Salerno Exultet Roll

Easter Sunday lies at the center of the liturgical year just as the Resurrection of Christ lies at the center of Christianity. The Easter Vigil, which occurs the previous night of Holy Saturday, is celebrated by reciting the Easter Proclamation, also known as the Exultet. Written in the 4th century, it is read next to the Easter candle, which represents the idea of Christ as light of the world. Although codices had replaced scrolls as the preferred format for books centuries earlier, scrolls continued to be used for special purposes. Exultet scrolls were designed so that text alternated with the images painted upside down so that the congregation see them as the scroll it was read aloud and unrolled. The 13th century Salerno Exultet is considered to be an outstanding example of the 28 surviving illuminated scrolls.

A Splendid Scroll

The scroll was created in Salerno between 1225 and 1227 by two artists working in the heavily Byzantine-influenced style of southern Italian art and was designed entirely without text except for the opening proclamation, which also serves as a title. Rather than being read and gradually unrolled, the deacon would read from a missal as the scroll hung down from the ambo, a raised position for a speaker that was replaced by the pulpit in later church construction and was unique to Italian church design. Each section is adorned with two biblical scenes with dark blue backgrounds that have golden frames with red and blue rhomboids. Aside from magnificently illustrating the events of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the Salerno Exultet also contains a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The work was commissioned by Giovanni da Procida, a nobleman from Salerno and high-ranking member of the imperial court.

Controversy: Separation and Conservation

Numerous attempts have been made over the centuries to preserve this delicate treasure. Early attempts sought to preserve its original structure and functionality by sewing canvas on the back of the parchment in an attempt, but it was decided in 1917 to separate the scroll into its individual sheets in order to preserve it as a whole. This was done by unstitching or separating glued parts and then pasting parchment supports to the back of the eleven original sheets. This was a controversial decision because it robbed the manuscript of its original purpose. On the other hand, it undeniably preserved the Salerno Exultet as a work of art because if it had continued to be used for its original purpose then it would certainly be in a far more deteriorated condition today. In 1989, it was removed from the walnut box that had housed it since 1917 and each section was pasted onto a card and placed inside glass and metal covers after additional cleaning and restoration work of the parchment was completed.