Guta-Sintram Codex

Guta-Sintram Codex

In 1154, an incomparable manuscript emerged from the Marbach Monastery in the Upper Alsace region. It is a combination of a a prayer book, a law book, a necrology, a collection of sermons, and an especially lavishly designed calendar. The 326-page work is richly ornamented with an artistic core of 70 pages presenting a comprehensive monthly calendar with medical advice, which represents a true masterpiece of early book illustration. The codex is probably the costliest manuscript from Alsace and belongs to the cultural heritage of the European Middle Ages.

A Gifted Duo

The Guta-Sintram Codex was the result of an exceptional collaboration and is named after both of its authors. The duo consisted of Guta von Schwarzenthann, a canoness, and Canon Sintram, both of them were members of the Augustinian Order of the Marbach cloister in Alsace. Guta is responsible for the beautiful script while the wonderful full page illustrations and countless decorative initials come from Sintram. They completed the work in 1154 and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary. The Marbach cloister was founded in 1089 and was the springboard for the founding of important cloisters in the Upper Rhine region of southern Germany and Switzerland.

A Surprising Wealth of Information

The codex was originally compiled as a prayer book for the women of the Schwarzenthann cloister. It offered and still offers much more than a collection of prayers and liturgical texts. The work contains references to the lifestyle of the women of the cloister, it contains a transcript of the papal privileges of the convent and also offers its legal basis, a register of martyrs and other saints, as well as a register of the deceased abbots, provosts, monks, prioresses, and nuns of the cloister. Furthermore, a collection of sermons corresponding to the readings of the day are to be found in the work as well as a collection of the customs and practices of the cloister. There is no other work from this time, that makes such a detailed glimpse of daily cloister life in that time possible.

An Artwork of Illumination

There are many admirable, at times full-page miniatures of extraordinary quality in the book, but the layout of the calendars truly gives proof of Canon Sintram’s talents. The 35 double-page illustrations are decorated with large initials, banderoles, zodiac signs, and groups of people. The banderoles provide instructions for bloodletting, give dietary advice, or recommend medicines derived from plants or animals. The monthly calendar is lovingly crafted with jokes and humor and depicts a truly unique glimpse into the monastic medicine of the Middle Ages.