From Constantinople to Heidelberg
The Journey of Anthologia Palatina
The Heidelberg Palatine Anthology
What happened to the manuscripts that reached Europe after the fall of Constantinople in 1453?
What was Europe like in the late Medieval period?
Is a manuscript safe once it is acquired by a library?
Many of the Greek manuscripts in libraries like Cambridge and Heidelberg are more than the texts they contain. They bear witness to centuries of conflict, crisis and change and embody those stories.
The Palatine Anthology (Anthologia Palatina) is the most famous Greek manuscript now held in the University Library in Heidelberg. The journeys it took in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries connect it to many of the turbulent events of the period.
Constantinople, 10th century
What is the Anthologia Palatina?
An anthology is a collection of literary works by various authors, literally a ‘gathering of flowers’. The Anthologia Palatina is a unique manuscript containing a collection of poems and extracts spanning 1600 years of Greek literary history, from the sixth century BCE to the 10th century CE.
The anthology was most likely copied in Constantinople around 940 CE and is the work of four separate scribes. It acquired its ‘Palatina’ epithet much later.
The text is an edited version arranged into fifteen books of a huge lost anthology compiled c. 900 CE by a Byzantine schoolteacher called Constantinus Cephalas, which in turn was based on older collections.
The codex is of huge importance to the preservation and tradition of Greek literature. Its 614 pages hold 3,765 epigrams in 23,000 verses. A considerable number of these poems have only survived within this single manuscript.
The thematic diversity of the poetry in the anthology hardly neglects any area of life. Themes of illness and death, love and eroticism, mythology and Christianity, the working environment of mariners and farmers can all be found in the codex.
The manuscript forms the basis of what is known simply as the Greek Anthology, a collection of Greek poems and epigrams used by classical scholars and students today. Its impact on the scholarship of the Greek world cannot be overestimated.
Epigram 7.489
Epigram 7.489
Τιμάδος ἅδε κόνις, τὰν δὴ πρὸ γάμοιο θανοῦσαν
δέξατο Φερσεφόνας κυάνεος θάλαμος,
ἇς καὶ ἀποφθιμένας πᾶσαι νεοθᾶγι σιδάρῳ
ἅλικες ἱμερτὰν κρατὸς ἔθεντο κόμαν.
This is the dust of Timas, whom, dead before her marriage, the dark chamber of Persephone received. When she died, all her girl companions with newly sharpened steel shore their lovely locks.
Epigram 7.489.
Codex Palatinus graecus 23 p. 285.
Translation: The Greek Anthology, Volume II: Book 7: Sepulchral Epigrams. Book 8: The Epigrams of St. Gregory the Theologian. Translated by W. R. Paton. Loeb Classical Library 68. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1917. p.266/267.
Upheaval and dispersal: the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
The medieval history of the anthology remains largely unknown. Like many Greek manuscripts, it probably came to Italy in the middle of the 15th century.
When Constantinople eventually fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Byzantine intellectuals, scribes and monks moved to Italy and further West. They brought with them many Greek manuscripts and contributed to a significant revival in Greek learning and scholarship in western Europe.
Map of Europe at the time of Crusades from Atlas Elementaire Simplifie De Geographie Ancienne Et Moderne.
Map of Europe at the time of Crusades from Atlas Elementaire Simplifie De Geographie Ancienne Et Moderne.
Heidelberg, Germany
Panorama with Key and Crest 1627-1686
In approximately 1600, the anthology reached Heidelberg. It was kept in the famous Bibliotheca Palatina (Palatine Library), from which it received its name, the Palatine Anthology.
From the 1300s, Heidelberg was the capital city of the Electorate of the Palatinate, part of the Holy Roman Empire. Libraries were established around the faculties of the University, founded in 1386. Successive local rulers, known as the Electors Palatine, acquired various collections of books.
In the 16th century, one of the Electors, Otto Henry (1502-1559), brought these collections together. He named the new library 'Bibliotheca Palatina'.
The library was lauded far and wide as 'the mother of all libraries' in the 16th and 17th centuries. It contained many significant medieval manuscripts in Latin, German and Greek, plus an important collection of theological (chiefly Protestant) literature.
Becoming War Loot
Unfortunately, the cultural treasures of the Bibliotheca Palatina became a key target in the religious and political turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries.
During the Reformation the rulers of the Palatine state were early converts to Lutheranism. They later became leading lights of Calvinism. The religious conflict pitted German Protestant states against the Catholic Holy Roman Empire.
At the same time, influential families were competing for influence across Europe. The Habsburg dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire since 1440. Their main rivals, the Bourbons, ruled France and Navarre (Mary Antoinette was the wife of a Bourbon, Louis XVI of France).
Portrait of Pope Gregory XV by Guido Reni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
'Sum de Bibliotheca, quam Heidelberga capta, Spolium fecit, et Pontifici Maximo Gregorio XV. trophaeum misit. Maximilianus utriusque, Bavariae Dux etc. Sancti Romani Imperii Archidapifer et Princeps Elector. Anno Christi M D C XXIII.'
‘I am from the Library which was captured at Heidelberg, taken as war booty, and sent as a trophy to Pope Gregory XV. Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria and Archidapifer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. In the year of our Lord 1623.’
Map of Europe in 1559. From: W. Putzgers historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren und neuen Geschichte. Georg-Eckert-Institut.
Map of Europe in 1559. From: W. Putzgers historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren und neuen Geschichte. Georg-Eckert-Institut.
These two points of conflict led to one of the most destructive wars in European History: The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Libraries and universities were not spared the destruction and looting of the war.
Heidelberg University was a leading centre of humanism and Reformation thought. The collections of the Bibliotheca Palatina made it an object of great desire for the Catholic factions in the Thirty Years' War. Heidelberg was captured by the forces of the Catholic League in December of 1622. On the orders of Pope Gregory XV, in February 1623, the library’s treasures were packed into 196 crates and carried by mules over the Alps.
The Palatine Anthology went with them, as the bookplate pasted on the inside of the cover attests.
Bookplate of the Anthology. P. M. stands for Pontifex Maximus - the pope.
Bookplate of the Anthology. P. M. stands for Pontifex Maximus - the pope.
Becoming War Loot
Unfortunately, the cultural treasures of the Bibliotheca Palatina became a key target in the religious and political turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Map of Europe in 1559. From: W. Putzgers historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren und neuen Geschichte. Georg-Eckert-Institut.
Map of Europe in 1559. From: W. Putzgers historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren und neuen Geschichte. Georg-Eckert-Institut.
During the Reformation the rulers of the Palatine state were early converts to Lutheranism. They later became leading lights of Calvinism. The religious conflict pitted German Protestant states against the Catholic Holy Roman Empire.
At the same time, influential families were competing for influence across Europe. The Habsburg dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire since 1440. Their main rivals, the Bourbons, ruled France and Navarre (Mary Antoinette was the wife of a Bourbon, Louis XVI of France).
These two points of conflict led to one of the most destructive wars in European History: The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Libraries and universities were not spared the destruction and looting of the war.
Heidelberg University was a leading centre of humanism and Reformation thought. The collections of the Bibliotheca Palatina made it an object of great desire for the Catholic factions in the Thirty Years' War. Heidelberg was captured by the forces of the Catholic League in December of 1622. On the orders of Pope Gregory XV, in February 1623, the library’s treasures were packed into 196 crates and carried by mules over the Alps.
Portrait of Pope Gregory XV by Guido Reni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Palatine Anthology went with them, as the bookplate pasted on the inside of the cover attests.
'Sum de Bibliotheca, quam Heidelberga capta, Spolium fecit, etc Pontifici Maximo Gregorio XV. trophaeum misit. Maximilianus utriusque, Bavariae Dux et Sancti Romani Imperii Archidapifer et Princeps Elector. Anno Christi M D C XXIII.'
‘I am from the Library which was captured at Heidelberg, taken as war booty, and sent as a trophy to Pope Gregory XV. Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria and Archidapifer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. In the year of our Lord 1623.’
P. M. stands for Pontifex Maximus - the pope.
P. M. stands for Pontifex Maximus - the pope.
The Key Players of 16th and 17th Century Europe
Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cardinal Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Richelieu was Louis XII's right hand man during the war.
Cardinal Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Richelieu was Louis XII's right hand man during the war.
Johannes Calvin. Wien Museum CC0.
Johannes Calvin. Wien Museum CC0.
Habsburgs: Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Eleonora Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua by Justus Sustermans (1597–1681). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Habsburgs: Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Eleonora Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua by Justus Sustermans (1597–1681). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Bourbons: Louis XIII of France (1601-1643) by Peter Paul Rubens. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Bourbons: Louis XIII of France (1601-1643) by Peter Paul Rubens. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
A New Home and a New Name.
In August 1623 the crates of books reached the Vatican. Most of them (184 out of the 196 crates) were incorporated into the Vatican Apostolic Library (Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana or BAV). The printed books of the Bibliotheca Palatina were split up and sorted into the pre-existing categories of the Vatican's collection. The Latin, Greek, German and Hebrew manuscripts were shelved separately and assigned Latin names which testified to their origins. The Greek manuscripts were all named Pal. graec. (Palatinus graecus) with a number.
The Palatine Anthology bears this code in Heidelberg Library today: Cod.Pal.graec.23
Interior of BAV, 1865. Albumen silver print. Unknown maker, Italian.
Interior of BAV, 1865. Albumen silver print. Unknown maker, Italian.
Split in Two
The manuscript was split into two volumes, probably before it arrived at the Vatican Library. The existence of the bookplates of Duke Maximilian in both volumes attests to this. These were glued into the manuscripts while they were repacked in Munich on their way from Heidelberg to the Vatican. It is not clear why the codex was split into two volumes.
Volume I contains pages 1 to 614 while volume II is much thinner, containing pages 615 to 662.
The bindings date from the time of Francesco Saverio de Zelada, who was librarian at the BAV from 1779 to 1797.
Book spines of Volume 1 and 2.
Book spines of Volume 1 and 2.
Cover of Volume 1 of the Palatine Anthology
Cover of Volume 1 of the Palatine Anthology
Cover of Volume 2 of the Anthology
Cover of Volume 2 of the Anthology
List of folios in Volume 1 added during the anthology's time at the Vatican
List of folios in Volume 1 added during the anthology's time at the Vatican
List of folios in volume 2 added during the anthology's time at the Vatican
List of folios in volume 2 added during the anthology's time at the Vatican
War Loot Once Again
French Revolutionary War
War & Loot
The Palatine Anthology stayed in the Vatican Libraries for less than 200 years. Once again, the collection of epigrams became war loot. The Treaty of Tolentino (1797) decided its next journey. The treaty was actually a surrender by Pope Pius VI and the Papal States to the French Revolutionary army, and its general Napoleon.
As part of the treaty, the Vatican agreed to hand over many of its treasures. The loot included hundreds of works of art and 500 notable manuscripts, the anthology among them.
The taking of cultural treasures as spoils of war has a long history in Europe. The French Revolutionary Government and Napoleon formalised the idea of war loot, and arguably, took it to new extremes.
Works of art and cultural objects became a part of any peace treaty or armistice agreement. Napoleon aimed to use the war booty to turn Paris into the cultural capital of Europe. He and his government used conquest to furnish the Louvre, the National Library and other museums.
Images:
1. Portrait of Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole.
2. Entry of the French through the Rotenturm Gate, Vienna, on November 13, 1805.
Both volumes of the anthology joined the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.
The red stamps of the Bibliothèque on the first and last page are evidence of the manuscript's presence in Paris.
Congress of Vienna
1814-1815
From 1623 onwards, repeated attempts were made by Heidelberg to recover the manuscripts. Yet it was only in the aftermath of another great European war that some of the manuscripts could be returned to their old home.
After France surrendered in May 1814, Europe was in disarray. Borders and governments were gone, a huge quantity of European cultural treasures had been relocated to France and the danger of further war loomed. The Congress of Vienna was supposed to solve all of this.
Restitution?
European cities and nations were outraged at the scale of looting during the Napoleonic Wars. Restitution talks formed part of the congress. However, most of the art had been legally handed over to Napoleon's armies in formal peace treaties. Exacting returns was difficult. The fact that many of the objects, including the Heidelberg manuscripts, were previously looted from somewhere else, complicated matters further.
In the end, the Anthologia Palatina returned to Heidelberg, not the Vatican from where it was taken. In part, this was thanks to the negotiations at the Congress of Vienna of the Heidelberg University librarian. Friedrich Wilken had great influence over the Prussian administration ruling Paris at that time. At that point, the manuscript was over 800 years old.
Stamp of Heidelberg Library, pressed onto the first sheet of the manuscripts that came back from Paris to Heidelberg in 1815.
Stamp of Heidelberg Library, pressed onto the first sheet of the manuscripts that came back from Paris to Heidelberg in 1815.
Only one of the volumes of the Anthology was returned to Heidelberg. It is said that the second, smaller volume was hidden by French librarians so that the German officers only found volume 1 (Cod. Pal. graec. 23). The second volume is still in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.
The Journey of Anthologia Palatina: Conclusion
The Anthologia Palatina is one of the treasures of the Heidelberg UniversityLibrary.
This manuscript probably began its life in the 10th century CE. At that time the Anglo-Saxon kings of England were still struggling to conquer the Vikings. The First Crusade of the Holy Land will happen 150 years later, in 1096 CE.
Today, the pages of the manuscript are over 1000 years old. This is a remarkable survival given its tumultuous history. Its digitisation allows readers all around the world to study and understand this unique collection of the flowers of Greek literature.
A map of Europe with the political divisions after the Peace of Paris and Congress of Vienna serves as the background in this short clip.
A map of Europe with the political divisions after the Peace of Paris and Congress of Vienna serves as the background in this short clip.
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List of Images
All Images of The Palatine Anthology: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. graec. 23, Public Domain 1.0
Heidelberg Panorama with Key and Crest;
Reproduction of a line engraving by K. Merian. © Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark
Engraving of Johannes Calvin: Cornelis Danckerts, der Jüngere (copper engraver), around 1700 questionable, © Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. W 1047, CC0.
Portraits of Pope Gregory XV, Martin Luther, Cardinal Richelieu, The Hapsburgs and Louis XII: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Interior of BAV, 1865. Albumen silver print. Unknown maker, Italian, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.
Images of Codicis Anthologiæ Palatini pars altera [XIV-XV, — fol. 615-662] (vol 2 of Palatine Anthology)
© source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.
Un jour de revue sous l'Empire (1810). Au fond, l'arc de triomphe du Carrousel et lesTuileries (1862). Bellangé, Hippolyte-Joseph-Louis, École de France,
© 2016 RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux
Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Entry of the French through the Rotenturm Gate on November 13, 1805, colourised etching, Unknown, "Entrée Triomphale de la Grande Armée Francaise ...", 1805, © Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 32723, CC0
1814/15 Session at the Congress of Vienna 1814/15 (Sitzung des Wiener Kongresses) Friedrich Campe (1777—1846), © Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 212831, CC0.
List of Maps
Map of Europe at the time of Crusades; Full Title: L'Europe au Temps des Croisades. (inset) Antioch. (inset) Jerusalem en 1099. Atlas Elementaire Simplifie. Publie par J. Andriveau-Goujon. E. Soulier del. A Paris, chez Andriveau-Goujon, Editeur, Rue du Bac, No. 17. Revu par Mr. Hase, Membre de l'Institut.
© David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Map of Europe in 1559. From: W. Putzgers historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten,mittleren und neuen Geschichte. Georg-Eckert-Institut. © GEI-Digital, Europa im 16. Jahrhundert (1559), Public Domain.
Map of Europe with the political divisions after the Peace of Paris and Congress of Vienna. (Composite of) Neele sculpt., 352 Strand, London. Drawn & engraved for Thomson's New general atlas, 1816. © David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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