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Codex Cryptensi

Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy)

Probably Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata (Italy) — Second half of the 13th century (completed in 1281)

One of the most beautiful and extensive collections of Byzantine heirmoi: the first strophes of a canon with their music

  1. The 672-page manuscript contains 1,959 heirmoi written in Greek using red and black ink

  2. Completed in 1281, it is not actually a Byzantine manuscript but originated from Italy

  3. The manuscript’s notation points to the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata

Codex Cryptensi

E. γ. II Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy)
Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy)
Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy) Copyright Photos: Ziereis Facsimiles
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  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Codex Cryptensi

The Hirmologium e Codice Cryptensi E. γ. II, known simply as the Codex Cryptensi, comprises one of the finest and most extensive collections of Byzantine heirmoi – model stanzas of the odes of the canons with their music. Completed in 1281, the 672-page manuscript contains 1,959 heirmoi written in Greek using red and black ink, but it is actually of Italian manufacture, probably in the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata. As such, the notation is similar to that used in the Grottaferrata Codex.

Codex Cryptensi

This fine facsmile is the third volume of the series Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae or “Monuments of Byzantine Music”, which consists primarily of church music from Late Antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Virtually nothing was known of Byzantine music in Europe until the 20th century, a problem addressed by the foundation of the MMB by Carsten Høeg in 1935. The Codex Cryptensi represents one of the most luxuriously illuminated manuscripts of Byzantine music that has survived to the present. Its origins in the Monastery of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata during the late 13th century speaks to the lasting cultural influence of Constantinople in central Italy.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Hirmologium e Codice Cryptensi E. γ. II
Codice Cryptensi
Size / Format
674 pages / 24.0 × 15.0 cm
Origin
Italy
Date
Second half of the 13th century (completed in 1281)
Style
Gothic
Genre
Music
Language
Greek
Script
Greek minuscule
Available facsimile editions:
Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy)
#1 Hirmologium e codice Cryptensi E. c. II
La Liberia dello Stato – Rome, 1950
Limited Edition: 500 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 Hirmologium e codice Cryptensi E. c. II

La Liberia dello Stato – Rome, 1950
Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy)
Codex Cryptensi – La Liberia dello Stato – E. γ. II – Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale della Badia (Cava de' Tirreni, Italy) Copyright Photos: Ziereis Facsimiles

Publisher: La Liberia dello Stato – Rome, 1950
Limited Edition: 500 copies
Commentary: 1 volume by Lorenzo Tardo
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Copy available – Ask for a quote!
Order / Ask a Question
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