Breviary of Matthias Corvinus
Breviarium Matthiae Corvini Regis Hungariae
Deus in adiutorium meum intende. Domine ad adiuvandum me festina.
Our renderingO God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.
What it is
This monumental 597-folio breviary was illuminated by Attavante degli Attavanti for Matthias Corvinus between 1487 and 1492, and was explicitly conceived for liturgical use in the royal chapel of Buda Castle. It is one of the finest products of the Bibliotheca Corviniana, featuring elaborate Renaissance frontispieces, marbled columns, and a barrel-vault architectural frame. Though never fully completed and delivered during Matthias's lifetime — remaining instead in Italy — it represents the king's aspirations for his court's sacred liturgical life. It is now held in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana as Urb. lat. 112.
Why it still matters
The breviary's structure of daily hours — Lauds, Vespers, Compline and the rest — remains the foundation of the Liturgy of the Hours prayed by Catholics worldwide; any modern Breviary or Divine Office follows this same rhythm.
Kept alongside
Psalterium Davidis (Beatrice Psalter of the Corvina)
Psalterium Davidis cum Canticis, Litaniis et Orationibus
This intimate psalter was produced in Buda between 1479 and 1481 for Queen Beatrice of Aragon, consort of Matthias Corvinus, with the opening page illuminated by Florentine master Francesco Rosselli during his documented residency in Buda. The codex (224 parchment leaves) contains the full Psalterium with Canticles, Te Deum, Litanies, and Prayers — a complete personal devotional office. The Aragonese arms of Beatrice's natal house appear prominently. It is now held at the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, as Cod. Guelf. 39. Aug. 4°, confirming its direct Corvinus court provenance.
Missal of Matthias Corvinus (Brussels Missal)
Missale Romanum dictum Matthiae Corvini
Produced in Florence between 1485 and 1487, this lavishly illuminated Roman Missal (431 folios, 40 × 28 cm) was commissioned by Matthias Corvinus for the royal chapel at Buda Castle. Attavante signed his work on the altar illustration folio with the date 1485, and the coat of arms of Matthias and Queen Beatrice of Aragon appears throughout. It contains the full Temporal, Sanctoral, and votive mass cycles. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Mary of Hungary took it with the rest of the royal chapel's treasures to Brussels, where it remains today in the Bibliothèque royale de Belgique as KBR ms. 9008.
Graduale of King Matthias (Matthias Graduale)
Graduale Regis Matthiae Corvini
The Matthias Graduale is the most richly decorated illuminated manuscript in the entire Corvina collection, made expressly for the royal chapel of Buda Castle around 1480–1490. It is the sole surviving volume of a series of three or four choirbooks, preserving the changing chants of the Mass from Holy Saturday through the end of the ecclesiastical year. A Lombard Italian master illuminated the opening pages while a Flemish master produced the remaining 45 miniatures. The manuscript is now at the National Széchényi Library, Budapest, as Cod. Lat. 424, and is described by corvina.hu as the most richly decorated Corvina made for chapel use.