One German late medieval paper prayer book from the collection of Russian National Library

Abstract

The article presents the results of codicological and content analysis of one Low German prayer book within the common context of devotional culture at the turn of 16th century. The period of 1470– 1525 is one in which a great many new Catholic prayers were composed. The religious processes happening in Germany at that time are reflected in the handwritten prayer books. Prayer books followed clearly the main trends of the religious consciousness of society and just as clearly point to the changes occurring in them. This statement is supported by five German-speaking prayer books of the National Library of Russia which were created in the second half of the 15th– the first third of the 16th century. The article investigates one of them, the prayer book Ms. F. 955, Op. 2, No. 51. The manuscript consists of ten blocks of paper, concluded together in the late 15th century; the сodicological structure is determined by the types of paper and handwritten scripts. The analysis of the manuscript Ms. F. 955, Op. 2, No. 51 shows that in terms of content, it is a typical German vernacular prayer book from the second half of the 15th to the beginning of thee 16th century: prayers and columns are written in the folk language, some Latin words indicate only habitual prayer titles familiar to the ear: Pater noster, Ave Maria; the prayer book is Christo- and Mary- centric, it contains apocryphal legends about St. Anna as well as the prayers to her. Prayers to the other Saints are not numerous. In terms of its codicological structure and content, this manuscript is a typical example of inexpensive paper prayer books. This type is characterized by the frugal decor, vernacular language and numerous textual additions (often, very extensive) made by the owners according to their religious preferences and ideas. In contrast, the expensive codices were written in the same hand and were richly illuminated. They are characterized by the precise order of devotional texts and the presence of specific components of breviaries: the liturgical calendar, penitential psalms, litanies to the Saints. Refs 27.