Codices of the Esztergom Metropolitan Library, the Archdiocesan Simor Library and the Municipal Library

The catalogue describes the significant medieval manuscript collection of the Esztergom Metropolitan Library together with the codices of the Archdiocesan Simor Library, a partner institution. The volume also includes the only codex preserved in the secular collection of Esztergom. The present volume contains 45 codices and 6 codex fragments from the present collection of the Metropolitan Library, 12 codices and 1 fragment from the Archdiocesan Simor Library and the only codex from the József Helischer Municipal Library. The Hungarian catalogue contains a substantial amount of information that goes beyond the scope of an ordinary catalogue. These contributions, which are important mainly from the point of view of institutional history, have been partially omitted from the German version, and the very detailed introduction to the history of the library has been shortened.

Of the 70 items in the catalogue, 65 are in Latin, three in German and two in Hungarian. The descriptions of the codices in the catalogue follow each other according to library, and within each library in the order of the shelfmarks.  The volume concludes with valuable appendices containing important information on the liturgical life of medieval Hungary and on the watermarks of the codices on paper. The catalogue also includes an incipit guide with the initial line of the works. The detailed index of names and subjects, as well as the accurate and complete use of the reference literature, are of particular value.