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in praise of the library.** Many books were listed in his work but we cannot be sure
wether these were books he had actually seen in Buda, or someone (likely Taddeo
Uguleto) described some of them, or he is just describing an ideal library according
to the humanist panegyricus genre. Beyond the specific, he also articulated the
contemporary humanist concept of an ideal library. For this ideal the collection
of Matthias Hunyadi among the 15th century monarchs was most suitable. The
furniture was made by Florentine craftsmen, and the description of a mostly 15th
century royal studiolo can be found in the text. Along with the books, there were
also natural peculiarities (stuffed rare animals, minerals, etc.) in these studiolos.
‘The library was the most beautiful part of the Buda palace, demonstrating the
superiority of knowledge, according to Naldi.** This one-time reality is difficult
to find in the later less humanist reports. It is likely that not one but two rooms
were the representative treasury of the books (at least Nicolaus Olahus wrote about
two), the walls (ceilings) were decorated with frescos, the images were labelled by
inscriptions.‘ The library was connected with those halls which were the most
important representation chambers: the throne room and the chapel. Today we do
not have essential data on how the representative function of the library worked,
but the fact that in later periods, including Ottoman times, it belonged to the im¬
portant features of the palace, unequivocally indicates its importance.
‘The library clearly met the requirements of an ideal contemporary humanist
library. It is becoming evident that developing the collection was the duty of those
constructing this humanist ideal and, in addition, it was in their interest as well.
Dalmatian, Italian, German, Czech, and Polish humanists comprised the mem¬
bers of this scholarly network which informed those living in Matthias’s orbit
about, on the one hand, the traceability of exact works, and on the other hand, the
best scriptors or ready-made manuscripts on sale. To put it bluntly, the Bibliotheca
Corvina was the private library of a circle of scholars who took advantage of and
served the representational needs of the head of a great power and especially the
conscious intention to create a cultural institution.
How much were these books used by Matthias? He must have admired the
Greek codices, but could not read them. He could read the Latin codices, although
it is not obvious that it was his first time meeting these texts in the decorated co¬
dices. Lajos Dézsi cites Philippus Bergomensis’s narrative from 1463, according
to which there were historians under the pillow of the Hungarian king which he
liked reading, mentioning two names: Curtius Rufus and Titus Livius."
44 Nazprus (ed. ÂBeL) 1890.
#5 De Jaudibus Augustae Bibliothecae, Torun, KsigZnica Miejska im. Kopernika, Cod. Lat. R. Fol. 21. 107.
Csapont 1973, No. 435.
46 Karsay 2002, 37-53; See Natptus (ed. Asst) 1890, 267.
47 Batocu J. 1966, I, 62—65.; Vécu 2010.
# De£zsıL. 1902.
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