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A Mátyás Graduálé
The Gradual of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary. Cod. Lat. 424

Folio 153r


'M' INITIAL / 16th SUNDAY AFTER WHITSUN
Prayer before battle, in the foreground: man wearing a turban

National Széchényi Library, Budapest

1480-1488. Probably made in Buda. Parchment.
The most richly illuminated manuscript in the Corvina collection is the second volume of a gradual containing the changing plainsong of the mass, probably used in the royal chapel. Besides the title-page, it was decorated with 46 large figural and numerous smaller initials. Some of the initials illustrate the passage of the Bible on which the liturgy is based, while others show scenes of secular life. Symbolical and emblematic images can also be found.