Johannes de Thurocz - Chronica Hungarorum, woodcut, 1488 - Old and modern graphics for sale

Author: Thurocz, Johannes de

Publisher: Preinlein and Stahel

Published: Brno

Publishing year: 1488

Thurocz, Johannes de. Chronica Hungarorum. Orig. woodcut - frontispiece from his Hungarian Chronicle. Brno, Preinlein and Stahel, 1488. 14,5:24,5 cm on paper sized 21:29,5 cm with large wattermark.

 The 'Chronica Hungarorum' (also known as the Chronicle of Johannes de Thurocz, the Hungarian Chronicle or the Chronicle of the Hungarians) was first published on 20 March 1488 in Brno. Its author was Johannes de Thurocz, the first known lay writer in Hungary. The text was probably commissioned by the humanist Jan Filipec (1431–1509), a native of Moravia and Bishop of Nagyvárad, who was close to King Matthias I Corvinus. During a period when letterpress printing did not exist anywhere in the Kingdom of Hungary or in Vienna, Brno was more easily accessible. This was the largest commission the workshop had undertaken to date, and also the first illustrated book printed in Moravia. The text is accompanied by 42 illustrations, 41 of which depict Hungarian kings on their thrones. - There are old wrinkles on the paper at the bottom right and bottom left visible.