Guta-Sintram Codex

The Guta-Sintram Codex is an illuminated manuscript created in 12th-century Alsace. It was produced for the Augustinian community of Schwartzenthann and bears its name from its scribe, Guta, a canoness at Schwartzenthann, and its illuminator, Sintram, a priest and artist from Marbach. The manuscript is notable for depicting both Guta and Sintram in a dedicatory miniature that also features the Virgin Mary. This image reflects their collaborative work on the codex.

The codex, written on parchment and bound in leather with a 17th-century binding (1682), measures 356 mm by 270 mm and contains 163 folios. Its content includes Latin texts such as a martyrology/necrology, a homiliary, Augustinian rules, and medicinal/dietary advice. These texts were likely used during public readings in the morning meetings after Prime.

The manuscript's history reveals its production collaboration between Guta and Sintram, highlighting gender dynamics in medieval scriptoria. It also reflects the close ties between Marbach and Schwartzenthann, as the latter was founded with nuns from Marbach in 1124. The codex remained in use at Schwartzenthann until the late 14th century before being moved to Marbach by 1682. Its acquisition by the Bibliothèque du Grand séminaire in Strasbourg is unclear but likely occurred after Marbach's secularization (1786) and demolition (1790). The manuscript can now be viewed digitally through Biblissima.