Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, MS Bibl. 140

Bamberg Apocalypse Facsimile Edition

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The Bamberg Apocalypse is one of the finest achievements of Ottonian manuscript illumination. It contains the Christian biblical book of the Apocalypse—Saint John the Divine's vision of the events leading to the end of time—and lections from the Gospel accounts of the life of Christ. Created at the Benedictine monastery on the island of Reichenau in the first quarter of the eleventh century, the manuscript is justly famous for its illumination, which comprises fifty-seven masterfully painted miniatures shimmering with gold.

The book's illumination is stylistically related to that of two books made for Ottonian emperors, the Gospels of Otto III and the Pericopes of Henry II. The three manuscripts are members of the Liuthar group, named after the scribe of yet another imperial manuscript (Aachen, Domschatzkammer).

Made for an Emperor

Between the two portions of the manuscript is a magnificent pair of facing miniatures. The left-hand image depicts a ruler being crowned by Saints Peter and Paul and receiving tribute from personifications of his lands. On the facing page is an image of Old Testament figures vanquishing vices (fols. 59v-60r). The manuscript is believed to have been created for the pictured ruler. There is, however, no true consensus as to his identity—whether Otto III (980-1002) or his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, Henry II (973-1024). It is possible that work on the book began with Otto as the intended recipient and was completed during Henry's reign.

Calm yet Terrifying

The Bamberg Apocalypse is unique in its approach to illustrating the often-violent events of Saint John's vision. The presentation is economical yet monumental, with the terror of the episodes expressed principally through imposing figures, their facial expressions, and the exaggerated gestures of their oversized hands.

The miniature of the confrontation between the woman clothed in the sun and the dragon, for example, presents the two figures before a large field of gold leaf. The depicted woman transfixes our attention with her stare, and she protects her newborn son from the dragon with her outstretched hand (fol. 29v).

From the End of Time to the Incarnation

The manuscript's program of illumination takes an abrupt turn after the ruler portrait, which separates the book's two portions. Unlike the Apocalypse miniatures, the five paintings in the lectionary—while expertly painted—are conventional, following well-established norms for Ottonian illumination.

Characteristic Ottonian Initials

The text of the Apocalypse is divided into sections marked by large painted initials of stylized gold vines interlacing through latticework placed against blue and green fields of color. Each Gospel lection is introduced by a decorated initial of the same type, and the readings for Christmas Eve, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost have their opening text in gold display script on purple grounds (fols. 62r, 70r, 70v, and 72r).

Registered by UNESCO

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his consort, Cunegunda (d. 1033), Empress, donated the manuscript to the collegiate church of Sankt Stephan in Bamberg, which they founded in 1020. It then had a treasure binding, from which a carved agate survives (Munich, Schatzkammer der Residenz).

The book entered the Staatsbibliothek at its founding in 1803, received its present binding in 1960, and was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2003. The library characterizes the manuscript as the most important in its collection.

We have 3 facsimiles of the manuscript "Bamberg Apocalypse":

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Manuscript book description compiled by Sasha Gorjeltchan.
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#1 Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse

Frankfurt: Insel Verlag, 1961

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag

+ 5

Ausgewählte Miniaturen der Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
Facsimile edition by Insel Verlag
  • Commentary (German) by Oehms, Ludwig
  • Collection: a selection of documents associated by a common thread and collected by the publisher in a single edition.

Collection of 12 individual facsimile leaves from the Bamberger Apocalypse (Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140).

1. fol. 4v: John is instructed to write to the communities of Ephesus and Smyrna (Apoc. 2, 1-7, 8-11)

2. fol. 9r: Writing order to the community of Laodicea (Apoc. 3, 14-22)

3. fol. 10v: The enthroned in heaven (Apoc. 4, 1-8)

4. fol. 24v: The blowing of the sixth trumpet - the four Euphrates angels and the mounted troops (Apoc. 9, 13-19)

5. fol. 29v: The Woman of the Apocalypse and the Dragon (Apoc. 11, 19-12, 5)

6. fol. 31v: The dragon chases the woman (Apoc. 12, 13-16)

7 fol. 45r: The fall of Babylon (Apoc. 18, 1-20)

8. fol. 46r: The angel with the millstone (Apoc. 18, 21)

9. fol. 57r: The stream of living water (Apoc. 22, 1-9)

10. fol. 61v: Opening page of the evangeliary

11. fol. 63v: Birth and proclamation of birth by the shepherds

12. fol. 68v: Crucifixion and burial

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#2 Bamberger Apokalypse

Lucerne or Munich: Faksimile Verlag, 2000

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag

+ 20

Bamberger Apokalypse, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
Facsimile edition by Faksimile Verlag
  • Commentary (German) by Baumgärtel-Fleischmann, Renate; Shalem, Avinoam; Christe, Yves; Pippal, Martina; Schneidmüller, Bernd; Wind, Peter; Wünsche, Peter; Klein, Peter K.; Kippes, Christine; Schemmel, Bernhard; Schorta, Regula; Suckale-Redlefsen, Gude
  • Limited Edition: 980 copies + 80 copies in Roman numerals
  • Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document, Bamberg Apocalypse: the facsimile attempts to replicate the look-and-feel and physical features of the original document; pages are trimmed according to the original format; the binding might not be consistent with the current document binding.

Binding

Bound in red woven silk. The binding reproduces that of another manuscript of Henry II.

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#3 Apocalisse di Bamberg

Rome: Salerno Editrice, 2002

+ 3

L'Apocalisse di Bamberg, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice
Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice

+ 3

L'Apocalisse di Bamberg, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice
Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice

+ 3

L'Apocalisse di Bamberg, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice
Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice

+ 3

L'Apocalisse di Bamberg, Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc. Bibl. 140, Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice
Facsimile edition by Salerno Editrice
  • Commentary (Italian) by Baumgärtel-Fleischmann, Renate; Shalem, Avinoam; Christe, Yves; Pippal, Martina; Schneidmüller, Bernd; Wind, Peter; Wünsche, Peter; Klein, Peter K.
  • Limited Edition: 247 copies
  • Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document, Bamberg Apocalypse: the facsimile attempts to replicate the look-and-feel and physical features of the original document; pages are trimmed according to the original format; the binding might not be consistent with the current document binding.

This facsimile is a co-edition between Faksimile Verlag and Salerno Editrice.

Binding

Bound in red leather decorated with blind tooling.

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