Vyssí Brod 42: A Unique Music Source from Pre-Hussite Bohemia

By Lenka Hlávková and Jan Ciglbauer

An in-depth study of a medieval manuscript of songs from the Cistercian monastery in Vyss Brod.

Manuscript 42 from the Cistercian monastery in Vyss Brod (Hohenfurth), Czech Republic, compiled in 1410, today represents one of the most important music sources from medieval Bohemia, providing insight into the rich and varied liturgical and devotional repertory circulating in Central Europe just before the outbreak of the Hussite Wars in 1419. The manuscript's collection of monophonic and polyphonic songs, one of the oldest ones in Europe, serves as a starting point for studies of the Latin mensural cantio, an important late medieval music form and cultural phenomenon.

In Vyss Brod 42, three extensive studies explore various aspects of the manuscript and its contents. In the first, Jan Ciglbauer examines its creation process and the involvement of various scribes in noting down new texts and melodies. In the second, Hana Vlhov -W rner delves into the variety of late medieval chant compositions contained within it and the relationship of this truly novel repertory to the formalized Cistercian liturgy. The last chapter, co-authored by Lenka Hl vkov and Pavel Kod tek, scrutinizes the manuscript's remarkable collection of spiritual songs and identifies their inscription as "snapshots" of a vivid oral tradition.

Together, these three studies bring a new perspective on musical life in Cistercian monasteries in Central Europe in the late Middle Ages, a topic that has received very little exploration until now.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 8024659581
• ISBN13: 9788024659589
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Karolinum Press, Charles University
• Length: 306 Pages