Matutinal Book from Scheyern

Matutinal Book from Scheyern

A matutinal book contains the readings recited by a monastic community at the nightly choral prayer known as Matins and as such typically has a large format so that it can be read by numerous people from a distance. The readings are typically preceded by a series of non-liturgical texts that reflect the intellectual and economic interests of the monastery. What distinguishes the Matutinal Book from Scheyern above others are two cycles of colored pen and ink drawings that are both monumental in size – 55 x 39 cm – and exceptional in quality. The leaves show the traces of intensive use, including occasional wax or tallow stains. It was created sometime between 1215, when the new church was consecrated after much of the monastery was destroyed in a fire, and 1225 at the behest of Abbot Conrad I von Luppburg (r. 1206–73). The manuscript was acquired by what is now the Bavarian State Library in Munich in 1803.

A Rare and Splendid Compilation

Aside from the basic text of the Matins, the manuscript contains a computational table for calculating the date of Easter, a calendar of feasts, an epilogue, a catalog of rulers, the annals of Scheyern, three poetic legends, and notes concerning the traditions and income of the monastery. The first of the two picture cycles focuses on the Virgin Mary’s role as the Co-Redemptrix and includes a narrative of Theophilus and the pregnant abbess as well as the famous full-page miniature of the Woman of the Apocalypse and the Dragon. Seven scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary comprise the second picture cycle, which concludes with a miniature of St. Martin and St. Peter opposite a miniature of an enthroned Virgin Mary with the patron of the manuscript lying prostrate, his hands folded in prayer at her feet. Stylistically, the simultaneously lively and monumental pictures of the first cycle are oriented towards contemporary painting from Regensburg-Prüfening, while the pictures of the second cycle are characterized by the so-called Zackenstil, which combines the influence of both the Middle Rhenish and Byzantine traditions.