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This missal was printed in 1704 in Nagyszombat (Trnava, Slovakia), and contains the text of the requiem mass, from the Missale Romanum, to be used in every church (based on the title page).

The book contains the complete text of the Mass with the canon, and each part is supplemented by musical notations for the sung segments. The sheets (consisting of four staves) are not engravings but rather made up of small individual pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. This becomes evident when one looks at the tiny spaces between the pieces. Besides the sheets, the volume is enriched with two-colour printing (black and red) and a copperplate engraving prefacing the canon of the mass (depicting Jesus on the cross, the Virgin Mary and Saint John). The large fonts of this folio print make it possible to read the missal from a distance. The leather markers also had a practical use: the priest could turn a page without touching the paper, thus his hands remained clean. According to the possession note on the title page, the Minorites of Lőcse (Levoča, Slovakia) used the book in the18th century (1722). The friars wrote short Latin texts on the verso of the last leaf with the date 3 November.

The book is part of the book adoption program of the Foundation for the University Library. Save a book, adopt a book!

For more information visit our website: https://konyvtar.elte.hu/en/support-us/adopt-a-book 

RMK II 534a

Missae in agenda defunctorum tantum deservientes : ex missali Romano recognito desumptae, cum ordinario, et canone, ut in ipsis servatur, ad usum, et commoditatem omnium ecclesiarum Tyrnaviae [Nagyszombat] : ex typographia Academica Soc. Jesu, anno M.D.CC.IV. [1704]

Source/author of illustration: ELTE University Library and Archives