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n the most venerable castle library of Gotha in Thuringia (in the ex German Democratic Republic) quite a singular testimony of medieval historical painting has survived the agitations of time. The Saxon World Chronicle (sig.ms.memb.I 90) is a jewel from the 13th century.

It is only with the most recent political changes in Europe that this bibliophilic treasure has abandoned its shadowy existence behind the Iron Curtain. This illuminated manuscript was brought from Wittenberg, the city of Martin Luther, to Gotha in the 17th century. In the 20th century, the codex was transferred a second time to Gotha, this time from Leningrad, to where it had been pilfered by the Soviet Army as a precious loot of war.

There is no doubt that the Gotha copy is the most beautiful testimony of the oldest world historiography in Middle Low German prose. This masterpiece has its roots in the Lands on the rivers Elbe and Saale, with the main cities being Magdeburg and Halle.

It is with surprising ingenuity that the various miniaturists appertaining to the Lower Saxon style managed to intertwine their lively sceneries with the chronicalistic narration of the world history in a way that makes the reader hurry, along the bright variegated chain of scenic pictures, from one historical scene to the other, all through the centuries. The historical patron was not so much interested in the serenity of large size miniatures, but was excited, instead, by the thrilling pace of non stop sequences of snapshots. In 500 pictures, elaborated down to the least detail, the team of artists created this unique and most ingenious peak achievement in the history of German chronicle Illumination.

This Fine Art Facsimile Limited Edition, size 310 x 225 mm, consists of 330 pages and more than 500 miniatures. It comes with an interdisciplinary commentary volume, in German, which contains both a recountal of the chronicle text and an expert description of the book ornaments and is limited to 980 copies world-wide.

A documentation kit containing 2 sample page, in the original size, from the The Book of the World & The Saxon World Chronicle Fine Art Facsimile Volume, plus an illustrated, 12 page information brochure, is available for $US70.