Ragyndrudis Codex

The Ragyndrudis Codex (Codex Bonifatianus II) is an early medieval codex of religious texts, now in Fulda in Germany, which is closely associated with Saint Boniface, who, according to tradition, used it at the time of his martyrdom to ward off the swords or axes of the Frisians who killed him on 5 June 754 near Dokkum, Friesland. This long association has given the codex the status of a contact relic.

The earliest source considered as evidence for a connection between the eighth-century codex and Boniface is in a tenth-century vita of the saint written in Utrecht, which says that the saint held a gospel over his head as protection. The Ragyndrudis Codex is not a gospel, but rather a collection of texts on exegesis, apologia, and dogma, but this has not prevented the Codex from being regarded as the saint's shield, an idea enforced by deep cuts through the (original) binding and pages. The Codex is held in the Domschatz, the treasury of the Fulda Cathedral; a facsimile is on display in the cathedral's museum.

The Ragyndrudis Codex is one of three "Bonifatian" books, a set of three manuscripts traditionally considered to have been in the possession of Saint Boniface. The others are the so-called Victor Codex (Codex Bonifatianus I) and the Cadmug Gospel (Codex Bonifatianus III). All Codices Bonifatiani are held in Fulda, though in different locations: I and III are held in the Hessian State Library in Fulda, and II is held in the Domschatz of Fulda Cathedral, on loan from the library of the Fulda seminary. All three Codices Bonifatiani have eighth-century bindings.Facsimiles of the Ragyndrudis Codex are on display in the cathedral's museum and in the Hessian State Library: three facsimiles of the Ragyndrudis Codex were made by Ludwig Ritterpusch on the occasion of Pope John Paul II's visit to Fulda in 1980.

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