The Illuminated Chronicle

Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians from the Fourteenth-Century Illuminated Codex
ISBN: 
978-963-386-264-3
$121.00 / €111.00 / £95.00
CEMT Vol. IX.
Publication date: 
2018
410 pages, 43 illustrations + CD insert with full color facsimile

The Illuminated Chronicle was composed in 1358 in the international artistic style at the royal court of Louis I of Hungary. Its text, presented here in a new edition and translation, is the most complete record of Hungary's medieval historical tradition, going back to the eleventh century and including the mythical past of its people. The pictures in this manuscript—formerly known as the Vienna Chronicle—are not merely occasional illustrations added to some exemplars, but text and image are closely connected and mutually related to each other, to qualify it as a proper “illuminated chronicle”. The artistic value of the miniatures is quite high, and the characters are drawn with detail and with a knowledge of anatomy. Forty-two of the miniatures are included in the present volume. A full color facsimile will be accessible online.  

The 147 pictures are an invaluable source of information on late medieval cultural history, costume, and court life. In a historiographical context, The Illuminated Chronicle is an attempt at the popularization of the national history and a systematic appeal to circles beyond the old monastic-clerical audience.

The Illuminated Chronicle (Chronica de gestis Hungarorum e codice picto saec. xiv.) is the ninth volume in the Central European Medieval Texts, a LatinEnglish bilingual series.

The Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians in European Context (Norbert Kersken)
Abbreviations
Abbreviations and signs in text and annotations
Titles cited in abbreviation
List of illustrations and tables
Annotated list of miniatures and medallions

Editors' Preface

CHRONICA DE GESTIS HUNGARORUM

CHRONICLE OF THE DEEDS OF THE HUNGARIANS

APPENDIX
Chapters 209-212 from related chronicles
Select Bibliography
Index of Names of Persons, Kindreds and Peoples
Index of Geographical Names
Gazetteer for Geographical Names

"Stredoeurópska univerzita (CEU) ponúka ďalšiu bilingválnu pramennú edíciu, v poradí už deviaty zväzok. K edícii z dôvodu veľkého rozsahu kroniky nie je pripojená úvodná štúdia o rukopise a texte. Editori sa rozhodli publikovať tieto štúdie v separátnom zväzku. Oba zväzky (edíciu a štúdie) dopĺňa ešte CD s faksimile kroniky. Text edície Iluminovanej kroniky ešte uvádza popis jednotlivých iluminácii. Editorská poznámka informuje o tom, že anglický preklad narazil na terminologické problémy spojené s uhorskou dvorskou a šľachtickou terminológiou (spomeňme termín dux, comes či jobagio). Edícia i štúdie obsahujú snáď iba drobné nedostatky, ktoré však zásadným spôsobom neubrali na odbornosti predmetných textov. Prezentovaná edícia Iluminovanej v bilingválnej verzii je vydareným dielom, ktoré môže výborne poslúžiť medievistom špecializujúcim sa na Uhorsko či celkovo na stredoeurópsky priestor."
"Se presenta en este volumen la obra más relevante de la producción cronística húngara, la conocida como The Illuminated Chronicle, contenida en el manuscrito Cod. Lat. 404 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Hungría (Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, Budapest), compuesta entre 1358 y 1370. En «Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum / Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarian» se ofrece el texto en latín, al que acompañan variantes textuales, y una selección relevante de las miniaturas comentadas; y, una versión inglesa que cuenta con abundantes notas aclaratorias. En un CD-Rom, se recoge un facsímil de la crónica de alta resolución. Se trata, por tanto, de un valioso y bello libro que brinda la posibilidad de aproximarse la que puede considerarse la crónica más «monumental» de la cronística húngara y una de las más relevantes del ámbito europeo."