Hrabanus Maurus: De Universo - De Rerum Naturis
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 people’s 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 “teacher of Germany” 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 “with 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.” With his encyclopedia, Hrabanus set a goal for himself to “depict the entire reality of the visible and invisible world”. 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
Hrabanus’ 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 time…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 - Size / Format
- 530 pages / 49.0 × 35.0 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- 1022–1035
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Script
- Beneventan script
- Illustrations
- 335 miniatures, numerous decorated initials e.g. animals, plants, buildings and weapons
- Patron
- Abbot Theobald (1022–1035)
- Artist / School
- Hrabanus Maurus (780–856), 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 “holy, holy, holy”. As such, the seraphim occupy the highest choir of the angelic hierarchy in Christian theology. Seraph means “the burning one”, 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 Grotesques
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 grotesque 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
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