Monarchs in the High and Late Middle Ages often took a keen interest in astronomy and astrology – and the Kingdom of Bohemia was no exception. Of the Bohemian Kings from the House of Luxembourg, the most prominent student of these fields was Wenceslas IV – as demonstrated by three surviving manuscripts from his personal library. Two of these astronomical/astrological manuscripts are now held by the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The first is known as the Vienna Astronomical-Astrological Compendium, and the second is the Quadripartitus of Ptolemy. The least-known is the third manuscript – the Munich Astronomical-Astrological Compendium, held by the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The two compendiums are of interest both for their texts and for their artistic ornamentation. They are decorated with symbols typically associated with Wenceslas IV – who was undoubtedly interested not only in the artistic aspects of the manuscripts, but also in the texts themselves. This lecture presents all three manuscripts in words and images.

Only in Czech, free entrance.