Vyšší Brod 42: A Unique Music Source from Pre-Hussite Bohemia (Prague Medieval Studies)

An in-depth study of a medieval manuscript of songs from the Cistercian monastery in Vyšší Brod. Manuscript 42 from the Cistercian monastery in Vyšší 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 Vyšší 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 Vlhová-Wörner delves into the variety of late medieval chant composit