El Beato De La Seo De Urgel ( S.X ) by Prof.Peter K.Klein - 2004

Madrid: Testimonio Compania Editorial, 2004 The most famous Spanish manuscripts of the high Middle Ages are without doubt the copies of Beatus of Liebana's Commentary on the Apocalypse, not so much for their text but because they were illustrated with outstanding miniatures whose drawings and colours, like those of modern comic strips were intended to bring to life certain passages of the Apocalypse. The name Beatus is that of the original author who was a monk who lived around 800 in the Monastery of St. Martin in the valley of Liebana in Cantabria. Modern critics are of the opinion that Beatus based his central text on the work of the North African Ticonius, adding texts from the Church fathers and St. Isidore. The work is in 12 sections or books, each divided into a Storia and an Explanatio. Later editions were included with texts from Isidore's Etymologies and Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Daniel. The Beatus Commentary on the Apocalypse was well known in Castile and Leon during the10th century, perhaps because of the approach of the end of the millennium which might bring the end of the world which was so well illustrated in the pictures and text of the Commentary. The best manuscripts, are in fact those by Magius, Emeterius, Senior and Ovecus, from Zamora, Leon and Palencia. Particularly outstanding are the texts known as the Pierpont Morgan, conserved in New York, and the Valcavado, kept in Valladolid, not simply because they are among the dozen or so best Beatus copies than because they belong the same group as the Seu de Urgell copy. The similarities between the Urgell and Valcavado versions are so strong that it is possible to advance that they must have been produced in the same scriptorium. How did this magnificent manuscript come to the Diocese of Urgell? We know from an inventory of the Seo de Urgell library that it was in the area of the Pyrenees in 1147 already. There was a strong connection between the Counts of Urgell and Alfonso VI and his descendants. Armengol V (1092-1102) married Mary, daughter of Count Pedro Ansúrez, the founder of Valladolid. The Count was from Castile but governed Urgell during the minority of his grandson, Armengol VI. It is quite probable that the book was a gift from Armengol V to St. Otto, bishop, and subsequently patron of the town, who began the building of today's cathedral. The manuscript consists of 239 folios, 7 numbered in Roman numerals, 232 in Arabic, measuring 398 x 270 mm; several folios were removed at some time. The script is Round Visigothic, in two columns. Although there is no colophon and we do not therefore know the exact date of completion, it would appear from the evidence of the script and illuminations to have been completed shortly after 970, like the Valcavado manuscript. The Urgell text contains 79 miniatures, some of which extend over two folios, with a number of others in the medallions of the genealogical trees which appear at the beginning. The style is very much that of the Mozarabic miniaturist tradition associated with Leon: strong colours, bold and vivid, in themselves a major challenge to facsimile reproduction; simplified drawings, reduced to essentials; the representation of people and objects throughout, and the use of superimposed coloured strips to achieve a degree of perspective. Il codice è composto di 239 numerati alla romana e 232 in arabo,la scrittura è carattere visigoticarotonda ripartita in due colonne - contiene 79 miniature di cui alcune occupano due fogli.La tecnica pittorica si inserisce nel quadro della miniatura morarabica della Regione del Leon.La misura è di 398 x 270 mm. mentre il volume di commentario è affidato a Peter K.Klein in lingua Spagnola e tedesca .I due Volumi costano Euro 8.900,00.- Size: 398 x 270 Mm.