The Uta Codex: Art, Philosophy, and Reform in Eleventh-Century Germany [Hardcover]

Adam S. Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Created at the behest of the abbess Uta, it is not only one of the most beautiful of Ottonian manuscripts but also one of the most complex. The collection of liturgical readings is preceded by four full-page frontispieces illustrating the Hand of God, Uta dedicating the codex to the Virgin and Child, a Crucifixion, and Saint Erhard (the convent s patron saint) celebrating Mass. Four evangelist portraits accompany the readings from each Gospel. In this groundbreaking study, Adam Cohen provides comprehensive explications of the codex s renowned illuminations as well as the first thorough investigation of its historical context.Cohen shows that the lavish miniatures, among the most elaborate pictures of the Middle Ages, use figures, ornaments, Latin tituli, and geometric schemata to fashion visual exegeses of great range and complexity. Through consideration of questions of function, patronage, and program, Cohen also demonstrates that the codex commemorates the abbess Uta s efforts to reform conventual life and education. The Uta Codex will be of interest to scholars of medieval art as well as those exploring questions of women, monastic culture, and intellectual life in the Middle Ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cohen's study proves to be exemplary in many ways. Not only does he provide convincing detailed analysis of texts and images, but he can also unearth important links to the cultural context and illuminate the purpose and function of this important codex. The publishing house is to be lauded for the excellent plates and figures which leave a clear impression of the outstanding accomplishment of all the artists involved in the production of this work. --Dr. Albrecht Classen, Mediaevistik

A tour de force, Cohen's work should not be overlooked by anyone interested in art history or women in the monastic culture and intellectual life of the eleventh century. --John W. Bernhardt, Early Medieval Europe

This is an enjoyable and important book which never fails to be both serious and sympathetic. Nobody who studies Regensburg and its manuscripts, or Ottonian Art more generally, in the future will be able to by-pass it --Henry Mayr-Harting, Catholic Historical Review

About the Author

Adam Cohen has taught at the University of Texas Austin and the University of California Berkeley, and has worked in the Department of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Txt) (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 027101959X
• ISBN-13: 978-0271019598
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,757,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful and Learned Volume, September 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Uta Codex: Art, Philosophy, and Reform in Eleventh-Century Germany (Hardcover)

This elegantly written and beautiful-produced book examines one of the most astonishing of medieval illuminated manuscripts, the Utta Codex. This Codex is one of the boldest and most intricate of early medieval manuscripts--a sumptuous volume that fully deserves the numerous illustrations and the learned commentary provided by Prof. Cohen. Prof. Cohen's account of the Codex explores its role in a monastic world undergoing reform. For example, he reveals the ways in which the Codex's illuminations were understood to suggest the place of monasteries and monastic reform in the harmonies of the larger world and universe. Drawing upon medieval images, texts and music theory, Prof. Cohen shows the Utta Codex to have been ambitious not only its illustrations but also in its vision of monastaries and monastic life. In the course of making this point, Prof. Cohen's book touches upon a host of other important and interesting issues, including the construction of memory and female patronage. Particularly intriguing are his suggestions about what may be the earliest known illustration of the "horned Moses." In short, Prof. Cohen provides a very rich account of a very rich work of art.