Prayerbook of Otto III
text
xx
0984
0991
monographic
place of publication not identified]
[publisher not identified]
[984 to 991]
lat
1 online resource.
This small prayer book was once owned by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (980-1002). Although it hardly stands out when compared with other luxuriously illuminated manuscripts, it was intended for the sovereign's private devotion and is one of only two royal prayer books from the early Middle Ages to survive. It was probably commissioned after the year 984, presumably by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz, when the four-year-old Otto was committed to the care of his mother and grandmother, the empresses Theophanu and Adelaide, after his father's death. The manuscript contains three portraits of Otto. Following a miniature that shows the Crucifixion of Jesus, the first of these depicts the young monarch praying between Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The second shows him kneeling in front of Christ, who is sitting enthroned within the mandorla (almond-shaped ornamental motif). The third (dedicatory) painting shows Otto on his throne receiving the prayer book from a cleric. The texts of the prayers are written in Carolingian minuscule in gold ink on purple ground. It is noteworthy that the parchment itself was not soaked in purple ink, as was customary in the ninth century, but purple fields framed by narrow strips of gold were applied on every page. The subsequent history of the book remains mostly unknown. It was discovered in the 19th century in the library of the noble SchoĢnborn family in Schloss Weissenstein in Pommersfelden, Bavaria. It was acquired by the Bavarian State Library in 1994.
Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
"BSB shelfmark: Clm 30111|This description of the work was written by Brigitte Gullath of the Bavarian State Library."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
Original resource extent: 44 leaves : parchment, illuminations ; 15 x 12 centimeters.
Original resource at: Bavarian State Library.
Content in Latin.
Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
984 to 991
Illuminations
Miniatures (Illuminations)
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, 980-1002
Prayers
Germany
Bavaria
242
248
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.wdl/wdl.13480
Illuminated Manuscripts from Europe
2021667997
DLC
210525
20210601155819.0
22061866
Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.8 using MARC21slim2MODS3-8_XSLT1-0.xsl
(Revision 1.172 20230208)
eng