bavarikon4UDescription
The Fulda Sacramentary typifies the structural changes that sacramentaries underwent in Carolingian times, when artistic embellishment was increasingly concentrated on the canon. The opening letter T (of Te igitur; "Thee, therefore," the first prayer of the mass) of the sacramentary has been transformed on folio 12 recto into a picture of the crucified Christ, surrounded by four medallions depicting, respectively, the hand of God, Saint Mary, Saint John, and a priest in adoration. Executed at the Benedictine monastery at Corvey in the last third of the tenth century, the sacramentary is one of the earliest examples of the new artistic trends. The manuscript still bears a contemporary binding with ivory plaques. It was preserved in the treasury of the cathedral of Verdun until the 18th century. From there, it came into the Mannheim court library, which was transferred to Munich in 1803-4.