Ulrich Helmasperger

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Ulrich Helmasperger (life dates unknown, worked in Mainz around 1455 ) was a German cleric and notary .

life and work

Very little is known about the life of Ulrich Helmasperger. According to Helmasperger, he was a cleric in the Bamberg diocese as well as a clerk and notary in Mainz with legitimation derived from the emperor ; as such he had been appointed by the Archbishop of Mainz.

He is best known as the author of the so-called Helmasperger's notarial instrument , which documents the legal dispute between Johannes Fust and Johannes Gutenberg in 1455. The document of November 6, 1455 is one of the most important sources on Gutenberg's biography and on the invention of printing with movable type. The notarial instrument , which is kept in the State and University Library Göttingen , also contains the signet drawn by Helmasperger with his own signature. Other documents are available from Helmasperger still handed down, including one which he issues certificate of June 21, 1457. It is further testified that about him in 1462 as a supporter of Count Dieter von Isenburg by the papal legate of the ban was imposed. Further details about his life and work are controversial in research and not clearly proven by sources.

literature

  • Rudolf Blum: The Fust versus Gutenberg trial. An interpretation of Helmasperger's notarial instrument in the context of the early history of Mainz book printing . Wiesbaden 1954 (text reproduction pp. 110–113 on Commons ).
  • Empell, Hans-Michael: Gutenberg in court. The Mainz trial for the first printed Bible. Lang, Frankfurt a. M. 2008, ISBN 978-3-631-58108-7 .
  • Füssel, Stephan: Gutenberg and its effect. Insel, Frankfurt a. M. 1999, ISBN 3458169806 .
  • Geldner, Ferdinand: The Helmasperger notarial instrument in its meaning for the history of the oldest Mainz book printing. In: The current state of Gutenberg research , ed. by Hans Widmann. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1972, pp. 91-121, ISBN 3-7772-7225-6 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Helmasperger, Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cleric and notary
DATE OF BIRTH 14th century or 15th century
DATE OF DEATH 15th century or 16th century