Exhibit of the Month: October 2024

October 9 - November 12, 2024 Ante-room to the General reading Room (gate A), open Monday to Saturday 9 am - 7 pm (see opening hours of the NL)
Admission 20 CZK (free for the NL readers)

The Bible of Hodějov
1440–1460
Fol. 3v-4r
NL Prague XVII A 30

The first complete Czech translation of the entire Bible from the Latin Vulgate originated in the middle of the 14^th century. In the 14^th and 15^th centuries, four different versions of this translation were gradually created, known as redactions. These redactions have been preserved in more than hundred manuscripts and incunabula. The third redaction, from the beginning of the 15^th century, is known for its unified terminology and the translation of Latin expressions. Thanks to the accuracy of the Czech text, readers did not need to consult the Latin original. The translator of this redaction remains unknown, but the style of his work suggests that he was likely a university master rather than a preacher.

Biblical manuscripts of the third redaction have generally a uniform text, derived from a common original source. Eleven complete Bibles have survived, along with various separate books of the Old and the New Testaments. Among the manuscripts of this redaction is also the Bible of Hodějov.

The Bible of Hodějov was written by a single scribe and contains the usual number of prologues as well as numerous marginal notes. A later hand added a concordance, while the index, written by other two scribes, remains unfinished. On the back inside cover, there are records of the Markvart Stránovský family from 1523–1535, on the fol. 442r, there are records of the family of Bernart the Elder of Hodějov at Chotětice, dating from 1563–1587.  The manuscript was later kept in the Sázava Monastery and eventually found its way to the Klementinum.