This study explores the collection of Czech books in the Strängnäs Cathedral Library. The books were taken to Sweden as war booty at the end of the Thirty Years’ War and are today the most compactly preserved collection of books of Czech provenance in Sweden. This so-called war library, which the Chapter received as a gift from Queen Christina I, was not seen by the new administrators as an integral part of the Church’s property. This paper aims to answer two questions: First, when and how the Chapter’s mental barrier broke down; second, what factors played a role in the reorganisation of Cathedral Library in 1764–1765 and the selection of books for the auction sale. To answer these questions, I analysed the manuscript catalogue of the Cathedral Library from the 1750s and the printed auction catalogue of 1764. In addition, I surveyed preserved copies, particularly those auctioned by the Cathedral Library. My findings reveal that it took more than a century for the looted books to integrate into the new cultural environment in Strängnäs. Their merger with the original Cathedral Library did not take place until the 1750s and 1760s as part of a reorganisation aimed at creating a modern historical collection. This reorganisation included massive disposal of books, a large amount of which came from the Czech book spoils. The research findings also indicate that the war origin played no significant role in their selection and sale. The fate of the Czech book spoils in Strängnäs represents a complex case of incorporating books from war booty into a new cultural environment. The study is one of the first contributions to the question of the so-called second life of Czech book spoils in Sweden.
This study explores the collection of Czech books in the Strängnäs Cathedral Library. The books were taken to Sweden as war booty at the end of the Thirty Years’ War and are today the most compactly preserved collection of books of Czech provenance in Sweden. This so-called war library, which the Chapter received as a gift from Queen Christina I, was not seen by the new administrators as an integral part of the Church’s property. This paper aims to answer two questions: First, when and how the Chapter’s mental barrier broke down; second, what factors played a role in the reorganisation of Cathedral Library in 1764–1765 and the selection of books for the auction sale. To answer these questions, I analysed the manuscript catalogue of the Cathedral Library from the 1750s and the printed auction catalogue of 1764. In addition, I surveyed preserved copies, particularly those auctioned by the Cathedral Library. My findings reveal that it took more than a century for the looted books to integrate into the new cultural environment in Strängnäs. Their merger with the original Cathedral Library did not take place until the 1750s and 1760s as part of a reorganisation aimed at creating a modern historical collection. This reorganisation included massive disposal of books, a large amount of which came from the Czech book spoils. The research findings also indicate that the war origin played no significant role in their selection and sale. The fate of the Czech book spoils in Strängnäs represents a complex case of incorporating books from war booty into a new cultural environment. The study is one of the first contributions to the question of the so-called second life of Czech book spoils in Sweden.
The illuminated manuscripts in Zittau are only known to some extent. The two-volume Vesperale and Matutinale (A I, A VI) from the second decade of the fifteenth century was created for the Karlov Augustinian Monastery in Prague. The painted decoration is the work of the Master of the Hasenburg Missal, who represents the highest stage of fine style. The Missal of the Prague Diocese (A VII) is from the early fifteenth century. The decoration is the work of two illuminators, led by the Master of the Roudnice Psalter, although the share of the second illuminator - the Master of Paul's Gospel – is more extensive. Hitherto unknown is the Antiphonary (A IV) from the second decade of the fifteenth century. The small share of the primary illuminator is based on the Master of the Antwerp Bible. The Zittau Gradual (A III) is dated 1512; its primary illuminator was Janíček Zmilelý of Písek. The Gradual (A V) was created in 1435 for the parish church in Zittau by commander of the Commenda of Johannites Johann Gottfried von Goldbergu. The decoration was evidently created in Vratislav by the Master of the Bible of Banken. The Vesperal and Matutinal (A II) from the end of the fifteenth century was perhaps designated for the Commenda of Johannites in Zittau. The decoration is Saxon work.
The aims of the article are to present the development and the degree of representation of individual languages in the Prague printed production of the 16th century and to confirm, or revise, the existing knowledge. The study is also an example of the possible use of the newly created virtual research tool formed within the Knihoveda.cz project. The search interface that is being prepared and is going to be presented to the public in 2020 i.a. provides access to the hitherto separate bibliographical databases Knihopis and Bibliografie cizojazyčných bohemikálních tisků 1501-1800 [Bibliography of Foreign-Language Printed Bohemica 1501-1800]. This will significantly facilitate research into the development of the printed production in the Czech lands in its entirety regardless of language division., Vojtěch Šícha., Obsahuje anglické resumé, and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
This paper aims to present an informative overview of early modern Bohemical manuscripts ar Herzog August Bibliothek i Wolfenbüttel. Attention focuses primarily upot the Latin correspondence between Czech humanists and those abroad, though the overview also includes other genres and languages (Czech abd German). Of the previously unknown non-epistolary manuscripts, the discoveries of original manuscripts by Lutheran pastor Zacharias Theobald and Siegmund Schererz can be considered to be of interest.