Hrabanus Maurus: De Universo - De Rerum Naturis
(7,000β¬ - 10,000β¬)
The comprehensive encyclopedia by Hrabanus Maurus titled De Universo - De Rerum Naturis was published in the year 847. Here we have an abridged version of the work, which was in the possession of the famous Montecassino Abbey for centuries. The codex provides information about every facet of peopleβs lives during the Middle Ages. Its fascinating miniatures illustrate the information outlined in the text in an outstanding way.
Hrabanus Maurus: De Universo - De Rerum Naturis
The Montecassino Abbey was one of the most important and wealthy monasteries of the medieval world. The Benedictine abbey was in the possession of arguably the most comprehensive collection of handwritten texts and books. Among these literary treasures was an abridged version of the encyclopedia by Hrabanaus Maurus titled De Universo - De Rerum Naturis. This large-format codex contains 530 pages of the finest calligraphy, as was typical for the scriptoria of the Benedictines. The work is outstandingly illustrated with over 360 vivid and headily colored miniatures. Not only the artistic, but also the scientific worth of these illustrations is astounding. It is the most comprehensive and widely disseminated textbook manufactured during the entire Middle Ages.
A Noble Goal
The βteacher of Germanyβ published a comprehensive, 22-volume encyclopedia in the year 847. Hrabanus dedicated it to the Bishop Haimo von Halberstadt. The work is supposed to have originated βwith the express aim of giving him and his pastorate in a book-poor region an aide for the fulfillment of their pastoral responsibilities, in particular with regard to evangelization.β With his encyclopedia, Hrabanus set a goal for himself to βdepict the entire reality of the visible and invisible worldβ. He dealt not only with the meaning of words and the properties of things, but furthermore, their mystic significance in the frame of the allegorical interpretation of the Bible. Thus, the work became a handbook on biblical hermeneutics. Hrabanus extracted the allegorical interpretations of authors from late antiquity like Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great and made them readily available under their respective keyword.
Experience Medieval Society
Hrabanusβ encyclopedia unites various aspects of the knowledge of the Middle Ages. It concerns the historical and biblical traditions of the church, books and culture, the world of animals and plants, the lives of people, the nature of the body and the soul, monsters and wondrous events, music, medicine, agriculture, weather phenomena, and the calculation of timeβ¦no facet of life in the Middle Ages is left out. The work represents a mirror to the social life of its time and is thereby an inestimably valuable and reliable historical source. The universal character of the text is also mirrored in its enthralling illustrations. The razor-sharp miniatures illustrate each thematic area in thrilling image scenes. The gorgeous pictures do not merely serve as ornamentation, but instead make the facts outlined in the text clearly perceptible.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- De Universo o De Rerum Naturis de Rabano Mauro
Hrabanus Maurus: De universo oder De rerum naturis
Rabinus Maurus Cassinese manuscript - Size / Format
- 530 pages / 49.0 Γ 35.0 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- 1022β1035
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Script
- Beneventan script
- Illustrations
- 335 miniatures and numerous decorated initials with zoomorphic, vegetal and architectural details
- Content
- Abridged version of Hrabanus Maurus' Encyclopedia
- Patron
- Abbot Theobald (1022β1035)
- Artist / School
- Hrabanus Maurus (780β856), Abbot of Fulda and Archbishop of Mainz (author)
Hrabanus Maurus: De Universo - De Rerum Naturis
Seraph
A seraph is a six-winged angel and according to Isaiah 6.1-8, the seraphim fly continuously around the Throne of God chanting βholy, holy, holyβ. As such, the seraphim occupy the highest choir of the angelic hierarchy in Christian theology. Seraph means βthe burning oneβ, meaning one who is burning with love for the Creator, and this seraph is depicted holding two swords that are wrapped in flame. The fiery nature of the seraphim was firmly entrenched in the medieval imagination and art.

Hrabanus Maurus: De Universo - De Rerum Naturis
Beasts, Monsters, and Hybrids
Here we have a page from the bestiary section of this 11th century encyclopedia, which is filled with images of various creatures, all of whom were likely believed to be real at the time. The modern observer will immediately recognize that some of these animals are real, such as lions or other large cats, even if they are not always correctly colored, like the blue elephant.
Two of the large cats are depicted with multi-colored spots, possibly an unsuccessful attempt to portray a leopard or cheetah. At the top of the page, we see a large griffin with a pink body and blue wings. A small green hybrid can be seen at the bottom of the page, it has an uncolored human face and a body resembling that of a dog or possibly a lynx.

#1 De Universo De Rerum Naturis Rabano Mauro
Languages: Italian, English
(7,000β¬ - 10,000β¬)
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Aboca Museum
- Ajuntament de Valencia
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega dβErasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- Amilcare Pizzi
- Andreas & Andreas Verlagsbuchhandlung
- Archiv Verlag
- Archivi Edizioni
- Arnold Verlag
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Badenia Verlag
- BΓ€renreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Benziger Verlag
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Bramante Edizioni
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Carus Verlag
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club BibliΓ³filo Versol
- Club du Livre
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- ComissaΜo Nacional para as ComemoracΜ§oΜes dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- Corvina
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag fΓΌr Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Ediclube
- EdiΓ§Γ΅es Inapa
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Georg Popp
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Γditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Editrice Velar
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Enciclopèdia Catalana
- Eos-Verlag
- Ephesus Publishing
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Fackelverlag
- Facsimila Art & Edition
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Feuermann Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Friedrich Wittig Verlag
- FundaciΓ³n Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gabriele Mazzotta Editore
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Gesellschaft fΓΌr graphische Industrie
- Getty Research Institute
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- H. N. Abrams
- Harrassowitz
- Helikon
- Hendrickson Publishers
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Hortus Deliciarum
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- ILte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
- Instituto Nacional de AntropologΓa e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini
- Istituto Geografico De Agostini
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Italarte Art Establishments
- J. Thorbecke
- Jan Thorbecke Verlag
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Konrad KΓΆlbl Verlag
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Landeskreditbank Baden-WΓΌrttemberg
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Library of Congress
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lito Immagine Editore
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la socieΜteΜ de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- MΓΌller & Schindler
- National Library of Wales
- Neri Pozza
- Nova Charta
- Oceanum Verlag
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Γsterreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Pageant Books
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- Pattloch Verlag
- PIAF
- Pieper Verlag
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- PropylΓ€en Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Recht-Verlag
- Reichert Verlag
- Reichsdruckerei
- Riehn & Reusch
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- SchΓΆck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- SiloΓ©, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de AntropologΓa
- Sorli Ediciones
- Stainer and Bell
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi TudomΓ nyegyetem
- Taberna Libraria
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio CompaΓ±Γa Editorial
- Thames and Hudson
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- TREC Publishing House
- TRI Publishing Co.
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- Universidad de Granada
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Urs Graf
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- Verlag fΓΌr Regionalgeschichte
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- W. Turnowsky
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Γsterreich)
- Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
- Xuntanza Editorial
- Zollikofer AG