Beatus of Liébana - Silos Codex

The Book of Revelation, which is also known as the Apocalypse, is the last book of the New Testament. The story of the end of the world, of Judgement Day, of the sinners’ descent into hell, tremendously fascinated Christians from every land. A Spanish monk by the name of Beatus wrote a commentary on this book from the Bible, which was adapted over several centuries thereafter. The Silos Codex is one of the newest editions of the Beatus manuscripts. The valuable original of the manuscript is found today in the British Museum in London.

Who Was Beatus?

Beatus of Liébana was a monk and theologian, who belonged to the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana in Spain. The monk is famous above all for his magnum opus, a commentary on the biblical Apocalypse in twelve books. These twelve books originate from ca. 776 and are known today as the Beatus-Series. The twelve books were adapted into countless manuscripts, many of which survive to this day. The majority of Beatus manuscripts originate from between the 10th and 12th centuries in northern Spain. The Beatus manuscript of Silos was completed in 1109.

A Well Documented Masterpiece

As is noted several times in the Beatus codex, the text by the scribes Dominicus and Petrus was completed in April 1091, while the miniatures by the illuminator Petrus were finished on July 1, 1109. The work was begun under the direction of Abbot Fortunius von Santo Dominigo de Silos. After his death, it was carried on under Abbots Nunnus and Johannes. Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon, acquired the work when he was King of Spain. In 1840 he sold it to the British Museum, where it is found today.

Stylistic Particularities

At the end of the 11th century, there were profound changes in ecclesiastical and cultural life in the Christian kingdom in northern Spain. Art and architecture increasingly approximated the Romanesque forms prevalent in France. These influences occasionally show themselves in the marginal miniatures of the Silos Codex. The first miniature is an extraordinary depiction of Hell, in which a rich man and a lewd couple are tormented by several demons. Further depictions show angels and multiple Johns in various garb. He sashays through the pictures in more fashionable worldly clothes with a splendid headdress. The true allure of the miniatures of the Silos Codex does not come from their artistic perfection, but rather from their modern narrative style. The unusual illustrations make the Silos edition one of the most interesting versions of the Beatus manuscripts.