Abrogans Codex

The work is named after the first entry found in it: abrogans = dheomodi (modest, humble)
This is one of 3 early-9th century copies of the now-lost 8th century original manuscript
Bishop Arbeo of Freising (d. 783/4) or a Benedictine monk named Kero are possible authors

Abrogans Codex

Cod. 911 Stiftsarchiv St. Gallen (St. Gallen, Switzerland)

Description

Abrogans Codex

Known as Abrogans, German Abrogans, or Codex Abrogans this Middle Latin – Old High German glossary is considered to be the oldest surviving book in the German language and contains ca. 3,670 words and 14,600+ examples and phrases in Old High German. The title is based on the first entry: abrogans = dheomodi (modest, humble). Bishop Arbeo of Freising (d. 783/4) or a Benedictine monk named Kero are theorized to have authored the work. It was likely based on a Latin-Latin glossary compiled in Italy, possibly in the important southern Italian monastery of Vivarium, from various late antique and early medieval glossaries. This compilation was finally translated into German in the old Bavarian bishopric of Freising, which was under the jurisdiction of Bishop Arbeo beginning in 764. Although the original manuscripts produced in the mid-8th century no longer exist, three copies from ca. 800 have survived including this manuscript housed in the Abbey Library of St Gall in Switzerland.

Abrogans Codex

The Abrogans Codex is the oldest surviving book written in the German language, and one of only three surviving specimens from ca. 800 of a now-lost 8th century original. It is particularly important for containing the earliest version of the Lord’s Prayer written in Old High German as well as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, which was adopted in 381 and is also translated into Old High German. Appearing on the last two pages of the manuscript, they are the third of three texts compiled in the manuscript. Written by the priest and historian Gennadius of Massilia (died c. 496), the second text concerns dogma and faith. The first and largest text, taking up the vast majority of the manuscript, is a 300-page-dictionary/thesaurus that explains the meaning of more difficult-to-understand Latin terms with synonyms in more common Latin and translates both terms into Old High German. It is a rich source for linguists that includes 700 words not found in any other Old High German text.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Die Abrogans
Abrogans deutsch
German Abrogans
Type: Manuscript on parchment
Size / Format: 320 pages / 17.0 × 11.0 cm
Origin: Germany
Date: Late 8th century
Epochs: Early Middle Ages
Style: Carolingian
Genre: Literature / Poetry
Liturgical Manuscripts
Other Religious Books
Language: German
Latin
Content: Latin-Old High German glossary; Liber ecclesiasticorum dogmatum by Gennadius of Marseille; St. Gall Paternoster and Credo

Available facsimile editions:

Facsimile Editions

#1 Die "Abrogans"

Zollikofer AG – St. Gallen, 1977

Publisher: Zollikofer AG – St. Gallen, 1977

Commentary: 1 volume by Bernhard Bischoff, Johannes Duft und Stefan Sonderegger
Languages: English, German

Facsimile Copy Available!

Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)

Inquire current price here or ask a different question

You might also be interested in:

Codex Epistolaris Carolinus

Cologne (Germany) – 9th century

Invaluable sources on early medieval politics and church history from the court scriptorium of Emperor Charlemagne: The most important documents on the relationship between the Frankish Empire and the Papacy

Experience More

Ostarrichi Document

Bruchsal (Germany) – November 1st, 996

The "founding" document of Austria and the testament to 1000 years of Felix Austria: the oldest surviving record of the term Ostarrîchi, an archaic form of the modern Österreich

Experience More

Otfrid von Weißenburg: Gospel Harmony

Monastery of Weißenburg,Wissembourg (France) – 863–871

From the pen of the first German poet known by name and today the largest completely surviving work of Old High German: the famous Bible epic by Rhabanus-Maurus student Otfrid von Weißenburg

Experience More

Wessobrunn Prayer

Diocese of Augsburg (Germany) – About 814

Bringing order into the chaos of the world: the poetic description of the beginning of the world in one of the oldest surviving German texts, preserved in a pioneering 9th-century miscellany

Experience More

Capitulare de Villis

Fulda or the Rhineland (Germany) – Between 825 and 850

A rare and detailed insight into the administration of the empire under Charlemagne: precise rules on the levying of taxes, the logistical supply of the new "capital" Aachen, or the regulation of agricultural land use

Experience More

Lorsch Pharmacopoeia

Lorsch (Germany) – End of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century

A milestone in medical history from the time of Charlemagne: The oldest medical book of the occidental Middle Ages and the only known early medieval index of an imperial library

Experience More

Blog articles worth reading