Wessobrunn Prayer

Wessobrunn Prayer – Kurt Wolff Verlag – Clm 22053 – Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich, Germany)

Diocese of Augsburg (Germany) β€” About 814

Bringing order into the chaos of the world: the poetic description of the beginning of the world in one of the oldest surviving German texts, preserved in a pioneering 9th-century miscellany

  1. One of the oldest examples of Old High German poetry was likely written in the late 8th century

  2. The poem explaining the creation of the world out of chaos was inserted in a Latin codex

  3. 18 miniatures adorn the legend of the Holy Cross, one of 70+ texts found in the compendium

Wessobrunn Prayer

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  1. Description
  2. Detail Picture
  3. Single Page
  4. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Wessobrunn Prayer

This manuscript contains the Wessobrunner Gebet or Prayer of Wessobrunn and 70 other short, mainly theological texts. The prayer itself, in prose, which gives the text as a whole its name, is preceded by a short creation poem, which, in nine lines of alliterative verse, seeks to explain the creation of the world out of chaos. This small literary monument is among the earliest written examples of poetry in Old High German and is found of a composite manuscript mainly written in Latin ca. 814, which can be determined from a mention of the death of Charlemagne on the last page. The manuscript is also significant for the history of German illumination, containing 18 half-page miniatures concerning the legend of the True Cross, which represent one of the earliest picture cycles of non-biblical content in the history of German illumination.

Wessobrunn Prayer

The Wessobrunner Gebet or Wessobrunn Prayer is one of the oldest examples of Old High German poetry and was likely written in the late 8th century. It was inserted into a Latin manuscript sometime after 800 on fol. 65v-66r and is divided into two parts: a short text of nine incomplete verses of staff rhyme written in alliterative verse, and the actual prayer in freely rhythmic prose. The fragment of a creation myth is also the oldest surviving piece of Christian stave rhyme poetry. It contrasts the chaos before Creation with almighty God in the circle of his angels. An unknown monk decided to incorporate the German poem into a Latin compendium of ca. 70 texts divided into five parts ca. 814.

Artifact of the German Language

Judging by the Bavarian dialect in which it was written, which exhibits some Swabian influences, it was likely created in the Diocese of Augsburg, but probably not at Wessobrunn Abbey. Research suggests that the manuscript could have originated in either Regensburg, Benediktbeuern, Staffelsee, or Augsburg itself. Interestingly, there are also some influences from Low German and Anglo-Saxon, such as the scribe’s incorporation of a β€œstar-rune” in the first line of the poem. The work has survived under the title De poeta as the only larger German text in the Latin manuscript, the rest of which consists of texts that are mostly theological, but also geographical and chronological in nature, and are written down in Carolingian minuscule.

The Legend of the True Cross

Folios 1v βˆ’21r contain the legend of the True Cross, which is illustrated by 18 half-page miniatures. The pen and ink drawings, which also likely originate from Bavaria, are simple, have restrained coloring, and represent one of the earliest picture cycles of non-biblical content in the history of German illumination. This is the oldest preserved picture cycle concerning Emperor Constantine the Great (ca. 272-337) and his mother Helena. According to legend, the Emperor’s mother had the pagan temple that had been built over the site of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed so that a Christian church might replace it. During the demolition, three crosses, the Titulus Crucis with the inscription β€œHere is the king of the Jews”, and the nails used to crucify Jesus were uncovered. The three crosses were brought to a to a dead man, who was awakened by the touch of the third cross, which was thus believed to be the cross of Christ. Helena then had these relics sent to Constantinople.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Prayer of Wessobrunn
Wessobrunner Gebet
Wessobronner Gebet
Wessobrunner SchΓΆpfungsgedicht
Size / Format
198 pages / 18.5 Γ— 14.1 cm
Origin
Germany
Date
About 814
Script
Carolingian minuscule
Illustrations
18 half-page pen drawings
Content
The Wessobrunn Prayer (fol. 65v-66r) written in the Bavarian language is the only larger German text in the otherwise Latin collective manuscript, which compiles more than seventy texts of a mostly theological, but also geographic and chronological nature

Available facsimile editions:
Wessobrunn Prayer – Kurt Wolff Verlag – Clm 22053 – Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich, Germany)
Kurt Wolff Verlag – Munich, 1922
Limited Edition: 300 copies
Detail Picture

Wessobrunn prayer

A raising of the dead proves the true cross

Two bearers have brought a man in the deathbed to Helena, back right, for the "trial of the cross". A third helper touches the corpse with the first two crosses, which have no effect. However, the half-page miniature also shows the "True Cross" which, according to legend, is the last to be tried and brings the dead person back to life. It stands erect on the left side, waiting to perform the miracle. Accordingly, the image, in contrast to the text, does not emphasize the miracle itself, but the way to it.

Wessobrunn Prayer – Kurt Wolff Verlag – Clm 22053 – Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich, Germany)
Single Page

Wessobrunn Prayer

The Baptism of Judas Quiriacus

Legend says that Judas, commissioned by Helena, found both the three crosses of Golgotha and the nails with which Jesus was crucified. Impressed by the miracle of the awakening of a dead performed with the cross, he decided to be baptized with the name of Judas Quiriacus, or Cyriacus, and eventually even became the bishop of Jerusalem. In the picture cycle of the legend of the finding of the True Cross, he constantly appears in all three roles.

On this page, Judas' baptism is depicted according to the early Christian rite: The baptized stands humbly in a deep baptismal font while the bishop pours the consecrated water over him. The speech gesture of his left hand indicates the ritual words he addresses to the baptized. On the right edge of the picture there is also an ointment vessel on a table, with the content of which the presbyter on the left side has probably anointed the body of the baptized before the baptism.

Wessobrunn Prayer – Kurt Wolff Verlag – Clm 22053 – Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich, Germany)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Wessobrunner Gebet

Kurt Wolff Verlag – Munich, 1922

Publisher: Kurt Wolff Verlag – Munich, 1922
Limited Edition: 300 copies
Binding: Leather binding with metal fittings and closing pin
Commentary: 1 volume by Carl von Kraus and Annette von Eckhardt
Language: German
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
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