Abstract
This Bible codex, finished in May 1421 in Lipnice (most probably at a castle in Lipnice nad Sázavou, ca. 100 km south-east of Prague), is a precious witness to a restless period of Czech history marked by religious disputes and wars. The extraordinary decoration of the codex was carried out in three different phases as the codex was forced to change its location.
Thus, it exemplifies the profound impact of the Hussite revolution on the established book trade. The contents are noteworthy, too: the codex is not a mere Bible but contains a number of added texts, some linked to the dispute.
It also features 46 pointing hands (maniculae) that emphasize passages that were useful in the religious polemics of the time. There is a unique colophon calling the Bible scutum fidei, quo pugnant filii dei, oculus iustorum, scandalum incredulorum - "the shield of faith, with which the sons of God are fighting; the eye of the just, outrage to the unfaithful".
Today, this exquisite volume is kept in the Museum of the Bible in the U.S.A. as MS 486. Thanks to the kind permission of the museum, it is presented here in detail and in its cultural and historical context: a fitting tribute to its 600th anniversary.
I. Introduction The origin and fate of the Lipnice Bible (Lucie Doležalová) A brief overview of the production, of which little is known.
The codex is in its colophon associated with the otherwise unknown Matthias de Rudnicz (i.e. Roudnice nad Labem).
It is also uncertain where the codex, finished in Lipnice, was produced and how it left the Czech lands. It reappears only in the 20th century, included in the collection of Charles Dyson Perrins (1864-1958), who certainly acquired it before 1920 from a location that is not disclosed.
The manuscript changed owners several times before entering the private Green collection in 2011, whence it was given to the Museum of the Bible. A shield of faith in unsettled times (Karel Pacovský) A detailed discussion of the expression scutum fidei (shield of faith) used in the colophon of the Lipnice Bible with respect to its biblical connotations, to the context of the late medieval approach to the Bible as a codex, as well as to religious dispute.
The Lipnice Bible as a medieval codex (Světlana M üllerová) An introduction to late medieval manuscript culture in the Crown of Bohemia, with explanation of basic terms and practices of both production and reception, presented in relation to the Lipnice Bible and other biblical manuscripts of the time. II.
The Lipnice Bible Decoration (Maria Theisen) A detailed analysis of the three phases of the production of Lipnice Bible's decoration, including examples of similar decoration in other late medieval Bohemian manuscripts. In the first phase, 77 fleuronnée initials were made.
Then, about ten years later, 55 ornamental initials were added, including the single figural illumination of the Lipnice Bible (God as creator at the beginning of the biblical text, on fol. 20v). In the third phase, after the mid-15th century, the quires added to the beginning of the codex were decorated with fleuronnée initials, and, about the same time, many of the initials already decorated were reworked by an unprofessional illuminator in the current fashion.
Handwriting and scribal hands (Hana Pátková) Dating and analysis of the scribal hands that produced the Lipnice Bible. There are nine hands in total, six of which appear on the first 17 folios, which were added to the Bible later.
The main hand of the codex is a bastarda with unusual features, revealing a scribe that was probably not professional but might have been associated with university environment or some church institution. The Latin text of the Bible (Kateřina Voleková) A discussion of the Vulgate text in the Lipnice Bible, which follows the Paris Vulgate Bible type with several differences, such as the inclusion of the apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans.
The Lipnice Bible lacks the usual prologue to the Psalms (though several Psalm prologues appear among the texts that were added to the Bible later). In total it contains about 30 more prologues than was usual.
It also includes rich marginal cross references, and, division of chapters into smaller units marked with letters of the alphabet. Glosses and maniculae (Lucie Doležalová) An overview of the marginal notes which serve various functions: correcting the biblical text, providing explanations and further references, cross-referencing, directing the reader's attention, etc.
The Lipnice Bible also contains 46 pointing hands (maniculae), showing a specific interest in the religious debate of the time. III.
The Lipnice Bible's added texts Bible study aids (Lucie Doležalová) A discussion of a variety of texts added to the Lipnice Bible. Some are typical for late medieval Bibles (Interpretations of Hebrew names, biblical mnemonic verses, overview of the contents of the Bible, the prologue of Nicholas of Lyra), others are less common (an excerpt from Augustine's On the Trinity, and a peculiar biblical concordance).
Special attention is paid to biblical mnemonic verses which are edited here. Texts on Psalms (Zuzana Smetanová - Anna Pavlíková - Lucie Doležalová) In the Lipnice Bible, many added texts are connected to the Psalms: several thematic lists of psalms, a selection of prologues, and prayers connected to certain psalms.
Translators and exegetes of the Bible (Ondřej Fúsik) The list of ancient translators of the Bible into Greek and Latin is added to the Lipnice Bible twice, in two different versions. The version included in the initial folia of the codex is followed by a list of biblical exegetes.
While the translators' list has its model in Peter Comestor's Scholastic History, a direct model for the latter has not been identified. Both versions are edited and translated into Czech here, and several parallels with other manuscripts from Bohemia are discussed.
The seven capital vices (Karel Pacovský - Ondřej Trepeš) One page of the Lipnice Bible, most probably added in the context of confessional practice, concentrates on the vices. It presents two different lists of the main seven vices and other sins stemming from them, the first one a quotation from Gregory the Great's Moralia in Job, the other from an unknown source.
The whole page, including a short mnemonic verse at the bottom, is edited here. Excerpts from authorities on the Bible's authority and on heretics (Lucie Doležalová) A section with excerpts from authorities in the Lipnice Bible is clearly linked to the contemporary religious dispute but impossible to associate with a concrete party: the excerpts stress the authority of the biblical text and define heretics, but without concrete historical references.
IV. The place of the Lipnice Bible among contemporary biblical manuscripts Biblical manuscripts at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century (Michal Dragoun) A discussion of other, mostly Latin, bibles produced in Bohemia at the time of the origin of the Lipnice Bible.
In this period, biblical manuscripts were used in various social environments and for a number of different purposes, and thus they involve representative codices, volumes designed for communal reading, as well as study and reference aids. Their use was also reflected in the care devoted to individual manuscripts and in their form.
Czech Bible translation at the time of the Lipnice Bible (Kateřina Voleková - Andrea Svobodová - Hana Kreisingerová - Milada Homolková) A presentation of late medieval Czech Bibles and the process of their translation. At the time of the origin of the Lipnice Bible, there were already four different Czech versions of the biblical text.
This study presents a Czech lectionary, representative Czech bibles, and casual manuscripts for study or daily use. It then discusses the Czech glosses found in the Lipnice Bible, as well as the Czech titles of some biblical books that are included within the quires added to the Lipnice Bible at a later time.
V. Lipnice nad Sázavou at the time Lipnice Castle and its architectural development in the pre-Hussite era (František Záruba) A detailed discussion of Lipnice Castle at the time that the Lipnice Bible was produced.
The castle was an exquisite noble palace with developed residential quarters, while at the same time it was suited to defense. It was one of the largest castles in the country, comparable to royal residences.
The Ordination of Utraquist clergy at Lipnice in 1417 (Blanka Zilynská) A discussion of an extraordinary event that took place at Lipnice Castle - the ordination of Utraquist priests by the bishop of the Prague diocese, Heřman Šváb of Middleheim, who was forced into the act by the owner of the castle, Čeněk of Vartenberk (1400-1425). The motivations and consequences of the scandalous episode are discussed.
Biblical narrative in church frescoes in the Lipnice region (Jan Dienstbier) A new interpretation of several late medieval biblical murals in churches in Lipnice and its vicinity (Dolní Město, Řečice and Loukov) form the fourteenth century. Emphasis is placed on the interaction between the wall-paintings in the individual units, which reflect the ways in which the Bible was presented to local parishioners.
The murals feature surprisingly complex typological links between the Old and the New Testament, thus reflecting one of the primary approaches of medieval exegesis. The precious corpus of wall-paintings from this area thus offers evidence that complex presentation of the biblical narrative was not only practiced in the cities but also in rural areas.
VI. Conclusion (Karel Pacovský) The most important aspects of the codex highlighted.
Appendix Codex description (Lucie Doležalová - Michal Dragoun - Kateřina Voleková) A detailed look at the codicological features and contents of the codex. Decoration overview (Maria Theisen) A list of all initials in the Lipnice Bible, specifying t