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12
Oct

Medieval Manuscripts from the National Library of the Czech Republic

The first part of the manuscripts digitised from the collections of the National Library of the Czech Republic in 2022 comprises 27 medieval codices placed under the shelf marks I–VI. Most of the manuscripts are of Czech origin and were written in the 14th and 15th centuries. In terms of content, they mainly include various theological writings and collections of sermons. Among the works of Czech authors, access has been provided to the commentary of Jan Rokycana on two letters of the Apostle Paul (shelf mark IV A 24). Some volumes also contain works on the natural sciences – for instance a treatise on medicines, probably by Nicholas of Salerno (III E 13), a medical compendium (I G 23) and the astrological work Liber introductorius ad iudicia stellarum by Guido Bonatti de Forlivio (IV B 10). Liturgical manuscripts are represented, for example, by a 14th-century hymnal of Friars Minor (VI C 20b), a Cistercian missal from the turn of the 14th century (I E 10) and a book of sequences from the turn of the 16th century (VI C 15). A work important for the history of German literature is the collection I C 40, which contains, among other things, Heinrich Seuse’s Büchlein der Ewigen Weisheit, Irmhart Öser’s translation of Rabbi Samuel’s letter to Rabbi Isaac, and the so-called ‘Münchner Apostelbuch’.

12
Oct

Illuminated Manuscripts from the Monastic Library in Nová Říše

Three illuminated manuscripts from the collections of the library of the Premonstratensian Canonry in Nová Říše have been digitised. The oldest of them (shelf mark NR 79), coming from the beginning of the 13th century, contains Macrobius’ commentary of Scipio’s dream and glosses on this text; in the Middle Ages, it belonged to the library of the Benedictine monastery Michaelsberg in Siegburg. The other two manuscripts are books of hours of French origin. The earlier codex (NR 87) was written at the end of the 14th century and its illuminations are attributed to the circle of the painter Jacob Coën, whereas the later one (NR 86) originated in the last third of the 15th century.

19
Sep

Medieval Manuscripts from the Museum of the Brno Region

In 2022, the Museum of the Brno Region digitised four more manuscripts from the second half of the 14th century and the first half of the 15th century from the library of the Benedictine Abbey in Rajhrad. All the codices contain mostly writings attributed to the Church Fathers and sermons; for instance, the author of the collection in manuscript R 405 is Matthew of Kraków. A linguistically significant codex, containing i.a. Czech Gospel readings, is kept under the shelf mark R 364.

19
Sep

Modern Manuscripts from the Military History Institute Prague

In 2022, the Military History Institute Prague digitised another 31 items, including manuscripts mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries and Emil Kaňovský’s notebook of lectures at the NCO school in Great Britain from 1942. Most of the manuscripts made available are treatises on training, military and fortification theory, lecture notes and textbooks in various fields. Nevertheless, they also include, for example, overviews of the state of the army and its structure (shelf marks IIR A 360 and IIR A 489) or a drawn set of nautical flags and other symbols (IIR B 1343).

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