This study presents for the first time in detail two manuscripts dealing with the beginnings of the Unitas Fratrum which are in the holdings of the Benedictine Library in Seitenstetten in Austria. Manuscript 72, dating from the beginning of the nineties of the 15th century, contains Latin translations of five letters written by the Czech Brethren to Jan Rokycana from 1489, which have been unknown till now and excerpts from five introductory chapters of the Síť víry (The Net of Faith) by Petr Chelčický, also translated into Latin in 1477. Manuscript 302 contains a copy of the record of an interrogation of four prominent Brethren in Kłodzko in 1480. This article indicates the possibilities of studying these texts, focusing on three main points: on their possible contribution to text tradition research, on research of the circumstances of the origin of their translations, and on the person of the scribe who made the collection. From the possible persons the inquisitor Jindřich Institoris has been excluded as his autograph doesn´t correspond with the writing of the scribe being looked for.
This study presents for the first time in detail two manuscripts dealing with the beginnings of the Unitas Fratrum which are in the holdings of the Benedictine Library in Seitenstetten in Austria. Manuscript 72, dating from the beginning of the nineties of the 15th century, contains Latin translations of five letters written by the Czech Brethren to Jan Rokycana from 1489, which have been unknown till now and excerpts from five introductory chapters of the Síť víry (The Net of Faith) by Petr Chelčický, also translated into Latin in 1477. Manuscript 302 contains a copy of the record of an interrogation of four prominent Brethren in Kłodzko in 1480. This article indicates the possibilities of studying these texts, focusing on three main points: on their possible contribution to text tradition research, on research of the circumstances of the origin of their translations, and on the person of the scribe who made the collection. From the possible persons the inquisitor Jindřich Institoris has been excluded as his autograph doesn´t correspond with the writing of the scribe being looked for.