Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich
Witnesses of death: on late-mediaeval testaments from Prague Who could have been in contact with the dying in a mediaeval town? Apart from the relatives mostly those whose job was to organize funerary ceremonies. The author differentiates two aspects of commemorating the dead: the physical one (t...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences
2014-07-01
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Series: | Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej |
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Online Access: | https://journals.iaepan.pl/khkm/article/view/790 |
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author | Kateřina Jísová |
author_facet | Kateřina Jísová |
author_sort | Kateřina Jísová |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Witnesses of death: on late-mediaeval testaments from Prague
Who could have been in contact with the dying in a mediaeval town? Apart from the relatives mostly those whose job was to organize funerary ceremonies. The author differentiates two aspects of commemorating the dead: the physical one (tombstones, pictures) and the spiritual one (masses, indulgences, prayers). It is also possible to differentiate real and illusory witnesses of death. A very peculiar form of commemorating was ars moriendi, whose examples in the Bohemian culture of the 14th century were authored by Jan of Jenštejn and Jan of Stříbro. A later specimen originating in urban context was Liber de arte moriendi, by an outstanding intellectual, Master Prokop, written in 1460, a collection of lectures delivered at a faculty of arts, surviving in two manuscripts. The oldest image of death in Bohemia comes from the 14th century; it is a picture of two skulls on the vault of the vestibule of the seat of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Strakonice (1320–1330). In Liber viatiku by Jan of Středa there is a P initial ornamented with a still life including a skull (1360). In the church of Our Lady in Karlštejn one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse is shown naked, holding a scythe in his hand (c. 1357). Vivid descriptions of dying can also be found in dances of death (danse macabre), in which the Death is often presented as a dancer, sometimes also playing a musical instrument. This type of depiction uses images in combination with language. In early-sixteenth-century Bohemian art there are several examples of sculptures showing corpses in decay: the tombstone of Jan Hasištejnsky of Lobkovice in the former church in Kadaň (1515–1516), a low relief of the Zlíchovsky altar, authored by an artist using the monogram IP, and a statue showing a skeleton in St George’s church in the Prague castle (1520–1530). |
first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:49:15Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-fc6b4358e0144eb6a9c1d8cfbcbf6b0e |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0023-5881 2719-6496 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:49:15Z |
publishDate | 2014-07-01 |
publisher | Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences |
record_format | Article |
series | Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej |
spelling | doaj.art-fc6b4358e0144eb6a9c1d8cfbcbf6b0e2022-12-21T17:16:38ZengInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of SciencesKwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej0023-58812719-64962014-07-01623Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskichKateřina Jísová0Archiv Hlavního Města PrahyWitnesses of death: on late-mediaeval testaments from Prague Who could have been in contact with the dying in a mediaeval town? Apart from the relatives mostly those whose job was to organize funerary ceremonies. The author differentiates two aspects of commemorating the dead: the physical one (tombstones, pictures) and the spiritual one (masses, indulgences, prayers). It is also possible to differentiate real and illusory witnesses of death. A very peculiar form of commemorating was ars moriendi, whose examples in the Bohemian culture of the 14th century were authored by Jan of Jenštejn and Jan of Stříbro. A later specimen originating in urban context was Liber de arte moriendi, by an outstanding intellectual, Master Prokop, written in 1460, a collection of lectures delivered at a faculty of arts, surviving in two manuscripts. The oldest image of death in Bohemia comes from the 14th century; it is a picture of two skulls on the vault of the vestibule of the seat of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Strakonice (1320–1330). In Liber viatiku by Jan of Středa there is a P initial ornamented with a still life including a skull (1360). In the church of Our Lady in Karlštejn one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse is shown naked, holding a scythe in his hand (c. 1357). Vivid descriptions of dying can also be found in dances of death (danse macabre), in which the Death is often presented as a dancer, sometimes also playing a musical instrument. This type of depiction uses images in combination with language. In early-sixteenth-century Bohemian art there are several examples of sculptures showing corpses in decay: the tombstone of Jan Hasištejnsky of Lobkovice in the former church in Kadaň (1515–1516), a low relief of the Zlíchovsky altar, authored by an artist using the monogram IP, and a statue showing a skeleton in St George’s church in the Prague castle (1520–1530).https://journals.iaepan.pl/khkm/article/view/790średniowiecze późne -- Czechytestamenty mieszczan późnośredniowiecznepochówki późnośredniowieczneśmierć -- ikonografiaPraga (Czechy) |
spellingShingle | Kateřina Jísová Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej średniowiecze późne -- Czechy testamenty mieszczan późnośredniowieczne pochówki późnośredniowieczne śmierć -- ikonografia Praga (Czechy) |
title | Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
title_full | Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
title_fullStr | Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
title_full_unstemmed | Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
title_short | Świadkowie śmierci: o późnośredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
title_sort | swiadkowie smierci o poznosredniowiecznych testamentach praskich |
topic | średniowiecze późne -- Czechy testamenty mieszczan późnośredniowieczne pochówki późnośredniowieczne śmierć -- ikonografia Praga (Czechy) |
url | https://journals.iaepan.pl/khkm/article/view/790 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT katerinajisova swiadkowiesmierciopoznosredniowiecznychtestamentachpraskich |