Codex Manesse

die Miniaturen der Grossen Heidelberger Liederhandschrift

Verhaal

Het boek reproduceert de illustraties, of miniaturen, uit de beroemde middeleeuwse Duitse/Zwitserse liederen- en poëzieverzameling, bekend als de Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift of Codex Manesse.

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The "Codex Manesse", also known as the "Great Heidelberg Book of Songs" (Cod. Pal. germ. 848), was created between around 1300 and around 1340 in Zurich and is the most comprehensive collection of ballads and epigrammatic poetry in Middle High German language.

Unesco
As a unique documentary testimony of un
The manuscript is famous for its glorious colourful full-page miniatures. One miniature each is dedicated to 137 singers (one further miniature which cannot be assigned to a poet has remained as pen and ink drawing). The miniatures illustrate the poets in an idealised manner following courtly activities. The miniatures are considered to be an important document of Gothic illumination from the Upper Rhine region. They were made by four illustrators, 110 miniatures are attributed to the so called "Grundstock-Maler", 20 to the first "Nachtragsmaler", 4 to the second and 3 to the third "Nachtragsmaler" (+ one preparatory drawing).

Codex Manesse (Cod. Pal. germ. 848), Kaiser Heinrich VI
The poets are arranged in order of rank. Emperor Henry VI , son of Frederick I Barbarossa, comes first followed by kings, dukes, margraves, counts, barons, ministerialis and lastly commoners.

For reasons of preservation the original codex is kept in an air-conditioned safe and is rarely exhibited.