Epistolary of Frederick the Wise

Epistolary of Frederick the Wise

The Epistolary of Frederick the Wise is a magnificent private liturgical book famous for a full-page miniature of the Entombment and Lamentation of Christ in a mountainous landscape based on a woodcut by the great Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Frederick III (1463-1525), Prince-Elector of Saxony, was a generous patron of the arts during the German Renaissance who also owned one of the most extensive collections of relics and commissioned the Nuremberg workshop of Jakob Elsner (d. 1517) with the project ca. 1507. This magnificent manuscript, created on the eve of the Reformation, has been stored in the Jena University Library since 1547 and as a result is in an excellent state of preservation.

Gorgeous Readings for Christian Festivals

3 full-page miniatures, 17 historiated initials, and rich tendril frames filled with people and animals for the text pages presenting the beginning of each pericope adorn the splendid manuscript created at the behest of Frederick. Historiated initials with depictions of Saint Paul, prophets, or kings from the Bible are also found at the beginning of each pericope, which are epistle readings for 18 feast days between Christmas and the celebration of a church consecration. The coat of arms and various heraldic symbols associated with the Saxon ruling house are depicted in full-page miniatures along with a miniature of angels holding the instruments of Christ’s suffering, the so-called Arma Christi.