Codex Argenteus

References

Codex Argenteus

Gothic manuscript

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The Codex Argenteus is a significant manuscript from the 4th century, notable for being a Bible translation into the Gothic language by Bishop Ulfilas. This translation is the primary source of information about the East Germanic language family, which is now extinct.12

The codex itself is written in silver and gold letters on purple parchment. Although the original manuscript is lost, surviving leaves contain portions of the four Gospels. The Gothic alphabet, created by Ulfilas for this translation, was derived from Greek and Latin scripts. This codex, along with other surviving Gothic texts, is crucial for understanding the Gothic language and its place within the Germanic language family.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Uppsala University
…and contains the illuminated manuscript Codex Argenteus, which is the only extant manuscript of Bishop Ulfilas’s 4th-century translation of the Gospels into the Gothic language. The main university building (1887) has a large art collection.
Read More
…and contains the illuminated manuscript Codex Argenteus, which is the only extant manuscript of Bishop Ulfilas’s 4th-century translation of the Gospels into the Gothic language. The main university building (1887) has a large art collection.
Read More

Gothic alphabet
…important of these is the Codex Argenteus, which is written in gold and silver on purple-red parchment. These written materials in Gothic not only preserve the Gothic alphabet but are also the only record of the Gothic language, which is now extinct.
Read More
…important of these is the Codex Argenteus, which is written in gold and silver on purple-red parchment. These written materials in Gothic not only preserve the Gothic alphabet but are also the only record of the Gothic language, which is now extinct.
Read More

East Germanic languages
History
The best-known manuscript is the Codex Argenteus, written in silver and gold letters on purple parchment and containing (in 188 leaves remaining from an original 330 or 336) portions of the four Gospels. Closely related to these biblical manuscripts are eight leaves containing fragments of a commentary (called the Skeireins…
Read More
The best-known manuscript is the Codex Argenteus, written in silver and gold letters on purple parchment and containing (in 188 leaves remaining from an original 330 or 336) portions of the four Gospels. Closely related to these biblical manuscripts are eight leaves containing fragments of a commentary (called the Skeireins…
Read More

biblical literature
German versions
…are preserved mainly in the Codex Argenteus (c. 525) and Codex Gissensis. The translation, essentially based on a Byzantine text, is exceedingly literal and not homogeneous. It is difficult to determine the degree of contamination that the original Gospels translation of Ulfilas had undergone by the time it appeared in…
Read More
…are preserved mainly in the Codex Argenteus (c. 525) and Codex Gissensis. The translation, essentially based on a Byzantine text, is exceedingly literal and not homogeneous. It is difficult to determine the degree of contamination that the original Gospels translation of Ulfilas had undergone by the time it appeared in…
Read More