Lesson plan

Uta Codex

reads the mass, from the Uta Codex The Uta Codex (Clm. 13601, Bavarian State Library, Munich) is a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary. It contains those portions of the gospels which are read during church services. "Unlike most Gospel lectionaries, the individual readings in the Uta Codex are not arranged in calendrical order, but are instead grouped together after their respective Gospel authors." It was commissioned around 1025 by Abbess Uta of Niedermünster, Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany, and produced in the scriptorium of Saint Emmeram's Abbey. It is a spectacular Ottonian manuscript, and is famous for its gem-encrusted gold case, with a relief of Christ in Majesty, as well as for the eight full-page miniatures. German art historian George Swarzenski described the Uta Codex as "the wonderful gospel book, which is perhaps the most significant work of Western illumination of its time." The manuscript consists of 119 parchment sheets, 382 × 274 mm. Four full-page frontispieces illustrate 1) the Hand of God, 2) Abbess Uta dedicating the codex to the Virgin and Child, 3) the Crucifixion, and 4) Saint Erhard, patron saint of the convent, celebrating Mass. A portrait of each the four Evangelists accompanies the readings from their Gospel.

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Article summary

reads the mass, from the Uta Codex The Uta Codex (Clm. 13601, Bavarian State Library, Munich) is a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary. It contains those portions of the gospels which are read during church services. "Unlike most Gospel lectionaries, the individual readings in the Uta Codex are not arranged in calendrical order, but are instead grouped together after their respective Gospel authors." It was commissioned around 1025 by Abbess Uta of Niedermünster, Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany, and produced in the scriptorium of Saint Emmeram's Abbey. It is a spectacular Ottonian manuscript, and is famous for its gem-encrusted gold case, with a relief of Christ in Majesty, as well as for the eight full-page miniatures. German art historian George Swarzenski described the Uta Codex as "the wonderful gospel book, which is perhaps the most significant work of Western illumination of its time." The manuscript consists of 119 parchment sheets, 382 × 274 mm. Four full-page frontispieces illustrate 1) the Hand of God, 2) Abbess Uta dedicating the codex to the Virgin and Child, 3) the Crucifixion, and 4) Saint Erhard, patron saint of the convent, celebrating Mass. A portrait of each the four Evangelists accompanies the readings from their Gospel.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.