Theophilus Presbyter

The oldest manuscript copies of De diversis artibus are found in Vienna (Austrian National Library, Codex 2527) and in Wolfenbüttel (Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Cod.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing rediscovered the document when he worked as librarian in Wolfenbüttel, and published excerpts in 1774.

[2] Theophilus' Schedula allows detailed insights into the techniques used in the applied arts in the high Middle Ages.

It has recently been suggested that the apparent contradictory evidence as to dating, practical experience, and location of 'Theophilus' is best explained if the Schedula is understood to be a compilation.

[3] The work has been translated into English, French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Hungarian, German, Italian, Japanese, Bulgarian, and Russian, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Christ crucified from a Processional Cross, by the circle of Roger of Helmarshausen , Lower Saxony, c. 1100, cast bronze