bavarikon4UDescription
The volume contains various German works from the 14th and 15th centuries. In addition to Heinrich Seue's "Büchlein der Ewigen Weisheit" ("Booklet of Eternal Wisdom") it contains the story of the "24 Alten" ("24 Elders") by Otto von Passau, decorated with miniatures. The text, written in the 14th century, is a common example of late medieval piety. They have been handed down in over 90 manuscripts and have also been printed since 1480. The title refers to the 24 elders from the Book of Revelation. The full-page illustration of the 24 elders with their musical instruments at the beginning of the manuscript is striking. The most familiar motif is the Romanesque architectural sculpture (tympanum) on the Spanish Camino de Santiago. Such representations are important sources of images for historical musicology, and historical instruments are also reconstructed from them. The Coburg manuscript of the 24 elders therefore mainly became known as the oldest example of a dulcimer (quarter top left) in music ethnology. The previous owner of the collection manuscript produced in Erfurt in the middle of the 15th century was Duke John Frederick II, the Middle One, of Saxony (1529-1595). He resided in Coburg and Heldburg, among other places, and was involved in the Grumbach Feud for denominational and political reasons. The only known tradition of "Erfurt morality" (game of women's honour and shame), an extensive clerical game about wise and foolish virgins, can be found at the end of the manuscript. Datum: 2019
Author
Silvia Pfister