The Speciálník Codex (CZ-HKm MS II.A.7) is a 15th-century ''speciálník'' (i.e. special songbook) originating from a monastery in the region of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Its eclectic mix of

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' sacred music is matched only by its brilliant juxtapositions of well-known and obscure pieces and composers. Containing works for two, three, and four voices, the Codex is one of the oldest surviving collections of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Renaissance

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

, and originated in the

Utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds"), also called Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', "shell, husk"; Czech: ''kališníci''), was a belief amongst Hussites, a pre-P ...

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

congregations of around 1500. The

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

is currently in the

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

Museum, which acquired it from a Prague antique dealer in 1901.

External links

* A listing o
Medieval and Gothic recordings
containing a wealth of historical information on the Speciálník Codex. * {{Authority control 15th-century manuscripts Medieval music manuscript sources Renaissance music Renaissance music manuscript sources Czech Renaissance