Liuthar Gospels
Date:
ca. 1000
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Germany
Medium:
Parchment
Dimensions:
29.8 × 21.5 cm
Description:
The Liuthar Gospels (also called the Aachen Gospels) take their name from the dedicatory image of the monk and scribe Liuthar presenting the manuscript to Otto III (980–1002). Liuthar and Otto appear on facing pages. The enthroned Otto on the recto is part of a striking full-page composition with a lavish gold background and a complex iconographic program.
This unique image flatters the young ruler by showing him against a celestial gold ground, wearing imperial Roman garments and holding the cross-orb that since late antiquity signified Christian rule. Otto sits with arms extended, as if crucified, within a mandorla normally reserved for images of Christ. A giant hand of God emerges from heaven to place a crown on his head, while four evangelist symbols support a white scarf that divides heaven from earth. The scarf covers Otto's heart, which echoes the text on the facing page: "May God clothe your heart with this book, O august Otto; remember Liuthar from whom you received it" (when the book is closed, the words cover Otto's heart).
Supporting Otto's footstool is a personification of Earth, and flanking the throne are two crowned rulers, either the emperor's father and grandfather or the kings of recently Christianized Poland and Hungary, Bolesław and Stephen, both raised to royal status by Otto II. Below, two soldiers and two archbishops are entirely earthbound and represent the secular and religious pillars of the empire. The manuscript page affirms Otto's rightful place in both the celestial and terrestrial realms. The Ottonian ruler is shown as a variant of Christ in Majesty, a Christomimetic king blessed with a powerfully sacral aura that unites his dominions because his heart is full of the Gospels.
This unique image flatters the young ruler by showing him against a celestial gold ground, wearing imperial Roman garments and holding the cross-orb that since late antiquity signified Christian rule. Otto sits with arms extended, as if crucified, within a mandorla normally reserved for images of Christ. A giant hand of God emerges from heaven to place a crown on his head, while four evangelist symbols support a white scarf that divides heaven from earth. The scarf covers Otto's heart, which echoes the text on the facing page: "May God clothe your heart with this book, O august Otto; remember Liuthar from whom you received it" (when the book is closed, the words cover Otto's heart).
Supporting Otto's footstool is a personification of Earth, and flanking the throne are two crowned rulers, either the emperor's father and grandfather or the kings of recently Christianized Poland and Hungary, Bolesław and Stephen, both raised to royal status by Otto II. Below, two soldiers and two archbishops are entirely earthbound and represent the secular and religious pillars of the empire. The manuscript page affirms Otto's rightful place in both the celestial and terrestrial realms. The Ottonian ruler is shown as a variant of Christ in Majesty, a Christomimetic king blessed with a powerfully sacral aura that unites his dominions because his heart is full of the Gospels.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Repository and Online Resources:
• This Gospel book is now in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
