Beatus of Liébana - Turin Codex

The so-called Turin Codex is a Beatus manuscript originating in Catalonia ca. 1100. The 106 miniatures in total are of outstanding quality, which present innovative pictorial inventions in some places – e.g. the famous round world map. The Turin Codex is an unmediated copy of the famous Girona Codex, which was made in the year 975 in the groundbreaking scriptorium of the Monastery of San Salvador de Tábara. As such, the Turin codex stands in the tradition of “one of the most important manuscripts of all time”!

The Vision of the End of the World

The Apocalypse Commentary by Beatus of Liébana (deceased after 798) was a bestseller of the High Middle Ages. The monk and theologian from the Monastery of San Martin der Turieno near Liébana wrote his influential work: a commentary to the Apocalypse of John ca. 800. The biblical tale of the end of the world was especially popular and influential throughout the Middle Ages, wherefore the Commentary of Beatus of Liébana enjoyed widespread popularity and dissemination. Beatus composed his clarifying and interpretive commentary on John’s symbolically-charged vision in twelve books. These clarifying texts were recorded in numerous, for the most part wonderfully illustrated, large-format manuscripts, of which over 30 specimens still exist today. These belong among the most significant manuscripts of the Middle Ages in northern Spain and are true treasures of illumination!

The Copy of a Masterpiece

The Turin Codex, named after its modern repository, contains a total of 106 miniatures of outstanding quality across 428 pages. The manuscript probably originates ca. 1100 in Catalonia, presumably in Ripoll in the province of Girona. The scriptorium of Ripoll was a site of outstanding artistic production at this time and developed under the famous Abbot Oliba into a center of scholarship and the arts. A direct copy of the famous Girona codex originated from there.

Groundbreaking Pictorial Inventions in Compelling Quality

This Girona Codex is stored today in the archive of the Girona Cathedral. It originated in the second half of the 10th century, probably in the year 975. The scribes, miniaturists (including one female!), and commissioner of the Girona Codex are all known, they are all mentioned in the codex. The exceedingly valuable and exceptional codex, adorned in splendid gold and silver, contains depictions that are to be found in no other Beatus, e.g. scenes from the life of Christ in the form of an image cycle. At times the artist would work with typical motifs, but nevertheless in outstanding quality, at other times they would employ completely new, unique iconography. The Girona Beatus probably originated from the Monastery of San Salvador de Tábara and is considered to be “one of the most important Spanish manuscripts of all time”, and that very masterpiece was used as a template by the artists of the Turin Codex for their own work of art!