DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28460#0349
Division A.—Sohool of Nuremberg.—Durer.
315
xi. Maximilian’s interest in building.
Compare the Weisskunig, woodcut no. 27.
(7) The most prominent ornamental features of the arch are ex-
plained by Stabius in the fourth and fifth sheets of the text. With the
exception of the statues of four Habsburg Emperors, Albert I, Erederick
III, Rudolph I, and Albert II, on the entablatures supported by the
four great pairs of columns, and those of two sainted ancestors, Arnolph,
Bishop of Metz (d. 640), and Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria, which
are placed on the front columns of the two outer pairs, all the figures on
the arch have an allegorical significance, or else allude to the emblems of
a Roman triumph. The two archdukes of Aiistria, one in armour, the
other in civil dress, with attendant squires, on either side of the middle
gate, betoken the qualities required of a ruler and, in particular, of future
rulers of Austria in war and peace. The sirens on the two small columns
over the archdukes, and the harpies on the great columns over their
squires, are symbolicalof the temptations, annoyances, and obstacles which
Maximilian had overcome in the course of his life. Of the heraldic
griffins at the top of the four great double columns, the outer pair hold
Maximilian’s device, the pomegranate, and his motto, £< Halt Mass,”
while the inner pair hold a St. Andrew’s cross and flint and steel, parts of
the insignia of the Burgundian order of the Golden Eleece. The fleece
itself and the collar of the order are introduced among the ornaments at
the summit of the two side walls. The insignia of the Order of Tem-
perance, to which Frederick III and Maximilian belonged,1 are displayed
on the inner pair of double columns above the harpies. The cupids
above the Golden Fleece allude to the ovation of the ancient Romans
(described by Valturius, ££ De re militari ”), in which the victor was
crowned with myrtle, sacred to Venus. The antique warriors, with the
eagle and dragon standards of the Romans, and their attendant drum-
mers and trumpeters, allude to the higher honour of the triumph. Two
heralds, with the arms of the Empire and of Austria on their tabards,
stand on the roof of the central tower, below the cupola, and trumpeters
proclaim the triumph of their sovereign to all the world. The flaming
cressets and torches are intended to acld to the splendour of his fame, and
to shed light on the truth. The archducal hat on the r. round tower com-
memorates the dignity of Maximilian’s Babenberg ancestors as rulers of
the ££ Ostmark,” or Austria ; the crown on the 1. tower is in honour of the
house of Habsburg ; while the imperial crown on the summit of the
cupola betokens the accession of that house to the supreme rank. In a
££ tabernacle,” as Stabius calls it, in front of the ciqDola is a ££ mystery of
the old Egyptian letters derived from King Osiris.” This is a picture of
Maximilian enthroned with a basilisk on his crown, a serpent t.wined
about his sceptre, surrounded by hieroglyphic symbols, a crane, a bull,
a cock, a serpent, a pair of human feet, a lion, a dog with a stole about
its neck, and a hawk. The mystery is interpreted in a long and bom-
bastic panegyric of' the Emperor’s vii-tues.2 The whole arch teems,
1 See p. 277.
2 The task of composing this mystery was entrusted to Pirkheimer, whose draft
for it has been preserved (“ B. Pirckheimeri Opera,” ed. Goldast, Francoforti, 1610, p. 202)
under the title of “ Interpretatio quarundam literarum iEgyptiacarum ex Oro Niliaco.”
The editor wrongly refers it to the victory of Charles Y ovor Frnncis I. Pirkheimer’s
315
xi. Maximilian’s interest in building.
Compare the Weisskunig, woodcut no. 27.
(7) The most prominent ornamental features of the arch are ex-
plained by Stabius in the fourth and fifth sheets of the text. With the
exception of the statues of four Habsburg Emperors, Albert I, Erederick
III, Rudolph I, and Albert II, on the entablatures supported by the
four great pairs of columns, and those of two sainted ancestors, Arnolph,
Bishop of Metz (d. 640), and Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria, which
are placed on the front columns of the two outer pairs, all the figures on
the arch have an allegorical significance, or else allude to the emblems of
a Roman triumph. The two archdukes of Aiistria, one in armour, the
other in civil dress, with attendant squires, on either side of the middle
gate, betoken the qualities required of a ruler and, in particular, of future
rulers of Austria in war and peace. The sirens on the two small columns
over the archdukes, and the harpies on the great columns over their
squires, are symbolicalof the temptations, annoyances, and obstacles which
Maximilian had overcome in the course of his life. Of the heraldic
griffins at the top of the four great double columns, the outer pair hold
Maximilian’s device, the pomegranate, and his motto, £< Halt Mass,”
while the inner pair hold a St. Andrew’s cross and flint and steel, parts of
the insignia of the Burgundian order of the Golden Eleece. The fleece
itself and the collar of the order are introduced among the ornaments at
the summit of the two side walls. The insignia of the Order of Tem-
perance, to which Frederick III and Maximilian belonged,1 are displayed
on the inner pair of double columns above the harpies. The cupids
above the Golden Fleece allude to the ovation of the ancient Romans
(described by Valturius, ££ De re militari ”), in which the victor was
crowned with myrtle, sacred to Venus. The antique warriors, with the
eagle and dragon standards of the Romans, and their attendant drum-
mers and trumpeters, allude to the higher honour of the triumph. Two
heralds, with the arms of the Empire and of Austria on their tabards,
stand on the roof of the central tower, below the cupola, and trumpeters
proclaim the triumph of their sovereign to all the world. The flaming
cressets and torches are intended to acld to the splendour of his fame, and
to shed light on the truth. The archducal hat on the r. round tower com-
memorates the dignity of Maximilian’s Babenberg ancestors as rulers of
the ££ Ostmark,” or Austria ; the crown on the 1. tower is in honour of the
house of Habsburg ; while the imperial crown on the summit of the
cupola betokens the accession of that house to the supreme rank. In a
££ tabernacle,” as Stabius calls it, in front of the ciqDola is a ££ mystery of
the old Egyptian letters derived from King Osiris.” This is a picture of
Maximilian enthroned with a basilisk on his crown, a serpent t.wined
about his sceptre, surrounded by hieroglyphic symbols, a crane, a bull,
a cock, a serpent, a pair of human feet, a lion, a dog with a stole about
its neck, and a hawk. The mystery is interpreted in a long and bom-
bastic panegyric of' the Emperor’s vii-tues.2 The whole arch teems,
1 See p. 277.
2 The task of composing this mystery was entrusted to Pirkheimer, whose draft
for it has been preserved (“ B. Pirckheimeri Opera,” ed. Goldast, Francoforti, 1610, p. 202)
under the title of “ Interpretatio quarundam literarum iEgyptiacarum ex Oro Niliaco.”
The editor wrongly refers it to the victory of Charles Y ovor Frnncis I. Pirkheimer’s