Caoursin master

The Siege of Rhodes, from the description of the Siege of Rhodes by Guillaume Caoursin, printed in 1496

The artist and craftsman who created woodcuts for texts by Guillaume Caoursin , Vice Chancellor of the Order of St. John , in 1496 is referred to as the Caoursin Master or Master of the Caoursin . Some of the surviving editions of Caoursin's printed work are, in some cases, splendidly colored and the initials probably also created by the Caoursin master are decorated with gold leaf. The numerous illustrations by the Caoursin master are the first accurate representation of the clothing and armament of Ottoman forces in Western Europe.

Illustrations of the work of Caoursin

Rhodium Historiae (history of Rhodes ) and Descriptio Obsidionis Rhodie Urbis (description of the siege of Rhodes) with other texts by Guillaume Caoursin were printed in 1496 with illustrations as a book by Johann Reger in Ulm . The woodcuts by the caoursin master, unknown by name, show scenes of the successful defense of Rhodes from ancient and medieval history. It is the siege of Rhodes from 305 BC. Represented by Demetrios I Poliorketes and the siege and defense of Rhodes in 1480 by the knights of the Hospitallers against the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II , whose eyewitness Caoursin was.

Book printing as an advertising medium in the Middle Ages

The hospitallers were able to use the work of Guilelmus Caoursin and the new print medium to disseminate information in text and images on the resistance to a Turkish invasion and to call for moral and financial support. The book printed by Johann Reger is one of the masterpieces of this publisher and printer and an important example of early book printing. The Caoursin's printed works with illustrations by the Caoursin master were also one of his great sales successes.

Individual evidence

↑ cf. z. B. as a Master of Caoursin. at Oscar Jennings: Early woodcut Initials, containing over 1300 Reproductions of ornamental Letters of the 15th and 16th Centuries, selected and annotated. Methuen & Co., London 1908.
↑ Donald J. Kagay, Theresa M. Vann: Crusader Piety and Hospitaller Propaganda. Caoursin and the Ottoman Siege of Rhodes in 1480. Ashgate Publishing, Ashgate 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-3741-7 .
^ Thea Summerfield, Rosamund Allen: Chronicles and Historical Narratives. In: Peter France (Ed.): The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English. Volume 1: Roger Ellis (Ed.): To 1550. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-924620-5 , pp. 332-363, here p. 352.

Web links

Caoursin, Guilelmus: Rhodiorum historia . Johann Reger, 1496 , digital edition of the University and State Library Darmstadt

Commons : Caoursin - collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] . z. B. as a Master of Caoursin. at Oscar Jennings: Early woodcut Initials, containing over 1300 Reproductions of ornamental Letters of the 15th and 16th Centuries, selected and annotated. Methuen & Co., London 1908.

[2] Donald J. Kagay, Theresa M. Vann: Crusader Piety and Hospitaller Propaganda. Caoursin and the Ottoman Siege of Rhodes in 1480. Ashgate Publishing, Ashgate 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-3741-7 .

[3] Thea Summerfield, Rosamund Allen: Chronicles and Historical Narratives. In: Peter France (Ed.): The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English. Volume 1: Roger Ellis (Ed.): To 1550. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-924620-5 , pp. 332-363, here p. 352.