Tomas Gaudek

This article deals with three of the four codices described as a group of Bohemian origin by Pacht & Alexander in 1966. The first codex, MS. Add C 21, comes from Central Europe, more likely from Austria. Similar suggestion was made in 1966 already, nevertheless the provenance of the manuscript remains uncertain. The second codex, MS. Laud Misc. 311, is the best one of the group defined. The author believes it comes from the workshop of the Master of Opatovice Breviary, with a possible dating of early 1370’s. Finally, the third codex, MS. Lyell 67, the Speculum humanae salvationis coming from Vysehrad in Prague may be dated around 1400, according to its watermarks. The coat of arms which can be found in some illuminations allows to suppose that the person ordering this codex came from the important family of noblemen of Riesenburg (in Czech z Oseka) or some related family.

Über  eines unerhaltene Meisterwerk eines anonymen Schöpfers und vergessene Rolle der Frauen in der Kulturgeschichte: Der Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dem Meister aus dem Jahr 1398, wie wurde ein anonymer Illuminator bei Gerhard Schmidt gennant. Zurest wird sein Stil, der in 60. Jahren wurzelt, ausführlich  beschrieben. Diese Beschreibung berechtigt folgende Atribution des zweibändigen  Breviers aus Raigrader Klosterbibliothek (Muzeum Brněnska, Rajhrad, R 625, R 626) zu dieser Werkstatt, auch wenn fast alle Illuminationen wurden leider aus den Kodizes herausgeschnitten und nur die Borduren dort geblieben. Der Brevier stammt aus 1395 und 1397 und er wurde als fromme Donation von Smil von Kunstatt und Líšnice für die Pfarrkirche in Vyšehorky im westlichen Mähren bestimmt. Malerische Beziehungen des Breviers zum dem berühmten sog.  Podiebrader Psalter aus 1396 (Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, k 2) zeigt dazu, dass dieses wichtige Denkmal der böhmischen Sprache aus gleicher Werkstatt kommt. Man kann also vorschlagen – und auch andere Umstanden fördern  solche Überlegung – dass der Psalter wurde von bis jetzt fast völlig vergessene Gattin des Herren Smil, Keruše von Wartenberg.

The house of canons regular in Roudnice nad Labem was founded 1333 by John IV of Dražice after his return from Avignon. It was a very important and richly supported monastery, which is demonstrated besides other things by the younger fragment of necrologium, dated 1458-1464 (State Regional Archive in Třeboň, fond Velkostatek Třeboň, registratura IA 3K β 28e). The thesis deals with the Bohemian illuminated manuscripts from the 2nd third of the 14th century from the library from Roudnice, which is quite unique between all the Bohemian houses of regular canons for the high percentage of illuminated manuscripts. The  Missale of John of Dražice ( KNM XIII B 9)  is an excellent example of some high quality manuscript in the time around 1340 in Bohemia. The ornamental initials show parallels to the recent Western European style. One of them, VD initial on the folio 57r, is filled by the coat-of-arms of the Dražice family, gold wine sprig with three leafs in the red field. But the most interesting is the canon leaf (65r), a classical representative of Central European linear style. The leaf was glued to its place. The same praxis we see in the slightly younger Missale of Chotěšov Monastery (NK XIV C 3). The canon leaf from Chotěšov (185v) is more delicate in its colors and forms, distinctly knowledgeable of Italian art too. The other parts of the codex are on the contrary raw in its decoration. Much closer to KNM XIII B 9 is Missale KNM XIII B 14, which has even the same iconographic details in its canon leaf, but the quality is lower. 
There is a group of manuscripts around the Missale XIII B 14, which bulit a group (KNM XII A 5, XIII A 7, XVI A 3, opening initial of XVII A 1 and maybe the initials in codex XVI B 7, which has a French opening letter). From the second quarter of the 14th century comes Bernardi Clarevallensis Opera (KNM XII A 15) too. Its decoration consists only of fleuronné and ornamental initials, but they are so unique, that it is hard to find any parallel to it.
Another book, KNM XII A 13, seems to origin from the same workshop as KK G 5.
The most famous group from Roudnice is aroud the codex Augustinus super Iohannem, KNM XIII A 13 – atelier of Nicolaus de Praga, whom most important work is in Nysa (Bible from Nysa, dated 1354).
Another group is around  KNM XVI A 15 (together with lesser parts in XVII A 15 and XV C 2). XVI A 15 is dated 1354 as well and I call the main painter, unknown from other collection, Master of Job’s Mocking.