[39] It had been seized by Albert in 1486.Seeabove.
[40] Which included the free towns of Strassburg and Basel and their bishops.
[41] V. Polheim and W. v. Waldenstein to Maximilian. Even if Frederick recovers, "werde er doch die fuesse nit mer mugen brauchen"; ... "hab in den zehen kain empfintlichait."—Vertraulicher Briefwecksel, p. 83.
[42] Sigismund was now a nonentity, living obscurely in his former dominions.
[43] For Maximilian's relations to internal reform,seeAppendix.
[44] Janssen, i. 586.
[45] Huber, iii. p. 338.
[46] Creighton'sPapacy, i. p. 277.
[47] December 31, 1510. For a most beautiful and touching letter of condolence from Margaret to Maximilian,seeLe Glay,Correspondance, i. p. 481.
[48] Few people seem to have troubled themselves about Gian Galeazzo's infant son, who was now the lawful heir of the Sforza.
[49] For Maximilian's efforts towards war against the Turks,seeUlmann, i. pp. 203-218.
[50] Cp. Chmel,Urkunden,Briefen, etc., page 56. Marquard Breisacher to Maximilian, about Charles VIII., in Rome—"Darauss ich sorge, der Kung v. Frankreich werd auff das mindest die Kirchen reformieren und damit jm selbs in aller cristenheyt lob eer und auffsechen machen, das doch E. Ko. Mt. von götlichem und weltlichem rechtem me zu gepürett denn jm."
[51] Ulmann, i. 272-6.
[52] The more correct name of Emperor elect has been sunk for convenience sake.
[53] Afterwards the famous, or notorious, Ulric.
[54] "Und wo in der Zeit kein Gelt herkumbt, wirdet die Speisung an dem end auch still sten"! Dated May 27, 1496.—Vertr. Briefwecksel, page 109.
[55] Ranke,Latin and Teutonic Nations, page 109.
[56] In South Germany.
[57] Chmel,Urkunden,Briefen, etc.—Letter 126, Stangha to Maximilian (Sept. 30, 1496).
[58] Chmel,ibid.—Letter 127, Maximilian to Stangha (Genoa Oct. 1, 1496).
[59] Chmel,ibid.—Letter 146, Bishop of Concordia to Maximilian (Lindau, Dec. 26).
[60] This was written in 1507.—Relazioni degli Ambasciatori Veneti al Senato, ed. Alberi, Serie I. vol. vi. page 26 sqq.
[61] Janssen, i. 593. Cp. Trithemius' view of the Hapsburg characteristic;—"Seelenruhe und Gottvertrauen beim Missgeschick; viel Noth, viel Ehr."
[62] Pirkheimer, quoted by Ranke,Latin and Teut. Nations, p. 149.
[63] The more so, as the Confederacy was joined by the Imperial cities of Schaffhausen and Basel.
[64] If Louis XII. died without male issue, Brittany and Burgundy were likewise to fall to Charles.
[65] "Il y a longtemps que François ont tousiours fait le piz qu'ilz ont peu a ceste maison, et n'ay espoir qu'ilz doyent changier," writes Chièvres to Maximilian 1506.
[66] By violating the perpetual Landfriede.
[67] Kirchberg, Weissenhorn, Marstetten, Neuburg-am-Inn, etc.
[68] Catherine, paternal aunt of Maximilian, married Charles, M. of Baden, whose son James was.
[69] Afterwards Adrian VI.
[70] Yet the people, Maximilian is convinced, are always on his side, and a few of the Cantons; "mes en sumarum il sount meschans, villains, prest pour traïre France on Almaingnes" (dated August 18, Lindau).—Le Glay,Correspondance, vol. i., letter 3.
[71] March 1, 1508, quoted Huber, iii. pp. 369, 370.
[72] Le Glay, i. p. 68 (dated July 4).
[73] Le Glay, i. p. 77 (dated July 23).
[74] Bishop of Gurk.
[75] Le Glay, i. letter 90 (dated Cambrai, December).
[76] Le Glay, i.—letter 143 (dated October 7).
[77] Le Glay, i.—letter 134 (Bassano, August 7).
[78] Le Glay, i.—letter 192 (Augsburg, April 6, 1510).
[79] Sanuto, x. 79, quoted by Huber, iii. 387.
[80] Chmel'sUrkunden, etc., p. 470 (May 31, 1511).
[81] Le Glay, ii. p. 38—autograph letter, dated September 18, no year or place given. But A. Jäger, inKaiser Maximilians I. Verhältniss zum Papstthum, p. 75, shows that 1511 was almost certainly the year.
[82] Le Glay, ii. p. 84 (dated January 21, 1513).
[83] Le Glay, Correspondance, vol. ii.—letter 554, page 221.
[84] Le Glay, ii.—letter 555.
[85] Le Glay, ii.—letter 556.
[86] Kings of Hungary and Poland were brothers.
[87] It is possible, however, that he was actuated by pique against his grandson, who had recently asserted his independence of control. (January 1515.)
[88] Quoted in Brewer,Reign of Henry VIII., page 125.
[89] Brewer, i. page 133.
[90] Huber, iii. page 407.
[91] Ala, Avio, Mori, and Brentonica.
[92] The early years of Charles V.'s reign do not disprove this assertion. For, though it was an Imperialist army which was responsible for the Sack of Rome in 1527, this was entirely composed of mercenaries, and Charles's predominance in Italy was due to his position as King of Spain and the Sicilies, and was won by the pikes of his Spanish infantry.
[93] He was called "Coeur d'Acier," by Olivier de la Marche.
[94] He hoped to obtain from Leo X. full recognition of himself as crowned Emperor, and, further, the grant of a tithe on church property in Germany for his projected Crusade.
[95] Bryce,Holy Roman Empire, page 126 (1st edition).
"The essence of Humanism is the belief ... that nothing which has ever interested living men and women can wholly lose its vitality."—Walter Pater.
It is with a certain sense of relief that we pass from the tragi-comedy of Maximilian's political life to those realms where lies his real claim to fame and gratitude. Great ambitions thwarted by the sordid details of poverty are never a pleasant subject of contemplation; and there have been few monarchs in whose lives they have played a more prominent part. But it may fairly be argued that all the more credit is due to one who, under such unfavourable circumstances, ever remained buoyant and full of the joy of living, and whose frequent disappointments never soured his enthusiasms nor turned him from the path of knowledge. The first of his race to welcome the new culture, and possessed of that joyous temperament which seems to offer immortal youth, Maximilian was acclaimed by the scholars of his day as the ideal Emperor of Dante's or Petrarch's dreams. His predecessors had shown little interest in intellectual pursuits. Sigismund had indeed crowned several poets, but was always too needy himself to spare much money for their salaries; Frederick III. was devoid of literary tastes, and, in spite of his connexion with Æneas Sylvius, gavebut slight encouragement to art or learning. But Maximilian surrendered himself, with all his habitual energy and enthusiasm, to the new spirit of the age. In spite of his many political failures he remains to all time the darling of the scholar and the poet. This almost universal favour he did not win by liberal donations or the grant of lucrative posts, for he was seldom free from money embarrassments—nor by the maintenance of a gorgeous court and imposing ceremonial—for his endless projects and expeditions made any fixed residence impossible; but by his restless activity, his manly self-reliance, his wide and human sympathy with all ranks and classes of the people. Above all, he identified himself with the struggling ideals of a new German national feeling, and with the growing opposition to France, to Italy, and to Rome; and, as a national hero, inspired the devotion alike of the scholar, the knight, and the peasant. "Mein Ehr ist deutsch Ehr, und deutsch Ehr ist mein Ehr" is the ruling motive of his life; and the praise which is continually on all lips is, before all, the result of his passionate loyalty to that larger Germany of which the poet sings—
So weit die deutsche Zunge klingtUnd Gott im Himmel Lieder singtDas soll es sein!Das, wackrer Deutscher, nenne dein!
Nowhere is the general admiration more evident than in the Volkslieder and the popular poetry of the time. And even when death overtook him in the midst of complete failure and humiliation, no scornful voice is heard, and all is regret and loving appreciation.
First among earthly monarchs,A fount of honour clear,Sprung of a noble lineage,Where shall we find his peer? ...He stands a bright ensampleFor other Princes' eyes,The lieges all appraise himThe Noble and the Wise.His justice is apportionedTo poor and rich the same.Just before God EternalShall ever be his name.And God the Lord hath willed it,Our pure, immortal King,And welcomed him in glory,Where ceaseless praises ring.Our hero hath departed,Time's sceptre laying down,Since God hath, of His goodness,Prepared a deathless crown.[96]
A vital distinction is at once apparent between the Italian and the German Renaissance. In Italy the movement was essentially aristocratic and largely dependent upon the various Courts—the Medici, the Popes, the Dukes of Urbino. In Germany such open-handed patrons were few and far between. Albert of Mainz, Frederick of Saxony, and Eberhard of Würtemberg stand alone among the princes as patrons of learning; while Ulrich von Hutten is the sole representative of the Knightly order in the ranks of the Humanists.[96a] The political and intellectual development of the German towns is of great importance during this transition period, and it is inthem that the leaders of the German Renaissance are to be found. The movement remained throughout municipal rather than aristocratic, making itself first felt where there was closest commercial intercourse with Italy—notably in the cities of Swabia and the Rhine valley. But for this very reason Humanism took deep root in the soul of the German people. Not merely aesthetic or sensuous, like the Italian movement, it had a profound ethical and national basis, on which the powerful art of Dürer, the sonorous language of Luther, the sweet singing of Hans Sachs, might safely rest. Almost from the very beginning it pursued a moral aim. It was inspired by no mere sordid quest of pleasure, but by a noble dream of purer manners and loftier ideals. It realized the decadence into which society, both lay and ecclesiastical, had fallen, and earnestly strove to arrest it in the only possible way—by the introduction of a new spirit at once into the details of daily life, and into the broad principles of national existence. But as the Humanist movement gathered strength and influence, it remained isolated from politics and from those who ruled the destinies of the Empire, and, developing in various places and under separate leaders, tended to waste its energies through lack of systematic or united effort. Under such circumstances its unspoken appeal for assistance in high places met with an eager response from Maximilian. For the last twenty-five years of his life he forms the central figure of the new movement—possibly not its most glorious or most brilliant representative, but yet giving life and uniformity to the whole. If for nought else, he would deserve to be remembered as the connecting link between theHumanists of Strasburg, Augsburg and Nuremberg. In order to interpret this feature of the Emperor's character, we must present a slight sketch of the German Renaissance in its three main channels, with especial regard to Maximilian and his connexion with the leading Humanists, and must then proceed to examine Maximilian's own literary achievements, and his relations to Science and Art in its various branches.
In a quaint old comedy written at the close of the fifteenth century, Cicero and Caesar are brought to life and taken round the cities of Germany. They are made to describe Strasburg as "the most beautiful of the German towns, a treasure and ornament of the Fatherland"; of Augsburg they exclaim, "Rome with its Quirites has wandered here"; while Nuremberg is pictured as "the Corinth of Germany, if one looks at the wonderful works of the artist; yet if you look at its walls and bastions, no Mummius would conquer it so easily."[97] Such are the three great centres of the German Renaissance.
In Strasburg, education was the most crying need of the time; for though there were excellent schools in the Franciscan and Dominican convents, these were reserved for novices, the laity being wholly excluded. Jacob Wimpheling, under whom Humanism first took deep root in the city, was himself a pupil of the Deventer School,[98] and, like them,devoted his energies to educational reform. His hopes of founding a University were not realized, and he had to content himself with forming the centre of a literary society, such as was formed both at Mainz and Vienna by Conrad Celtes. Wimpheling and his friends differ largely from their contemporaries in other parts of Germany. They were characterized by a theological bias which led them into violent and unprofitable controversies. Though himself a cleric, and thus a supporter of the spiritual order and of orthodox belief, he indulged in fierce attacks upon the monks for their immorality, and in spite of his admiration for heathen authors, he pushed his defence of theology so far as to condemn the Art of Poetry as useless and unworthy to be called a science, and only to exempt from utter damnation the sacred poets of Christianity.[99] He was equally limited in his patriotic polemics. His praise of everything German is only surpassed by his hatred for the French and Italians, his profound contempt for the Swiss. His best-known work, entitledGermania, was written with the double object of proving the exclusively German origin of Alsace and of "defending the King of the Romans against the monks and secular preachers who attack him."[100] Even the ingenuous arguments in which the book abounds, and the quaint array of authorities, from Caesar and Tacitus to Aeneas Sylvius and Sabellico cannot blind us to the genuine patriotism, which is latent in every page. "We are Germans, not French," he exclaims, "and our land must be called Germany, not France, because Germans live in it.This fact has been acknowledged by the Romans. For when they had conquered us, the Alemanni on the Rhine, and, crossing the river, saw that the dwellers on the further bank were like us in courage, stature, and fair hair, as well as in customs and way of life, they called us Germans, that is, brothers. But it is certain that we, these Germans, are like the real Gauls neither in speech and appearance, nor in character and institutions. Hence our city and all Alsace is right in preserving the freedom of the Roman Empire, and will maintain it also in the future, in spite of all French attempts to win over or conquer us."[101] Such fervent expressions of German feeling must have called Maximilian's attention to Wimpheling, even without his vigorous defence of the Imperial dignity. In 1510, when Maximilian was opposed to Julius II., and hoped to intimidate him by recounting the wrongs of the German nation, he could think of none more versed in them than Wimpheling, and therefore requested him to draw up a summary of the French Pragmatic Sanction, such as would suit the needs of Germany. In March, 1511, he wrote to Wimpheling that he was about to hold an assembly at Koln, to deliberate with the French envoys as to summoning a general Council; and he begged him to think out means of redressing the various abuses, "without touching religion." As a result of this request, Wimpheling drew up hisGravamina Germanicae Nationisand added the desiredRemedia.[102] Butthe Emperor's policy had already changed, and Wimpheling was informed through the Imperial Councillors that the moment was unfavourable for publication. Indeed, his labours only received the attention which they deserved, when they were employed as the basis of "The Hundred Grievances of the German Nation" (1522).[103]
SEBASTIAN BRANTSEBASTIAN BRANT
Side by side with Wimpheling stands Sebastian Brant, whose literary worth has probably obtained wider recognition than that of any German Humanist, with the sole exception of Erasmus. HisNarrenschiff("The Ship of Fools") is penetrated by a deep religious spirit, and fearlessly attacks all the corruptions and abuses of the day, "branding as fools all those who are willing, for things transitory, to barter things eternal."[104] Brant is in no sense a great poet; his verses are often stiff and ill-proportioned, and his matter frequently sinks to the level of the common-place. But the appearance of "The Ship of Fools" caused an unparalleled stir, not merely in the republic of letters, but throughout the whole German people; and it owes its extraordinary popularity to its skilful intermixture of problems which were in all men's minds. He was the first to give full expression to the ideas of the middle classes (anticipating the manly independence of the Scottish poet,[105]) when he sang—
Aber wer hätt' kein Tugend nit,Kein Zucht, Scham, Ehr, noch gute Sitt,Den halt' ich alles Adels leer,Wenn auch ein Fürst sein Vater wär'.
But the ruling motives which inspire his muse are the maintenance of the Church in her pristine purity, and the defence of Christendom against the onslaught of the infidel. While he preaches earnestly the Headship of Christ, and exhorts all men to put their trust in God rather than in mortal men, he is also never tired of enjoining reverence for the Emperor, and urging them to unite in loyal obedience to his wishes and aspirations. Apparently unconscious of his inconsequence, he upheld the principle of absolute Papal domination, and yet early associated himself with that august dream of the Middle Ages—the universal monarchy of the Emperor. For him he claimed the same power in the temporal, as the Pope exercised in the spiritual world. As the Pope was the organ of religion, so was the Emperor the source of Law; and the revival of his power as temporal head of Christendom was to coincide with the re-establishment of that order and discipline whose absence Brant so frequently laments. The whole fabric of these vast aspirations Brant rested upon Maximilian. He could not foresee that this prince, so brilliant, so chivalrous, so sympathetic, would disappoint the rich promise of his youth and fail to restore the fallen grandeur of the Empire owing to his schemes offamily aggrandisement. He greeted his election with adulatory verses, protesting that under such a prince the Golden Age could not fail to return. The news of Maximilian's imprisonment at Bruges rouses a very whirlwind of indignant phrases, contrary to the whole spirit of his later teaching. "Destroy the Flemings," he cries, "extirpate the very race of this crime, hang and behead the miscreants, overturn their walls, and make the plough pass over this accursed soil. Such is the demand of justice."[106] His belief in omens and portents is unlimited, and they are generally connected with Maximilian in some quaint and high-sounding verses. Thus the killing of an enormous deer on some hunting expedition inspires Brant with an absurd and laboured comparison. "No animal is nobler than the stag: thou, Maximilian, art the most noble of Princes. He stops astonished before things which seem new; thou also dost admire things new and great. At the approach of danger he pricks up his ear and places his young in safety; thou hearest the menacing noises of thine enemies, and dost protect thy people."[107] A number of falcons which were seen to assemble and fly southwards is acclaimed as a symbol of Maximilian, aided by the Princes in his Italian expedition. "Destiny calls you, O Germans; go and restore the Empire in Italy." Even when it became evident that Maximilian was not destined to realize the poet's high ideals, such extravagances did not cease. Moreover, he was sustained by a personal attachment for the Emperor, which was deepened by his various visits to the Court and closer acquaintancewith his early hero, and doubtless strengthened by the Imperial favours bestowed upon him. And thus it is with unfeigned grief that Brant celebrates his death. "O magnanimous Caesar, that hope is vanished which we had founded on thee while thou didst hold the sceptre. How should I restrain my tears? Thou wert worthy to live, thou the sole anchor of safety for the German nation. One swift hour hath removed thee: thou art no more, and misfortune assails the Empire."[108] Our subject is Maximilian, not Brant, and we may not linger. But the epitaph on the Strasburg poet's tomb should not be omitted, even in the translation; for it gives us a sure clue to a character which was sweet and winning in spite of all its extravagances. "Toi qui regardes ce marbre, souhaite à Brant le ciel!"
CONRAD PEUTINGERCONRAD PEUTINGER
If in Strasburg the movement assumed a theological and educational character, in Augsburg it was rather directed towards politics and the study of history. Alike from its geographical position[109] and from its industrial and commercial importance,[110] Augsburg was thrown into close relations with Italy and Italian thought; and enthusiasm for classical studies was early introduced by Sigismund Gossembrot, one of the leading merchants of the city. The direction of the movement was further influenced by the Diets which were held within the city,[111] and by the frequent visits of the Emperor Maximilian.[112] The place ofGossembrot was worthily filled by Conrad Peutinger,[113] who returned from Italy in 1485, as a doctor of law, embued with all the ardour of a scholar. He became a prominent official of his native city, and retained his position for many years from inclination rather than from necessity, betraying throughout his writings the sharp eye and critical knowledge of the practitioner. His first meeting with Maximilian probably took place at Augsburg in 1491, and from this time onwards he was continually employed by the Emperor in various positions of trust. As ambassador, secretary or orator, he visited many countries in Europe, and, besides ordering affairs of politics, was entrusted with the truly humanist task of presenting and answering formal addresses and greetings. While in his foreign relations he was eager to maintain the honour of the German name, he skilfully used his double position as Imperial Councillor and Town-official to smooth over differences between Maximilian and Augsburg, to the advantage of both parties. The Emperor's love of Augsburg led him to purchase various houses within the walls, and the castle of Wellenburg in the neighbourhood. His action was far from welcome to the burghers, who did not wish this powerful citizen to acquire too much property in their midst; and they were only pacified by the assurances of Peutinger that Maximilian would raise no fortifications round the castle. On the other hand, during his honourable mission to Hungary (1506), he obtained from theEmperor a substantial grant of privileges for his native city—notably the right "de non appellando." But Peutinger was Maximilian's confidant not merely in political affairs. Indeed, his employment in Imperial diplomacy directly arose from his intellectual and artistic relations with Maximilian, who sought the support of every scholar in his attempt to place the Fatherland in the forefront of Art and Science. In Italy Peutinger had learned the value of old Roman inscriptions, and in 1505 he was encouraged by Maximilian to publish a collection of the inscriptions of German antiquity.[114] The Emperor and the scholar kept up a correspondence on the subject of ancient coins, large consignments of which were sent to Augsburg, by order of the former, from every part of the Empire. During Peutinger's visit to Vienna in 1506 he was monopolized for three whole days for learned conversation, and received a new and more important commission from Maximilian. He was to examine the letters and documents of members of the House of Hapsburg, and to prepare a selection of them for publication; and with this object he was assigned a special apartment in the castle of Vienna, to which chronicles and histories were brought for his use from all quarters. Here he remained for almost three months, and the fruit of his labours was theKaiserbuch, or Book of the Emperors, which was unfortunately never published and which is now extant only in a few fragments. During his labours for Maximilian he seems to have acquired a great number of valuable manuscripts; and had his literary projects been fully realized, we should have gainedan astonishing contribution to the historiography of the sixteenth century. But apart from his own unfinished writings, he edited and published, with Maximilian's approval, various early historical works,—the chronicles of Paul the Deacon and of Ursperg being of especial value.[115] Moreover, he was charged by the Emperor with a species of censorship, by virtue of which he prevented the appearance at Augsburg of a Swiss Chronicle, containing statements derogatory to the House of Hapsburg. In short, in almost every phase of the struggle of culture and civilization, which Maximilian so gallantly led, we find Peutinger intimately engaged as his friend and fellow-labourer; and with Beatus Rhenanus we may truly exclaim, "Our Conrad Peutinger is the immortal ornament, not merely of the town of Augsburg, but also of all Swabia!"
The activity of Augsburg was not confined to historical studies. The rising art of Germany had found here a worthy representative in Hans Holbein, who, though not strictly a Humanist himself, took the deepest interest in the movement. His attitude is clearly visible from his portraiture of Erasmus, More, and other leaders of the Renaissance, and from his illustrations to thePraise of Follyand theDance of Death. But Holbein, though the greatest of the Augsburg School, was too much of a wanderer to bethrown into close contact with Maximilian. The latter none the less found capable artists to give expression to his own literary projects. Hans Burgkmair, the most distinguished of their number, produced over one hundred illustrations ofWeisskunig, seventy-seven for theGenealogy, which consists of portraits of Maximilian's ancestors, and close upon seventy for theTriumphal Procession, the main idea of which belongs to Dürer. Leonhard Beck illustrated a book ofAustrian Saints, and the greater part of the famousTeuerdank; whilst Freydal represented in hisMummereienthe various tournays and festivities of which Maximilian was the central figure. All these woodcuts and engravings were executed under the supervision of Peutinger, who also directed the casting of figures for Maximilian's tomb at Innsbruck, and the making of armour and warlike equipments for the Emperor's own person. Indeed, Maximilian put his Humanist friend to very strange uses; for among the manifold commissions of Peutinger we find the selection of tapestries from the Netherlands, inquiries after the inventor of a special kind of siege-ladder, the building of hatching-houses for the Imperial falcons, and the establishment of an important cannon foundry. The climax is reached when Maximilian employs Peutinger's historical knowledge to obtain the names of a hundred women famous in history, after whom he may christen the latest additions to his artillery!
WILIBALD PIRKHEIMERWILIBALD PIRKHEIMER
Of the three centres of German Humanism, Nuremberg is the greatest and the most fascinating. The home of invention as well as of industry, it made no mere empty boast in the proverb, "Nürnberg Tand geht durch alle Land." Its churches andpublic buildings were the glory of the age, its craftsmen and designers perhaps then unequalled in the world. Its literary circle contains a larger number of distinguished names than any of its rivals. Meisterlin, the author of the famous Nuremberg chronicle, Cochläus, the bitter satirist of Luther; Osiander, the celebrated Hebrew scholar and Reformed preacher; Jäger the mathematician; above all Hans Sachs, the cobbler-poet, "the sweet singer of Nuremberg"—all these fill an honourable place in the annals of the city. But the central figures of its life are, beyond any doubt, Wilibald Pirkheimer and Albrecht Dürer; in any case they would monopolise our attention on account of their intimate connexion with Maximilian. When still King of the Romans, he had resided at Nuremberg, and the joyous animation with which he entered into the life of the city won for him wide popularity. "When about to depart, we are told he invited twenty great ladies to dinner; after dinner, when they were all in a good humour, the Markgrave Frederick asked Maximilian in the name of the ladies to stay a little longer and to dance with them. They had taken away his boots and spurs, so that he had no choice. Then the whole company adjourned to the Council House, several other young ladies were invited, and Maximilian stayed dancing all through the afternoon and night, and arrived a day late at Neumarkt, where the Count Palatine had been expecting him all the preceding day."[116] As Emperor, Maximilian paid many visits to Nuremberg, and his first Diet was enlivened by a succession of brilliant masques, dances and tournaments, such as roused the enthusiasm of the localchroniclers. He remained on terms of great intimacy with Pirkheimer, who in many ways is the most typical figure of the German Renaissance. After an excellent education, at Padua and Pavia, in jurisprudence, literature and arts, Pirkheimer became councillor in Nuremberg, and won the special confidence of the Emperor both by his skilful diplomacy and by his patriotic assistance in the Swiss War. His great riches he employed not merely for the adornment of his own house, but also in generous support of less-favoured followers of the Muse. While he resembled Peutinger as diplomat, as historian, and as theologian, he had less of the temperament of a pedagogue, and more of the joyous nature of a true poet. As the representative of a great movement of the intellect, he was open to all its various methods and aspirations, and yet understood the lesson of self-restraint and concentration too well to exhaust his powers in a labyrinth of alternatives. With the true cheerfulness and humour of the man who knows the world, yet remains unsullied by contact with it, he and his friends devoted themselves to what is after all the highest philosophy, the study of mankind—hiding under a smiling face, nay, often a mocking mien, their confidence in the great destinies of the race. And yet a deep pathos attaches to Pirkheimer's closing days. Disappointed in his dreams of moral and spiritual regeneration for the people, he turned wearily back from the paths of the new doctrine to the bosom of Mother Church. His violent attack upon Johann Eck, his noble defence of Reuchlin, had seemed to foreshadow him as a leader of the Reformation.[117] But his ideals were in reality ofthe past rather than of the future; and, brooding over his shattered hopes, he lingered out a solitary old age, whose sadness is but deepened by his swan-like lament for Dürer.
ALBRECHT DURERALBRECHT DURER
Dürer was indeed well worthy of all the praise which has been lavished upon him; for from all his works there shines forth the noble modesty of a pure good man. Though scarcely a scholar himself, his deep sympathy with the great movement is manifest not only in the manner in which his art interprets it, but also in his own written words.[118] His letters to Pirkheimer from Venice form delightful reading and show the keenness of his sympathy and observation. The years which followed his return to Nuremberg, 1507-1514, were the most productive period of his life, as well as the period of his most intimate connexion with Maximilian. From them date the ambitious designs of the "Ehrenpforte" (Triumphal Arch), which, though executed under Maximilian's direct supervision, were entirely the idea of Dürer. No less than ninety-two large woodcuts, the production of which occupied Dürer for two years, go tomake up this imposing metaphorical picture. A structure in itself impossible is overburdened by portraits of all the ancestors of Maximilian, mythical as well as real, and by the many exploits and adventures of the Emperor's own life. But the work must be estimated less by the quaintness of its composition than by its sterling artistic qualities and by the important place which it holds in the development of German Art. The idea was further developed in the "Triumphzug" and the "Triumphwagen," which was completed in 1516. The Imperial and other triumphal cars were drawn by Dürer in sixty-three woodcuts, while the remaining seventy-four were prepared in Augsburg by Hans Burgkmair and L. Beck.[119] The procession, whose magnificence was to idealize Maximilian as the greatest of Princes, includes sketches of almost everything that ever roused the Emperor's interest. Landsknechts, cannon, huntsmen, mummers, dancers of every rank and variety, the noble ladies of the Court, are mingled with allegories of every Imperial and human virtue, elaborately grouped upon triumphal cars. The keen personal interest of Maximilian in the progress of the work is well attested. Indeed, he showed his impatience, while the various blocks were in progress, by frequently visiting not merely Dürer himself, but also the "formschneider" or block-cutter, who lived in a street approached by the Frauengasslein. Hence the old Nuremberg proverb, "The Emperor still often drives to Petticoat Lane."[120] Dürer was appointed painter to Maximilian, with a grant of arms and a salary of 100 florins a year; anda letter of the Emperor to the Town Council of Nuremberg is still extant, in which he demands Dürer's exemption from "communal imposts, and all other contributions in money, in testimony of our friendship for him, and for the sake of the marvellous art of which it is but just that he should freely benefit. We trust that you will not refuse the demand we now make of you, because it is proper, as far as possible, to encourage the arts he cultivates and so largely develops among you."[121] These earnest words of Maximilian reveal to us very clearly his attitude towards the great movement of his day. Yet, sad as it is to relate, Dürer never received payment for the ninety-two sheets of the "Triumphal Arch," which had cost him so much time and labour, and after Maximilian's death they were sold separately. But the Emperor may fairly be absolved from the charge of mean treatment of Dürer, for his own needs were great and many, and it is strictly true that he spent very little upon himself. The great artist was always treated with distinction as a personal friend of the Emperor, who, besides granting him a fixed salary, gave him material assistance in checking the forging and pirating of his engravings. He sometimes resided at Court, when Maximilian held it at Augsburg, and often employed his time in making sketches in chalk of the illustrious persons whom he met. On one occasion Maximilian was attempting to draw a design for Dürer, but kept breaking the charcoal in doing so. When the artist took the pencil and, without once breaking it, easily completed the sketch, the Emperor expressed his surprise and probably showed his annoyance. ButDürer was ready with his compliment. "I should not like your Majesty," he said, "to be able to draw as well as I. It is my province to draw and yours to rule."[122] Not the least interesting and important of Dürer's commissions was to paint that portrait of the Emperor which now hangs in the Imperial Gallery at Vienna. The prominent nose, the hanging eyelid, the half-contemptuous, half-mournful turn of the lips, the wrinkled cheeks and neck, the long hair falling over the ears, the pointed bonnet with its clasp, the sombre flowing robes, form a striking picture and suggest a speaking likeness. Disappointment, but also that peculiar attribute of the Hapsburgs, resignation, are clearly marked upon Maximilian's face. In the other two portraits by Dürer—a chalk drawing executed at the Diet of Augsburg (1518) and a woodcut completed shortly before his death—the features are less rugged, and reveal somewhat more of the sanguine spirit of Maximilian's early days. With the exception of these sketches,[123] Dürer's last commission for Maximilian was the exquisite decoration for the latter's private Gebetbuch (Book of Prayer), of which only ten copies were printed,[124] and which will ever remain one of the gems of artistic and devotional literature. With Dürer's career after 1519 we are not concerned; but it is worthy of notice that his most brilliant work dates from the reign of Maximilian, and that his sympathy with "the nightingale of Wittenberg" seems to have partially diverted his attention from his art.
It must not be supposed that Maximilian's humanistic enthusiasms were confined to the three great centres which have just been described, or that he only helped on such movements as were already animated by a vigorous existence and a fair prospect of success. His own hereditary dominions were even more directly indebted to his efforts than were other parts of the Empire.
DAS ROSENKRANZFEST. Painting by Dürer, with Kneeling Figure of MaximilianDAS ROSENKRANZFEST.Painting by Dürer, with Kneeling Figure of Maximilian
During the first century of its existence, Vienna University[125] was an autonomous ecclesiastical corporation, over which the methods of the mediaeval Schoolmen held complete sway. But during the long reign of Frederick III., several circumstances combined to cast a blight upon its hitherto flourishing condition. During the Council of Basel it assumed a hostile attitude to the Pope, and its surrender of that position only emphasised its folly; while in the struggle of Frederick and his brother Albert the professors were unwise enough to dabble in politics and thus to throw off the immunity which guarded their proper sphere. Their open sympathy with Albert was fatal to a good understanding with Frederick, who never showed any favour to their body. Vienna further suffered from a six months' siege by Matthias of Hungary (1477) and from a violent outbreak of the plague (1481); and this had scarce abated, when war was renewed and Matthias overran the whole of Lower Austria. During the ensuing siege (December 1484 to June 1485) all lectures were inevitably suspended, and the whole work of the University was at a standstill. The refusal of the University authorities to take the oath ofallegiance to Matthias—on the ground that, as a clerical corporation, they were independent of the temporal power—induced the conqueror to stop all the revenues which they derived from the government; and though he at length granted[126] a sum sufficient for the payment of the Professors and other necessities, yet he never extended to Vienna the same liberality towards Art and Science which had distinguished his relations with Buda-Pest. By the time of his death (1490) Vienna University was in a state of almost complete decay.
Under such circumstances the recovery of Austria by Maximilian was greeted with joy on the part of the authorities, and immediate steps were taken to restore the tottering fabric of the University. Maximilian set himself definitely to transform it from a clerical corporation to a home of the new Humanism, and was aided in this difficult task by the Superintendent Perger, the intention of whose office was not only to control the Government grants, but also to decide upon their expenditure, and to refer to the Emperor all questions of professorial appointments. In spite of much internal opposition, the Humanists ere long acquired predominance in the philosophical Faculty, the medicals threw off the monstrous requirements of Scholasticism, and the jurists began to study Roman as well as ecclesiastical law. The revival of Vienna soon roused the interest of that peculiar product of the Renaissance period, the wandering scholar. The first to visit the University was Johann Spiesshaimer—more celebrated as Cuspinian—who rapidly won favour with the Hapsburgs by a poem in praise of St. Leopold, Markgrave of Austria, andwho was crowned poet by Maximilian shortly after his father's death, in presence of a brilliant and representative assembly. Soon afterwards he began to hold regular lectures on poetry and rhetoric, discussing such writers as Cicero, Sallust, Horace, Virgil and Lucan. But Perger's preference lay decidedly with the Humanists of Italy, many of whom he had known personally during his residence at Padua and Bologna. At his recommendation, Maximilian in 1493 summoned Hieronymus Balbus from Venice to Vienna, and appointed him lecturer on the Roman Poets. But the Italian's fiery temper soon led him into disputes with the University authorities, and after an unsatisfactory career of two years he found a fresh outbreak of plague in the city a convenient pretext for returning to Italy. Krachenberger and Fuchsmagen, the two councillors whom Maximilian had appointed to assist Perger, doubtless influenced by the unseemly brawling of Balbus, were loud in their complaints of Perger's favouritism, and urged their Imperial master to encourage German rather than Italian scholars. But Maximilian was, after all, only following his own judgment, when in 1497 he sent a cordial invitation to Stabius and Celtes to fill professorships at Vienna.
Conrad Celtes is the most famous of the earlier German Humanists, and is in a sense the forerunner of Peutinger and Pirkheimer. But while his influence penetrated into every part of the Empire as a stimulating force, Vienna was the scene of his longest and most definite labours, and hence all mention of him has been postponed till now. Born in 1459, in humble circumstances, Celtes devoted himself from youth to the pursuit of learning, studying theRoman classics in the leading universities of Germany. Without any settled abode, he wandered from one university to another, associating with scholars and supporting himself by lectures on the philosophy of Plato, the rhetoric of Cicero, or the poetry of Horace. In 1486 he visited Italy and made the acquaintance of all the famous Humanists of the age. On his return, the publication of his first treatise, theArs Versificandi, brought him to the notice of Frederick III., by whom he was crowned as poet at the Diet of Nuremberg (1487). During the next four years he visited Cracow, Prague, Buda, Heidelberg and Mainz, and again settled down at Nuremberg in 1491. Here he published a life of St. Sebald, patron of the city, in sapphics, and a treatise upon the origin and customs of Nuremberg itself. But within a year he was summoned to Ingolstadt as Professor of Poetry and Rhetoric, and here he was residing when Maximilian's letter reached him. The Emperor's appeal was not in vain, and Celtes took up his permanent abode in Vienna University in 1497, as professor of the same subjects as at Ingolstadt. His opening lectures, which treated the philosophy of Plato in connexion with the Neo-Platonism of the Italian scholars, were regarded with suspicion and dislike by many members of the University; but his position was strengthened by the hearty support of Maximilian, who in 1501 appointed Cuspinian, the intimate friend of Celtes, to the post of Superintendent. Celtes, and with him the Emperor, was convinced that new methods of instruction were necessary, if Humanism was to triumph over Scholasticism. "A new institute was required, which should serve for the preparation andtraining of Humanism, a sort of seminary of Humanist scholars, not outside, butinside, the University."[127] These views led, in October 1501, to the foundation of the "Collegium Poetarum et Mathematicorum" by Maximilian. Planned by Celtes with the active approval of Cuspinian, the College in no way formed a fifth Faculty, though it was directly connected with the Faculty of Arts. Of its two divisions, the first was devoted to the study of mathematics, physics and astronomy, the second to that of poetry and rhetoric. The right of the coronation of poets, which had hitherto lain with the Emperor alone, was now vested by Maximilian in Celtes, as director of his own creation. The most distinguished scholars were to receive the crown of laurel, as a mark of high distinction and as an incentive to further efforts. But this privilege was exercised by Celtes for the first and last time, when in 1502 he crowned Stabius, his former colleague at Ingolstadt, and now Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Vienna. All subsequent coronations of poets were by Maximilian himself;[128] and the College of Poets fell into disuse after the death of Celtes in 1508. Even had worthy successors to Celtes and Stabius been found, it is doubtful whether the College would have had a permanent existence. Its hybrid position, as an independent institution and yet an integral part of the University, was a source of endless bickerings and quarrels, which can scarcely have been a recommendation to foreign scholars. Celtes' other peculiar institution,the "Literary Society of the Danube," which he had originally founded at Buda, and which transplanted itself to Vienna when he settled there, was a kind of academy or free union of scholars for the spread of Humanism. Its members were recruited from almost every nation, and were only held together by the personal influence of Celtes; on his death it shared the same fate as the College of Poets.
CONRAD CELTES.CONRAD CELTES.
An interesting development of such Humanist unions formed itself in the mind of Aldus Manutius, the famous Venetian printer. He longed for the establishment of an academy which should devote itself to the perfecting of printing and to the spread of the Greek language, and he entertained the further hope of converting it into an educational institute, which should form a point of scientific intercourse between Germany and Italy, under the direct initiative of the Emperor. But though he approached Maximilian on the subject, he obtained nothing but vague promises of assistance, whose fulfilment was thwarted by the Emperor's lack of resources.
Besides his general services to Humanism, Celtes earned the gratitude of Maximilian by his attention to historical studies. His sketch of Nuremberg contains a valuable description of its buildings and its trades, its climate and its inhabitants. His eager investigations resulted in the discovery of the comedies of the Saxon nun Hroswith, whose lax morality has been adduced as a proof of their fictitious character, and the works of Ligurinus, upon which he and his friends lectured at Vienna.[129] At the moment of his death hewas engaged upon important work for Maximilian. His projected history of the origin of the House of Hapsburg still remained very much in embryo; but his great work,Germania Illustrata, had assumed very real dimensions and would, if completed, have eclipsed even the famousNuremberg Chronicle.
The place of Celtes was filled in Maximilian's estimation by Stabius and Cuspinian. The former, who had been crowned poet in 1502, was appointed Historiographer by the Emperor in 1508, and was virtually monopolized for historical research. Even during Maximilian's last illness Stabius was employed to read aloud volumes of Austrian history.[130] But his achievements in the field of history are of trifling value, and are not to be compared to his works on geographical and mathematical subjects. Cuspinian is much more worthy of consideration, especially as his relations with Maximilian drew him in the same direction as Peutinger. Already Rector of Vienna University in 1500, he was incessantly employed by the Emperor on embassies and in affairs of politics. In the course of five years he was engaged in no fewer than twenty-four missions to Hungary, and he took the leading part in the negotiations of 1507 and 1515, which resulted in the double marriage between Austria and Bohemia-Hungary, and the close union of Maximilian with Uladislas (1515). Nothwithstanding his political activity, he found time for medical and historical pursuits, lectures and public addresses on Philosophy and Rhetoric, and elaborate discussionswith his Humanist friends. Besides editing several of the later classical authors,[131] he brought out theWeltchronikof Bishop Otto of Freisingen, and the same writer'sWarlike Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa. His own productions include an account of the Congress of Princes at Vienna in 1515, and a sketch ofThe Origin, Religion and Tyranny of the Turks, which naturally roused Imperial interest. All his most important works exhibit traces of his connexion with Maximilian. HisCommentarii de Romanorum Consulibusare probably the most profound and critical; but his historyDe Caesaribus et Imperatoribus Romanorum,[132] which employed him between the years 1512 and 1522, undoubtedly possesses the most practical interest, since it furnishes us with many valuable details of Maximilian's life and character. His other work,Austria, contains a complete history of the country up till 1519, as well as a geographical and topographical description of its several provinces. Unhappily it was not published till 1553, and by that time the maps which were to have been included had disappeared.
Under Maximilian's auspices, the medical faculty of the University was improved to an equal extent with the others, and an ordinance was issued imposing the severest penalties, at the hands of the magistrates, on all foreign physicians whose incompetence was discovered. Again, the Emperor's passionate love of music led to a distinct revival in that noble science. A famous choirmaster of the day, Heinrich Isaak, who had spent twelve years in the service of Lorenzothe Magnificent, was induced to settle at Maximilian's Court, where his labours raised the Imperial Chapel to a high level of musical excellence. Amongst other really valuable compositions, his setting to the poem attributed to Maximilian, "Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen," is well known at the present day. The Court organist, Paul Hofheimer, was likewise esteemed the glory of his profession, and was the forerunner of a school of brilliant organists scattered throughout Germany.[133]
Though Maximilian knew well how to employ the activity of the scholar and the artist, and to stimulate the most varied aspirations of his time, there is one necessary limitation to our praise of his attitude. The buoyancy of his nature was to some extent due to a trait of vaingloriousness, which gave a rosy colouring to his own achievements, and prevented him from seeing himself as others saw him. Moreover, this airy self-conceit led him to lay by material, which should win from posterity a more comprehensive admission of his greatness than was accorded either by the bare facts of his political life or by the estimate of contemporaries; and thus he naturally emphasized the common idea of that period—that history was a relation of the warlike and peaceful exploits of the monarchs of the world. And yet he often rose above his own limitations. At one time he eagerly entertained the idea of a great Monumenten-Sammlung, or collection of authorities for mediaeval German history; while his encouragement of critical inquiry atoned for the incompleteness of his own conceptions. Still his literary productions are crowded with passages of fulsome adulation, which,by reason of over-statement and extravagant diction, rarely produce the effect intended.
Among these works two stand out prominently; yet even their execution was entrusted to others, partly no doubt on account of the many political demands upon Maximilian's time, but also because he did not himself possess sufficient patience or poetical talent.Weisskunig[134] is a prose romance, much of the material of which was taken down from Maximilian's dictation by his secretaries, and re-arranged and compiled by Marx Treitzsauerwein of Innsbruck. It is divided into three parts, of which the latter is too obvious a mixture of "Wahrheit und Dichtung" to be of any great value. The earlier portion describes the life of the old White King (Frederick III.), his journey to win his bride, his marriage and his coronation, while the second deals with the youth and education of the young White King, Maximilian. The description of his endless accomplishments exhibits to the full the Emperor's love of minute information, as well as the happy conviction of his own excellence in almost every art and science. His quaint conversation with his father on the art of Government has already been referred to (p.7). Undoubtedly the chief interest and value of the book, which was only given to the world in 1775, lies in its illustrations, which show Maximilian engaged in the most varied pursuits. The charming picture of Mary and Maximilian teaching each other Flemish and German, the deathbed of Frederick III. with its simple pathos, the humorous contrast of the young prince and his instructors in cannon-founding, his seriousdeportment over his correspondence—these are but four scenes chosen somewhat at random from a most fascinating collection.
Teuerdank, the other great prose-epic of Maximilian, is rather a fairy tale than a history, describing, under a highly allegorical form, the difficulties which opposed themselves to the Burgundian marriage. A fabulously wealthy King has an only daughter, a miracle of virtue and beauty, who is to belong to the most gallant and distinguished of her many suitors. King Romreich dies before a decision has been come to, but Princess Ehrenreich sees from his will that only Ritter Teuerdank is worthy of her hand. She summons him and he promptly sets forth to join her, accompanied by his trusty comrade Erenhold. But he is continually detained and led astray by the Evil One, who urges him to follow his natural instincts, and throws every kind of adventure in his way. Moreover, the envious magnates of Ehrenreich's Court enlist against him three captains, who endeavour to lure him to destruction. Fürwittig represents the vain ambition of youth, to give proof of its strength and skill and glory, merely for its own gratification; Unfalo, the fascination for the noble youth, which lies in travel and adventure by sea and land; while Neidelhard personifies the deadliest of unseen enemies, Jealousy, that foe who leads the young Prince into the most difficult entanglements. But the gallant Teuerdank comes scathless through every ordeal, thanks to his innate virtue and to the powerful genius of Love. But even then his trial is not at an end. At the request of Ehrenreich, and the exhortation of a heavenly messenger, he conducts a campaign against the infidels, who consent to become hisvassals. At length he is free to return, covered with glory and honour, to the Court of Ehrenreich, when the marriage is duly celebrated. This extravagant romance, which, with all its sentiment, is inclined to be wooden and tedious, was actually composed by Melchior Pfinzing, Provost of St. Sebald's, Nuremberg, though Maximilian directed its whole tone and substance. It also was elaborately illustrated by Beck, Burgkmair, and others, but its woodcuts are much inferior in interest and in execution to those ofWeisskunig. In 1517 the whole work was privately printed upon parchment, but in 1535 it was published to the world in an edition which is famous for its sumptuous style. TheEhrenpforteandTriumphzug, theGenealogieandWappenbuchlend additional force to the argument that Maximilian's enthusiasm owed part of its vigour to motives of self-glorification. The most important of these works have already been referred to in connexion with the Augsburg artists and with Dürer.[135] But some mention must here be made of the recently discoveredGejaid Buch, which was written for Maximilian during 1499-1500, by his Master of the Game, Carl von Spaur, and adorned with rich illuminations, dealing with the Emperor's sport on the mountains of North Tyrol. This book contains such minute information, that he could at a glance "ascertain the head ofchamois and red deer in any of the 200 and odd localities described therein," and is full of hints and suggestions as to the posting of the sportsmen and as to possible quarters for the night. Often when there was no castle in the neighbourhood, the Emperor had to content himself with a primitive log-hut high up on the mountain-slopes. Sometimes, to avoid such rough lodging for the night, he covered tremendous distances on horseback, to get back to more frequented valleys; and it was doubtless on such an occasion as this that he found a beggar dying by the roadside, and, dismounting, gave him his own flask to drink from, wrapped his own mantle round him, and then rode hotly to the next town to summon a priest.[136] Fatigue was well-nigh unknown to him, and he must sometimes "have started from his headquarters in the middle of the night, getting back only after some thirty-six hours in the saddle.... Only those acquainted with the very voluminous correspondence of this keen sportsman can form any idea of the close attention paid by him to every detail connected with the chase.... In the thick of a bloody war in the Netherlands we find him writing letters about a young ibex buck some peasant women in a remote Tyrolese valley were keeping for him, or promising in an autograph letter a silk dress to each of certain peasants' wives in an isolated glen, as a reward for preventing their husbands from poaching this rare game, or giving minute instructions where a particular couple of hunting hounds were to be kept, and what was to be done with their puppies."[137] Ourastonishment is not lessened when we learn that Maximilian possessed as many as 1,500 hounds. This brief digression, to which the Emperor's literary works have inevitably tempted us, is far from inappropriate to any description of one whose passion for the chase led him to sign himself "sportsman and Emperor."