Silver Bible added to Memory of the World Register
The Silver Bible at Uppsala University Library is Sweden’s most precious book and one of the world’s most famous manuscripts. It was written in Italy in the early 6th century. As of yesterday it is inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. See web TV about the Silver Bible.
On May 25, UNESCO decided to add the Silver Bible to its Memory of the World Register. This register, which now comprises 238 objects, includes all types of materials, such as stone, celluloid, parchment, audio recordings, and much more. By helping to protect and display such a diverse archive, UNESCO’s Memory of the World program aspires to bolster the creative riches and diversity of human cultures and societies.
“We are delighted and proud to be on the Memory of the World Register,” says Ulf Göranson, chief librarian at Uppsala University Library. “This is in recognition of the fact that our foremost medieval treasure is deserving of special protection.”
“Our being added is largely a result of all our efforts to make the Silver Bible accessible to the general public,” Ulf Göranson believes.
The Silver Bible has long been on display at Uppsala University Library, but last autumn it was also made available via the Web to people all over the world. The "Silver Bible Online" project was originally intended to facilitate access to the book for language researchers and students.
“But historians, archeologists, and others interested in Gothic culture can benefit from the project, along with anyone else who is curious about Gothic scripts and literature,” says Lars Munkhammar, who directs the project.
Despite its name, the Silver Bible is not a complete Bible, but rather a collection of the four Gospels, an evangelarium, in the Gothic language. It was translated from the Greek to Gothic in the 4th century by the Gothic bishop Wulfila, who also devised the Gothic alphabet. Originally the Silver Bible had at least 336 pages. Of these, 187 are preserved in Uppsala.
The Silver Bible was probably copied in Ravenna in the early 6th century. It is written on thin purple parchment in gold and silver ink. The silver writing dominates, prompting the name “Silver Book,” "codex argenteus" in Latin. It was presumably originally bound in a deluxe edition adorned with pearls and precious stones. The Silver Bible is one of the oldest and most extensive of all preserved documents in the Gothic language. The writing area on each page evinces measurements that correspond to the Golden Section, that is, the height relates to the breadth in the same way as the sum of the height and breadth relates to the height. The four arches at the bottom of each page are canonical tables, one for each evangelist. They constitute a cross-reference system for biblical passages in the Gospels.
The Silver Bible was known in the 16th century, when it was kept in a Benedictine monastery in Werden in the Ruhr district. Before 1600 it came into the possession of Emperor Rudolph II and was held in Prague when Swedish troops invaded the city in 1648. As Swedish war booty it was incorporated into the library of Queen Christina. Following the abdication of the queen, it fell to her librarian, Isaac Vossius, who took it to Holland. From there it was purchased by Chancellor of the Realm (and University Chancellor) Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, who donated it to Uppsala University in 1669.
Web TV about the Silver Bible.
Read more about the Silver Bible
Silver Bible Online
Anna Malmberg