Strahov part 2, plus the Secrets of Brevnov Monastery

~Directly behind the Theological Hall of Strahov Monastery is the famed Hall of Curiosities. Back in the days before formal museums, wealthy people often maintained "Curiosity Cabinets" in their homes, filled with items ranging from the mundane to the exotic that they found interesting.

Strahov Monastery has an impressive curiosity collection, brought there from the estate of Karel Jan Erben in 1798. The collection consists of medieval Hussite weapons, archaeological remains, insects (such as a large beetle and butterfly collection, all neatly labeled and quite dead), and strange marine creatures, such as exotic crustaceans. There's even the remains of a Dodo bird.

In his book The Museum of Lost Wonder, Jeff Hoke lauds this mostly-vanished tradition because the objects kept in Curiosity Cabinets had meaning for the people who put them there, who in turn were free to closely examine the objects by touch, smell, etc. (something you cannot do with most museum exhibits).

^ This Cabinet is located next to the Strahov Evangeliary. When I was taking the picture, what interested me most was the collection of pine cones placed in the cubbyholes at the bottom of the cabinet, but later research uncovered something far more interesting about this "Xyloteka". Quoting from this site:

"A xyloteka, in this case, is a set of books carved and fabricated by an anonymous monk in 1825 entirely from wood. In fact, each volume in the 68-volume set is made from the 68 different tree species growing in the Czech Republic in the early 1800s.

The books were encased behind glass doors so I couldn't get a close-up look, but it appeared that the 2-inch spines for the books were carved from stout branches and the covers were attached using flat sheets of wood. The hollow chamber inside each book contained a leaf from the tree, a very dry sample of the fruit, and a twig showing the tree's bud structure."

What a cool idea! I wonder if there is a xyloteka for North Carolina? If not, it should be made.

^ A crossbow. Invented in antiquity, the crossbow was rediscovered in the late middle ages, but its armor-piercing capabilities were so great that the Church heavily regulated the use of these weapons as dishonorable and unbalancing (imagine them as medieval atomic bombs). Interesting fact: the term for a crossbow maker is an attiliator, who was among the highest-paid medieval craftsman.

^ This blurry picture shows a coat of chainmail armor. Clearly, it's seen better days. I wonder if the holes are from rust and decay, or arrows?

^ This one's for you, Mom: a cabinet of unusual teapots!

After walking through the extremely squeaky floor of the Hall of Curiosities, we reached the other library of Strahov Monastery: the Philosophical Hall.

^ Impressive, isn't it? The Philosophical Hall was built in 1782, under Abbot Václav Mayer, and contains more than 42,000 volumes on the topics of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, history, and philology.

^ The vividly-painted ceiling mural in the Philosopical Hall, completed in 1794 by the Austrian painter Franz Anton Maulbertsch. It depicts the history of mankind, so let's take a better look at its various parts:

^ This is a reference to Acts 17:23, in which the indefatigable St. Paul travels to Athens and complains to the city's philosophers about the existence of an altar dedicated to an "unknown god" (IGNOTO DEO). Paul then insists that the god is no longer unknown, and proceeds with his evangelical Jesus spiel.

^ Alexander the Great (in the middle, wearing the horsehair-crested helmet), is tutored by Aristotle (in the white robe).

^ Socrates, one of the world's greatest philosophers, is given toxic hemlock to drink after being convicted of "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state" and "of corrupting the youth." The penalty was death by poisioning, a sentence which Socrates carried out himself.

^ This slightly blurry picture shows Moses displaying the Ten Commandments to the Jews, who look oddly clean and well-dressed after fleeing hundreds of miles from Egypt and walking through the Red Sea and the Sinai desert wasteland. Ah, but I wonder which set of Ten Commandments Moses is showing them?

^ This combination cabinet/bookcase was a gift to Napoleon from his second wife, Marie Louise, who was the daughter of the Emperor of Austria (which at the time included the territory of the current Czech Republic). I assume he told her to leave it in Prague.

^ Another one of the ever-popular secret doors that exist in every old Czech library. Do you see what look like rounded sets of books on the shelves in the middle? They're actually fake books, concealing the hidden spiral staircase behind them, which leads to the second floor of the Philosophical Hall.

Beyond the Philosophical Hall is a room displaying several open books. Here are a few of the more interesting books from that collection:

^ A beautifully-illuminated text, with bright gold paint.

^ A book of noble genealogies. Note the family tree on the left.

^ An illuminated bible, with scenes from the text pictured on the left.

^ A book of constellations, with the name and position of each star in the constellation recorded on the right side. The constellation above is Sagittarius.

On the way out of Strahov Monastery, I took one more picture of Prague from atop the hill:

^ On the left, you can see the castle complex that houses Prague's executive government branch, as well as the huge St. Vitus Cathedral (which I will post pictures of next time).

Shortly after leaving Strahov Monastery, my seminar group visited the nearby Brevnov Monastery, which was the first friary (a monastery of friars) in the Czech Republic. We were given a brief tour, then led into the underground area where an archaeological dig is uncovering the remains of a much-earlier church built on the same site (the current monastery dates to the 18th century).

Photography was prohibited while underground...but that didn't stop me, your intrepid blogger, from bringing you these exclusive pictures of the secret underground of Brevnov Monastery:

^ The wall and columns are part of the foundation of the original church. It's interesting (and a bit disturbing) to note how deep underground they've sunk over the centuries. This makes me wonder how much of our own civilization will be underground centuries from now.

^ This is part of the crypt, presumably for the priests of the church. It seems that previous visitors have taken to showering him with coins, not that they do him any good now.

Next: Prague Castle!