Grimalt Codex
The Grimalt Codex, now manuscript 397 in the abbey library of Saint Gall, is the surviving vade mecum (personal reference handbook) of Abbot Grimald of Saint Gall (r. 841–872). It contains poetic, liturgical, computistic, mythological, scientific and historical material, including a calendar and glossaries, in both Latin and Old High German. In its final form, the manuscript is the work of about forty different scribes.[1] Grimald himself may have written some of the material.[2]
The Grimalt Codex sometimes resided at the court of King Louis the German and contains material related to the functioning of the royal palace.[3] It contains prayers of acclamation for the health and salvation of Louis, Queen Emma, their children and the army;[4] a copy of the ancient Notitia Galliarum;[5] notices of Louis's victories in the battle of the Ries and battle of Fontenoy;[6] the Frankish names of the months invented by Charlemagne;[7] and a blessing for the ordeal of boiling water.[8]
The Grimalt Codex contains two sets of Egyptian days.[9] The latest dated entry in the codex is from 867. Following the obituaries of the emperors Charlemagne (815 [sic]) and Louis the Pious (840), it notes that Louis the German has ruled with "the imperial power in east Francia" for 27 years.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 397, accessed 28 December 2024.
- ^ a b Goldberg 2006, p. 289.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 136.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 188, citing pp. 1–3 in the codex.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 136, citing pp. 48–51 in the codex.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 195, citing p. 27 in the codex.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 182, citing p. 16 in the codex.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, p. 229, citing p. 18 in the codex.
- ^ Lenneke van Raaij, "Studying Dies Aegyptiaci in Ninth-Century St. Gall", accessed 28 December 2024.
Works cited
[edit]- Goldberg, Eric J. (2006). Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German, 817–876. Cornell University Press.