Stockholm Codex Aureus facts for kids

The Stockholm Codex Aureus is a very old and special book from the 700s. It's also known as the Codex Aureus of Canterbury. This book contains the four Gospels from the Bible and was made in a part of England called Southumbria, probably in a city called Canterbury. What makes it so unique is its amazing artwork, which mixes styles from different places, like Insular art (from Ireland and Britain) and Italian art.

What is the Codex Aureus?

The Codex Aureus is a type of book called a Gospel book. This means it contains the texts of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books were very important in early Christian times.

How Big is the Book?

The book has 193 pages that are still around today. Each page is quite large, measuring about 39.5 centimeters (15.5 inches) tall and 31.4 centimeters (12.4 inches) wide.

What are the Pages Made Of?

The pages are made from vellum, which is a type of parchment made from animal skin. What's really cool is that some pages are dyed a rich purple color, while others are left their natural creamy color.

• The purple pages are written with shiny gold, silver, and white ink.
• The natural colored pages use black and red ink.

Sometimes, the different colored inks are even arranged to make cool geometric patterns! Using purple pages was a very fancy thing to do back then. It was usually only for books made for emperors or very important people.

Amazing Artwork and Style

The Codex Aureus is famous for its beautiful pictures and decorations. It has:

• Two pictures of the Gospel writers (like Matthew and John).
• Six canon tables, which are like fancy indexes for the Gospels.
• Seven large, decorated letters at the start of important sections.

This book is the oldest example we know of where gold leaf was used to decorate letters! The art style is a mix of different influences. You can see swirling Celtic designs and knotwork from Insular art, but also calmer, more realistic styles from the Mediterranean region. It's like two different art worlds came together in one book!

For example, the picture of Matthew the Evangelist looks very Italian, but his chair has Celtic knotwork. The page next to it, with the start of Matthew's Gospel, has bold Celtic spirals. It's thought that the same artist created both pages, showing they were skilled in many styles.

The Book's Journey Through Time

The Codex Aureus has a very interesting history.

Who Made the Book?

An old message written in the book asks for prayers for four people: Wulfhelm (who was a goldsmith), Ceolhard, Niclas, and Ealhhun. These people were probably the monks who created this amazing book and its original fancy metal cover.

Rescued from Vikings!

In the late 800s, something dramatic happened. A Viking army stole the book during one of their raids in Kent, England. But a brave leader named Ealdorman Alfred (not King Alfred the Great, but another important Alfred from Surrey) paid a ransom to get it back!

There's a message written in Old English right in the book that tells this story. It says:

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I, Ealdorman Alfred and Wærburh my wife obtained these books from the heathen army with our pure money, that was with pure gold, and this we did for the love of God and for the benefit of our souls and because we did not wish these holy books to remain longer in heathen possession. And now they wish to give them to Christ Church to the praise and glory and honour of God..."

After Alfred rescued it, he gave the book to Christ Church, Canterbury, a very important church.

Where is it Now?

Later, in the 1500s and 1600s, the book ended up in Spain. Then, in 1690, it was bought for the royal collection in Sweden. Today, you can find this incredible ancient book safe and sound in the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm.

Images for kids

• Codex Aureus (A 135) p020.tif

  Folio 9 verso, portrait of Matthew

• Codex Aureus (A 135) p023.tif

  Folio 11 recto, decorated text of Matthew 1:18