Stammheim Missal

This exquisitely designed, remarkably complete, and artistically whole manuscript is the greatest masterpiece of German Romanesque illumination. The Stammheim Missal has the power to leave one awed and speechless. Its artistic execution is gorgeous, its materials second to none, and its image program was perfectly planned. These symmetrical miniatures are richly adorned with gold leaf and tempera pigments, and the manuscript is gorgeously and holistically illuminated from the first page to the last. A missal contains all the prayers and chants required for the performance of mass, but unlike most missals, this does not appear to have been intended for regular use during mass, but rather as a biblical treasure or liturgical shrine for the monastery. Thankfully, the precious codex is incredibly well-preserved and represents one of the greatest treasures of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

A Romanesque Masterpiece

Created ca. 1170 in the scriptorium of St. Michael’s Abbey in Hildesheim, this is arguably the finest and purest expression of the Romanesque style. This splendid manuscript was commissioned to promote the canonization of the founder of Hildesheim Abbey, Bernward of Hildesheim (ca. 960–1022), which occurred in 1193. He is pictured in a gorgeous full-page miniature on fol. 156r towards the end of the codex. Its miniatures are not only perfectly executed – possessing an incredible blend of dynamism, vibrancy, and majesty – but were designed with a rare degree of theological complexity. Their liveliness is found in the postures, gestures, and gazes of the figures while their monumental character comes from Byzantine influences: geometric frames, symmetrical image structures, and burnished gold leaf backgrounds. Thus, the manuscript can be counted among the finest illuminated manuscripts to have survived from the Middle Ages to the present.

The Art of the Historiated Initial

The elaborately decorated initials of this manuscript are as perfect in their execution as the miniatures and are consistent with their symmetry, color, and overall aesthetic. Larger historiated initials can range from 5 to 18 lines and contain figurative scenes inhabited by humans, animals, and mystical creatures. Smaller decorative initials have no figural elements but even the simplest boast elegant geometric designs. The largest and most ostentatious is a “B” initial found on folio 58r that precedes a chant sung for the feast of St. Michael, patron saint of the abbey. The letter itself comes together in the mouth of a dragon and is filled with figures involved in the harvesting and making of wine. A man at the top cuts a vine with a small sickle, another at the bottom reaps grapes by hand, a third sticks a long handled spoon into a bucket of grapes. Meanwhile, two other men preoccupy themselves with fending off various animals that are eating the harvest – one draws back on a bow while another raises a club over his head.

Jealously Protected through the Centuries

The bright colors and gold leaf of the Stammheim Missal are almost as radiant as when it was created nearly 850 years ago. It was stored at Hildesheim until 1803, when the last prince-bishop of Hildesheim, Franz Egon Freiherr von Furstenberg (1737–1825), took it into his personal care. It remained in the private library of Schloss Stammheim in Cologne, after which it is named, for almost two centuries before being acquired by the Getty Museum in 1997. This manuscript has been preserved in near-perfect condition thanks to the fact that it only had three owners across eight centuries, all of whom meticulously cared for the precious codex. Thanks to their efforts, modern beholders of this work of art can experience it in all of its original, undiluted glory.