Balthasar Behem Codex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Balthasar Behem Codex is a collection of the privileges and statutes of the city of Kraków. Compiled in 1505, the codex was named for the chancellor at the time. The book's text is in Polish, Latin and German, and is now held at the Jagiellonian University of Kraków.

Illustrations in the codex depict both biblical subjects and the daily activities of the guild members. This kind of illustration - showing the practice of trades - was a tradition with an iconographical history going back to late Roman astronomical texts showing the "Labors of the Months", pairing a characteristic activity of rural life with the astrological 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.