Hans Bear (the younger)

Coat of arms of the bear in Basel

Hans Bär (also Baer ) the Younger (* before 1484 in Basel ; † September 14, 1515 in Marignano ) was a councilor in Basel , and since 1507 he owned the house “zum golden falken” . Hans Bär took part in the Milan Wars as a Fourier and Lord of the Banner and fell as the bearer of the Basel Banner in the Battle of Marignano . As a cloth merchant he was a member of the Basel gentlemen's guilds for saffron , keys andto housemates , to Safran he held the office of guild master.

Life

origin

Wilhelm Balmer 1901: Art Nouveau depiction of Hans Bär at the Basel town hall , subtitle: "Hans Baer who saves Basel's flag and fell as a hero in Marignan, Sept. 14, 1515"

Hans Bär came from a Basel family. His parents were the businessman and changer Hans Bär the Elder and Anna, a daughter of Nikolaus Eberler called Grünenzweig († 1518), Schultheissen von Baden , with whom the Eberler family died out in the male line . The Eberler, with the addition " called Green Branch" since the beginning of the 15th century , were originally of Jewish faith and came from Colmar . They were first mentioned in Basel in 1362 and, after being expelled in 1377 for alleged blasphemy and returning as Christians in 1393, quickly achieved important positions in guilds and councils. Hans Bär the younger older brother was the theologian and humanist Ludwig Bär (* 1479; † 1554). In keeping with his trade, his father was guilty about saffron, where he became a guild master in 1485. He was also a guild brother in the guild of the key. Hans Bär senior owned the house "zum Kardinal", close to the Basel market square . In 1487 he bought the neighboring house "zum Venix" and converted the houses into a single property (Freie Strasse 36). When Hans Bär senior died in 1502, his son Hans became one of the house heirs. Since 1507, Hans Bär junior and his wife were the owners of the Basel house "Zum golden Falken" (Freie Strasse 9).

Act

Hans Bär was a cloth merchant and a member of the Basel gentlemen's guilds for saffron and the key , and like his father before him, he held the position of guild master for saffron . Around 1504 he and his brother Hieronymus donated two windows in the guest room of the Charterhouse in Kleinbasel . 1513, the wealthy bear was also proper for Mr. guild to housemates . He also became master of the guild and councilor. As a guild master, Hans Bär was also obliged to do military service. He was considered pro-federal around 1500 and took part in the Milan Wars, for the first time in 1511 and in the Battle of Novara in 1513 as a Fourier .

In the Holy League, the Confederates fought against the enemies of Pope Julius II. Basel also participated with a contingent in 1515. Hans Bär fell as the Basel standard-bearer in the battle of Marignano on September 14, 1515. Christian Wurstisen (* 1544; † 1588) wrote in 1580 in his «Basler Chronik» that witnesses who had been in the battle said that a projectile from a heavy artillery had torn Bär's thighs. In the face of imminent death, Hans Bär, who sank to the ground, is said to have handed over the banner to Georg Werlin from Basel who was standing by. Other traditions say that Bär tore the flag off the rack and that Werlin hid the banner under his clothes and brought it to Basel. Commemoration ceremonies in honor of Hans Bär took place in the Basel Minster , at St. Martin and at the Barfüssern .

family

Profile view, with white bonnet and chin strap: Magdalena Meyer zum Hasen born Bär († 1511), next to her in half profile Dorothea Meyer zum Hasen born Kannengiesser, since 1513 the second wife Jakob Meyer zum Hasen , and in the foreground her daughter Anna Meyer zum, born 1513 Rabbits

Basel postcard 1903: Town hall and portrayal of Hans Bär carrying the Basel banner

Hans Bär was married to Barbara Brunner. Together with his wife Barbara Brunner, Hans Bär the Younger acquired the Basel house "zum golden falken" (Freie Strasse 9) from the heirs of Hans Jungermann for 700 guilders . In the spring of 1515, Hans Bär had commissioned a table top with the arms of the Bär and Brunner families, which was first ascribed to Hans Holbein the Younger (* 1497/98; † 1543) as the “Zürcher Holbeintisch” , but due to recent research it was attributed to Hans Herbst (1470–1552) could be assigned. Hans Bär had six children with Barbara Brunner.

Hans Bär's daughter Helena Bär was the first wife of Junker Bernhard Meyer zum Pfeil (* 1488; † 1558), cloth merchant, Privy Councilor of State and envoy of the Canton of Basel and from 1548 to 1558 mayor of Basel. Militarily, he too had the rank of lord of a banner.

Hans Bär's sister Magdalena Bär married Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, an influential man who was Basel's mayor from 1516 to 1521. However, Magdalena Bär had not lived to see her husband's ascent because she died in 1511. Her grave slab is in the St. Martin Church in Basel . In 1526/28, Hans Holbein the Younger immortalized her in the group picture, now known as the Darmstadt Madonna , which Meyer zum Hasen had commissioned. Magdalena Bär had previously been married to two socially high-ranking Basel residents and had given Meyer zum Hasen access to the economically influential people in the city. He now joined forces with Hans Gallizian to form a trading company, worked as a publisher for the Archbishop of Besançon and speculated in real estate. In 1513 he married Dorothea Kannengiesser. In the same year their daughter Anna was born.

literature

August Burckhardt: The Bär family. In: Friends of the Fatherland History (ed.): Basler Biographien. Volume 1. Schwabe, Basel 1900, pp. 59–89.
Lucas Wüthrich: The so-called "Holbein table". History and content of the painted table top by the Basel painter Hans Herbst from 1515 (= communications from the Antiquarian Society in Zurich 57 = Antiquarian Society in Zurich. Neujahrsblatt 154). Rohr, Zurich 1990, ISBN 3-85865-505-8 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ altbasel.ch: Hans Bär -Basler Bannerträger near Marignano 1515
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Mario Sabatino: Bär, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Samuel Schüpbach-Guggenbühl: Bernhard Meyer (to the arrow). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . March 17, 2008 , accessed June 7, 2019 .
^ Ruedi Brassel-Moser: Eberler. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . July 26, 2004 , accessed June 7, 2019 .
^ Mario Sabatino: Ludwig Bear. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . April 16, 2019 , accessed June 7, 2019 .
↑ Nikolaus Meier: The Crown of Maria. In: Bodo Brinkmann: Hans Holbein's Madonna in the Städel. The mayor, his painter and his family. Imhof, Petersberg 2004, ISBN 3-937251-24-3 , pp. 63-77.

personal data
SURNAME	Bear, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Baer, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Basel councilor and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1484
PLACE OF BIRTH	Basel
DATE OF DEATH	September 14, 1515
Place of death	Marignano

[Mari-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ altbasel.ch: Hans Bär -Basler Bannerträger near Marignano 1515

[HLS1-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Mario Sabatino: Bär, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

[HLS3-3] Samuel Schüpbach-Guggenbühl: Bernhard Meyer (to the arrow). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . March 17, 2008 , accessed June 7, 2019 .

[4] Ruedi Brassel-Moser: Eberler. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . July 26, 2004 , accessed June 7, 2019 .

[HLS2-5] Mario Sabatino: Ludwig Bear. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . April 16, 2019 , accessed June 7, 2019 .

[6] Nikolaus Meier: The Crown of Maria. In: Bodo Brinkmann: Hans Holbein's Madonna in the Städel. The mayor, his painter and his family. Imhof, Petersberg 2004, ISBN 3-937251-24-3 , pp. 63-77.