Between Prague and Pirna: A Story from the Beginning of the Thirty Years’ War

Abstract

This paper considers two polyphonic sources from the turn of the seventeenth century (CZ-Pu, 59 E 9726/1–3 (olim XXXIII C 20), and D-Dl, Mus. Pi. 2), which are linked to the Bohemian Humanist and musician Nicolaus Dionysius (ca. 1577–1647), who was expelled from the Kingdom of Bohemia to Pirna, Saxony, in 1627 because of his Lutheran faith. This paper summarizes Dionysius’s life and works and discusses his role in the transportation of these two musical sources from Prague to Pirna during the Thirty Years’ War.

Keywords

• czech lands
• nicolaus dionysius beronensis
• history of music
• polyphonic sources
• thirty years’ war