„Apokalipsy krzyżackie” z drugiej ćwierci XIV wieku. Uwagi o technice wykonania i miejscu powstania .......... 229

‘TEUTONIC APOCALYPSES’ FROM THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE 14TH CENTURY. COMMENTS ON THE TECHNIQUE AND PLACE OF ORIGIN

The text presents the findings of observations concerning the technique of execution and material, conducted on two medieval manuscripts containing German texts of Heinrich von Hesler’s Apocalypse. The manuscripts are the so-called Deutschordensbibel, housed at the Württembergische Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart (ms HB XIII 11, the ‘Stuttgart Apocalypse’), and a codex from the collection of the University Library in Toruń (ms 64/V, ‘Toruń Apocalypse’). Both codices are considered the most significant and renowned illuminated manuscripts from the Teutonic heritage in Prussia, exhibiting the most elaborate decorative style among the extant handwritten books used within the Order. The hypothesis that both were created by Luther of Brunswick is the most probable, with both items dating back to the 1330s. Despite the evident differences in terms of format, scale, opulence and decorative system, both manuscripts exhibit a number of common features. These commonalities indicate that they were created in the same scriptorium, employing analogous compositional rules. The paper presents an analysis of the technique of painting miniatures (using microscopic observations and macro photographs) and the results of XRF testing of pigments and inks in the Toruń codex. The figural decorations were created by the same artist, but they were written by different scribes; the Stuttgart codex was decorated additionally by an educated calligrapher. The books were created in an organised, dynamic, multi-person workshop. The authors of the study hypothesise that the place of execution was the Cistercian scriptorium in Pelplin.