History Buech Reimenweisz

The Willehalm-manuscript shows the second largest cycle of miniatures ever produced for king Wenceslas IV. In contrast to other manuscripts of his library it was dated by the scribe with the year 1387. In the course of discussing the genesis of the text, the art historian aims to point out the history and peculiarities of the “chanson de geste”, and hence names the major challenges to the painter, who had to create images: the shift from one medium to another, from oral tradition to written culture, the long search for a suitable form. The epic, initially addressed to a larger audience by acting and music, now had to be transferred into two-dimensional visual values. In the German speaking area the three related written epics "Arabel - Willehalm - Rennewart" were bound together soon after their completion (ca. in 1270) in order to achieve a vita of St. Willehalm. Moreover, the idea of a continuing story was expressed by a common, continuous image program for the whole trilogy. Soon picture-cycles with hundreds of miniatures were developed. The choice of framed scenes illustrating the epics differed from book to book, according to the wishes of the recipient. The step towards an insertion of initials was not made until the production of the Willehalm-trilogy for King Wenceslas IV. This is not the only peculiarity of the codex: Each of the three epics received precious, but separate artistic décors, and the miniature-program primarily concentrates on the illustration of the third epic. Presumably this was due to dynastic connections of the king with the authors’ patrons from the families of the Přemyslid, Hohenstaufen and Wittelsbach dynasties.