"Saul a Yonatha mily": Czech incunable

[Biblia bohemica - VT]. Single leaf from the Kutná Hora Bible: fol. p9 (149r/v): 1 Samuel 30 - 2 Samuel 1.

$2,793.00

The Kutná Hora Bible, printed by Martin of Tisnov, is the world's second complete version of the Bible printed in a Slavic language, with the Prague Bible preceding it by a single year, and is therefore one of the rarest incunabula in Czech history. It is the oldest Czech printed Bible with illustrations, and the copy from which this leaf was removed must have displayed an overall harmony of composition and consistency in the use of beautifully illustrated, hand-painted, and rubricated initials still apparent in this fragment.

The race for the first printed Czech Bible was part of a competition between the two most important Bohemian cities in the late 15th century, Prague and Kutná Hora. Although Martin of Tisnov was not able to beat Prague's printer in terms of speed, his Bible is slightly longer (612 leaves), which makes it the largest Czech incunable ever; it also boasted 116 woodcut illustrations. 199 copies were printed in two typesettings.

The present Bible leaf contains verses 23-31 of 1 Samuel 30, in which David distributes plunder from the Amalekites to the elders of Judah: "Y nawratil se dawid zase do mesta sy czelech a poslal dary starssym yuda przateluom swym z korzysti a zlupe ze: kteruz byl wzal". This is followed by a hand-coloured woodcut of Saul plunging himself into his sword when the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa was lost. His son Jonathan is seen being slain behind him. The right half of the illustration depicts King David being presented with Saul's crown as proof of his death. The remainder of the page contains 1 Samuel's complete chapter 31, followed by the beginning of 2 Samuel 1, breaking off at verse 23, during David's lament for Saul and Jonathan.

Very rare: ISTC counts 40 holding institutions worldwide, of which no fewer than four (the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Royal Library in Stockholm, the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Russian State Library in Moscow) likewise have a single leaf only, while the Cambridge University Library and the Gutenberg Museum Mainz hold two leaves each.