Fragment of a Gradual

The initial originally decorated a manuscript for the Catholic liturgy. The term ‘gradual’ for this type of book derives from the Latin ‘gradus’ (steps), as the cantor performed the melodies on the steps leading up to the altar. While the manuscripts were replaced with printed books as a results of liturgical reforms and thus have not survived, collectors preserved the painted initials as small works of art in their own right.

The initial depicting the Ascension of Christ shows great stylistic similarities with the miniatures in a gradual from St Laurence in Nuremberg, a part of which is today kept in the Landes­kirch­liches Archiv in Nuremberg. The local painters’ workshop also carried out work for institutions in Prague.