Localizing
the church treasure: wanderings of the Codex Eyckensis
by Annelore Vriens, Line Raiff ( Masters in Art History, KU Leuven),
Rik Nulens and Pierre Thijssen
One of the outstanding specificities
of the Codex Eyckensis is its geographical consistency; besides a few displacements
for exceptional circumstances, its original main location almost didn’t change
for twelve centuries. Shortly after their creation in the 8th
century, the manuscripts ended up in Aldeneik, where they stayed until the
sixteenth century; and from 1571 to nowadays, they were stored in Maaseik, less
than a mile away.
The Codex Eyckensis is part of the church treasure from which a part first belonged to the Abbey of Aldeneik. The Codex is one of the core artifacts, along with the relics of Saint Harlindis and Relindis and the Anglo-Saxon textiles.
After its manufacture, probably in the abbey of Echternach, the Codex was handed over by Saint Willibrord to Harlindis and Relindis in the mid-8th-century. From then, the Codex stayed at the abbey of Aldeneik for eight centuries.
At the end of the 16th
century, the area underwent growing insecurity: groups of Calvinists had been
plundering and burning down churches in the regions now known as France,
England, the Netherlands and Belgium. The increasing threat of religious war
drove the canons to abandon the abbey of Aldeneik: in 1571, they packed their
belongings, including the treasures, and took refuge in the walled town of
Maaseik, considered to be safer because of its ramparts. This relocation was encouraged
by Gerard van Groesbeek, Bishop of Liège.
Other artifacts were added to the
treasure afterwards, including a reliquary with two candles bearing an
inscription. The inscription tells that those candles were being extinguished
while the sisters were illuminating their gospels, but suddenly lit up back and
harder by miracle.
From 1596, feasts were organized to
commemorate the transfer of 1571. On this occasion, the core artifacts of the
church treasure (the Codex Eyckensis, the Anglo-Saxon textiles and the relics),
were brought back to Aldeneik in a procession. They were then displayed for 8
days in the church of Aldeneik, before they returned to Maaseik.
That first procession in 1596 coincided
in time with other holy feasts in surrounding cities, including Aachen. That’s
significant, because Aachen had become a very important pilgrimage center since
the middle of the 14th century. The Aachen pilgrimage has taken
place every seven years ever since 1391, during which the four Holy Relics
collected by Charlemagne were on view in the cathedral for seven days.
Following its popularity, some sort of “city station pilgrimage system” was
developed around Aachen: over time, other cities joined this event, setting
their own relics on view on the same days every seven years. The system was
designed in such a way that enabled the pilgrims to combine several places of
worship by foot within the seven days of the feast. Fourteen cities took part
in this system showing their relics, seven of them functioning as mandatory
halts and seven as optional stopovers. Saint Anna’s Church of Aldeneik became
one of the non-mandatory halts since 1596, the year of the first procession of
the relics of Harlindis and Relindis back from Maaseik to Aldeneik.
After the
French Revolution, the pilgrimage feasts were interrupted for a while. In the decade
following 1789, the French invaded the diocese of Liège and abolished the
chapters, including Maaseik’s in 1797. That same year, the French occupiers
claimed for the church treasure of Maaseik.
However, a lot of
inhabitants refused to accept the authority of the French occupiers. The church
treasures were divided among local clergy. They were asked to return the
objects in better times. So did the “de Borman” family, which were very
committed to the church community. Leonard de Borman gave his objects back in
1802, except the two manuscripts. Other clergy also returned objects, but
unfortunaly a few sold part of the treasures. A family member
of Leonard de Borman returned the two manuscripts in 1841.
Following their recovery of the
treasure, the church restored the processions in 1871, but at a lower frequency of one every 25
year. The context of the mid-19th-century was the Romantic Movement,
which revalued local traditions. The last procession occurred in 1997, and the
next one is scheduled for 2022.
After 1880, the Codex Eyckensis
moved again on some occasions, mostly to be displayed in exhibitions. It has
been on view in Belgium, in Brussels and Liège in 1880, 1881 and 1951 or in Ghent
one century later, but also abroad, in
Maastricht and Valenciennes in 1937, in Utrecht in 1939, in Paris and Rotterdam
in 1953 and in Essen and Leeuwarden in 1956. Another frequent reason for its
travels was the scientific research dedicated to it, since the early 20th
century. The Codex was photographed during World War I in Maaseik.
After the war, the very bad state of
the Codex Eyckensis began to preoccupy priest Willem Sangers. In 1957, he assigned
the bookbinder Karl Sievers to restore the manuscript. Dean Cielen transported
the manuscript to Düsseldorf. Sievers then restored the manuscripts using a new
but quite destructive technique of lamination of the folios with plastic foil (PVC
-polyvinyl chloride).
Thirty years later, Hubert Heymans,
conservator of the Museums of Maaseik, believed the time had come for a new assessment.
The Codex stayed from 1988 to 1993 in the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
in Brussels. During this time, not only was the Codex studied, but it also
fostered a brainstorming around different projects for a new display of the
Codex and the core treasure. For instance, a potential return of the treasures
to their original location in Saint Anna’s church in Aldeneik was discussed;
but that option was eventually cancelled to favor the crypt of Saint
Katherine’s church. In the meantime, the damaging restoration of Karl Sievers
was carefully removed by a team of scientists and conservators (Royal Institute
of Cultural Heritage, Brussels and Duodecimo cv. Gent, Belgium) .
Lately, the Codex has been
travelling again. The discussion of relocation and highlighting of the church
treasure, resumed since 2009, is at its peak. A lot of institutions are
involved in this project, among which the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
and Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art of the KU Leuven for the
scientific side, which requires the temporary transfer of the Codex to Brussels
and to Leuven. At the end of the four-year development plan, the Codex will
return to Maaseik again to find a brand-new permanent exhibition space.
