Documents: 61, displayed: 1 - 50

Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek

The Benedictine Abbey of Engelberg was founded in 1120; its library’s collection of manuscripts, incunabula, and historical and modern books has continually grown since that time. The library holds a total of about 135,000 volumes; of its 1,000 manuscripts, about 270 are medieval. The cornerstone for the library was laid under Abbot Frowin (1147-1178) and his successors Berchtold (1178-1197) and Heinrich (1197-1223). Frowin commissioned at least 34 manuscripts. In addition to the obligatory Church Fathers, then-modern authors such as Hugh of Saint Victor and Bernard of Clairvaux were also included. In the 14th century, the manuscript library experienced a late blossoming with texts about prayer and mysticism. The library’s earliest printed works are a two volume German Bible printed by Heinrich Eggestein in Strasbourg in 1470 at the latest, and the Mammotrectus super bibliam by Johannes Marchenius, printed by Helyas Helyae in Beromünster in 1470.

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 2
Parchment · 264 ff. · 43.6 x 31 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1197
Vitae sanctorum et passionum martyrum. Pars aestivalis

This codex contains over a hundred lives of the saints and acts of the martyrs, most of them accompanied by rubricated initials and incipits. Aside from a few decorated initials, also red, there is no book decoration. The layout of the manuscript and the careful preparation of the parchment with artful colored needlework express the tradition of the scriptorium under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178). The staid script in black ink, often interrupted by another finer hand, sets this volume apart from the others from Frowin’s library; it is therefore also possible that this codex was made under Frowin’s successor, Berchtold (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 3
Parchment · 281 ff. · 44 x 31.7 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Biblia latina vulgatae versionis cum prologis

This first part of the three-volume Engelberg Bible (together with Cod. 4 and Cod. 5) contains the Pentatuch and the books of the Prophets. The captioned pen sketch with verse of dedication on fol. 1v portrays Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) presenting the codex to Mary, the patroness of the Cloister. This large-format volume was, according to the colophon on 281v, written by Richene, the only scribe from Frowin’s time that we know by name. The careful preparation of the parchment with decorative needlework and the staid style of script and initials in limited colors are characteristic of the recognizable works of Frowin’s library. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 4
Parchment · 213 ff. · 38 x 28 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Biblia latina vulgatae versionis cum prologis

This second volume of the three-part Engelberger Bible contains the books of the Old Testament remaining after Cod. 3. On 1v, the codex is dedicated in verse by Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) to Mary, the patron saint of the monastery. The codex’s structure and organization reflect the simple but elegant style of Frowin’s library. The colophon on 213r identifies the copyist as Richene, whose hand is also responsible for the other two volumes of the Engelberger Bible (Cod. 3 and Cod. 5); the illuminations and titles are the work of the so-called Engelberger Master. 69v contains a full-page colour depiction of Christ and the Church. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 5
Parchment · 199 ff. · 38 x 28 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Biblia latina vulgatae versionis cum prologis

This third volume of the three-part Engelberg Bible contains the New Testament. The codex originally consisted of 204 folios. On one of the leaves that have been cut out, now cataloged as D 126 at the Stiftsarchiv Engelberg, a five-line verse identifies the scribe as Richene, who also completed the volumes containing the Old Testament (Cod. 3 and Cod. 4). Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) and his scribe Richene are also shown in a full-page illustration on 1r. Also portrayed at full-page size are the Evangelists with their attributes, each labeled with a descriptive verse (108v, 134v, 153v, 181r). On 103r through 105v are canonical tables. The manuscript contains some incomplete initials, spaces reserved for decorations, and completely empty pages. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 12
Parchment · 155 ff. · 40.8 x 29.5 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Augustinus, Enarrationes in psalmos

This codex contains Augustine’s commentary on the Psalms, written in a small, extremely fine script. The verse on 1r names Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) as creator of the volume. In addition to simple red initials, the manuscript also includes individual extremely artful initials by the Engelberg Master in brown and red ink. The portrayal of Christ as grape-treader on 101r is particularly noteworthy; like several other sections, it is on a erased section. Beside and beneath the attachments one occasionally finds fine sketches for initials, designs, or figures. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 13
Parchment · 187 ff. · 40.5 x 29.2 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Augustinus, Expositio super tertiam partem psalmorum

The scriptorium of Engelberg made this codex containing Augustine's commentary on the Psalms, along with a whole series of works of the Church Fathers (Cod. 12-18, 87-88 and 138). A two-line poem on 1r shows that the codex came to be during the time of Abbot Frowin (1143-1178). The text is written in a small, careful and clean script. The codex contains scattered figure initials with vinescrolls and bulb motifs typical of Frowin's time. Otherwise, lightly decorated initials in red ink divide the text. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 14
Parchment · 187 ff. · 38.5 x 24.2 cm · Engelberg · 1178-1223
Augustinus S. Aurelius. De Trinitate libri quindecim, praemissa epistola ad Aurelium

This manuscript contains the 15 books of St. Augustine's On the Trinity. On 1v, under the Capitula a pen-drawing depicts Augustine with his three adversaries. The codex has been decorated in a particularly artistic manner by the so-called Engelberg Master. A large initial with figurative motifs in red-brown and blank ink begins each book; in the text that follows, intermediate initials are smaller, monochromatically red, and richly ornamented. In verse on 1r, the copyist describes in detail the circumstances of the production of the volume: it was begun under Abbot Berchtold of Engelberg (1178-1197), who died shortly after the copying was underway; his successor Heinrich (1197-1223) supervised the completion of the work. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 15
Parchment · 200 ff. · 38.2 x 27.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Augustinus, Expositio super Johannem evangelista

This codex contains Augustine's exposition on the Gospel of John. According to the dedicatory poem on 1r the manuscript was produced under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) of Engelberg. The layout, script and illustration – a few initials with vinescroll- and bulb patterns (2v, 5v, 136v) alternate with more simple rubricated capitals in dividing the sections – are closely related to Cod. 13. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 16
Parchment · 221 ff. · 32.5 x 22.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Augustinus, Sermones ad populum diversi

This manuscript contains sermons of the Church father Augustine. On 1r, Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) dedicates the codex in verse to the Virgin Mary, the monastery's patron saint. An index on 1v-3r lists the sermons contains in the manuscript. Half of the last folio (221) has been cut out, on the back paste-down, the copyist tested his pen (probacio penne). As with most volumes from Frowin's library, tears and holes in the parchment are carefully stitched up. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 17
Parchment · 145 ff. · 32 x 22.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1197
Augustinus, De Civitate Dei contra paganos

This codex contains Augustine's City of God. The manuscript was probably begun under Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) and completed and decorated under his successor Berchtold (1178-1197). The last folio is cut out; it may have had dedicatory verse on it, as was the practice for the Engelberg scriptorium under Frowin and Berchthold. Some of the initials have been erased and reworked. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 18
Parchment · 123 ff. · 31.2 x 22 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1197
Confessionum Aurelii Augustini libri tredecim

This codex contains the St. Augustine's Confessions. A two-line poem above the Capitulum on 1r attests that the copying was begun under Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). It is adorned with two figurated initials (1v and 60v) and decorative initials in red ink. Seven rhymed distichs in the hand of the so-called Engelberg Master appear on 123v and these refer to the defense by Frowin's successor Berchtold (1178-1197) against the falsa et damnanda compilatio abbatis Burchardi in turtal. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 19
Parchment · 144 ff. · 32.3 x 23.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Homiliae S. Gregorii papae super Ezechielem prophetam

This manuscript contains on 3v-142v the homilies of Gregory the Great on the prophet Ezechiel. On 1v-3r, in the same hand, appears the tam veteris quam novi testamenti testominia; on 143r-144r follows a short treatise on Grammar written in a different, slightly later hand; the bottom part of 144 has been cut out. On 4r, a line above the text attributes the volume to Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). Places where the parchment has been damaged have been carefully mended with different-coloured thread. Two of the decorative initials appear against a coloured background, in accordance with the later Engelberg style (24v and 76v). A few marginal notes are written in a later hand. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 20
Parchment · 193 ff. · 31.5 x 23 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Gregorius M., Moralia in Job, t. I

This codex contains the first of four volumes of the Book of Job by Gregory the Great. The subsequent three volumes are in codices 21, 22 and 23. The first volume encompasses the parts one (ff. 6r-99r) and two (99r-193v), each divided into five books. At the front of the volume there was originally a full-page illustration consisting of an artistic portrayal of Job with his three friends (upper half) and a portrayal of Gregory the Great and a monk writing (lower half). On the back, the actual recto side, is a Leonine verse couplet of dedication to Frowin. This leaf was carefully described by P. Karl Stadler in his hand-written catalog of 1787, which helped to identify the membrum disiectum, which is now held by the The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1955.74 (Purchase from the J.H. Wade Fund), as belonging to this volume. (flu)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 21
Parchment · 94 ff. · 32 x 22.5 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Gregorius M., Moralia in Job, t. II

This manuscript contains, along with three other volumes (Cod. 20, 22 and 23), Gregory the Great's interpretation of the Book of Job. In two lines of verse on 1r, Abbot Frowin of Engelberg dedicates the volume to the Mary, the patron saint of the monastery. On 89r and 89v a change in the ruling produces markedly larger line spacing. The incipit and explicit are rubricated, and every section begins with a decorative initial and red and brown-black ink with the figurative and vinescrolls motifs typical of Frowin's scriptorium. The layout, script and illustration are closely related to Cod. 20. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 22
Parchment · 166 ff. · 33.5 x 23.6 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Gregorius M., Moralia in Job, t. III

This codex contains Gregory the Great's Moralia in Iob. According to poem on 1r, the manuscript was produced under Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). The individual chapters are introduced by initiales in red and brown-black ink; in comparison to the first two initials (6r and 16v), those later in the book appear incomplete. Explicits are written in red majuscule. Tears and holes in the parchment are partially stitched up, but in a less artistic manner as in other manuscripts of the library of Frowin (e.g., Cod. 16). Between 39 and 40 a strip of parchment has been attached to complete the text. (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 23
Parchment · 123 ff. · 33.5 x 23.6 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Gregorius M., Moralia in Job, t. IV

Following Cod. 20, 21 and 22, this manuscript constitutes the final volume of the Engelberg series of Pope Gregory the Great's interpretation of the book of Job. The decoration has rubricated incipits and explicits and different sorts of initials: simple ones in red ink (1v, 71r), somewhat larger ones with typical bulb motifs (15r, 49v, 101v) and figurated initials in red and brown ink (3r, 32r, 84r, 113r). Tears in the parchment have been stitched with yellow and red thread. At least some of the sparse marginal notes have been written in the same hand as the text. A note added to the end of 123v indicates that Abbot Frowin commissioned the volume. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 32
Parchment · 177 ff. · 31.8 x 22.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Bernardus S. Claraevallensis. Sermones super cantica canticorum LXXXII

The Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) wrote between 1135 and 1153 the 86 sermons on the interpretation of the Song of Songs. The fact that this work, as well ad Cod. 33, was copied in the Engelberg scriptorium just a few decates later testifies to the great esteem in which Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) held the author. Indicative of this codex being produced during Frowin's abbacy is the usual dedicatory verse on 3r. The index on 1v-3r and the numerous red-ink marginalia are in the hand of Abbot Ignatius Betschart of Engelberg (1658-1681). (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 33
Parchment · 188 ff. · 31 x 22.8 cm · Engelberg · second half of the 12th century
Sermones Bernardi Claraevallensis abbatis

Like Cod. 34 , this manuscript contains 150 sermons by the Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). The appearance of the script, in dark-brown ink, is mostly uniform. The title of the individual sermons have been written with red ink. 97v has been left blank. With regards to decoration, there are many decorative initials with runner- and bulb-motifs on a colorful background and numerous smaller initials, decorated usually in red and blue, occasionally with insular elements (59r, 67v). The manuscript was probably produced under Abbot Berchtold (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 34
Parchment · 184 ff. · 28.8 x 21.6 cm · Engelberg · second half of the 12th century
Sermones Bernardi Claraevallensis abbatis

Like Cod. 33, this manuscript contains 150 sermons by the Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), sermons which, according to the introductory lines on 1v, Bernard gave to his disciples and which a certain Godefridus copied down for diffusion. The text, written in dark-brown ink by an even hand, is adorned throughout with red-accented capitals interspersed with small initials decorated in red and green. Squeezed in the upper margin, and partially cut off, a different hand in light-brown ink makes brief annotations on the text and statements on the author. The codex probably was produced under Abbot Berchtold. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 37
Parchment · 240 ff. · 29.5 x 20.2 cm · Engelberg · 1178-1197
Johannes Cassianus, Collationes Patrum

This copy of Cassian's Collationes contains on 1r a two-line ownership note attributing the codex to Abbot Berchtold of Engelberg (1178-1197) as well as the beginning of a dedicatory poem to the Virgin Mary, the monastery's patron saint. Both inscriptions also appear verbatim in the volumes that were written under Berchtold's predecessor Frowin (1143-1178). Decorated initials introduce each of the collationes, and sometimes the chapter-lists; between the collationes the text is divided with red decorated capitals. Tears and holes in the parchment have been artistically sewn up; of particular note are those on 48v and 190v. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 43
Parchment · 32 ff. · 29 x 19 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1197
Liber evangeliorum pro festis solemnioribus

Thin evangelistary, consisting of only 32 parchment leaves containing 27 pericopes. The very carefully produced codex, which has only a leather binding, is decorated with artistic initials in red and black ink. Although it is not dated, based on the script and decoration the codex can be assigned to the abbots Frowin (1143-1178) and Berchtold (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 12/17/2015

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 44
Parchment · 121 ff. · 28.5 x 18.3 cm · first half of the 13th century
Sermons, martyrology, Euangelium Nicodemi and related texts

The manuscript contains two collections of sermons (one of which is the Homiliary of Angers, the other unidentified), several individual sermons and a martyrology. It also contains (usually in part and/or with omissions) the Euangelium Nicodemi, Pseudo-Matthaei Euangelium, the Liber de lapidibus of Marbod of Rennes, the Elucidarium of Honorius Augustodunensis, De Antichristo of Adso of Montier-en-Der, the Breuarium apostolorum, and extracted sententiae. (con)

Online Since: 04/09/2014

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 46
Parchment · 389 pp. · 26.7 x 19.5 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Frowin, De laude liberi arbitrii libri septem

Tract by the Engelberg Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) about free will, the De laude liberi arbitrii libri septem, from the 12th century. This as-yet unedited work is regarded as an important contribution from the perspective of monastic theology during the early scholastic period. (keg)

Online Since: 07/31/2007

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 47
Parchment · 135 ff. · 28 x 20.4 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Omiliae lectionum sancti evangelii Venerabilis Bedae presbiteri numero quinquaginta

This manuscript contains the Venerable Bede's homilies on the Gospels, which are listed in a chapter-index on 2r-vv and 65v-66r. A full-page colour illumination on 1v shows the author writing this work, framed by the attributes of the Evangelists. Rubricated initials, incipits and explicits divide the text, itself prepared in a light- to dark-brown ink; at the beginning, when the name of Mary, the patron-saint of the monastery of Engelberg, appears in the text, it is slightly emphasized through the use of majuscule or rubrication. 3r and 11v contain large multicolour decorative initials. Holes and tears in the parchment have been mended in a particularly artistic manner. On 1r a two-line verse states that the copy was made during the abbacy of Frowin (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 48
Parchment · 128 ff. · 28.5 x 19.5 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Expositio S. Hieronymi Matheum et Marcum

This Codex contains Jerome's exposition of the Gospels of Matthew (1v-103r) and Mark (103v-128v). It has little decoration, but it has two elaborate, polychromatic initials (5r, 103v). The text, copied in black and dark-brown ink, contains multiple changes of hand. Text divisions such as incipit and explicit, pargraphs and chapter indications are executed in red ink, and one time figuratively decorated (51v). The two-line verse inscription on 1r attests that the codex was produced under Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 49
Parchment · 119 ff. · 27.8 x 20.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Sancti Hieronymi Hebraicarum Quaestiones

According to the two-line poem on 1r, this manuscript was produced under Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). It contains simple red initials, and rarely small, polychromatic initials decorated with bulb motifs (2r, 25v, 41r, 54r, 62v). As is typical for the volumes from Frowin's library, the text is rendered throughout in black-brown ink by a regular hand and the incipits to each book are rubricated. At times the capitals are slightly bigger or accentuated with red ink. The last two-thirds of 119 has been excised. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 52
Parchment · 76 ff. · 26.8 x 18.4 cm · late 11th century
Handbook of canon law

Engelberg 52 is a late eleventh-century handbook of canon law from the circle of Bernold of Constance († 1100), an ardent champion of Pope Gregory VII. It comprises various canonistic compilations: the 'Collection in Seventy-Four Titles' (Collectio 74 titulorum with the so-called 'Swabian Appendix' (Appendix svevica; two short collections 'On Churches' (De ecclesiis) and 'On Illicit Unions' (De illicitis coniunctionibus); the Pseudo-Gelasian decretal 'On Books to be Received and not to be Received' (De libris recipiendis et non recipiendis); the 'Canons of the Four Principal Councils' prefaced by 'Adnotation I' (Adnotatio I; and the Epitome Hadriani prefaced by 'Adnotation II' (Adnotatio II). All of these items can also be found in two closely related manuscripts (St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 676‬‬, and Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, HB.VI.107); but several appear here in shorter, possibly less developed forms. Prefixed to the whole is a catalogue of popes extending from Peter I to Leo IX with the addition of Victor II. Though it acknowledges Henry III’s role in the appointment of four popes (from Clement II to Victor II), it was possibly the source of the papal catalogue that Bernold attached to his Chronicle (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 432, fols. 10r12r). (hay)

Online Since: 03/17/2016

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 56
Parchment · 194 ff. · 26 x 18 cm · Engelberg · 12th century
Ivonis Carnotensis episcopi Panormia

This manuscript contains the Panormia of Ivo of Chartres, a collection of texts on canon law in 8 books with 1038 chapters. Ivo, bishop of Chartres and reformer, first wrote this work after 1095, but it spread extremely fast thanks to its user-friendly nature. The text, in light- and dark-brown ink, was produced by at least two hands. According to the tradition of the Engelberg scriptorium in the twelfth century, the chapter beginnings and summaries are accentuated in red ink, which in the case of Ivo's work provides exceptionally rich rubrication. Numerous marginal notes appear outside the blocks of text. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 64
Parchment · 145 ff. · 25 x 17.2 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Ambrosii episcopi Hexaemeron

This codex contains Saint Ambrose's Hexaemeron. A two-line poem on 1r by Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) dedicates this volume (with its title) to the monastery's patron saint Mary, mother of God. Beneath the dedication, the same hand has written a six-line poem, which likewise makes reference to the contents. A small decorative initial in blue, green, and red ink, as is typical of the library of Frowin, introduces the first book. The remaining books are divided with more simple, red initials. The text and marginal notes, in a dark-brown (and in a few places light brown) ink come from the same hand, a hand with a strikingly clean and balanced appearance. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 65
Parchment · 136 ff. · 23.6 x 16.4 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Tractatus sancti Ambrosii episcopi de officiis

The manuscript contains Ambrose's treatise De officiis. A list of chapters (1r-3r, 65v-67r, 103v-104v) precedes each of the three books. The first two books are introduced by an artistic tendrilated initial on a dark-brown (3v) or red (67r) background. Rubricated lines and initials divide the rest of the text. The dedicatory poem on 1r, in capitals filling two lines attests that the text is an offering of Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) to the monastery's patron saint Mary. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 67
Parchment · 106 ff. · 24.5 x 14.5 cm · Engelberg · 1197-1223
Commenta Julii Solini sive Grammatici

Codex 67 contains De mirabilibus mundi, a collection of curiosities by the grammarian Julius Solinus from late antiquity; the texts are also known by the titles Polyhistor and Collectanea rerum memorabilium. The text is written in a uniform script and is decorated with titles and initials, some of which are adorned with filigree (e.g., 2r and 6r), in red ink. Holes and tears in the parchment have been artfully stitched up with colorful threads (e.g., 23-25, 34, 62). According to the dedicatory poem on 1v, this copy was produced under Abbot Heinrich von Buochs (1197-1223). (grd)

Online Since: 12/13/2013

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 68
Parchment · 95 ff. · 24 x 17 cm · Engelberg · 1178-1197
Claudianus Mamertus, De statu animae libri tres

This codex contains on 6r-95v the three books "On the status of the soul" by the French theologian Claudianus Mamertus (ca. 425-ca. 475), an apologetic treatise on the incorporeity of the soul, written to oppose a writing by bishop Faustus von Reji (3r-6r). Initials by the so-called Engelberg Master appear at the beginning of the prologue and of each of the three books (3r, 6r, 7v, 48v, 77v). The marginal notes are often framed in red, and some of the capitals are in red. An ownership note on the back of the flyleaf ascribes the volume to Abbot Berchtold of Engelberg (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 72
Parchment · 72 ff. · 24.5 x 16.2 cm · Engelberg · 1250-1276
Benedictus s. abbas. Regula lat. germanica

This codex contains the Benedictine Rule. A German translation follows each Latin chapter. The different sections are to varying degrees distinguished from each other through simply decorated initials in red ink, and the Latin text appears in a slightly thicker script. According to a Latin (1r) and a German (72r) dedicatory verse, the manuscript was produced under Abbot Walther (Walther I. of Iberg, 1250-1267, or Walther II. of Cham, 1267-1276). (grd)

Online Since: 06/09/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 76
Parchment · 124 ff. · 27.4 x 18.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Expositio S. Hieronymi duodecim prophetarum

This manuscript contains Jerome’s exposition of the twelve prophetic books. Each prophet is colorfully depicted in a historiated initial at the beginning of his book. The name of the prophet under discussion appears in red ink in the top margin of every other two-page spread. Small, colourful decorated initials sometimes introduce new paragraphs in the prologues. Except for the prologues, the pages are laid out in three columns: the middle column contains the biblical text, the left and right columns provide, in a smaller script, the exposition. A two-line verse dedication on 1r ascribes the codex to the library of Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 87
Parchment · 95 ff. · 22.6 x 15.4 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Aurelii Augustini De doctrina christiana libri quatuor

The manuscript contains the four books of Augustine's On Christian Doctrine. An artistically decorated initial in red, black and green ink, followed by a line in decorative capitals, appears at the beginning of the proemium (2r), as well as of the first (5r) and fourth books (64v). The second and third book are divided by a simpler red decorative initial and a first line that has been accentuated in red ink. The appearance of the script, in a black-brown ink, is clean and balanced; the first change in hand appears in a collection of opinions of the Church fathers that has been added (probably later) on 94r-95r. On 1r a two-line dedicatory verse names Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) as having commissioned the work. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 88
Parchment · 106 ff. · 28.8 x 15.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Aurelii Augustini de sermone domini in monte secundum Matthaeum libri duo

This volume is a copy of Augustine's commentary on the Sermon on the Mount. After the list of chapters (1r-1v) follows the Retractatio sancti Augustini de sermone domini in monte (1v-5r). Both books of the main text are introduced by a colorful decorated initial (5r, 55r). The black-brown ink script appears uniform and balanced. On the recto of the front flyleaf a two-line poem names Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178) as having commissioned the volume. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 89
Parchment · 111 ff. · 20.5 x 14 cm · Engelberg · 9th century; 12th century
De gratia et libero arbitrio Aurelii Augustini et Bernardi Claraevallensis

This codex begins with works of Augustine: 1r-27v Liber de gratia et libero arbitrio, 28r-63r letters from and to Augustine De praedestinatione and 63r-93r Liber secundus de dono perseverentiae. Then follows the Tractatus de gratia et libero arbitrio first produced by the Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux in 1127. Folios 1-80 are palimpsests. The book's decoration limits itself to rather awkward red decorated initials and first lines at the beginning of each book, red-accentuated capitals and a pen drawing on 93r. On 111r there appears, as in Cod. 138 a later note of ownership, in a hand that resembles that of Cod. 90. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 90
Parchment · 166 ff. · 20.5 x 14.2 cm · Engelberg · 12th century
Hugo de S. Victoris, De sacramentis fidei christianae

The bulk of this codex contains Hugh of Saint Victor's De sacramentis fidei christianae (10r-147r). Preceding it are two short treatises on the Antichrist (Ps.-Augustine 1r-6v and Peter Damian 6v-10r), and after it comes a collection of opinions of and excerpts from Hrabanus Maurus' De universo. With very few exceptions, 1-44 are palimpsests. The pages towards the end have many large holes and tears or are partially excised; one folio, between 10 and 11r, is missing entirely. The writing is characterized by several changes of ink and hand, and the page ruling is not uniform. Except for simple red and black initials and rubricated lines, there is no book decoration whatsoever. A pair of marginal notes appear on 112v. Although the codex contains no univocal indication that it was produced in Engelberg, a few similarities with the volumes produced under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) suggest it. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 102
Parchment · 151 ff. · 22 x 15.5 cm · Engelberg? · 12th century
Directorium cantus

Codex 102 is a twelfth century hymnbook with neumes. The chants are written in two columns and are generously rubricated. Ff. 3v-11v contain a calendar of saints and tables about the liturgical year; ff. 1r-3r and 141v-151v also contain neumed chants written by various predominantly later hands. Recorded as a note on 3r is a dedicatory poem that is found in numerous manuscripts produced under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 12/13/2013

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 103
Parchment · 200 ff. · 20.8 x 12.6 cm · Rhineland Benedictine monastery possibly Sponheim (or Disibodenberg) · first third of the 13th century
Breviarium antiquissimum (Major sections: Lectionary, Litany, Neumed Antiphoner, Partial Hymnary, Calendar of Saints, Capitulary, Collectar)

A composite manuscript containing text and music for the celebration of the Benedictine office, including a fully neumed (non-diastemmatic) antiphoner. Local saints' feasts (Disibod, Afra, Alban) and the extensive repertory for Martin help to establish its probable provenance. (fly)

Online Since: 12/21/2010

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 117
Parchment · 254 ff. · 19.6 x 9.1 cm · Engelberg · 1203
Petrus Riga, Aurora et Warnerius Basileensis, Synodus

This codex contains on 2r-241r the Aurora, a versification of the Bible by Petrus Riga, canon of Reims (ca. 1140-1209), with notes by Aegidius Parisiensis, and on 244r-254v the dialogue Synodus by the cleric Warnerius of Basel, which probably was written ca. 1100. The compact script of the text in black-to-light-brown ink is decorated with small red initials and passages underlined in red. In places the page margins have been broadly cut out, and occasionally entire passages have been left blank. A three-line poem by the copyist on 4v attests that the manuscript was produced under Abbot Ulrich (1197-1223) in 1203. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 124
Parchment · 198 ff. · 18.5 x 13.2 cm · Strassburg (probably) · 1359
Sermones idiomate germanico concepti

The oldest surviving collection of German sermons by the Strasbourg Dominican and mystic Johannes Tauler (1300-1361) from the year 1359. Probably produced in Strasbourg. (keg)

Online Since: 07/31/2007

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 135
Parchment · 43 ff. · 16.5 x 11.8 cm · Engelberg · 12th century
Monita beati Effrem

This codex contains on V3-7r the Sermo acephalus de iudicio and on 7r-43r the Monita of the Church Doctor Ephraim the Syrian (ca. 306-373). The first two pages have been torn out, but the inner margin can still be seen, including a small red initial on V5. The main text on 7r begins with a red decorated initial and runner motifs. The numerous, frequently changing hands differ greatly from each other in line ruling and appearance. The design and construction of the manuscript correspond to the Engelberg scriptorium under Abbots Frowin (1143-1178) and Berchtold (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 138
Parchment · 110 ff. · 16 x 11.8 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Sancti Augustini liber retractationum et de poenitentia

This codex contains Augustine's Retractationes (1r-73r), introduced by a richly decorated initial that extends for the whole length of the page. At the beginning of the Liber de poenitentia, on 73r, there is a smaller, but just as artistic initial with an eagle motif. The text of both works probably comes from the same hand, and is accompanied throughout by numerous rubricated lines and simpler dedicated initials. The only owner's inscription on 110v comes from a later time, but the overall design is characteristic of the volumes of the Engelberg library produced under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 139
Parchment · 72 ff. · 16.6 x 12 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Bernardi Claraevallensis abbatis de consideratione

This codex contains the letter, known as De consideratione of the Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (ca. 1090-1153) to Pope Eugenius III. The writing was first completed in 1152; the two-lined dedicatory verse on 1r names Abbot Frowin (1143-1178) as having commissioned the Engelberg copy, and attests to the rapid spread of the work. The beginnings and endings of the five books are marked out with red ink. The clean and balanced, slightly cursive script in brown ink comes from a single hand. (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 141
Parchment · 113 ff. · 16.5 x 11.8 cm · 14th century
Henry Suso, Horologium sapientiae, germanice

The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom ("Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit") by Dominican monk and mystic Henry Suso (1295-1366). This is both the oldest copy of this particular text and the oldest surviving copy of a work by Suso. Probably produced shortly after Suso's death. (keg)

Online Since: 07/31/2007

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 142
Parchment · 255 ff. · 16.4 x 12.4 cm · Reichenau · 2nd half of the 9th century
Expositio Basilii episcopi et abbatis super regulam S. Benedicti abbatis

This is a witness of the so-called Basilius-version of the commentary on the Benedictine Rule, attributed to Hildemar of Corbie (died around 850). According to research by Hafner, this manuscript originated at Reichenau in the second half of the 9th century. (keg)

Online Since: 12/18/2014

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 147
Parchment · 51 ff. · 14 x 11 cm · Engelberg · second half of the 12th century
Paschasius Radbertus, Liber de sacramentis

This manuscript contains the De sacramentis (also known as the De corpore et sanguine Domini) written by the Frankish Benedictine Paschasius Radbertus. The text has been copied by multiple hands, each of which has its own line-ruling. The decoration of the book is limited to red accentuated capitals and simple red decorated initials that are occasionally rather awkwardly decorated (6v, 12r). The codex’s layout and the appearance of its script match those of the volumes prepared under the Engelberg Abbots Frowin (1143-1178) and Berchtold (1178-1197). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 153
Parchment · 146 ff. · 12 x 8.2 cm · 2nd half of the 14th century
Henricus Suso OP, Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit

With his brief "Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit,” the Dominican Henry Suso (1295-1366) created a work that was widely distributed in the late Middle Ages. This manuscript is part of the collection of the women’s cloister of St. Andrew in Engelberg; together with cod. 141, it is a very early witness of the text. (keg)

Online Since: 12/18/2014

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Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 154
Parchment · 125 ff. · 12.1 x 9.6 cm · Engelberg · 12th century
Cicero, Liber rhetoricorum de inventione

This small-format codex contains Cicero's rhetorical work De inventione. The text, mostly in dark-, sometimes light-brown ink comes from multiple hands, which all have their own careful and consistent appearance. Except for some simple decorated initials, slightly larger at the beginning of the prologue and of both books, and the occasional red-ink accentuated capitals and text-beginnings, there is no book decoration whatsoever. A later inscription on 1r indicates that this is probably a volume from the milieu of Abbot Frowin of Engelberg (1143-1178). (grd)

Online Since: 10/04/2011

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