An Abecedarium
Illuminated Alphabets from the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II
(Selected illustrations from Mira calligraphiae monumenta)
Lee Hendrix
Thea Vignau-Wilberg
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The extraordinary court of Emperor Rudolf II, based in Prague in the late sixteenth century, produced a magnificently illuminated volume called the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a flamboyant demonstration of two arts – calligraphy and miniature painting.
Part of this remarkable book comprises two alphabets illuminated by the miniaturist Joris Hoefnagel. One consists of Roman capital letters (majuscules), the other of Gothic lower-case letters (minuscules). Both are ingeniously illustrated by symbols and heraldic objects – masks, animals, insects, plants, obelisks – expressing the power and greatness of the Emperor Rudolf.
In this beautiful little volume 38 pages from the original manuscript are reproduced exactly, showing the two alphabets in all their intriguing and delightful glory. As well as examining the details of the illumination – finding parrots, monkeys and other fabulous beasts entwining themselves around the letters – the reader will find a thorough and scholarly commentary that explains the history and background to this exquisite Renaissance document.
Also of interest:
The Alphabetic Labyrinth: The Letters in
History and Imagination
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