Sacramentary of Henry II

Contents and layout

The sacramentary is made up of 358 leaves measuring 298 x 241 mm and contains the Canon of the Mass, the Preface, and the Collects.

The manuscript begins with a lavishly arranged, richly decorated illuminated page, which serves as the title page for a twelve-page liturgical calendar with the list of feast days of the liturgical year inscribed in gold. This is followed by the first figural image: the coronation of Henry. It is followed by a well-known image of Henry enthroned, which is modelled on the depiction of Charles the Bald in the Codex Aureus of St Emmeram, and a miniature of Gregory the Great.

Coronation image

Iconography

The Coronation portrait is the most well known depiction of Henry II in existence and the most significant and discussed image in the sacramentary. It shows the king in front of four windows decorated with alternating mosaic-patterned backgrounds with his hands reaching up to heaven, as he is crowned with a hoop crown by Christ himself who is enthroned on a rainbow in a golden aureola and is making the sign of benediction. The king wears a calf-length tunic with a belt set with gemstones and cross-patterned appliqués and a blue cloak which is held shut by a gem-studded golden brooch. Tunic and cloak seem to be decorated with richly decorated gold borders on the seams. This regal clothing signifies the solemnity of the coronation ceremony. In addition Henry wears dotted hose and golden shoes.

Four haloed figures assist the ruler in pairs. Two of these are angels, who fly down from heaven to present the king with the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword which they hold reverently in veiled hands. Both items are contained within gem-studded cases and cannot therefore be used as weapons, but they are nevertheless not recognisable as Imperial regalia. Instead, the Holy Lance, which is highlighted by its position to the right of Christ, is marked out as the Tree of Life by the small crucifix atop a golden globe which crowns it and by budding branches on its shaft. In addition to the angels there are two bishops in pontifical vestments who support the ruler's arms: One, whose grey hair marks him as the older of the two, is identified as St. Ulrich, the coverter of Augsburg in 993 who had been canonised only ten years before the completion of the sacramentary. Ulrich has the position of honour, to the right of Christ, with St Emmeram to the left. The significance of the two columns between the bishops and the king is not yet entirely clear, but they might refer to the two columns of Solomon's Temple as an expression of strength and power but also as symbols of the Old and New Testaments.

Inscription

The coronation image includes several inscriptions. This verse runs around the outside of the aureola:

Further tituli ring the King himself, running under his feet:

Context

Both text and image make clear that this miniature does not depict the actual historical coronation of Henry on 7 June 1002 in Mainz Cathedral. The illuminator was more interested in indicating the king's status as viceroy of Christ on Earth. The wide outstretched arms of the King recall depictions of Moses in the camp facing the Amalekites with Aaron and Hur holding up his arms until the battle could be won with the help of god (Ex 17:8–17:16). This schema was also used for saints and bishops like Ulrich of Augsburg and Siegbert of Minden and many examples exist from this time, for example, in the Potifical of Henry II. Since there is no model for the coronation depiction in the aforementioned Codex Aureus of St Emmeram, it seems that the composition was chosen specially for Henry, based on Byzantine ruler depictions, like the Menologion of Basil II.

Throne image

After the coronation image comes the image of Henry II enthroned, framed by a 3D meander. In this image the king is depicted facing the viewer, sitting on a box-shaped, golden throne studded with gems under a massice Ciborium which is supported by four pillars and should be understood as a metaphor for heaven. The king's clothing is even more luxuriently decorated than in the coronation image, with large appliqués; the crown however lacks a hoop. In his right hand the king holds a small cross sceptre and in his left hand he holds a Globus cruciger. A cloth of honour is hung behind his head; above it is the Hand of God making the sign of benediction.

Two youthful squires in short tunics flank him, offering him a sword, lance, and shield covered with cloth. They are standing in tall, narrow arcades with wheel chandeliers hanging down from the vaults. Beyond them stand two crowned women with raised cornucopiae with blooming vines growing out of them. There are also two figures in three quarter view in the spandrels next to the baldachin - personifications of tribute bearing subject peoples.

The green colour of the figures' faces is very noticeable - it suggests a high degree of sacredness by giving Henry and the figures who surround him a particular degree of (as it were) anticipated other worldliness.

The easily readable golden inscription in three lines above and below the image says

A very similar image of Charles the Bald found in the Codex Aureus of St Emmeram is the inspiration for this coronation image.

Image of Gregory

After the two images of Henry comes a miniature depicting St Gregory the Great dressed as Pope wearing pontifical robes and a golden maniple over his left arm. He is sitting under the arch of an arcade in a construction with round arches, Oeils-de-boeuf and a corner tower, which is more building than chair. As appropriate for the author of the Sacramentarium Gregorianum, Gregory is depicted facing to the right holding a quill and an eraser as signs of his authorshiup of the sacramentary, whose text he composed under the inspiratuion of the Holy Ghost, which is symbolised by a white dove flying overhead from the right. In the vine tendrils about his head his name is concealed, inscripted with linked letters: GREG[orius] P[a]P[a]. The same composition was also depicted a second time in silver plate on the back cover by a goldsmith.

Cover

The front cover of the book consists of an ivory relief with a depiction of the Crucifixion in the upper part and the women discovering the Empty Tomb in the lower part. This very high quality work was probably made in Lotharingia around 908/90 - i.e. a short time before the sacramentary itself. The simple border made from a sheet of gold derives from a subsequent restoration and reworking of the conver in Bamberg, probably in the 18th century. The ivory relief, surrounded by an acanthus frieze, is essentially symmetrical. The centre shows the cross with Jesus on it with the great tabula ansata at his head with the text: IHS NAZAREN | REX IVDEROV ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews") in capital letters. The snake, defeated by the sacriuficial death of Jesus is wrapped around the foot of the cross. Below this, retaining the same central axis, is the hill of Golgotha and mourning angels. Three angels with their heads behind a band of cloud appear on either side of the centre line, as do the Sun and the Moon (which signify the cosmological significance of the scene), Mary and John, Longinus with the lance and Stephaton with the vinegar sponge, and finally the blessed who rise from sarcophagi in pairs. In the scene below the cross the angel mediates between the empty tomb on the left with two sleeping guards next to it and the three women approaching with anointing vessels at right.

The back cover is an image of the enthroned Pope Gregory the Great in Opus interrasile. The silk cover which was installed much later is now preserved only in fragments. Gregory is depicted here not as an author but as an editor, who removes faulty readings in the text with a scraper at the direction of an angel. This depiction has no iconographic connection to the miniature on fol. 12r of the manuscript.

The clasps of the cover are broad chains of gilt silver. The upper clasp probably belongs to the original cover, the lower one is a later work.

History

The sacramentary contains numerous references to the St. Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg where it was created and to Henry II who paid for its production. The reference to Henry as King (REX) allows its creatuion to be dated before 1014 when Henry was crowned Emperor. The strong support of the dioceses of Regensburg and Augsburg in advancing Henry's candidature could explain the prominent place of saints from Augsburg and Regensburg rather than from Bamberg. In that case a completion before the foundation of the diocese of Bamberg in 1007 seems likely. It was probably originally created for Regensburg Cathedral and the sacramentary is first found in 1012 in connection with the dedication of Bamberg Cathedral. Additions following the synods of 1058 and 1087 before the original text (fol. 1v–3v) made at Bamberg indicate its essentially local value. During secularisation in 1803, the manuscript was at length taken to Munich. The sacramentary served as the model for further manuscripts in various parts of the Empire, especially in Hildesheim and Minden.