Carolingian Sacramentary Fragment Facsimile Edition

The Carolingian Sacramentary Fragment in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek is, even in its fragmentary state, a fine example of Franco-Saxon illumination. The manuscript was made at the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in northeastern France around 860. The surviving leaves of this Christian liturgical book—probably the most elaborately illuminated section—include two decorated incipit pages and six decorated text pages of excellent quality, with the text written entirely in gold.

A sacramentary contains the prayers said by the celebrating priest at Mass throughout the liturgical year. These include the Canon of the Mass—the prayers said as the Eucharistic elements are prepared and consumed, which do not change from feast day to feast day.

A Style Fit for an Emperor

The term Franco-Saxon was created to describe a style of illumination found in the Second Bible of Charles the Bald (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 2), made at the behest of Charlemagne's grandson. That Bible and the Carolingian Sacramentary Fragment are among the finest representatives of the style in its heyday at Saint-Amand, when the monastery was creating manuscripts for export.

Intricate Detail

The sacramentary's eight decorated pages feature delicate interlace patterns set into painted frames composed of panels outlined in bands of gold and silver. The decorated incipit pages also include enlarged letters filled with interlace and terminating in stylized birds' heads. Further designs are composed of small dots in red and green. It is the interlace and the dotting that give the style the Saxon of its name, for these are decorative motifs learned from Insular art.

Monumental Impression

The width of the frames, which are stout, and the corner pieces contribute to the monumentality of the manuscript's appearance. The corner pieces, their outlines formed of bands of silver, contain balanced floral motifs placed symmetrically around the page, figuratively anchoring each page's design. It is this grandeur associated with the Frankish Carolingians that gives the style the Franco of its name.

Carolingian Display Scripts

A determining factor in the appearance of the decorated pages is the script, a revival of the majuscule Uncial of late antiquity, written in gold. The headings (called rubrics after their red color) are in Rustic Capitals, another script revived from ancient Rome. The main script of the manuscript (seen on the non-decorated pages) is Caroline Minuscule, the highly legible script perfected in the early ninth century that dominated Europe for 300 years.

Sojourns in Italy and Spain

By the end of the ninth century, the complete sacramentary was probably at the Benedictine monastery of Santo Columbano at Bobbio in northern Italy, where two sets of additions were inscribed in the margins, and both text and musical neumes were added between the lines. The book was reduced to its fragmentary state at some time after 1461.

The fragmentary manuscript is presumed to have been in the collection of the Franciscan bibliophile and Archbishop of Valencia, Antonio Folch de Cardona (1657-1724), who took it with him into exile in Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession. The current binding of silk brocade over pasteboard dates from the seventeenth century.