User:Uriel1022/sandbox/Facundus Beatus

Facundus Beatus is an illuminated manuscript containing the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana in Latin. It was commissioned by Ferdinand I and Sancha of León and is believed to have been created in 1047. The codex was copied in León by Facundus. The name of the illuminator is not known, who carried out the task after the copy of the text had been completed. It consists of 312 parchment folios (624 pages in 2 columns) with 98 miniatures, and each page with 35 lines scribed in Visigothic script. The manuscript is preserved in the National Library of Spain, Madrid.

Although the illustrations and ornamentation of Facundus Beatus follow the formula of previous illuminated beatus manuscripts, they nevertheless surpass those of its predecessors in regard to the range of vibrant colors and the dynamism of the human figures. The artistic style was classified as Romanesque, with strong Mozarabic influence.

History
Facundus Beatus was commissioned by King Ferdinand I and Queen Sancha of León. It is assumed that the codex remained in the aula regia until 1063, when it was transferred to the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, León, which was later renamed Basilica of St. Isidore, as it began to house the relics of the saint during the new consecration. In June 1572, the codex was still in the basilica, as testified by Ambrosio de Morales. But soon after it began to pass from hand to hand. The Marquis of Mondéjar Gaspar Ibáñez de Segovia came into possession of the codex in the latter half of the 17th century. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the marquis' library was seized by Philip V and the manuscript passed to the Royal Library (now National Library of Spain) in the first decade of the 18th century.