De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis – Belser Verlag – Reg. Lat. 124 – Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican City, Vatican City State)

Fulda (Germany) β€” First half of the 9th century

Religious poetry in masterly perfection: 28 impressive shaped poems by the Carolingian scholar Hrabanus Maurus in fascinating geometric and figural forms, interwoven with Christian numerical symbolism

  1. Hrabanus Maurus (ca. 780–856) was a monk from Fulda who became Bishop of Mainz

  2. The most famous of his works is a series of sophisticated "picture poems" glorifying the cross

  3. It was brought to Rome by Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689), a convert to Catholicism

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
  1. Description
  2. Detail Picture
  3. Single Page
  4. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

Already hailed as the Praeceptor Germaniae in his own time, Hrabanus Maurus (ca. 780–856) was a Frankish monk, Archbishop of Mainz, and a prolific author of the Carolingian Renaissance. One of his most popular works is the Liber de laudibus sanctae Crucis In Honor of the Holy Cross, a series of sophisticated carmina figurataβ€”shaped poemsβ€”in the tradition of the great Alcuin, his renowned teacher. The speaker in the poem is a Christian kneeling before the cross, praying to the crucified Christ, and this is mirrored by the shape of the poem. Originally composed around 810–814, the 28 intricate carmina figurata function somewhat like biblical word puzzles, in which individual letters and groups of letters form self-contained poems or sequences of words that unfold multiple layers of meaning, all referring to the central concept of the composition: the glorification of the Cross. The Vatican Library preserves what is probably the finest surviving example of this masterpiece of religious poetry, written around 825 in the monastery of Fulda and dedicated to Archbishop Otgar of Mainz.

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

Hrabanus Maurus (ca. 780–856), a monk from Fulda who eventually became Bishop of Mainz, achieved great fame for his work Liber de laudibus sanctae Crucis, which was widely-distributed throughout the Carolingian Empire. It contains a series of 28 picture poems taken from the first version of the treatise on the Holy Cross written by Hrabanus as early as 810–14. In fact, some 80 manuscripts of the work survive, many of them made during the lifetime of Hrabanus in the monastery of Fulda. The finest and most artful of these originates from ca. 825/826 is stored today in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana under the shelf mark Reg. Lat. 124 and even features black- and purple-dyed pages.

Fantastic Visual Poetry from the Carolingian Royal Court

Hrabanus, praised at his time as the praeceptor Germaniae, wrote this book in the literary form of picture poems as was formerly practiced in Tours by Alcuin, his famous teacher. Hrabanus raised this literary genre to a new peak, referring less to recent Carolingian models than to the classical source of this form. The text, inscribed on a grid-like system, is presented in a square frame in the manner of a picture. From this text box emerge individual letters and groups of letters which compose self-contained poems or sequences of words referring to the basic concept of the composition, the glorification of the Cross.

A Coveted Hrabanus Manuscript

This copy may have been originally intended for Haistulf (825) the Archbishop of Mainz but was dedicated to his successor Otgar (d. 847) after his death. It remained in the Mainz Cathedral Library before returning to Fulda Monastery at an unknown time. A letter dated June 15th, 1598 indicates that the manuscript was borrowed from Fulda by Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), who had it brought to his court in Prague where the manuscript was copied. It was then captured by the Swedes in the course of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48). It came into the possession of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89), who succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) after his death in the Battle of LΓΌtzen when she was only 18 years old. Christina created a scandal when she announced her intention never to marry, then abdicated her throne, converted to Catholicism, and moved to Rome where she became a celebrity patron of the arts. Her library, including the Hrabanus manuscript, was bequeathed to Pope Innocent XI (1611-89) upon her death and thus came into the possession of the Vatican.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Kreuzeslob
Hrabanus Maurus - De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis
Size / Format
124 pages / 36.5 Γ— 29.5 cm
Origin
Germany
Date
First half of the 9th century
Language
Script
Carolingian Minuscule, Uncial
Illustrations
2 full-page miniatures, 28 picture poems
Content
Hrabanus Maurus' De laudibus sanctae crucis (On the Praise of the Holy Cross); Dedication Poem to Gregory the Great; Dedication Poem to Emperor Louis the Pious
Artist / School
Previous Owners
Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626–1689)

Available facsimile editions:
De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis – Belser Verlag – Reg. Lat. 124 – Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican City, Vatican City State)
Belser Verlag – Stuttgart, 2019
Limited Edition: 999 copies
Detail Picture

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

Presentation Miniature

Rooted in classical traditions of patronage, presentation miniatures were an important feature of Late-Carolingian and Ottonian manuscripts that provide important and often unique portraits of various emperors, kings, popes, abbots, and important clerics from this period. Depicted as balding with a little patch of hair on his forehead, Pope Gregory IV is shown enthroned and graciously receiving the manuscript at hand from Hrabanus Maurus, pictured on the right.

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis – Belser Verlag – Reg. Lat. 124 – Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican City, Vatican City State)
Single Page

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis

Calligram of Louis the Pious

This fine Carolingian work was created while the First Iconoclasm occurred in the Byzantine Empire and there was a similar discussion about religious imagery among the Franks. It is filled with calligrams concerning the veneration of the cross like this image presenting the Emperor Louis the Pious (778–840) in the form of a milites Christi or β€œSoldier of Christ”.

The text of this calligram is inscribed in a grid pattern, which contains self-contained poems or sequences of words glorifying the cross as a symbol of salvation. Louis is presented in the garb of a Roman soldier with an oval shield from Late Antiquity. The New Testament is filled with references to the Imperial Roman army emphasizing courage, loyalty, and dedication among Christians.

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis – Belser Verlag – Reg. Lat. 124 – Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican City, Vatican City State)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Kreuzeslob. FrΓΌhmittelalterliche Bildgedichte. Hrabanus Maurus. Reginensis Latinus 124.

Belser Verlag – Stuttgart, 2019

Publisher: Belser Verlag – Stuttgart, 2019
Limited Edition: 999 copies
Binding: Leather binding with blind and gold tooling
Commentary: 1 volume (122 pages) by Klaus Gereon Beuckers
Language: German
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
Blog articles worth reading
Filter selection
Publisher