Birth of Christ and Transfiguration, Gospel Birth of Christ and Transfiguration, Gospel

This piece belongs to the so-called ‚Reichen-Gruppe‘, of the school of cologne book illumination from Ottonian times and may have been a gift from Cologne’s archbishop Anno. He directed the Bamberg cathedral school until 1056 and remained connected to it later.

The Codex contains the four gospels, each being introduced by an author’s picture and a decorative page.
Another double-sided miniature is preceding the Prologue for the Gospel of John, both of these sides being shown here. Here we can see the left page where a blessing Christ is depicted. He is enthroned over the earth, the upper half of which is populated by angels. Beneath that, an admiration of an idol and a christening scene are shown.