The Balthasar Behem Codex, also known as ''Codex Picturatus'', is a collection of the charters, privileges and statutes of the burghers of the city of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Compiled in 1505, the codex was named for the chancellor at the time, Balthasar Behem. The book's text is in German, Latin and Polish. It is now held at the library of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

of Kraków. The bylaws of the guilds are featured in twenty-seven illustrations in the codex and depict both

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

subjects and the daily activities of the Kraków burgher guild members, for example that of

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

s, titled in Latin: ''Pistores'', with a subtitle in German: ''Das ist der briff und geseccze der becker von Krakow.'' ("This is the letter and law of the bakers in Cracow"
example in color
, and the text calligraphed in Latin. This kind of illustration - showing the practice of trades - was a tradition with an iconographical history going back to late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

texts showing the "

Labours of the Months The term Labours of the Months refers to cycles in Medieval art, Medieval and early Renaissance art depicting in twelve scenes the rural activities that commonly took place in the months of the year. They are often linked to the signs of the Z ...

", pairing a characteristic activity of rural life with the

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celesti ...

sign for that month. Historians of culture and art have shown that these illustrations sometimes reflect their iconographical traditions rather than actually depicting contemporary life with accuracy .

External links

JU Library: Bakers' GuildJagiellonian Digital Library link to download full scan of Codex
{{Authority control 1505 works 1505 in Poland History of Kraków Jagiellonian University 16th-century illuminated manuscripts