The medieval tradition of gifting codices
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| Notarial authentication of the facsimile of the Codex Calixtinus |
BUY YOUR FACSIMILE OF THE CODEX CALIXTINUS NOW: Here
Whether for the richness of their miniatures or the value of their content, medieval manuscripts have always been considered collector's items: monastery and cathedral libraries house magnificent examples from all periods, and bibliophiles collect them impulsively. These manuscripts have frequently been given as gifts for special occasions, such as weddings, births, or engagements.
In today's post we are going to show you a selection of the best manuscripts that for one reason or another, or by one entity or another, were given to illustrious celebrities or members of royalty.
BOOK OF HOURS OF THE MEDICI
It was commissioned by Pope Leo X as a wedding gift for his nephew, Lorenzo II the Younger, to Madeleine de la Tour. Around 1518, it was illuminated by some of the most prestigious Florentine miniaturists of the early 16th century: Giovanni di Giualiano Boccardi, Boccardino the Elder, his son Francesco di Giovanni Boccardi, Boccardino the Younger, and Stefano di Tommaso de Giovanni (Lunetti). For this reason, the codex is also known as the Boccardino Codex.
THE LIBRO D'ORE DI LORENZO DE MEDICI
The codex is one of the five “libriccini delli offitii, di donna” (that is, small Books of Hours intended for the female public) cited in the inventory drawn up in 1492 upon the death of Lorenzo de Medici, who must have commissioned them as a wedding gift for his daughters.
BOOK OF HOURS OF ISABELLA THE CATHOLIC
This book was the wedding gift from the city of Zaragoza to Isabella the Catholic and stands out for the beauty of its iconography, which places it among the most appreciated of the so-called Flemish school.
King Sancho's Bible. The monarch commissioned a new copy of the Bible as a gift for a woman of high social standing, who could have been his sister, Doña Berenguela, at her wedding to Richard the Lionheart, or for his mother, Doña Sancha of Castile.
STATUTE OF THE PRIVILEGES OF NOBILITY OF BLOOD
The Malaga City Council presented Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz with a facsimile of the book 'Statutes of the Privileges of Nobility of Blood', granted by Philip IV to the councilors of the city of Malaga.
CITY TITLE GRANTED BY KING FERDINAND VI TO SANTANDER IN 1755
The Santander City Council chose the facsimile as a wedding gift for the Prince and Princess of Asturias. The edition, written on parchment with a gilt border, is a faithful reproduction of King Ferdinand VI's letter.
STATUTES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ZARAGOZA
The University of Zaragoza presented the Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón, and his fiancée Doña Letizia Ortiz, with a facsimile edition of the 1753 Statutes of this academic institution, which were approved by Fernando VI.
Charter of Ferdinand III to the citizens of Baeza
The Baeza City Council (Jaén) presented a facsimile of the charter granted by King Ferdinand III to the inhabitants of this municipality after the conquest of the city in the 13th century. The City Council decided to give the couple "a book as important to the people of Baeza" as the charter that King Ferdinand III 'The Saint' granted to the city after its definitive conquest in 1227. The Baeza City Council commissioned a specialized company to create a facsimile of the Charter of Baeza that would reproduce "in the same materials of leather, rope, and wood" the 100 parchment folds containing the text written in Gothic script with red and black characters.
NOTEBOOK OF LAWS, ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS, made at the request of the three Estates of the Kingdom of Navarre
The "Notebook of Laws, Ordinances, and Provisions, made at the request of the three Estates of the Kingdom of Navarre, by His Majesty: or in his name in 1553 in the General Courts held in the said Kingdom by the call of the Lord Duke Viceroy." Title of the book that the Public University of Navarre presented to the royal couple. It is a facsimile edition of the book, which was printed in Estella (Navarre) in 1553 by Adrian of Amberes. The gift was made jointly by all Spanish universities through the Conference of Rectors (CRUE).
EARNEST MONEY OF THE CID
< ‘This is a gift from the City Council to the couple who exchanged vows on the 29th,’ reads the note from the Mayor of Burgos, Juan Carlos Aparicio, accompanying the gift. Through Westminster Abbey, the site of their wedding, the newlyweds received a facsimile of one of the few surviving documents pertaining to the legendary figure of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar: the marriage contract of El Cid and Doña Jimena, the original of which is kept in the Cathedral.
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