Book Presentation: Das Epithalamium der Anna von Ungarn

Das Epithalamium der Anna von Ungarn (Vat. gr. 1851). Facsimile – Ausgabe mit Kommentar, ed. András Németh, Peter Schreiner, Vasiliki Tsamakda. Città del Vaticano (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana) 2026. The small manuscript of the year 1272 preserves a fragment of a poem accompanied by seven miniatures. It is among the most enigmatic and visually arresting pieces amongst the vast collection of the Vatican Library. It presents a fleeting glimpse of Byzantine imperial pageantry: the arrival of a foreign adolescent bride in Constantinople, her reception by the Emperor, and her transformation into an Augusta. For more than a century, the precise identity of the young princess, the manuscript’s date, and the meaning of the poem have been subjects of scholarly debate, not yet completely resolved.