Codex Aureus of Echternach

The Codex Aureus of Echternach (Codex aureus Epternacensis) is an illuminated Gospel Book, created approximate between 1045 and 1046, with a re-used front cover from around the 980s. 

The manuscript contains the Vulgate versions of the four gospels plus prefatory matter including the Eusebian canon tables, and is a major example of Ottonian illumination, though the manuscript, as opposed to the cover, probably falls just outside the end of rule by the Ottonian dynasty. It was produced at the Abbey of Echternach under the direction of Abbot Humbert.

The manuscript has 136 folios which measure 446 mm by 310 mm. It is one of the most lavishly illuminated Ottonian manuscripts. It contains over 60 decorative pages including 16 full page miniatures, 9 full page initials, 5 evangelist portraits, 10 decorated pages of canon tables, and 16 half-page initials. In addition, there are 503 smaller initials, and pages painted to resemble textiles. The entire text is written in goldink.