Tegernsee New Testament - Illuminated

This illuminated manuscript, most probably written in the third quarter of the 11th century in the scriptorium of the Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee, comprises the New Testament, but lacks the four Gospels. It includes the prologues and arguments concerning the Pauline epistles, the Pauline epistles themselves, the Acts of the Apostles, the canonical epistles, and the Apocalypse. The text is preceded by a miniature (originally bound between folios seven and eight) depicting the Apostle Paul sitting on a throne in an aedicula (chapel). The two figures standing next to him, each holding a scroll, can be identified as his disciples Timothy and Titus. The groups of figures in the frame sections probably represent the churches to which the Pauline epistles were addressed, because later captions in the margins identify some of these people as Corinthians, Philippians, and Thessalonians. Coloring, conception, and design make this manuscript a typical example of the book production of Tegernsee in the 11th century. The fact that the codex was intensively used in later times is witnessed by supplements dating from the 13th century as well as the replacements for most of the original prologues. The miniature of Paul was partially overpainted in the 15th century. (World Digital Library)