Tonary, Collection of Tropes and Sequences Tonary, Collection of Tropes and Sequences

The manuscript contains Gregorian chant for the celebration of the liturgy, which is arranged according to musical keys, as well as melodic embellishments (melismas) and sequences. As emperor Otto III is mentioned in the intercessions, the manuscript must have been written prior to his death in 1002. It is likely that the emperor himself commissioned the book, but did not live to receive it.

Several painters from the Reichenau scriptorium were involved in the manuscript’s illumination. A fullpage miniature for the feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August) shows the deceased virgin surrounded by the apostles. Two angels bear a golden medallion with Mary’s soul towards heaven, while the apostles watch the events with excited gaze and gestures.

The Reichenau origin of the codex is proven by handwritten entries. During the lifetime of Henry II, the placename was modified to Bamberg.