Foreman books
The master craftsman's books were created in the 15th and early 16th centuries and are the oldest specialist literature written by German architects . The medieval master builders who emerged from the stonemasonry are referred to in contemporary sources as master craftsmen ( lat. Magister operis ) if they were responsible for a large construction site such as a cathedral or for the building activities of a prince or a city . After the journeyman's examination as a stonemason, they completed additional training and after the master’s examination were qualified to work as architects.
The term stonemasonry books is also common for the master craftsman's books, although they do not deal with the art of stonemasonry; it stems from the fact that the medieval builders were all trained stonemasons. The work master books deal rather with the design and execution of late Gothic sacred buildings. A total of six books have been preserved, three of which are in print and three in manuscript. The master craftsman's books are an essential part of the architectural theory that existed in the Middle Ages only in rudiments .
Received books
These are the following manuscripts:
- Wiener Werkmeisterbuch (15th century). The author is unknown.
- Of the choir's measure and justice (around 1500). The author is unknown.
- Instructions from Lorenz Lechler (1516). Lechler was a court architect from the Electoral Palatinate.
The following books have been preserved as prints:
- The little book of the pinnacle justice by Matthäus Roritzer (1486). The author was a master builder in Regensburg.
- Geometria German by Matthäus Roritzer (1487/88)
- Fialenbüchlein ("Von dem were grunt des Maßwercks"), ed. by the engraver Hans Schmuttermayer (around 1487)
content
The master craftsman's books all start from the same design system. The dimensions of all parts of a building are related to one another in a certain way. They relate directly or indirectly to the basic size of the clear width of the choir . The large dimensions, such as the length or height of the central nave , are determined arithmetically and determined using the four basic arithmetic operations . They are always a multiple or a fraction of the clear width of the choir.
Small dimensions are determined geometrically. The proportioning of pinnacles , eyelashes and gables is done by means of quadrature or triangulature . The basis for the geometric constructions is also the clear width of the choir.
meaning
The question of whether the master craftsman's books are merely instructions for use or writings on architectural theory has preoccupied art history since the 19th century. The six writings present the laws by which architecture is designed. They describe the proportions of the buildings, as also happened in the architectural theoretical writings of antiquity and renaissance . However, the works master books make use of specialist literary forms that were widespread in the Middle Ages. Therefore they seem cumbersome compared to the books of the Renaissance.
literature
- Francois Bucher: The Lodge Books and Sketchbooks of Medieval Architects . New York 1979.
- Ulrich Coenen: The late Gothic work master books in Germany. Investigation and edition of the treatises for design and construction of religious buildings . 2nd Edition. Munich 1990.
- Ulrich Coenen: About the choir's measure and justice. The influence of the late Gothic master craftsman's books on the expansion of choir tower churches in Ortenau using the example of the parish church of St. John the Baptist in Ottersweier . In: The Ortenau . No. 79 , 1999, pp. 372-412 .
- Ulrich Coenen: The influence of the work master books on the design of the late Gothic parish church St. Peter and Paul in Bühl . In: Bühler home history . No. 13 , 1999, p. 72-94 .
- Josef Dabbel: The cathedral builder and printer Matthäus Roriczer booklet of the pinnacle justice . Regensburg 1923.
- August Essenwein : Hans Schmuttermayer's little pinnacle book . In: Anzeiger für customer of the German prehistory . No. 28 , 1881, p. 65-78 .
- Ferdinand Geldner (Ed.): Matthäus Roriczer, The little book of the pinnacle justice; Geometria Deutsch, facsimile of the original editions . Wiesbaden 1965.
- Werner Müller: Basics of Gothic building technology . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-422-06055-3 .
- August Reichensperger: Master L. Lacher's instructions . In: mixed writings on Christian art . Leipzig 1856, p. 133-167 .
- Anneliese Seeliger-Zeiss: Studies for the stonemason book of Lorenz Lechler from 1516 . In: Architectura . No. 12 , 1982, pp. 125-150 .
- Anne Egidy: Lorenz Lechler . In: Hubertus Günther (ed.): German architectural theory between Gothic and Renaissance . 2nd Edition. Darmstadt 1988, p. 49-57 .
- Wolfgang Strohmayer: The textbook of Matthäus Roriczer . Hürtgenwald 2004.
- Wolfgang Strohmayer: Matthäus Roriczer. Architecture textbook . Stolberg 2009. - ISBN 978-3-87646-113-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Matthäus Roriczer: Little Puechlein der fialen Rechtsikait. In: Bibliotheca Augustana. Retrieved on March 22, 2008 (transcription according to the text of the Würzburg copy).
- ↑ Matthäus Roriczer: Geometria German. In: Bibliotheca Augustana. Retrieved on March 22, 2008 (transcription according to the text of the Würzburg copy).
- ^ Gundolf Keil : Schmuttermayer, Hans. In: Author's Lexicon . Volume VIII, Col. 771 f.
