Re-approaching the Western medieval church treasury inventory, c. 800-1250
Joseph Salvatore Ackley
IntroductionAs a typical example of an early medieval church treasury inventory, consider the following from Benedictine abbey at Kremsmunster, drawn up c. 1013 under Abbot Sigimar and recorded in late Carolingian evangeliary abbey:The [thesaurus] St. Agapitus, [whose current condition] ascertained [repperit]. Twenty-six albs. Ten scarlet copes. Four chasubles. Sixteen stoles. crosses furnished with gold, one silvered. silver chalices patens, gold [chalice] paten. Two candelabra silver. One thurible, next bronze [eneum] gilt. These are books, that 1The language is Latin. A simple introduction identifies text but omits occasion for its making. Both vestments objects inventoried clipped, minimal records largely restricted to object type, number, material. In this way, inventory functions less as autonomous description these more mnemonic tool, functionally dependent upon reader already familiar treasury.2 As such administrative document, was blank space, haphazardly chosen, within monastery's most precious books. Three possibly survive today (a chalice two candelabra), adds little data beyond what can be gleaned analyzing themselves. Apart documenting size contents time, does not necessarily demand art historian's attention.If, however, treated calculated, layered text, it invites excavation. inventories, whose terse, flat masks underlying agendas, aspirations, biases, were instrumental enacting broader value systems society. addition content texts, circumstances their function, circulation, recording, storage further inform our understanding ways which valued, conceptualized, seen. Such analyses quickly bloom into questions visibility, truth, ontology resonate many areas history. To ends, essay will first overall function texts; mise-en-page written is, how they disposed space page; and, by extension, mise-en-livre i.e., where typically recorded. The inventories then questioned, particular vocabulary used describe objects, materials, techniques fabrication, origins, well internal organization data. Finally, (pre-1250) briefly compared book secular ecclesiastical inventories. observations offered throughout intended introduce demonstrate, do pretend exhaust topic. For reasons historiography noted below, majority discussed hail German-speaking areas.The need periodically treasury-a dynamic ensemble expanded contracted per fortunes host institution, comprised potentially liquid easily alienable precious-metal objects- seems self-evident. list could assist maintenance, storage, evaluation, liturgical administration. notoriously sparse deceptively falsely implies degree detached objectivity inventory's composition, turn has tended deflect scholarly attention richness density, highly revealing generic conventions, texts.The treasuryTo understand must begin phenomenon itself. …
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