the missal of Ferenc Perényi

Armoured soldier
The missal of Ferenc Perényi, regarded as one of the most important works in miniature painting of the Jagello period, is in fact an incunabulum (early printed book), a missal of Esztergom (Missale Strigoniense) printed in Venice in 1498. Ferenc Perényi, Bishop of Várad (Oradea, Romania) had this printed book richly decorated with miniatures in the 1520s in Buda. He had his coat of arms painted opposite the title page, and decorated the whole volume with marginal ornaments. The magnificent book was held in high esteem by all its subsequent owners (Miklós Oláh, Demeter Náprági, János Ivánczy), who added further marginal decorations to the volume. The book used to be in the possession of the Cathedral Library of Győr until a few years ago when it was stolen. Its location is still unknown.