The cover of the Gospels of Henry the Lion, Order of Saint Benedict, produced in Prague in 1594. Henry the Lion (Heinrich der Lowe; 1129?1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180. Originally commissioned for the altar of the Virgin Mary at the Brunswick Cathedral), this gospel book was purchased by the German government at Sotheby?s of London in 1983 for over ?8m. At 266 pages, including 50 full-page illustrations, the book is considered a masterpiece of the 12th century Romanesque illuminated manuscript.