The subject of this paper is a typological classification of the acanthus ornamentation of the Czech manuscripts from the 14th – 15th centuries. The definition of the four types of Czech acanthus ornaments is studied in relation to their genesis and their sources in the illumination in Bohemia, Italy and Western Europe. The ornamentation of the manuscripts of the followed period is confronted with its resources and parallels in the contemporary sculpture and applied arts. The modifications of the types of acanthus is followed in the context of the relations of the Prague workshops with the regional production in the Czech Lands and also from the standpoint of their possible influence on the evolvement of acanthus ornament in the illumination of the Western and Central Europe of the 15 and early 16th centuries. The paper deals also with the possibilities of the content interpretation of the ornament decoration of the Medieval manuscripts and offers other questions and problems to be solved in the further study of this theme.
The subject of this paper is a typological classification of the acanthus ornamentation of the Czech manuscripts from the 14th – 15th centuries. The definition of the four types of Czech acanthus ornaments is studied in relation to their genesis and their sources in the illumination in Bohemia, Italy and Western Europe. The ornamentation of the manuscripts of the followed period is confronted with its resources and parallels in the contemporary sculpture and applied arts. The modifications of the types of acanthus is followed in the context of the relations of the Prague workshops with the regional production in the Czech Lands and also from the standpoint of their possible influence on the evolvement of acanthus ornament in the illumination of the Western and Central Europe of the 15 and early 16th centuries. The paper deals also with the possibilities of the content interpretation of the ornament decoration of the Medieval manuscripts and offers other questions and problems to be solved in the further study of this theme.