On 9 December 2024, the presentation of the facsimile edition of the Philostratus Corvina, an outstanding piece of Hungarian Renaissance book culture, took place at the National Széchényi Library. This exact copy of the famous corvina of the Hungarian King Mátyás Hunyadi (1458–1490) was published by the National Library.

Dávid Rózsa, Director General of the HNMPCC NSZL stressed that the newly published edition of the Philostratus Codex not only evokes the heritage of the Bibliotheca Corvina, but also testifies to high quality of professional work and craftsmanship.

Edina Zsupán, the author of the scholarly booklet accompanying the codex, emphasised the historical and aesthetic importance of the codex, pointing out that it is not only one of the most richly decorated items in the Corvina library, but was also made entirely for King Matthias. It represents the pinnacle of Renaissance aesthetics and royal representation.

The ornamental codex contains the works of Philostratus, the Greek Sophist (II-III AD), translated into Latin by Antonio Bonfini, the court historian of Matthias during the siege of Vienna in the winter of 1487.

The codex was photographed for the facsimile edition at the National Library’s world-class digitisation centre. The images reproduce the original manuscript as faithfully as possible, making the publication both a cultural and a visual experience.