Monuments of the German kings and emperors

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monuments of German Kings and Emperors is a work by the German historian Percy Ernst Schramm (1894–1970), first published in 1962 , in which the author provides an overview of the movable property of medieval German rulers from Charlemagne to Frederick II .

This property includes all mobile objects of value that can be proven to have belonged to a ruler of the period mentioned or were sold by him to third parties (e.g. to church institutions). Schramm not only takes into account objects that are still present today, but also those of which only images are still available, provided that their connection with a ruler has been proven in the manner described above.

With recourse to contemporary sources in which there is talk of sovereign property, as well as the surviving objects themselves, Schramm undertakes the "attempt to reconstruct the hoard and the other movable ruler's owner" (also the title of the first part of the work). A clarification of the terms "treasure" and "hoard" (the former understood in its original meaning as "minted or uncoined precious metal", whereas relics and other objects are not only considered to be of material but also ideal value as "hoard" ) and two chapters , which are dedicated to the hoards of the Migration Period or Charlemagne, a description of the "components of the medieval royal treasure and possessions" follows, to which Schramm (in this order) relics, the furnishings of the chapel, the actual emblems (i.e. thrones, Crowns etc.), robes, fabrics and furs, weapons and saddles, jewelery and showpieces, entertainment games, musical instruments, books, maps and astronomical devices, curiosities and luxury goods, hunting dogs, falcons, menagerie and dwarfs as well as the treasure d. H. precious metal ownership counts. The author then tries to reconstruct the history of the acquisitions and disposals of the hoard. These statements in the Documents section are supplemented by the written sources on which its presentation is based.

The second part of the work contains the catalog of the objects described by the art historian Florentine Mütherich , all of which are presented in large-format black and white illustrations in the third part. In addition to the list of figures and a name and subject index, the appendix also contains a list of the objects listed, in alphabetical order according to their respective storage locations.

The objects described by Schramm and Mütherich include, sorted according to ruling dynasties, u. a.

Carolingian rulers

Saxon rulers

Salian rulers

Staufer rulers

In 1978 a second volume of the work appeared, which deals with the monuments of the German kings and emperors of the late Middle Ages from Rudolf I to Maximilian I (1273-1519).

literature

  • Monuments of the German kings and emperors.
    • Volume 1: Percy Ernst Schramm, Florentine Mütherich: A contribution to the history of the rulers from Charlemagne to Friedrich II. 768-1250. Prestel, Munich 1962; 2nd supplemented edition 1981, ISBN 3-7913-0124-1 .
    • Volume 2: Percy Ernst Schramm, Hermann Fillitz: A contribution to the history of rulers from Rudolf I to Maximilian I 1273-1519. Prestel, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7913-0436-4 .