The Chapel of St John the Baptist at St Wenceslas Cathedral in Olomouc and the Chapel Decorations

Abstract

The late Middle Ages was a time of heightened spirituality and widespread veneration of the Holy Virgin and Christ, and it is in this period that we encouter the two most common forms of Marian rosary, the Dominican and the Franciscan. The Dominican rosary, which usually consisted of one-hundred-and-fifty Hail Mary prayers, can be seen in the Chapel of St John the Baptist of Wenceslas Cathedral in Olomouc, where, in addition to individual rosary beads painted along the ribs of the vault, there is also a series of valuable late Gothic paintings in the eastern field of the chapel.

Keywords

• wall paintings
• late Middle Ages
• Olomouc
• Chapel of St John the Baptist
• Marian rosary