První tištěný žaltář. Kritická edice staročeského překladu

In 1487, the first Czech printed Psalter was published in Prague by an anonymous printer, perhaps Martin of Tišnov. The print represents the earliest known record of the fourth translation of the Psalms from Latin into Old Czech. This ground-breaking translation, standing at the boundary between the old and middle Czech periods, stands above previous translations especially by its emphasis on the clarity of the text and the use of contemporary language. In his effort to maintain the meaning of the text, the translator relies on other Latin versions of the Psalter (especially the Psalterium Hebraicum) and on exegetical aids (e.g. the Glossa ordinaria and the Postilla litteralis of Mikuláš z Lyry), which leads him to depart from the existing tradition and to seek new translation solutions. Unfortunately, the translator’s identity is unknown but it is assumed that he belonged to the circle of masters of the Prague Utraquist University. The text of the First Printed Psalter was further used in the complete editions of the Czech Bible of 1488 (Bible pražská), 1489 (Bible kutnohorská) and 1506 (Bible benátská) and as part of the separate Psalters of 1499 and 1508. The fourth translation of the Psalms was evidently also used for personal devotions, as evidenced by its preservation in the breviaries. It also circulated in manuscript, as evidenced by several copies from the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries.

This publication presents a critical edition of the first Prague print of the Book of Psalms, including the preface, ten hymns, the Te Deum hymn and Athanasius’ Creed. The text is annotated with textual criticism and various readings. The edition is preceded by a study divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with the circumstances of the publication of the First Printed Psalter, its arrangement, and the five extant copies. The second chapter focuses on the linguistic description of the fourth translation. The final chapter traces the tradition of the fourth translation of the Psalms in prints and manuscript copies from the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries. The book includes indexes and appendices, which contain, among other things, an inventory of the surviving manuscript and printed sources of the old Czech translation of the Book of Psalms and their assignment to the individual texts.

The book was published in cooperation between the Scriptorium publishing house and the Czech Language Institute of the CAS and with the support of the Czech Science Foundation.