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Summary
The Wiesbaden Codex, named after the place where it is currently kept
(Wiesbaden, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, 3004 B 10), is a folio size
codex, produced in Flanders around 1410. It contains a collection of some
80 widely divergent Middle Dutch texts – several of which unique – whose
sole common denominator is that they qualify as ‘devotional literature’.
The miscellany is of a puzzling nature, intensified by the fact that an unmatched
collection of discarded pre-Eyckian drawings was glued onto separate
leaves, which were then inserted into the codex.
The copyists and compilers of the collection do not introduce, let alone
name themselves, but they most likely are a group of urban, lay devout
people, intent on living a sincere religious life, willing to bypass ecclesiastical
authority if it threatened the unfettered pursuit of their spiritual
ideals.
Apart from mere availability, the choice of texts seems to be have been
governed by three spheres of interest: catechetical instruction, apocalypticism,
and lay spirituality. The general character of the texts gradually shifts
from virtuous and humble to ardently devout and assertive. While scholarly
analysis tends to seek coherence in whatever it investigates, it is important
on principle to consider ‘chance’ an important factor in the composition
of this collection.
The rather unprofessional nature of the codex is enhanced by the fact
that the collectors take on the roles of scribes and illuminators, with the
least qualified copyist ultimately taking on the role of editor-in-chief. His
personal touch can be traced throughout the codex as he applies crude decorations
and scatters small texts into every available place. A further amateurish
feature is the versified, moralistic formulation of lending rules. It
suggests that members of the group are themselves the readers of the
codex, even though it is uncertain whether the codex ever functioned in the
intended way.
Thus the defining characteristic of the codex seems to be that it defies all
common conceptions and categorizations. None of the obvious expectations
are met, and a long list of incongruities can be drawn up. The drawings
the codex contains, were never meant to be part of a book and have
nothing to do with this manuscript. Even though the book was privately
owned, the owners did not commission the book as one would expect, nor
was it written by professional scribes. What looks like an institutionally