Habsburg genealogy

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The Habsburg genealogy from Hector to Friedrich III. dated from 1509 to 1512 and is a series of woodcuts by Hans Burgkmair . The genealogy is considered a complete work by Hans Burgkmair, who signed every sheet (especially with his initials "H • B").

Description of the Viennese copy

A test print is located as Codex 8018 in the manuscript department of the Austrian National Library . The codex consists of 10 paper layers of 6 sheets or 12 sheets each, with two dirty sheets it comprises a total of 122 sheets, with only 77 sheets printed with woodcuts. It was made in Augsburg between 1510/1512 and is regarded as a personal copy of Emperor Maximilian (so-called imperial copy). The imperial copy also has a watermark that resembles an imperial eagle and does not appear in the proofs. The wood prints were put together in such a way that two persons depicted face each other, only Emperor Maximilian I , the last person depicted, is without a counterpart. The work is based on the research of Jakob Mennel and Ladislaus Sunthaym .

construction

At the beginning there is Hector of Troy, followed by the most diverse "ancestors" of Maximilian, such as Otpertus , Rudolf I , Friedrich III. , the father of Emperor Maximilian and at the end Maximilian I himself. The structure almost always follows the same pattern: The respective (Latin) name is centered above the depicted ruler, the person himself is either sitting (e.g. on a throne) or shown standing, dressed with imaginative, splendidly designed armor or armor, with magnificent crowns, robes, the different swords are also depicted in a varied manner. With one exception (Hilderius) they all hold a scepter in their hand. The “costumes” or robes of the ancestors of Emperor Maximilian seem historically appropriate, but they are likely to have been chosen by chance. In most cases a coat of arms has been added to the figure , and emblems with Priam have also been added. Burgkmair's order was to depict ideal portraits of the emperor's ancestors in different ways.

meaning

The genealogy of Burgkmair is based on the so-called Trojan descent legend. Accordingly, the Habsburgs descend from the Trojan Hector . Another saga of ancestry derives a descent of the Habsburgs from the Romans, this already existed at the time of Albrecht I and Rudolf I , the origin of these sagas is dated to 1280 at the earliest. The general purpose of genealogy for rulers was that the The risk of a non-noble descent is counteracted and any claims to power are secured through constructed kinship.

literature

  • Simon Laschitzer: The Genealogy of the Emperor Maximilian I., In: Yearbook of the art historical collections of the very highest imperial house 7, 1888. P. 1–46 ( digitized version ).
  • Hildegard Zimmermann : Hans Burgkmair the Elder Woodcut sequence for the genealogy of Emperor Maximilian I. In: Yearbook of the Royal Prussian Art Collections 36, 1915, pp. 39–64.
  • Hildegard Zimmermann: Catalog of the surviving test prints for Hans Burgmair the Elder's woodcut sequence for the genealogy of Emperor Maximilian I. In: Yearbook of the Prussian Art Collections 36, 1915, supplement pp. 1-20.
  • Paul Geissler: Hans Burgkmair's Genealogy of Emperor Maximilians I. In: Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 40, 1965, pp. 249–261.
  • Alexandra Gerrer: Self-staging of the Habsburgs - ancestral gallery - family gallery - family tree: Hans Burgkmair, woodcut work of the Habsburg genealogy from Hector to Friedrich III. and tomb of Emperor Maximilian I in Innsbruck. Seminar paper, University of Vienna 2009/10 ( digitized version ).

Web links

  • Various illustrations - Virtual Kupferstichkabinett - Genealogy .