The silver bible : origins and history of the Codex Argenteus

The Codex Argenteus, the ‘Silver Bible’ in
Uppsala University Library is the most
comprehensive extant text in the Gothic
language. Rumours, adventures and exciting
stories surround it. Gothic treasures, hidden
relics, magic libraries, war booty, shipwrecks
and robbery accompanied it through history. The Codex Argenteus contains what is left of
a splendid book of the four Gospels written in
the early 6th century, probably for the Ostro-
gothic King Theoderic the Great. The text is
part of Wulfila’s 4th century translation of the
Bible from Greek into Gothic. The Codex was
discovered in the Werden Monastery near the
Ruhr in the 16th century. When the Swedes
captured the city of Prague in 1648, it was
there. It followed a twisted road through
Europe to Uppsala University Library where it
arrived as a gift from the Swedish Chancellor
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie in 1669. The fate
of the Codex in the years between its time in
Ravenna and Werden is shrouded in
oblivion. ‘The Mystery of the Thousand Years’
produced several theories about the fate of
the Codex Argenteus during this millennium. In 2011 the Codex Argenteus was inscribed on UNESCO:s Memory of the World List.