Pompous copy of the travelogue, 1489

This manuscript, written on expensive parchment and with initials on a gold ground and many Fleuronné initials, originated in 1489. The author, Paul Sewer, was a brother of the Augustinian monastery of Indersdorf and dedicated the manuscript to Duke Sigmund of the House of Wittelsbach (1439-1501). As a result, the reception of the travel report by Hans Tucher is attested in high aristocratic circles. In 1467, the art-loving Sigmund had renounced the regency of Bavaria-Munich, promoted the literary activities of his personal physician Johannes Hartlieb and undertook many building projects, including the new Frauenkirche in Munich and the extension of the Old Court.

Close relations existed between the Augustinian monastery and the House of Wittelsbach anyway, which were particularly cultivated under Sigmund and his father Albrecht. Hans VI also had connections to the monastery. He himself, his wife Ursula, his son Hans XI and his son's wife Felicitas belonged to the spiritual brotherhood of Indersdorf and were considered by the canons in their daily prayers.

The manuscript is based on the sixth and last of the incunabula editions printed by Anton Sorg in the Augsburg office in 1486. The manuscript adopts the two-column format style of the printed edition and follows the text very closely. It has a blind embossed sheepskin binding, which was made in the monastery's own bookbinding workshop.

Randall Herz

To the digitised copy