Códice de canto polifonico

Códice de canto polifonico

This facsimile reproduction of the original Codex was created as a joint project of the publishing company Testimonio and the National Heritage agency of Spain. Using state of the art processes, specially manufactured paper, and great attention to detail, the codex has been faithfully reproduced here within leather binding, which is tooled in a 13-15th century Gothic style. 980 copies were created.

Discovered by two monks in 1904, the  Códice de canto polifonico, or  Codex Las Huelgas, is a liturgical codex copied sometime between 1300 and 1325. It was preserved in the Las Huelgas convent founded by Alfonso VIII in Burgos, Spain. This codex is an important piece of musical and cultural history, as there is a strong possibility it was created for the use of the Las Huelgas nuns, who may have performed many of the pieces contained within.

Codex Las Huelgas
Códice musical de Las Huelgas Reales de Burgos
Codex Las Huelgas
Códice de Las Huelgas

The codex comprises both monophonic and polyphonic pieces, in forms popular from the 11th to the 14th century. Nearly 190 pieces are included, and over half of them are unique to this manuscript.

One of the last pages of the Las Huelgas Codex, shows an image of a seated man, who is receiving a blessing from a divine hand. The hand is giving him what looks to be a chained book, while the man proclaims “in manus tuas domine commendo spiritum” (“into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit”). This leaf is very worn and faded, with some holes, but the vibrant red color and the man’s upturned eye can still be seen.