Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex

Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex

During the reign of King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), the humanist culture spread in Hungary, both at the royal court and in ecclesiastical circles. The *Kálmáncsehi Breviary** can be understood as a part of this development. It was completed in 1481 in the Buda workshop of the Corvina Library for Domonkos Kálmáncsehi (1432–1503), as evidenced by the colophon and the coat of arms of the ecclesiastical patron that is integrated into the book decoration six times. The latter shows the profile of a red lion above a six-pointed star on a blue and gold background. The coat of arms, which is usually embedded in the decorated borders of the pages, is additionally crowned by a mitre and a stole - symbols of Kálmáncsehi's episcopal dignity.

Artistic Splendor for a Mighty Prince of the Church

Domonkos Kálmáncsehi actually came from a peasant family from the Kálmánča region and ascended to the nobility through his academic education. He first became canon of Székesfehérvár in Hungary, where he held the office of Grand Provost of St. Mary's Companion Chapel between 1474 and 1495. He was then elevated to Bishop of Oradea and Transylvania and finally received the office of the Archbishop of Kalocsa a year before his death. In addition to his ecclesiastical role, he was also actively involved in the royal court and was entrusted with financial and diplomatic duties, making him one of the most powerful figures in Hungary at the time.

Breviary and Missal

The codex, written in a careful, two-column textura, comprises two liturgical books: a breviary and a missal, preceded by a twelve-page calendar. While the breviary served the patron in the reading of the Liturgy of the Hours, the missal describes the liturgy of the Eucharist on Sundays, feast days and weekdays. The fact that the codex combines both books indicates that Kálmáncsehi may have used it on his travels.

Splendid Illumination from Buda

The liturgical texts were richly illuminated under the direction of the gifted book illuminator Francesco da Castello, who led the royal scriptorium in Buda. The opulent decoration consists of a full-page miniature showing the crucifixion and hundreds of beautiful decorated initials, 48 of which were artfully historiated, i.e. provided with figurative scenes. In addition, there are 54 fantastical borders, which often enclose (almost) the entire page and are formed from intertwined flower tendrils and vases. Some of them also show animal and human figures and surround a total of 18 medallion miniatures. The calendar is also adorned with beautiful, gold-decorated initial ligatures and floral tendrils.

Provenance

After the trace of the precious manuscript was lost after Kálmáncsehi's death, it reappeared in historical documents in 1782 in the Cistercian Abbey of Viktring in present-day Carinthia, Austria, from where it ended up in the Fürstlich Liechtenstein'sche Fideikomiss-Bibliothek of the Dukes of Liechtenberg in Vienna. In 1948 it was acquired by the New York bookseller William H. Schab and sold to William S. Glazier (1907–1962), through whom it finally came to the Pierpont Morgan Library.