Iluminace Sbírky brněnského městského práva písaře Václava z Jihlavy jako pramen ke studiu dobového odívání

Abstract

The figural decorations of the Collection of Brno Town Law (Sbírka brněnského městského práva) by scribe Václav of Jihlava from 1446 constitutes the richest iconographic material from the public-law life of the city among the preserved books of town laws in our country. the illuminated initials fulfil the practical function of a graphical division, serving a better orientation in the legal matter, as well as the representative function, as the richly-illustrated codex was a valid version of Brno town law and was used in court proceedings as well. Nevertheless, we acquire a lot of information about the period clothing of privileged town personalities, common inhabitants, the bailiff, executioner and village shepherd. It is apparent from the scenes that in the mid-15th century the social stratification was explicit, represented on the outside by different clothing. In addition to the illumination of the most comprehensive section of sentences, there are three miniatures of monarchs incorporated into the introduction and conclusion of the manuscript: of Justinian, Wenceslaus I, and Wenceslaus II.