Codex Astensis

Codex Astensis
Codex Astensis  
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Original title Codex Astensis qui de Malabayla communiter nuncupatur
Publication date 1379

The Codex Astensis is a Medieval catalog of documents relating to the Asti region. Dating to the 14th century, it describes events related to the medieval commune of Asti from 1065 to 1353.

History

The manuscript (also called Malabayla) was discovered in February 1876 by Quintino Sella, Italian ambassador to Austria, in the archive of emperor Francis Joseph. When he asked for a copy, the Austrian minister of foreign affairs Andrassy officially gave Sella the manuscript, citing its importance as the reason for doing so.

After his return to Italy, Sella proposed its publication to the Accademia dei Lincei. The code was thus published in 1880; four years, after Sella's death, his heirs gifted the Codex to the municipality of Asti.