Chrysostomus: Homiliae

The manuscript was illuminated in the workshop of Attavante degli Attavanti in Florence, after the Hungarian occupation of Vienna in 1485. It is proven by that in the lower stripe of the border decoration, next to King Matthias’s coat of arms in a diamond ring, we can see the coat of arms of Vienna (on the left, a silver cross upon red base) and Austria (on the right, a silver fess upon red base). Attavante’s workshop employed a great number of assistants and produced a huge amount of manuscripts with title-pages of high quality. Most of the preserved Italian works of the Corvina Library, at least thirty ones, are related to this workshop. The volumes include ones with precise date, the first being 1485, which proves that at that time, Attavante already worked for King Matthias. Some volumes are signed by the master (“Attavante pinsit” – painted by Attavante), while other Corvinas are attributed to him because of the style. The codex on display belongs to the latter.
The title-page of the Alberti Corvina illuminated by the “First Heraldic Painter” shows certain similarities with the title-page of this manuscript. The most visible common feature is the similar layout and that the iconography of both codices is organized by the coats of arms. Further similarities can be found between the initial letters, the figures’ characteristics (posture and clothing), and the coloring. (Ferenc Földesi)

Source: The Corvina Library and the Buda Worskhop: [National Széchényi Library, November 6, 2018 –February 9, 2019] A Guide to the Exhibition; introduction and summary tables: Edina Zsupán; object descriptions: Edina Zsupán, Ferenc Földesi; English translation: Ágnes Latorre, Budapest: NSZL, 2018, p. 218

DATA SHEET

Shelfmark: Cod. Lat. 346.
Country: Hungary
City: Budapest
Keeper location: National Széchényi Library
Author: Johannes Chrysostomus (St. John Golden Mouth)
Content: Homeliae, epistolae
Writing medium: parchment
Number of sheets: 159 fol.
Sheet size: 368 × 254 mm
Place of writing: Florence
Illuminator: Attavante degli Attavanti
Place of illumination: Florence
Date of illumination: 1485‒1490
Crest: Composition of King Matthias' gold and silver coins; Attavante degli Attavanti
Possessor, provenience: King Matthias Hunyadi; Alfonso, Duke of Modena 1560; Francis, Duke of Modena donated it to the Library of the Hungarian National Museum in 1847; imperial and royal court archives, Vienna, 1847–1869; Imperial Court Library, Vienna, 1869–1891; Franz Joseph donated it to the Library of the Hungarian National Museum in 1891, it was kept here until 1919; Royal Este Library, Modena 1919–1927; Benito Mussolini donated it to the Library of the Hungarian National Museum in 1927.
Binding: modern leather binding (Modena)
Language of corvina: Latin
Hungarian translation(s) of work(s) included in the corvina: None