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In 1200, Berthold von Hainburg was elected abbot of Weingarten. During his abbacy, he turned the Benedictine monastery into one of the most important centres of book illumination. He promoted the artistic activities of his scriptorium, which developed a high level of productivity after the devastating fire of 1215, in which a large part of the abbey was burned to the ground. During this time, the abbot ensured the rapid reconstruction of the monastery, and also commissioned numerous manuscripts of high artistic quality. The most magnificent codex among them was the Berthold Sacramentary.
This book still retains its original sumptuous binding, adorned with gilded silver reliefs and filigree decoration, and studded with gemstones. The rich iconographic program establishes a direct link to the monastery, to the abbey's patron saints (Martin and Oswald) and the patron, Abbot Berthold himself.
With the jewelled binding and the lavish use of noble metals on the miniatures and initials of the book's folios, the Berthold Sacramentary became the greatest treasure of Weingarten Abbey.
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