Codex Purpureus Rossanensis - Facsimile Editions and Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts

The Purple Codex of Rossano is one of the most priceless and interesting manuscripts in the world as it is one of the three oldest codices ever crafted with golden ink on purple parchment. Dating back to the 6th-century, it is an estimable and unique witness of Byzantine Art. Not only it contains 15 pages of miniatures but golden and silver capital letters adorn all the 386 pages. The portrait of Saint Mark included in the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis is the oldest representation of an Evangelist in all the history of illuminated manuscripts. Unfortunately, the manuscript came to us incomplete, because a large part of its original 800 folios is irremediably lost. ➜ Facsimile edition (Der Codex Purpureus Rossanensis) published by Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) in 1985.