Jena Codex
Basic Identification
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title of work | Jena Codex (Antithesis Christi et Antichristi) |
| Author / origin | Bohuslav of Čechtice (member of Laud's College at Prague University) – both the commissioner of the manuscript and its principal scribe; wrote in calligraphic bastarda; the work was produced by approximately five scribes in total |
| Date | Around 1500 (approximately 1490–1510) |
| Place of origin | Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia |
| Language | Predominantly Czech, partly Latin (Latin only in a fragment of the small antithesis); the composite volume also includes a small incunabulum print |
| Script | Bastarda (both calligraphic and non-calligraphic) |
| Library / repository | Library of the National Museum, Prague |
| Shelfmark | IV B 24 |
Physical Description
- Number of leaves: 120 leaves in total – 111 paper and 9 parchment (ff. I, 9–12, 55–56, 78–79)
- Format: 31.5 × 21.5 cm
- Illuminations: 122 illuminations
- Model: not extant
- Binding: produced apparently in the last quarter of the first quarter of the 16th century; fragments of the original covering attest to a binding decorated with blind tooling, which was additionally partially gilded
- The manuscript underwent extensive conservation treatment in 1981–1985; the current appearance of the binding and the present ordering of its individual components are the result of this intervention; the original form can only be reconstructed with difficulty on the basis of incomplete and imprecise documentation
Content and Structure of the Work
The manuscript is richly illuminated and promotes the Hussite programme, which had already been current at the very beginnings of the Hussite movement. It contains Latin and Czech religious, philosophical, and satirical texts with a pro-Hussite orientation, and as part of the composite volume also includes a small incunabulum print.
Structure of the Manuscript
- fol. 1r – title page (name of Bohuslav of Čechtice)
- fol. 2r–6r – fragment of the so-called small Latin antithesis (the only part of the codex written in Latin)
- fol. 8r–8v – the song Faithful Christians, Let Us Hope Steadfastly
- fol. 9v, 12r–24v, 26r–37r – the treatise Tabulae veteris et novi coloris seu Cortina de Anticristo by Nicholas of Dresden (Tables of the Old and New Colour)
- fol. 10v–11r – illuminations Urbs terrena (The Earthly City) and Urbs coelestis (The Heavenly City)
- fol. 37v–38v – illuminations of the preaching (37v) and burning (38r) of Jan Hus, and the burning of Jerome of Prague (38v)
- fol. 39r–54v – the Utraquist appendix to the Passional (an incunabulum of 1495, the only non-manuscript component)
- fol. 55v–56r – illuminations Communion in Both Kinds and Battle of the Hussites against the Crusaders (classified with the Contemporary Images)
- fol. 57r–65v – Lucifer's Letter to Leo of Rožmitál by Oldřich of Kalenice
- fol. 25r, 66r–79r – Contemporary Images – a cycle of 24 illuminations depicting key historical events of the Hussite period
- fol. 76r – name of Bohuslav of Čechtice; illumination of Jan Žižka at the head of his armies (used in modified form on the Czechoslovak twenty-crown coin after 1970)
- fol. 78v–79r – illuminations Monks in the Bathhouse and The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (classified with the Contemporary Images)
- fol. 80r–85v – the treatise On the Deception and Bewitchment of Christendom by the Wicked Clergy
- fol. 92r–97v – The Dispute between Cunning and Sincerity
- fol. 103r–107v – The Mirror of the Last Things of Man
Character of the Content
- The manuscript contains theological treatises drawing attention to the contrast between the early Church and the Church in the time of Master Jan Hus.
- The work has a satirical character directed against the contemporary state of the Church – the illuminations depict the dissolute life of the clergy, criticism of indulgences, and Hussite scenes.
Illuminations
- The author of the finest images – the Contemporary Images and certain illuminations depicting scenes from Hussite history – was Janíček Zmilelý of Písek.
- The remaining images were produced by three illuminators belonging to his workshop, which also provided the ornamental decoration (borders, background drapery, and similar elements); more than one painter could therefore have worked on a single illumination simultaneously.
- The decoration of the Jena Codex is richer than that of the typologically comparable Göttingen Manuscript (an older codex derived from the same model).
- The tendency of the decoration is strongly pro-Hussite, with pronounced satire and criticism of the Catholic Church, as demonstrated, for example, by illuminations of crusaders with an infant's body impaled on a lance (fol. 56r), a cardinal crowning a prostitute with the papal tiara (fol. 70r), Satan distributing indulgences (fol. 71v), and the motto "Veritas vincit" (Truth prevails) alongside a chalice in the image of the Hussites' battle against the crusaders (fol. 56r).
Catalogue of Illuminations and Decoration
Fragment of the Small Latin Antithesis (fol. 2r–6r)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 2v | The blind leading the blind and falling into a pit (Luke VI:39) |
| 3r | A woman shearing sheep |
| 3v | Monks demolishing the supporting pillars of a church |
| 4r | A wolf slaughtering sheep |
| 4v | The Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion |
| 5r | A procession of secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries, including the pope and the emperor |
| 5v | Žižka in heaven as a gatekeeper |
| 6r | Heaven |
Treatise of Nicholas of Dresden (fol. 9v–37r)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 9v | The Mirror of All Christendom |
| 10v | The City of Antichrist; in medallions: Aristotle and Virgil, Plato and Ovid, Empedocles and Horace, Cicero and Otharrus (?) |
| 11r | The City of Christ; in medallions: St John the Evangelist and St Augustine, St Ambrose and St Matthew, St Luke and St Gregory, St Jerome and St Mark |
| 12v | The Carrying of the Cross |
| 13r | The pope with a procession of cardinals |
| 13v | The Evangelists |
| 14r | Constantine the Great granting secular dominion to the Church |
| 14v | The Crucifixion of St Peter |
| 15r | Louis granting the pope authority over Rome |
| 15v | Christ and St Peter |
| 16r | A papal decree concerning prebends |
| 16v | St Prosper and St Luke |
| 17r | A bishop accumulating prebends |
| 17v | The Apostles |
| 18r | A priest |
| 18v | The Flagellation of Christ |
| 19r | The pope punishing his opponents |
| 19v | Moses, Daniel, St Matthew |
| 20r | A priest |
| 20v | A prophet |
| 21r | A priest |
| 21v | St Matthew and St John the Evangelist |
| 22r | A bishop and a monk |
| 22v | The Apostles |
| 23r | A monk and a guardian seizing another's property |
| 23v | The Apostles |
| 24r | A Jew with a stone, a lawgiver, and a pope defying God's commandments; The Stoning of St Stephen |
| 24v | An apocalyptic horseman holding scales |
| 25r | A bishop weighing a tiara and a chalice (classified with the Contemporary Images) |
| 27r | Christ driving the money-changers from the Temple |
| 27v | Daniel defending Susanna |
| 28r | Constantine the Great crowning Pope Sylvester |
| 28v | The Nativity of Christ |
| 29r | A procession of ecclesiastical dignitaries in sumptuous attire |
| 29v | The Crowning with Thorns |
| 30r | A doctor and a student (lawyers?) in sumptuous attire |
| 30v | Lazarus with his sores licked by dogs, and St John the Baptist in a garment of camel hair |
| 31r | The rich men calling Lazarus from hell |
| 31v | St Jerome and St John the Baptist |
| 32r | A priest |
| 32v | An apostle and St John Chrysostom |
| 33r | The wealthy |
| 33v | The Apostles |
| 34r | St Bartholomew and St Sebastian bowing down before the devil |
| 34v | Christ washing the disciples' feet |
| 35r | Monks kissing the pope's feet |
| 35v | The pope hearing the confession of nuns |
| 36r | Prophets and saints |
| 36v | Sinners |
| 37r | St John the Evangelist, David, St Paul, Daniel, St Peter, St Ambrose |
Illuminations of Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague (fol. 37v–38v)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 37v | Master Jan Hus in the pulpit |
| 38r | The burning of Master Jan Hus |
| 38v | The burning of Master Jerome of Prague |
Utraquist Appendix to the Passional – Incunabulum of 1495 (fol. 39r–54v)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 39r | Ornamental border |
| 41v | The burning of Master Jan Hus (woodcut); ornamental border; figurative border – a child seated on a stag |
| 47v | Figurative border – a stag with a hind; ornamental border |
| 48r | The burning of Master Jerome of Prague (woodcut) |
Contemporary Images (fol. 25r, 55v–56r, 66r–79r)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 55v | Communion in Both Kinds |
| 56r | Battle of the Hussites against the crusaders (with the motto "Veritas vincit" and a crusader with an infant's body impaled on a lance) |
| 66r | A priest baptising another's child |
| 66v | The expulsion of the Apostles |
| 67r | A parish priest moving house |
| 67v | The Last Supper |
| 68r | The new Mass |
| 68v | The Apostles |
| 69r | The pope, a cardinal, and bishops in the embrace of the apocalyptic beast |
| 69v | The Apostles praying for a replacement for Judas |
| 70r | A cardinal crowning a prostitute with the papal tiara |
| 70v | Christ entrusting governance to his clergy |
| 71r | The ordination of present-day priests |
| 71v | Satan distributing indulgences |
| 72r | A monastery in a town, a parish in the countryside, monks in the wilderness |
| 72v | Joseph and Potiphar's wife |
| 73r | The trees of fornication |
| 73v | A sorcerer offering money to the Apostles |
| 74r | A bishop consecrating a church for payment |
| 74v | The Apostles in the stocks |
| 75r | A priest installing councillors |
| 75v | The Apostles at the pillory |
| 76r | Jan Žižka at the head of the Hussite armies (used in modified form on the Czechoslovak twenty-crown coin after 1970) |
| 76v | St Philip baptising the Ethiopian courtier |
| 77r | A priest murdering his child |
| 78v | Monks in the bathhouse |
| 79r | The martyrdom of St Lawrence |
Treatise on the Deception and Bewitchment of Christendom (fol. 80r–85v)
| Folio | Subject |
|---|---|
| 80r | A servant of God casting a false pope into the fiery maw of the apocalyptic beast |
| 80v | A prophet |
| 81r | A prophet |
| 81v | A prophet |
| 82r | A prophet |
| 82v | St Peter; a prophet |
4354-110814-0001r
Čeká na zpracování
4355-110814-0001v
4356-110814-0002r
4357-110814-0002v
4358-110814-0003r
4359-110814-0003v
4360-110814-0004r
4361-110814-0004v
4362-110814-0005r
4363-110814-0005v
4364-110814-0006r
4365-110814-0006v
4366-110814-0007r
4367-110814-0007v
4368-110814-0008r
4369-110814-0008v
4370-110814-0009r
4371-110814-0009v
4372-110814-0010r
4373-110814-0010v
4374-110814-0011r
4375-110814-0011v
4376-110814-0012r
4377-110814-0012v
4378-110814-0013r
4379-110814-0013v
4380-110814-0014r
4381-110814-0014v
4382-110814-0015r
4383-110814-0015v
4384-110814-0016r
Čeká na zpracování
4385-110814-0016v
Čeká na zpracování
4386-110814-0017r
Čeká na zpracování
4387-110814-0017v
Čeká na zpracování
4388-110814-0018r
Čeká na zpracování
4389-110814-0018v
Čeká na zpracování
4390-110814-0019r
Čeká na zpracování
4391-110814-0019v
Čeká na zpracování
4392-110814-0020r
Čeká na zpracování
4393-110814-0020v
Čeká na zpracování
4394-110814-0021r
Čeká na zpracování
4395-110814-0021v
Čeká na zpracování
4396-110814-0022r
Čeká na zpracování
4397-110814-0022v
Čeká na zpracování
4398-110814-0023r
Čeká na zpracování
4399-110814-0023v
4400-110814-0024r
Čeká na zpracování
4401-110814-0024v
Čeká na zpracování
4402-110814-0025r
4403-110814-0025v
4404-110814-0026r
Čeká na zpracování
4405-110814-0026v
4406-110814-0027r
4407-110814-0027v
4408-110814-0028r
Čeká na zpracování
4409-110814-0028v
Čeká na zpracování
4410-110814-0029r
Čeká na zpracování
4411-110814-0029v
Čeká na zpracování
4412-110814-0030r
Čeká na zpracování
4413-110814-0030v
Čeká na zpracování
4414-110814-0031r
Čeká na zpracování
4415-110814-0031v
Čeká na zpracování
4416-110814-0032r
Čeká na zpracování
4417-110814-0032v
4418-110814-0033r
Čeká na zpracování
4419-110814-0033v
Čeká na zpracování
4420-110814-0034r
Čeká na zpracování
4421-110814-0034v
Čeká na zpracování
4422-110814-0035r
Čeká na zpracování
4423-110814-0035v
Čeká na zpracování
4424-110814-0036r
Čeká na zpracování
4425-110814-0036v
Čeká na zpracování
4426-110814-0037r
Čeká na zpracování
4427-110814-0037v
Čeká na zpracování
4428-110814-0038r
Čeká na zpracování
4429-110814-0038v
Čeká na zpracování
4430-110814-0039r
Čeká na zpracování
4431-110814-0039v
Čeká na zpracování
4432-110814-0040r
Čeká na zpracování
4433-110814-0040v
Čeká na zpracování
4434-110814-0041r
Čeká na zpracování
4435-110814-0041v
Čeká na zpracování
4436-110814-0042r
Čeká na zpracování
4437-110814-0042v
Čeká na zpracování
4438-110814-0043r
Čeká na zpracování
4439-110814-0043v
Čeká na zpracování
4440-110814-0044r
Čeká na zpracování
4441-110814-0044v
Čeká na zpracování
4442-110814-0045r
Čeká na zpracování
4443-110814-0045v
Čeká na zpracování
4444-110814-0046r
Čeká na zpracování
4445-110814-0046v
Čeká na zpracování
4446-110814-0047r
Čeká na zpracování
4447-110814-0047v
Čeká na zpracování
4448-110814-0048r
Čeká na zpracování
4449-110814-0048v
Čeká na zpracování
4450-110814-0049r
Čeká na zpracování
4451-110814-0049v
Čeká na zpracování
4452-110814-0050r
Čeká na zpracování
4453-110814-0050v
Čeká na zpracování
4454-110814-0051r
Čeká na zpracování
4455-110814-0051v
Čeká na zpracování
4456-110814-0052r
Čeká na zpracování
4457-110814-0052v
Čeká na zpracování
4458-110814-0053r
Čeká na zpracování
4459-110814-0053v
Čeká na zpracování
4460-110814-0054r
Čeká na zpracování
4461-110814-0054v
Čeká na zpracování
4462-110814-0055r
Čeká na zpracování
4463-110814-0055v
4464-110814-0056r
4465-110814-0056v
Čeká na zpracování
4466-110814-0057r
Čeká na zpracování
4467-110814-0057v
4468-110814-0058r
Čeká na zpracování
4469-110814-0058v
Čeká na zpracování
4470-110814-0059r
Čeká na zpracování
4471-110814-0059v
Čeká na zpracování
4472-110814-0060r
Čeká na zpracování
4473-110814-0060v
Čeká na zpracování
4474-110814-0061r
Čeká na zpracování
4475-110814-0061v
Čeká na zpracování
4476-110814-0062r
Čeká na zpracování
4477-110814-0062v
Čeká na zpracování
4478-110814-0063r
Čeká na zpracování
4479-110814-0063v
Čeká na zpracování
4480-110814-0064r
Čeká na zpracování
4481-110814-0064v
Čeká na zpracování
4482-110814-0065r
Čeká na zpracování
4483-110814-0065v
Čeká na zpracování
4484-110814-0066r
Čeká na zpracování
4485-110814-0066v
4486-110814-0067r
Čeká na zpracování
4487-110814-0067v
Čeká na zpracování
4488-110814-0068r
Čeká na zpracování
4489-110814-0068v
Čeká na zpracování
4490-110814-0069r
Čeká na zpracování
4491-110814-0069v
Čeká na zpracování
4492-110814-0070r
Čeká na zpracování
4493-110814-0070v
Čeká na zpracování
4494-110814-0071r
Čeká na zpracování
4495-110814-0071v
Čeká na zpracování
4496-110814-0072r
Čeká na zpracování
4497-110814-0072v
Čeká na zpracování
4498-110814-0073r
Čeká na zpracování
4499-110814-0073v
Čeká na zpracování
4500-110814-0074r
Čeká na zpracování
4501-110814-0074v
Čeká na zpracování
4502-110814-0075r
Čeká na zpracování
4503-110814-0075v
Čeká na zpracování
4504-110814-0076r
Čeká na zpracování
4505-110814-0076v
Čeká na zpracování
4506-110814-0077r
Čeká na zpracování
4507-110814-0077v
Čeká na zpracování
4508-110814-0078r
Čeká na zpracování
4509-110814-0078v
4510-110814-0079r
4511-110814-0079v
Čeká na zpracování
4512-110814-0080r
Čeká na zpracování
4513-110814-0080v
4514-110814-0081r
Čeká na zpracování
4515-110814-0081v
Čeká na zpracování
4516-110814-0082r
Čeká na zpracování
4517-110814-0082v
Čeká na zpracování
4518-110814-0083r
Čeká na zpracování
4519-110814-0083v
Čeká na zpracování
4520-110814-0084r
Čeká na zpracování
4521-110814-0084v
Čeká na zpracování
4522-110814-0085r
Čeká na zpracování
4523-110814-0085v
Čeká na zpracování
4524-110814-0086r
4525-110814-0086v
Čeká na zpracování
4526-110814-0087r
4527-110814-0087v
4528-110814-0088r
4529-110814-0088v
4530-110814-0089r
4531-110814-0089v
4532-110814-0090r
4533-110814-0090v
4534-110814-0091r
4535-110814-0091v
4536-110814-0092r
4537-110814-0092v
4538-110814-0093r
Čeká na zpracování
4539-110814-0093v
Čeká na zpracování
4540-110814-0094r
Čeká na zpracování
4541-110814-0094v
Čeká na zpracování
4542-110814-0095r
Čeká na zpracování
4543-110814-0095v
Čeká na zpracování
4544-110814-0096r
Čeká na zpracování
4545-110814-0096v
Čeká na zpracování
4546-110814-0097r
Čeká na zpracování
4547-110814-0097v
Čeká na zpracování
4548-110814-0098r
Čeká na zpracování
4549-110814-0098v
Čeká na zpracování
4550-110814-0099r
4551-110814-0099v
4552-110814-0100r
4553-110814-0100v
4554-110814-0101r
4555-110814-0101v
4556-110814-0102r
4557-110814-0102v
4558-110814-0103r
4559-110814-0103v
4560-110814-0104r
Čeká na zpracování
4561-110814-0104v
Čeká na zpracování
4562-110814-0105r
Čeká na zpracování
4563-110814-0105v
Čeká na zpracování
4564-110814-0106r
Čeká na zpracování
4565-110814-0106v
Čeká na zpracování
4566-110814-0107r
Čeká na zpracování
4567-110814-0107v
Čeká na zpracování
4568-110814-0108r
Čeká na zpracování
4569-110814-0108v
Čeká na zpracování
4570-110814-0109r
4571-110814-0109v
4572-110814-0110r
4573-110814-0110v
4574-110814-0111r
4575-110814-0111v
4576-110814-0112r
4577-110814-0112v
4578-110814-0113r
4579-110814-0113v
4580-110814-0114r