Prague

manuscript, XIV in., parchment, 256 fol., 17,5 x 13,5 cm, in Latin, illuminated. According to the calendar contained, this codex originates from the Benedictine Convent of St. George at the Prague Castle. The Convent was a centre of worship of traditional Czech patron saints: St. Wenceslas and above all his grandmother St. Ludmila. ill.: f. 80a - St. Wenceslas

manuscript, ante med. XIV, parchment, 188 fol., 30,7 x 24,5 cm, in Latin, illuminated. The Latin text is reduced to brief superscriptions to the pictures, which are executed as pen-and-ink drawings coloured only rarely. The manuscript contains 747 pictures from the Old Testament and The New Testament, from the writings about the Antichrist and from the legends of the saints, especially St. Wenceslas. The codex was created by several authors probably for Velislav the Canon (+ 1367), the notary of Jan of Luxembourg and Charles IV. ill.: £ 37 b - 38 a - History of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph

manuscript, XIV med., parchment, 325 fol., 18,5 x 13 cm, in Latin, illuminated. The Breviary was owned by the Benedictine nuns of the Covent of St. George at the Prague Castle. The illuminations indicate that the manuscript may have been reckoned among the books imported during the reign of Charles IV. It also contains a calendar that testifies to its possible Italian origin (Bologna), as there are no signs of respect to the patron saints of the Czech Kingdom there. ill. : £. 38a. - Vegetative ornament (initial S)

manuscript, cca. 1355-1358, parchment, 345, 10, 23 (XVIII century) fol., 25,5 x 20 cm, in Latin, illuminated. The Breviary belonged to Agnes, the Abbess of tbe benedictine Convent of St. George at the Prague Castle. The manuscript was supposedly created in the years 1355 - 1358 of her own initiative. It was written by several scriveners and decorated with illuminated intials striking picture of the Abbess Agnes at a margin of the introductory initial that depicts her with the family coat-of-arms carrying a sign of half-withe, half-red spread-eagle. ill. : £. 58 a - Birth of Christ (initial P)

manuscript, 1376, parchment, 158 fol. (originally 168), 30 x 21 cm, in Czech, illuminated. One of the first systematic spiritual and educational works to be written in Czech for the laity. It provides the readers with the principles of Christian dogmatics and with the most important concepts of Scholastic theology, for the first time translated into Czech. This work was written under the influence of the Czech pre-Hussite reform movement and, as such, it emphasizes questions of ethics rather than dogmatics. ill.: £. 35b - Three women read the book (initial S)