Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Bibliotheca Corviniana
Inscribed 2005
What is it
The Bibliotheca Corviniana collection was the one of the
greatest collection of books in Europe in the Renaissance
period and contains works written for Matthias Corvinus,
king of Hungary (1458–90) and copies of the most
important works known at that time.
Why was it inscribed
The collection is an outstanding representation
of Renaissance culture of the late 15th century,
covering both literature and the contemporary state
of understanding in such subjects as philosophy,
theology, history, law, literature, geography, natural
sciences, medicine and architecture.
Where is it
National Szechenyi Library, Hungary; Austrian National
Library, Austria; Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Italy;
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Germany;
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, France; Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek München, Germany; Koninklijke
Bibliotheek Van Belgie, Belgium
The Bibliotheca Corviniana was regarded in its time as
the second most important library in Europe after the
Vatican Library. It was created by Matthias Corvinus, king
of Hungary (1458–90), and was housed in his royal palace
in Buda. The collection reflected the aspirations of an
ideal humanist education of the period and contained
Greek and Latin authors discovered by humanists; the
Bible and works by ecclesiastics, medieval theologians and
scholars; and also writings of contemporary humanists.
The humanists’ favourite subjects included literature,
history, philosophy, theology, rhetoric, military science,
medicine, architecture and astronomy, which were
represented by volumes written in Latin, Greek, Arabic
and Hungarian. The collection also contained early
examples of printed books. This classic Renaissance library
used to consist of around 2000 volumes. However, after
the Ottoman conquest of Hungary in 1526, many of the
volumes in the collection were lost. Today, 216 volumes
from the collection are known and they are scattered all
over the world: fifty-three remain in various libraries in
Hungary, forty-nine are in Italian libraries, thirty-nine
are in the Austrian National Library and others can be
found in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Turkey and
the USA. A digital version of the Bibliotheca Corviniana is
being created so that all the surviving volumes from this
remarkable library can be viewed together in spite of the
scattered nature of the collection today.
Matthias Corvinus and his Italian wife, Queen Beatrix,
offered excellent working and intellectual conditions
to the most outstanding humanists of the late 15th
century at the Hungarian court, and many outstanding
humanists were connected with the library – for instance
Regiomontanus, the leading astronomer of his time, was
in charge of the Greek codices. The Bibliotheca Corviniana
influenced Hungarian, Central and Western European
culture. The diplomats, scientists, authors and artists who
visited the royal court transmitted their impressions of the
collection to Vienna, Krakow, Prague and throughout
Europe. The influence on Czech culture was notable,
because Matthias was its king and there were many
Czechs working at the Buda court.
The Corviniana texts most often show the characteristic
style of Renaissance art, the all’antica, but some contain
Gothic-style illuminations. Among the most beautiful
examples of the all’antica style is Thomas Aquinas’s
commentary on De coelo et mundo Aristotelis, Aristotle’s
text that outlines his cosmographic system. This text is
decorated with panels of typical Renaissance decorations.
Another example is Johannes Michael Nagonius’s
panegyric, Ad Divum Wladislaum Regem pronostichon
et panegyrichon. A more historic approach to illustration
is seen in the collection’s edition of Dante’s La Divina
Commedia. The collection also is renowned for the
excellent quality of miniatures; for example, the Matthias
Graduale contains eighty colour miniatures prepared by
French artists who worked at the court of King Matthias
in Buda.
Bibliotheca Corviniana 149