of illumination. The iconographic tradition developed
here formed the basis of the medieval Romanesque
manuscript illumination.
Their history is closely connected with the coronation
church at Aachen and the bishoprics of Bamberg, Cologne
� The elaborate binding of the Book
of Pericopes of Emperor Heinrich II containing
an ivory panel dominated by Christ’s crucifixion.
66 Illuminated manuscripts from the Ottonian period produced in the monastery of Reichenau