Codex of Ultimate Wisdom

The Codex of Ultimate Wisdom is a fictional book in the Ultima series of computer role-playing games. It first appeared in Ultima IV.

True to its title, The Codex of Ultimate Wisdom is the sum of all knowledge. When a reader opens the book, they are always able to read it, and can always find the exact piece of knowledge they needed - though this is not necessarily what they asked for, or what they wished they had found out.

The Codex appears to be a large leather and gold bound book. Emblazoned on the cover is the symbol of the Codex, a set of six lines and two circles arranged to touch three central circles in different manners. This symbol represents the eight virtues and three core principles of Britannian and Gargish virtue, which the Codex inspired.

The Avatar retrieved the Codex from the Great Stygian Abyss at the end of Ultima IV, thus completing the Quest of the Avatar and attaining his title.

In the games

The role of the Codex shifted through the series, from being a prize of enlightenment in Ultima IV, to a book of wisdom in Ultima V, to an object of conflict in Ultima VI.

The Codex was placed in the Ethereal Void at the end of Ultima VI. Though neither the Britannians nor the Gargoyles physically held the book, their leaders were each given a lens that could be used to read it.

The Codex went without appearing in Ultima VII and VIII, though the lenses were used to suck the Dark Core of Exodus into the void in Ultima VIIs expansion pack.

In Ultima IX the Codex was mysteriously stolen from the void, and returned to the physical plane. Much of the game is spent chasing after the book and obtaining the lenses to read it.

The Codex Symbol

The symbol of the Codex in Ultima IV explains the relationship between Virtues and the Principles. Outside of the game, the symbol is typically shown in single color. The actual symbol is colored according to the following rules.

In the middle of the symbol, there are three circles, shown in blue, yellow and red; these symbolize the Principles of Truth, Love and Courage. The tangential lines are colors that are mixed from the colors that they touch, and each line touches the Principle circle the corresponding Virtue is based.

There are three lines that touch the Principle circles singly; these are Honesty (blue, based on Truth), Compassion (yellow, based on Love) and Valor (red, based on Courage).

There are three lines that touch two Principle circles; these are Justice (green = blue + yellow, Truth and Love), Honor (purple = red + blue; Truth and Courage), and Sacrifice (orange = red + yellow; Courage and Love).

In the middle of the symbol is a small white circle, the mix of all colors; this is the virtue of Spirituality, which is based on all three Principles.

Finally, surrounding everything is a black circle, absent of all colors; this is the virtue of Humility that exists independently of the Principles and is their foundation.

Game inconsistencies

Some have noted a continuity problem arising from the fact that players spend the entire game in Ultima IV following the virtues, meditating at shrines dedicated to them, and retrieving the Codex at the end. However, the events of Ultima VI imply the Codexs wisdom was used in the formation of both the Britannian and Gargish virtues.

In Ultima IX, the Codex was unreadable without the use of both the Britannian and Gargish lenses, and requires the Avatar to ask a question to the book. This seems to be contrary to its nature in previous games, where it was always readable without any special aid when the book was in Britannia. The lenses were supposedly only required to read the Codex while it remained in the void, and operated independently, not in tandem. The lenses were only used together previously when you wanted to throw something into the void. Ultima VII also seemed to imply that the Codex required both lenses to be read, but the facility to read the book was never implemented in the finished game, rendering the inconsistency moot.

These situations may be resolved however by understanding that the Codex was not created in Ultima IV, but merely allowed itself to be retrieved by the Avatar. Being an item of immense powers (magical and otherwise) it has its own history that spans many periods in time and many different worlds, and has continually adapted itself to fit its own needs towards shaping the universe towards its own goals.

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