The common denominator of the texts collected in this volume is the (Art) History of the pre-modern period and gender perspective; to a certain degree the Czech milieu also, although not all the contributions focus on local issues. The book is divided into four parts, based on area of interest, time frame and research perspective. The first part sheds light on the state of research in the field of women's history and implementation of the concept of gender and highlights a certain paradigmatic conservatism of Czech (Art) historiography. The second section gathers contributions which analyze visual sources of Czech origin. The third part of the collection is reserved for texts that analyze gender issues on the level of literary representation. In the final part of the book, two case studies arising from an analysis of the pre-modern West European source base are presented. The volume cannot be regarded as exhaustive in any sense, however. It is a representative collection presenting current Czech research in pre-modern History and Art history that uses gender as a tool of analysis. It is innovative in the way it introduces this specific segment of Central European (Art) history addressing a broader audience and global academia.

The Velislav Bible is one of the most beautiful medieval Bohemian manuscripts. It is a heavily illustrated manuscript that contains only short selections of the text, that instruct the reader about the story depicted. The last picture in the manuscript shows a man kneeling before St. Catherine, identified as Velislav, hence the name of the manuscript. The Bible comprises stories from the Books of Genesis and Exodus, visions of Daniel, and the stories of Samson as well as of Judith. The narrative of the Antichrist precedes the Christological part. The New Testament continues with the Book of Revelation, stories following the Ascension of Christ, and key events from the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul. The manuscript closes with the legend of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. The essays in The Velislav Bible, Finest Picture-Bible of the Late Middle Ages: Biblia depicta as Devotional, Mnemonic and Study Tool analyze the manuscript from historical, textual, art-historical, and iconographic perspectives. However, a shared concern of all the authors is to think about its functions. An edition of the Latin titulis is being published here for the first time.