Jena Martyrology

Named after its modern repository, the Jena Martyrology is the oldest work of its kind written in the German language. Created ca. 1275, it is based on other martyrologies by Ado of Vienne, Notker and Usuard. This gem of book art was bound by Nikolaus von Havelberg and is a fine example of the bookbinding work that was done in Erfurt at the time. 366 delicate pen drawings with rich primary colors and illuminated with gold and silver are inserted directly into the text and are five lines tall on average. These images interwoven into the text have an evocative and animating narrative effect on the reader. The magnificent manuscript preserves two extremely rare vernacular prose translations, as well as the spiritual doctrinal poem Unterweisung zur Vollkommenheit or “Instruction for Perfection” in Middle German – the Jena Codex is the oldest, only completely, and also excellently illustrated specimen to survive.