bavarikon4UDescription
Among the many endeavors undertaken by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) to further his legacy was his plan of an epic retelling of his own life story in the form of several works. Of these, only Die geuerlicheiten vnd einsteils der geschichten des loblichen streytparen vnd hochberümbten helds vnd Ritters herr Tewrdannckhs (The heroic life of Sir Theuerdank) was finished. Johann Schönsperger, a printer in Nuremberg, did the first, very small print run in 1517, to be delivered to other princes and sovereigns after the Emperor's death. Written by Melchior Pfintzing based on material provided by Emperor Maximilian, the Theuerdank tells the adventures of Sir Theuerdank (Maximilian) who, while travelling to his bride, the beautiful Lady Ernreich (Mary of Burgundy), has to face and overcome 80 obstacles. Each of the 118 chapters is decorated by a xylograph (wood engraving). The preparatory drawings for the xylographs were created by the artists Leonhard Beck, Hans Schäufelein, and Hans Burgkmair the Elder. The black-letter type of the Theuerdank, designed by calligrapher Vinzenz Rockner, was to become very influential for the development of German typography. Datum: 2019
Author
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books