Breviarium Novi II

Breviarium Novi II – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Åœupa Arhiv (Novi Vinodolski, Croatia)

Pauline Monastery and Church of St. Mary in Osap (Croatia) — 1493–1495

Equally important for linguistics, philology, liturgy, musicology, and art history: a unique collection of Church Slavonic texts combining language and art that spans 5 centuries

  1. A compendium ranging from the 10th to the 15th centuries mixing old and new linguistic and artistic elements

  2. The collection of texts is relevant to linguistics, philology, liturgy, musicology, and art history

  3. The codex is written in the Croatian redaction of Church Slavic, making it a valuable vernacular text

Breviarium Novi II

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  1. Description
  2. Detail Picture
  3. Single Page
  4. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Breviarium Novi II

The Breviarium Novi II is a codex containing transcriptions of texts ranging from the 10th to the 15th centuries and mixes old and new linguistic and artistic elements. It contains the breviary of the Roman Curia written in square Croatian Glagolitic as was use in the 14th and 15th centuries. Due to the wide variety of text contained therein, the codex is of interest to scholars in linguistics and philology, as well as to librarians, liturgists, musicologists, and art historians.

Breviarium Novi II

The second Novi Breviary is a large codex of 500 folios. The greater part of it was transcribed by the priest Martinac from the district of Lapac in Grobnic, one of the free medieval Vinodol communes. In his colophons he mentions 1493, 1494 and 1495 as the years in which the codex was written and finished. It was created for the Pauline monastery and its Church of St. Mary on Osap, a little hill outside the walls of Novi Vinodolski, which has been lost today. The Pauline monks in the Glagolitic areas celebrated the Old Slav services from Glagolitic liturgical books. The script, particularly that of Priest Martinac, is neat and legible liturgical script in square Croatian Glagolitic as was use in the 14th and 15th centuries. The language of the codex is the Creation redaction of Church Slavic. The texts date from the 10th to the 15th centuries, and old and new linguistic elements are intermixed. The Breviarium Novi II retains the entirety of the breviary of the Roman Curia distinguished by lessons of considerable length and detailed descriptions of the offices in the rubrics.

  1. Proprium de tempore (fol. 1–267d)
  2. Calendar (fol. 268–275)
  3. Psalterium (fol. 276a–322c)
  4. Officium defunctorum (fol. 322c–324c)
  5. Commune Sanctorum (fol. 324c–355c)
  6. Officium "de Beata" (fol. 356a–359c)
  7. Proprium sanctorum (fol. 382a–500d)

All the components of this codex: language, script, illuminations, and text are characterized by a mixture of older forms and newer innovations. They present a wide field of interest to scholars in linguistics, and philology, and to librarians, liturgists, musicologists and historians of art. In order to facilitate reading and orientations we have provided a Glagolitic alphabet, a list of the most frequent abbreviations of contents.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Novi Breviary
Novi-Brevier
Size / Format
1,000 pages / 36.0 × 26.0 cm
Origin
Croatia
Date
1493–1495
Script
Square Glagolitic script
Illustrations
Numerous, partly historiated initials and smaller miniatures
Artist / School

Available facsimile editions:
Breviarium Novi II – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Åœupa Arhiv (Novi Vinodolski, Croatia)
Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1977
Detail Picture

Breviarium Novi II

Historiated Initial Ⱃ

Constructed from intertwined bands and plant-like tendrils, this wonderful initial Ⱃ introduces a prayer in the Psalterium of the breviary. Richly decorated with golden details, it is infilled with a depiction of Christ in a red cloak as Salvator mundi, i.e. "Saviour of the World", his right hand raised in blessing and holding an orb, known as a globus cruciger, in his left hand. The letter Rzi or Ⱃ (pronounced /r/) is the 19th letter of the Glagolitic alphabet.

Breviarium Novi II – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Åœupa Arhiv (Novi Vinodolski, Croatia)
Single Page

Breviarium Novi II

Ⰱ Decorated Initial

Only by using red ink, this ornate interlace initial was constructed, which shows the Glagolitic letter Ⰱ and whose curlicues stretch across almost the entire page. The body of the letter is formed from interwoven bands, the ends of which develop into leaf shapes and are decorated with small, drawn pearls. Filigree curlicues are attached to both the upper left end and the lower bar, which, apart from their jagged design, are reminiscent of pen-flourish initials, which were very common in the Late Middle Ages.
Ⰱ or Buky is the second letter of the Glagolitic alphabet and is pronounced /b/. It decoratively introduces a prayer in the Psalter of the Breviary.

Breviarium Novi II – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Åœupa Arhiv (Novi Vinodolski, Croatia)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Breviarium Novi II

Publisher: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1977
Binding: Half leather
Commentary: 1 volume by Marija PanteliÂŽc and Anica Nazor
Languages: German, English
1 volume: Book size: 275 x 205 mm - 8 pages were reproduced in full colour, the other pages in black-and-white. Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding. 8 pages in color, the other pages in black and white facsimile. Book size: 275 x 205 mm
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)
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