The aim of presented paper is to outline the concept of the issuing of the seventh volume of the source edition "Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris regni Bohemiae" and its digital version. As a reaction to the changes in the diplomatic material at the end of the 13th century (in connection with the changes of stylization e.g. because of the permeation of the principles of Canon and Roman law into the charters or an influence of professional notaries educated in the domestic notary school in Vyšehrad, or with regard to the emergence of the official books, especially formularies), the editors decided to change a concept of issuing of CDB. In the first phase there will be processed and finished the second part of "Katalog listin a listů k VII. dílu Českého diplomatáře" and its on-line publishing in a form of database on website. The second phase will be connected with the preparation of the critical edition in a traditional printed as well as a digital form.
While the study of medieval charters has an ample tradition in the big field of auxiliary sciences of history, the illumination contained in some of these sources has often been neglected. Also art-historians normally didn't take notice of the often prestigious combination of legal sources and artistic decoration. The present paper offers an interdisciplinary view on this widely ignored field of research and tries to distinguish between three large groups of illuminated charters that differ in their functions. Firstly, decorated charters – which are usually quite impressive due to their colorfulness and size – may contribute to the shaping of identity of a group of persons. Secondly, they can also serve as show pieces with the foremost aim of attracting the attention of beholders. Finally, the decoration can also help to increase the appeal and the value of the charter. The interdisciplinary project Illuminated Charters as "Gesamtkunstwerk", funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF (P26706-G21) and based in both Vienna and Graz, deals extensively with all three aforesaid types of illuminated charters and aims at providing an open access database within the framework of the virtual document archive monasterium.net, where several hundred charters should be introduced by way of a fully structured diplomatic and art historical description.