Material Tempera and ink on vellum.
Dimensions 22.5 x 15 cm
Place of Creation Germany, Cologne, Abbey of St. Pantaleon
Price 1'600'000,- CHF (Swiss Francs, not incl. VAT)
Status Vetted

About the Work

This early German Legendarium recounts the lives of numerous saints, and includes Berno of Reichenau’s text on the Life of Saint Udalric. It preserves remarkable penwork illustration and was produced in Cologne, one of the centres of this discipline at the dawn of the 12th century. This masterpiece of medieval bookmaking holds numerous breathtaking illustrations, including a full-page penwork diagram with 14 roundels with portraits of saints and other personalities, arranged genealogically. The diagram picks up the claim that Saint Servatius, first bishop of Maastricht and the city’s patron saint, was related to Jesus Christ by insinuating that Esmeria, the sister of Mary's mother Anna and grandmother of John the Baptist, was also the great-aunt of Saint Servatius.


There are unproven claims that this genealogical connection was rejected by the Mainz Council in 1049 on the grounds that Servatius' Armenian roots spoke against it, however a synodal decision did not survive, thus making our manuscript a fascinating witness to the debate of Servatius’ origins.

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