Stuttgart, WLB, HB.VII.62

Library	Stuttgart, WLB
Shelfmark	HB.VII.62
Century	s. IXmed-ex
Place of origin	Lake Constance, probably Reichenau
European region of origin	Southern Germany
General region of origin	Germany
Collection	Quadripartitus
Digital Images	digital.wlb-stuttgart
Main author	Bruno Schalekamp

Stuttgart, WLB, HB.VII.62 is a ninth-century (second half) manuscript of 177 folios in 1 col. and 21 lines (275-280 x 235-240 mm). Its codicological composition reads as follows: 23 quires, (IV - 1)⁷ + 5 x IV⁴⁷ + III⁵³ + 4 x IV⁸⁵ + II⁸⁹ + 11 x IV¹⁷⁶, fol. 94 should be counted twice; a single quire signature in Roman numerals at I⁷, modern foliation in Arabic numerals. The manuscript was penned by three hands (A: fols. 1v-78v and 86r-89v; B: fols. 79r-85v; C: fols. 90r-176r) in Caroline minuscule (Burkhart). The work was produced in saec. IX according to Autenrieth, saec. IX^med-3/4 according to Burkhart, or saec. IX^ex according to Bischoff/Kerff/Kéry. It was written at Lake Constance, probably in Reichenau, according to Kerff, Kéry, and Burkhart. Possibly, the work was used by abbot Bern of Reichenau (1008-1048) in his treatise De nigromantia seu divinatione daemonum contemnenda. We find its first bibliographical attestation in the catalogue of the Dombibliothek of Konstanz in 1343 and was later in possession of St. Martin’s Abbey, Weingarten, from at least 1630 onwards (top right corner of fol. 1r reads: monasterii weingartensis anno 1630). A Weingarten signature was included on the front cover (D35).

Contents

The large manuscript consists almost exclusively of the Collectio canonum Quadripartita (Quadripartitus), with a few patristic excerpts (Jerome and Isidore de Seville), prayers (St. Gregory of Nanzianus), and an unknown liturgical song. Concerning the collection, this is one of three manuscripts containing all four books of the canonical work.

Furthermore, this codex is one of two oldest witnesses of the collection. While one may be fooled by its 'straightforward' compilation, the extremely clear, neat, and professionally-prepared parchment indicates this was a very expensive codex. The written text itself is rarely abbreviated, indicating the scribes deliberately planned, mapped, and ruled the room available to pen down the large canonical corpus. It was written in a clear minuscule, by trained and consistent hands over a short period of time. Large and illuminated capitals introduce each of the four books. Most of the illuminated capitals and introductory capitula were penned - at least partially - in clear and distinct red ink. It must lastly be noted the parchment quality starts deteriorating from fol. 174 onward due to probable water damage.

Fol. 3v of the manuscript, portraying a large S-capital at the beginning of the first book of the collection

A striking feature of this manuscript is the large and beautifully decorated illuminated capitals. While these are generally spread throughout the whole codex, a few nearly take up a whole folio side (see fols. 3v, 16r, and 41r). The rubrics themselves are also sometimes coloured in blue ink, indicating the codex was an investment and probably used as a showpiece.

See the digitized version: http://digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/purl/bsz366970755.

folios texts

        	Front cover, with an early modern list of contents

1v-175r Collectio canonum Quadripartita (Quadripartitus), books 1-4 1v-3r Preface, including dedicatory letter and list of authorities 3r-14r Book 1, including list of titles 14r-38v Book 2, including preface and list of titles 39r-106v Book 3, including preface and list of titles 106v-175r Book 4, including prologue, list of titles, and epilogue 175v Two excerpts of works of Jerome and Isidore of Seville 175v-176r Prayer ascribed to St. Gregory of Nanzanius 176r Unknown short prayer in a later hand 176v Unknown liturgical song(s).

        	Back cover. The ink of the liturgical song(s) on the last folio side, or another text that was previously positioned on the inside directly opposite of this cover, seems to have been imprinted on the inside of this cover

Literature

Autenrieth, Die Handschriften (1963), p. 219-220; Bischoff, Festländische Hss. III (2014), n. 6092; Burkhart, Die vorromanischen Handschriften (2016), p. 27-28, tav. 25-30, n. 7; Kerff, Quadripartitus (1982), p. 24-25; Kéry, Canonical Collections (1999), p. 168; Löffler, Romanische Zierbuchstaben (1927), p. 44-45; Merton, Die Buchmalerei in Sankt Gallen (1923), p. 20; Swarzenski, Reichenauer Malerei (1903), p. 408.

See also Michael Elliot's extensive work and draft editions of the Quadripartitus on his own website: http://individual.utoronto.ca/michaelelliot/.