Otfrids Verkündigung

In Otfrid of Weissenburg’s Evangelienbuch we can find an underlying concept of fluid transformation of different media. The scene of the annunciation to Mary, told in the chapter Missus est Gabrihel angelus, serves as a starting point for an interpretation focused on salvation history. The angel’s message, the diuri árunti, which leaves the divine sphere in order to enter the human world, always refers to the textual representations of the relevant salvatory events. Both Mary and the recipient of the Evangelienbuch experience consent to the angel’s message and its orientation towards resurrection through their bodies. The way to salvation lies within the passio. Otfrid expresses the hermeneutic procedure through an imagery of physical activities such as drinking refreshing water or tasty wine, as is seen in his account of the marriage of Cana. In terms of the memorial action instructed by the text, the wine symbolizes the blood of Christ collected at the holy cross. Otfrid’s Gospel Book therefore can rather be seen as an oscillating fluidum than an elaborate textus. The imagery of textus refers to the Christian community, as whose humble member Otfrid regards himself.