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THE    GERMAN    PEOPLE 

VOL.  I. 


HISTORY  OF  THE 
GERMAN  PEOPLE 
AT  THE  CLOSE  OF 
THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

By  Johannes  Janssen 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE 
GERMAN  BY  M.  A.  MITCHELL 
AND  A.  M.  CHRISTIE.  IN 
TWO    VOLUMES.         VOL.   I. 


LONDON 
KEGAN   PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER,  &  CO.   Ltd. 

TATERNOSTER  HOUSE,  CHARING  CROSS    ROAD 
1896 


CONTENTS 


OP 

THE     FIRST     VOLUME 

PAGK 

Introduction 1 

BOOK   I 
POPULAR  EDUCATION   AND   SCIENCE 

CHAP. 

I.    The  Spread  of  the  Art  of  Printing 9 

II.    Elementary  Schools  and  Religious  Education  of  the 

People      .  ,25 

III.    Elementary  Education  and  the  Older  Humanists    .    .      61 

IV.    The  Universities  and  other  Centres  of  Learning       ,      86 

BOOK  II 

ART   AND   POPULAR   LITERATURE 

I.    Architecture 164 

II.    Sculpture  and  Painting 178 

III.  Wood  and  Copper  Engraving 215 

IV.  Popular  Life  as  Reflected  by  Art 226 

V.     Music .        .        .241 

VI.     Popular  Poetry 252 

VII.    Topical  Poetry 283 

VIII.     Prose  and  Popular  Reading 290 

BOOK  III 

POLITICAL   ECONOMY 

Introduction 807 

I.     Agricultural  Life 309 


HISTOEY 


OF 


THE    G-EEMAN    PEOPLE 

AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 


LNTEODUCTION 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  intellec- 
tual life  of  the  German  people,  as  indeed  that  of  all 
Christendom,  entered  upon  a  new  period  of  develop- 
ment through  Johann  Gutenberg's  invention  of  the 
printing-press  and  the  use  of  movable  type. 

This  invention,  the  mightiest  and  most  important  in 
the  history  of  civilisation,  gave,  as  it  were,  '  wings  to 
the  human  mind,'  and  supplied  the  best  means  of  pre- 
serving, multiplying,  and  disseminating  every  product  of 
the  intellect.  It  sharpened  and  stimulated  thought  by 
facilitating  its  interchange  ;  it  encouraged  and  extended 
literary  traffic  in  a  hitherto  undreamt-of  manner,  and 
made  science  and  art  accessible  to  all  classes  of  society. 
In  the  words  of  a  contemporary  of  Gutenberg's,  '  it  fur- 
nished a  mighty,  double-edged  sword  for  the  freedom  of 
mankind ;  one,  however,  which  could  strike  alike  for 
good  or  for  evil — for  truth  and  virtue,  for  sin  and 
error.' 

VOL.    [.  B 


2  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

For  the  German  nation  this  invention  was  coincident 
with  the  life  and  labours  of  a  man  who,  as  ecclesiastical 
reformer  and  professor  of  theology,  classics,  and  mathe- 
matics no  less  than  as  a  statesman,  stands  out  as  an 
intellectual  giant  in  the  background  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  This  man  was  the  German  Cardinal,  Nicholas 
Krebs,  named  Cusanus,  from  Cues,  near  Treves. 

The  ecclesiastical  reforms  begun  by  Nicholas  in 
Germany  in  1451  by  command  of  the  Pope  were  based 
on  the  principle  that  one  should  cleanse  and  regenerate, 
not  trample  down  and  destroy ;  that  it  was  not  for 
man  to  remodel  things  divine,  but,  rather,  to  be  re- 
modelled by  them.  And,  true  to  this  principle,  he  was 
first  and  foremost  the  reformer  of  his  own  person ;  his 
life  was  to  his  contemporaries  a  very  mirror  of  all  priestly 
virtue.  He  preached  both  to  the  clergy  and  to  the  people, 
and  what  he  preached,  that  he  practised ;  his  deeds  were, 
in  fact,  his  most  powerful  sermons.  Simple  and  unosten- 
tatious, indefatigable  in  teaching,  correcting,  consoling, 
and  strengthening — a  father  to  the  poor — he  travelled  for 
years  long  as  apostle  and  reformer  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Germany.  He  revived  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline, long  sunk  in  hopeless  confusion.  He  did  his 
utmost  towards  recovering  the  neglected  education  of 
the  clergy,  as  well  as  the  catechetical  instruction  of  the 
people.  He  watched  carefully  over  the  office  of  the 
pulpit,  and  preached  with  unrelenting  severity  against 
prevailing  heavy  abuses.  In  Salzburg,  Magdeburg, 
Mentz,  and  Cologne  he  held  provincial  councils;  and 
by  re-establishing  synods,  as  well  as  by  his  regulations  for 
the  inspection  of  monasteries,  he  inaugurated  permanent 
reforms  in  ecclesiastical  matters.  His  plan  of  'general 
reform,'  drawn  up  for  Tope  Pius  II.,  shows  more  clearly 


INTRODUCTION  3 

than  any  of  his  writings  how  deeply  he  deplored  the 
existing  evils,  and  how  zealously  he  worked  to  accom- 
plish a  thorough  reform  in  the  whole  Church,  from  the 
papal  see  down  to  the  humblest  monastery,  without, 
however,  the  least  detriment  to  the  unity  of  its 
structure. 

'  Nicolaus  of  Cusa,'  says  the  abbot  Trithemius  at  the 
end  of  the  century,  '  appeared  in  Germany  like  an  angel 
of  light  and  peace  in  the  midst  of  darkness  and  confu- 
sion ;  he  re-established  the  unity  of  the  Church,  strength- 
ened the  authority  of  its  visible  head,  and  scattered 
abundant  seeds  of  new  life.  Some  of  that  seed, 
through  the  hardness  of  men's  hearts,  did  not  spring  up  ; 
some  grew  up,  but,  through  sloth  and  indifference,  soon 
withered  away ;  a  goodly  portion,  however,  nourished 
and  bore  fruit,  which  we  to-day  are  still  enjoying.  He 
was  a  man  of  faith  and  love,  an  apostle  of  piety  and  of 
learning.  His  spirit  compassed  all  fields  of  human 
wisdom,  but  '  God '  was  the  starting-point  of  all  his 
knowledge — the  glory  of  God  and  the  bettering  of  man- 
kind  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  all  his  wisdom. 

'  To  know  and  to  think,'  writes  Nicolaus  himself, 
'  to  see  the  truth  with  the  eye  of  the  mind,  is  always  a 
joy.  The  older  a  man  grows  the  greater  is  the  plea- 
sure which  it  affords  him,  and  the  more  he  devotes 
himself  to  the  search  after  truth  the  stronger  grows 
his  desire  of  possessing  it.  As  love  is  the  life  of  the 
heart,  so  is  the  endeavour  after  knowledge  and  truth 
the  life  of  the  mind.  In  the  midst  of  the  movements 
of  time,  of  the  daily  work  of  life,  of  its  perplexities 
and  contradictions,  we  should  lift  our  gaze  fearlessly 
to  the  clear  vault  of  heaven,  and  seek  ever  to  obtain 
a  firmer  grasp  of  and  keener  insight  into  the    origin 

B  2 


4  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  all  goodness  and  beauty,  the  capacities  of  our  own 
hearts  and  minds,  the  intellectual  fruits  of  mankind 
throughout  the  centuries,  and  the  wondrous  works 
of  Nature  around  us ;  but  remembering  always  that 
in  humility  alone  lies  true  greatness,  and  that  know- 
ledge and  wisdom  are  alone  profitable  in  so  far  as  our 
lives  are  governed  by  them.' 

The  actual  field  of  his  labours  was  speculative 
science,  and  his  work  in  it  the  reform  of  ecclesiastical 
learning.  In  his  system  of  theology  he  brought  into 
harmony  a  variety  of  conflicting  tenets  which  had 
hitherto  been  fiercely  battled  over  in  the  scholastic 
camp.  For  its  originality  and  depth  of  thought,  its 
clearness  of  detail,  its  breadth  of  conception,  and  its 
organic  unity,  this  work  may  be  compared  to  the 
great  monuments  of  German  Christian  architecture  of 
the  period.  He  inaugurated  a  better  understanding 
of  the  great  masters  of  ancient  scholastics,  raised 
Mysticism  from  the  dark  abyss  of  Pantheism  to  the 
more  clearly  defined  conception  of  '  God  and  the 
universe,'  and  opened  the  way  for  a  more  scientific 
handling  of  the  whole  teaching  of  Christian  faith. 
But  it  is  in  the  well-known  pamphlet  in  which  he 
pleads  for  the  casting  aside  of  all  religious  strife, 
for  the  establishment  of  one  common  creed,  and 
the  gathering  together  of  all  mankind  under  the  one 
Catholic  Church  of  Eome,  that  the  spirit  of  the 
Cardinal,  at  once  so  truly  philosophical  and  so  deeply 
imbued  with  genuine  Christian  love  of  humanity,  re- 
veals itself  most  characteristically. 

In  the  same  spirit  of  creative  activity  Nicolaus 
devoted  himself  to  natural  science,  more  especially 
to  physics  and  mathematics.     He  first,  nearly  a  cen- 


INTRODUCTION  5 

tury  before  Copernicus,  had  the  courage  and  inde- 
pendence to  uphold  the  theory  of  the  earth's  motion 
and  its  rotation  on  its  axis.  He  published  an  able 
treatise  on  the  correction  of  the  Julian  Calendar,  and 
he  headed  the  list  of  those  astronomers  who  were 
the  pioneers  of  modern  knowledge  of  the  solar  system 
and  its  workings.  It  was  personal  and  literary  inter- 
course with  him  that  awakened  the  creative  genius  of 
Georg  von  Peuerbach  and  Johann  Miiller,  the  two  re- 
storers of  the  direct  and  independent  method  of  natural 
research,  and  the  fathers  of  astronomical  observation 
and  calculation. 

Mcolaus  of  Cusa  was  also  one  of  the  first  in  Ger- 
many to  revive  the  thorough  and  enlightened  study  of 
those  master  works  of  classic  antiquity  which  unite  in 
such  perfect  harmony  the  freedom  of  Nature  with  the 
restraints  of  Art.  His  love  for  the  classics,  which  he 
had  devoured  eagerly  at  Deventer  in  the  schools  of  the 
'Brethren  of  the  Social  Life,'  was  raised  to  such  en- 
thusiasm in  Italy  by  an  exhaustive  study  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle  that  he  could  not  rest  without  doing  his  ut- 
most to  kindle  a  like  zeal  in  others.  He  was  unwearied 
in  his  efforts  to  bring  these  studies  back  into  vogue 
wherever  he  could,  utilising  them  as  means  of  true 
culture  and  as  evidences  of  the  sublimity  of  the 
Christian  faith. 

He  met  all  seekers  after  knowledge  with  winning 
condescension  and  cordiality,  and,  although  over- 
whelmed with  the  duties  of  his  office,  was  ever  ready  to 
explain  and  instruct.  In  the  very  year  in  which  his 
useful  and  laborious  life  closed  (in  1464),  the  Cardinal, 
so  we  learn  from  Trithemius,  had  intended,  with  the  aid 
of  Gutenberg's  invention,  to  convert  into   the  common 


6  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

property  of  the  world  of  scholars  a  precious  collection 
of  Greek  MSS.  which  he  had  brought  from  Constanti- 
nople. 

Among  the  students  in  whose  classical  education  he 
had  so  gladly  shared,  Eudolph  Agricola  was  the  one 
who  laboured  most  fruitfully  in  his  footsteps. 

After  a  long  period  of  intellectual  torpor  a  new  era 
of  healthy  and  joyous  development  had  now  begun  in 
Germany.  The  thirst  for  education  was  felt  by  all 
classes,  and  no  exertion  was  spared  to  raise  the  standard 
of  the  schools  ;  new  ones  were  established  and  old  ones 
were  improved. 

The  countless  number  of  gymnasia,  and  the  many 
universities  founded  at  this  period,  show  how  deeply 
the  want  of  education  was  felt  throughout  the  land. 
Artistic  development  kept  pace  with  scientific  progress. 
The  new  intellectual  movement  called  forth  apostles  of 
every  age  and  every  condition  of  life,  '  who,'  to  quote 
the  words  of  Wimpheling,  '  in  their  journeyings  from 
province  to  province,  from  land  to  land,  spread  the 
glad  tidings  of  the  blessings  of  science  and  of  art.' 

Intellectual  progress  on  a  firm  basis  of  Christian 
belief  and  from  a  clerical  standpoint  forms  the  most 
prominent  characteristic  of  the  period  which  extended 
from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  rise  of 
the  German  Humanists.  It  was  one  of  the  most  fruit- 
ful intellectual  epochs  of  German  history. 

Almost  inexhaustible  seemed  the  wealth  of  great 
and  noble  and  strongly  marked  individualities  who.  in 
their  schoolrooms  and  lecture-halls,  as  well  as  in  the 
seclusion  of  their  studies,  imparted  to  learning  and  to 
art  the  leaven  of  spiritual  life — teachers  with  whom 
1  the  fear  of  the  Lord  was  the  beginning  of  wisdom,' 


INTRODUCTION  7 

humble,  believing  Christians,  and  at  the  same  time 
free,  strong,  independent,  manly  thinkers.  Above  all, 
they  showed  themselves  undaunted  in  unmasking  and 
fighting  against  ecclesiastical  abuses.  Their  love  for 
the  one  Catholic  Church  spurred  them  to  carry  on  un- 
flinchingly the  work  of  reform  which  Nicolaus  of  Cusa 
had  inaugurated  in  Germany. 

Their  love  for  the  Church  increased  and  elevated 
their  loyalty  to  the  people  and  the  Fatherland  and 
their  enthusiasm  for  the  Eoman  Emperor  of  the 
German  nation.  As  upholders  of  'the  sovereignty  of 
the  Eoman  Emperor,'  they  set  themselves  strongly 
against  the  separatist  independent  spirit  of  the  different 
principalities.  They  wished  for  the  re-establishment  of 
the  ancient  unity  of  the  Empire,  but  they  were  at  the 
same  time  anxious  to  see  their  respective  States  well 
represented  in  the  general  march  of  progress.  As 
Germans  under  the  Emperor  and  the  Empire,  they 
felt  themselves  distinct  from  other  nations  ;  but  under 
the  sovereignty  and  protection  of  the  Catholic  Church 
this  sense  of  separateness  had  not  led  to  anything  like 
political  or  racial  enmity  with  other  nations,  but 
simply  to  a  feeling  of  spiritual  exclusiveness. 

The  brisk  intercourse  that  went  on  between  the 
schoolmen,  the  scientists,  and  artists  of  Germany  and 
those  of  other  countries  was  a  powerful  agent  in  the 
furtherance  of  culture  and  learning.  The  character 
of  the  'high  schools'  was  essentially  international. 
Culture  was  not  a  barrier,  but  a  bond  between 
nations. 

All  Christian  nations  had  one  enemy  in  common — 
the  Turk — 'the  hereditary  foe  of  Christianity.'  To 
make  joint  cause  against  him  under  the  leadership  of 


8  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  head  of  the  Church  was,  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  fore- 
most men  of  the  day,  one  of  the  highest  of  Christian 
duties. 

The  wonderful  development  of  spiritual  and  in- 
tellectual life  that  characterised  this  period  was  only 
possible  in  view  of  the  fact  that  all  minds  were  still 
influenced  by  the  Church  doctrine  of  '  salvation  by 
good  works.'  This  teaching  resulted,  on  the  one  hand, 
in  innumerable  charitable  bequests,  in  the  founding  of 
hospitals,  asylums,  and  orphanages,  as  well  as  in  the 
building  of  churches  and  cathedrals  adorned  with  all 
that  was  most  beautiful  in  art ;  while  it  also  prompted 
the  establishment  of  higher  and  lower  educational 
institutions,  and  the  liberal  endowment  of  them. 


BOOK    I 
POPULAR  EDUCATION   AND   SCIENCE 


CHAPTEE   I 

THE    SPREAD    OF    THE    AET    OF    PRINTING  1 

There  is  no  invention  or  intellectual  achievement  of 
which  we  Germans  have  so  much  reason  to  be  proud 
as  that  of  printing,  which  has  made  us,  as  it  were,  new 
apostles  of  Christianity,  disseminators  of  all  knowledge, 
human  and  divine,  and  benefactors  of  all  mankind. 
What  new  life  it  opened  to  all  classes  !  Who  can  think 
without  gratitude  of  the  first  founders  and  promoters 
of  the  art,  even  though  he  should  not,  like  us  and  our 

1  Van  der  Linde's  learned  work  on  Gutenberg  (1878^  gives  a  clear 
account  of  the  history  of  the  invention  of  printing,  and  removes  countless 
errors,  legends,  and  falsifications  which  have  appeared  in  earlier  writings. 
Johann  Gensfleisch  zu  Gutenberg,  of  Mentz,  was  not  so  much  the  inventor 
of  printing  as  of  typography — i.e.  the  formation  of  cast  movable  letters. 
Centuries  before  Gutenberg  the  art  was  already  known  of  transferring 
figures,  pictures,  and  text  from  one  surface  to  another  by  means  of  pres- 
sure. Ancient  xylographic  productions  are  preserved  in  our  museums. 
It  was  no  new  idea  that  letters — hence  also  words,  lines,  sentences,  and 
whole  pages — could  be  engraved  and  printed.  The  Chinese  block-  and 
type-printing  goes  back  as  far  as  the  tenth  century.  It  was  probably 
from  the  Mongolians,  who  conquered  China  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
soon  after  overflowed  into  Eastern  Europe,  that  the  Europeans  acquired 
the  art  of  block-printing,  or  xylography.  About  the  year  1400  this  art 
spread  from  Germany  to  Flanders.  That  the  origin  of  so  many  innova- 
tions belonging  to  the  Middle  Ages  (gunpowder,  linen-paper,  wood-print- 
ing, printing  on  stuff,  enlarged  or  amplified  Asiatic  chess-games)  is 
shrouded  in  darkness  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  these  inven- 
tions did  not  spring  up  independently  in  Europe,  but  came  there  through 


10  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

teachers,  have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  personal  inter- 
course with  them  ? 

'  The  art  of  printing  is  the  art  of  arts,1  the  science 
of  sciences.  Through  its  rapid  spread  the  world  has 
been  enriched  with  treasures  of  knowledge  and  wisdom 
that  till  now  have  lain  hidden.  Innumerable  books 
formerly  accessible  to  but  a  few  scholars  in  Athens  or 
Paris,  or  in  other  universities  and  libraries,  will  now 
by  means  of  the  printing-press  become  known  to  all 

Arabs  and  Mongolians.  The  first  known  date  of  a  wood-cut  is  the  year 
1423.  They  did  not,  however,  only  print  with  wooden  blocks  at  that 
time,  but  engraved  their  designs  in  metal.  A  leaf  out  of  a  series  of 
engravings  of  the  Passion  bears  the  date  of  1446.  An  exquisite  copper 
engraving  of  the  Master  P  bears  the  date  of  1451.  '  There  was  indeed 
no  call  for  any  one  to  invent  printing  in  the  fifteenth  century.'  The 
'  Pyldtschnitzers,'  wood-cutters,  and  engravers  formed,  together  with  the 
printers,  a  guild  of  their  own ;  in  Nordlingen,  for  instance,  as  early  as 
1428,  and  in  Ulm  in  1441.  The  importance  of  Gutenberg's  invention  did 
not  lie  in  the  discovery  of  movable  type  (already  in  Roman  antiquity  mov- 
able letters  were  used;  see  Van  der  Linde,  pp.  113-120),  but  in  the  efficient 
method  of  manufacturing  metal  types  of  a  uniform  size.  The  letters  were 
first  of  all  cut  in  the  form  of  embossed  dies  or  punches,  then  from  these 
punches  were  formed  matrices  or  moulds  from  which  the  types  were  cast. 
Besides  the  movableness  of  the  single  letters  and  their  combination  into 
words,  the  production  of  letters  in  great  numbers  was  necessary,  in  order 
to  substitute  for  the  costly  process  of  cutting  each  letter  separately  the 
cheapness  and  uniformity  derived  from  casting  a  number  of  types  from  a 
single  mould.  What  the  special  point  was  that  the  inventor  himself  laid 
stress  on  we  learn  from  the  appendix  to  the  Catlwlicon  of  the  year  1460  : 
'  Under  the  guidance  of  the  Almighty,  who  often  reveals  to  the  lowly - 
minded  what  He  hides  from  the  wise,  this  excellent  book,  Catlwlicon,  was 
printed  and  completed  in  the  good  town  of  Mentz  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1460 ;  its  exquisite  finish  and  accuracy  are  due  to  its  being  executed  b}' 
means  of  dies  and  matrices,  not  with  reed,  stylum,  or  pen.' 

1  In  the  year  1507,  through  the  kindness  of  the  late  Father  Jandel, 
Superior  of  the  Dominicans  at  Rome  in  1864.  On  account  of  its  beginning 
with  a  panegvric  on  the  art,  and  its  treating  of  the  spread  of  printing  over 
Europe,  it  was  given  at  a  later  period  the  title  of  De  Arte  impressoria. 
It  contains  twenty-nine  quarto  sheets  of  parchment,  and  is  as  beautifully 
written  (possibly  by  the  same  hand)  as  the  account  of  the  history  of 
Mentz,  to  be  seen  at  the  castle  of  Aschaffenburg,  which  was  executed 
by  Wimpluding  for  the  Archbishop  Albrecht  of  Brandenburg. 


THE   SPREAD   OF   THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  11' 

nations  and  peoples,  and  be  circulated  in  every  tongue.1 
'  What  a  wealth  of  prayers  and  meditations  shall  be  - 
born  of  printed  books  !  What  a  store  of  sermons  shall 
become  familiar  to  the  people  !  What  an  advantage  to 
those  who  are  writing  or  editing  books !  For  those 
who  love  art  and  literature,  this  is  indeed  a  blessed 
and  happy  time,  in  which  they  can  plant  in  the  field 
of  their  understanding  such  precious  seed,  and  fire 
their  imaginations  from  such  burning  sources.' 

'  Those,  also,  who  have  no  natural  love  for  literary 
work  are  to  be  congratulated  on  being  able  to  learn  in 
a  short  time  what  formerly  required  the  study  of 
years.' 2  Such  are  some  of  the  utterances  of  con- 
temporary writers  on  the  newly  discovered  art. 

As  early  as  the  year  1507,  Jacob  Wimpheling 
draws  attention  to  the  fact  that  nothing  can  give  so 
good  an  idea  of  the  activity  and  many-sidedness  of 
German  intellectual  life  at  that  period  as  the  considera- 
tion of  the  rapid  diffusion  of  the  art  of  printing,  which 
not  only  converted  all  the  towns  of  Germany,  great 
and  small,  into  intellectual  workshops,  but  also,  by 
means  of  German  printers,  established  itself  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  in  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  even 
in  the  far  North. 

When,  after  the  conquest  of  Mentz  by  the  Arch- 
bishop Adolphus  of  Nassau  in  1462,  the  '  wonderful 
secret '  had  become  known  throughout  Europe,  it 
spread  with  such  astounding  rapidity  that  more  than 
a   thousand   printers,  mostly  of  German   origin,3   are 

1  See   the  Carthusian   monk,  Werner  Rolewinck,  in  his  Fasciculus 
temporum,  fol.  89. 

2  The  Chronicles  of  Koelhoff,  edited  by  Cardauns ;    Chroniken  der~ 
deutschen  Stadte,  xiv.  792-194. 

3  See  Falkenstein's  List,  pp.  383-393 ;  Reichardt,  iii.  1034-1043. 


12  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

known  to  have  nourished  before  the  year  1500.  In 
Mentz  itself,  the  cradle  of  the  art,  there  were  no  less 
than  five  printing-presses,  in  Ulm  six,  in  Basle  sixteen, 
in  Augsburg  twenty,1  in  Cologne  twenty-one.  Stras- 
burg  was  renowned  for  its  many  excellent  printers.  In 
Nuremberg,  up  to  the  year  1500,  twenty-five  printers 
were  enrolled  as  citizens.2  The  most  eminent  of  these 
after  the  year  1470  was  Anthony  Koberger,  who  had 
twenty-four  presses  at  work,  employed  over  a  hundred 
men  as  type-setters,  proof-correctors,  printers,  binders 
and  illuminators,  besides  carrying  on  work  outside, 
chiefly  in  Basle,  Strasburg,  and  Lyons.  '  By  diligence 
and  foresight,'  writes  his  countryman,  NeudoerfFer, 
'  Koberger  accumulated  a  large  fortune.'  The  gigantic 
aqueduct  still  in  existence,  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  and 
reaching  from  the  city  moat  to  his  house  in  the 
Aegidienplatz,  is  a  witness  to  the  scale  of  his  printing 
establishment.3  Enterprise  of  almost  equal  dimensions 
was  developed  by  Hans  Schonsperger  in  Augsburg,  as 
well  as  by  the  Basle  publishers,  Johann  Amerbach, 
Wolfgang  Lachner,  and  Johann  Froben.  The  latter, 
designated  as  '  the  prince  of  publishers,'  ranks  among 
the  most  accomplished  printers  whom  the  world  has 
yet  known.4     Numbers  of  the  ablest  men  devoted  their 


1  Schaab,  iii.  421-423;  Graesse,  iii.  157-163;  Ennen,  iii.  1034-1043. 
For  the  printed  works,  see  Faulmann,  pp.  197-253. 

2  Baader,  work  on  the  Besearches  of  Former  Ages,  vii.  119,  120. 

3  See  in  the  complete  works  of  Hase,  Koberger,  fol.  49 ;  Faulmann, 
pp.  178  194  ;  Kapp,  pp.  139-141.  Zainer  owned  a  printing  house  in 
Bologna  in  the  year  1481.  In  the  year  1483,  Erhard  Ratdolt  published 
in  Venice  an  Explanation  of  the  Ten  Commandments. 

1  Stockmeyer  and  Reber,  pp.  86  115.  The  works  which  were  issued 
from  the  establishment  of  Johannes  Winterburger  between  1492  and  1519 
compare  well  with  those  of  Basle,  Nuremberg,  and  Augsburg.  See  A. 
Mayer's  History  of  Printing,  1482-1882  (Vienna,  1882). 


THE   SPREAD   OF   THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  13 

energies  to  the  perfecting  of  this  new  art.  Already, 
in  1471,  Conrad  Schweinheim  began  printing  atlases 
from  metal  plates.  In  the  year  1482  Erhard  Eatdolt 
made  the  first  attempt  to  multiply  mathematical  and 
architectural  drawings  by  means  of  the  printing-press. 
Erhard  Oeglin  inaugurated  the  printing  of  musical 
notes  with  movable  types.1 

While  Germany  was  thus  alive  with  new  and  happy 
creative  industry,  German  printers  were  spreading  the 
new  art  as  far  as  Subiaco  and  Eome,  Sienna,  Venice, 
Foligno,  Perugia,  Modena,  Urbino,  Ascoli,  Naples, 
Messina,  and  Palermo.  Up  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  Eome  alone  counted  no  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  ninety  presses  and  twenty-three  German 
printers ;  while  throughout  Italy  generally  there  were 
over  a  hundred  German  printing  establishments.  It  is 
to  a  German  printer  of  Foligno,  Johann  Neumeister, 
from  Mentz,  that  Italy  owes  the  first  edition  of  Dante's 
'  Divine  Comedy,'  published  in  the  year  1472 ;  and  also 
to  a  German  the  first  edition  with  a  commentary  which 
appeared  in  the  year  1481.2 

Thanks  to  German  printers,  the  spread  of  typography 
was  almost  as  rapid  in  France  and  Spain  as  in  Italy. 
In  Spain  up  to  the  year  1500  there  were  over  thirty 
German  master-printers,  who  in  Valencia,  Saragossa, 
Seville,  Barcelona,  Tolosa,  Salamanca,  Burgos,  and  other 
cities,  were,  according  to  Lopez  de  Vega,  'the  armourers 
of  civilisation.'  Christopher  Columbus  belonged  for  a 
time  to  the  printing  trade.     In  Granada,  only  two  years 

1  Independent  discovery  of  that  of  Ottaviano  dei  Petricci.  See 
Ambros,  pp.  190-199  of  Oeglin.     See  Herberger,  pp.  41  42. 

a  See  V.  Reumont,  ii.  48 ;  Faulmann,  p.  179.  German  writers  and 
illustrators  of  books  also  were  settled  in  Italy  in  great  numbers  from  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


14  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

after  the  province  had  been  freed  from  the  Arabian 
yoke,  and  while  it  was  still  partly  peopled  with  Arabs, 
the  Nuremberg  physician,  Hieronymus  Miinzer,  tra- 
velling across  the  Pyrenean  peninsula  between  the 
years  1494  and  1495,  met  with  three  printers  from 
Strasburg,  Spire,  and  Gerleshofen.  Two  others  from 
Strasburg  and  from  Nordlingen  established  themselves 
in  the  unhealthy  island  of  St.  Thomas. 

Valentin  Ferdinand,  one  of  the  many  German 
printers  settled  in  Portugal,  was  in  the  year  1502  ap- 
pointed shield-bearer  to  Queen  Leonora  ;  and  by  decree 
of  John  II.  all  the  other  printers  in  the  country  were  in- 
vested with  the  privileges  of  nobles  attached  to  the 
royal  household.  In  1516,  by  order  of  the  King,  Don 
Immanuel,  the  German  printer  Herman  von  Kempen, 
published  in  Lisbon  '  The  Cancionero  '  of  Garcia  de 
Eesende,  a  comprehensive  collection  of  songs  of  the 
Court  school  of  poets,  of  fundamental  importance  for 
the  history  of  Portuguese  literature. 

The  '  German  art '  was  established  in  Buda-Pesth  in 
the  year  1473,  in  London  in  1477,  in  Oxford  in  1478, 
in  Denmark  in  1482,  in  Stockholm  in  1483,  in  Moravia 
in  1486,  and  in  Constantinople  in  1490. 1 

'  As  the  apostles  of  Christianity  went  forth  of  old,' 

says  Wimpheling,  '  so  now  the  disciples  of  the  sacred 

art  go  forth  from  Germany  into  all  lands,   and    their 

printed  books  become  heralds  of  the  Gospel,  preachers 

•of  truth  and  wisdom.'  2 

Adolphus  Occo,  house-physician  to  Frederick,  bishop 

1  For  the  services  of  the  Westphalians  in  the  spread  of  printing,  see 
Nordhoff 's Humanismus,  pp.  129-133.  According  to  the  latest  researches, 
it  appears  to  be  established  that  the  Cologne  printers  were  the  founders 
of  the  art  in  England  and  Holland. 

2  De  Arte  Imjpressoria,  fol.  G. 


THE   SPREAD   OF  THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  15 

•of  Augsburg,  writes  as  follows  to  the  printer  Eatdolt  in 
1487  :  '  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  how  deeply  all 
classes  of  society  are  indebted  to  the  art  of  printing, 
which,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  has  arisen  in  our 
time ;  and  more  especially  is  this  the  case  with  the 
Catholic  Church,  the  bride  of  Christ,  which  through  it 
receives  additional  glory,  and  meets  her  Bridegroom 
with  the  new  adornment  of  the  many  books  of  heavenly 
wisdom  with  which  it  has  furnished  her.' 

All  the  nobler  minds  of  the  age  were  anxious  that 
this  new  art  should  not  be  regarded  merely  as  an 
instrument  for  furthering  personal  profit,  but  as  a 
fresh  means  of  Christian  evangelisation,  so  that,  above 
all,  good  should  accrue  to  the  Church's  faith,  and 
true  wisdom  and  culture  be  advanced.  Thus  '  The 
Brothers  of  the  Social  Life '  at  Rostock,  in  one 
of  their  first  publications,  in  the  year  1476,  speak 
of  it  as  '  the  teacher  of  all  arts  for  the  glory  of  the 
Church ' ;  and  they  designated  themselves,  in  view  of 
their  labour  as  printers,  'priests  who  preached  not 
by  the  spoken,  but  by  the  written  word.'  It  was  this 
same  feeling  which  actuated  bishops,  such  as  Eudolph 
von  Scherenberg  and  Lorenz  von  Bibra,  to  distribute 
indulgences  for  the  purchase  and  spread  of  books. 

This  view  of  the  mission  of  the  new  discovery  made 
the  most  enlightened  among  the  clergy  become  its  most 
zealous  protectors. 

In  very  many  cases  printing  establishments  were 
attached  to  monasteries — at  Marienthal,  in  the  Kheinirau. 
for  instance,  after  1468.  In  1470  we  find  one  opened 
by  the  Argovian  regular  canons  of  Beromunster ;  in 
1472,  another  by  the  Benedictines  of  Saints  Alfra  and 
Ulrich  in  Augsburg;  in  1474,  one  by  the  Benedictines 


16  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  Bamberg  ;  in  1475,  one  in  Blauberan  ;  in  1478,  one 
by  the  Premonstratentian  monks ;  in  1479,  still  others 
by  the  Augustinian  hermits  of  Nuremberg  and  the 
Benedictines  of  St.  Peter  in  Erfurt.1 

The  Carthusians  and  the  Minorites  were  the  most 
active  assistants  of  John  Amerbach  in  Basle.  The 
great  German  scholastic,  Johannes  Heynlin  of  Stein,  in 
the  bishopric  of  Spire,  brought  the  first  printers,  called 
the  '  Allimanic  brothers,'  to  Paris,  and  gave  them  every 
assistance  in  their  work.2 

A  professor  of  theology,  Andreas  Prisner,  was  the 
first  printer  in  Leipsic ;  and  it  was  owing  to  Paul 
Scriptoris,  lecturer  in  the  Franciscan  convent  at 
Tubingen,  that  in  the  year  1478  Johann  Otmar  esta- 
blished the  first  press  in  that  city.  In  Italy  the  German 
printers,  Conrad  Scheynhein  and  Arnold  Pannartz,  found 
their  first  home  in  the  Benedictine  convent  of  Subiaco  ; 

1  See  the  accurate  work  by  Falk,  Drnckkunst,  pp.  3-9,  on  the  printing 
in  the  convents  of  Germany.  See  also  Van  der  Linde,  pp.  95-97.  The 
literary  activity  of  the  monks  was  awakened  to  new  life  towards  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century — that  is,  at  the  time  of  the  invention  of 
typography,  and  coincidently  with  the  efforts  for  reform  that  were  con- 
nected with  the  Council  of  Basle.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  monks 
quickly  availed  themselves  of  the  new  means  for  multiplying  books,  and, 
under  the  guidance  of  wise  abbots,  erected  presses  within  their  monas- 
teries. The  friendly  relations  which  existed  between  the  clergy  and  the 
printers  made  this  the  easier.  Thus  also,  as  Schafarik  has  pointed  out, 
we  owe  all  the  old  Slavonic,  especially  the  Cyrillic,  printed  works  to  Serbian, 
or  Bulgarian  monks  and  priests.  At  Cettinje,  in  Montenegro,  there  was  a 
monastic  printing-press  in  1493.  Works  have  been  preserved  from  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Bridget  in  Wadstena,  Sweden,  bearing  the  date  of  1491.  At  the 
convent  of  the  Dominican  sisters  in  Florence  more  than  eighty-six  works 
were  published  between  1476  and  1484. 

"  Vischer,  p.  161.  Johannes  Heynlin  attested  the  date  of  his  birth. 
See  Jul.  Phillipe,  Orifjine  de  V Imprimerie  a  Paris  d'apres  des  Documents 
inrdits  (Paris,  1885),  p.  14.  Concerning  Ulrich  Gering,  the  first  German 
printer  in  Paris,  see  Aebi,  Die  Buchdruckcrcl  in  Beromiinster,  pp. 
32-36. 


THE   SPREAD   OF   THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  17 

while  later  on,  in  Borne,  they  brought  out  their  works 
under  the  patronage  of  the  bishop  Giovanni  Andrea, 
librarian  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  In  1466  the  famous 
Dominican  Cardinal,  Turrecremata,  sent  for  the  printer, 
Ulrich  Hahn,  from  Ingolstadt  to  Borne ;  three  years 
later  George  Lauer,  of  Wurtzburg,  was  summoned 
there  by  Cardinal  Caraffa,  and  both  these  had  for  their 
patrons  the  well-known  papal  biographers  Campano 
and  Platina.  In  1475  there  were  as  many  as  twenty 
printing-presses  in  Borne ;  and  up  to  the  end  of  the 
century  there  appeared  there  925  works,  which  were 
chiefly  owing  to  the  exertions  of  the  clergy. 

But  the  clergy  were  not  content  with  giving  nominal 
patronage  and  co-operation  to  the  new  art ;  they  also 
contributed  material  help  by  the  purchase  of  its  pro- 
ductions.1 

Nearly  the  whole  immense  book  supply  of  the 
fifteenth  century  in  Germany  aimed  chiefly  at  satisfying 
the  needs  of  the  clergy,  and  only  by  their  active 
participation  was  it  possible  for  its  influence  to  spread 
simultaneouslv  and  in  all  directions  throughout  the 
entire  population. 

This  German  book  trade  was  a  continuation  and  a 
development  of  the  trade  in  manuscripts,  which  had 
already  grown  to  large  and  extensive  business  propor- 
tions in  German v,  where  there  was  so  great  a  demand  for 
books  long  before  the  invention  of  printing.    In  the  large 


1  Falk,  Druchhunst,  pp.  8-25.  This  work  gives  a  brilliant  list  of  wit- 
nesses for  the  helpful  and  encouraging  attitude  of  the  clergy  towards  the 
art  of  printing.  Hase  and  the  Kobergers  concede  that  the  clergy  were 
amongst  the  foremost  of  their  patrons.  The  cry  that  the  clergy  bad 
opposed  printing  was  as  groundless  as  the  flight  of  the  imagination  of  the 
poet  of  the  jubilee  year  1840,  who  said  that  Gutenberg  had  lighted  a  torcb 
and  thrown  it  into  the  world  while  the  priests  would  have  extinguished  it. 
VOL.  I.  C 


18  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

trading  towns  and  in  the  free  imperial  cities  the  work  of 
copyists  had  developed  into  a  regular  industry,  more 
with  the  object  of  supplying  the  universal  wants  of  the 
people  than  those  of  scholars.  Eegular  catalogues  were 
made  out,  and  the  works  were  disposed  of  by  travelling 
pedlars,  who  found  ready  sale  for  them  at  the  annual 
fairs. 

In  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  we  find  one 
of  these  pedlars,  named  Diepold  Lauber,  opening  at 
Hagenau  a  shop  well  supplied  not  only  with  Latin  books 
but  with  the  best  of  the  High-German  literature,  with 
epic  poems,  legends,  prose  works,  versified  Bibles,  lives 
of  the  saints,  prayer  and  meditation  books.  This  varied 
stock  shows  that  during  the  Middle  Ages  books  were 
not  confined  to  the  rich  and  learned  in  Germany. 

After  the  invention  of  printing  the  trade  in  books 
continued  on  the  same  lines  as  that  of  manuscripts,  and 
developed  so  rapidly  that  towards  the  close  of  the 
century  it  had  covered  nearly  all  civilized  Europe. 
Many  of  the  customs  and  technicalities  still  in  use  in 
the  trade  date  from  that  period. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main  was  the  centre  of  the  world's 
book  trade.  The  dealers  met  together  at  the  annual 
fairs  and  festivals,  there  concluded  business  arrange- 
ments, made  their  purchases,  and  did  everything  to 
perfect  the  method  of  their  trade. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  trade  the  printers  trafficked 
with  one  another  on  the  system  of  exchange,  the  first 
traces  of  which  are  found  in  the  year  1474  in  the 
printing  establishment  of  the  monastery  of  SS.  Ulrich 
and  Afra  in  Augsburg,  and  in  that  of  '  The  Brethren  of 
the  Social  Life '  in  Eostock — one  of  the  oldest  print- 
ing houses  in  Northern  Germany.     Their  trade  was  not 


THE    SPREAD   OF   THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  19 

confined  to  the  volumes  which  they  themselves  pro- 
duced ;  they  received  also  for  sale  books  printed  else- 
where. Their  business  extended  over  the  districts  of 
Ltibeck  and  Schleswig,  and  even  to  Denmark. 

Gutenburg's  partner,  Peter  Schoffer,  had  developed 
a  printing  business  in  Paris  which  was  valued  in  1475 
at  2,425  golden  thalers,  a  large  sum  for  that  period. 

The  joint  establishment  founded  by  the  Kobergers 
of  Nuremberg  at  the  same  time  was  already  in  full 
swing  by  the  year  1500.  In  the  South  of  France,  Lyons 
was  the  centre  of  this  book-traffic ;  three  hundred 
copies  of  a  single  work  were  sent  there  on  one  occasion. 
The  produce  of  this  firm  had  also  an  extensive  sale  in 
Hungary,  in  the  Netherlands,  and  in  Italy,  especially  at 
Venice.  '  Koberger,'  says  Neudorfer,  '  has  agents  in 
every  country,  and  in  the  principal  cities  he  has  as 
many  as  sixteen  shops  and  stores.  His  business  extends 
into  Poland :  and  he  manages  his  affairs  so  well  that 
he  is  at  all  times  cognizant  of  the  condition  of  each 
branch,  and  able  to  supply  the  wants  of  one  shop  from 
the  superfluous  stock  of  another.'  The  magnitude  of 
his  business  may  be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  over  two 
hundred  of  the  works  he  published  before  1500,  mostly 
thick  volumes  in  large  folio,  can  be  enumerated.  He 
also  carried  on  a  brisk  competition  with  the  flourishing 
Basle  firm  of  Froben  and  Lachner  in  the  sale  of  classic 
publications  from  the  Italian  press. 

'  At  this  very  moment,'  writes  a  scholar  of  Basle  to 
a  friend,  '  "Wolfgang  Lachner,  the  father-in-law  of  our 
Froben,  is  having  a  whole  waggon-load  of  classics  of  the 
best  Aldine  editions  brought  over  from  Venice.  Do  you 
wish  for  any  of  them  ?  If  so,  tell  me  immediately,  and 
send  the  money,  for  no  sooner  is  such  a  freight  landed 

c  2 


20  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 

than  thirty  buyers  start  up  for  each  volume,  merely 
asking  what's  the  price,  and  tearing  each  other's  eyes- 
out  to  get  hold  of  them.' 

Amongst  the  foremost  publishers  of  the  time  was 
Franz  Birckmann,  of  Cologne,  who  did  more  than  any 
others  to  promote  the  circulation  of  the  intellectual 
products  of  Italy,  France,  and  the  Netherlands.  With 
England  especially  his  trade  was  so  extensive  that 
Erasmus  writes  from  Canterbury  in  1510:  'Birckmann 
manages  all  the  book  traffic  of  this  place.' 1 

The  activity  in  the  book  trade  was  not  confined  to 
the  large  cities  onlv.  In  the  smaller  ones  also  much 
stirring  life  went  on  in  this  direction.  John  Eynmann, 
of  Oehringen,  for  instance,  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  carried  on  large  dealings  both  with 
foreign  countries  and  with  the  upper  and  lower 
provinces  of  the  Empire.  Later  on  this  same  Eynmann 
removed  to  Augsburg,  where  he  enlarged  his  busi- 
ness so  as  to  include  all  branches  of  learning.  Twelve 
other  booksellers  besides  himself  were  also  established 
in  this  city. 

From  evidence  of  this  sort  we  can  form  some  idea  of 
the  immense  extent  of  the  book  trade  in  Germany  at 
the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

'We  Germans,'  writes  Wimpheling  in  1507, 
'practically  control  the  whole  intellectual  market  of 
civilised  Europe  ;  the  books,  however,  which  we  bring- 
to  this  market  are  for  the  most  part  high-class  works 

1  Kirschoff,  i.  92-120 ;  Kapp,  pp.  101-104.  There  were  issued  from 
the  firm  of  Richard  Paffraed,  of  Cologne,  over  260  works  between  1477  and 
1500.  Jacob  von  Breda,  of  Deventer,  published  about  210  works  between 
1483  and  1500  ;  the  ancient  classics  taking  a  prominent  place  in  the  list. 
See  Campbell,  Annates  de  la  Typographic  nirrland.  an  XVMe  sit-clc 
(La  Haye,  1874). 


THE   SPREAD   OF   THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  21 

'tending  to  the  honour  of  God,  the  salvation  of  souls,  and 
the  civilisation  of  the  people.' 1 

Highest  amongst  these  works  in  Germany  stood  the 
holiest  of  all  printed  books,  the  Bible.  During  this 
whole  century  it  well-nigh  monopolised  most  of  the 
printing-presses  of  the  West.  Up  to  1500  the  Vulgate 
had  gone  through  nearly  one  hundred  editions.  The 
first  piece  of  real  artistic  work  in  the  way  of  book- 
binding from  Koberger's  press  was  the  exquisite 
German  Bible  of  1483,  illustrated  by  Michael  Wolge- 
murt  with  over  one  hundred  woodcuts.  This  remarkable 
version  of  the  entire  collection  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
the  clearest  and  most  correct  which  had  yet  appeared 
in  German,  with  excellent  historical  illustrations,  ob- 
tained a  wider  circulation  and  had  greater  influence 
than  any  of  the  other  ante-Lutheran  Bibles. 

In  addition  to  this  version,  fifteen  others  were  issued 
by  the  same  house  before  the  close  of  the  century,  and 
nine  by  the  house  of  Amerbach,  of  Basle,  between  1479 
and  1489.  Next  to  the  Bible,  the  leading  publishers  of 
the  day,  themselves  as  a  rule  highly  educated  men  and 
personal  conductors  of  important  literary  enterprises, 
turned  their  attention  to  bringing  out  worthy  editions 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  and  the  old  scholastics,  as 
also  of  the  works  of  contemporary  philosophers  and 
theologians,  and  they  were  most  particular  with  regard 
to  faultless  printing,  beautiful  type,  and  good  paper. 
The  productions  of  Koberger,  Amerbach,  Frohen, 
Schonsperger,  Rynmann,  and  others  will  bear  witness 
to  this. 

Many  of  the  publications  of  the  first  century  after 
the  invention  of  printing  have  been  preserved  to  this 

1  De  Arte  Impressoria,  p.  12. 


22  HISTORY   OF   TILE   GERMAN   PEOrLE 

day  as  masterpieces  of  the  typographical  art,  and  can 
no  longer  be  equalled  in  beauty. 

Johann  von  Olpe's  printed  editions  of  the  works  of 
Sebastian  Brant,  Eeuchlin,  and  ether  German  humanists, 
are  notable  instances  of  clear  and  faultless  type  and 
beautiful  get-up.  The  accompanying  woodcuts  also 
are  for  the  most  part  real  models  of  German  art.  The 
book-dealers,  indeed,  gave  great  encouragement  to  the 
pictorial  art  by  their  demand  for  illustrations.1 

Nearly  all  the  great  publishers  carried  on  business 
from  real  love  of  truth  and  learning,  and  not  only  with 
a  view  to  pecuniar}7  gain.  They  worked  with  genuine 
enthusiasm,  and  made  real  sacrifices  for  the  perfecting 
of  their  art. 

The  new  invention  was  also  used  in  the  service  of 
the  ancient  classics,  as  well  as  of  ecclesiastical  learning 
and  literature.  Besides  many  other  printers  already 
mentioned,  the  learned  Gottfried  Hittorp,  of  Cologne, 
and  the  brothers  Leonard  and  Lucas  Alantsee,  of 
Vienna,  earned  lasting  tributes  of  gratitude  in  this 
respect. 

Publications  for  the  people,  chiefly  the  work  of  the 
clergy,  appeared  in  large  numbers :  prayer-books, 
catechisms,  manuals  of  confession,  books  of  homilies, 
collections  of  sacred  and  secular  song,  wall  calendars,, 
and  also  a  number  of  popular  works  on  natural  science 
and  medicine. 

The  collections  of  German  writings  of  the  fifteenth 
century  which  are  still  extant  give  an  extremely 
favourable  impression  of  the  culture  of  the  period,  and 

1  See  W.  von  Seidlitz,  '  The  printed  illustrated  prayer-books  of  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  in  Germany '  in  the  Year-book  in  the  Royal 
Prussian  art  collections,  vols.  v.  and  vi.  (Berlin  :  1884,  1885). 


THE   SPREAD   OF  THE   ART   OF   PRINTING  23 

show  how  greatly  the  habit  of  reading  prevailed  among 
all  classes. 

'  In  the  district  of  Utrecht  alone,'  writes  the  truly 
Catholic  reformer,  Johannes  Busch,  concerning  the 
spread  of  German  books  in  the  Netherlands,  '  there  are 
more  than  one  hundred  free  associations  of  nuns  and 
sisters  possessing  large  collections  of  German  books, 
which  are  used  daily  either  for  private  or  communal 
reading.  The  men  and  women  all  round  this  neighbour- 
hood,'  he  continues, '  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  have 
numbers  of  German  books  which  they  read  and  study. 
In  Zutphen,  Zwolle,  and  Deventer,  as  indeed  in  all  the 
towns  and  villages,  German  books  are  much  read.' 

Those  books  naturally  which  had  the  largest  sale 
and  widest  circulation  were  oftenest  produced.  We 
can  thus  judge  of  the  importance  attributed  by 
contemporaries  to  any  particular  works,  and  of  the  in- 
fluence of  such  works,  by  the  measure  of  their  repro- 
duction ;  and  it  is  no  insignificant  fact  towards  a  right 
understanding  of  the  times  that  the  Bible  reached  more 
than  one  hundred  editions,  that  a  theological  work  by 
Johannes  Heynlin,  of  Spire,  reached  twenty  editions 
between  1488  and  1500,  the  works  of  Wimpheling 
thirty  editions  in  twenty-five  years,  and  the  '  Imitation 
of  Christ,'  translated  into  different  languages,  no  fewer 
than  fifty-nine  editions  up  to  the  year  1500.  There 
still  exist  at  the  present  day  samples  of  ten  different 
editions  of  a  collection  of  German  proverbs. 

Of  the  number  of  copies  issued  in  the  different 
editions  we  can  form  only  an  approximate  idea.  From 
two  passages  from  Wimpheling's  works  we  gather  that 
this  edition  consisted  of  1,000  copies.  The  edition  of 
Johann    Cochlaus'  'Latin  Grammar,' printed  in  1511, 


24  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 

contained  1,000  copies,  as  also  those  of  Pfefferkorn's 
'  Handspiegel '  ('Hand-mirror')  and  Jacob  Locher's 
'  Fulgehtius,'  which  appeared  at  the  same  time.1 

Thus  we  may  conclude  that  1,000  was  the  usual 
number  at  that  time,  while  the  measure  of  reproduction 
was  twenty,  thirty,  or  even  sixty  editions.  Devotional 
books  and  religious  writings  generally,  as  well  as  the 
works  of  distinguished  men  with  large  circles  of  readers, 
were  issued  in  still  larger  editions  ;  as  for  instance  '  The 
Praise  of  Folly,'  by  Erasmus,  of  which  1,800  copies  were 
printed  in  1515. 

An  immense  number  of  the  books  printed  in  the 
fifteenth  century  have  entirely  disappeared,  having  been 
either  destroyed  in  the  religious  and  civil  wars  later  on 
or  lost  through  neglect  in  the  present  century.  The 
number  preserved,  however,  may  be  reckoned  at  over 
o 0,000 — many  of  them  works  of  three,  four,  or  even 
more  thick  folio  volumes.  This  will  give  a  good  idea 
of  the  intellectual  work  and  activity  of  that  period. 

1  Hehle,  pp.  2-40.  The  publishers  in  Italy  considered  that  three 
hundred  copies  constituted  a  folio  edition  ;  see  Van  der  Linde,  p.  50.  The 
smallest  edition  of  the  publications  of  Schweynheim  and  Pannartz  in 
Pome  contained  275  copies,  the  largest  counted  1,100.  Koberger  and  the 
large  publishers  in  Venice  often  counted  1,800  in  an  edition. 


25 


CHAPTER  II 

ELEMENTARY    SCHOOLS    AND    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION 
OF   THE    PEOPLE 1 

In  a  catechism  by  the  Friar-Minor,  Diedrich  Coelde, 
printed  in  1470,  in  the  Low  German  dialect,  the 
following  injunction,  amongst  others,  is  laid  down  in  a 
chapter  on  the  duties  of  parents  to  their  children  : — 

'  Children  should  be  sent  betimes  to  school,  to 
worthy  teachers,  in  order  that  they  may  be  taught 
godly  fear  and  reverence,  and  be  saved  from  learning 
sin  and  evil  in  the  streets.  Those  parents  are  to  blame 
who  object  to  the  just  punishment  of  their  children.' 

'  When  children  are  not  sent  to  school  under  the 
care  of  good  schoolmasters,'  writes  Sebastian  Brant  in 
his  '  Narrenschiff,'  '  they  grow  up  to  be  wicked 
blasphemers,  gamblers  and  drunkards ;  for,  the  begin- 
ning, the  middle  and  the  end  of  a  good  life  is  a  good 
education.' 

Concerning  the  duties  of  children  to  their  teachers, 
Johann  Wolf  writes  in  a  manual  of  self-examination 
before  the  Holy  Sacrament :  '  Love,  honour,  and 
obedience  are  due  to  teachers  as  well  as  to  parents  ; 

1  We  possess  but  few  authentic  reports  of  the  elementary  schools  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Middle  Ages.  However,  enough  remain  to 
prove  not  only  that  such  schools  existed,  but  also  how  highly  they  were 
esteemed  as  mediums  for  Christian  teaching  and  education,  and  how 
zealously  the  education  of  the  people  was  encouraged  by  the  Church. 


26  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  schoolmaster  who  has  taught  you  in  your  youth 
has  become  your  spiritual  father.  Gold  and  silver 
cannot  repay  him  ;  for  the  things  of  the  spirit  are 
higher  and  nobler  than  those  of  the  body.  The  money 
he  has  received  for  his  instruction  may  long  since  have 
been  spent  in  procuring  bodily  necessities,  while  what 
he  has  taught  you  remains  a  possession  for  ever. 

'  The  penitent  before  confession,'  continues  Wolf, 
'  should  examine  himself  carefully  as  to  whether  he 
still  harbours  any  resentment  against  his  teachers  for 
punishments  inflicted.' 

The  teachers  themselves  were  enjoined  to  co-operate 
with  the  Church  in  the  catechetical  instruction  of  the 
young.  In  an  excellent  handbook  of  instruction  and 
edification  entitled  the  '  Seelenfiihrer '  ('Soul's  Guide'), 
which  appeared  in  1498,  schoolmasters  are  exhorted  to 
instruct  the  children  in  all  Christian  teaching  and  in 
the  commandments  of  God  and  of  the  Church.  '  They 
should  assist  the  priests  and  supplement  whatever  they 
cannot  do  by  preaching  and  other  spiritual  functions.' 

Compulsory  education  was  unknown,  but  from 
many  records  preserved  in  towns  and  villages  we  find 
that  the  schools  were  everywhere  well  attended. 

In  Xanten,  on  the  Lower  Ehine,  in  1491,  the  master 
of  a  school  for  reading  and  writing  complained  that  he 
and  his  assistant  were  not  sufficient  for  the  number  of 
scholars,  and  begged  for  another  under-master,  where- 
upon the  town  council  provided  him,  and  also  another 
school  in  the  town,  with  a  second  assistant,  stipulating, 
however,  that  they  must  arrange  with  the  parents  for 
the  additional  salary. 

In  the  records  of  Wesel  for  the  year  1494  we  find 
that    five   teachers   were    employed    '  to    instruct   the 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     27' 

children  of  the  town  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic 
and  choir-singing.'  At  Christmas  of  the  same  year 
these  said  teachers  were  entertained  by  the  clergy  of 
the  town,  and  each  of  them  was  presented  with  a  piece 
of  cloth  for  a  coat  and  a  small  gold  coin ;  '  for  they 
have  all  well  earned  this  reward.' 

In  the  district  of  the  Middle  Ehine,  in  the  year 
1500,  there  were  whole  stretches  of  country  where  a 
national  school  was  to  be  found  within  a  circuit  of 
every  six  miles.  Small  parishes  even  of  onty  500  or 
600  souls,  such  as  Weisenau,  near  Mentz,  Michelstadt,  in 
the  Odenwald,  were  not  without  their  village  schools. 
Throughout  the  Empire,  indeed,  the  number  of  schools 
was  generally  considerable.  In  many  places  also  there 
were  largely  attended  girls'  schools.  One  of  these 
especially,  founded  by  Nicolaus  of  Cusa  at  Xanten  in 
1497,  counted  eighty-four  scholars,  from  both  the 
nobility  and  the  citizen  classes.  At  its  head  stood  at 
that  time  Aldegundis  von  Horstmar,  who  had  been 
trained  by  the  '  Brethren  of  the  Social  Life,'  and 
whose  system  of  education  for  young  girls  was  formed 
on  their  rules.  The  citizens  of  Liibeck  founded  the 
cloister  of  St.  Anna  in  order  that  the  education  of  their 
daughters  might  be  carried  on  in  their  own  city, 
instead  of  their  having  to  be  sent  to  distant  places,  as 
had  often  been  done  before.  In  the  year  1508  this 
institution  was  consecrated  by  the  Pope. 

Special  schools  were  also  erected  for  the  children  of 
the  nobility ;  for  instance,  the  Augustinian  Convent  for 
the  district  of  Spires,  in  Oberlingelheim  for  those  of 
the  Middle  Ehine  and  of  the  Lower  Wetteravia.  The 
latter  owed  its  origin  to  Elizabeth  von  Briick,  the 
abbess  of  the  convent  there,  who  was  looked  upon  as 


28  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  benefactress  of  the  whole  neighbourhood.  In  1436 
this  institution  was  solemnly  consecrated  under  the 
name  of  the  '  Marienschule.'  The  abbess  ordained  that 
three  boys  from  the  citizen  or  peasant  classes  should 
also  be  admitted,  and  that  if  they  distinguished  them- 
selves by  talent,  industry,  or  good  conduct,  they  should 
be  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  scholars. 
The  knight  Hans  von  Schoenstaett  and  Herr  von  Behan 
bequeathed  their  estates  to  this  institution,  and  a  priest 
named  Meingot  Gulden,  who  had  been  its  director  for 
years,  left  it  the  half  of  a  farmstead  at  Eosphe. 

We  may  judge  how  deeply  learning  was  appreciated, 
and  how  highly  the  position  of  the  teachers  was 
respected,  by  the  high  salaries  which  the  latter  com- 
manded. Up  to  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  we  find 
nowhere  any  complaints  from  teachers  of  insufficient 
pay.  At  a  time  when  a  florin  would  buy  from  ninety 
to  one  hundred  pounds  of  beef  or  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  pork,  the  school- 
master of  a  small  hamlet  near  Goch  received  the  follow- 
ing remuneration  :  From  the  parish  four  florins,  twelve 
bushels  of  barley,  eight  bushels  of  wheat,  eight  bushels 
of  oats  and  sixty  bundles  of  straw,  besides  house  and 
kitchen-garden  and  the  use  of  one-third  of  an  acre 
of  meadow  land.  Also  from  each  pupil  a  monthly 
school  fee  of  five  stivers  in  winter  and  three  in 
summer ;  and  for  services  in  the  church,  a  yearly  sum 
of  about  two  to  three  florins.  In  the  archives  of 
Capellan,  in  1510,  we  find  it  decreed  that  each  peasant 
who  wished  his  children  taught  should  pay  the  teacher 
three  stivers,  four  bushels  of  corn,  and,  if  he  owned  a 
waggon,  a  load  of  wood.  In  Goch  the  head  teacher 
had  been  receiving  since  1450,  in  addition  to  his  house 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     29 

and  the  school  fees,  and  presents  of  different  sorts 
from  the  children,  eight  florins  yearly,  to  which  income 
was  added  later  on  from  a  church  bounty  the  sum  of 
three  and  a  half  gold  florins  for  the  singing  of  lauds 
with  his  pupils  ;  while  the  salary  of  the  town  clerk  was 
only  five  florins,  and  that  of  each  of  the  two  burgo- 
masters only  two  and  a  half  florins.  At  Eltville,  in 
the  Eheingau,  the  schoolmaster  received  yearly  twenty- 
four  florins,  besides  three  albuses  from  each  child  ;  the 
teachers  in  Kiedrich,  in  the  Eheingau,  received  from 
thirty  to  ninety  guilders  ;  the  teacher  in  Seligenstadt, 
on  the  Main,  received,  besides  his  board  and  wine,  eight 
bushels  of  wheat  and  the  fees  from  the  scholars.1  In 
the  schools  at  Culmbach  and  Bayreuth  the  yearly  pay 
of  the  Latin  teacher  was  seventy-five  gold  florins, 
besides  board  and  lodging. 

It  is  only  by  comparison  of  the  different  classes  of 
schools  that  we  can  estimate  the  relative  height  of  the 
incomes  of  schoolmasters  at  that  time.  The  whole 
annual  expenses  (from  1451-1452)  of  a  young  noble- 
man paid  at  the  University  of  Erfurt,  including  college 
fees,  clothing,  laundry,  and  board  and  lodging  for 
himself  and  private  tutor,  came  only  to  twenty-six 
florins.  A  Frankfort  student  paid,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  ten  florins  a  year  for  board  and 
lodging  in  the  house  of  the  Freiburg  University  pro- 
fessor Ulrich  Zasius.  In  the  year  1515,  when  the 
value  of  money  had  considerably  fallen,  a  tun  of  wine 
could  be  bought  for  nine  florins.  The  salaries  of  the 
village  schoolmasters  in  the  hamlets  of  Weeze  and 
Capellan   seem  very  large  when    compared   with    the 

1  Falk,    Schulen  am  Mittelrhein,    pp.   137-139;    Zaun,    Geschichtc 
von  Kiedrich,  p.  156.    On  the  salaries  of  teachers,  see  Nettesheim,  p.  114.. 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

income  of  the  architect  of  Frankfort  Cathedral,  which 
did  not  exceed  from  ten  to  twenty  florins  a  year,  or 
with  that  of  the  first  chamberlain  of  the  mother  of 
the  Elector  Palatine  (Philip  von  der  Pfalz),  which  was 
thirty  florins  a  year.1 

'The  instructors  of  youth,'  says  the  '  Seelenfiihrer  ' 
('The  Soul's  Guide'),  'should  be  as  highly  honoured  as 
the  highest  of  the  land,  for  it  is  hard  work  and  labour 
to  bring  up  children  in  Christian  discipline  and  order. 
If  they  do  this  you  must  honour  and  love  and  befriend 

them.' 

Albert  Diirer,  in  some  verses  to  one  of  his  woodcuts 
in  1510,  gives  us  some  idea  of  the  nature  of  this 
'  Christian  discipline  and  order.'  The  picture  repre- 
sents a  teacher  holding  in  his  right  hand  a  rod,  while 
his  left  hand  rests  on  an  open  book.  In  front  of  him, 
on  stools,  sit  several  eager-looking  boys,  each  with  an 
inkstand  hanging  to  his  belt.  In  the  accompanying 
rhymes  are  the  following  precepts  amongst  others  : — '  If 
thou  wilt  be  clever  and  wise,  pray  to  God  all  the  days 
of  thy  life ;  if  thou  wishest  to  be  recompensed,  avoid 
all  evil.  Prevent  others  from  thinking  evil  of  their 
nei'dibour.  This  frees  the  heart  from  all  bitterness, 
drives  away  all  hate  and  envy,  and  disposes  thy  hearers 
to  listen  to  thee  favourably.  Say  what  thou  thinkest 
quietly ;  hold  fast  to  the  truth,  lie  not,  and  do  not  try 
to  appear  to  men  other  than  thou  art.' 2 

1  See  Hautz,  Urkundliche  Geschichte  der  Stipendien  und  Stiftungen 
am  Lyceum  zu  Heidelberg  (Heidelberg,  1850],  where  abundant  details 
on  this  subject  are  to  be  found. 

2  Heller,  pp.  683-685  ;  Thausing,  Diirer's  Letters,  pp.  155-157.  The 
principal  defects  in  the  school  system  of  the  day  were  the  too  frequent 
changes  of  teachers,  and  the  existence  of  what  were  called  '  travelling 
students,  bacchants  and  shooters.'     (See  Nettesheim,  pp.  113-131.)     The 


ELE3IENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     31 

All  Christian  instruction  (such  was  the  will  of  the 
Church)  should  begin  in  the  family ;  the  Christian 
home  should  be  the  child's  first  place  of  training. 
4  Children  are  the  hope  of  the  Church,'  so  runs  the 
*  Seelenfiihrer.'  '  Let  parents,  therefore,  be  admonished 
to  see  that  their  children  grow  up  in  Christian  fear  and 
reverence,  and  that  their  home  be  their  first  school  and 
their  first  Church.  Christian  mother,  when  thou  holdest 
thy  child,  which  is  God's  own  image,  on  thy  knee,  make 
the  sign  of  the  holy  cross  on  his  forehead,  on  his  lips  and 
on  his  heart,  and  as  soon  as  he  can  lisp  teach  him  to  say 
his  prayers.  Take  him  betimes  to  confession,  and  instruct 
him  in  all  that  is  needful  to  make  him  confess  rightly. 
Fathers  and  mothers  should  set  their  children  a  good 
example,  taking  them  to  mass,  vespers,  and  sermons  on 
Sundays  and  saints'  days  as  often  as  possible.  They 
should  be  punished  as  often  as  they  neglect  to  do  this.' 
-  In  the  thirty-seventh  chapter  of  Diedrich  Coelde's 
Catechism,  parents  are  admonished  that  they  should 
teach  their  children  in  the  German  tongue  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Ave  Maria,  and  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and 
other  matters  of  faith  to  be  found  in  this  book.  '  Item : 
they  should  further  teach  them  to  honour  Mary,  the 
mother  of  God,  and  their  guardian  angel,  and  all  the 
holy  saints.  Morning  and  evening  they  should  give 
their  children  the  Benediction,  and  make  them  kneel  in 
thanksgiving  to  God.  Item  :  they  must  be  taught  from 
their  youth  up,  for  when  they  are  older  they  get 
"  stiffened,"  so  that  they  neither  can  nor  will  do  what  is 
good.      Further,  they  should  be  taught  to  say  "  Bene- 

Swiss,  Thomas  Piatt,  wrote  in  1510,  on  his  visit  to  Breslau  :  '  It  is  said 
there  are  several  thousand  bacchants  and  shooters  in  the  city  who  live 
by  alms  '  (Thomas  and  Felix  Piatt,  pp.  20-21). 


32  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERM  AX   PEOPLE 

dicite  "  and  "  Gratias  "  before  and  after  meals  ;  to  be 
temperate  in  eating  and  drinking,  and  to  be  modest  in 
the  streets.  Item :  they  should  be  clothed  simply  and 
unostentatiously,  and  be  taken  to  mass,  to  hear  vespers 
and  sermons,  and  taught  how  to  serve  at  the  mass.' 
Parents  are  advised  '  to  inspire  their  children  with 
reverence  to  their  betters,  to  correct  them  with  mode- 
ration, to  use  the  rod  when  necessary,  and  to  be 
careful  to  keep  them  from  bad  company.'  At  the 
beginning  of  the  chapter  parents  are  warned  that  most 
of  the  evil  in  the  world  is  the  result  of  bad  education 
in  the  family ;  that  the  welfare  of  their  children 
depends  on  strict  discipline,  and  that  parents  who 
allow  their  children  to  follow  their  own  will  prepare 
for  themselves  a  scourge. 

'  The  Christian  house  should  be  a  Christian  temple ; 
above  all  on  Sundays  and  holy  days,  when  father  and 
mother,  children,  man-servant  and  maid-servant,  old 
and  young,  should  join  in  praising  God  and  reading 
His  word  ;  which,  however,  need  not  prevent  joyous 
play  and  merriment  during  the  rest  of  the  day.  On 
those  days  especially,  parents  should  show  their  chil- 
dren the  practical  aspects  of  religion  through  alms- 
giving, the  forgiveness  of  injuries,  and  other  works  of 
mercy.  This  would  be  a  good  example,  which  would 
not  be  lost.' 

Johann  Nider,  in  his  sermons  to  parents  and  chil- 
dren on  the  Ten  Commandments,  speaks  in  the  same 
sense :  '  Are  you  so  poor  that  you  cannot  give  a  penny 
to  the  beggar  at  the  church  door?  Well,  then,  give 
him  a  Pater  Noster,  that  he  may  bear  his  lot  with 
patience.  If  you  see  some  one  belonging  to  you  doing 
wrong,  correct  him  ;  if  some  one  do  you  a  wrong,  leave 


ELEMENTARY    SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     33 

it  in  God's  hands — it  will  redound  to  your  soul's  salva- 
tion.' Christians,  after  attending  mass  and  hearing 
sermons  on  saints'  days,  should  read  such  books  as  will 
be  to  their  spiritual  edification  ;  they  may  also  sing 
songs  about  their  handiwork  or  other  matters,  but  not 
coarse  or  wicked  songs.' 

Stephen  Lanzkrana,  provost  of  the  church  of    St. 
Dorothea  in  Vienna  (1477),  sketches  a  beautiful  picture 
of  the  Christian  family  in  the  '  Hymelstrasz,'  where  he 
admonishes  the  father  '  on  Sundays,  the  first  thing  after 
breakfast,  to  go  with  his  household  and  hear  a  sermon, 
and  afterwards  to  sit  at  home  with  his  wife,  children, 
and  servants,  and  question  them  as  to  what  made  most 
impression  upon  them  in  the  sermon,  telling  them  what 
struck  him  most.     He  should  also  hear  them  repeat, 
and  expound  to    them    the  Ten    Commandments,   the 
seven  deadly  sins,  the  Pater  Noster  and  the  Creed.     He 
shall  also  give  them  something  good  to  drink,  and  join 
joyously  in  singing  the  praises  of  God,  of  our  Lady  and 
the  saints  with  his  household.'     It  is  further  enjoined 
that   on   Sunday  mornings   '  all   Christians  who   have 
come  to  years  of  discretion  should  hear  a  whole  mass — 
i.e.  not  leave  the  church  until  the  blessing  is  given.  .  .  . 
That  they  should  remain  for  the  sermon  and  listen  to 
it   with    attention,    and    repeat     congregationally   the 
Confiteor  and  the  Commandments.     It  is  also  recom- 
mended that  they  should  pray  for  the  wants  of  the 
Church    and    the  faithful.      Whatever  in  the   sermon 
cannot  be  remembered  without  notes  should  be  written 
down  at  home.' l 

In  the  '  Weihegiirtlein '  of  the  year  1507  occurs  the 

1  Himmelstrasse,  published  in  Augsburg  in  1484,  pp.  50,  51 ;  it  is  one 
of  the  best  authorities  on  the  manners  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

VOL.  I.  D 


34  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

following  passage :  '  Know,  Christian  fathers,  that  if 
you  yourselves  do  not  gladly  hear  sermons  and  listen 
to  the  exposition  of  your  faith,  you  cannot  give  your 
children  and  households  the  instruction  which  your 
duty  requires  of  you.  See,  then,  that  you  hear  God's 
Word  diligently  every  Sunday  ;  go  to  church  morning 
and  evening.  Eeceive  the  Word  with  reverence,  and 
treasure  it  in  your  hearts.  Seek  explanation  of  that 
which  you  do  not  understand,  and  then  teach  your 
children  and  households.  Let  the  Word  of  God  be  the 
light  to  your  path.  It  is  good  and  profitable  both  to 
hear  sermons  and  to  buy  good  religious  books,  and 
read  in  them  frequently  for  instruction  in  the  faith, 
the  commandments,  sin,  virtue,  and  all  true  Christian 
doctrine.' 

Thus,  then,  the  education  of  the  home  and  the 
school  were  to  co-operate  with  the  preaching  of  God's 
Word,  and  other  religious  instruction  imparted  by 
the  Church :  the  Church,  the  home,  and  the  school 
mutually  to  support  and  further  each  other's  ends. 

The  high  value  that  was  set  in  the  Middle  Ages  on 
the  oral  exposition  of  the  Word  of  God  is  shown 
both  by  the  acts  of  the  synods  and  by  the  collections 
of  manuals  of  popular  religious  instruction  compiled 
for  the  use  of  the  clergy.1     For  example,  the  Diocesan 

1  Schmidt,  in  a  treatise  on  preaching,  contained  in  his  Theological 
Studies,  was  the  first  Protestant  authority  to  defend  the  style  of  preaching 
in  vogue  in  Germany  before  the  Reformation  (1846).  J.  Geffcken,  in  his 
Illustrated  Catechism  of  the  Fifteenth  Century  (1855),  thus  states  the 
result  of  his  researches :  '  Preaching  was  quite  as  frequent  in  those  days 
as  in  ours,  and  serious  attention  to  it  was  considered  as  of  great  impor- 
tance and  obligation.'  '  Furthermore,'  adds  Cruel,  '  in  cloisters,  cathe- 
drals, institutions,  and  other  places  where  dwelt  renowned  preachers, 
sermons  were  given  several  times  dady  in  Advent,  the  quarter  tenses, 
Lent,  and  Easter'  (pp.  647-651).     The  best  authorities  from  a  Catholic 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     35 

Synod  of  Basle,  held  in  1503,  decrees  that  '  every 
Sunday  those  having  the  care  of  souls  shall  explain  the 
Scriptures  to  the  parish  children  in  their  native  tongue. 
At  the  beginning  of  Lent  they  shall  instruct  those 
under  their  charge  how  to  approach  the  sacrament  of 
Penance,  and  exhort  them  to  attend  sermons  and  other 
doctrinal  instructions  on  Sundays  and  holy  days. 
Everyone  should  be  present  in  the  church,  and  listen 
attentively  to  the  Word  of  God.  All  those  who  oppose 
this  shall  be  reported  to  the  bishop  or  his  vicar.'  '  All 
preachers  of  the  Word  of  God  should  plead  often  and 
earnestly  for  the  good  bringing-up  of  children,  and 
should  ever  be  mindful  of  the  claims  of  the  poor,  the 
lepers,  the  widows  and  the  orphans,  and  all  persons  in 
any  trouble  or  distress.'  The  Bamberg  Synod  of  1491 
commands  all  preachers  to  explain  the  Holy  Scriptures 
clearly  and  intelligibly,  particularly  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  to  give  instruction  on  the  Ten  Command- 
ments at  least  once  a  year.  Wherever  there  was  a 
mixture  of  Slavs  in  the  population,  they,  too,  were  to 
be  taken  into  consideration.  Thus  at  the  Diocesan 
Synod  of  Meissen  in  1404  the  decree  was  issued  that 
every  priest  who  has  Slavs  dwelling  in  his  parish  must 
have  an  assistant  who  speaks  the  Wendish  tongue,  in 
order  that  no  member  of  the  flock  may  be  deprived  of 
the  privilege  of  hearing  the  Word.  The  ascetic  books 
also  of  the  time  insist  everywhere  on  the  duty  of  all 
who  have  the  care  of  souls  to  preach  the  Gospel 
regularly  on  Sundays  and  saints'  days.    As  the  sermons 

standpoint  on  this  subject  are  M.  Kerker,  in  Der  Tubingen  tJieologischen 
Quartelschrift  (1861  and  1862),  also  L.  Dacheur,  in  theEevue  Catlwlique 
de  V Alsace  (1862).  For  answer  to  Kaweraus'  attacks  on  the  preaching  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  see  Answer  to  My  Critics,  pp.  193-204 . 

d  2 


36  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

in  those  days  formed,  like  the  Holy  Sacrament,  the  most 
important  part  of  Divine  service,  the  churches  were 
built  with  practical  regard  to  this  consideration. 
Most  of  the  mediaeval  pulpits  still  in  existence  date 
from  this  period. 

The  ecclesiastical  authorities  held  firmly  to  the 
principle  laid  down  by  Johann  Ulrich  ^Surgant  (the  re- 
nowned preacher  and  defender  of  papal  rights)  in  the 
year  1503,  in  his  theological  homiletics :  'Preach- 
ing is  the  most  effective  agent  for  the  conversion  of 
mankind ;  by  its  means  especially  are  sinners  brought 
to  repentance ;  it  is  as  great  a  sin  to  let  anything  in 
the  Word  of  God  be  lost,  as  through  negligence  to  let 
a  particle  of  the  body  of  the  Lord  fall  to  the  ground.' 
'  No  word  is  above  the  Word  of  the  Lord  ;  and  His 
blessing  is  on  those  who  announce  it,  and  those  who 
humbly  hear  it  without  hypocrisy.  Priceless  is  the 
preaching  of  a  pious,  prudent  priest,  who  has  the  love  of 
God  and  of  souls  at  heart.  It  inspires  good  resolutions, 
it  brings  food  and  comfort  and  the  best  gifts  of  God 
to  the  soul,  as  those  know  who  have  piously  listened.' 
'  In  very  truth,'  writes  Mathias,  bishop  of  Spires,  in 
1471,  'the  most  excellent  preachers  of  the  church 
at  Spires  have  ever  found  how  greatly  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  the  advance- 
ment of  the  orthodox  faith  and  the  salvation  of 
souls,  besides  untold  benefits  to  the  nation,  have  been 
promoted  by  the  attentive  hearing  of  the  Word  of 
God.' 

Hence  all  believers  were  most  earnestly  exhorted  to 
attend  the  preaching  of  sermons.  In  the  Diocesan 
Synods  it  was  decreed  that  the  priests  should  be 
directed  to  admonish  their  parishioners,  under  pain  of 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     37 

excommunication,  to  assist  on  Sundays  and  feast  days 
at  the  parish  mass  and  sermon,  and  to  remain  to  the 
end.  In  like  manner  the  Liibeck  '  Manuals  for  Con- 
fession '  enjoin  :  '  Whoever  will  not  hear  the  whole 
sermon  on  Sunday  shall  be  excommunicated.'  All 
'  Confessionals  '  of  this  period  treat  the  evasion  of  the 
sermon  through  neglect  or  contempt  as  a  heavy  sin. 
Nicolaus  Eus,  of  Eostock,  says  also :  '  The  laity  who 
leave  the  church  when  the  Word  of  God  is  being 
preached  shall  be  excommunicated  by  the  bishop.' 
'  If  you  do  not  hear  mass  and  a  sermon  on  Sundays,' 
says  Wolf,  '  you  sin  against  the  third  commandment.' 
In  the  '  Spiegel  der  Sunder '  ('  Mirror  of  Sin ')  occurs 
the  following  injunction  to  heads  of  families :  '  If  you 
have  in  your  house  boys  and  girls  arrived  at  years 
of  discretion,  that  is,  girls  of  twelve  and  boys  of 
fourteen  years  old,  whom  you  have  not  taken  to  hear 
a  whole  mass  and  sermon  on  Sundays,  you  and  they 
are  guilty  of  mortal  sin ;  for  all  Christians  of  an 
understanding  age  are  in  duty  bound  to  hear  mass 
and  the  preaching  of  the  Word  with  reverence  and 
piety.' 

The  anecdotes  introduced  occasionally  in  the 
*  Seelentrost '  ('Spiritual  Comfort')  of  1483  are  very 
significant  of  the  attitude  of  the  time  with  regard  to 
the  value  of  preaching.  It  is  related,  for  instance, 
that  there  was  once  '  a  holy  man  who  met  a  devil  carry- 
ing a  bag.  He  asked  him  what  he  was  carrying.  The 
devil  answered  "  Boxes  of  different  kinds  of  ointment. 
In  this  "  (showing  him  a  black  box)  "  is  an  ointment 
with  which  I  close  men's  eyes  that  they  may  sleep 
during  the  sermon  ;  for  the  preachers  are  too  clever  at 
getting  men  away  from  me.     One  sermon  will  rob  me 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  souls  I  have  had  in  my  power  for  thirty  or  forty 
years. 

As  in  Church  manuals  and  books  of  religious 
instruction,  so  in  the  regulations  of  Christian  house- 
holds the  duty  of  attending  preaching  regularly  on 
Sundays  and  holy  days  was  strongly  insisted  on — 
even  under  penalty  of  dismissal  from  service.  In  the 
year  1497,  for  instance,  the  Graf  von Ottingen  declares: 
'  Whoever  in  my  employment,  be  it  man  or  maid,  does 
not  hear  the  sermon  to  the  end  on  Sundays  and  feast 
days  will  be  dismissed.' 

Both  laymen  and  ecclesiastics  made  large  endow- 
ments (Stiftimgen)  in  favour  of  preachers,  in  order  to 
enable  them  to  make    preparatory  studies.     Amongst 
the  most  important  of  these  were  the  endowment  for 
the  pulpit  of  the  cathedral  of  Mentz  in  1465,  for  that 
of  Basle  in  1469,  of  Strasburg  in  1478,  of  Augsburg 
and  Constance.     That  of  Strasburg,  which  during  the 
thirty  years'  tenure  of  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg  grew  to 
be  one  of  the  most  influential  in  Germany,  was  founded 
by  contributions  from  the  Bishop  and  Chapter,  and  the 
liberal  charity  of  the  '  Ammeister '  Peter  Schott.     The 
deed  of  foundation  stipulated  that '  the  office  of  preacher 
shall  exist  for  ever  in  our  foundation  ;  that  for  this  post 
a  man  shall  be  selected,  not  only  renowned  for  good 
morals  and  blameless  conduct,  but   also  for   learning 
and  scholarship.     He    shall   preach   on  all   holy  days 
and  festive  occasions,  on  every  Sunday  afternoon,  and 
daily  during  Lent.'   By  the  conditions  of  the  foundation 
endowed  by  the  Bishop  Frederick  of  ZDllern,  in  Augs- 
burg, in  1504,  the  cathedral  preacher,  in  addition  to 
the  same  duties  as  that  of  Strasburg,  was  obliged  to 
preach  three  times  a  week  in  Advent  and  on  occasions 


ELEMENTAKY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     39 

of  the  processions  which  were  organised  to  pra}^  for 
victory  over  the  infidels  in  time  of  war,  and  for 
deliverance  from  epidemics  or  tempests. 

A  report  sent  by  John  Cochlaus  from  Nurem- 
berg in  the  year  1511  gives  some  idea  of  the  value 
set  on  preaching,  in  the  larger  towns  especially.  He 
writes  :  '  The  piety  at  Nuremberg  is  remarkable  as 
well  towards  God  as  toward  one's  neighbour.  The 
attendance  at  sermons  is  enormous,  although  preaching 
goes  on  in  thirteen  churches  at  the  same  time.' * 

The  endowing  of  special  preachers  was  not  confined 
to  the  large  towns.  In  the  principality  of  Wurtemburg 
alone  there  were,  in  the  year  1514,  eleven  such  founda- 
tions— at  Stuttgart,  Waiblingen,  Schorndorf,  Blaubeuren, 
Sulz,  Dornstetten,  Bottwar,  Balingen,  Brackenheim, 
Neuffen,  and  Goppingen. 

The  charter  of  the  pulpit  foundation  in  Waiblingen, 
(1462),  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Nicholas,  exacted  that  the 
preacher  be  required  to  preach  either  in  the  chapel  or 
parish  church  every  Sunday,  on  the  four  principal 
feasts,  on  the  Feasts  of  Our  Lady  and  the  Apostles, 
and  on  every  Friday  and  Wednesday  in  the  seasons  of 
fast.  In  Stuttgart  the  pulpit  endowment  was  the 
gift  of  a  brotherhood ;  in  Goppingen  and  Schorndorf, 
of  the  whole  congregation  ;  in  Waiblingen  and  Balingen, 

1  See  Otto,  p.  48.  Meyer,  pastor  in  Frankfort,  1511,  often  preached  to 
between  three  and  four  thousand  hearers.  See  Falk,  Beurtlicilung  des 
lbten  Jahrhunderts,  pp.  407, 408.  There  was  so  much  preaching  that  a  limit 
had  to  be  set  to  it.  We  read,  for  instance,  that  John  Turge,  bishop  of 
Breslau,  allowed  only  one  sermon  to  be  preached  on  Sunday,  in  order  that 
the  Word  of  God  should  not  be  made  common.  In  Lent,  however,  and 
at  other  solemn  occasions,  several  sermons  were  preached,  according  to  the 
ancient  custom.  See  '  Preaching  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury,' in  the  Schlesisches  Kirclienblatt,  1873,  pp.  337,  308.  SeeFalk's 
Hist.-jpol  Bl.  (1878),  lxxxi.  34-47. 


40  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   TEOPLE 

of  a  single  citizen  ;  in  Neuffen,  of  a  lady ;  in  Blaubeuren, 
Dornstetten,  and  Bottwar,  of  a  priest ;  as  also  those  of 
Brackenheim  and  Sulz.  This  priest,  Thomas  Pfluger, 
pastor  of  Leidringen,  founded  the  pulpit  endowment 
'  under  the  conviction  that  the  Word  of  God,  devoutly 
preached  and  listened  to,  brings  to  man  abundant 
graces  and  blessings  in  this  life,  and  helps  him  to  gain 
eternal  salvation,  for,  through  preaching,  the  human 
reason  and  understanding  are  enlightened,  and  man  is 
led  to  correct  his  life  and  imitate  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
doing  of  good  deeds,  in  order  to  be  pleasing  to  God. 
Preaching  incites  man  to  observe  the  Divine  command- 
ments.' At  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  were,  in 
the  diocese  of  Augsburg,  twelve  towns  possessing  pulpit 
endowments  where  preaching  was  regularly  held. 

The  number  of  collections  of  sermons  and  other 
works  printed  for  the  use  of  preachers  is  a  conclusive 
evidence  of  how  extensively  preaching  was  cultivated 
at  the  period  of  the  invention  of  printing.  There  are 
still  extant  more  than  one  hundred  such  works  of  more 
or  less  value,  consisting  of  sermons  for  the  Sundays  and 
holy  days  of  the  year,  for  Lent  and  Advent,  serial 
discourses  on  the  Commandments  and  the  seven  deadly 
sins,  as  well  as  exhortations  for  various  occasions. 
Among  the  most  noteworthy  writers  of  such  works  are 
the  Carthusian  Dyonisius,  the  Franciscans  Heinrich 
Herp  and  Johannes  Meder,  and  the  Dominican  Johann 
Herolt ;  the  Augustinian  Gottschalk  Hollen ;  the 
Canons  Paul  Wann  and  Michael  Lochmayer ;  and  the 
three  great  theologians,  Ulrich  Krafft,  pastor  of  Ulm  ; 
Gabriel  Biel,  cathedral  preacher  of  Mentz,  and  after- 
wards professor  at  Tubingen  ;  and  Geiler  von  Kaisers- 
berg.     In  the  whole    collection   there   is  scarcely  one 


ELEMENTARY    SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     41 

of  these  works  which  did  not  appear  in  several  editions 
— often  in  five  or  six  different  places — at  very  short 
intervals.  The  sermons  of  the  Dominican,  Johann 
Herolt,  for  example,  reached  one  hundred  and  forty- 
one  editions,  or  forty  thousand  copies. 

These  sermons,  which  were  to  be  preached  in  the 
national  tongue,  were  always  written  in  Latin,  and  also, 
when  published,  printed  in  Latin.  This  was  not  sur- 
prising in  an  age  when  the  clergy  pursued  their 
philosophic  and  theological  studies  in  the  latter 
language.  The  plan  had  this  advantage  at  any  rate, 
that  when  preachers  borrowed  sermons  from  other 
writers  they  were  obliged  to  take  the  trouble  to 
translate  them  for  themselves.  Ulrich  Surgant,  in  his 
handbook  of  pastoral  theology,  dilates  on  the  im- 
portance of  '  doing  this  with  intelligence,  not  satisfying 
themselves  with  literal  translations,  but  taking  pains 
to  understand  the  spirit  of  their  theme,  and  to  master 
the  local  idioms  in  order  to  avoid  giving  a  false  or 
ambiguous  rendering.' * 

The  preachers  in  the  towns  often  overrated  the 
capacity  of  their  hearers,  and  brought  too  much 
scholarship  from  their  colleges  to  their  pulpits.     The 

1  For  further  proof  see  Geffcken,  pp.  10-14,  also  Kerker's  second  treatise, 
pp.  280-301.  The  old  charge  that  the  people  were  preached  to  in  a  language 
which  they  did  not  understand  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  Even  Schmidt,  in 
writing  on  the  subject,  says :  '  In  Germany  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century  there  were  priests  who  tried  to  instruct  the  people  by  reading 
aloud  Latin  orations.'  For  the  truth  of  this  statement  he  refers  to  Duprat, 
who  says  that  at  the  Synod  of  Breslau  in  1410  it  was  decreed  that  at 
every  Latin  sermon  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed  should,  at  any  rate, 
be  read  in  the  vernacular.  In  the  regulations  in  question,  however,  we 
hear  no  more  about  Latin  preaching,  only  that  the  preacher  must  explain 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  Ave,  and  Creed,  on  account,  no  doubt,  of  the  mixed 
congregations  of  German  and  Polish.  See  Statuta  Synodalia  a  Wen- 
ceslau  episc.  Wratis.  a.  1410  publicata,  Can.  17. 


42  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

sermons  of  Gabriel  Biel,  for  instance,  are  treatises  on 
the  most  abstruse  dogmas  of  the  Christian  faith,  such 
as  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  Original  Sin,  the  Seven 
Sacraments. 

'  In  many  churches,'  writes  Erasmus,  '  it  is  the 
custom  for  the  priest,  in  one  sermon,  to  expound  the 
whole  of  the  Gospel  to  the  people,  or  else  to  give  a 
continuous  exposition  of  all  the  Pauline  Epistles  in 
succession.  Each  one  of  the  Ten  Commandments 
would  have  four  or  five  whole  sermons  devoted  to  it. 
In  the  general  run  of  sermons,  it  was  also  the  custom 
to  introduce  fables,  legends,  sayings,  anecdotes  (occa- 
sionally somewhat  out  of  taste),  by  way  of  illustrating 
the  meaning.'  * 

From  collections  of  sermons  still  extant  we  find  that 
preachers  in  the  rural  districts  generally  confined  them- 
selves to  the  explanation  of  the  principal  passages  of 
the  Gospel  of  the  Sunday ;  this  explanation  often 
preceded,  or  was  followed  by  catechetical  instructions. 
The  '  Seelenfiihrer  '  (<  The  Soul's  Guide  ')  says  :  '  The 
practice  which  exists  among  priests  of  explaining  to 
old  and  young  points  of  doctrine,  and  of  questioning 
them  upon  the  same,  is  highly  commendable.  The 
teaching  of  the  sermons,  and  the  tables  of  Command- 
ments and  Confession,  &c,  which  hang  in  the  churches 
are  thus  rendered  intelligible.  This  sort  of  catechetical 
instruction,  as  a  supplement  to  preaching,  was  carried 
on  in  towns  and  villages  in  a  variety  of  ways. 

A   fundamental   principle    in   religious    instruction 

1  Speculum  Escemplorum  (Hain,  No.  14,915).  '  Do  not  imitate,'  says 
Trithemius  to  a  friend  in  the  year  1486,  'those  who  entertain  the  people 
with  fables,  thus  exciting  admiration  for  themselves.  Wonder  not  that 
the  people  prefer  such  to  the  Gospel.'     See  Cruel,  p.  654. 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     43 

was  that  pictures  were  the  books  of  the  illiterate. 
Hence  the  religious  dramas,  mystery  plays,  &c,  in  which 
the  whole  story  of  the  redemption  of  the  world  is  repre- 
sented ;  and  the  so-called  '  Bibles  of  the  Poor,'  which 
were  often  produced  in  frescoes,  bas-reliefs,  and  painted 
windows.  The  '  Dance  of  Death  '  frescoed  on  cemetery 
walls,  and  the  '  Stations  of  the  Cross  '  erected,  with 
indulgences  attached  to  the  devotion,  may  be  also  traced 
to  the  same  cause.  Especially  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century  we  find  this  picture  teaching  in  vogue. 
The  Cardinal  Nicolaus  of  Cusa  seems  to  have  attached 
great  importance  to  it,  for  we  find  that  in  his  constant 
visitations  through  all  parts  of  Germany  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  erecting  tablets  with  the  Commandments,  the 
Creed,  and  portions  of  the  Scriptures  engraved  on 
them. 

'  Such  articles  of  faith  as  are  essential  to  man, 
writes  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg,  '  may  be  learned  by  the 
common  people  through  contemplation  of  the  pictures 
and  stories  which  are  painted  everywhere  in  the 
churches.  These  are  the  Scriptures  of  the  lower  classes.' 
In  his  translation  of  Gerson's  popular  three-volume  work 
'  On  the  Ten  Commandments,  Confession,  and  the  Art  of 
Dying  Well,'  the  same  author  says  :  '  Priests,  parents, 
schoolmasters,  and  hospital  superintendents  should  have 
the  lessons  contained  in  this  little  book  represented  in 
pictures  and  hung  up  in  churches,  schools,  hospitals,  and 
public  places,  for  it  was  written  with  a  special  view  to 
the  instruction  and  benefit  of  the  unlearned,  who  may 
never  have  an  opportunity  of  listening  to  sermons.  .  .  . 
Ajid  above  all  it  is  intended  for  children  and  young 
people,  who  from  their  infancy  should  be  well  instructed 
in  the  general  principles  and  the  more  important  points 


44  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  our  religion.  .  .  .  Fathers  and  mothers  should  in 
these  things  prepare  their  children  for  the  school- 
master.' 

'  Question  your  children  often,'  thus  does  the 
'  Seelenfiihrer '  admonish  parents,  '  as  to  what  they  have 
understood  of  the  Commandments,  the  Creed,  and  the 
explanations  they  have  received  in  church  and  at 
school ;  therein  depends  their  salvation  and  yours.  It 
is  not  sufficient  to  know  by  heart  the  words  of  the  Com- 
mandments, the  Creed,  the  seven  deadly  sins,  and  the 
sacraments  ;  all  who  have  come  to  years  of  discretion 
must  also  know  the  meaning  of  all  this  doctrine.' 
Lanzkrana  speaks  even  more  strongly  in  the  '  Hymel- 
strasz  '  ('  Eoad  to  Heaven ').  '  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of 
everyone  so  soon  as  he  comes  to  the  use  of  his  reason 
to  learn  the  Commandments  of  God,  not  only  so  as  to 
be  able  to  repeat  them  word  for  word  as  in  the  text, 
but  so  as  to  understand  them  and  keep  them,  and  to 
know  also  what  they  require  him  to  avoid.  In  like 
manner,  he  must  know  what  are  the  seven  capital  sins, 
and  in  what  consists  true  penance.  Also  the  significa- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  what  we  are  entitled  to 
hope  for  from  God  and  to  pray  to  Him  to  grant.  In 
such  manner  should  all  fathers  and  mothers  instruct 
their  children,  all  teachers  their  pupils,  all  superiors 
their  inferiors,  according  to  their  position.' 

'  Parents  and  schoolmasters,'  writes  the  Lutheran, 
Mathesius,  in  allusion  to  the  days  of  his  youth, 
'  were  accustomed  to  teach  their  children  the  Command- 
ments, the  Creed,  and  the  Pater  Noster.  I  learned  them 
myself  in  my  childhood,  and,  according  to  the  school 
custom  of  the  time,  often  rehearsed  them  to  other  chil- 
dren.'    The  Saxon  Prince  Johann  Friedrich,  afterwards 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     45 

Elector  of  Saxony,  when  a  boy  of  eight  or  nine,  used 
often  to  beg  his  father  to  allow  him  to  go  to  '  Cate- 
chism '  with  the  children  of  the  town  of  Torgau,  '  for  it 
amused  his  youthful  "  Highness "  to  hear  one  child 
teaching  and  catechising  another.' 

The  oldest  regular  catechism  known  to  us  is  that 
called  the  '  Christen-spiegel '  ('  Mirror  of  the  Christian  '),. 
drawn  up  by  the  great  popular  preacher  Diedrich 
Coelde,  a  Friar-Minor  of  Minister,  in  Westphalia.  It 
was  first  published  in  Low  German  in  the  year  1470,. 
and  was  gradually  brought  out  and  disseminated  in 
other  editions.  It  is  so  simple,  intelligible,  and  for- 
cible that  it  could  be  used  now  with  as  much  profit 
as  four  hundred  years  ago.  The  one  leading  thought 
from  beginning  to  end  is — '  Jesus  my  all !  All  for 
Jesus  ! '  After  an  exposition  of  the  general  principles 
of  the  faith,  he  deals  with  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  two 
great  commandments  of  love  to  God  and  to  our  neigh- 
bour, the  Decalogue,  and  the  five  commandments  of  the 
Church. 

'  Seeing  that  faith  is  the  foundation  of  virtue  and  the 
beginning  of  human  holiness'  (such  are  the  opening  lines), 
'  it  is  necessary  and  profitable  to  repeat  our  Creed  daily 
with  our  lips  and  to  meditate  in  our  hearts  on  it.  And 
not  only  are  we  bound  to  believe  the  twelve  articles 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  but  also  that  which  is  revealed 
to  us  in  the  Scriptures  and  commanded  by  the  Church.' 
On  the  first  commandment  he  adds  the  following  com- 
mentary :  '  Man  must  place  all  his  faith,  all  his  hope, 
and  all  his  love  on  God  alone,  and  on  no  creature 
besides.  It  is  a  sin  against  the  first  commandment  to 
place  our  faith  or  hope  or  love  more  in  the  saints  than 
in  God.' 


46  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

In  connection  with  the  Commandments  he  deals 
seriatim  with  all  the  different  kinds  of  sin — the 
seven  capital  sins,  the  sins  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
so  forth.  Then  follow  instructions  on  forgiveness  of 
sin,  contrition,  confession,  and  satisfaction ;  on  the 
corporal  works  of  mercy,  and  so  on.  Specially  beautiful 
are  the  passages  on  prayer,  on  the  devout  hearing  of 
mass  and  on  Christian  sanctification  of  the  whole  day. 
The  duties  of  the  different  stations  of  life  are  clearly 
laid  down. 

The  passage  on  the  preparation  for  death  is  very 
touching,  telling  how  man  should  trust  in  nothing  else 
but  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  through  whose  '  hard 
expiation '  alone  our  repentance  has  any  merit.  The 
book  being  a  manual  of  prayer  as  well  as  a  cate- 
chism, it  is  interspersed  with  ejaculatory  prayers  for  the 
sick  and  dying,  which  they  can  either  utter  for  them- 
selves or  have  read  to  them.  It  is  also  enjoined  that  the 
narratives  of  our  Lord's  passion  be  read  to  them. 

All  the  manuals  of  instruction,  prayer-books,  and 
sermons  of  the  period  were  of  the  same  character.  In 
a  commentary  on  the  Ten  Commandments,  published  in 
1515,  we  read  :  '  Man  cannot  be  saved  by  himself  alone, 
and  must  not  expect  salvation  from  his  own  merits,  as 
it  is  earned  alone  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  judge 
us  not  according  to  our  deserts,  but  rather  through  His 
own  mercy.  We  must  fly  for  refuge  to  the  loving  heart 
of  Jesus.  The  Father  will  not  turn  from  us  when  we 
arrive  at  the  kingdom  where  there  are  many  mansions.' 
'  Every  Christian,'  says  Albrecht  von  Eyb,  in  his  '  Guide 
to  Christian  Perfection,'  '  should  thus  address  God : 
"  I  cannot  redeem  myself  through  my  own  works, 
but  do  Thou,  0  God,  redeem  and  sanctify  me  and  have 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS  AND  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION     47 

mercy  on  me.  I  trust  not  in  myself,  but  in  Thy  Divine 
mercy.  Thou  alone  art  my  hope,  and  against  Thee  have 
I  sinned.  Thou  didst  love  me  enough  to  die  for  me  ; 
let  me  not  be  lost."  ' 

The  faithful  are  taught  to  invoke  the  Blessed 
Virgin  in  the  following  words :  '  Queen  of  Heaven, 
Mother  of  mercy,  Eefuge  of  sinners,  reconcile  me  to 
thy  Son,  and  beg  Him  to  be  merciful  to  me,  an  un- 
worthy sinner.' 

In  a  pastoral  address  issued  by  Surgant  in  1502, 
priests  are  enjoined  to  comfort  and  exhort  the  sick  in 
the  following  manner  :  '  Our  dear  Lord  Jesus  has  suf- 
fered and  died  on  the  tree  of  the  cross  for  you,  for 
He  wills  not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  rather  that 
he  be  converted  and  live.  Therefore  you  should  not 
despair  of  the  mercy  of  God,  but  place  all  your  hope 
in  Him.  Bear  your  illness  patiently  and  let  your 
small  sufferings  be  lost  in  the  great  pain  and  passion 
of  Christ.  Fear  not,  but  trust  in  the  protection  of 
the  Cross  in  all  your  necessities.  Pray  to  the  glori- 
ous Virgin  Mother  of  God  and  to  the  saints  and 
angels  to  stay  by  you  in  your  last  end  and  conduct 
you  to  eternal  life.' 

In  the  '  Selenwurzgertlein '  (the  most  perfect  and 
also  most  widely  used  manual  of  devotion)  occur  the 
following  unsurpassed  instructions  on  'How  to  learn 
to  die ' — a  lesson  which  '  men  should  study  day  by 
day  till  they  have  mastered  it.  While  thy  precious 
soul  is  still  in  thy  body  put  thy  trust  in  the  merits 
of  Jesus  Christ.'  The  Christian  should  pray,  '  0 
merciful  Lord  Jesus,  I  place  Thy  death  between  Thy 
justice  and  my  poor  soul.'  Ulrich  Krafft  in  like 
manner  says,  in  his  '  Spiritual  Combat,'  published    in 


48  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

1503  :  'I  know  that  we  have  a  good  God,  and  I  wish 
to  die  confiding  in  His  mercy,  not  in  my  own 
works.'  Nowhere,  however,  do  we  find  the  doc- 
trine of  the  salvation  of  man  depending  on  the  merits 
of  Christ  more  strongly  insisted  upon  than  in  the  book 
entitled  '  The  Treasure  of  the  Soul,'  which  appeared  in 
1491.  'Our  strength  and  safety,  our  weapon  and 
victory,'  says  the  author,  '  depend  on  our  faith.  If  it 
be  strong  in  us,  then  we  are  strong  against  the 
enemy  ;  if,  however,  we  are  weak  in  faith,  which  God 
forbid,  we  lose  our  defence  and  are  in  danger. 

'  So  long  as  our  faith  is  unshaken,  our  enemy  has  no 
power.  Therefore,  let  him  who  is  determined  to  over- 
come stand  fast  by  the  faith.  When  the  devil  attacks 
you  through  your  pride,  suggesting  that  you  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  justice  of  God  because  of  the 
many  good  works  you  have  performed,  reply  to  him, 
"  No,  it  would  be  impossible  to  merit  salvation  by  my 
poor  works.  Christ  has  merited  it  for  me,  by  His 
sufferings  under  Pontius  Pilate,  by  His  crucifixion  and 
death.  In  His  merits  I  hope.  Christ  has  merited  it 
for  me.  In  Him  I  hope.  To  Him  I  cry  for  mercy  and 
grace  through  the  intercession  of  all  the  saints."  '  '  You 
observe,'  says  the  author  in  his  preface,  '  what  the 
faithful  mother  of  all  Christendom  advises,  what  she 
teaches,  whom  she  points  and  leads  us  to.  The  all-wise, 
faithful  mother,  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church,  places  her 
highest  and  greatest  hopes  in  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
and  she  directs  her  children  to  the  same,  as  the  surest 
refuge  in  their  necessities.' 

The  '  Seelenflihrer,'  from  which  we  have  so  often 
quoted,  is  particularly  explicit  in  its  instructions  on  the 
sacraments    and   on    the    veneration    of    the    saints  : 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     49 

6  Know,  brethren,  that  the  Church  has  alwaj^s  held  that 
the  intercession  of  the  saints  is  very  profitable  to  salva- 
tion. Call  upon  them  to  obtain  for  you  that  which  is 
pleasing  to  God  and  good  for  you.  But  be  careful 
that  you  pray  aright,  placing  your  confidence  in  God 
above  all.  Thus  only  will  your  prayer  be  acceptable.' 
The  author  of  '  Seelenfiihrer '  seems  in  this  passage  to 
have  borrowed  from  the  '  Explanation  of  the  Twelve 
Articles  of  the  Creed,'  which  was  printed  at  Ulm  in  1486. 
With  regard  to  the  communion  of  the  saints  this  book 
says :  '  The  Church  triumphant  prays  for  the  Church 
militant  ...  for  in  heaven  they  have  even  more  charity 
than  when  on  earth.  On  earth  they  prayed  for  the 
living  and  the  dead;  after  death  they  still  pray  for 
those  on  earth  and  those  in  Purgatory.  He  who  denies 
this  is  guilty  of  the  heresy  that  the  saints  cannot  inter- 
cede '  'All  the  things  that  we  pray  for  are  such 
only  as  are  conducive  to  salvation,  and  such  as  God 
alone  can  grant.  But  the  holy  saints  can  help  by  their 
prayers  and  merits  to  have  our  petitions  granted ; 
therefore  our  prayers  are  actually  addressed  only  to  God. 
The  Church  does  not  say,  "  Christ,  pray  for  us,"  but 
"  Christ,  have  mercy  on  us.  .  .  .  Christ,  hear  us."'  In 
the  '  Wiirzgartlein  der  andachtigen  Uebung,'  published 
in  1513,  it  says :  '  We  pray  to  God  as  our  Creator  and 
Eedeemer,  begging  Him  to  pardon  our  sin  and  to  grant 
us  His  grace,  while  we  ask  the  saints  to  obtain  this  for 
us  by  their  prayers.  To  Christ  we  say,  "  Lord,  have 
mercy  on  me,  forgive  me  my  sins,  grant  me  Thy  grace. 
Give  me  eternal  life."  : 

The  Church  doctrine  of  indulgences  was  laid  down 
with  equal  clearness.  '  An  indulgence,'  says  Geiler 
of  Kaisersberg,  '  is  the  forgiveness  of  a  debt.     But  what 

vol.  I.  E 


50  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

debt  ?  Not  mortal  sin,  for  that  must  be  forgiven  before 
an  indulgence  can  be  obtained.  Not  the  eternal  punish- 
ment of  sin,  for  in  hell  there  is  no  forgiveness.  ...  It 
is  the  temporal  punishment  due  after  the  eternal  has, 
through  repentance  and  confession,  been  forgiven.' 
'  Know,'  says  '  The  Soul's  Guide,'  '  that  an  indulgence 
does  not  forgive  sin,  but  only  the  temporal  punish- 
ment still  due  it.  Know  that  you  cannot  obtain  an 
indulgence  while  you  are  in  sin  and  before  you  have 
repented,  confessed,  and  resolved  sincerely  to  amend. 
God  is  merciful,  and  has  given  His  Church  the  power  to 
forgive  sin,  as  also  a  treasury  of  graces,  but  not  for 
those  who  have  only  a  superficial  sorrow,  fancying  that 
they  can  gain  heaven  by  outward  acts.' 

The  '  Summa  Johannis '  of  1482  teaches  also  as  fol- 
lows :  '  Only  those  who  are  truly  contrite  merit  an  indul- 
gence. Moreover,  indulgences  are  not  gained  at  once 
even  by  the  true  penitents,  but  according  as  they  qualify 
themselves  for  them  by  sincerity,  good  works,  and  alms- 
giving in  proportion  to  their  means.'  In  answer  to  those 
who  accuse  the  Church  of  venality  in  selling  indulgences, 
the  '  Explanation  of  the  Articles  of  the  Church '  says  : 
'  The  Church  does  not  wish  to  amass  riches,  but  to  work 
for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls.  Not 
all  those  who  help  to  build  churches  gain  indulgences  ; 
only  those  who,  being  free  from  mortal  sin  and  having 
a  firm  confidence  in  the  mercy  of  God,  give  alms  in  the 
spirit  of  faith  and  veneration  of  the  saints,  in  whose 
honour  the  churches  are  built.'  * 

1  See  Die  Liebe  Gottes,  mitsammt  dem  Spiegel  der  Kranken,  a  book 
on  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  published  in  Augsburg,  1494.  Also  Geiler 
of  Kaisersberg's  Collected  Sermons  (Augsburg,  1504).  Never  was  so 
much  written  on  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  as  in  the  fifteenth  centurj'. 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     51 

Another  catechetical  handbook  which  was  also  a 
manual  of  devotion  is  the  '  Seelen-trost,'  which'  was 
published  in  the  same  years  (from  1474-1491),  in 
different  dialects  and  different  places — at  Augsburg, 
Cologne,  Utrecht,  Haarlem,  Zwolle,  and  elsewhere — and 
is  the  most  beautiful  prose  work  of  the  century.  '  I 
intend,'  says  this  unknown  author,  '  to  write  a  book  in 
the  German  language,  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  for 
the  honour  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  my  fellow-Chris- 
tians ;  it  will  contain  flowers  culled  by  many  hands,  and 
it  shall  be  called  "  Seelen-trost"  ("  Consolation  for  the 
Soul ").  Therein  I  shall  write  about  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, the  Holy  Sacraments,  the  eight  Beatitudes,  the 
six  works  of  Misericord,  of  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  of  the  seven  deadly  sins,  of  the  seven  cardinal 
virtues,  and  of  all  besides  with  which  God  shall  inspire 
me.  What  does  not  seem  like  truth,  that  will.  I  set 
aside,  and  will  choose  that  which  is  altogether  best,  and 
which  is  profitable  and  comforting,  as  a  physician  seeks 
out  useful  plants  for  his  medicines,  and  as  a  dove  picks 
out  the  best  grain  to  eat.  I  beg  those  who  read  this 
book  to  pray  for  me,  that,  together,  we  may  all  arrive 
where  we  shall  find  eternal  salvation.  May  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  help  us  to  gain  it ! '  The 
explanations  of  the  different  commandments  are  supple- 
mented and  illustrated  by  anecdotes  of  all  sorts,  told 
with  rare  pathos  and  beauty. 

As  the  utmost  importance  was  attached  to  worthy 
preparation  for  receiving  the  sacraments  of  Penance 
and  Eucharist,  most  of  the  catechetical  writings  appeared 
in  the  form  of  manuals  of  confession  and  treatises  on 

Among  the  many  writers  on  the  subject,  Trithemius  and  Jacob  von  Juter- 
bogk  (1466)  are  the  clearest  and  most  vigorous. 

E  2 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  Ten  Commandments,  on  the  various  kinds  of  sins, 
and  on  preparation  for  the  Holy  Communion.1 

Conspicuous  among  such  works  is  the  '  Confession 
Book'  which  Johannes  Wolf,  chaplain  of  St.  Peter's, 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  prepared  for  the  press  in  the  year 
1473.  It  begins  with  an  admirable  preface  for  chil- 
dren about  to  make  their  first  confession,  and  then 
proceeds  with  catechetical  instruction  on  faith,  hope, 
and  love,  based  on  the  Ten  Commandments. 

With  regard  to  the  images  of  the  saints  it  says : 
'We  must  honour  them  not  for  themselves,  but  as 
reminders  of  what  they  represent,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Church  does,  otherwise  it  would  be  idolatry.' 
The  chapter  on  the  fourth  commandment,  which  treats 
of  the  dut}^  of  children  to  their  parents  after  the  flesh, 
as  also  to  their  spiritual  parents,  to  their  schoolmasters 
and  earthly  superiors,  is  particularly  instructive.  With 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  aged  poor  it  says : 
'  They  are  as  fathers  and  mothers  on  account  of  their 
age,  and  represent  Jesus.'  '  Have  I  ridiculed  the  poor  ? 
Have  I  respected  them  ?  Have  I  visited  them  and  given 
them  to  eat  and  to  drink  ?  Have  I  treated  them  rudely 
or  made  them  stand  at  my  door  ?  Christians  should 
consider  their    superfluities  as  belonging  to  the  poor. 


1  See  Falk  On  Confession  Books,  pp.  38-44,  99-104.  See  Miinzberger, 
iii.  33 ;  Hasak,  Religious  Literature,  fol.  214.  See  Knecht,  Magazin 
fur  PedagogiJc,  Bihtebuch,  dabey  die  Bezeiclmunge  der  heiligen  Afesse. 
These  '  Confession  Books '  are  of  the  highest  importance  as  showing  how 
the  Church  opposed  superstition  (called  '  Diseased  '  or  '  Unbelief  ').  The 
work  Christliche  Glaube,  dc,  by  Hasak,  is  invaluable  as  an  epitome  of 
nearly  ninety  different  books,  designed  principally  for  the  people,  and 
written  between  1470  and  1520.  In  Die  Religiose  Litteratur,  p.  240, 
Hasak  says  :  '  In  going  over  the  religious  literature  of  the  declining  cen- 
tury not  once  can  it  be  found  asserted  that  man  could  be  reconciled  to 
God  by  outward  works  without  proper  inward  feeling.' 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     53 

Examine  yourself  on  this  point,  and,  if  guilty,  accuse 
yourself  somewhat  as  follows  :  "  I  have  loved  my  riches, 
which  belong  to  the  poor,  so  much  that  I  neglected  to 
wive  alms."  ' 

On  the  necessities  of  repentance  for  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  it  says  :  '  You  must  know  that  there  are  various 
kinds  of  sorrow  for  sin.  .  .  .  The  first  kind  is  when  a 
man  understands  that  sin  is  inconsistent  with  a  virtuous 
life,  and  misgiving  and  regret  come  over  him  for  having 
sinned.  .  .  .  Such  sorrow  have  the  heathens  and  Turks 
and  Jews.  The  second  kind  comes  with  the  feeling  that 
by  sin  one's  reputation  for  goodness  is  gone,  and  one  is 
branded  as  a  perjurer,  murderer,  thief,  &c,  according 
to  one's  fault.  The  third  proceeds  from  the  knowledge 
that  by  one  deadly  sin  man  is  in  danger  of  hell-fire. 
All  these  kinds  of  sorrow  spring  from  selfishness  and 
the  fear  of  personal  loss  or  punishment,  not  from  the 
love  of  God  and  of  His  honour.  But  the  right  kind  of 
sorrow  comes  from  the  sense  of  having  offended  the 
supreme,  perfect,  and  Almighty  God,  the  Creator, 
Father,  and  Saviour,  by  insulting  His  honour  and 
glory  and  breaking  His  laws.  When  man  has  such 
sorrow,  and,  with  the  firm  resolution  to  sin  no  more, 
confesses  his  misdeeds  and  trusts  in  the  mercy  of  God 
and  the  merits  and  passion  of  Christ,  he  will  be  for- 
given. The  beauty  of  innocence  will  again  clothe  his 
heart,  and  his  soul  once  more  become  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Man  should  strive  after  the  attain- 
ment of  contrition  of  this  sort  before  and  during  con- 
fession.' 

'  The  Light  of  the  Soul,'  a  book  which  appeared  in 
Ltibeck  in  1484,  says:  'Penance  saves  the  soul  from 
hell ;  whoever  dies  in  a  state  of  deadly  sin  without 


54  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

sorrow  and  penance  will  be  lost  eternally,  though  he 
should  have  converted  heathens  and  infidels,  built 
hospitals,  churches,  convents,  yea,  suffered  martyrdom. 
A  thousand  thousand  masses  and  fasts  could  not  save 
him — no,  not  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  and  angels, 
even  of  the  mother  of  God,  though  continued  through 
all  time,  can  avail  him.' 

Annexed  to  these  catechisms  and  books  of  confession 
were  scenes  from  the  life  of  Christ  taken  from  the  four 
Evangelists  and  accompanied  by  short  commentaries. 
In  the  '  Seele  Eichtsteig,'  published  at  Eostock  in  1515, 
we  read  :  '  Whoever  wishes  to  lead  a  pious  and  holy  life 
must  keep  ever  before  his  eyes  the  life  and  sufferings  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  both  in  the  quiet  of  his  own 
home  and  when  in  pursuit  of  his  worldly  duties  and 
avocations  ;  when  he  retires  to  rest,  and  on  rising  again 
in  the  morning  to  his  work  and  to  the  service  of  God. 
He  should  write  this  life  on  the  posts  and  sills  of  his 
door ;  that  is,  it  should  possess  his  whole  being  in 
sanctity  and  holiness.' 

Great  store  was  also  set  on  the  explanation  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  several  German  expositions  of  the 
holy  mass  were  also  put  into  the  hands  of  the  people. 
From  year  to  year  the  number  of  books  of  religious  in- 
struction and  of  lives  of  the  saints  increased. 

'  Both  to  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,'  wrote  the 
Church  reformer  John  Busch, '  it  is  very  beneficial  to 
possess  and  to  read  daily  German  books  of  devotion  on 
virtues  and  vices  :  on  the  Incarnation  ;  on  the  lives  and 
martyrdom  of  the  Apostles,  confessors,  and  virgins  ; 
on  the  humility  and  virtues  of  the  saints ;  for  they 
incite  us  to  improve  our  own  lives  and  to  watch 
over  our  conduct,  and  they  inspire  us  with  love  of  the 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     55 

heavenly  Fatherland,  they  beget  in  us  the  fear  of  hell 
and  the  desire  of  heaven.' 

Amongst  all  these  religious  publications,  the  '  Plen- 
aries,'  or  German  '  Handpostillen,'  deserve  special  con- 
sideration. As  many  as  102  different  compilations  and 
editions  of  these  appeared  between  about  1470  and 
1519.  They  contained  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  of  the 
ecclesiastical  year,  with  expositions  of  the  Gospels.  A 
further  development  was  printing  the  German  text  of 
portions  of  the  mass  services  for  all  the  Sundays  and 
holy  days,  accompanied  by  commentaries  and  illustra- 
tions calculated  to  enforce  their  meaning.  Had  no 
other  books  of  instruction  been  preserved  from  those 
times,  these  '  Plenaries  '  alone  would  afford  proof  that 
more  was  done  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
people  in  those  days  than  at  any  other  time  before  or 
since.  In  the  main  they  are  decidedly  superior  to 
similar  publications  of  the  present  day,  and  many  of 
them  may  in  parts  rank  with  the  best  German  prose 
works. 

From  all  these  books,  which  were  intended  for  the 
general  us£  of  the  people,  we  see  how  children  and 
grown  people  were  instructed  in  the  highest  truths  of 
religion  and  trained  and  helped  to  lead  thoroughly 
Christian  lives.  Nowhere  do  we  find  '  salvation  by 
works  alone,'  idolatrous  worship  of  the  saints,  or  abuse 
of  indulgences  inculcated.  It  is  true  that  throughout  the 
narratives  which  occur  in  the  books  of  devotion,  and  in 
the  German  legends  of  the  saints,  there  is  a  vein  of 
superstition  which  often  borders  on  the  childish ;  but 
through  the  dross  there  shines  the  pure  gold  of  faith 
in  an  Almighty  power  which  shelters  the  pious,  rewards 
the   virtuous,    and,    in  justice,    punishes    the   wicked. 


56  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

'  There  is  no  need,'  says  the  '  Seelenfiihrer,'  '  to  believe 
all  the  wonders  we  read  of  in  pious  books.'  The  mira- 
cles of  the  Scriptures  are  miracles  indeed,  and  there 
are  many  other  credible  ones  which  the  holy  saints 
worked  through  the  power  of  God.  But  many  are  only 
related  as  examples,  and  to  set  forth  the  majesty  of  God, 
who  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  wicked. 

In  all  the  religious  books  approved  and  used  by 
the  Church  we  find  the  pure,  orthodox,  unadulterated 
doctrine  of  salvation  ;  and  all  are  pervaded  by  an 
undertone  of  feeling  which  is  best  expressed  in  the 
words  of  a '  Help  to  Preparing  for  the  Hofy  Communion,' 
published  in  Basle  :  '  Enter  into  the  depths  of  thine  own 
heart ;  there  find  thy  Jesus  and  bury  thyself  in  His 
sacred  wounds.  Banish  all  confidence  in  thy  own  merits, 
for  all  salvation  comes  from  the  cross  of  Christ,  in 
whom  place  thy  hope.' 

'All  that  the  Holy  Church  teaches,'  says  the 
'Himmelstiir'  of  the  year  1513,  'all  that  you  hear  in 
sermons  or  through  other  modes  of  instruction,  all  that 
is  written  in  religious  books,  all  the  hymns  and  praises 
you  sing  to  the  honour  and  glory  of  God,  all  the 
prayers  that  you  pour  from  your  inmost  soul — yea,  all 
the  trials  and  afflictions  that  you  suffer,  should  incite  you 
to  read  with  piety  and  humility  the  Bibles  and  the  sacred 
writings  which  are  now  translated  in  the  German  tongue, 
printed  and  distributed  in  large  numbers,  either  in  their 
entirety  or  in  parts,  and  which  you  can  purchase  for  very 
little  money.' 

The  number  of  translations  both  of  single  books 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  as  well  as  of  the  com- 
plete Bible,  was  indeed  very  great.  We  have  evidence 
of  twenty-two    editions    of  the   Psalms   with  German 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     57 

translations  up  to  1509,  and  of  twenty-five  German  ver- 
sions of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  up  to  1518.  Between 
this  period  and  the  separation  of  the  Churches  at  least 
fourteen  complete  editions  of  the  Bible  were  published 
in  High  German,  and  five  in  the  Low  German  dialect.1 
The  first  High  German  edition  was  brought  out  in 
1466  by  Johann  Mendel,  of  Strasburg;  then  followed 
one  Strasburg  edition  in  1470,  two  of  Augsburg  in  1473, 
an  edition  entirely  in  the  Swiss  dialect  in  1474,  two 
more  Augsburg  editions  in  1477  and  another  in  1480, 
one  Nuremberg  edition  in  1483,  another  of  Strasburg 
in  1485,  and  four  more  of  Augsburg  respectively  in 
1487,  1490,  1507,  and  1518.  By  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  a  sort  of  German  '  Vulgate '  had 
crystallised  into  shape."2 

Like  the  German  catechisms  and  manuals  of 
devotion  generally,  these  Bibles  were  illustrated  with 
numerous  woodcuts,  in  order,  as  the  publisher  of  the 
Cologne  Bible  expressed  it,  '  that  the  people  might  be 
the  more  readily  induced  to  a  diligent  study  of  Holy 
Writ,'  We  have  a  mass  of  evidence  to  show  that  this 
was  the  prevailing  motive  in  this  extensive  multiplica- 
tion of  copies  of  the  Scriptures.  The  compiler  of  the 
Basle  '  Gospel  Book,'  for  instance,  speaks  as  follows  in 
urging  the  necessity  of  reading  and  studying  the  Bible  : 
'  We  shall  have  to  render  a  strict  account  to  God  of 

1  Kehrein,  Deutsche  Bibeliibersetzung  vor  Luther,  pp.  33-53 ;  Hain, 
Nr.  3129  to  3143  ;  Alzog,  pp.  65,  66.  According  to  the  best  authorities* 
the  first  translation  of  the  Bible  into  High  German  was  printed  by 
Eggestein  at  Strasburg  in  1466.  The  last  is  that  of  Silvanus  Otmar, 
printed  in  Augsburg.  The  first  translation  into  Low  German  appeared  in 
Delf  in  1477  (Van  der  Linde,  p.  105),  the  first  Saxon  vei-sion  at  Lubeck 
in  1494. 

2  Geffcken,  pp.  6-10 ;  Maier,  In   der   Tubingen  Quartelschrift,  pp 
56-694. 


58  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

all  our  time ;  the  present,  which  is  called  the  time  of 
grace,  is  precious  beyond  measure  to  all  devout  souls. 
Therefore  it  is  recommended  to  all  to  read  the  Scriptures, 
in  order  to  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  God,  our  Creator 
and  Lord  ;  for  the  grace  which  man  may  obtain  from 
God  through  reading  or  hearing  the  Holy  Scriptures  is 
without  limit,  if  so  be  that  we  act  up  to  what  we  know. 
As  the  holy  Apostle  St.  James  says  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  his  Epistle  :  "  To  him,  therefore,  who  knoweth 
to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  a  sin."  The 
author  then  enumerates  the  various  benefits  which 
follow  from  reading  or  hearing  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  goes  on  to  say  :  '  There  is  no  trial  or  affliction,'  how- 
ever great,  for  which,  if  we  read  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  take  them  truly  to  heart,  and  put  our  trust  in  God, 
we  shall  fail  to  be  comforted  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  He  who  is  without  faith  is  without  help  and 
grace ;  while  the  strong  in  faith  find  comfort  and 
assistance  and  much  grace.  Our  Lord  said  to  St.  Peter 
when  he  feared  death  in  the  storm  :  "  0  thou  of  little 
faith,  what  fearest  thou  ?  ,:  '  Among  the  readers  of  the 
Bible  we  may  distinguish  five  separate  classes.  First, 
those  who  read  to  know  but  not  to  do — rather  that  they 
may  reprove  others  ;  this  is  spiritual  pride.  Secondly, 
those  who  read  in  order  to  be  considered  learned. 
Thirdly,  those  who  read  with  a  view  to  personal  gain, 
which  is  base  and  mercenar}^.  Fourthly,  those  who  study 
and  read  in  order  to  instruct  others  in  the  will  of  God, 
and  to  better  their  lives,  which  is  true  charity. 
Fifthly,  and  lastly,  those  who  use  all  their  efforts  to  learn 
that  which  is  true  wisdom.  To  the  last  two  classes 
the  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  is  profitable,  for  they 
are  not  actuated  by  pride  or  hypocrisy.' 


ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS   AND   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION     59 

The  publisher  of  the  Cologne  Bible  writes  also 
very  beautifully  on  the  reading  of  this  holy  book. 
'  All  Christians,'  he  says,  '  should  read  the  Bible  with 
piety  and  reverence,  praying  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
is  the  inspirer  of  the  Scriptures,  to  enable  them  to 
understand  them  and  to  make  them  profitable  to  them 
for  the  salvation  of  their  souls.'  '  The  learned,'  he 
continues,  '  should  make  use  of  the  Latin  translation  of 
St.  Jerome  ;  but  the  unlearned  and  simple  folk,  whether 
laymen  or  clergy,  monks  and  nuns  especially,  in  order 
to  avoid  the  danger  of  idleness,  which  is  the  root  of  all 
evil,  should  read  the  German  translations  now  supplied, 
and  thus  arm  themselves  against  the  enemy  of  our 
salvation.  With  this  object  in  view,  one  who  is  a 
lover  of  human  holiness  did,  out  of  a  good  heart,  and  at 
great  cost  and  no  sparing  of  labour,  cause  to  be  printed 
in  Cologne,  between  the  years  1470  and  1480,  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  had  been  made  many 
years  before  and  used  in  MS.  copies  in  monasteries 
and  convents,  and  which  also,  long  before  this  year 
1470,  had  been  printed  and  sold  in  the  Oberland  and 
in  a  few  towns  o\°  the  Netherlands.'  '  All,  however,'  he 
adds,  '  who  read  the  Bible  in  German  should  do  it  with 
humility,  leaving  unjudged  what  they  cannot  under- 
stand— in  short,  accepting  it  according  to  the  interpre- 
tation which  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  has  spread 
over  the  world.' 

In  a  little  book  entitled  '  Useful  and  Consoling,' 
published  in  1508,  we  read  :  '  Let  all  who  read  the 
Scriptures  pray  as  follows  :  "  0  Lord  Jesus,  enlighten 
my  mind,  that  I  may  understand  Thy  word,  and  be 
led  thereby  to  repentance  and  piety.  Grant  that  my 
reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  may  advance  me  in  the 


60  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

spirit  of  prayer  and  meditation.  Blessed,  0  Lord,  is  the 
man  whom  they  teach.  .  .  .  Lord  Jesus,  teach  me  to 
understand  what  I  read,  and  to  put  it  in  practice." 

The  ' Wiirzgartlein '  ('Blessed  Garden')  of  the  year 
1509  teaches  in  the  same  spirit :  '  On  Sundays  and 
holy  days  you  should  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  parti- 
cularly the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  with  attention  and 
earnestness.  But  remember  that  you  cannot  do  so  with 
profit  unless  you  first  pray  for  the  light  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  You  should  also  excite  yourself  to  contrition, 
as  if  you  were  preparing  for  confession.  If  you  read 
the  Scriptures  in  a  spirit  of  pride,  it  will  be  harmful  to 
you.  What  you  do  not  understand  refer  to  the  Church  ; 
she  expounds  all  things  aright,  and  alone  has  the  gift  of 
interpretation.' 

In  the  Llibeck  Bible  of  1494  explanatory  notes 
taken  from  Nicholas  of  Lyra  are  added  at  obscure  and 
difficult  passages,  '  in  order  to  make  the  text  clearer.' 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  different  editions  fol- 
lowed each  other  and  the  testimony  of  contemporary 
writers  point  to  a  wide  distribution  of  German  Bibles 
among  the  people.  John  Eck  tells  us  that  he  had  read 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  Bible  by  the  time  he  was  ten  years 
old.  Adam  Potken.  chaplain  of  Xanten,  was  made  to 
learn  the  four  Evangelists  by  heart  when  he  was  a  boy, 
between  1470  and  1480  ;  and  afterwards  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  reading  passages  daily  from  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  with  his  pupils  of  eleven  and  twelve  years 
old.  With  such  zeal  was  the  study  of  the  Bible 
pursued  in  the  fifteenth  century  that  we  find  a  Canon 
of  Cassel  in  the  year  1480  founding  an  endowment  to 
enable  a  student  from  the  village  of  Harmuthsacken,  near 
Eschwege,  to  devote  eight  years  to  this  study  alone. 


61 


CHAPTEE  III 

ELEMENTARY    EDUCATION    AND    THE    OLDER    HUMANISTS 

The  intellectual  condition  of  the  German  people  was 
most  beneficially  influenced  by  the  schools  of  the  society 
called  '  The  Brethren  of  the  Social  Life,'  founded  by 
Gerhard  Groot 1  in  the  Netherlands.  The  settlements 
of  the  '  Brothers '  spread  gradually  along  the  Ehine  as 
far  as  Suabia,  and  by  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century 
they  reached  from  the  Scheldt  to  the  Vistula,  from 
Cambrai,  through  the  whole  of  Northern  Germany,  to 
Culm,  in  Western  Prussia.  In  these  schools  Christian 
education  was  placed  high  above  mere  learning,  and 
the  training  of  children  in  practical  religion  and  active 
piety  was  considered  the  most  important  duty.  The 
whole  system  of  instruction  was  permeated  by  a  Chris- 
tian spirit ;  the  pupi'is  learnt  to  look  upon  religion  as 
the  basis  of  all  human  existence  and  culture,  while 
at  the  same  time  they  had  a  good  suppy  of  secular 
knowledge  imparted  to  them,  and  they  gained  a  genuine 
love  for  learning  and  study.  Youths  eager  for  know- 
ledge flocked  from  all  parts  to  these  schools.  The 
number  of  scholars  at  Zwolle  rose  often  to  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand  ;  at  Alkmaar  to  nine  hundred  ; 

1  This  great  man  will  be  best  understood  when  his  writings,  particu- 
larly his  letters,  have  been  published.  See  Grube,  Get-hard  Groot,  pp. 
45-47.  For  particulars  regarding  '  The  Brethren  of  the  Social  Life,' 
see  K.  Hirsch  in  Herzog's  Real  Ency  clop  ee  die,  ii.  b,  678-760;  Kamniel, 
Gcschichte  des  deutsclien  Schulivesens,  pp.  207-231. 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

at  Herzogenbusch  to  twelve  hundred ;  and  at  Deventer, 
in  the  year  1500,  actually  to  2,200.  The  instruction 
in  these  schools  being  free,  they  were  open  to  students 
of  the  smallest  means.  In  many  of  the  towns  also, 
where  they  had  not  started  actual  schools,  the  Brothers 
were  active  in  the  cause  of  education  by  supplying 
teachers  for  the  town  schools,  paying  the  school  fees 
for  the  poorer  scholars  and  supplying  them  with  books 
and  stationery  and  other  school  materials. 

In  1431  Pope  Eugene  sent  express  orders  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Cologne  and  to  the  Bishops  of  Miinster 
and  Utrecht,  that  they  should  prevent  any  interference 
with  the  beneficial  work  of  the  Brothers.  His  suc- 
cessors, Pius  II.  and  Sixtus  IV.,  went  even  further  in 
support  and  encouragement  of  the  Brothers.  Among 
German  prelates,  Mcolaus  of  Cusa  was  one  of  their 
most  active  patrons.  Himself  educated  at  Deventer, 
he  had  given  the  school  there  material  support  by  a 
liberal  endowment  for  the  maintenance  of  twenty  poor 
students,  and  he  used  all  his  efforts  for  the  furtherance 
of  their  institutions  generally. 

His  most  gifted  protege,  the  Frieslander  Eudolphus 
Agricola,  was  one  of  that  chosen  band  of  students 
whom  the  renowned  Thomas  a  Kempis  gathered  around 
him  in  Zwolle,1  and  which  further  included  the  three 
Westphalians,  Alexander  Hegius,  Eudolph  vpn  Langen, 
and  Ludwig  Dringenberg,  all  of  them  equally  distin- 
guished for  their  learning,  their  piety,  and  the  purity  of 
their  morals.  They  were  the  most  zealous  revivers  of 
classic  literature  on  German  soil,  the  fathers  of  the 
older  German  Humanism. 

1  Thomas  a  Kempis  was,  probably,  not  a  teacher  in  that  school.     See 
Dillenburger,  pp.  4  7. 


EDUCATION   AND    THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  63 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  intellectual  bent  of 
these  men  was  influenced  by  him  who  is  known  by  his 
works  as  the  highest  type  of  ascetic  piety  among  the 
*  Brethren  of  the  Social  Life.' 

The  older  Humanists  were  no  less  enthusiastic  over 
the  grand  heirloom  left  by  the  classic  nations  of 
antiquity  than  their  successors,  who  by  their  united 
energies  founded  the  later  school  of  Humanists  in  the 
second  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  recog- 
nised in  classic  literature  most  precious  material  for 
cultivating  the  mind,  an  inexhaustible  field  of  noble 
sentiment.  The  Greek  and  Eoman  classics,  however, 
should  not  be  studied  merely  to  achieve  intellectual 
greatness,  but  as  a  means  towards  Christian  ends. 
Though  eager  for  refreshment  and  revival  from  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  ancients,  and  desirous  of  gaining 
a  scientific  knowledge  of  that  life,  their  chief  aim  was 
to  attain  to  a  fuller  understanding  of  Christianity  and 
to  the  purification  of  moral  life.  This  standpoint  of 
theirs  was  by  no  means  a  new  one.  Already,  in  the 
first  centuries  of  Christianity,  the  Fathers  of  the  Church 
had  pursued  and  advocated  the  study  of  the  ancient 
languages  for  the  same  reasons.  In  the  schools  of  the 
Middle  Ages  also,  up  to  the  thirteenth  century,  the 
classics  had  been  diligently  read.  And  now,  after  a 
long  interval  of  degradation  and  barbarism,  the  leaders 
of  the  German  '  New  Learning  '  were  endeavouring  to 
take  up  the  threads  of  this  former  period  of  classic 
culture.  Now  that  by  the  conquest  of  Constantinople 
so  many  new  treasures  had  been  added  to  the  already 
existing  store,  while  the  invention  of  printing  so 
greatly  facilitated  the  spread  of  them,  they  strove  in 
every  way  both  to  get  living  hold  of  the  new  know- 


64  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

ledge  themselves  and  to  disseminate  it  among  the  people. 
The  older  Humanists  were  not  opposed  to  the  clerical 
scholastic  philosophy  itself,  but  only  to  the  barren,  life- 
less formalism  in  which  it  was  at  that  time  embodied,  and 
the  endless  pedantic  disputations,  hair-splittings,  and 
sophistries  of  dry  scholasticism. 

Hence  the  old  Humanists  were  not  looked  upon  as 
dangerous  and  destructive  innovators  by  the  scholastic 
theologians  and  philosophers  at  the  head  of  the  colleges. 
Amongst  the  two  parties  into  which  the  scholastic  camp 
was  divided,  the  so-called  Nominalists  and  Eealists,  the 
former  indeed  numbers  few  conspicuous  promoters  of 
the  Humanist  movement ;  for  nominalism  was  in  its 
intrinsic  and  entire  character  rather  negative,  destruc- 
tive and  analytical,  than  positive,  constructive  and 
creative.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  to  the  Eealists  that 
we  owe  the  introduction  of  Humanist  studies  into  the 
colleg-es  and  universities.  Even  those  amongst  the 
Eealists  who  were  considered  as  the  worst  obscurantists 
helped  and  encouraged  the  Humanist  tendencies  and 
efforts  so  long  as  they  did  not  threaten  the  doctrine  and 
discipline  of  the  Church  and  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

The  conflict  only  began,  and  could  not  then  but 
begin,  when  the  younger  Humanists  rejected  all  the  old 
theologic  and  philosophic  teaching  as  sophistry  and 
barbarism,  claimed  reason  and  right  for  their  own  views 
alone,  acknowledged  no  other  source  of  enlightenment 
than  the  ancient  classics,  and  in  short  rose  up  to  un- 
compromising enmity  against  the  Church  and  Christen- 
dom, not  unfrequently  outraging  the  Christian  code  of 
morality  by  the  wanton  levity  of  their  lives. 

The  older  and  younger  schools  of  Humanists  were 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  65 

fundamentally  opposed  to  each  other.  They  differed 
also  in  their  respective  attitudes  towards  the  classics,  the 
younger  school  too  often  regarding  them  from  the 
mere  standpoint  of  outward  beauty  of  form  and  lan- 
guage, while  the  Humanists  of  the  older  school  were 
always  striving  to  acquire  a  more  thorough  grasp  of 
the  entire  life  of  the  ancients.  The  younger  school, 
moreover,  altogether  despised  their  own  native  tongue 
and  literature ;  while  the  older  school  valued  the 
classics  in  great  measure  as  a  means  of  giving  the 
German  people  an  insight  into  its  own  past  and  of  im- 
proving the  German  language. 

We  find  all  these  characteristics  of  the  older  Ger- 
man Humanists  already  strongly  accentuated  in  Agricola, 
the  actual  founder  of  the  school. 

Eudolph  Agricola,  born  at  Baflo,  near  Groningen, 
in  1442,  had  made  himself  master  of  all  the  classical 
scholarship  of  his  day.  He  was  called  a  second  Virgil. 
Even  in  Italy,  where  he  lived  from  1473  to  1480,  he 
was  wondered  at  for  the  fluency,  correctness,  and  purity 
which  he  had  acquired  in  the  Latin  language.  The  de- 
sire of  his  heart  was  that  Germany  should  attain  to 
such  perfection  of  culture  and  scholarship  that 
'  Latium  itself  should  not  surpass  it  in  Latinity.'  Wim- 
pheling  recounts  in  his  praise  that  he  insisted  on  having 
the  ancient  historians  translated  into  German,  with 
German  explanatory  notes  appended,  in  order  that  the 
people  might  make  acquaintance  with  them,  and  also 
as  a  means  of  improving  and  beautifying  the  mother- 
tongue.1  So  little  did  his  classic  studies  render  him  in- 
different to  his  own  language,  that  he  composed  songs 
in  German,  which  he  was  wont  to  sin£  to  the   accom- 

1  De  Arte  Imprcssoria,  fol.  17 ;  Eeuchlin,  pp.  130,  67. 
VOL.  I.  F 


66  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

paniment  of  the  zither.  He  was  a  profound  and  tho- 
rough student  of  philosophy,  and  his  philosophical 
writings  are  remarkable  for  the  sharpness  of  their  defi- 
nitions and  the  clearness  of  their  language.  He  was 
also  conversant  in  natural  history  and  medicine,  and 
in  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  turned  to  the  study  of 
Hebrew,  gave  instruction  in  this  language  to  several 
gifted  youngsters,  and  completed  a  translation  of  the 
Psalms  from  the  original  text. 

But  his  chief  power  lay  not  so  much  in  his  compre- 
hensive knowledge  and  acquirements  as  in  his  personal 
labours  and  his  unremitting  exertions  for  the  revival  of 
classic  literature.  He  effected  in  this  respect  for  Ger- 
many what  Petrarch  accomplished  for  Italy.  He  was 
the  first  to  publish  in  Germany  a  life  of  that  great 
Italian  Humanist.  '  We  are  indebted  to  Petrarch,'  he 
says,  '  for  the  intellectual  culture  of  our  century.  All 
ages  owe  him  a  debt  of  gratitude — antiquity  for  having 
rescued  its  treasures  from  oblivion,  and  modern  times 
for  having  founded  and  revived  culture,  which  he  has 
left  as  a  precious  legacy  to  future  ages.'  There  were 
several  points  of  resemblance  between  these  two  men. 
Like  Petrarch,  Agricola  was  possessed  of  a  continual 
desire  to  travel,  and  he  had  the  same  horror  of  public 
posts ;  he  wished  only  for  a  life  of  undisturbed  study 
and  freedom  to  sow  the  seeds  of  his  new  culture.  Like 
Petrarch,  too,  he  was  an  ardent  lover  of  the  Fatherland, 
and  he  strove  ever  to  strengthen  the  German  nation  in 
the  consciousness  of  its  own  worth  and  importance. 
But  in  his  profound  Christian  conception  of  the  whole 
of  life,  and  in  the  purity  of  his  morals,  he  far  sur- 
passed the  founder  of  the  Italian  school  of  Humanists. 
'  Therein,'     says    Wimpheling,    '  lies    Agricola's     true 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  67 

greatness,  that  all  the  learning  and  all  the  wisdom  of 
this  world  were  onlv  serviceable  to  him  for  cleansing; 
himself  from  all  his  passions,  and  labouring  prayerfully 
at  that  great  building  of  which  God  Himself  is  the 
master-builder.'  In  all  his  writings  there  is  nothing 
on  which  he  dwells  with  such  insistence — especially  in 
his  letters — as  the  supreme  importance  of  sincere 
faith,  moral  purity,  and  the  union  of  piety  with  know- 
ledge. His  circular  letters  to  his  friend  Barbirianus, 
in  which  he  communicates  his  opinions,  derived  from 
study  and  experience,  of  the  best  course  of  instruction 
and  the  end  and  aim  of  culture,  are  among  the  pearls 
of  pedagogic  literature.  He  recommends  most  strongly 
the  study  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  historians, 
orators,  and  poets,  with  the  added  warning,  however, 
not  to  be  content  with  the  ancients  only.  '  For  the 
ancients  either  did  not  know  the  true  end  of  life  at  all, 
or  only  guessed  at  it  dimly — seeing  it  as  through  a 
cloud,  so  that  they  rather  discoursed  about  it  than 
were  persuaded  of  it.  We  must  therefore,'  he  con- 
tinues, '  ascend  a  step  higher,  to  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  scatter  all  darkness,  perplexity,  and  bewilder- 
ment ;  on  them  we  must  order  our  lives  according  to 
their  teaching,  and  build  up  our  salvation  by  their 
guidance.' 

The  contemporaries  of  Agricola  speak  with  re- 
verence of  the  blamelessness  of  his  life,  of  his  peace- 
able disposition,  his  modesty,  affability,  and  childlike 
simplicity.  He  died  in  the  arms  of  Johann  von 
Dalberg,  bishop  of  Worms,  on  October  27,  1485,  and 
was  buried  at  Heidelberg,  in  the  habit  of  St.  Franciscus. 

Agricola  was  not  himself  a  professor  or  school- 
master, but  he  had  great  influence  in  the  education  of 

f2 


68  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Hegius,  one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  the  century. 
'  When  a  man  of  forty  years  old,'  Hegius  writes 
of  himself, '  I  came  to  the  young  Agricola,  from  whom  I 
have  learned  all  that  I  know,  or  rather  all  that  others 
think  that  I  know.' 

Alexander  Hegius,  born  in  the  village  of  Heeck,  in 
the  province  of  Mtinster,  educated  at  the  school  of  the 
'  Brethren  of  the  Social  Life,'  was  the  rector  of  the  school 
at  Wesel,  on  the  Lower  Ehine,  from  1469  to  1474.  He 
then  undertook  for  about  a  year  the  direction  of  the 
flourishing  school  of  Emmerich,  after  which,  from  1475, 
Deventer  became  the  field  of  his  most  fruitful  labours. 
Erasmus  ranks  him  among  the  restorers  of  pure  Latin 
scholarship,  and  tells  us  that,  though  he  was  not  suffi- 
ciently careful  of  his  own  reputation  as  a  writer,  his 
works  are  nevertheless,  according  to  the  judgment  of 
all  learned  men,  worthy  of  immortality.  His  pupil, 
John  Murmellius,  says  that  he  was  as  great  a  master 
of  Greek  as  of  Latin,  and  continually  urged  on  his 
scholars  the  study  of  that  language,  which  in  those  days 
was  not  much  in  vogue  in  Germany.1 

Hegius  enjoys  the  undisputed  credit  of  having 
purged  and  simplified  the  school  curriculums,  of  im- 
proving or  getting  rid  of  the  old  school-books,  of 
making  the  classics  the  central  point  of  the  instruction 
of  youth,  and  of  giving  to  school  education  a  bias  which 
transformed  it  into  the  means  of  fresh  spiritual  life. 

1  Reichling,  pp.  287-303 ;  Murmellius,  pp.  5-15.  Concerning 
the  acquirements  of  Hegius  in  Greek,  his  services  as  poet,  and  his 
opposition  to  the  earlier  instructional  books  of  the  Middle  Ages,  see 
Reichling's  Beitrcige,  pp.  287-303,  and  his  admirable  treatise  on  Mur- 
mellius, pp.  5-15.  See  also  Paulsen's  Gcschi elite  <les  i/elehrten  TJnter- 
richts,  p.  42.  '  Qui  Graece  nescit,'  writes  Hegius,  '  nescit  quoque  doctus 
haberi.' 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  69 

Students  from  far  and  near  nocked  in  hundreds  to  his 
lecture-halls,  and  countless  is  the  number  of  those  in 
whom  he  inspired  not  only  a  love  of  study,  but  enthu- 
siasm also  for  the  noble  but  most  difficult  vocation  of 
teaching. 

The  strong  power  of  attraction  in  this  man  lay  pre- 
eminently, as  with  Agricola,  in  his  lofty  and  pious 
character,  his  strong  moral  rectitude,  his  beautiful 
simplicity  and  modesty,  his  virgin  purity  of  mind. 

'  By  the  beauty  of  his  piety  Hegius  was  as  a  shining 
light  unto  the  people  ;  by  the  compass  of  his  learning 
and  the  greatness  of  his  genius  he  was  foremost  among 
the  ranks  of  the  learned.'  Thus  wrote  his  pupil, 
Johannes  Butzbach,  in  his  '  Wanderbuchlein,'  in  which 
he  records  with  such  simplicity  and  freshness  the 
impressions  and  experiences  of  his  school-days  at 
De venter.  He  paints  Hegius  as  a  thoroughgoing 
German  of  the  good  old  stock,  simple,  honest,  and 
loving,  a  very  father  to  his  pupils,  particularly  to 
those  of  small  means,  to  whom  he  gave  away  what 
he  received  from  the  well-to-do.  He  himself  retained 
his  thirst  for  learning  to  an  extreme  old  age.  In  the 
last  years  of  his  life  he  undertook  a  journey  to  Sponheim 
in  order  to  make  acquaintance  with  the  magnificent 
library  of  the  Abbot  Trithemius  ;  and  on  his  return  he 
recounted  to  his  assembled  pupils,  2,200  in  number, 
with  what  unbounded  pleasure  he  had  contemplated  all 
this  immense  collection  of  books,  and  how  the  reality 
had  even  surpassed  his  expectations. 

At  an  advanced  age  he  joined  the  priesthood. 
When  he  died,  on  December  27,  1498,  the  poor  of 
Deventer,  amongst  whom  he  had  secretly  and  gradually 
doled  out  the  whole  of  his  considerable  fortune,  followed 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

his    coffin   with  weeping    and   lamentation.     He    left 
nothing  but  his  books  and  his  clothes  behind  him. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Germans  may  well  be 
proud  of  the  learned  piety,  singular  modesty,  and 
fruitful  energy  of  Hegius  ;  for,  at  a  time  when  Italy 
could  boast  of  so  many  brilliant  scholars,  he  was  the 
solitary  ray  that  illumined  the  beginning  of  classical 
culture  in  the  Fatherland.  But  Hegius  was  by  no 
means  an  isolated  example  in  this  respect  amongst  the 
learned  professors  of  his  time.  His  fundamental  prin- 
ciple, '  All  learning  gained  at  the  expense  of  religion  is 
only  pernicious,'  was  adhered  to  by  nearly  all  those 
teachers  who  either  laboured  contemporaneously  with 
him  as  promoters  of  classical  studies,  or  continued  the 
work  as  his  pupils  and  disciples.  Many  of  these,  such 
as  the  Westphalians  Eudolph  von  Langen,  Ludwig 
Dringenberg,  Conrad  Goclenius,  Tilmann  Kamener, 
Joseph  Horlenius,  won  great  esteem  in  popular  educa- 
tion and  science.  Amongst  the  German  principalities, 
Westphalia  undeniably  took  the  lead  in  care  for  edu- 
cation. '  No  other  race  of  mortal  men,'  wrote  Erasmus 
once  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  '  deserves  such  praise  for 
its  perseverance  in  labour,  for  its  believing  spirit,  for 
its  moral  purity,  for  its  simple  cleverness,  and  its  clever 
simplicity  as  the  Westphalians.' 

'Such  abundant  grace  has  been  poured  out  over 
this  land,'  says  Werner  Eolewink,  '  that  when  once  it 
has  received  the  Faith  it  has  never  fallen  back. 
Nowhere  do  we  read  of  any  school  of  heretics  spring- 
ing up  there.  Whether  with  regard  to  religious  faith 
or  purity  of  morals,  it  will  always  be  found  that  West- 
phalia, by  the  grace  of  God,  has  ever  been  abundantly 
supplied.     In  the  labour  of  the  hand  as  in  the  preach- 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  71 

ing  of  the  Word,  in  the  study  of  the  sciences  as  in 
administering  the  Sacraments,  in  monastic  discipline 
as  in  ruling  the  State,  in  general  morality  as  in  private 
humanity,  they  have  taken  on  themselves  the  apostle- 
ship  of  the  whole  world.  They  are  a  simple,  upright, 
long-suffering  people.  As  for  the  learned  sciences,' 
Eolewink  goes  on  to  say,  '  I  doubt  if  there  be  any  one 
field  which  the  Westphalians  have  not  attacked.  This 
one  dives  into  the  great  mysteries  of  theology,  another 
lays  down  the  canons  of  law,  a  third  masters  the 
intricacies  of  civil  rights  ;  some  apply  themselves  to  the 
study  of  medicine,  others  devote  all  their  energies  to 
art,  poetry,  history,  or  science,  &c.'  They  had  also  the 
character  of  being  a  very  wandering  race.  Like  the 
Florentines  amongst  the  Italians,  they  were  called  the 
'  fifth  element '  because  they  were  always  to  be  found 
wheresoever  the  other  four  existed.  To  one  of  these 
wandering  Westphalians,  Ludwig  Dringenberg,  who 
laboured  as  an  apostle  of  education,  Alsatia,  according 
to  Wimpheling,  is  indebted  for  a  great  part  of  its 
culture.  To  another,  Eudolph  von  Langen,  who  after 
long  wanderings  in  Italy  returned  to  his  own  country, 
Westphalia  owes  the  flower  of  its  own  schools. 

This  latter  was,  the  same  as  the  above-mentioned 
collegiate  provost  educated  at  Deventer,  the  first  Latin 
poet  of  taste  in  Germany  and  the  reformer  of  the 
school  system  of  Westphalia.  Through  his  influence 
Minister  enjoyed  a  period  of  high  intellectual  vitality. 
Supported  by  several  of  the  canons  of  the  cathedral, 
and  by  the  four  other  colleges,  Langen  raised  the 
cathedral  school  of  Minister  to  such  a  high  standard 
that  it  was  attended  not  only  by  the  youth  of  West- 
phalia, the  Netherlands,  and  the  Rhine  Provinces,  but 


72  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

by  students  from  Saxony  and  Poraerania  also ;  and  it 
acquired  a  position  of  prominent  educational  influence 
throughout  North-western  Germany.  It  became  a 
prolific  training  establishment  of  able  and  excellent 
teachers,  who  in  a  very  short  time  were  actively 
at  work  in  many  towns  of  Westphalia  and  the  Ehine, 
and  in  the  north  as  far  as  Goslar,  Eostock,  Liibeck, 
Greifswald,  and  Copenhagen. 

The  cathedral  school  of  Minister  owed  its  reputa- 
tion and  standing  chiefly  to  Johannes  Murmellius,  whom 
Langen  had  appointed  as  his  co-rector,  and  who  gained 
a  distinguished  place  as  philosopher,  pedagogic  writer, 
scholar,  and  Latin  poet  among  the  revivers  of  classical 
studies  and  the  reformers  of  school  systems.  He,  too, 
laboured  in  the  spirit  of  his  master,  Hegius.  '  The  aim 
of  all  study,'  he  writes,  '  should  be  nothing  else  than 
the  knowledge  and  glorification  of  God.  Those  only 
are  wise  indeed  who  apply  themselves  to  study  in 
order  that  they  may  learn  to  live  well  themselves,  and 
may  help  others  by  their  learning  in  the  practice  of 
justice  and  piety.  Nothing  is  more  dangerous 
than  a  man  who  is  both  learned  and  wicked.  To 
know  nothing  is  better  than  learning  combined  with 
sin.'  His  labours  as  author,  over  and  above  grammar 
and  lexicography,  were  specially  devoted  to  the  editing 
of  Latin  works,  not  those  of  the  classic  writers  only, 
but  later  Christian  writers.  He  wrote  twenty-five 
books  of  instruction,  several  of  which  were  used  for 
centuries  long  in  the  schools  of  Germany  and  Holland. 
At  his  instigation  Johann  Cesarius  was  summoned  to 
Minister  in  1512,  and  he  inaugurated  lectures  on  the 
Greek  lammao-e. 

Among  Rudolph  Langen's  learned  friends  was  the 


EDUCATION   AND   THE    OLDER   HUMANISTS  73 

Count  Moritz  von  Spiegelberg,  also  in  part  educated 
at  Deventer,  and  later  on  in  Italy.  As  provost  at 
Emmerich,  on  the  Ehine,  he  was  a  zealous  promoter  of 
education  and  classical  studies. 

The  greatest  cordiality  existed  in  the  intercourse 
between  the  teachers  of  these  different  schools,  whether 
newly  established  ones  or  old  ones  improved.  Pro- 
fessors from  Minister  were  sent  to  the  school  at 
Emmerich,  professors  from  Emmerich  to  the  neigh- 
bouring towns  of  Xanten  and  Wesel.  The  attendance 
at  these  schools  was  very  considerable.  In  Emmerich, 
the  school  under  the  direction  of  Lambert  von  Venray 
numbered  four  hundred  and  fiftv  Latin  scholars  in  the 
year  1510,  in  Xanten  and  Wesel  two  hundred  and 
thirty.  Even  in  the  little  town  of  Frankenberg,  in 
Hesse,  the  school  under  Jacob  Horle  had  nearly  one 
hundred  and  eighty  students. 

The  Swiss,  Heinrich  Bullinger,  who  attended  the 
school  at  Emmerich  from  1516  to  1519,  says  that  he 
was  there  instructed  in  the  first  rudiments  of  Donatus 
and  the  Latin  Grammar  of  Aldus  Manutius.  '  In 
addition  to  this,'  he  writes,  '  were  the  daily  exercises 
at  school  and  at  home.  Every  dav  we  had  to  decline, 
analyse,  and  conjugate.  There  were  daily  readings  of 
selections  from  Pliny  and  Cicero,  extracts  from  Virgil 
and  Horace,  poems  from  the  "  Baptista  Mantuanas,"  and 
letters  from  Jerome  and  others.  Each  week  a  letter 
had  to  be  written.  Latin  was  invariably  spoken.'  He 
was  also  taught  there  the  rudiments  of  Greek  and 
dialectics.  Strict  discipline  was  enforced,  and  great 
attention  paid  to  religion. 

In  the  school  of  Xanten,  the  chaplain,  Adam  Potken, 
gave  instruction  in  the  Greek  language  after  the  year 


74  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

1496,  and  in  company  with  several  canons  pursued 
daily  studies  in  Hebrew,  for  which  his  friend,  Sebastian 
Murrho,  a  most  accomplished  Hebrew  scholar,  pro- 
cured him  books  from  Colmar.  Later  on,  Potken  was 
appointed  professor  of  Greek  at  one  of  the  eleven 
Latin  schools  of  Cologne,  which  were  connected  with 
the  eleven  foundations  there,  and  often  numbered  some 
of  the  ablest  men  among  their  teachers.  While  at 
Cologne  he  lodged  with  his  relative,  Johann  Potken, 
provost  of  St.  George's,  a  learned  Orientalist,  who  had 
learned  the  Ethiopian  language  in  Borne,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  first  book  printed  in  Europe  in  Ethiopian 
characters.  Pupils  made  early  and  rapid  progress  in 
their  studies  ;  for  instance,  Adam  Potken  read  Virgil's 
'  iEneid  '  and  Cicero's  speeches  with  scholars  of  twelve 
years  old.  Johann  Eck  (born  in  1466)  went  through 
a  comprehensive  Greek  and  Latin  course  in  the  school- 
house  of  his  uncle,  a  simple  country  pastor,  between 
his  ninth  and  twelfth  years.  The  particulars  that  have 
come  down  to  us  relative  to  his  school  instruction  are 
of  general  interest  and  value  to  educationalists.  The 
old  and  the  new  writers  were  all  in  turn  explained  to 
the  boy — the  fables  of  iEsop,  a  comedy  from  Aretinus, 
an  elegy  of  Alda  (?),  a  treatise,  attributed  to  Seneca,  on 
the  four  cardinal  virtues,  Gasperin's  letters,  a  hymn 
of  Gerson's  in  honour  of  St.  Joseph,  two  works  of 
Boethius,  St.  Jerome's  preface  to  the  Bible,  Terence, 
and  the  first  six  books  of  the  '  iEneid.'  He  was  even 
expected  at  this  early  age  to  acquire  some  knowledge 
of  philosophy  and  jurisprudence.  He  tells  that  he 
was  '  put  through  the  five  treatises.  After  dinner,'  he 
writes,  '  I  used  to  read  to  my  uncle  from  the  books  of 
Moses  and  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  75 

the  four  Evangelists,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  I 
also  read  a  work  on  "  the  four  last  things,"  on  the 
nature  of  souls,  a  portion  of  St.  Augustine's  discourses 
to  hermits,  Augustine  of  Ancona's  work  on  the  power 
of  the  Church,  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  jurispru- 
dence ;  my  uncle's  assistant  priests  explained  the  Gospels 
of  the  Sundays  and  the  feast  days  to  me,  Cicero's  treatise 
on  friendship,  St.  Basil's  introduction  to  the  study  of 
Humanities,  and  Homer's  "  Siege  of  Troy."  Eck  also 
read  many  Latin  and  German  books  to  himself.  Thus 
prepared,  he  entered  the  University  of  Heidelberg  in 
1493  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  two  years  later  received 
at  Tubingen  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 

Examples  of  this  early  academic  precocity  are 
frequently  met  with.  Johannes  Muller,  the  mathemati- 
cian and  astronomer  from  Konigsberg,  entered  the 
University  of  Leipsic  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and  in  his 
sixteenth  year  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
at  Vienna.  Johann  Eeuchlin  and  Geiler  of  Kaisers- 
berg  began  their  university  studies  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 
Johann  Spieshaimer,  called  Cuspinianus,  in  his  eighteenth 
year  held  lectures  in  the  Vienna  High  School  on  Virgil, 
Horace,  Lucian,  Sallust,  and  Cicero ;  three  years  later 
he  became  professor  of  philosophy,  oratory,  and  art,  and 
at  twenty-seven  he  was  chosen  rector  of  the  university. 

It  may  truly  be  said  that  for  many  centuries  there 
had  never  been  such  an  eager  craving  for  the  treasures 
of  knowledge  as  prevailed  at  that  period :  there  was 
the  most  zealous  industry  in  earliest  youth,  and  insati- 
able thirst  for  learning  up  to  the  most  advanced  age. 
In  the  school  and  in  the  home  there  reigned  a  discipline 
in  every  sense  proportionate  to  a  strong  and  hardy  race. 
The  rod  was  supreme.     Even  the  Emperor  Maximilian 


76  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

often  received  a  good  sound  beating  from  the  hands  of 
his  teachers. 

The  important  part  which  the  rod  played  in  those 
days  may  be  seen  from  a  seal,  still  in  existence,  of  the 
school  of  the  city  of  Hoxter,  which  represents  a  school- 
master, dressed  in  a  full  robe  and  round  cap,  swinging 
the  rod  with  his  right  hand  over  the  head  of  a  boy 
kneeling  before  him,  while  he  holds  his  head  up  by  the 
chin  with  his  left  hand.  In  many  places  the  so-called 
'  Procession  of  the  Eod '  was  held  annually.  Led  by 
the  teachers,  and  accompanied  by  half  the  town,  the 
schoolboys  went  into  the  woods,  where  they  themselves 
procured  the  materials  for  their  own  castigation.  When 
this  was  done  they  amused  themselves  with  gymnastic 
feats  and  other  sports  under  the  trees,  and  ended  up 
with  a  feast,  given  by  their  parents  and  teachers,  and 
then  returned  to  the  town,  laughing  and  joking  and 
laden  with  the  instruments  for  their  punishment.  Here 
is  a  specimen  of  a  song  composed  for  such  an  occasion  : 

Ihr  Vater  und  ihr  Mittterlein, 
Nun  sehend,  wie  wir  gehn  herein, 
Mit  Birkenholz  beladen, 
Welches  uns  wohl  dienen  kann, 
Zu  nutz  und  nit  zu  schaden. 
Euer  Will  und  Gott's  Gebot 
Uns  dazu  getrieben  bot, 
Dass  wir  jetzt  unsere  Ruthe 
Ueber  unserm  eignen  Leib 
Tragen  mit  leichtem  Muthe. 

From  all  which  we  see  that,  in  spite  of  the  terror 
which  the  rule  of  the  rod  spread  among  the  young  folk, 
there  was  also  plenty  of  unrestrained  mirth  and  fun  in 
the  school  life.  This  showed  itself  also  in  the  frequent 
theatrical  representations,  and  the  festivals  of  all  sorts 
which  were  arranged  on  saints'  days  and  at  Christmas  time. 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  77 

The  flourishing  school  of  Schlettstadt,  called  the 
Pearl  of  Alsace,  under  the  direction  of  Ludwig 
Dringenberg,  was  more  important  than  any  we  have 
yet  mentioned.  It  was  one  of  the  first  in  Germany  in 
which  the  history  of  the  Fatherland  was  zealously  studied 
side  by  side  with  the  classics,  and  often  numbered  from 
seven  to  eight  hundred  pupils,  among  whom  were 
Johannes  von  Dalberg,  Geiler  of  Kaisersberg,  and 
'  Germany's  teacher,'  Jacob  Wimpheling. 

Wimpheling,  born  at  Schlettstadt  in  1450,  was  one 
of  the  most  influential  and  attractive  characters  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  He  was  not,  it  is  true,  of  so  peaceable  or 
imperturbable  a  disposition  as  an  Agricola  or  a  Hegius, 
so  lifted  up  above  all  that  is  earthly ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  was  harsh  and  bitter  in  argument,  often  imprudent 
and  tactless  in  speech,  and,  as  he  himself  says,  not  un- 
frequently  soured  by  ill  health  and  overwork  ;  but,  in 
spite  of  these  defects,  his  noble  and  disinterested  labours, 
his  unwearying  zeal  as  a  teacher  and  writer,  and  his 
constant  readiness  to  do  good,  won  him  the  hearts  of  his 
contemporaries.1  Wimpheling  was  a  publisher  as  well 
as  a  scholar,  and  by  his  strong  moral  sense,  his  un- 
swerving love  of  truth,  and  his  patriotism,  he  gave 
proof  of  his  fitness  for  this  new  field  of  literary  industry. 

His  literary  and  scientific  achievements  had  for 
their  sole  aim  and  object  the  perfection  of  his  own 
nature,  the  elevation  of  the  people  in  all  classes,  the 
reform  of  ecclesiastical  abuses,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Fatherland.  '  Of  what  use,'  he  asks,  '  are  all  the  books 
in  the  world,  the  most  learned  writings,  the  profoundest 
researches,  if  they  only  minister  to  the  vainglory  of 

1  Bieger,   Amoenitates    Litterariae    Fribergenses,    fasc.    2   and   3 ; 
Schrnidt,  Histoire  hitter  aire  de  V  Alsace,  i.  188. 


78  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

their  authors,  and  do  not,  or  cannot,  advance  the  good 
of  mankind  ?  Such  barren,  useless,  injurious  learning 
as  proceeds  from  pride  and  egotism  serves  to  darken 
understanding  and  to  foster  all  evil  passions  and  in- 
clinations ;  and  if  these  govern  the  mind  of  an  author, 
his  works  cannot  possibly  be  good  in  their  influence. 
What  profits  all  our  learning  if  our  characters  be  not 
correspondingly  noble,  all  our  industry  without  piety, 
all  our  knowing  without  love  of  our  neighbour,  all  our 
wisdom  without  humility,  all  our  studying,  if  we  are 
not  kind  and  charitable  ?  '  He  looked  upon  education 
as  the  noblest  field  of  labour,  '  for  the  better  educa- 
tion of  the  young  is  the  foundation  of  all  true  reform, 
ecclesiastical,  national,  and  domestic' 

In  the  dedication  of  his  educational  writings  to  his 
friend,  Georg  von  Gemmingen,  provost  of  the  cathedral 
of  Spires,  he  writes :  '  The  true  foundation  of  our 
religion,  the  basis  of  all  worthy  life,  the  one  ornament 
in  any  position,  the  prosperity  of  the  State,  the  certain 
victory  over  intemperance  and  passions — all  depend  on 
a  careful  and  intelligent  training  of  the  young.' 

To  this  training  of  youth  the  labour  of  his  life  was 
devoted.  As  Alexander  Hee'ius — whose  name  he  men- 
tions  with  reverence — was  the  greatest  German  school- 
man of  his  century,  so  Wimpheling  was  the  most  distin- 
guished educational  writer,  one  of  the  most  famous 
restorers  of  an  enlightened  system  of  education  from  a 
Christian  standpoint.  Eeuchlin  looked  upon  him  as  a 
pillar  of  religion,  and  after  his  death  Beatus  Ehenanus 
said  that  no  one  in  Germany  had  ever  been  such  a  friend 
and  promoter  of  the  education  of  the  young  and  their  pro- 
gress in  science  as  Wimpheling.  Following  the  example 
of  Aeneas  Sylvius,  who,  before  his  elevation  to  the  papal 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  79 

chair,  exercised  considerable  influence  on  the  intellectual 
life  of  Germany,  he  endeavoured  to  kindle  among  the 
nobility,  and  the  princes  especially,  a  desire  for  mental 
culture.1  Among  Wimpheling's  educational  writings 
(of  which  nearly  twenty  thousand  copies  were  sold  up 
to  1520)  there  are  two  of  the  greatest  importance.  In 
one  of  these,  which  appeared  in  1497,  under  the  title 
of  '  Guide  for  the  German  Youth,'  he  points  out  clearly 
and  convincingly  the  defects  of  the  earlier  systems  of 
education,  shows  how  by  right  methods  the  pupil's 
progress  may  the  more  readily  and  effectually  be  insured, 
and  gives  a  number  of  golden  rules  and  lessons  for 
mastering  the  ancient  languages.  This  work  does  not 
deal  only  with  the  curriculum  of  study,  but  with  the 
whole  school  life  and  with  the  qualifications  of  the 
teacher,  &c.  It  is  the  first  thoroughly  adequate  book 
of  the  kind  published  in  Germany,  a  truly  national 
work,  and  one  which  deserves  the  praise  and  gratitude 
of  all  ages.  Wimpheling's  second  work  on  the  ethics 
of  education,  'Die  Jugend,'  published  in  1500,  belongs 
to  what  may  be  called  the  great  epoch-making  writings 
of  the  world. 

The  old  schoolmen  and  educationalists  proceeded  on 
the  principle  that  it  was  not  sufficient  merely  to  develop 
the  natural  faculties  and  dispositions  of  children,  but 
that  care  should  be  taken  to  ennoble  and  perfect  them. 
They  aimed  at  inspiring  the  pupils  entrusted  to  their 
care  with  a  love  of  study  and  of  industry,  and  at  edu- 
cating them  for  the  work  of  life.  While  giving  them- 
selves heart  and  soul  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  masterpieces,  they  were  careful  that  admiration 

1  Wimpheling's  Adolescentia,  cap.    7,  and  his  letters  to  his  friend, 
Friedrich  von  Dalberg. 


80  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

for  the  poetical  beauty  of  the  language  should  not  dis- 
tract the  mind  from  contemplation  of  the  deep  and  edi- 
fying truths  which  it  conveyed.  The  study  of  Greek 
and  Latin  should  not  be  confined  to  the  learning  of 
words,  but  should  be  the  means  of  strengthening  and 
disciplining  thought.  As  Wimpheling  said,  '  Let  culti- 
vation be  for  the  quickening  of  independent  thought.' 

As  in  the  Netherlands,  Westphalia,  and  along  the 
Rhine,  so  too  in  South  Germany,  education  spread  and 
flourished  during  the  latter  end  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
Nuremberg  and  Augsburg  were  here  the  intellectual 
centres.  In  the  first  of  these  towns  there  were  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  four  Latin  schools 
which,  owing  to  the  exertions  of  the  learned  patrician, 
Wilibald  Pirkheimer,  and  the  provost  Johann  Kress, 
had  in  many  respects  attained  a  first-rate  standing  by 
the  year  1509.  A  school  of  poetry  was  also  established 
in  1515  under  the  direction  of  Johann  Cochliius,  the 
professor  of  classics,  who  was  born  at  Wendelstein  in 
the  year  1479. 

In  conjunction  with  Pirkheimer  and  Kress,  Coch- 
laus  compiled  several  school-books,  notably  a  Latin 
grammar,  which  went  through  several  editions,  and  by 
its  clearness  and  conciseness  gained  the  approval  of 
able  scholars. 

He  also  compiled  a  compendium  of  the  '  Mathematical 
Geography  '  of  Pomponius  Mela,  and  a  commentary 
on  the  '  Meteorology '  of  Aristotle,  which  he  made  the 
foundation  of  his  method  of  teaching  natural  philo- 
sophy. 

Outside  the  Mark  of  Brandenburg  there  was 
scarcely  a  single  large  town  in  Germany  in  which, 
at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth   century,  in  addition  to  the 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  81 

already  existing  elementary  national  schools,  new 
schools  of  a  higher  grade  were  not  built  or  old  ones 
improved. 

The  ultimate  control  of  the  town  schools  was 
usually  in  the  hands  of  the  municipal  authorities ;  but 
these  institutions  were  also  closely  connected  with 
the  Church,  not  only  because  most  of  the  masters 
belonged  to  the  clerical  profession,  but  because  the 
supervision  was  either  practically  left  to  the  clergy  or 
formally  made  over  to  them. 

School  rates  as  well  as  poor  rates  were  then  un- 
known. Even  those  schools  which  were  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  magistrates  were  kept  up  by  the  fees 
received  and  by  frequent  new  legacies  ;  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young  was  counted  also  among  those 
works  of  mercy  to  which  money  might  liberally  be 
given  in  obedience  to  the  Church  doctrine  of  '  good 
works.' 

Libraries  were  also  founded  in  this  same  spirit. 
Thus,  for  example,  the  master-joiner  Mathias  Holthof  in 
the  year  1485  left  his  house  and  garden  to  a  community 
of  Brothers,  who  were  to  '  use  the  profit  thence  de- 
rived for  the  purchase  of  good  Christian  books,  which 
should  tend  to  the  salvation  of  the  readers,'  and 
these  readers  were  to  pray  for  the  '  poor  soul  of  the 
founder.'  In  1477  a  tinker  at  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main  left  the  then  considerable  sum  of  thirty-five 
gold  guldens  to  the  library  of  the  Carmelite  convent 
there,  in  order  that  '  books  for  the  honour  of  God  and 
His  blessed  Mother,  and  for  the  use  of  the  common 
people,  might  more  easily  be  procured.'  Another 
citizen  of  Frankfort  in  1484  paid  for  the  foundation 
of  the  town  library.     In    14G0  the  Eathsfrau   Cathe- 

VOL.  I.  G 


82  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

rine  Medeborg  founded  a  library  in  connection  with 
the  Marienkirche  in  Dantzic,  which  '  was  to  be  in- 
spected at  least  once  a  year  by  the  overseers  of  the 
Church.'  In  Ulm  as  early  as  the  year  1450  a  library 
for  public  use  had  been  started  by  a  private  family. 
This  was  probably  the  first  of  the  kind  in  Germany. 

Next  to  the  clergy,  the  burgher  classes  were  the 
strongest  pillars  of  learning  and  education.  But  the 
nobility  also  gave  willing  support  to  the  intellectual 
revival ;  and,  indeed,  many  leading  scholars  of  the 
day  belonged  to  this  class,  such  as  Moritz  von  Spiegel- 
berg,  Eudolph  von  Langen,  and  Johann  von  Dalberg. 
Out  of  the  one  Franconian  noble  family  of  Von 
Eyb  seven  or  eight  members  had  the  '  Doctor's  cap ' 
conferred  on  them  at  Padua  or  Pavia.  In  the  re- 
cords of  the  University  of  Erfurt  during  the  fifteenth 
century  we  find  that  twenty  of  its  rectors  belonged 
to  the  first  nobility. 

Enthusiasm  for  the  '  New  Learning '  spread  also  to 
the  women  of  Germany.  In  the  Ehine  Provinces  and 
the  South  German  towns  especially  the  number  of 
ardent  female  students  was  quite  remarkable.  Johann 
Butzbach,  the  author,  in  1505,  of  a  still  unprinted  history 
of  literature,  mentions,  among  other  distinguished  female 
contemporaries,  Gertrude  von  Coblentz,  lady  superior 
of  the  Novices  of  the  Augustinian  convent  of  Vallendar, 
a  young  woman  of  great  abilities,  and  conspicuous  alike 
for  her  intellect  and  learning  as  for  her  piety  and  virtue. 
He  also  mentions  Christine  von  der  Leyen,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Augustinian  convent  of  Marienthal,  and 
Barbara  von  Dalberg,  niece  of  the  Bishop  of  Worms, 
who  belonged  to  the  Benedictines  of  Marienberg,  near 
Boppard,  and  was  also  active  in  the  field  of  literature. 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  83 

Butzbacli  dedicated  his  book  to  the  Benedictine  nun 
Aleydis  Eaiskop,  of  Goch,  who  was  renowned  for  her 
classic  scholarship,  and  he  places  her  in  the  same  rank 
as  Eoswitha,  Hildegard,  and  Elizabeth  von  Schonau. 
Aleydis  composed  seven  homilies  on  St.  Paul,  and  trans- 
lated a  book  on  the  mass  from  Latin  into  German. 
Contemporaneously  with  her  there  lived  in  the  same 
convent  the  artist-nun,  Gertrude  von  Buchel,  to  whom 
Butzbach  dedicated  a  work,  '  Celebrated  Painters.' 
Eichmondis  von  der  Horst,  abbess  of  the  Convent  of 
Seebach,  kept  up  a  Latin  correspondence  on  spiritual 
matters  with  Trithemius,  who  speaks  eulogistically  of 
her  as  the  author  of  various  writings.  Of  the  nun 
Ursula  Cantor,  Butzbach  declares  that  for  knowledge 
of  theological  matters,  of  the  fine  arts,  and  also  for 
eloquence  and  belles-lettres,  her  equal  has  not  been 
seen  for  centuries.  Another  highly  educated  woman 
of  good  position  was  Margaret  von  Stafiel,  wife  of  the 
'  Vitzthum '  Adam  von  Allendorf.  Like  the  Duchess 
Hedwig  von  Suabia,  she  read  the  classics  in  the 
original  with  her  house  chaplain,  and  wrote  Latin 
and  German  poetry  and  prose  essays ;  also  a  Life  of 
St.  Bernard  and  of  St.  Hildegard  in  verse.  Catherine 
von  Ostheim,  who  was  learned  in  history,  also  belonged 
to  the  fifteenth  century ;  she  compiled  an  abridged  ver- 
sion of  the  '  Chronicles  of  Limburg.' 

Among  the  learned  women  of  South  Germany  the 
Nuremberg  abbess,  Charity  Pirkheimer,  stands  pre- 
eminent. Her  letters  and  memoirs  give  noble  evidence 
of  sincere  piety,  lofty  intelligence,  and  heroic  character. 
The  lawyer  Christopher  Scheurl  writes :  '  All  who 
are  appreciative  or  intelligent  admire  the  penetra- 
tion, learning,  and  nobility  of  character  of  the  Abbess 

G  2 


84  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  Nuremberg.'  Her  sister  Clara,  who  lived  in  the 
same  convent,  was  celebrated  for  her  learning  and 
piety.  Their  contemporaries  speak  of  both  with 
patriotic  pride. 

We  must  next  mention  the  nun  Clarissa  Apolonia 
Tucher,  whom  Christopher  Scheurl  calls  '  the  crown  of 
her  convent,  a  lover  of  God's  worship,  a  mirror  of 
virtue,  a  pattern  and  example  to  the  sisterhood.' 
Apolonia  was  the  niece  of  the  Nuremberg  lawyer  Sixtus 
Tucher,  one  of  the  ornaments  for  a  time  of  the  University 
of  Ingolstadt,  and  no  less  valuable  in  his  later  capacity 
of  imperial  and  papal  councillor.  From  the  year  1497 
he  resided  at  Nuremberg  as  Provost  of  St.  Lawrence, 
where  his  blameless  priestly  life  and  his  Christian 
benevolence  were  an  example  to  everyone.  The  letters 
which  he  exchanged  with  Apolonia  and  her  bosom 
friend,  Charity,  appeal  to  the  reader  by  the  depth  and 
elevation  of  their  sentiments,  and  are  touching  examples 
of  true  Christian  humanism,  which  cannot  separate 
knowledge  from  faith  or  learning  from  religion,  and, 
as  the  best  safeguard  against  the  pride  of  intellect, 
clings  fast  to  that  beautiful  motto  of  Trithemius :  '  To 
know  is  to  love.' 

Sixtus  encourages  his  women  friends  to  zealous 
study,  and  does  not  conceal  his  joyous  wonder  at  the 
'  intellectual  and  artistic  aptitude  of  the  female  sex.' 
'  But,'  he  adds  once  in  a  letter  to  Charity,  warning  her 
with  fatherly  solicitude,  '  I  would  not  that  you  should 
seek  vain  praise  for  your  learning,  but  that  you  should 
ascribe  it  to  Him  from  Whom  every  good  and  perfect  gift 
proceeds.  To  His  praise  and  glory,  for  your  sisters' 
need,  and  for  your  own  salvation,  you  should  use  the 
gifts  bestowed  on  you,  not  forgetting  the  golden  words 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   OLDER   HUMANISTS  85 

of  the  Apostle:  "Knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  charity 
edifieth." ' 

As  worthy  contemporaries  of  these  women  of  Nu- 
remberg may  be  mentioned  two  distinguished  Augs- 
burg ladies — the  learned  Prioress  Veronica  Welser, 
to  whom  the  elder  Holbein  dedicated  one  of  his  best 
pictures,  and  Margaret  Welser,  the  faithful  companion 
and  associate  in  the  studies  of  her  husband,  Conrad 
Peutinger,  the  highly  esteemed  Humanist  and  anti- 
quarian. 

Among  the  German  Princesses,  Matilda,  daughter  of 
the  Count  Palatine  Louis  III.,  was  specially  esteemed  as 
a  '  great  lover  of  all  the  arts.'  She  made  a  collection  of 
ninety-four  works  of  the  old  Court  poetry  ;  she  delighted 
in  the  old  national  folk-songs  of  her  country,  and 
encouraged  the  '  making  of  new  poetry  after  the  ancient 
methods.'  It  was  under  her  patronage  that  the  trans- 
lations of  the  Chancellor  Nicholas  von  Wyle  were 
accomplished,  and  at  her  instigation  also  that  the 
University  of  Freiburg,  in  Breisgau,  was  founded  by  her 
second  husband,  Archduke  Albert  of  Austria,  and  that 
of  Tubingen  by  the  son  of  her  first  marriage,  Count 
Eberhard  von  Wtirtemberg. 


86  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    UNIVERSITIES   AND    OTHER   CENTRES    OF    LEARNING 

All  the  men  whose  work  has  hitherto  been  described 
pursued,  whether  as  writers  or  as  teachers,  the  same  high 
aim  of  making  the  treasures  of  learning  the  common 
property  of  the  whole  nation,  and  of  promoting  the 
reform  of  Church  and  State  by  careful  attention  to  the 
instruction  and  education  of  the  young  and  by  the  en- 
lightenments of  science.  Similar  results  were  aimed  at 
by  the  universities,  those  centres  of  universal  learning, 
which  at  no  other  period  of  German  history  have  ever 
had  such  enthusiastic  and  self-sacrificing  support 
lavished  on  them  as  in  the  half-century  from  1460  to 
1510,  and  which  at  no  other  period  made  such  tre- 
mendous strides  in  the  way  of  progress.  Endowments 
without  end  were  made  in  favour  of  these  institutions 
by  men  of  all  conditions — by  the  clergy  of  higher  or 
lower  degree,  by  princes  and  nobles,  by  burghers  and 
peasants ;  and  legacies  innumerable  were  bequeathed 
for  the  benefit  of  needy  students,  to  whom  it  was 
desired  that  the  advantages  of  learning  should  be  made 
as  accessible  as  to  the  wealthy. 

While  the  Universities  of  Prague,  Vienna,  Heidelberg, 
Cologne,  Erfurt,  Leipsic,  and  Eostock  had  already 
reached  a  high  state  of  development,  nine  new  ones 
were  founded  in  Germany  within  the  space  of  fifteen 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     87 

years — viz.  that  of  Greifswald  in  1456,  those  of  Basle 
and  Freiburg  in  1460,  of  Ingolstadt  in  1472,  of  Treves 
in  1473,1  of  Tubingen  and  Mentz  in  1477,  of  Wittenberg 
in  1402,  and  of  Frankfort-on-the-Oder  in  1506. 

These  universities  were  meant  to  be  not  only  the 
highest  schools  of  secular,  but  also  of  religious  learning. 
They  were  to  serve  for  the  protection  and  propagation 
of  the  faith.  Hence  in  most  cases  their  charters  were 
derived  from  the  Pope ;  but  the  Emperors  also,  as  the 
champions  of  Christendom,  enjoyed  the  right  (of  which 
they  often  made  use)  of  establishing  similar  institutions. 
From  the  nature  of  their  constitution  the  universities 
were  recognised  as  ecclesiastical  authorities.  Their 
whole  organisation  was  permeated  with  the  clerical 
spirit. 

It  was  held  that  there  were  two  orders  of  science — 
the  natural,  which  comprises  everything  that  could  be 
grasped  by  reason,  and  the  supernatural,  which  com- 
prises all  the  truths  made  known  by  revelation — and 
that  both  these  should  be  cultivated  in  the  universities. 
As  the  Church  is  a  living  unity,  which  takes  in  the 
whole  being  of  man  and  encompasses  the  highest  dignity 
of  human  nature,  so  must  science  also  strive  towards 
living  unity  and  towards  that  which  is  the  central  point 
of  all  higher  life  ;  it  must  return  to  God,  to  the  original 
source  whence  it  proceeded.  No  disciple  of  learning 
must  work  for  selfish  ends.  No  one  branch  of  know- 
ledge must  be  considered  as  an  end  in  itself  or  made 

1  Not  in  1472,  as  erroneously  stated  (Marx,  ii.  49),  in  Treves.  Besides 
the  university,  there  was  a  college  under  the  charge  of  the ( Brethren  of  the 
Social  Life,'  in  which  theology  and  philosophy  were  taught.  In  the 
year  1499  the  Archbishop  John  II.  granted  this  college  the  privilege  of 
conferring,  after  an  examination,  the  degrees  of  A.B.  and  LL.D.  as  from 
the  university  (Marx,  ii.  470). 


88  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

an  idol  of,  but  all  must  be  subservient  together  as 
teachers  of  Divine  truth,  as  handmaids  in  the  temple  of 
faith.  Where  pride  and  lust  prevail,  learning  cannot 
flourish.  The  four  principal  branches  of  science — 
Theology,  Philosophy,  Jurisprudence,  and  Medicine — 
were  compared  to  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise,  whose 
destination  was  to  carry  the  blessings  of  fruitfulness  to 
all  the  countries  of  the  earth,  for  the  rejoicing  of  all 
peoples  and  for  the  glory  of  God. 

It  was  in  this  sense  that  the  Archduke  Albert  of 
Austria,  on  the  occasion  of  the  founding  of  the 
University  of  Freiburg,  called  the  universities  '  the 
wells  of  life,  from  which  men  drew  living  waters  of 
refreshment  and  healing  to  wash  away  the  corrupting 
zeal  of  the  false  reason  and  blindness  of  mankind.'  The 
same  sentiment  made  the  Duke  Louis  of  Bavaria  insert 
in  the  charter  of  Ingolstadt :  '  Of  all  the  blessings 
vouchsafed  by  God  to  man  in  this  transitory  life, 
learning  and  art  are  among  the  greatest,  for  through 
them  the  path  to  a  good  and  holy  life  may  be  learned. 
Human  reason  is  enlightened  by  true  knowledge  and 
trained  to  right  action.  Christian  faith  is  promulgated, 
justice  and  universal  prosperity  advanced.'  Eberhard 
of  Wiirttemberg,  again,  says  in  the  foundation  deed  of 
the  University  of  Tubingen :  '  I  know  of  nothing  that  can 
be  more  conducive  to  my  salvation  or  more  pleasing  to 
God  than  helping  industrious  young  men  of  small  means 
to  be  educated  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  so  that  they 
may  learn  to  know  God,  to  honour  and  serve  Him  alone.' 

In  the  bull  for  the  foundation  of  the  University  of 
Basle,  Pope  Pius  II.  speaks  thus  beautifully  on  the  true 
end  of  science  :  '  Among  the  different  blessings  which  by 
the  grace  of  God  mortals  can  attain  to  in  this  earthly  life, 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     89 

it  is  not  among  the  least  that,  by  persevering  study,  he 
can  make  himself  master  of  those  pearls  of  science  and 
learning  which  point  the  way  to  a  good  and  useful  life, 
and  place  the  learned  far  above  the  ignorant.  Further- 
more, education  brings  man  to  a  nearer  likeness  of 
God,  and  enables  him  to  read  clearly  the  secrets  of 
the  universe.  True  education  and  learning  lift  the 
meanest  of  earth  to  a  level  with  the  highest.'  '  For  this 
reason,'  continues  the  Pope,  '  the  Holy  See  has  always 
encouraged  the  sciences  and  contributed  to  the  establish- 
ment of  places  of  learning,  in  order  that  men  might 
be  enabled  to  acquire  this  precious  treasure,  and,  having 
acquired  it,  might  spread  it  among  their  fellow-men.' 
It  was  his  ardent  desire  '  that  one  of  these  life-giving 
fountains  should  be  established  in  Basle,  so  that  all  who 
wished  might  drink  their  fill  at  the  waters  of  learning.' 
The  same  Pope  had  long  before  written  to  the  Duke  of 
Bavaria  :  '  The  Apostolic  See  wishes  for  the  greatest 
possible  spread  of  learning,  which,  unlike  all  other  good 
things  of  this  life  that  are  diminished  by  division,  in- 
creases more  and  more  abundantly  the  more  widely  it 
is  distributed.' 

The  annals  of  the  various  universities  show  how 
zealously  the  majority  of  the  clergy  acted  on  the  Pope's 
exhortation  to  follow  the  study  of  science.  Among 
the  1,200  students  entered  at  Basle  during  the  first 
ten  years  after  its  opening  there  were  a  large  number 
of  high  dignitaries  of  the  Church.  In  the  first 
year  after  the  opening  of  the  University  of  Freiburg 
also,  by  far  the  greater  number  of  its  234  students  were 
of  the  clerical  profession.1  That  university  studies  were 
encouraged  and  patronised  by  many  Church  institutions 

1  Schreiber,  i.  30,  81.     For  information  with  regard  to  the  clergy  at 


90  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

is  shown  by  the  much  larger  number  of  students  who 
came  from  those  towns  where  there  were  religious  foun- 
dations and  monasteries  than  from  other  towns.1  The 
clergy  were  also  by  far  the  most  generous  in  contribut- 
ing means  for  the  support  of  the  universities.  The  Popes 
especially  helped  in  many  ways.  It  is  well  known  that 
more  than  one  university  could  not  have  continued  were 
it  not  for  the  income  accorded  in  various  ways  by  the 
Popes  ;  for  instance,  the  University  of  Ingolstadt,  by 
grants  from  the  Popes  and  by  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
was  in  receipt  of  an  income  which,  at  the  present  value 
of  money,  would  be  fifty  thousand  florins  yearly.'2 

The  universities  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  amongst 
the  grandest  creations  of  the  Christian  spirit  in  the  fresh- 
ness and  strength  of  its  youthful  development. 

They  were  the  repositories  of  the  highest  scientific 
culture,  the  most  powerful  agents  in  its  promotion,  and 
the  centres  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  nation.  But 
they  were  also,  as  Wimpheling  expresses  it,  '  the  best 
beloved  and  most  cherished  daughters  of  the  Church, 

the  universities,  see  '  Die  Mittheilungen  von  Falk,'  in  Hist.  Polit.,  pp.  78, 
923-928 ;  and  for  Cistercian  monks  studying  at  the  universities,  see  Winter 
the  Cistercian,  iii.  48-83.  At  his  own  expense  Sebald  Bamberger,  abbot 
of  the  monastery  of  Heilbronn,  sent  eight  monks  to  study  for  degrees 
at  Heidelberg  (Muck,  Heilbro,  i.  232).  In  1510  the  Augustinian  order 
at  Leipsic  erected  for  its  members  a  house  of  study  (Falk,  Ergiinzungen, 
p.  397)  ;  Paulsen,  Geschichte  des  gelehrten  Unterrichts,  pp.  15,  16. 

1  See  Paulsen,  Griindung  der  Universitdten,  pp.  309,  310. 

2  Prankl,  i.  19.  '  The  Papal  court  always  lent  its  aid  to  the  univer- 
sities.' All  unprejudiced  inquirers  into  the  intellectual  conditions  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  even  those  whose  principles  made  them  inimical  to 
Roman  Catholicism,  admit  that  the  Popes  were  foremost  in  encouraging 
and  endowing  the  universities  (Haotz,  pp.  42-44  ;  Meiner's  Geschichte 
der  Hohen  Schnlen,  pp.  2-8  ;  Raurner,  p.  10).  "With  reference  to  Rostock, 
see  Krabbe,  pp.  162-164.  With  reference  to  Cologne,  see  Ennen,  iii. 
871 ;  also  in  the  second  volume  of  Rosegarten's  Geschichte  der  Unirer- 
sitdt  Greifsivalde  (Greifswalde,  1856). 


UNIVERSITIES  AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     91 

who  in  love  and  allegiance  strove  to  make  grateful 
return  for  what  they  owed  their  mother.  Hence  the 
double  fact  that  so  long  as  the  unity  of  the  Church  and 
Faith  remained  intact  the  universities  remained  at  the 
height  of  prosperity,  and  that  at  the  time  of  the  schism 
they  almost  all,  with  the  exception  of  Wittenberg  and 
Erfurt,  ranged  themselves  loyally  on  the  side  of  the 
Church.  It  was  only  when  their  original  ecclesiastical 
and  corporate  constitutions  were  upset  by  violence  that 
they  began  to  turn  to  the  new  doctrines,  and  they  only 
made  common  cause  with  these  when  their  liberty  was 
infringed  and  they  had  sunk  to  mere  State  institutions. 
The  universities  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  free  and 
independent  corporations  ;  the  basis  of  their  success 
lay  in  the  untrammelled  freedom  of  curriculum  both  for 
masters  and  scholars.  Independent  of  the  State  and  of 
each  other,  they  were  spurred  on  by  active  and  fruitful 
emulation.  As  in  the  different  trade  guilds  the  masters 
and  apprentices  were  bound  together  in  a  compact  body 
governed  by  its  own  laws  and  independent  of  outside 
influence,  so  the  universities  had  their  own  separate 
codes  and  regulations,  and  their  government  was  entirely 
within  their  own  jurisdiction.  The  members  were 
amenable  only  to  their  university  code,  which  afforded 
complete  protection  ;  they  paid  no  taxes,  and  were  ac- 
corded many  privileges  as  tokens  of  respect  to  their 
learning.1  There  was  perfectly  free  competition  between 
the  different  teachers  at  nearly  all  the  universities,  and 
the    right  possessed  by  every  '  doctor '  to  teach  gave 

1  In  1445  the  Leipsic  professor,  Johann  Kone,  declared  in  a  public 
speech  delivered  before  the  Duke  of  Saxony  :  '  No  king  or  minister  has 
the  right  to  interfere  with  our  freedom  and  privileges.  The  univer- 
sities govern  themselves,  changing  and  modifying  their  statutes  according 
to  their  necessities  '  (Zarncke,  Documents,  723). 


92  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

rise  to  healthy  emulation  both  between  the  teachers  and 
the  taught.1 

As  the  period  of  study  in  the  Middle  Ages,  after  the 
pattern  of  antiquity,  was  prolonged  into  advanced  years, 
we  find  not  only  young  men  studying  at  the  universities, 
but  men  of  ripe  }Tears  and  of  standing  and  dignity — 
abbots,  provosts,  canons,  and  princes.  The  comrade- 
ship existing  through  the  whole  university  body  was 
very  remarkable,  students  and  professors  being  on  equal 
terms.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in  the  philoso- 
phical faculty — generally  called  '  the  Faculty  of  Arts.' 
It  was  made  up  of  men  who  had  received  the  degree 
of  A.M.,  had  reached  the  full  years  of  manhood,  and 
taught  while  they  themselves  still  studied  the  higher 
branches.1 

This  invested  the  office  of  teacher  with  a  delightful 
freshness  and  youthfulness,  while  it  gave  higher  influence 
and  dignity  to  the  condition  of  learner,  traces  of  which 
we  notice  in  the  various  university  constitutions. 

1  With  reference  to  poor  scholars,  Paulsen  says  (pp.  438-440) :  'Poverty 
was  not  in  those  days  such  a  hindrance  to  learning  as  it  is  in  ours.  It  ever 
found  a  helping  hand.'  In  all  the  ecclesiastical  establishments,  that  is  to 
say,  in  all  the  public  schools,  gymnasiums,  and  universities  (the  paupers) 
die  pauperes,  as  the  Vienna  statutes  express  it,  enjoyed  the  '  privilege  of 
goodwill.'  They  were  entitled  not  only  to  matriculation,  but  to  attend 
the  lectures  and  to  graduate.  All  schools  and  universities  had  their 
endowments  for  the  maintenance  of  poor  scholars.  In  the  intermediate 
schools  it  was  quite  allowable  to  solicit  means  to  pay  a  pupil's  expenses  ; 
and,  indeed,  this  was  not  unknown  in  the  universities.  How  could  men- 
dicancy be  considered  dishonourable  while  so  many  orders  adopted  it  as 
a  rule  ?  Riches  were  looked  upon  by  the  Church  (and  this  view  was  well 
supported  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel)  as  more  dangerous  than  poverty 
to  the  avocation  of  learning.  The  expenses  of  tuition  were  often  defrayed 
in  part  by  services  rendered  to  the  teacher.  No  work  for  his  teacher 
(manual  labour  was  held  in  respect  in  the  Middle  Ages)  was  any  more 
humiliating  to  the  scholar  than  that  of  the  page  for  his  prince.  This  state 
of  things  made  it  possible  for  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  to  be  recruited  from 
the  people,  and  left  no  position  unrepresented  in  the  priesthood. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     93 

The  international  character  of  the  universities  gained 
them  world-wide  importance.  What  added  stimulus 
and  vigour  must  have  been  infused  into  intellectual 
competition  by  the  presence,  as  for  instance  at  Cologne, 
not  only  of  Germans  from  every  part  of  Germany,  but 
of  all  the  most  enthusiastic  students  from  Scotland, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Livonia,  congregated 
together  in  lecture-halls  and  vying  with  one  another  for 
academic  honours  !  Thus,  too,  the  greatest  minds  of  each 
country  were  at  the  service  of  all.  The  University  of 
Ingolstadt  became  in  the  very  first  decades  of  its  exist- 
ence one  of  the  most  important  in  Germany,  and  at- 
tracted within  its  walls  numbers  of  students  from  Italy, 
France,  Spain,  England,  Hungary,  and  Poland.  Eostock, 
even  after  the  foundation  of  the  Universities  of  Upsala 
in  1477  and  of  Copenhagen  in  1479,  was  still  considered 
the  real  university  of  Scandinavia,  and  Swedes,  Norwe- 
gians, and  Danes  figured  in  hundreds  among  its  students. 
In  Cracow  there  was  a  large  number  both  of  German 
students  and  German  professors.  It  was  between  Italy 
and  Germany  that  this  international  intellectual  inter- 
course was  most  considerable  after  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  German  professors  taught  in  Italian 
universities,  and  Italians  were  occasionally  appointed  to- 
German  chairs.  The  number  of  German  students  at 
Bologna,  Padua,  and  Pavia  still  remained  very  con- 
siderable after  the  German  universities  were  at  their 
zenith.  It  is  difficult  to  get  at  trustworthy  statistics  of 
the  numerical  attendance  at  the  various  universities. 
According  to  one  account,  that  of  Wimpheling,  the 
University  of  Cologne,  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  numbered  2,000  teachers  and  students.  In 
that  of  Ingolstadt,  during  the  first  year  of  its  opening 


94  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

800  students  were  enrolled.  In  the  year  1492  the 
philosophical  lectures  were  given  by  33  different 
professors,  and  to  those  47  more  were  added  within 
another  year.  In  1490  the  number  of  bachelors 
who  had  to  read  up  Petrus  Lombardus  was  so  great 
that  they  could  not  meet  at  the  same  place  and  hour, 
but  had  to  be  taken  in  separate  groups.  The  profes- 
sors of  philosophy  at  Vienna  in  1453  numbered  82, 
and  in  1476  there  were  105  oral  lecturers.  Among 
the  770  students  registered  there  in  1451,  no  less  than 
404  were  from  the  Ehenish  Provinces.1  Never  before 
or  since  did  such  enthusiasm  for  learning  prevail  in 
Germany.  Berlin  alone  seemed  to  lag  behind  in  the 
intellectual  awakening. 

In  all  the  country  districts,  too,  there  was  a  mental 
stirring  and  awakening  such  as  had  never  been  known 
in  Germany  before  and  has  never  prevailed  since.  In 
the  Mark  of  Brandenburg  alone  German  culture  had 
as  yet  taken  little  root.  In  his  address  at  the  founding 
of  the  University  of  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  in  1503, 
the  Elector  Joachim  said :  '  A  man  of  distinguished 
learning  is  as  rare  among  us  as  a  white  crow.'  In  cor- 
roboration of  this  we  add  what  Joachim's  father  said 
of  the  Mark  of  Brandenburg :  '  There  is  no  part  of 
Germany  where  there  are  more  murders,  cruelty, 
and  quarrelling  than  in  our  Mark.'  Trithemius,  the 
abbot  of  Sponheim,  who  sojourned  some  time  at  the 

1  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  exact  number  of  students  from 
each  province  in  Germany  attending  the  universities  ;  but  the  statistics 
are  wanting.  It  is,  however,  known  that  from  the  Duchy  of  Hesse  alone 
1,832  students  attended  the  three  universities  of  Heidelberg,  Leipsic,  and 
Erfurt  from  1451  to  1515  (Stolzel,  xii.  42-44 ;  Gredy,  Geschichte  der 
chemaligen  freien  Beichstadt  Odernhcini  (Mentz,  1883,  p.  220).  On 
lieuchlin's  cabalistic  errors,  see  our  statement,  vol.  ii. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES    OF  LEARNING     95 

Court  of  Brandenburg,  wrote  thus  from  Berlin  to  a 
friend,  October  20,  1505  :  '  Barely  do  we  find  here  a 
man  with  any  bias  for  learning  ;  through  lack  of  educa- 
tion our  people  are  mostly  given  over  to  feasting, 
drinking,  and  sloth.'  Berlin  did  not  possess  a  single 
printer  before  1539,  and  it  was  not  till  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  later  that  the  first  publisher  settled 
there. 

It  was  in  the  provinces  of  the  PJiine  that  intellectual 
life  was  most  vigorous  during  the  last  thirty  years  of 
the  fifteenth  and  the  first  decade  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
turies. Here  more  than  elsewhere  the  universities  were 
in  close  touch  with  popular  education,  and  rested  on  a 
firm  basis  of  efficient  preparatory  schools.  Amongst 
the  Ehenish  universities,  Cologne  ranks  first  both  in 
size,  importance,  and  distinction.  It  was  the  principal 
educational  centre,  not  only  for  the  whole  district  of 
the  Lower  Ehine,  for  Westphalia,  and  for  Holland,  but 
hundreds  of  foreigners  also — from  Scotland,  Norway, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Livonia — flocked  there  to  quench 
their  intellectual  thirst.  It  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  the  leading  educational  institution  should  have  been 
coloured  with  a  strong  religious  character  in  a  town 
in  which  there  were  nineteen  parish  churches  and  over 
one  hundred  chapels,  twenty-two  monasteries  and  con- 
vents, eleven  chapter-houses,  and  twelve  hospitals  under 
ecclesiastical  supervision,  a  town  of  which  it  was  said 
proverbially  that  more  than  one  thousand  masses  were 
daily  celebrated  there. 

The  old  scholastic  method  of  study  had  uncircum- 
scribed  sway  in  this  university,  but  careful  attention 
was  at  the  same  time  bestowed  on  humanistic  studies. 
The  university  records  prove  that  the  foremost  among 


96  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  promoters  of  humanities  in  Germany  were  either 
educated  at  Cologne  or  gave  lectures  there  for  a  time. 
From  1484  the  Italian  William  Raymond  Mithridates 
had  been  active  in  teaching  Greek,  Hebrew,  Chaldaic, 
and  Arabic  there.  In  1487  the  Humanist  Andreas 
Cantor,  from  Groningen,  came  there,  and  set  to  work  to 
reform  the  study  of  the  Latin  language.  From  1491 
John  Cassarius,  from  Jtilich,  a  pupil  of  Hegius  and  a 
distinguished  classical  scholar,  laboured  at  spreading 
a  fundamental  knowledge  of  Greek.  The  Humanist 
movement  obtained  a  lar^e  additional  following  after 
Erasmus,  of  Rotterdam,  in  1496,  had  gathered  a  circle 
of  young  disciples  around  him  in  Cologne.  It  had 
another  zealous  leader  in  the  Friar-Minor  Diedrich 
Coelde,  author  of  one  of  the  oldest  German  catechisms, 
and  of  various  popular  religious  manuals. 

Besides  Csesarius,  two  other  pupils  of  Alexander 
Hegius,  Bartholomew,  of  Cologne,  and  the  Westphalian 
Ortwin  Gratius,  were  active  propagandists  in  Cologne. 
The  first  of  these,  famous  even  in  Italy  for  his  learning 
and  enlightened  taste,  distinguished  alike  as  philosopher 
and  poet,  had  formerly  been  an  active  teacher  at 
De venter,  where  he  had  gained  a  high  reputation. 
i  He  is  a  man  of  great  and  refined  intellect,'  writes  his 
pupil,  Johann  Butzbach,  '  of  remarkable  eloquence, 
and  distinguished  in  many  branches  of  science.  It  is  a 
source  of  wonder  to  all  that  a  man  like  him,  versed  in 
all  departments  of  knowledge,  should  study  with  the 
same  industry  and  perseverance  as  an  ignorant  beginner, 
working  late  on  into  the  night.  Diligent  scholars  were 
all  loved  by  him,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  help 
and  befriend  them.  His  pupils  loved  him,  too,  with 
deep    devotion,  and  when    their  term  of  study  came 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     97 

to  an  end,  and  they  were  obliged  to  take  leave  of 
him,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  they  tore  themselves 
away. 

His  friend  Ortwin  Gratius,  the  object  of  such  unjust 
attack  and  ridicule  in  the  '  Letters  of  Distinguished 
Men,'  gave  lectures  in  Cologne  on  Latin  grammar  and 
the  ancient  classics,  and  was  also  the  literary  adviser 
of  the  heirs  of  Quentel.  He  enjoyed  friendly  and 
literary  intercourse  with  many  celebrated  contempo- 
raries :  with  the  Florentine  poet,  Eemaclus  ;  the  English 
lawyer,  William  Harris,  and  with  the  famous  Peter  of 
Eavenna,  whom  Italy  and  Germany  both  agreed  to 
denominate  as  a  '  Marvel  of  Jurisprudence.'  '  The  latter 
expressed  in  the  warmest  terms  his  reiterated  thanks  to 
Gratius  for  much  kind  assistance  and  encouragement  in 
his  scientific  studies,  and  parted  from  him  with  deep 
regret ;  and  when  he  returned  home  in  1508  from  the 
Ehenish  capital,  where  for  a  time  he  had  conducted  a 
course  of  lectures,  he  esteemed  himself  fortunate  to 
have  had  the  privilege  of  intercourse  at  Cologne  with 
so  many  shining  lights  in  theology,  jurisprudence,, 
medicine,  and  art.  He  took  leave  with  tears  in  his 
eyes.  '  Farewell,  happy  Cologne !  Farewell,  thou 
sacred  city,  to  which  distance  will  prevent  my  ever 
returning,  but  which  I  shall  daily  see  with  my  mind's 
eye!' 

A  lasting  mark  in  the  spread  of  the  movement  along 
the  Ehine  district  was  made  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  by  the  two  Latin  poets,  George  Sibu- 
tus  and  Henry  Glareanus.  The  latter  received  the 
laurel  crown  from  the  Emperor  Maximilian  at  Cologne. 
Melancthon  records  that,  in  his  youth,  philological  and 
philosophical   studies    were    zealously  pursued    in    the 

VOL.  I.  H 


98  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Ehenish  university,  and  that  first-rate  men  taught  there. 
Amongst  the  learned  professors,  the  provost  Henry 
Mangold,  who  had  several  times  filled  the  office  of 
rector  of  the  university,  was  one  of  the  most  zealous 
promoters  of  classical  studies.  Even  the  two  shining 
lights  of  the  theological  faculty,  Theodore  von  Siistern 
and  Arnold  von  Tungern,  little  as  their  own  style  had 
been  formed  on  the  classic  models,  maintained  the  most 
friendly  relations  with  many  of  the  young  '  poets,'  as 
the  Humanists  were  called.  In  1512,  Herman  von  dem 
Busche  prefaced  a  work  of  Tungern's  by  commendatory 
verses.  Adam  Potken  cites,  as  promoters  of  classical 
studies,  two  learned  men  of  the  day  not  belonging  to 
the  university,  Adam  Mayer,  abbot  of  St.  Martin 
(1499),  celebrated  for  his  writings  on  theology  and 
canon  law,  as  well  as  for  his  zeal  in  monastic  reform, 
and  Werner  Eolewinck,  prior  to  the  Carthusians  of 
Chartreuse,  one  of  the  most  venerable  personages  at  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Eolewinck's  writings  are 
mostly  of  a  theological,  mystic,  ascetic,  or  devotional 
character.  They  consist  chiefly  of  explanations  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  which  from  his  earliest  youth  he  had 
studied  indefatigably.  Amongst  his  various  commen- 
taries on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  there  is  one  of  six 
folio  volumes.  In  his  seventy-sixth  year,  in  1502,  a 
few  months  before  he  was  carried  off  by  the  plague 
while  in  the  exercise  of  his  priestly  calling,  he  gave  a 
course  of  public  lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  Eomans,  and  charmed  his  numerous  audience, 
among  whom  were  many  university  professors.  But 
Eolewinck  did  not  confine  his  studies  to  sacred  sub- 
jects: he  wrote  treatises  on  the  best  form  of  govern- 
ment, on  the  origin  of  the  nobilitv,  and  on  the  treatment 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING     99 

of  the  peasant  classes.  One  of  his  most  read  works  was 
an  outline  of  the  history  of  the  world,  which  in  the 
course  of  eighteen  years,  dating  from  1474,  ran  through 
thirty  editions,  was  translated  six  times  into  French, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  books  printed  in  Spain.  Eole- 
winck  held  firmly  to  the  orthodox  Six  Ages,  but  at  the 
same  time  affirmed  the  repetition  of  history  as  a  his- 
torico-philosophical  law ;  the  succession  of  time  is 
always  repeated  anew  in  the  regular  trifold  change  of 
abundance,  poverty,  and  mediocrity. 

How  deeply  the  heart  of  this  theologian  and  mystic 
could  enter  into  the  life  of  the  people,  and  how  warmly 
it  could  beat  for  the  German  Fatherland,  especially 
for  his  native  Westphalia,  '  The  Land  of  the  Heroes,' 
is  markedly  shown  in  his  book  entitled  '  On  the  Praise 
of  Saxony,  now  called  Westphalia.'  The  sketch  he 
gives  here  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  his  country- 
people  surpasses  in  vivid  and  delightful  picturing 
any  description  that  exists  of  any  other  German 
race. 

Eolewinck's  works  show  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  of  the  writings  of  the  Fathers 
and  of  the  old  theologians,  as  well  as  of  the  chro- 
niclers and  historians  of  later  times.  The}7  also  give 
evidence  of  some  degree  of  acquaintance  with  the 
classic  writers. 

There  is,  therefore,  nothing  surprising  in  Potken's 
affirmation  that  '  this  universally  admired  Carthusian, 
this  virtuous,  saintly  man,  was  a  promoter  of  classic 
culture  from  a  Christian  standpoint.'  This  Carthusian 
house  of  Cologne,  moreover,  which  stood  out  as  a  lead- 
ing example  of  ascetic  discipline  in  its  complete  renun- 
ciation  of  the    world,  sheltered    a   whole    number   of 

h2 


100  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

learned  monks  zealous  for  science,  of  religious  poets,  of 
mystic  and  ascetic  writers — men  like  Herman  Appel- 
dorn  (1472),  Heinrich  von  Birnbaum  (1473),  Herman 
Grefken  (1480),  Heinrich  von  Dissen  (1484),  and,  fore- 
most of  all,  Eolewinck's  most  intimate  friend,  Peter 
Blomevenna,  whose  writings  all  breathe  a  spirit  of  pious 
enthusiasm  and  peaceful  joy. 

The  second  university  of  the  Khenish  Provinces, 
that  of  Heidelberg,  received  a  new  impetus  already  in 
the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  under  Aeneas 
Sylvius,  afterwards  Pius  II.,  who,  while  provost  of  the 
Worms  Cathedral,  was  appointed  chancellor  of  the 
university. 

During  the  government  of  Frederick,  Count  Palatine 
(1452),  comprehensive  reforms  were  carried  out,  parti- 
cularly with  regard  to  philosophical  studies.  Among 
the  scholastic  theologians  it  was  the  '  Eealists  '  here  also 
who  came  forward  as  open-minded  promoters  of  scien- 
tific research  and  classical  studies  ;  while  the  '  Nominal- 
ists,' on  the  contrary,  drew  on  themselves  the  reproach 
of  barren  dogmatism  and  philosophical  hair-splitting. 
Peter  Luder,  the  first  Humanist,  who  began  his  career 
of  activity  in  Heidelberg,  1450,  was  warmly  supported 
by  two  professors  of  theology  and  canon  law.  One  of 
his  pupils  was  the  well-known  chronicler  and  biographer 
of  Frederick,  Count  Palatine,  Matthias  von  Kemnat, 
who  probably  received  his  earliest  education  from  the 
Italian  Arriginus,  one  of  the  Humanists  established  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Culmbach. 

The  actual  period  of  Heidelberg's  greatest  pros- 
perity, however,  was  from  the  year  1476,  in  the  reign 
of  Philip,  Count  Palatine  (1476),  who,  himself  a  cul- 
tured scholar,  used  to  assemble  large  numbers  of  men 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    101 

of  learning  at  his  Court,  and  who  won  great  praise  by 
his  generous  encouragement  of  the  arts  and  sciences. 
Count  Philip  specially  encouraged  the  study  of  history, 
'  for,'  said  he,  '  by  this  study  we  arrive  at  a  knowledge 
of  God  and  His  dealings  with  mankind,  and  we  come  to 
see  clearly  that  the  succession  of  monarchies  is  ordained 
by  His  decree  in  order  to  preserve  peace  and  order  in 
the  world.'  It  was  at  his  instigation  that  Eudolph 
Agricola  wrote  his  '  History  of  the  World,'  which  was 
considered  the  first  Humanist  history.  The  publishing 
house  which  Trithemius  wished  to  establish  in  Spon- 
heim  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  documents  relative 
to  German  history  owed  much  to  the  protection  of  this 
prince. 

The  most  influential  friend  of  this  university  was 
Johann  von  Dalberg,  of  whom  Agricola  says  : '  All  that  is 
best  of  what  I  have  received  or  given,  learnt  or  taught, 
I  owe  to  this  friend.  Only  those  who  know  him  inti- 
mately can  appreciate  the  riches  of  his  mind  and  the 
simplicity  of  his  heart,  his  manly  courage  and  childlike 
humility,  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  advance- 
ment of  science.' 

Johann  von  Dalberg,  the  scion  of  a  noble  and 
ancient  family,  born  at  Oppenheim  in  the  year  1455, 
had,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  won  the  baccalaureat  of 
liberal  arts  at  the  University  of  Erfurt ;  after  which  he 
went  to  Italy,  and,  by  intercourse  with  Greek  and 
Italian  scholars,  acquired  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
classical  writings  of  antiquity.  On  his  return  home  he 
was  appointed  curator  of  the  Heidelberg  University  (in 
1482)  by  Count  Palatine  Philip,  and  in  the  same  year 
he  was  elected  bishop  of  Worms  and  confirmed  by  the 
Pope.     From  that  time  forward  he  divided  his  work 


102  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

and  his  residence  between  Worms  and  Heidelberg,  in 
both  which  towns  he  became  the  centre  of  intellectual 
life.  By  the  sterling  excellence  and  self-forgetfulness  of 
his  whole  nature,  and  by  the  force  of  enthusiasm  which 
went  out  from  him,  he  exercised  a  deep  and  lasting 
influence  on  widely  extended  circles.  In  hirn  was 
verified  the  old  saying  that  worth  is  always  modest, 
true  superiority  always  magnanimous,  true  culture 
always  right-minded.  He  not  only  raised  the  university 
to  a  high  standard  during  his  lifetime,  but  laid  the 
foundation  of  nearly  all  that  on  which  its  present  fame 
rests.  By  his  co-operation  the  first  professorship  of 
Greek  was  established  there,  and  the  world-renowned 
university  library  known  by  the  name  of  the  Palatine 
owed  its  origin  to  him.  He  also  collected  a  valuable 
house  library  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew  books,  which 
he  placed  at  the  free  disposal  of  all  seekers  after  know- 
ledge. Johann  Eeuchlin,  whom  Dalberg  attracted  to  his 
neighbourhood,  speaks  of  his  collection  as  a  unique 
treasure  for  Germany,  and  gratefully  acknowledged  the 
service  it  had  been  to  him. 

When  Eeuchlin  (born  in  Pforzheim,  1455)  came  to 
Heidelberg  (1496)  he  already  ranked  high  among 
scholars.  As  a  young  man  he  had  delivered  lectures 
at  Basle  on  Greek  and  Latin,  which  were  listened  to  by 
crowded  audiences  of  old  and  young.  He  had  been 
one  of  the  first  in  Germany  to  secure  a  permanent 
footing  for  Greek  literature  among  the  requisites  of 
higher  culture.  He  had  attracted  attention  amongst 
the  highest  literary  circles  in  Italy  by  his  proficiency  in 
the  Greek  language.  His  fame  as  a  writer  was  also 
established.  The  Latin  dictionary  which  he  had  com- 
piled   at   Basle    when   scarcely   twenty   years    of  age 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    103 

appeared  nearly  every  year  in  a  new  edition.  He  had 
translated  two  of  the  speeches  of  Demosthenes  and  a 
part  of  the  '  Iliad '  into  German,  several  other  Greek 
writers  into  Latin,  and  had  completed  a  treatise  on  the 
four  Greek  dialects.  In  addition  to  all  this  he  had 
held  a  prominent  position  at  the  Court  of  Count  Eber- 
hard  of  Wurttemberg  as  a  practising  barrister,  and 
conducted  many  important  cases  for  his  patron  with 
honour,  and  had  distinctions  of  all  sorts  conferred  on 
him.  The  Emperor  Maximilian  raised  him  to  the  rank 
of  nobility,  and  created  him  Count  Palatine  of  the 
Empire  '  in  consideration  of  his  high  merit  and  reputa- 
tion.' 

When,  after  the  death  of  Count  Eberhard,  he  took 
up  his  residence  at  Heidelberg  for  several  years,  he  was 
nominated  by  Dalberg  to  the  post  of  university  librarian, 
and  the  Count  Palatine,  Philip,  appointed  him  counsel 
to  the  Electorate  and  first  tutor  to  his  sons.  In  1493 
he  became  professor  of  Hebrew,  and  embarked  on  his 
pioneer  work  in  this  direction.  The  knowledge  of 
Hebrew  had,  however,  by  no  means  disappeared  among 
Christians  at  the  time  of  Eeuchlin's  advent.  The 
decree  of  the  Vienna  Council  (1312),  that  two  chairs  of 
Hebrew  and  Chaldaic  and  Arabic  should  be  established 
respectively  in  Eome,  Bologna,  Paris,  Oxford,  and  Sala- 
manca had  not  been  without  influence  in  Germany. 
Guides  to  the  study  of  Hebrew  grammar  were  published 
by  the  Dominican,  Peter  Schwarz,  in  1477,  and  by  the 
Minorite  Conrad  Peblican  in  1503.  Eudolph  Agricola 
translated  the  Psalms  from  the  original  text.  In  Xanten, 
Cologne,  Colmar,  and  Mentz,  we  find  records  of  men 
zealously  occupied  with  Hebrew  studies.  Lectures  on 
Hebrew   were   held   at   Tubingen   by  the   theologians 


104  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Conrad  Summenhart  and  Paul  Scriptoris,  and  at  Frei- 
burg by  Gregory  Beisch.  Among  the  pupils  of  the 
latter  was  Johann  Eck,  who  devoted  himself  for  six 
years  to  the  study  of  Hebrew.  Arnold  von  Tungern 
also — later  on  the  opponent  of  Eeuchlin — may  also  be 
mentioned  among  the  students  of  Hebrew. 

But  to  Eeuchlin  belongs  the  lasting  credit  of  having 
established  the  study  of  Hebrew  on  a  scientific  basis  in 
Germany.  His  Hebrew  grammar  and  dictionary  were 
the  first  complete  contributions  to  this  work. 

Eeuchlin's  labours  were  animated  by  the  same  deep 
religious  feeling  as  those  of  all  the  men  whom  we  have 
been  considering.  To  him  also  learning  and  science 
were  only  of  value  inasmuch  as  they  supported  and 
strengthened  faith.  As  a  true  son  of  his  mother,  the 
Church,  he  submitted  all  his  writings  and  teaching  to 
her  sole  authority,  and  was  ever  ready  to  withdraw 
whatever,  in  her  judgment,  was  erroneous. 

His  aim  in  his  Hebrew  researches  and  in  his  exami- 
nation of  the  original  text  of  the  Old  Testament  was  to 
furnish  a  wholesome  antidote  against  the  one-sided  study 
of  the  classics.  Hence  it  was  of  the  highest  importance, 
in  his  opinion,  to  impress  on  students  the  necessity  of 
the  study  of  Hebrew.  '  The  Hebrew  language  is  con- 
sidered barbarous,'  he  writes.  '  Well,  yes,  fine  periods 
and  elegantly  turned  sentences  are  not  to  be  found  in 
it ;  but  beauties  of  this  sort  are  more  for  the  dilettante 
than  for  the  learned.  The  Hebrew  language  is  un- 
adulterated, pure,  concise,  and  brief.  It  is  the  language 
in  which  God  spoke  to  man,  and  in  which  man  con- 
versed with  the  angels  face  to  face.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  possess  the  Castalian  fountain,  or  the  tree  of  Dodona. 
In  age  it  is  surpassed  by  no  other  ;  outside  the  Hebrew 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    105 

chronicles  we  have  no  records  of  humanity  earlier  than 
the  siege  of  Troy,  and  the  songs  of  Homer  and  Hesiod 
are  a  century  and  a  half  later.  But,  notwithstanding  its 
age,  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  unequalled  in  richness :  all 
other  languages,  poor  and  barren  in  comparison,  draw 
from  this  one  as  from  their  fountain-head.' 

Eeuchlin's  labours  bore  abundant  fruit.  While 
zealously  serving  the  Church,  he  was  in  turn  supported 
by  the  officers  of  the  Church.  We  read  now  of  an 
abbot  of  Ottobeuren  applying  to  him  for  a  Hebrew 
teacher  for  his  monastery,  now  of  a  provost  in  Eor 
begging  for  explanations  of  some  passages  in  his 
writings,  now  of  a  Dominican  prior  leaving  him  a 
Hebrew  manuscript  for  use  during  his  lifetime.  Monks 
also — such  as  the  indefatigable  Nicholas  Ellenbog,  to 
whom  Ottobeuren  later  was  indebted  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  university  and  a  printing-house  ;  William 
Schrader,  of  Camp,  on  the  Lower  Ehine,  who  devoted 
all  his  laroe  fortune  to  the  collecting  of  Hebrew  manu- 
scripts  ;  Nicholas  Basellius,  of  Hirsau,  and  many  others 
— became  his  most  devoted  disciples  and  enthusiastic 
eulogists.  Basellius  said  in  1501:  '  Eeuchlin  not  only 
revived  the  study  of  Greek,  he  also  rescued  the  Hebrew 
language  from  the  dust  of  oblivion.  The  republic  of 
scholars  is  eternally  indebted  to  him  for  having  saved 
them  from  a  burdensome  task,  and  theologians  should 
crown  him  with  honour  for  having  restored  to  the 
sacred  Scriptures  their  ancient  lustre.' 

Others  who,  like  Eeuchlin,  belonged  to  the  first 
celebrities  of  Heidelberg  were  James  Wimpheling,  who, 
at  the  instigation  of  Dalberg,  had  written  the  '  Guide 
for  the  Youth  of  Germany,'  and  Wimpheling's  friend, 
Pallas  Spangel.     The  Latin  poets,  Conrad  Leontius  and 


106  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Jacob  Dracontius  ;  the  Saxon  nobleman  and  philosopher, 
Heinrich  von  Biinau :  the  lawyers,  Adam  Werner  of 
Themar  and  John  Wacker,  called  Yigilius,  canon  of 
the  cathedral  of  Worms,  and  Dietrich  von  Pleningen, 
also  took  an  active  part  in  the  intellectual  life  of  the 
time. 

Dalberg's  house  was  the  rendezvous  where  these 
friends  went  freely  in  and  out.  Here  they  met  together 
for  intimate  talk,  or  hospitable  meals,  or  serious  study. 
The  Count  Palatine  Philip,  according  to  Wimpheling, 
was  occasionally  among  their  number.  Here  Wimphe- 
ling discussed  with  his  associates  his  scheme  for  a 
German  history,  Pleningen  read  out  his  German  trans- 
lations of  the  Latin  writers,  and  Eeuchlin  his  version  of 
Homer.  It  was  in  Dalberg's  house  also  that  Eeuchlin 
arranged  the  representation  of  a  Latin  play,  the  first 
ever  performed  in  Germany. 

But  the  intellectual  influence  of  the  Bishop  of 
Worms  was  not  confined  to  Heidelberg.  He  was  not 
only  curator  of  the  university,  but  also  leader  and 
director  of  the  Ehenish  Literary  Society,  founded  in 
1491,  by  Conrad  Celtes,  in  Mentz.  Amongst  the  mem- 
bers of  this  body  were  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  all  branches  of  science — theologians,  lawyers,  doctors, 
philosophers,  mathematicians,  linguists,  historians,  and 
poets,  from  the  Ehinelands  and  from  Middle  and  South- 
west Germany.  Besides  Trithemius,  Eeuchlin,  and 
Wimpheling,  the  society  counted  among  its  members 
such  men  as  the  mathematician  and  imperial  historian, 
John  Stabius ;  the  eminent  Hebrew  scholar,  Sebastian 
Sprenz,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Brixen ;  Ulrich  Zasius, 
the  prince  of  German  advocates ;  and,  further,  the 
Humanists,   Conrad   Peutinger  of  Augsburg,  Wilibald 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    107 

Pirkheimer  of  Nuremberg,  and  Henry  Bebel  of 
Tubingen. 

The  immediate  object  of  this  society,  as  of  many 
similar  ones  in  Germany,  was  the  encouragement  and 
spread  of  science  and  the  fine  arts  generally,  and 
classical  learning  especially,  but  also  the  furthering  of 
national  historical  research.  The  members  all  assisted 
each  other  in  their  labours,  showed  each  other  their 
writings,  criticised  each  other  in  turn,  and  helped 
mutually  in  distributing  their  works. 

The  famous  publisher,  Aldus  Manutius,  founded  a 
learned  society  at  Venice  in  the  year  1502,  with  a  view 
to  making  a  centre  of  intellectual  communication 
between  Italy  and  Germany.  '  If  this  plan  proves 
workable,'  he  wrote  to  Conrad  Celtes,  '  our  society  will 
be  of  the  greatest  use  to  all  seekers  after  knowledge, 
not  only  in  the  present  but  in  the  future,  and  Germany 
will  come  to  be  considered  a  second  Athens.' 

'  Through  the  constant  intercourse  of  scholars,' 
wrote  Wimpheling,  '  fresh  life  is  germinating  every- 
where ;  the  voice  of  warning  wakes  the  slumberers ; 
the  letters  which  we  write  to  one  another  speed  like 
messengers  of  good  tidings  through  the  land.'  The 
extensive  correspondence  carried  on  in  the  world  of 
scholars  not  only  served  for  personal  matters,  but 
answered  in  great  measure  to  the  scientific  and  literary 
periodicals  of  the  present  day.  This  society  reached 
its  highest  lustre  under  the  presidency  of  Dalberg 
(1491-1503).  The  death  of  this  man  in  1503  was  a 
greater  loss  to  German  culture  than  even  that  of  his 
contemporary,  Agricola.  '  I  hold  this  bishop,'  writes 
Wilibald  Pirkheimer,  '  worthy  of  lasting  remembrance 
as  well  for  his  benevolence  and  virtues  as  for  his  great 


108  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

and  various  learning.'     The  epitaph  on  his  grave  at 
Worms  is  as  follows  : 

Er  war  selbst  gliicklich  und  stellte  den  Nachkommen  mit  glticklichem 
Erfolg  ein  Bild  des  Lebens  auf. 

John  Trithemius  stood  in  close  relation  to  the 
University  of  Heidelberg.  He  was  born  in  1462  in  the 
village  of  Trittenheim,  on  the  Moselle,  and  was  the 
founder  of  a  kind  of  '  learned  academy '  in  the  Benedic- 
tine monastery  of  Sponheim,  near  Kreuznach,  of  which 
he  had  been  abbot  from  1483  to  1503.  His  pupils  and 
his  friends  valued  him  as  an  ornament  to  his  country, 
a  teacher  and  example  to  the  monks,  a  friend  and 
educator  of  the  priests,  a  father  to  the  poor,  and  a 
healer  to  the  sick.  Conrad  Celtes  draws  the  following 
picture  of  him  :  '  Trithemius  is  abstemious  in  drink  ;  he 
disdains  animal  food,  and  lives  on  vegetables,  eggs,  and 
milk,  as  did  our  ancestors  when  there  were  yet  no 
strong  spices  in  our  Fatherland,  and  no  doctors  had 
begun  to  brew  their  gout-  and  fever-breeding  concoc- 
tions. He  is  modest  in  speech  and  conduct.'  His 
outward  person  was  as  dignified  as  his  character.  i  His 
firm,  manly  features,'  writes  Wimpheling,  '  have  a  look 
of  inexpressible  goodness.' 

Trithemius  was  an  encyclopaedia  of  learning,  whose 
like  was  scarcely  known  in  his  century.  Thoroughly 
at  home  in  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  a  competent 
Hebrew  scholar,  well  equipped  with  knowledge  of 
theology,  philosophy,  history,  and  canon  law,  he  also 
applied  himself  zealously  to  the  study  of  mathematics, 
astronomy  and  physics,  chemistry  and  medicine,  and 
actually  practised  as  a  doctor  in  order  to  assist  the 
poor.  His  literary  and  scientific  connection  was 
immense    and    extensive,  as  shown   by  his   epistolary 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    109 

correspondence  with  theologians,  lawyers,  mathema- 
ticians, physicists,  doctors,  and  poets.  It  can  be  com- 
pared only  with  that  of  Erasmus.  All  scholars  of  the 
time  of  any  importance,  as  well  as  many  men  of  high 
rank,  such  as  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  the  Electors 
Philip  and  Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  solicited  his  friend- 
ship. From  Italy  even,  so  Wimpheling  tells  us,  dis- 
tinguished men  would  frequently  come  to  him  for 
advice  in  learned  matters,  and  counted  themselves 
lucky  to  possess  a  letter  from  him. 

He  acquired  world-wide  fame  by  the  library  which 
he  founded  at  Sponheim,  and  which,  by  years  of  un- 
wearied labour  and  generous  expenditure  in  collecting 
the  rarest  and  costliest  books  in  twelve  different 
languages,  he  raised  to  a  position  of  unique  dis- 
tinction in  Germany.  By  the  year  1505  it  had 
grown  to  the  size  of  two  thousand  volumes,  and 
its  collection  of  manuscripts  was  valued  at  eighty 
thousand  crowns.  In  fulfilment  of  the  decree  of 
Trithemius  the  monks  were  to  occupy  themselves 
diligently  in  copying  the  manuscripts  '  for  the  glory 
of  God.' l  The  abbot  himself  copied  with  his  own 
hands,  among  other  works,  the  New  Testament  and  the 
poems  of  the  nun  Eoswitha.  While  lending  willing 
co-operation  to  all  general  literary  enterprises,  such 
as  those  of  the  Kobergs  in  Nuremberg,  and  of  John 
Amerbach  in  Basle,  he  himself  formed  the  project  of 
establishing  an  office  in  Sponheim  which  should  be  de- 
voted entirely  to  printing  reliable  material  for  a  history 
of  Germany. 

'The    activity   of   the    abbot    Trithemius    is    won- 

1  Even  in  our  day  many  evidences  of  the  industry  of  the  monks  of 
Sponheim  are  extant. 


110  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

derful,'  writes  Wimpheling  in  1507,  '  and  his  library 
enjoys  well-merited  renown  through  all  the  civilised 
world,  as  he  himself  has  earned  universal  fame  for  his 
virtue  and  his  learning.  I  have  seen  him  at  Sponheim 
surrounded  by  the  children  of  the  peasants,  to  whom 
he  was  teaching  the  elements  of  Christianity.  I  have 
seen  him  amongst  a  circle  of  priests  who  had  come 
from  different  parts  to  obtain  instruction  from  him  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  Greek  tongue ;  and  I  have 
seen  him  iu  the  midst  of  scholars  whom  the  fame  of 
his  learning  and  his  library  had  attracted — many  from 
far  off — and  to  whom  he  generously  allowed  free  access 
to  his  literary  treasures,  and  the  no  less  precious  privi- 
lege of  intercourse  with  himself. ' *  Alexander  Hesnus 
himself  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Sponheim  in  advanced 
old  age  in  order  to  become  acquainted  with  this  library 
and  to  enjoy  the  refreshment  and  stimulus  of  intercourse 
with  the  abbot.  Learned  men  from  all  parts  of  Europe, 
bishops,  doctors,  priests,  and  nobles,  nocked  to  the 
monastery,  where  they  would  remain,  some  one  month, 
some  three,  some  a  whole  year,  devoting  themselves, 
free  of  cost,  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek. 

The  many-sided  literary  activity  of  Trithemius  in 
theology,  philosophy,  natural  science,  medicine,  history, 
and  literature,  seems  all  the  more  astonishing  because 
of  the  many  claims  on  his  time  and  attention  made  by 
the  details  of  everyday  life.  On  him  devolved  the 
task  of  providing  for  the  daily  wants  of  the  monastery 
under  his  care  ;  in  addition  to  which  he  undertook  the 
thorough  reform  of  his  order.  But  it  was  precisely 
this  zeal  for  reform  and  desire  for  the  improvement 
of  his  brother-monks  that  fed  the  energy  of  his  literary 

1  De  Arte  Impressoria,  p.  19. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER    CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    111 

work,  which  he  valued  only  as  an  instrument  towards 
this  end. 

1  How  can  we  be  idle  or  wish  for  rest,'  he  writes 
in    the    '  Guide    to    the    Eight    Method   of  Studying,' 

*  when  we  consider  how  much  there  is  to  do  each  day 
for  ourselves  or  for  others,  and  how  soon  death  comes 
to  put  an  end  to  all  which,  through  the  grace  and  merits 
of  our  Saviour,  we  can  do  for  our  salvation  ?  Whether 
we  labour  with  our  pens  or  our  words,  we  must  always 
remember  that  we  are  preachers  of  the  Truth,  and 
apostles  of  love,  and  that  this  love  will  bring  peace 
and  blessing  to  ourselves  according  to  the  measure  in 
which  we  distribute  it  anions?  others.  This  thought 
will  make  the  heaviest  work  light,  and  the  severest 
trials  sweet  and  welcome.  Learning  that  is  not  born 
of  this  spirit  leads  only  to  evil,  corrupts  the  heart, 
poisons  the  character,  and  misleads  the  world.'  In 
the  same  spirit  he  addresses  a  letter  to  his  brother : 

*  True  learning  is  that  which  leads  to  the  knowledge 
of  God,  which  improves  our  morals,  restrains  our 
passions,  gives  an  insight  into  all  that  is  necessary  to 
our  salvation,  and  kindles  in  our  hearts  love  for  the 
Creator.' 

The  ecclesiastical  and  pastoral  works  of  Trithemius, 
and  his  sermons  and  letters,  furnish  the  most  striking 
proof  of  the  profundity  of  thought  and  elevation  of 
mind  which  he  brought  to  bear  on  the  problems  of 
life.  They  are  outpourings  of  the  most  sincere  piety, 
and  witnesses  of  the  earnestness  of  spirit  in  which  the 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  carried  on  in  those 
days. 

In  common  with  the  most  prominent  theologians  of 
the  day,  Trithemius  held  that  the  study  of  theology 


112  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

should  be  brought  back  more  and  more    to    a   basis 
of  Biblical  knowledge.     He  was  also  agreed  with  them 
in   thinking   that   only  those  whose   lives   were   pure 
could  rightly  apprehend  the  Scriptures  as  interpreted 
by  the  Church  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
'  For  the  study  of  the  Bible,'  he  writes  to  a  former 
fellow-student,  '  love  and  discipline,  solitude  and  calm, 
are  indispensable,  for  the  wisdom  of  God  dwells  only 
with  the  virtuous  man,  enters   into    the    soul   of  the 
circumspect,    informs    the    charitable    heart,    delights 
only  in   the   pure    and   lowly-minded.       If    the  Holy 
Scriptures  are  not  always  sufficiently  enlightening  on 
all  matters  of   faith,  the   authority  of  the  Church  is 
thus  enhanced,  and  the  opportunity  given  for  salutary 
obedience,    which   else   would    not   be    needed.      The 
Church  and   the  Bible  are  the   complements  of  each 
other.     The  Church    confirms    the  Scriptures,   and   is 
itself  confirmed  by  the  Scriptures.     The    same    spirit 
which   inspired    the    Scriptures    also    established    the 
Church ;    hence    St.  Augustine    says :    "  I   should   not 
believe  the  Gospel  did  not  the  authority  of  the  Church 
compel    me."     The    Church    alone    has    authority    to 
interpret  the  Scriptures  in  doubtful  matters  concerning 
the  Faith,  and  whoever  dares  to  question  that  inter- 
pretation denies  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.' 

The  promoters  of  the  new  intellectual  movement 
and  the  enlightened  methods  of  science  endeavoured  to 
get  rid  of  the  dead  formalism  in  which  theology  had 
stagnated  for  a  hundred  years  and  more,  and  to  bring 
their  labours  into  connection  with  those  of  their  great 
predecessors  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 
After  the  pioneer  work  of  Nicolaus  of  Cusa,  and  the 
Carthusian  Dionysius,the  school  of  scholastic  philosophy, 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES    OF   LEARNING    113 

which  formed  the  centre  of  scholarship,  received  new 
life  in  Germany.  It  counted  among  its  disciples  many 
men  of  noble  and  penetrating  intellect,  who,  far  from 
misunderstanding  the  movements  and  requirements  of 
the  age,  did  their  best  to  help  them  on  and  turn  them 
into  the  right  channels.  The  most  prominent  of  the  scho- 
lastics, such  as  Trithemius,  Johannes  Heynlin,  Gregory 
Eeusch,  Gabriel  Biel,  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg,  and 
others,  were  at  the  same  time  the  men  who  rendered 
the  most  practical  services  to  their  age.  '  Trithemius 
considers  it  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  the  age,' 
writes  Wimpheling  in  1507, '  that  in  matters  of  theology 
we  are  breaking  away  from  the  barren  technicalities 
and  hair-splittings  of  a  worn-out  scholasticism,  and  are 
once  more  setting  up  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  "  Engel 
der  Schule"  as  he  was  called,  as  a  beacon  light.'  To 
what  extent  this  was  the  case,  and  how  truly  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas  became  once  more  the  great  teacher  of  theo- 
logy in  the  West,  are  seen  from  the  fact  that  at  least  two 
hundred  editions  and  reprints  of  his  various  works  are 
still  in  existence.1 

The  active  interest  taken  by  theologians  in  scientific 
studies  had  a  very  beneficial  effect  on  scholastic  learn- 
ing, by  bringing  it  into  rapport  with  theological  studies, 
and  also  by  the  resistance  which  the  theologians  offered 
to  the  superstitious  pursuits  of  alchemy,  astrology,  and 
magic,  which  were  then  in  vogue. 

The  acquirements  of  Trithemius  in  the  field  of 
natural  science  were  so  extraordinary  that,  like  Albertus 
Magnus  of  old,  he  was  believed  by  many  to  be  a  magi- 
cian and  worker  of  miracles,  who  could  raise  the  dead 

1  Hain,  No.  1328  1543.    How  many  more  had  appeared  is  not  posi- 
tively known. 

VOL.  I.  I 


114  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

to  life,  call  up  spirits  from  the  nether  world,  foretell 
future  events,  and  discover  robberies  and  thefts  through 
witchcraft.  And  this  notwithstanding  that  he  himself 
wrote  a  pamphlet  against  sorcery  and  all  the  vain 
superstitions  condemned  by  the  Church,  denouncing 
alchemists  as  '  Fools  and  apes,  enemies  of  nature  and 
contemners  of  things  divine.' 1  He  was  unsparing  in  his 
condemnation  of  George  Sabellicus,  the  famous  apostle 
of  the  black  art,  although  the  latter  was  the  protege  of 
the  nobleman,  Franz  von  Sickingen,  of  Creuznach,  near 
Sponheim,  who  went  so  far  as  to  appoint  him  school- 
master. '  Away  with  you  ! '  he  writes  ;  '  vain,  presump- 
tuous men,  lying  astrologers,  deceivers  of  weak  minds  ; 
the  stars  can  teach  us  nothing  concerning  our  immortal 
life,  neither  can  they  instruct  us  in  natural  or  super- 
natural wisdom.'  '  The  soul  of  man  is  free,  and  not 
under  subjection  to  the  stars ;  it  is  not  influenced  by 
them  or  their  orbits,  and  has  no  dependence  but  on  the 
eternal  principle  of  life  from  which  it  proceeds  and  by 
which  it  exists.  The  stars  have  no  dominion  over  us, 
and  we  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  alone  as  having  con- 
trol over  everything.'  Among  the  literary  works  of 
Trithemius  there  are  two  which  are  still  indispensable 
to  the  student  of  the  past ;  the  one  is  the  patrologic 
work  on  the  '  Church  writers,'  a  general  biographical 
lexicon  compiled  at  the  instigation  of  Johannes  Heyn- 
lin,  and  unique  of  its  kind  at  that  period ;  the  other, 
'  A  catalogue  of  the  distinguished  men  of  Germany,' 
written    at    the  suggestion  of  Wimpheling,2    and   the 

1  In   our   sixth   volume  we  again  allude  to  Trithemius's  standpoint 
upon  this  subject. 

2  This  work  is  of  the  greatest  value  in  jurisprudence.   See  Von  Savigny, 
•Geschichte  des  Romischen  Rechtes,  iii.  33  34. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND    OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    115 

first  attempt  at  a  history   of  literature    published  in 
Germany. 

The  most  attractive  of  his  writings  are  his  historical 
works.  His  '  Annals  of  Hirsau  '  was  intended  only  as 
a  preparatory  work  for  a  universal  history  of  Germany, 
for  which,  with  the  assistance  of  the  monk  Paul  Lang, 
he  was  still  collecting  materials  in  all  the  German 
monasteries  during  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

The  patriotic  tendency  of  his  studies  produces 
throughout  a  most  favourable  impression.  Notwith- 
standing the  attention  bestowed  by  him  on  classical  and 
theological  studies,  he  always  preserved  a  lively  interest 
in  the  early  history  of  Germany,  and  was  never  weary 
of  expressing  in  his  works  and  letters  the  warmth  of 
his  affection  for  the  Fatherland.  Amoncr  the  Khenish 
'  Literary  Society '  he  bore  the  title  of '  Prince  of  National 
Science,'  and  Wimpheling  wrote  thus  of  him  to  Eome  : 
'  We  call  him  also  the  happy  father  of  an  innumerable 
intellectual  posterity ;  the  best  and  most  famous  son  of 
a  land  rich  in  gifts  both  of  nature  and  of  mind.' 

The  testimony  of  John  Butzbach  gives  us  some  idea 
of  the  enthusiasm  which  the  writings  of  Trithemius 
awakened  in  the  young.  He  tells  that  the  first  work 
of  the  abbot  which  he  lighted  on  was  read  by  him 
breathlessly,  from  beginning  to  end.  Waking  and 
sleeping  he  could  not  get  the  book  or  its  writer  out  of 
his  head.  Nicholas  Gerbellius  esteemed  himself  happy 
'  to  have  lived  in  a  century  in  which  men  like  Trithe- 
mius arose  in  Germany.'  Johann  Centurian,  who  studied 
Greek  and  Hebrew  and  the  Scriptures  for  two  years 
under  Trithemius,  could  scarcely  find  adequate  words 
of  praise  for  his  master's  indefatigable  zeal  and  the 
perfect  blamelessness  of  his  life. 

i2 


116  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Trithemius,  on  his  side,  writes  :  '  How  delightful  it  is 
to  be  able  to  inspire  the  young  with  a  pious  desire  for 
the  study  of  science,  human  and  divine,  and  to  fill  them 
with  love  of  the  Church  and  the  Fatherland  ;  to  teach 
them  that  each  action  should  tend  to  the  honour  of 
God,  the  salvation  of  their  own  souls  and  the  benefit  of 
others.  In  the  midst  of  the  day's  toil,  at  the  service  of 
the  choir,  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  I  seem  to  hear  a 
voice  saying  ever,  "  Time  is  flying,  use  it  well ;  lose  no 
single  hour ;  improve  yourself  and  seek  to  improve 
others  ;  study  and  teach."  You  young  men,  on  whom 
our  hopes  for  the  future  are  built,  fight  a  valiant  fight 
against  sin  and  spiritual  death,  against  the  sluggishness 
of  nature,  against  the  distractions  of  life.  Study,  and 
improve  yourselves  in  every  science,  but  remember  that 
all  knowledge  without  piety  is  vain  and  idle.  As 
religion  should  permeate  our  whole  life,  so  must  it  be 
with  our  studies.' 

'  The  ancient  writers,'  he  continues,  '  whose  works 
we  are  now  so  eagerly  studying,  should  be  to  us  but 
the  means  to  higher  ends.  We  can  recommend  their 
study  with  a  clear  conscience  to  those  who  do  not  read 
them  merely  for  intellectual  pleasure,  but  who,  after 
the  example  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  seek  in  them 
the  means  of  advancing  in  Christian  science.  We  even 
look  on  the  former  as  a  necessary  complement  to  the 
study  of  the  latter.'  The  importance  of  the  classics 
from  this  point  of  view  was  more  closely  reasoned 
out  by  Johann  Butzbach,  the  accomplished  pupil  of 
Trithemius,  against  the  enemies  and  abusers  of  human- 
istic studies.  He  says  :  '  Those  who  have  not  studied 
the  classics  will  break  down  in  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  the  Fathers :  first,  because  they  are  wanting 


"UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING   117 

in  the  linguistic  knowledge  necessary  for  fully  under- 
standing them,  and,  secondly,  because  their  minds  will 
not  have  become  disciplined  to  severe  mental  work. 
Secular  studies  are  as  it  were  steps  leading  up  to 
theology,  the  highest  of  all  studies.'  It  was  in  order 
to  be  well  strengthened  and  grounded  for  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures  that  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  had 
given  so  much  attention  to  the  classics.  '  Had  you 
read  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,'  he  continues,  '  had 
you  read  St.  Jerome,  you  would  have  understood  the 
mystical  signification  of  the  stories  of  the  Israelites 
taking  the  gold  and  silver  vases  of  the  Egyptians ;  of 
their  gilding  the  ark  of  the  covenant  with  the  gold  of 
the  heathens  ;  of  the  queen  of  Sheba  laying  the  treasures 
and  perfumes  of  Arabia  at  the  king's  feet ;  of  the  Magi 
travelling  from  foreign  lands  in  order  to  offer  gold, 
frankincense,  and  myrrh  at  the  Saviour's  crib ;  you 
would  understand  that  all  the  intellectual  treasures 
of  the  heathen  world  are  part  and  parcel  of  Christian 
truth,  and  all  tend  to  the  glory  of  the  most  High 
•God.' 

When  St.  Jerome  relates  of  himself  that  he  was 
severely  chastised  by  God  for  being  more  of  a 
Ciceronian  than  a  Christian,  we  must  not  let  this 
example  set  us  against  the  study  of  antiquity  per  se, 
but  remember  that  St.  Jerome  was  punished  for  his 
excessive  love  of  these  heathen  works,  whereby  he  was 
in  danger  of  losing  his  taste  for  godly  things.  It  was 
this  very  knowledge  of  the  classics  which  made 
St.  Jerome  such  a  shining  light  in  the  Church ;  and  if 
God  willed  that  he  should  translate  the  books  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  for  the  use  of  the  Church,  He 
willed  also  that  he  should  go  through   those  studies 


118  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

which  alone  would  train  him  for  the  higher  work. 
Much,  no  doubt,  in  the  literature  of  the  ancients  is 
offensive  to  a  delicate  sense  of  morality ;  nevertheless, 
the  study  of  them  must  not  on  that  account  be  aban- 
doned. What  it  behoves  us  to  do  is  to  expunge,  as 
much  as  possible,  what  is  dangerous,  and,  as  St.  Basil 
recommends,  set  to  work  like  the  bees,  who  do  not 
suck  in  the  whole  flower,  poison  and  all,  but  choose 
only  the  honey. 

Butzbach,  who  was  such  an  eloquent  exponent  of 
his  master's  ideas,  entered  more  fully  than  any  of  his 
other  pupils  into  the  spirit  and  aims  of  Trithemius. 
As  master  of  novices,  and  later  on  prior  of  the  monas- 
tery of  Laach,  he  was  as  indefatigable  in  labour  as  his 
master  and  pattern  had  been ;  endeavouring  like  him 
to  cultivate  his  mind  in  all  directions,  and  to  obtain 
wide  influence  through  his  literary  activity.  He  was 
of  the  same  true  and  steadfast  nature,  the  same  lofty 
and  self-forgetting  mind  as  Trithemius  ;  and,  as  with  his 
master,  he  knew  no  greater  joy  than  to  find  his  own 
enthusiasm  kindling  sparks  in  others.  As  author  he 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the  abbot  of  Sponheim, 
and  in  conjunction  with  his  friend  and  religious  asso- 
ciate, Jacob  Siberti,  published  a  valuable  continuation 
of  '  The  Catalogue  of  Distinguished  Men  '  in  the  years 
1508-1513.  It  is  a  history  of  the  literature  of  the  day, 
and  in  a  series  of  1,155  articles  describes  the  character 
and  works  of  the  authors  from  different  countries  of 
Europe. 

Side  by  side  with  Heidelberg  the  university  of 
Freiburg,  in  Breisgau,  rose  rapidly  to  distinction.  Two 
of  its  professors  in  particular,  the  jurist  Zasius  and  the 
theologian  Gregory  Reisch,  became  eminent  for  their 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    119 

scientific  labours  and  their  personal  influence.     Like 
Wimpheling  in  the  field  of  pedagogy,  and  Reuchlin  in 
the  study  of  Hebrew,  Zasius    (born   at  Constance  in 
1461)  did  important    pioneer  work  in   the  reform  of 
jurisprudence.     He  differs  from  the  reformers  in  other 
intellectual  departments  in   that  while  they  were  fol- 
lowed by  successors  of  equal  distinction  with  them- 
selves, he   stands   out   during   his   own    and  the    two 
following  centuries  as  a  unique  phenomenon.     He  not 
only  surpassed  other  writers  on  law  in  outward  form, 
in  purity  of  style,  facility  and  variety  of  language,  and 
in  natural  sequence  of  thought,  but  his  matter  also  is 
far   beyond   that    of  contemporary  jurists.     His    aim 
throughout  is  to  do  away  with  the  barbarisms  of  the 
commentators,  and  to  make  an  independent  examina- 
tion of  first  sources.     In  the  execution  of  this  task  he 
endeavours  to  steer  clear  of  traditional  prejudices,  to 
set   aside   sophistical   casuistries,    and    to   maintain   a 
simple,  natural  attitude  of  mind.     In  the  preface  to  his 
principal  work  he  says,  '  I  propose  to  use  the  original 
texts  and  such  arguments  only  as  bear  on  the  subject 
and  are  supported  by  good  proof.'     Far  from  wishing 
the  German  spirit  to  become  subservient  to  the  foreign 
Roman  law,  he  made  it  his  task  to  teach  only  so  much 
of  this  law  as  was  useful  and  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  Germany.     It  was  only  when  he  found  gaps 
and  imperfections  in  the  German  law  that  he  fell  back 
on  the  Roman  code  to  improve  and  perfect  that  of  his 
own  country.     Whatever  was    incompatible  with  the 
genius  of  the  German  nation  in  the  deepest  sense  of 
the  word  had  no  value  in  his  eyes. 

He  was  the  sworn  enemy  of  those  quibbling  lawyers 
who,  with  the  help  of  the  Roman  code,  so  twisted  and 


120  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

perverted  facts  and  evidence  that  no  solution  of  a  case 
was  arrived  at  till  both  parties  were  ruined  by  costs. 
'Such  advocates,'  he  complains,  'poison  judgment, 
mock  at  justice,  seek  to  entangle  administration,  and 
are  hateful  to  God  and  man.'  His  remarks  on  the 
dignity  of  the  degree  of  '  doctor  of  laws '  show  the 
respect  in  which  he  held  the  science  of  jurisprudence. 
'  This  degree  is  not  conferred  in  order  to  enable  a  man 
to  inscribe  himself  among  the  followers  of  courts,  or 
to  wear  their  livery,  or  to  soil  his  conscience  with  the 
mud  of  the  tribunal  or  consistory,  but  in  order  to  have 
the  privilege  of  speaking  and  teaching  the  law,  of 
deciding  what  is  doubtful,  and  of  protecting  the  State. 
This  is  the  aim  of  the  true  LL.D.  He  who  is  sincere 
serves  the  State,  he  who  is  not  destroys  it.' 

As   a   university   professor    Zasius    enthralled    his 
hearers  by  the  clearness  of  his  arguments,  the  warmth 
of  his  sentiments,  and  the  fervour  of  his  eloquence. 
Not  one  among  his  contemporaries,  either  in  Germany 
or  Italy,  excelled  him  in  oratorical  power,  so  his  dis- 
ciple  Fichard   asserts.     Another   pupil   writes    as   fol- 
lows :  '  When  we   received   our   Zasius  in  the  lecture 
hall   or    accompanied  him  to  his  home  he  seemed   a 
very  angel  to  us.     How  often  I  used  to  say  to  myself, 
"It  is  time  to  go  and  hear  Zasius'   lecture,  to   drink 
in   his   teaching,"  or,  if  doubts    assailed   me,  "Go  to 
Zasius  and  ask  his  counsel."     On  feast  days  it  was  our 
delight  to  accompany  him  to  church,  and  then  see  him 
home.' 

The  deep  faith  which  was  the  foundation  of  his 
conduct,  his  sincerity,  honesty,  and  simplicity,  attached 
to  him  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  Erasmus, 
writing  to  Wilibald  Pirkheimer,  says  :  '  Zasius  is  a  rare 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    121 

example  of  old-fashioned  morality  and  virtue.  His 
conduct  and  behaviour  are,  throughout,  of  Christian 
purity.  None  ever  part  from  him  without  feeling  stirred 
to  greater  piety  by  his  conversation.  I  have  never 
come  across  a  nobler  or  purer  soul  in  Germany.  He 
is  a  grand  man,  and  Germany  can  scarcely  possess  a 
second  like  him.  If  any  is  worthy  of  immortality,  it 
is  he.' 

Gregory  Eeisch,  prior  of  a  Carthusian  convent, 
equally  renowned  for  his  theological  and  philo- 
sophical learning,  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Zasius. 
He  lectured  on  cosmography  and  mathematics,  and 
also  gave  instruction  in  the  Hebrew  language  to 
young  men  particularly  anxious  to  learn  it.  He 
belonged  to  the  school  of  Eealists,  which,  through 
the  influence  of  his  friend,  George  Nordhofer,  had 
gained  preponderance  at  Freiburg  from  the  year  1489. 
Gregory  Eeisch  obtained  world-wide  fame  by  a  work, 
first  published  in  1503,  under  the  title  of  'Pearls  of 
Philosophy,'  and  of  which  the  '  Naturspiegel '  ('  Mirror 
of  Nature ')  of  Vincent  von  Beauvais,  the  '  Buch  der 
Natur'  ('Book  of  Nature')  by  the  Eatisbon  priest, 
Conrad  of  Meygenberg,  and  the  '  Weltbild '  ('  World's 
History')  by  Cardinal  Pierre  d'Ailly,  may  be  considered 
progenitors.  This  work  of  Eeisch's  was  the  first  ency- 
clopaedia of  philosophy,  and  for  some  time  it  continued 
to  be  reprinted  every  two  or  three  years,  and  during 
half  a  century  it  contributed  in  a  remarkable  manner 
to  the  spread  of  learning.1  It  dealt  principally  with 
mathematical  subjects,  but  music  also  had  a  consider- 
able share  of  its  attention.  Eeisch's  writings  on  mine- 
ralogy,  meteorology,   and  orthography  show   that  he 

1  The  Hebrew  grammar  was  used  in  the  university  in  1461. 


122  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

was  a  keen  observer.1  The  most  gifted  of  his  pupils  in 
cosmography  was  Martin  Waldseemtiller,  of  Freiburg, 
who  published  in  1507  an  '  Introduction  to  the  Study 
of  Cosmography,  with  the  Four  Voyages  of  Amerigo 
Vespucci,'  with  a  dedication  to  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian. This  was  the  first  public  appearance  of  the 
narrative  of  the  Florentine  traveller.  Waldseemiiller 
gives  descriptions  in  this  work  of  the  different  maps 
which  he  had  made  of  European  countries,  and  remarks 
incidentally  that  for  the  later  ones  he  had  availed  him- 
self of  the  works  of  Ptolemy,  as  well  as  of  the  observa- 
tions of  navigators.2  He  also  worked  on  the  beautiful 
edition  of  Ptolemy  published  at  Strasburg,  and  wrote 
two  treatises  on  architecture  and  perspective,3  which 
his  teacher,  Eeisch,  embodied  in  the  new  edition  of  his 
encyclopaedia  brought  out  in  1507. 

The  University  of  Basle  surpassed  even  that  of 
Freiburg  in  intellectual  activity,  in  fresh  and  vigorous 
life,  and  in  the  proficiency  of  its  teachers.  Up  to  the 
time  of  the  Church  schism  Basle  was  the  '  pleasantest 
abode  of  the  muses.' 4  In  the  first  decades  of  its  exist- 
ence the  most  striking  figure  in  the  university  was 
Johannes  Heynlin  of  Stein,  from  the  diocese  of  Spires,  a 
man  as  conspicuous  for  his  austere  piety  as  for  his  vast 
learning,  his  eloquence,  and  industry.  One  of  the  last 
of  the  distinguished  leaders  of  the  medieval  school  of 
Realists,  he  was,  nevertheless,  behind  few  of  his  contem- 


1  Alexander  von  Humboldt  in  Cosmos,  ii.  286. 

2  Peschel   says  in  his  Geschichte  der  Erdkunde  their  observations 
were  as  exact  as  those  made  now. 

3  Alexander   von   Humboldt   in   Cosmos,   i.   286.     Kritische  Unter- 
auchungen,  pp.  358-371 ;  Ghillany,  vols,  iv.-vi. ;  Poscher. 

4  We  find  Erasmus  calling  Strasburg  '  The  home  of  the  muses  '  in  a 
letter  written  in  1516.     Woltmann,  i.  267. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    123 

poraries  in  enthusiasm  for  the  newly  revived  study  of 
antiquity.  Wherever  his  restless  activity  carried  him, 
at  Basle,  Paris,  Tubingen,  and  Bern,  he  had  an  unusual 
following.  As  rector  of  the  University  of  Paris  he  used 
all  his  influence  to  promote  the  study  of  the  classics  in 
France,  and,  above  all,  to  hold  up  the  beauty  and  purity 
of  style  of  the  Latin  writings  as  an  example  to  be  fol- 
lowed. Paris  was  indebted  to  him  for  its  first  printing- 
house,  established  by  the  so-called  '  German  Brother- 
hood.' In  conjunction  with  the  famous  Eealist,  Wilhelm 
Fichet,  he  rendered  every  possible  assistance  to  those 
scholars  who  took  refuge  from  Greece  in  Paris.  He 
carried  on  a  brisk  correspondence  with  Italy,  and 
bought  up  collections  of  manuscripts,  by  careful  com- 
parison of  which  he  was  able  to  throw  light  on  the  text 
of  the  classic  authors.  He  had  great  influence  on  the 
culture  of  Agricola  and  Eeuchlin,  both  of  whom  ac- 
knowledge him  as  their  teacher  in  the  most  grateful 
and  complimentary  terms.  At  Bern  he  established  a 
house  of  education  and  discipline,  which  was  placed 
under  the  direction  of  the  monk  Nicholas  Weidenbusch, 
who  was  also  well  versed  in  the  science  of  medicine. 
As  a  preacher,  both  at  Basle  and  Bern,  he  waged  war 
against  the  vices  and  crimes  of  the  day.1 

At  Basle  Heynlin  was  the  intellectual  centre  of  a 
circle  of  able  men,  who  were  active  workers,  either 
in  the  university  or  the  field  of  literature  generally  ; 
amongst  them  were  the  following  embryo  celebrities  of 
first  rank  : — Sebastian  Brant  and  Geiler  von  Kaisers- 
berg  ;  William  Textoris  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  professor  of 
theology,  whom  Trithemius  praises  for  his  independence 

1  There   are   still   five   octavo  volumes  of  his  sermons  in  the  Basle 
library. 


124  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  mind  and  his  eloquence  ;  and  the  zealous  Church 
reformer,  Christopher  von  Utenheim.  The  theologian, 
Johann  Matthias  von  Gengenbach,  who,  in  the  year 
1474,  was  called  to  occupy  the  first  chair  of  poetry  and 
the  fine  arts  in  Germany,  was  also  a  member  of  this 
circle.  The  archdeacon,  Johann  Bergman,  from  Olpe, 
in  Westphalia,  proved  himself  the  disinterested  and 
generous  protector  of  Heynlin  and  his  Humanistic 
friends.  At  his  own  expense  he  started  a  printing  press 
for  bringing  out  popular  editions  of  the  works  of  Brant, 
Eeuchlin,  and  Wimpheling,  beautifully  got  up,  and  in 
many  cases  illustrated  with  excellent  woodcuts.  In 
this  undertaking  he  was  seconded  by  the  printer,  Jean 
Amerbach,  who  in  turn  received  much  valuable  assist- 
ance from  Heynlin,  formerly  his  teacher  in  Paris. 

After  a  busy  career  Heynlin  retired  to  the  Carthu- 
sian monastery  of  St.  Margarethenthal,  in  the  valley 
of  St.  Margaret,  in  1487,  and  spent  the  last  nine 
years  of  his  life  in  prayer  and  literary  work.  In  this 
period  of  seclusion  he  published  editions  of  nearly  all 
the  works  of  Augustine,  Ambrose,  and  Jerome,  be- 
sides introductions  to  and  summaries  of  several  of 
Cicero's  works.  His  treatises  on  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle  show  his  familiarity  with  the  system  of 
Stagirites,  for  the  better  general  understanding  of  which 
he  was  solicitous.  A  work  of  his  on  the  Mass  went 
through  twenty  different  editions  in  the  course  of  twelve 
years,  in  Eome,  Cologne,  Strasburg,  Basle,  Leipsic,  and 
elsewhere. 

'  Like  a  brave  crusader,'  writes  Wimpheling  concern- 
ing him,  '  he  was  always  ready  armed  for  the  fight,  and 
he  fought  man)7,  a  hard  battle,  but  his  heart  was  ever 
inclined  for  peace.     His  work  was  abundantly  blessed. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    125 

He  never  took  book  or  pen  in  hand  without  having  first 
communed  in  prayer  with  God.  He  had  read  and 
meditated  on  the  Scriptures  so  much  that  he  knew  them 
almost  by  heart.  His  mind  was  as  pure  as  that  of  a 
child,  and  it  was  his  greatest  delight  and  refreshment 
when  wearied  with  long  labour  to  play  with  little  chil- 
dren.' 

When  he  died,  universally  lamented,  in  1496,  Se- 
bastian Brant  was  the  only  one  of  all  his  many  friends 
outside  the  monastery  who  was  allowed  to  be  present 
at  his  deathbed. 

Sebastian  Brant,  born  at  Strasburg  in  1457,  com- 
menced his  career  in  1489,  at  Basle,  as  professor  of 
law,  and  in  conjunction  with  Ulrich  Krafft  (the  teacher 
of  Ulrich  Zasius)  did  much  to  increase  interest  in  the 
study  of  jurisprudence  at  the  university.  He  taught 
simultaneously,  to  the  immense  satisfaction  of  the 
students,  as  professor  of  classics,  and  gained  repute  by 
his  Latin  poems,  and  by  editing  the  works  of  several 
writers  who  had  aimed  at  the  propagation  of  the  study 
of  Christian  Humanities.  Science  and  literature  are 
specially  indebted  to  him  for  the  first  complete  edition 
of  the  works  of  Petrarch,  whom  he  celebrated  in  a  noble 
Latin  poem.  He  also  gave  his  attention  to  the  pub- 
lishing of  several  ancient  books  on  jurisprudence,  and 
interested  himself  deeply  in  the  bringing  out  of  the 
'  Bible  Concordance  of  1496,'  and  in  the  six-volume  Bible 
with  the  glossary  of  Nicholas  of  Lyra,  published  at  Basle 
in  1498. 

Brant's  nature  and  character  were  by  no  means 
merely  scholastic  and  theoretical.  He  worked  always 
for  practical  ends,  and  in  all  the  movements  of  the  time 
it  was  essentially  the  political  and  moral  aspects   and 


126  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  interests  of  the  people  that  appealed  to  him.  This 
is  strikingly  shown  by  his  didactic  and  religious  poem 
'  Das  Narrenschiff,'  one  of  the  most  interesting  monu- 
ments of  a  pious,  patriotic  mind.  He  was  an  enthusi- 
astic worshipper  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  under 
pope  and  emperor,  and  he  remained  unswervingly 
true  to  his  creed.  His  principles  were  summed  up  in 
the  following  lines : 

Nit  lass  vom  Glauben  dich  abfiiren, 
Ob  man  davon  will  disputiren, 
Sonder  glaub  schlecht  einfeltiglich 
Wie  die  heilige  Kirch  thut  leren  dich. 
Nimm  dich  der  scharffen  Lehr  nit  an, 
Die  dein  Vernunft  nit  mag  verstahn. 

'  Be  not  led  from  the  Faith  although  they  may  dis- 
pute about  it.  Believe  with  simplicity  what  the  Church 
teaches  you.  Do  not  trouble  yourself  about  subtleties 
which  it  is  beyond  your  power  to  understand.' 

Heynlin's  pupil  and  friend,  the  cathedral  preacher, 
Geiler  von  Kaisersberg,  born  in  1445,  occupied  the  same 
position  at  Strasburg  as  Heynlin  himself  did  at  Basle. 
He  was  the  leading  spirit  of  an  important  circle  of 
highly  gifted  men,  on  whom  the  '  Queen  of  the  Upper 
Ehine '  might  well  look  with  pride.  As  a  scholastic 
theologian,  as  a  zealous  promoter  of  Humanistic  studies 
in  the  Christian  sense,  and  as  a  pulpit  preacher,  he  was 
entirely  in  accord  with  the  mental  attitude  of  his  master, 
Heynlin.  These  two  men,  together  with  their  friends, 
Johann  Trithemius  and  Gabriel  Biel,  close  the  list  of  the 
<*reat  mediaeval  divines.  Geiler's  sound  and  thorough- 
going  classical  culture  rendered  him  specially  capable 
of  preaching  clearly  and  impressively  to  the  people. 
His  Biblical  and  patristic  learning  was  wide  and 
thorough.     While  urging  strongly  on  theologians  the 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    127 

necessity  of  studying  the  Scriptures  and  the  early 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  he  was  very  decided  in  his 
opinion  that  beginners  in  divinity  studies  should  not  at 
once  be  sent  to  the  early  Fathers,  but  should  rather  have 
their  attention  turned  to  the  later  theologians  and 
schoolmen,  who  proceed  on  the  plan  of  setting  questions 
admirably  adapted  for  discussion,  refutation  of  heretics, 
sharpening  the  reason,  and  clearing  up  apparent  con- 
tradictions. '  No  theologian,'  he  says, '  should  let  a  day 
go  by  without  reading  and  meditating  on  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  the  Book  of  books,  in  order  to  make  him- 
self master  of  them,  and  to  be  able  to  explain  effectively 
to  the  people ;  but  in  their  expositions  they  must 
always  look  to  the  Church  for  guidance.' 

There  was  scarcely  a  single  individual  in  Germany 
at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  who  was  held  in  such 
universal  honour  by  his  contemporaries  as  Geiler — 
scarcely  anyone  who  is  so  great  a  power  even  in  the 
present  day,  and  has  so  far-reaching  an  influence  as 
4  the  clear-toned  trombone  of  Strasburg,'  as  Geiler  was 
called.  He  was  remarkable  for  the  possession  of  two 
qualities  which  do  not  often  go  together — immense 
intellectual  activity  and  extreme  tenderness  of  heart. 
To  great  charity  towards  his  neighbour,  and  sincere 
humility,  he  united  firm  decision,  untiring  perseverance, 
and  indomitable  strength  of  character.  'He  spent  him- 
self in  love  to  his  fellow-men,'  says  Wimpheling,  '  and 
to  the  end  of  his  life  his  heart  grieved  over  the  sins  and 
errors  of  his  time.  He  was  austere  in  his  judgments  of 
himself,  and  practised  all  manner  of  self-renunciation. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  the  enemy  of  gloom  and 
moroseness,  was  merry  and  cheerful  in  his  daily  life, 
and  warm  in  his  friendship  towards  the  select  number 


128  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

who  had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy  familiar  intercourse 
with  him.' 

Amongst  his  friends  was  canon  Thomas  Wolf,  at 
whose  house  Picus  of  Mirandula  met  '  a  symposium  of 
sages':  the  cathedral  dean,  Frederick  von  Hohenzollern ; 
the  rector,  Johannes  Eot ;  and  the  canon,  Peter  Schott 
the  younger,  son  of  the  alderman  Peter  Schott, 
through  whose  influence  Geiler  had  obtained  his  post 
at  the  cathedral.  The  younger  Peter  Schott  was,  as 
his  writings  show,  an  enthusiastic  disciple  of  the  older 
Christian  school  of  Humanists,  a  thoroughly  well- 
educated  canon,  and  a  pious  priest  zealous  for  the 
salvation  of  souls.  It  was  also  the  influence  of  Geiler 
which  helped  to  form  the  learned  theologian,  Otmar 
Nachtigall,  who,  after  travelling  over  nearly  the  whole 
of  Europe  and  part  of  Asia,  was  for  a  long  time  pro- 
fessor of  Greek  in  his  native  city  of  Strasburg.  In  the 
preface  to  his  '  Evangelical  History  '  he  says  :  '  In  my 
boyhood  I  got  a  great  deal  of  wholesome  instruction 
from  Doctor  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg,  both  by  the 
sermons  he  preached  at  Strasburg,  and  also  later  in  his 
own  house.  I  owe  it  to  this  that  men  call  me  un- 
worldly.    God  grant  this  opinion  may  be  true.' 

Geiler's  interest  in  and  active  labours  for  historical 
and  Humanistic  studies  assumed  their  true  importance 
after  he  had  succeeded  in  inducing  Brant  and  Wim- 
pheling  to  settle  at  Strasburg.  At  his  suggestion  the 
former  was  called  from  Basle  in  the  year  1500  to  fill 
the  post  of  solicitor  of  the  council,  and  shortly  after  he 
was  further  appointed  city  clerk.  TJie  latter  (Jacob 
Wimpheling),  at  Geiler's  request,  consented  to  remain, 
and  became  Geiler's  collaborator  in  editing  the  works 
of  Johann  Gerson. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER    CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    129 

The  deep  interest  which  Wimpheling  and  Brant 
took  in  the  past  history  of  their  country  induced  them 
to  establish  a  society  having  this  study  for  its  object. 
Assisted  by  the  co-operation  of  younger  workers,  they 
got  together  a  collection  of  original  documents  for  the 
history  of  the  Upper  .Rhine  district,  which  they  intended 
to  supplement  with  biographical  and  ethnographical 
commentaries.  In  1507  Wimpheling,  explaining  the 
proposed  objects  of  the  society,  which  unfortunately 
were  never  fulfilled,  wrote  as  follows :  '  We  propose 
to  dedicate  to  our  native  land  a  mark  of  our  grateful 
affection  and  homage.  What  on  earth  can  be  more 
dear  to  us  than  the  land  on  which  we  were  born  and 
have  grown  up,  the  land  with  which  all  the  memories 
of  youth  are  inseparably  bound  up,  and  underneath 
whose  soil  the  bones  of  our  forefathers  lie  buried  ?  The 
records  of  this  soil  instruct  us  concerning'  the  life  of  our 
ancestors,  and  the  study  of  them  makes  us  acquainted 
with  our  own  past.' 

At  Geiler's  suggestion  Thomas  Wolf  the  younger 
formed  the  plan  of  writing  a  history  of  Strasburg  from 
its  earliest  beginnings  down  to  the  present  day.  Brant 
collected  the  materials  for  a  history  of  the  time,  made 
daily  notes  of  the  annals  of  the  town,  and  received 
much  praise  for  the  order  which  he  introduced  into 
the  city  archives.  Wimpheling,  also  at  Geiler's  insti- 
gation, wrote  a  history  of  the  bishops  of  Strasburg. 

In  a  book  entitled  '  Germany,  to  the  honour  of  the 
city  of  Strasburg  and  the  river  Ehine,'  which  Wim- 
pheling wrote  in  1501,  and  dedicated  to  the  city 
council,  he  represents  it  as  the  special  duty  of  a  good 
government  to  see  that  accurate  chronicle  books  are 
kept,  in  which  all  the  principal  events — everything, 
vol.  i.  K 


130  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 

in  short,  that  is  of  importance  to  the  town — should  be 
recorded,  for  the  use  of  posterity,  for  instruction  of  the 
young,  for  the  protection  of  freedom,  and  the  preser- 
vation of  the  privileges  conferred  on  the  city  by  the 
popes  and  emperors.  He  earnestly  exhorts  the  council 
to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  the  city  by  the  encourage- 
ment of  learning  and  the  erection  of  schools.  In  his 
enthusiasm  for  his  country  he  tries  to  prove  that  the 
countries  west  of  the  Ehine  had  always  belonged  to 
Germany,  and  that  the  French  could  not,  therefore, 
rightly  lay  claim  to  Alsatia. 

With  the  same  patriotic  ardour  he  wrote  (1502),  in 
a  '  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Germany  down  to  the 
Present  Time,'  which  he  compiled  from  notes  collected 
by  Sebastian  Murrho  in  1502  :  'I  am  in  a  constant 
state  of  admiration  of  the  old  historians,  not  the  later 
ones — who  appear  to  me  always  as  detractors.  For 
being  solicitous,  in  the  first  place,  not  to  recount  any- 
thing that  is  false ;  and  secondly,  not  to  hide  what  is 
true  in  order  not  to  be  accused  of  being  actuated  by 
party  prejudice  or  enmity,  it  is  their  habit,  when 
speaking  of  the  Germans,  to  record  all  their  faults  and 
vices,  even  the  most  trivial;  but  as  to  their  virtues, 
they  either  pass  them  over  altogether,  or,  if  they  allude 
to  them,  the  evident  reluctance  with  which  they  do  so, 
and  the  withholding  of  the  merited  praise,  diminish  the 
effect.  .  .  .  But  we  are  not  ashamed  of  being  de- 
scended from  the  Allemanni,  whose  glorious  and  admir- 
able deeds  will  be  described  in  our  book.' 

This  work  is  the  first  general  German  history  written 
by  a  Humanist,  and,  as  far  as  accurate  investigation  goes, 
it  falls  far  short  of  the  works  of  an  Irenicus  or  a  Beatus 
Khenanus,  but  it  gave  a  strong  impulse  to  the  serious 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    131 

study  of  the  past  history  of  the  Fatherland.  In  order 
to  strengthen  the  national  feeling  of  the  people,  and  to 
rouse  a  spirit  of  heroism  among  the  young,  Wimpheling 
sets  forth  in  glowing  language  the  glorious  past  of 
Germany,  with  which  no  other  nation  on  earth  can 
compare  either  in  military  prowess,  moral  purity,  or 
intellectual  feats.  The  invention  of  printing  alone 
would  have  constituted  them  the  greatest  benefactors 
of  the  world  ;  and  in  architecture,  painting,  and  sculp- 
ture they  were  without  doubt  the  greatest  masters. 
He  shows  great  insight  in  dealing  with  the  intellectual 
conditions  of  the  time,  discusses  the  most  eminent 
among  the  scholars  and  artists,  and  affords  pleasant 
proof  that  even  at  that  early  period  there  were  writers 
who  could  intelligently  handle  the  history  of  civilisation 
and  literature  in  combination  with  political  history. 

What  appeals  to  us  most  forcibly  in  this  book  is  the 
perfect  blending  of  genuine  love  for  the  Church  with 
true  patriotism,  which  indeed  was  a  leading  feature, 
not  only  of  Wimpheling's  labours  and  aspirations,  but 
of  the  whole  school  of  Christian  Humanists.  The  de- 
fence of  the  unity  and  purity  of  the  faith,  together 
with  inviolable  loyalty  to  the  empire,  was  looked  on 
by  them  as  their  first  duty,  and  the  re-establishment  of 
Christianity  under  the  empire  was  their  highest  goal. 
Hence  their  reiterated  warnings,  by  word  and  by  writ- 
ing, of  the  danger  to  Christianity  from  the  advance  of 
the  Turks,  who  threatened  to  overrun  the  whole  of 
Europe,  and  of  the  risk  of  decay  of  the  empire  through 
the  ambition  and  covetousness  of  its  separate  princes, 
from  whom  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  enthusiastic  for 
everything  high  and  noble,  could  get  no  support.  '  All 
eyes,'  says  Wimpheling, '  are  turned  on  Maximilian  ;  on 


132  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

no  emperor,  since  Charlemagne,  lias  every  section  of 
the  people  built  so  great  hopes.  It  is  the  universal 
expectation  that  he  will  unite  all  the  forces  of  Germany 
in  a  campaign  against  the  Turks.'  '  How  long,'  he  ex- 
claims to  the  princes  of  Germany,  '  will  you  endure  to 
see  the  Catholic  Church  undefended,  and  Constan- 
tinople unlawfully  garrisoned.  The  wars  you  are 
fighting  amongst  yourselves  may  be  just  ones,  but  the 
first  thing  is  to  fight  for  Christ.  Let  there  be  a  truce 
for  once  to  German  dissensions,  that  so  your  invincible 
valour  may  be  turned  against  the  Turks.  Set  free  the 
unhappy  Christian  prisoners  who  are  groaning  under 
Ottoman  chains,  and  rescue  Constantinople  from  the 
heretics.  You  are  nobles  and  bear  the  insignia  of 
nobility,  chains  of  gold  adorn  your  necks  and  costly 
rings  are  on  your  fingers,  your  swords  and  spurs  sparkle 
with  gold.  You  are  Christians,  and  wish  to  be  con- 
sidered as  such  ;  let  your  deeds  prove  your  faith.  Do 
not  suffer  that  men  should  be  able  to  reproach  you  with 
your  cowardice,  your  indifference,  your  luxury  and 
drinking,  your  voluptuousness  and  gambling.  How 
easy  a  matter  it  is  for  princes  of  Germany  to  be  victo- 
rious, for  what  a  people  they  govern  !  What  other 
nation  is  comparable  to  them  in  arms  ? '  Exhortations 
of  the  same  nature  are  repeated  by  Geiler  in  his  sermons, 
and  by  Brant  in  his  great  religious  poem,  and  in  his 
smaller  Latin  poems  addressed  to  the  princes  and  other 
separatists  in  the  State.  '  A  divided  nation  falls  to  the 
ground.  Civil  quarrels  open  the  door  to  the  foreign 
enemy.     An  unequal  team  upsets  the  waggon.' 

The  study  of  the  classics  was  also  eagerly  pursued  at 
Strasburg,  side  by  side  with  that  of  history,  Brant  being 
one  of  its  most  energetic  promoters.     Geiler  also,  who 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING   133 

saw  in  the  classics  a  means  of  strengthening  the  faith 
in  intelligent  minds,  took  much  interest  in  the  subject, 
and  induced  the  bishop  and  canons  of  the  cathedral  to 
invite  the  eminent  scholar,  Jerome  Gebweiler,  to  take 
charge  of  the  cathedral  school  at  Strasburg,  It  was 
also  through  his  influence  that  the  historian,  Beatus 
Ehenanus,  came  from  Schlettstadt  to  reside  at  Stras- 
burg,  and  it  was  this  same  Ehenanus  who,  in  1510, 
preached  the  funeral  sermon  of  the  venerable  cathedral 
preacher,  and  in  touching  words  bore  evidence  to  his 
virtues  and  talents,  as  well  as  to  the  respect  in  which  he 
was  held  by  the  people. 

Whoever  reads  the  works  of  Geiler  in  an  unpreju- 
diced spirit  must  be  struck  by  the  incorruptible  love  of 
truth,  the  fearless  independence,  the  impartial  justice 
and  true  loyalty  of  this  grand  character.  The  power 
of  his  eloquence,  the  simplicity  and  easy  vivacity  of  his 
style,  are  almost  unsurpassed. 

In  his  books  we  have  some  of  the  most  reliable 
means  of  information  as  to  the  mind  and  manners  of  the 
people.  An  upholder  of  their  rights,  and  a  champion 
of  the  down-trodden  wherever  they  were  to  be  found, 
he  fought  vigorously  against  the  oppression  of  the  poor 
by  the  rich,  the  unjust  distribution  of  taxes,  and  the 
pernicious  love  of  the  chase  that  prevailed  amongst  the 
nobility. 

He  laboured  assiduouslv  to  establish  better  guardian- 
ship  of  the  poor,  and  set  himself  strongly  against  the 
barbarous  punishments  in  vogue  at  that  time,  especially 
the  use  of  the  rack.  What  he  could  spare  from  his 
income  as  cathedral  preacher  he  devoted  to  the  poor, 
each  day  giving  alms  to  the  foundlings  and  orphans. 
When  he  appeared  in  the  streets  he  was  immediately 


134  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

surrounded  by  the  poor  and  needy.  He  was  a  com- 
passionate befriender  of  criminals  condemned  to  death — 
a  class  to  whom  hitherto  in  Strasburg  the  privilege  of 
the  Sacraments  and  of  Christian  burial  had  been  for- 
bidden. 

During  thirty  years  Geiler,  in  his  capacity  of  cathe- 
dral preacher,  exercised  a  powerful  influence  over  high 
and  low  who  crowded  to  his  pulpit.  He  understood  in 
a  wonderful  manner  how  to  stir  all  the  feelings  of  the 
human  heart,  and  to  kindle  lively  faith  and  love  of 
piety.  At  a  time  when  the  life  of  the  Church  permeated 
the  whole  life  of  the  State  and  of  society,  a  man  so  God- 
fearing and  of  such  intellectual  force  must  have  been  a 
great  power  both  in  political  and  social  matters.  While 
unsparing  in  his  rebukes  of  the  vices  and  passions  of 
the  people,  and  of  their  insubordination  to  the  consti- 
tuted authorities,  he  showed  equal  fearlessness  in  re- 
minding the  ruling  classes  of  their  duties  to  the  lower 
ones.  Once,  in  addressing  some  tyrannical  rulers,  he 
used  the  following  scathing  words  :  '  Oh,  you  frenzied 
rulers,  why  do  you  despise  your  subjects  ?  Are 
they  not  as  good  as  you  ?  Are  they  baptised  in  water, 
and  you  in  malmsey  ?  Do  you  think  the  sword  was 
entrusted  to  your  hand  in  order  to  strike,  and  not  to 
protect  ?  ' 

A  worthy  contemporary  of  Geiler  was  his  friend, 
Gabriel  Biel,  professor  at  the  University  of  Tubingen. 

After  Freiburg  and  Basle  the  University  of  Tubingen 
became,  in  a  short  space  of  time,  a  third  nucleus  of  in- 
tellectual life  in  South  Germany;  it  was  opened  in  1477, 
and  developed  so  rapidly  to  maturity  that  in  1491  the 
Florentine  Marsilius  Ficinus,  writing  to  Eeuchlin,  the 
adviser  of  Eberhard,  Count  of  Wurtemberg,  on  matters 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    135 

regarding  the  foundation,  says, '  The  students  who  were 
sent  from  Tubingen  to  the  Italian  universities  know  as 
much  as  others  who  are  leaving  college  there.'  Count 
Eberhard's  tutor,  Johannes  Vergenhanns,  deserved  equal 
credit  with  Eeuchlin  for  the  management  of  this  uni- 
versity. Its  first  period  of  renown,  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  Church  schism,  was  due  to  the  learned  theolo- 
gians, Paul  Scriptoris,  Conrad  Summenhart,  and  Gabriel 
Biel. 

The  first  mentioned,  prior  of  the  Brothers-Minor  in 
Tubingen,  devoted  his  energies  in  conjunction  with 
Summenhart  to  the  furthering  of  the  study  of  Greek  and 
Hebrew,  and  gave  private  instruction  in  mathematics 
amongst  his  friends.  At  his  lectures  on  Euclid  and 
the  Ptolemaic  geography,  in  1497,  his  audiences  in- 
cluded nearly  all  the  professors  of  the  university.  His 
pupil,  Johannes  Stoffler,  pastor  of  Justingen,  made  in 
his  own  private  study  celestial  globes  and  tower  clocks, 
and  gained  wide  renown  as  a  mathematician  and  astro- 
nomer. He  took  an  active  share  in  the  improvement 
of  the  calendar,  and  was  one  of  the  first  writers  on  geo- 
graphical map-making.  Summenhart  (1502)  maintained 
that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  dead  languages  was 
necessary  to  the  true  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures. 
His  work  on  '  Treaties  and  Conventions,'  and  that  on 
1  Tithes,'  were  valuable  contributions  to  the  science  of 
political  economy. 

Gabriel  Biel  died  in  1495.  He  belonged  to  the 
school  of  Nominalists,  and  he  is  one  of  the  few  writers 
of  this  party  who  succeeded  in  constructing  a  system  of 
ecclesiastical  theology  which  has  never  been  attacked 
by  Catholic  theologians. 

Enemies    of   the    scholastics   of    every   shade    and 


136  HISTORY   OF    THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

description  all  agree  in  praising  his  works  for  their 
simplicity,  brevity,  and  clearness.  He  was  called '  The 
King  of  Theologians/ 

Summenhart  and  Biel  may  be  cited  with  Trithemius, 
Heynlin,  Eeiseh,  and  others,  as  instances  of  the  in- 
difference shown  by  the  leading  German  scholastics  at 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  empty  speculations 
and  subtleties  of  thought,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  grappled  with  the  questions  and  requirements  of 
the  day. 

Bid's  opinions  on  the  prices  of  goods  and  on  the 
question  of  wages  are  still  well  worthy  of  study.  His 
work  on  gold  coinage  is,  indeed,  a  '  golden  book.'  On 
the  subject  of  the  prince's  right  to  determine  the  coin 
value  he  expresses  himself  as  follows  :  '  The  ruler,  it  is 
true,  has  the  right  of  coinage,  but  the  coins  in  circula- 
tion do  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  those  among  whom 
they  circulate,  who  have  received  them  in  exchange  for 
bread,  labour,  and  so  forth.  It  is,  therefore,  an  act  of 
fraud  for  the  ruler  to  recall  it  at  a  depreciated  value ; 
this  would  be  as  despotic  and  tyrannical  as  if  he  fixed 
a  price  on  his  subject's  corn  with  a  view  to  specula- 
tion.' 

Biel  is  equally  emphatic  in  his  condemnation  of  the 
State  for  infringing  on  the  forest,  pasture,  and  water 
rights  of  the  people.  Under  the  growing  despotism  of 
the  princes  it  was  high  time  for  Biel  to  sound  the  cry 
that  '  the  princes  were  only  there  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  the  nation,  and  that  to  oppress  the  people 
with  taxes  was  an  offence  before  God  and  man.' 

Ingolstadt,  the  fourth  of  the  newly  founded  uni- 
versities in  South  Germany,  attained  a  high  reputa- 
tion in  the  first  decades  of  its  existence,  and  drew  to 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    137 

itself  students  from  Italy,  France,  Spain,  England, 
Hungary,  and  Poland. 

Among  its  staff  of  professors  Jacob  Locher,  sur- 
named  Philomusus,  became  distinguished  as  early  as 
1498  as  a  translator,  as  the  compiler  of  several  books 
of  instruction,  and  as  the  editor  and  commentator  of 
ancient  classic  writers.  John  Turmayr,  also  called 
Aventinus,  was  active  in  furthering  Humanistic  studies 
at  Ingolstadt,  and  was  the  founder  of  a  literary  society 
there.  Another  ornament  of  this  university  was  John 
Boschenstein,  of  Erlangen,  who,  like  his  master, 
Peuchlin,  was  a  reviver  of  the  study  of  the  Hebrew 
language  and  literature. 

But  the  most  universal  genius  among  the  Ingolstadt 
professors  was  John  Eck,  lecturer  on  theology,  a  man 
of  unusual  endowments  and  rare  originality  and  versa- 
tility. When  only  fifteen  years  of  age  he  had  often 
delivered  lectures  during  six  hours  a  day  at  Freiburg, 
besides  himself  attending  the  courses  of  the  leading 
theologians  and  jurists. 

From  early  youth  he  maintained  the  closest  inter- 
course with  the  most  celebrated  of  his  contemporaries, 
such  as  Brant,  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg,  Peutinger,  Eeisch, 
Wimpheling,  Eeuchlin,  Zasius,  and  others,  and  he 
developed  gradually  into  an  out-and-out  theologian  and 
philosopher.  In  his  twenty-fourth  jescr  he  was  elected 
professor  of  theology  at  Ingolstadt,  and  two  years 
later  rector  of  the  university.  With  a  view  to  reform- 
ing the  system  of  lectures  in  the  philosophical  faculty 
he  published,  amongst  other  works,  two  folio  volumes 
of  commentaries  on  the  dialectics  and  physics  of  Aris- 
totle. He  gained  high  repute  throughout  Germany 
as    a  teacher,   a   writer,   and  a  controversialist.     The 


138  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Emperor  Maximilian  himself  appealed  to  him  for  his 
opinion  on  some  religious  question.  On  the  occasion 
of  his  visiting  Nuremberg  he  was  received  with  marked 
honours  by  the  town  council  and  the  literati  of  the 
place. 

Although  of  a  conservative  nature  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  olden  time,  Eck  was  a  follower  and 
supporter  of  the  new  school  of  learning,  and  a  true 
friend  of  the  spirit  of  reform  which  aimed  at  purging 
the  old  school  of  all  that  had  ceased  to  be  of  any  use. 
In  1511  he  said  in  one  of  his  lectures,  '  I  glory  in  this 
our  century,  in  which  barbarism  has  become  a  thing  of 
the  past,  in  which  the  young  are  educated  in  the  wisest 
manner,  and  which  can  boast  of  the  finest  speakers 
Germany  has  ever  known,  able  to  discourse  both  in 
Greek  and  Latin.  We  have  among  us  men  who,  while 
rejecting  what  was  superfluous,  have  given  us  what 
was  most  beautiful  in  the  ancients,  and  brought  to  light 
much  that  heretofore  lay  unknown.  Truly  we  have 
reason  to  be  proud  of  belonging  to  such  an  age.' 

Among  the  centres  of  scholarship  in  South  Germany 
which  did  not  possess  universities  Nuremberg  was  the 
most  important  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages.  This 
town  was  esteemed  as  the  brightest  jewel  of  the  empire, 
the  centre  of  national  intercourse,  and  the  rendezvous 
of  art  and  industry.  Commercial  prosperity  had  en- 
gendered riches  and  power,  and  developed  among  the 
wealthy  merchants  a  love  of  art  and  science.  The 
masters  of  the  trade  guilds  vied  in  industry  and  ability 
with  the  most  prominent  artists.  The  new  art  of 
typography  was  practised  here  as  zealously  as  any- 
where.    '  All  the  muses  may  be  said  to  have  entered 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    139 

the  gates  of  Nuremberg  when,  in  June  1741  (some 
weeks  later  than  the  birth  of  Albert  Diirer),  the  great 
reformer  of  the  sciences  of  astronomy  and  mathematics, 
Johann  Miiller — *  the  wonder  of  his  time  ' — surnamed 
Eegiomontanus  after  his  home  in  Lower  Franconia, 
took  up  his  abode  there.  He  raised  the  city  to  the 
position  of  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  mathematical  and 
physical  science,  and  contributed  much  towards  making 
it  '  the  capital  of  German  art.' 

In  1448  Eegiomontanus,  then  barely  twelve  years 
old,  had  entered  the  University  of  Leipsic  in  order  to 
study  philosophy  and  mathematics.  Two  years  later 
he  had  gone  to  Vienna  to  perfect  his  studies  under 
George  Peuerbach,  the  most  eminent  astronomical  pro- 
fessor of  his  day.  At  Vienna,  in  his  sixteenth  year,  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  B.A.,  and  in  1458  he  started 
lectures  on  mathematics  and  astronomy,  and  in  1461 
on  philology.  In  conjunction  with  Peuerbach,  and 
under  the  patronage  of  Cardinal  Bessarion  and  Bishop 
Johann  von  Grosswardein,  he  compiled  several  pioneer 
works  on  the  science  of  astronomy.1  These  two  men 
were  the  founders  of  astronomical  calculation  and  ob- 
servation. 

While  the  Germans,  owing  to  their  limited  maritime 
power,  were  not  able  to  do  much  towards  geographical 
discovery,  they  very  justly  claim  to  have  laid  the 
foundation  of  modern  mathematical  geography  through 
Eegiomontanus  and  Peuerbach.  The  century  in  which 
such  men  as  these  nourished  may  justly  be  called  the 
German  century  of  geographical  science. 

1  In  the  words  of  Humboldt  and  Peschel,  '  Peuerbach  and  Eegiomon- 
tanus influenced  Copernicus  and  his  disciples  as  did  this  latter  influence 
Newton  and  Galileo.'  See  also  H.  Wuttke  in  Die  Erdkunde  %m  letzten 
Drittel  des  Mittelalters.    Dresden,  1871. 


140  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 

These  two  men,  under  the  influence  of  Nicolaus  of 
Cusa,  became  the  restorers,  in  Europe,  of  direct  and 
independent  scientific  research.  By  careful  and  un- 
wearied labour  they  increased  and  multiplied  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  obtained  from  the  Greeks  and 
Arabs,  and  helped  to  bring  about  that  grand  revolution 
in  scientific  thought  which  resulted  in  the  Copernican 
system ;  for  it  was  chiefly  a  work  of  Peuerbach's  on  the 
planets,  edited  by  Eegiomontanus,  which  induced  Coper- 
nicus to  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  astronomy.  In 
this  work  Peuerbach  had  elaborated  a  new  theory  of 
the  planets,  their  spheres  and  movements,  and  had 
treated  the  most  difficult  points  with  unusual  learning 
and  distinctness.  For  nearly  a  hundred  years  this 
work  continued  to  be  the  principal  authority  on  astro- 
nomical science,  and  was  used  in  all  the  schools  of 
Europe  as  a  preparation  for  higher  mathematics. 
Another  work  of  Peuerbach's  on  the  eclipses  of  the  sun 
and  moon  was  also  first  brought  out  by  Eegiomontanus, 
and  was  of  a  like  epoch-making  character.  After  the 
death  of  Peuerbach  in  1461,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight, 
Eegiomontanus,  at  the  invitation  of  Cardinal  Bessarion, 
went  to  Italy.  There  he  remained  for  several  years, 
during  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  Greek, 
and  becoming  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  historians, 
philosophers,  orators,  and  poets  of  ancient  Hellas,  he 
himself  composed  good  verses  in  the  Greek  language. 
He  collected  many  Greek  and  Eoman  manuscripts,  and 
turned  his  attention  to  Biblical  and  theological  studies. 
With  his  own  hand  he  made  a  clear  and  correct  copy 
of  a  Greek  edition  of  the  New  Testament  which  he 
could  not  succeed  in  procuring,  and  he  carried  it 
constantly   about   with    him.      He   gave    astronomical 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    141 

lectures  in  several  colleges.  In  Padua  lie  expounded 
the  Arab  astronomer  Alfragan,  made  astronomical 
observations  at  Viterbo  and  other  places,  and  completed 
in  1463,  at  the  monastery  of  St.  George  at  Venice, 
a  masterpiece  of  mathematical  literature,  which  still 
forms  the  basis  of  trigonometry.  As  a  man  of  science 
and  a  believing  Christian  he  opposed  the  superstitious 
errors  of  astrology. 

Richly  supplied  with  manuscripts  and  other  literary 
treasures,  and  possessor  of  nearly  the  whole  substance 
of  mathematical  science  of  the  ancients,  Eegiomontanus 
returned  in  1468  to  Vienna.  He  first  busied  himself 
with  arranging  a  library  for  Mathias  Corvinus,  King  of 
Hungary,  a  classical  student,  for  whom  he  had  pur- 
chased many  valuable  manuscripts  in  Greece,  and  he 
then  went  home  to  Nuremberg,  and  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  study.  Thence  he  wrote  as  follows  to  the 
celebrated  mathematician,  Christian  Roder  of  Erfurt : 
'  I  have  chosen  Nuremberg  as  a  permanent  dwelling- 
place,  because  I  can  easily  procure  here  all  necessary 
instruments,  particularly  those  which  are  indispensable 
for  the  study  of  astronomy,  and  also  because  I  can 
easily  keep  up  a  connection  with  scholars  of  all  coun- 
tries from  here,  for  this  city,  on  account  of  its  con- 
course of  merchants,  may  be  considered  the  central 
point  of  Europe.' 

The  work  that  Eegiomontanus  accomplished  in  the 
short  space  of  four  years  in  Nuremberg  belongs  to  the 
record  of  phenomena  in  the  history  of  human  develop- 
ment. In  proportion  as  his  own  many-sided  love  of 
science  and  learning  increased,  so  did  the  desire  grow 
in  him  to  spread  these  blessings  around  him.  And 
verily  it  was  granted  to  him  to  succeed  in  inspiring 


142  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

a  whole  populous  city  with  a  deep  interest  in  all  the 
higher  things  of  the  mind,  and  to  find  helpers  and  co- 
labonrers  in  all  his  different  enterprises  in  all  classes  of 
life. 

In  order  to  initiate  the  educated  citizens  in  his 
studies  and  discoveries  he  gave  popular  lectures  on 
astronomy  and  mathematics,  a  thing  hitherto  unheard 
of  in  Germany.  The  city  clock  was  regulated  accord- 
ing to  the  length  of  day  which  he  had  calculated  for 
Nuremberg.  He  wrote  able  treatises  on  light  reflectors, 
hydraulics,  and  weights.  He  established  a  large  factory 
where  all  kinds  of  astronomical  instruments,  machinery, 
compasses,  and  globes  were  made  under  his  directions, 
and  which  proved  of  great  use  in  nautical  science.  In 
a  short  time  Nuremberg  sea  compasses  had  become 
famous  all  over  Europe,  and  this  city  earned  the 
gratitude  of  geographical  students  by  the  excellent 
maps  which  it  produced.  In  order  to  encourage  a 
love  of  science,  particularly  of  astronomy  and  mathe- 
matics, Kegiomontanus  used  to  set  problems,  for  the 
solution  of  which  he  offered  prizes. 

With  the  pecuniary  assistance  of  his  friend  and 
pupil,  Bernhard  Walther,  he  founded  an  establishment 
for  the  express  purpose  of  printing  mathematical  and 
astronomical  works,  thus  inaugurating  a  fresh  develop- 
ment in  the  art  of  printing  and  meriting  the  title  to  a 
place  beside  its  inventor.  Besides  scientific  works  of 
the  highest  character  this  establishment  published  the 
first  popular  almanac,  which  has  served  as  a  pattern  up 
to  the  present  day. 

He  conceived  the  idea  of  publishing  a  history,  with 
illustrations  and  commentaries,  of  all  the  most  famous 
mathematicians,    astronomers,  and   astrologers   of   an- 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    143 

tiquity  and  of  the  Middle  Ages.  He  had  already 
prepared  a  catalogue  and  secured  the  co-operation  of 
the  great  authorities  at  different  German  and  foreign 
universities,  when  his  premature  death  cut  short  his 
design.1 

Through  the  princely  generosity  of  Bernhard 
Walther,  Eegiomontanus  was  enabled  to  build  the  first 
complete  observatory  in  Europe,  and  to  furnish  it  with 
all  those  instruments  for  astronomical  observations 
which  he  had  himself  either  invented  or  improved. 
He  was  the  first  of  the  astronomers  of  the  Western 
world  who  calculated  the  size,  the  distance,  and  the 
orbits  of  the  comets,  and  thus  brought  these  hitherto 
enigmatical  bodies  within  the  limits  of  distinct  scien- 
tific observation. 

As  the  improver  of  the  astrolabe,  the  inventor  of 
Jacob's  staff,  and  founder  of  the  scientific  annual 
called  '  Ephemerides,'  he  connected  German  astro- 
"  nomical  with  Spanish  nautical  knowledge,  and  thus,  in 
fact,  became  a  co-agent  in  the  great  discovery  of  the 
age.  Without  Jacob's  staff  and  the  perfected  astrolabe, 
by  means  of  which  astronomical  distances  were  calcu- 
lated from  the  height  of  the  sun,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  the  great  navigators  of  the  period — 
Columbus,  Vasco  da  Gama,  Cabot,  and  Magellan — 
to  have  ventured  so  far  on  the  ocean  and  to  have  made 
their  great  discoveries.  Columbus  and  Vespucius 
started  for  the  New  World  equipped  with  the  calcula- 
tions which  Eegiomontanus  had  made  during  thirty-two 
years  in  the  '  Ephemerides.'     By  means  of  these  the 

1  The  plan  has  never  been  carried  out,  and  the  valuable  letters  of 
Eegiomontanus,  which  might  have  been  of  much  use  to  science  and 
students,  remain  unknown.     Aschbach,  i.  551-552. 


144  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

former  was  enabled  to  foretell  an  eclipse  of  the  moon 
in  the  West  Indies.  On  their  very  first  appearance  in 
the  year  1475  they  had  excited  such  interest  in  all 
countries  that  they  could  command  any  price.  The 
Venetians  trafficked  with  them  in  Greece,  and  any 
library  which  contained  even  a  fragment  of  them  was 
looked  upon  with  envy.  Among  those  who  prided 
themselves  on  being  pupils  of  Eegiomontanus,  Martin 
Behaim  of  Nuremberg  gained  a  high  reputation  as- 
cosmographer  and  navigator.  He  took  a  personal 
share  in  voyages  of  discovery,  and  marked  out  on  his 
terrestrial  globe  the  way  to  the  East  Indies  round 
Africa  six  years  before  its  discovery  by  Vasco  da  Grama. 
The  first  steps  to  the  discovery  of  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  are  also  to  be  attributed  to  Behaim.  Masfel- 
Ian  himself  says  unmistakably  over  and  over  again 
that  he  found  this  passage,  afterwards  called  after  him, 
on  a  map  of  Behaim's,  and  that  it  was  this  map  which 
suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  sailing  this  way  to  the 
Molucca  Islands. 

Eegiomontanus  had  already  achieved  European 
renown  when  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  appointed  him  bishop  of 
Eatisbon,  and  by  a  letter  in  his  own  handwriting  sum- 
moned him  to  Eome  to  take  part  in  the  revision  of  the 
Julian  Calendar.  In  obedience  to  this  call  he  left 
Nuremberg  in  1475.  At  Eome  he  was  received  every- 
where with  marked  honour,  but  the  following  year  he 
died  prematurely  at  the  age  of  forty-one.  The  import- 
ance that  was  attached  to  his  personality  may  be  to 
some  extent  estimated  from  the  fact  that  the  apparition 
of  a  comet  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  supposed  to  be 
closely  connected  with  his  departure  from  life. 

In  1507  Wimpheling  wrote  as  follows  to  a  Eoman 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    145 

cardinal :  '  Within  the  walls  of  Eome  are  buried  the 
ashes  of  a  German  whom  the  Fatherland  still  mourns 
as  one  of  its  noblest  sons.  In  virtue  of  his  great 
learning  Eegiomontanus  belongs  to  the  whole  world ; 
and  other  nations  will  envy  Germany  the  honour  of 
having  given  birth  to  such  a  genius.  He  was  a  great, 
a  noble  man,  and  his  spotless  life  has  earned  him  an 
everlasting  crown.'  At  Nuremberg,  where  Eegio- 
montanus had  been  universally  honoured  as  the  '  father 
and  benefactor  of  the  town,'  the  news  of  his  death 
threw  the  whole  population  into  the  deepest  grief. 

Under  his  influence  intellectual  life  had  flourished 
luxuriantly  there.  The  study  of  art  received  a  new 
and  vigorous  impulse,  and  in  respect  of  science  the 
town  had  become  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude.  An 
overpowering  bent  for  mathematical  science  seemed  to 
have  taken  possession  of  the  place,  and  a  delight  in 
calculations  and  measurement  pervaded  all  classes. 

Amongst  the  many  pupils  whom  Eegiomontanus's 
school  sent  forth,  Bernhard  Walther,  Johann  Werner, 
Johann  Schoner,  and  Conrad  Heinfogel  worked  vigo- 
rously on  in  their  master's  steps.  Walther,  after  the 
latter's  death,  became  chief  of  the  German  astronomers ; 
Werner  acquired  a  leading  position  in  mathematics  and 
physics.  For  the  number  and  importance  of  the 
scholars  who  distinguished  themselves  in  mathematics, 
physics,  astronomy,  and  cosmography,  Nuremberg  was 
long  without  a  rival  in  Germany. 

Even  such  men  as  Wilibald  Pirkheimer  and  Albert 
Diirer,  whose  vocations  were  of  so  opposite  a  nature, 
could  not  resist  the  prevailing  strong  attraction  of 
mathematics  and  astronomy.  With  a  zeal  which  was 
peculiar  to  that  century,  they  applied  themselves  to 
VOL   i.  L 


146  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  pursuit  of  these  studies,  and  acquired  such  a  funda- 
mental knowledge  of  them  that  their  names  may  not 
unfairly  be  coupled  with  the  mathematicians  of  their 
times.  Diirer's  books  on  the  art  of  surveying  were 
a  valuable  contribution  to  mathematics,  while  his 
exquisite  celestial  chart,  a  model  of  the  wood-cutting 
art,  was  of  no  less  value  to  astronomical  science. 
Pirkheimer  assisted  Schoner  in  the  manufacture  of 
astronomical  instruments,  and  from  a  copy  in  his 
valuable  library  he  had  the  works  of  Archimedes 
published. 

Wimpheling  emphasises  the  fact  that  Eegiomontanus 
was  no  less  assiduous  in  the  encouragement  of  the  fine 
arts  at  Nuremberg,  as  also  in  promoting  the  study  of 
the  Greek  language  and  of  history.  He  was,  indeed, 
one  of  the  first  of  the  Germans  who,  after  learning 
Greek  in  Germany,  perfected  their  knowledge  in  Italy 
by  means  of  intercourse  with  learned  Greeks  in  that 
country.  He  could  not,  moreover,  have  executed 
his  great  work — maps  of  the  different  countries  of 
Europe,  with  historical  and  geographical  notes  from  the 
most  reliable  sources — without  the  help  of  historical 
studies. 

The  patricians,  Johann  Loeffelholz  and  Johann  Pirk- 
heimer, the  father  of  Wilibald,  and  Sebald  Schreyer  were 
signally  distinguished  for  their  enlightened  patronage 
of  science  and  learning.  They  founded  libraries,  took 
young  scholars  into  their  own  families,  and  assisted  them 
in  bringing  out  their  works.  Through  the  liberality  of 
Schreyer  the  town  physician,  Hartmann  Schedel,  was 
enabled  to  publish  his  beautiful  book  of  chronicles, 
illustrated  with  more  than  2,000  excellent  woodcuts. 
Schedel  also  published  a  great  work,  the  result  of  the 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    147 

antiquarian  collection  he  had  made  during  his  student 
days  at  Padua  :  a  collection  from  manuscripts  and  books, 
as  well  as  personal  research,  of  all  the  memorable  relics  of 
Italy — especially  of  Eome  and  Padua — and  with  special 
regard  to  legends  and  inscriptions,  '  for  the  delight  of 
posterity,'  so  he  says,  '  and  for  their  encouragement  to 
go  on  improving.'  His  friend  Willibald  Pirkheimer 
placed  at  his  disposal  many  notes,  extracts  and  copies 
for  a  similar  work  on  German  antiquities.  The  Bene- 
dictine monk,  Siegmund  Meisterlein,  who  wrote  the 
history  of  Nuremberg  from  the  earliest  times,  was  the 
friend  of  Schedel  and  Schreyer.  Nuremberg  possessed 
so  many  patrons  of  belles-lettres  that  it  was  rightly 
considered  the  first  town  in  Germany  in  which  classic 
literature  had  been  assiduously  cultivated. 

Foremost  among  these  for  liberal  generosity  was 
Willibald  Pirkheimer  (born  in  1470),  the  patron  par 
excellence  of  learning ;  he  was  equally  renowned  as 
jurist,  statesman,  speaker,  historian  and  philologist ; 
and  as  commander-in-chief  to  Maximilian  he  was 
known  abroad  as  well  as  at  home.  He  was  as  a  prince 
in  the  then  world  of  scholars.  His  literary  connections 
extended  to  France,  Italy,  and  England.  His  house 
and  library  were  stocked  with  treasures  of  art  and 
learning,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Humanist 
following  in  Germany. 

It  is  true  that  Pirkheimer  does  not  bear  comparison 
with  his  friends  Wimpheling,  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg, 
and  Brant  in  purity  of  morals.  He  did  not  altogether 
keep  free  from  the  naturalistic  theories  of  life  of  the 
ancients,  whom  he  studied  so  eagerly.  He  was  not 
always  free  from  passions :  he  sometimes  indulged  in 
slander.     Albert   Dlirer's  letters  to  him  are  proofs  of 

i  2 


148  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

other  not  very  edifying  things  by  which  he  undoubtedly 
sometimes  endangered  his  reputation.  His  concep- 
tions of  antiquity  were  tainted  with  the  errors  which 
afterwards  became  the  cause  of  fierce  battle  between 
the  younger  Humanists  and  the  defenders  of  revealed 
religion.  Like  Erasmus,  he  made  repeated  and  whole- 
sale attacks  on  the  ecclesiastical  teaching  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  he  was  a  zealous 
advocate  of  ecclesiastical  literature,  publishing  and 
translating  the  works  of  the  early  Fathers  and  Christian 
writers,  and  in  his  prefaces  and  introductions  there  is 
always  the  true  ring  of  a  pure  religious  mind.  The 
character  of  Willibald  appears  at  its  best  in  his 
brotherly  relations  with  his  sister  Charity,  abbess  of 
St.  Clare.  The  letters  which  the  brother  and  sister 
exchanged,  together  with  the  memoirs  of  the  abbess, 
are  a  precious  legacy  of  wisdom,  piety,  and  pure 
morality. 

Conrad  Peutinger,  born  in  1465,  the  friend  of 
Wilibald,  exerted  in  his  native  town  of  Augsburg  as 
great  an  intellectual  influence  as  did  the  latter  in 
Nuremberg.  He  was  of  a  noble  and  generous  nature, 
with  a  keen  and  far-reaching  intellect.  Already  in  his 
early  years  he  had  acquired  at  the  colleges  of  Eome, 
Padua  and  Bologna,  and  by  close  intercourse  with 
Pomponius  Laetus,  Picus  of  Mirandola,  and  Angelus 
Politianus,  a  thorough  training  in  jurisprudence,  belles- 
lettres,  and  art.  After  his  fortieth  year,  and  at  the 
instance  of  Eeuchlin,  he  took  up  the  study  of  Greek, 
and  gained  a  mastery  of  the  language.  Ulrich  Zasius 
reckons  him  among  the  few  who  arrived  at  a  clear  under- 


& 


standing  of  Poman  law,  and  who  were  instrumental  in 
rightly  grafting  it  on  to  the  German  Code.     He  was  also 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    149 

well  versed  in  theology.  He  wrote  on  ecclesiastical 
antiquities,  and  prepared  for  the  press  a  commentary 
on  the  '  Sentences '  of  Peter  Lombard.  His  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Scriptures  and  the  Fathers  was  universally 
recognised,  and  he  was  one  of  those  to  whom  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  applied  for  advice  in  his  schemes 
for  national  religious  education,  consulting  him  as  to 
the  best  means  of  bringing  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian 
religion  home  to  the  common  people. 

After  1490,  when  Peutinger  became  town  clerk  in 
Augsburg,  he  was  brought  into  closer  relations  with 
Maximilian.  As  a  man  of  generous  feelings,  and  as 
the  enthusiastic  friend  of  German  history  and  art, 
Peutinger  was  thoroughly  congenial  to  the  Emperor, 
and  their  mutual  relations  were  characterised  by  deep 
loyalty  on  the  one  side,  and  entire  confidence  on  the 
other.  Maximilian  entrusted  Peutinger  with  several 
important  matters  of  diplomatic  business,  and  evinced 
cordial  and  affectionate  friendship  for  him  as  years 
went  on.  Peutinger  never  abused  his  sovereign's  favour 
for  his  own  personal  advantage,  but  utilised  it  for  the 
benefit  of  his  native  city  and  the  furthering  of  patriotic 
ends.  Not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  self-seeking  has 
ever  been  attached  to  his  memory.  He  always  took  an 
active  interest  in  the  scientific  labours  of  others,  and 
welcomed  any  improvement  or  advance  on  his  own 
works.  He  was  entirely  free  from  personal  vanity,  and 
remained  to  the  end  untainted  by  the  false  pride  of 
learning. 

Peutinger  found  in  Augsburg  a  promising  field  for 
historical  studies.  The  Benedictine  monastery  of  St. 
Afra  and  St.  Ulrich  had  long  been  remarkable  for  its 
religious  discipline  and  its   zeal  for  learning.     It  pos- 


150  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

sessed  its  own  printing  press,  by  means  of  which,  as- 
well  as  by  purchase  and  exchange,  it  amassed  a  valu- 
able library,  containing  many  classical  works.  At  the 
suggestion  of  the  burgomaster,  Sigismund  Gossembrot, 
the  zealous  Humanist,  Siegmund  Meisterlein,  a  monk  of 
that  monastery,  had  written  a  history  of  Augsburg  in 
the  year  1456-1457,  whichlater  on,  under  the  direction 
of  the  abbot  Johann  von  Giltlingen,  he  had  supple- 
mented by  an  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  city  and  of 
the  monastery,  in  which  he  showed  remarkable  intelli- 
gence of  research  and  originality  of  treatment.  His 
manner  of  relating  the  things  which  came  under  his 
personal  observation  was  particularly  vivid.  A  literary 
society  for  the  special  purpose  of  historical  research 
was  formed  in  Augsburg  among  the  clergy,  the  town 
councillors,  and  other  citizens,  and  Peutinger  was  both 
its  animating  soul  and  most  active  member.  At  great 
labour  and  expense  he  founded  a  library  which  was 
specially  distinguished  for  its  valuable  records  of  early 
German  history.  He  was  indefatigable  in  collecting 
manuscripts,  coins,  and  other  antiquities ;  and  he 
gathered  together  by  degrees  a  collection,  unique  of  its 
kind,  of  Eoman  inscriptions  found  in  the  city  and 
diocese  of  Augsburg.  These  inscriptions,  the  earliest 
materials  for  the  history  of  Augsburg,  were  published 
by  him  in  the  year  1505,  by  order  of  Maximilian  and 
with  the  assistance  of  the  historical  society.  He 
brought  out  the  following  year,  under  the  title  '  Table- 
talk  on  the  Antiquarian  Wonders  of  Germany,'  a  work 
which  gained  him  widespread  literary  renown.  In  the 
year  1507  appeared  the  first  edition  of  '  Ligurinus,'  an 
historical  poem  of  the  times  of  Frederick  Barbarossa, 
and  which  Conrad  Celtes  found  in  the  cloister  of  Erbach. 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    151 

It  won  the  admiration  of  all  scholars,  and  reached 
seven  editions  within  a  year.  Later  (1514-1515)  Peutin- 
ger  enriched  historical  science  with  editions  of  three 
chronicles — the  chronicle  of  Ursperg  discovered  by 
him,  the  history  of  the  Goths  by  Jordanis,  and 
the  history  of  the  Lombards  by  the  deacon  Paulus. 
The  Emperor  Maximilian  had  selected  Peutinger  for 
other  works  of  an  historical  nature  which  were  con- 
nected with  that  philanthropic  emperor's  well-known 
plans  for  the  promotion  of  learning  in  Germany. 

The  most  active  centres  of  these  schemes  were 
the  Imperial  Court  at  Vienna,  where  Maximilian  en- 
deavoured to  gather  together  the  learned  men  of  the 
day,  and  also  the  University  of  Vienna,  which  had 
grown  to  be  the  chief  seat  of  learning  in  Europe. 

The  Emperor  Maximilian  had  already  in  early 
youth  evinced  a  deep  love  of  science  and  literature. 
Through  the  solicitude  of  his  father  he  had  received  a 
careful  education,  and  had  been  thoroughly  instructed 
in  all  the  different  branches  of  the  learning  of  his 
time.  The  library  of  Vienna  contains  writings  of  his 
on  the  genealogy  and  history  of  his  own  dynasty,  on 
heraldry,  on  the  science  of  artillery,  on  battle-arms, 
architecture,  the  chase,  hawking,  and  other  subjects. 
No  prince  of  the  Middle  Ages  equalled  him  as  a  linguist. 
He  was  familiar  not  only  with  the  different  dialects  of 
his  own  dominions,  but  with  those  of  many  foreign 
lands  ;  so  that  in  one  of  his  campaigns  he  was  able  to 
converse  with  seven  different  commanders  in  their  own 
languages.  So  great  especially  was  his  proficiency  in 
Latin  that  Pirkheimer,  who  was  acquainted  with  parts 
of  his  memoirs,  assured  a  friend  that  no  German  scholar 
could  have  written  in  a  purer  style.     Even  during  his 


152 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


campaigns  lie  read  constantly  from  the  best  poets. 
'  There  is  no  one  in  Germany,'  writes  Trithemius, 
6  who  has  a  greater  thirst  for  learning,  a  stronger  love 
of  all  the  manifold  sciences,  or  a  keener  delight  in 
their  spread  than  King  Maximilian,  the  friend  and 
patron  of  all  scholars.' 

Unlike  many  contemporary  princes,  Maximilian  did 
not  confine  his  favour  to  the  teachers  of  some  one 
favourite  branch,  but  encouraged  study  in  all.  Theo- 
logians, historians,  jurists,  poets,  linguists,  but  above 
all  Humanists  and  artists,  had  his  protection  and  help. 
They  all  spoke  with  the  highest  enthusiasm  of  the 
prince,  who  united  the  greatest  cordiality  with  the  most 
princely  dignity,  drawing  them  to  his  presence,  gain- 
ing their  confidence,  and  communicating  life  and  soul 
to  everything  around  him. 

Maximilian  gained  the  honourable  name  of  '  Father 
of  the  Arts  and  Sciences  '  principally  because,  in  the 
words  of  Wimpheling,  '  The  one  high  aim  of  all  his 
efforts  was  the  glory  of  the  Church  and  State,  the  eleva- 
tion of  morals,  and  the  encouragement  of  patriotism.' 
In  nothing  so  much  as  in  the  province  of  learning  was 
the  motto  which  a  Ehenish  Francoman  applied  to  him 
more  appropriate  : — 

German  I  am,  German  I  maintain, 
German  I  govern,  German  I  remain. 

Deutsch  bin  ich  und  sinn'  ich, 
Deutsch  handle  ich  und  bleibe  ich. 


This  was  the  keynote  to  his  unwearied  labours  in 
the  cause  of  history,  which  had  never  had  so  intelligent 
or  generous  a  patron  in  any  of  the  Eoman  emperors  of 
Germany,  either  before  or  after  him. 

Joseph  Grtinbeck  relates  that  '  he  took  in  nothing 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    153 

so  great  delight  as  in  history ;  and  one  of  his  favourite 
sayings  was  that  any  ruler  who  was  not  careful  to 
preserve  his  own  and  his  predecessors'  history,  or  was 
indifferent  to  the  character  which  he  bequeathed  to 
posterity,  was  worthy  of  hatred  and  contempt.  He 
could  be  no  lover  of  the  public  good  who  failed  to 
utilise  so  fruitful  a  means  of  instruction  and  so  strong 
an  incentive  to  public  virtue.  Indifference  of  this  sort, 
moreover,  had  been  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  many 
powerful  kingdoms,  communities,  and  states,  where 
the  rulers  had  been  barbarous,  inexperienced,  and 
ignorant. 

Max  Treizsaurwein  relates  in  the  '  Weisskunio- ' !  that 
when  he  came  of  age  Maximilian  spared  no  expense 
in  sending  out  scholars  to  collect  from  chapter-houses, 
monasteries,  books  and  learned  men,  information  about 
the  families  of  kings  and  princes,  and  '  all  this  was 
recorded  in  writing  to  the  honour  and  glory  of  the 
royal  and  princely  houses.  .  .  .  And  wherever  a  king 
or  a  prince  had  founded  any  institution  which  had  been 
forgotten,  he  revived  the  memory  of  it,  which  otherwise 
would  not  have  been  done.  All  the  coins  which  any 
emperor,  or  king,  or  great  ruler  of  former  times  had 
coined,  and  which  were  found  and  brought  to  him,  he 
ordered  to  be  kept  and  had  them  painted  in  a  book,  by 
which  means  it  often  happened  that  an  emperor,  king, 
or  prince  was  brought  to  light  again,  with  his  name, 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  forgotten.' 

For  the  same  reason  he  has  had  recorded  over 
again  of  every  emperor,  king,  or  prince,  who  has 
reigned  from  the  beginning  till  now,  all  his  good  deeds, 
so  as  to  keep  them  in  memory.     '  What  a  royal,  noble 

1  AVise  king. 


154 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 


soul  this  wise  young  king  had !  He  is  an  example  to 
all  future  kings  and  princes.' 

Wimpheling  writes  of  him  to  the  same  effect : 
'  Whatever  tends  to  throw  light  on  the  history  of  the 
German  people  commands  the  entire  sympathy  of  the 
king.  He  buries  himself  in  old  chronicles  and  his- 
torians ;  he  has  their  writings  collected  and  published, 
and  is  in  constant  correspondence  about  them  with  all 
the  most  learned  men.  He  is  now  consulting  with  the 
scholars  of  his  neighbourhood  with  regard  to  publishing 
a  popular  book,  under  the  title  of  "  Picture  Gallery  of 
German  Ancestors."  ' 

Peutinger  was  engaged  by  him  to  prepare  an 
exhaustive  work  on  the  emperors  ;  and  he  also  prepared, 
as  a  basis  for  a  history  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg,  a 
kind  of  register,  in  aid  of  which  the  Emperor  not  only 
had  chronicles  and  histories  sent  over  from  far  and 
near,  but  also  himself  instituted  personal  researches, 
and  so  brought  on  himself  not  unfrequently  the  criti- 
cisms of  his  learned  and  independent  friend.  Maximilian 
set  his  historians,  Johann  Stabius,  Ladislaus  Suntheim, 
and  Jacob  Manlius  to  explore  a  great  part  of  Germany, 
Italy,  and  France  in  search  of  manuscripts. 

Aided  by  the  generosity  of  Maximilian,  Conrad 
Celtes,  accompanied  by  the  mathematician,  Andreas 
Stiborius,  travelled  through  Northern  Germany  with 
the  object  of  compiling  an  historical,  geographical,  and 
statistical  work.  Wimpheling  asserts  that  once,  when 
hard  up  for  money,  Maximilian  pawned  a  jewel  which 
he  prized  highly  in  order  to  raise  funds  to  make  it 
possible  to  complete  a  scientific  journey  undertaken  at 
his  instigation.  By  imperial  command  Suntheim  col- 
lected materials  for  a  genealogical  history  of  the  house 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    155 

of  Hapsburg  and  the  other  German  princely  dynasties ; 
and  also  by  imperial  command  Stabius  and  the  Court 
physician  and  keeper  of  archives,  Johann  Spieshaimer, 
named  Cuspinianus,  edited  the  first  edition  of  '  Otto 
von  Freising,'  and  his  successor,  '  Eadevicus.' 

There  was  so  much  coherence  and  system  in  all 
these  enterprises  of  the  Emperor  that  one  might  almost 
say  he  had  established  a  society  for  the  promotion  of 
the  study  of  history  and  archseology,  and  had  undertaken 
the  presidency  of  it.  But  what  was  most  gratifying  in 
all  this  industry  was  the  ultimate  object  for  which  it 
was  carried  on,  viz.  the  encouragement  of  patriotism. 

Maximilian  did  not  confine  his  zeal  to  the  restora- 
tion of  historical  monuments :  he  also  saved  many 
literary  treasures,  popular  poems,  and  folklore  from 
being  forgotten  or  lost.  We  are  indebted  to  him  for 
the  preservation  of  one  of  the  most  exquisite  pearls  of 
mediaeval  high  German  poetry,  '  Die  Gudrun,'  which 
ranks  with  the  '  Nibelungen '  as  a  star  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude, and  which  he  ordered  to  be  placed  among  the 
parchments  of  the  Ambrasian  collection  of  manuscripts. 

His  own  literary  activity  is  best  embodied  in  the 
'  Theuerdank  '  and  the  '  Weisskunig.'  The  former,  an 
allegorical  poem,  is  taken  from  the  incidents  of  his 
own  life.  He  composed  the  greater  number  of  the 
songs  with  which  it  is  interspersed,  and  they  were  then 
worked  up  and  ornamented  by  his  secretary,  Melchior 
Pfinzing,  provost  of  St.  Albans  in  Mentz.  This  work, 
the  first  edition  of  which  belongs  to  the  wonders  of 
typographical  art,  met  with  the  warmest  reception  from 
his  contemporaries,  who  recognised  in  it  the  noblest 
characteristics  of  the  Emperor.  As  a  poem  it  is 
wanting  in  taste ;  the  language  is  grave  and  measured, 


156  HISTOEY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

but  without  force  or  fervour ;  the  work  is  deficient  in 
invention.  The  poet's  object  is  to  prove  that,  no 
matter  how  strong  the  temptations  of  life,  a  firm  and 
full  confidence  in  God  will  triumph  over  them ;  and  he 
has  succeeded  in  his  object.  A  victim  of  suffering  and 
privation,  the  hero  pursues  his  way  undaunted.  He 
journeys  through  a  world  at  enmity  to  him,  and  reaches 
his  goal  by  the  help  of  a  pure  conscience  and  unshaken 
trust  in  God.  In  reading  the  poem  one  is  unconsciously 
reminded  of  Albert  Diirer's  <  Knight,  Death,  and  Devil.' 

While  the  allegorical  poem  '  Der  Theuerdank ' 
treats  of  the  private  life  of  Maximilian,  the  prose 
work  '  Der  Weisskunig '  is  founded  on  his  public 
activity  and  the  warlike  incidents  of  his  life. 

Speaking  of  scholars,  Maximilian  used  often  to  say 
that  they  ought  to  be  rulers  instead  of  subjects,  and 
that  they  were  worthy  of  all  honour  on  account  of  the 
superior  gifts  with  which  God  and  nature  had  endowed 
them.  It  is  therefore  easy  to  see  why  he  constantly 
sought  their  company,  treated  them  with  marked 
distinction,  and  confided  matters  of  importance  to 
them.  Almost  all  his  councillors  were  men  of  learn- 
ing, friends  and  patrons  of  classic  literature.  Amongst 
them  were  the  already-mentioned  Court  historians, 
Ladislaus  Suntheim,  Jacob  Manlius,  and  Johann  Stabius. 
The  latter,  who  since  the  year  1503  had  accompanied 
the  Emperor  in  nearly  all  his  travels,  was  considered 
one  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  at  the  University  of 
Vienna,  and  left  several  mathematical,  historical,  and 
astronomical  works  behind  him.  The  Imperial  Court 
secretary,  Sebastian  Sprenz,  later  bishop  of  Brixen, 
was  distinguished  for  his  knowledge  of  Hebrew  and 
mathematics.     The   imperial    councillors,    Graf  Ulrich 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    157 

von  Helfenstein,  Jacob  Spiegel,  Jacob  Villinger,  Jacob 
Bannisis,  George  Neudecker,  and  others,  were  praised 
by  the  Humanists  as  sound  scholars  and  leaders  of  the 
new  scientific  movement ;  they  did  all  in  their  power 
to  encourage  science  and  the  study  of  it.  Maximilian's 
chancellor  and  adviser,  Matthias  Lang,  who  was  after- 
wards bishop  of  Gurk  and  archbishop  of  Salzburg, 
was  held  in  the  highest  estimation. 

The  Imperial  Court  was  the  centre  of  the  highest 
culture,  and  the  University  of  Vienna,  '  the  Emperor's 
pet  child,'  took  the  lead  among  all  the  German  seats  of 
learning. 

The  Universities  .  .  .  Conrad  Celtes. 

The  University  of  Vienna  had  already  in  the  reign 
of  Frederick  III.  gained  a  world-wide  renown  through 
its  great  mathematicians  and  astronomers,  Johann  von 
Gmunden,  George  Peuerbach,  and  Johann  Miiller 
(surnamed  Eegiomontanus).  In  no  other  university 
were  mathematics  and  astronomy  taught  by  such 
excellent  masters  and  with  such  brilliant  results; 
Peuerbach  and  Eegiomontanus,  by  their  lectures  on 
the  Latin  poets  and  prose  writers,  were  the  first  to  give 
an  impetus  to  Humanistic  studies.  Bernhard  Perger 
introduced  a  better  method  of  teaching  Latin,  and 
with  this  object  in  view  composed  a  guide  to  the  Latin 
language  founded  on  the  grammar  of  the  Archbishop 
Nicholaus  von  Siponto,  of  which  eighteen  editions  are 
known  to  have  appeared  up  to  the  year  1500.  After 
the  year  1457  the  study  of  the  Greek  authors,  including 
the  most  difficult  of  them,1  was  introduced  at  Vienna. 

1  A  proof  of  the  incorrectness  of  the  assertion  that  Reuchlin,  who  was 
born  in  1455,  was  the  first  to  teach  Greek  literature  in  Germany. 


158  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

But  the  Humanist  studies  owed  their  success  at 
Vienna  pre-eminently  to  the  services  of  the  gifted 
Conrad  Celtes,  who  was  invited  in  1497  by  Maximilian 
himself  to  be  professor  at  the  university.  In  his 
thoroughly  Greek  materialistic  views  of  life  and  his 
epicurean  habits  Celtes  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
principles  of  the  severe  Christian  schools  of  Humanists, 
but  rather  with  the  young  progressive  section  of 
Germany.  This  brought  down  on  him  the  strongly 
expressed  opprobrium  of  the  lofty-minded  Charity 
Pirkheimer  for  having  allowed  himself  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  heathen  classics.  But  there  remains  to 
him  the  praise  of  untiring  zeal  with  which  he  laboured 
incessantly  to  awaken  in  all  parts  of  Germany  an 
interest  in  learning,  and  for  having  done  so  much  both 
by  word  and  by  writing  to  develop  the  study  of 
national  history.  He  could  boast  of  having  travelled 
to  the  sources  of  all  the  principal  rivers  of  Germany, 
of  having  seen  her  best  cities,  of  having  visited  all  her 
universities,  and  of  having  gained  a  better  knowledge  of 
her  people  than  anyone  before  him  had  ever  possessed. 
He  had  intended  to  sum  up  the  results  of  these  travels 
and  of  his  long  years  of  research  in  an  exhaustive 
history  of  Germany  and  the  Germans,  but  in  the  midst 
of  his  labours  he  died  in  1508,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine. 

Many  treasures  of  ancient  literature,  such  as  the 
works  of  Eoswitha,  the  nun  of  Gendersheim,  and  the 
historical  poem  '  Ligurinus,'  were  rescued  by  him  from 
oblivion.  On  this  poem  he  gave  lectures  at  Vienna. 
He  was  the  first  German  professor  who  taught  the 
history  of  the  world  in  a  connected  and  systematic 
manner  at  a  university,  and  whose  treatment  of  German 
history  was  of  a  nature  to  arouse  an  interest  in  the  past 


UNIVERSITIES   AND   OTHER   CENTRES   OF   LEARNING    159 

among  his  pupils.  Gifted  with  an  unusual  capacity 
for  teaching,  Celtes  gathered  around  him  a  large 
number  of  zealous  students,  and  he  made  special  efforts 
to  interest  the  nobility  in  science  and  literature.  He 
enriched  the  imperial  library,  which  had  been  founded 
by  Maximilian  and  entrusted  to  his  care,  with  Greek 
and  Latin  books  of  great  worth,  with  globes,  maps,  &c, 
so  that  by  degrees  it  became  a  most  valuable  place  of 
reference  for  students. 

He  also  displayed  great  ability  as  the  director  of 
the  so-called  '  Academy  of  Poets,'  founded  at  his 
suggestion  by  Maximilian  in  1501  for  the  purpose  of 
furthering  the  study  of  poetry  and  mathematics  at  the 
university,  and  keeping  up  an  interest  in  these  subjects. 
*  This  academy,'  the  first  of  the  kind  connected  with 
any  German  university,  consisted  of  a  group  of  learned 
men  and  promising  students,  who  lived  together  in  the 
same  house,  and  it  acquired  the  privilege  of  conferring 
an  academic  degree,  that  of  '  the  crowned  poets.' 

Celtes  established  in  Vienna  the  '  Danube  Society,' 
which  was  on  the  same  principle  as  the  '  Bhenish 
Literary  Society,'  which  he  had  founded  earlier  for 
the  furthering  of  the  study  of  humanities,  belles-lettres, 
and  science.  It  counted  among  its  members  Germans, 
Magyars,  Slavs,  and  Italians.  Amongst  the  most  active 
of  them  was  Cuspinian,  who  devoted  himself  from 
preference  to  historical  studies.  Besides  other  works 
he  left  one  of  much  merit  on  the  Boman  emperors  of 
the  German  nation,  the  material  for  which  he  had 
obtained  by  diligent  research  among  Austrian  archives 
and  libraries.  Other  enthusiastic  members  of  the 
society  were  the  mathematician  Johann  Stabius,  Andreas 
Stiborius,  and  the  physician  Bartholomew  Steber,  called 


160  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Scipio,  who   were    also  all  of  them   among  the  most 
highly  esteemed  professors  of  the  university. 

This  university,  with  its  hundreds  of  professors, 
undoubtedly  reached  its  zenith  of  glory — its  'golden 
age  ' — under  the  patronage  of  Maximilian,  who  spared 
no  pains  or  personal  sacrifice  to  raise  it  to  the  foremost 
rank  of  European  universities.  Even  the  University  of 
Paris,  according  to  the  Humanist  Loriti  Glareanus,  could 
not  at  that  time  compete  with  that  of  Vienna.  The 
French  chronicler  Pierre  Froissart,  a  man  of  remarkable 
learning  and  keen  penetration,  speaks  with  surprise  of 
the  number  of  distinguished  scholars  whom  he  met  at 
Vienna,  and  of  the  vigorous  intellectual  activity  of  the 
students.  He  marvelled  also  at  the  unrestrained  life  of 
the  Court,  and  the  friendly  and  confidential  intercourse 
which  existed  between  the  Emperor  and  the  men  of 
letters.  '  The  Emperor,'  he  writes,  '  not  only  calls 
them  his  friends,  but  treats  them  as  such,  and  it  appears 
to  me  that  he  seeks  their  society  gladly,  and  is  much 
influenced  by  them.  There  is  certainly  no  other  ruler 
who  is  so  willing  to  learn  from  those  more  learned  than 
he  is,  and  whose  own  mind  is  so  cultivated  that  his 
questions  are  themselves  instructive.' 1 

The  plastic  arts  also  enjoyed  the  patronage  and 
encouragement  of  Maximilian.  He  caused  churches 
and  castles  to  be  built  or  repaired,  employed  brass- 
founders,  armourers,  workers  in  gold  and  silver, 
painters,  wood-cutters,  and  copper  engravers.  Many 
of  the  finest  works  of  art  of  that  time  owed  their 
creation  to  his  patronage.  The  noble  monument  on 
his  own  tomb  at  Innsbruck,  which  he  and  his  friend 
Conrad  Peutinger  designed  together,  is  the  best  testi- 
mony  of  the  Emperor's  artistic  power. 

1  Lettrcs,  pp.  14-16. 


BOOK   II 
ART  AND  POPULAR  LITERATURE 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  artistic  development  of  a  nation  is  a  better  index 
of  the  national  genius  than  even  its  literature.  The 
art  of  a  people  bears  the  impress  of  the  popular  mind, 
nay,  is  the  embodiment  of  the  popular  ideas.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  with  the  German  people  at  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  those  days  German  art 
was  more  strongly  national  and  characteristic  than  at 
any  time  before  or  since.  Its  masterpieces  have  been 
the  admiration  of  all  succeeding  centuries,  and  are 
manifestly  the  work  of  a  people  of  high  moral  purpose, 
strong  faith,  and  patriotic  ardour. 

Those  masterpieces  prove  conclusively  that  the 
influence  of  the  Church  was  as  great  in  the  realm  of 
art  as  in  the  domain  of  science  ;  and  that,  far  from 
restricting  the  flight  of  genius,  the  Church  supplied  the 
most  ideal  subjects  for  the  service  of  art. 

Out  of  the  close  and  intimate  relations  existing 
between  the  Church  and  its  individual  members  pro- 
ceeded the  heartfelt  faith,  the  sanctification  of  earthly 
things,  the  humble,  unselfish  devotion  to  higher  ends, 
which  inspired  the  art  of  the  age.     Art  prospers  only 

vol.  i.  M 


162  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

in  the  days  of  strong  faith  and  true  courage,  when  meD 
find  greater  joy  in  high  ideals  than  in  the  merely  prac- 
tical things  of  life. 

The  Church  enlisted  art  in  the  service  of  God, 
making  use  of  it  as  a  valuable  supplement  to  the 
written  and  oral  instruction  which  she  gave  the  people. 
Artists  thus  became  her  allies  in  the  task  of  '  setting 
forth  the  beauties  of  the  Gospel  to  the  poor  and  un- 
learned.' All  the  great  artists  grasped  with  fidelity 
this  idea  of  the  mission  of  art,  and  turned  their  talents 
into  a  means  for  the  service  of  God  and  man.  Their 
aim  was  not  to  exalt  beauty  for  its  own  sake,  making 
an  altar  and  an  idol  of  it ;  but  rather,  according  to 
Peter  Fischer's  inscription  on  the  base  of  St.  Sebald's 
shrine,  '  For  the  setting  forth  of  God's  will.'  They 
strove  by  the  greatness  and  elevation  of  their  works 
to  kindle  admiration  for  the  beautiful,  and  this  not 
only  for  the  sake  of  culture,  but  with  a  view  to  the 
moral  training  of  the  people  ;  not  for  the  luxurious 
gratification  of  the  great  and  the  wealthy,  but  for  the 
glory  of  the  Church  and  the  elevation  of  national  life. 

All  branches  of  art  thus  formed  one  great  whole. 
Architects,  sculptors,  painters,  musicians,  worked  in 
unison  together,  all  actuated  by  the  same  religious  and 
patriotic  intention.  And  it  was  this  unity  that  was  at 
the  bottom  of  their  greatness.  Owing  to  the  close 
relationship  thus  existing  between  artists  of  six  different 
branches  it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  a  great 
artist  to  work  in  different  lines — Albert  Diirer,  for  in- 
stance, was  painter,  sculptor,  woodcutter,  and  engraver 
all  in  one.  He  was  distinguished,  moreover,  for  his 
knowledge  of  perspective  and  architecture,  and  was  not 
unskilled  as  a  writer.     So  long  as  German  art  preserved 


INTRODUCTION  163 

its  religious  and  patriotic  spirit  it  continued  to  flourish 
and  to  be  a  power  all  over  the  world.  But  in  propor- 
tion as  religious  faith  and  earnestness  dwindled,  and 
ancient  creeds  and  traditions  were  either  forgotten  or 
despised,  art,  too,  declined.  In  proportion  as  men  began 
to  run  after  false  gods  and  strove  to  resuscitate  the  dead 
world  of  heathendom,  so  artistic,  creative,  and  ideal 
power  gradually  weakened,  until  it  became  altogether 
barren  and  lifeless. 

Many  examples  still  remain  to  testify  to  the  dignity 
of  German  art  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  but  all 
of  them,  from  the  splendid  cathedral  to  the  simplest 
article  of  household  furniture,  are  but  poor  and  broken 
fragments  of  the  real  beauty  and  greatness  of  that 
period.  The  most  magnificent  creations  of  German 
medieval  art  were  either  destroyed  in  the  religious  and 
political  wars  of  the  following  centuries,  the  peasant 
wars,  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  the  later  French  wars, 
or  else  carried  away  to  perish  in  foreign  lands.  Even 
in  times  of  peace,  during  the  period  of  so-called  '  en- 
lightenment,' there  raged  an  incredibly  fierce  spirit  of 
antagonism  against  everything  in  art  that  bore  the 
German  stamp  of  Christian  teaching. 


M   2 


164  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


CHAPTER  I 

ARCHITECTURE 

In  all  nations  where  the  artistic  sense  is  a  dominant 
feature  architecture  may  be  said  to  form  the  nucleus  of 
their  art  life.  In  this  art,  more  than  in  any  other,  we 
have  a  mirror  of  the  striving,  knowing,  and  doing  of  the 
people,  and  it  is  also  the  truest  expression  of  the  differ- 
ent movements  and  tendencies  of  thought  of  any  given 
period.  It  is  the  most  reliable  proof  of  the  aesthetic 
sense  and  the  artistic  powers  of  a  nation.  It  is  the 
direct  utterance  of  the  mental  and  physical  wants  of 
the  day ;  it  stands  in  close  relation  to  contemporary  re- 
ligious thought  and  feeling,  and  is  the  best  index  of  the 
connection  existing  between  art  and  social  life.  It 
forms  the  point  of  convergence  of  all  other  branches  of 
art,  and  may  justly  be  called  the  national  art  (Volkskunst) 
in  everv  sense  of  the  word. 

German  art,  which  grew  up  to  greatness  in  the 
monasteries,  was,  like  monasticism  itself,  a  national 
growth,  and  it  reached  its  climax  in  architecture  towards 
the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Nowhere  did  the  innate 
architectural  genius  of  the  Teutonic  races  produce  such 
truly  great  artists  as  in  Germany. 

True  to  the  prevailing  Christian  tendency  of  thought, 
this  German  creative  force  manifested  itself  most  exu- 
berantly in  the  erection  of  churches  and  cathedrals. 
In  every  part  of  Germany  there  arose  countless  magni- 
ficent  ecclesiastical  structures,  witnesses  of   the  deep 


ARCHITECTURE  1 65 

religious  spirit  of  the  times,  noble  Christian  poems 
embodied  in  stone  and  colour. 

The  Christian-Germanic,  or  so-called  Gothic,  art 
has  been  fitly  described  as  the  architectural  embodi- 
ment of  Christianity.  A  Gothic  edifice  not  only  repre- 
sents organic  unity  in  all  the  different  parts,  but  is  as  it 
were  an  organic  development  from  a  hidden  germ, 
embodying  both  in  its  form  and  material  the  highest 
truths,  without  any  sham  or  unreality.  All  the  lines  tend 
upward,  as  if  to  lead  the  eye  to  heaven.  The  order, 
distribution,  and  strength  of  the  different  parts  symbolise 
severally  the  ascendency  of  spirit  over  matter.  All  the 
details  and  carvings  of  its  profuse  ornamentation  are  in 
harmony  with  each  other  and  with  the  fundamental 
idea  of  the  edifice.  Constructed  after  a  fixed  plan,  in 
the  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  prayer,  many  of  these  build- 
ings, even  in  their  present  state  of  decay,  strike  the  be- 
holder with  wonder,  and  excite  him  to  piety  and  devotion. 

If  it  be  asked  how  it  was  possible  for  so  great  a 
number  of  admirable  buildings  to  have  been  erected  in 
Germany  in  such  a  comparatively  short  time,  we  have 
only  to  point  to  the  extensive  organisation  among 
architects  in  those  days,  and  the  numerous  '  building- 
unions  '  which  existed. 

Corporations,  which  are  so  agreeable  to  the  German 
taste,  were  common  amongst  artists  as  well  as  in  all 
other  departments  of  life,  and  they  enabled  their 
members  to  reach  the  highest  excellence.  Within 
the  respective  guilds  all  hands  in  the  masters'  schools 
or  the  stonemasons'  workshops,  from  the  apprentice 
upward,  were  kept  under  strict  discipline  and  trained 
to  a  particular  end  ;  it  was  required  of  them  that  they 
should  know  the  art  practically  as  well  as  theoretically. 


166  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

Each  pupil  was  obliged  to  go  through  a  certain  period 
of  study  and  travel,  and  only  became  a  '  master '  when 
he  had  executed  some  thoroughly  good  piece  of  work- 
manship. It  is  only  by  means  of  this  strict  guild  dis- 
cipline that  the  perfection  to  be  found  in  a  Gothic 
cathedral  could  have  been  attained.  It  was  this  mode 
of  working  in  unison,  the  brotherhood  which  existed 
between  the  stonecutters,  carpenters,  builders,  lock- 
smiths, &c,  that  produced  the  harmony,  by  which  all 
the  minutest  details  of  each  part  are  blended  into  one 
great  whole. 

For  the  help  and  profit  of  the  master-builders,  and 
in  order  to  prevent  misunderstandings,  discord,  and 
jealousies  among  the  members  of  different  guilds,  all 
the  separate  building  societies  united  together  towards 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  one  universal 
brotherhood.  At  two  conventions  of  stonemasons,  held 
at  Katisbon  in  1459  and  at  Spires  in  1464,  all  the 
different  guilds  formed  themselves  unanimouslv  into 
the  four  principal  associations  of  Strasburg,  Cologne, 
Vienna,  and  Bern,  and  elected  the  architect-in-chief  of 
the  Strasburg  Cathedral  to  be  their  president  and  ruler. 
Every  one  of  the  guilds  was  placed  under  the  same 
rules  and  bye-laws,  and  bound  themselves  to  abide  by 
the  fundamental  principle  of  all  success,  '  Brotherhood, 
friendship,  and  obedience.'  '  Without  God  and  the 
compass,  art  and  rule  aid  no  one.' 

In  a  stonecutter's  '  code  of  rules '  dated  1462  we 
read  as  follows  :  '  Masters  and  apprentices  should  be 
orderly,  should  uphold  each  other,  and  attend  each 
Sunday  at  High  Mass,  and  receive  Holy  Communion  at 
least  once  a  year.'  Piety  and  faith  were  considered 
the  strength  of  the  guild.  The  code  adds :  '  Every 
master  should  keep  his  workshop  clear  of  all  distur  b> 


ARCHITECTURE  167 

ance  and  discord,  and  it  should  be  as  free  and  orderly 
as  a  hall  of  justice.'  Each  member  paid  a  weekly  con- 
tribution for  the  support  of  the  Church  and  for  the 
benefit  of  sick  members.  All  gambling,  drunkenness, 
immorality,  swearing,  or  cursing  were  severely  con- 
demned.    All  teaching  was  free  to  apprentices. 

These  societies  were  the  most  popular  of  the 
national  institutions,  and  Maximilian's  desire  to  be 
instructed  in  '  the  art  of  the  compass  and  whatever 
belonged  to  it,'  and  his  being  enrolled  as  a  member 
of  the  builders'  guilds,  were  looked  on  as  marks  of 
patriotism. 

Outside  the  guilds  many  architects  were  to  be 
found  in  the  monasteries,  particularly  in  those  belong- 
ing to  the  Cistercians,  Benedictines,  and  Dominicans. 
The  latter  had  a  sort  of  school  of  architecture  in 
Strasburg. 

So  long  as  the  technicalities  of  the  art  were  handed 
down  by  tradition  no  books  of  instruction  on  archi- 
tecture were  written.  It  was  only  when  the  Eenais- 
sance  movement  broke  in  from  foreign  countries  that 
this  became  necessary  ;  just  as  had  been  the  case  with 
regard  to  German  law  when  the  Eoman  code  began  to 
come  into  vogue.  By  command  of  that  ecclesiastical 
lover  of  art,  Bishop  William  von  Eeichnau,  the  archi- 
tect Matthew  Boritzer  of  Eatisbon  wrote  (1486)  a 
pamphlet,  entitled  '  Ueber  der  Fialen  Gerechtigkeit,'  in 
which  in  plain,  unsophisticated  fashion  he  described 
the  principles  of  development  of  certain  parts  of  a 
Gothic  building.  In  the  year  1516  the  Palatinate 
architect,  Lawrence  Lacher,  wrote  a  similar  work  for 
his  sons.  In  these  early  writings  we  already  get 
glimpses  of  the  truth  that  the  highest  art  is  the  result 
of  inward  laws  controlling  the  outward  form,  and  that 


168  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

complete  and  harmonising  beauty  can  only  be  produced 
by  the  union  of  freedom  and  law. 

For  centuries  German  architecture,  uniting  in  this 
manner  artistic  freedom  and  technical  exactitude,  made 
its  mark  over  the  Christian  world.  It  became  natural- 
ised in  Italy  through  the  cathedrals  and  churches  of 
Milan,  Florence,  Orvieto,  Assisi,  and  Siena,  as  well  as 
through  many  other  buildings,  some  of  greater,  some 
of  lesser,  importance.  In  the  year  1481  we  find  Stras- 
burg  architects  sent  for  to  Italy  to  give  their  opinions 
with  regard  to  the  completion  of  the  Milan  Cathedral. 
'  The  Germans,'  said  the  Italian  Paul  Jovius,  '  are 
carrying  everything  before  them  in  art,  and  we, 
sluggish  Italians  must  needs  send  to  Germany  for  good 
workmen.'  Andrea  Palladio,  who  died  in  1580,  one 
of  the  most  influential  promoters  of  the  Eenaissance 
architecture,  pronounced  the  buildings  of  the  German 
school  to  be  the  best  in  Italy. 

In  England,  German  architecture  reigned  supreme 
at  this  period,  and  left  its  stamp  in  the  cathedrals  and 
churches  of  Salisbury,  Ely,  Lincoln,  Worcester,  Win- 
chester, Gloucester,  Exeter,  Beverley,  Bristol  and  York. 
In  Portugal  it  embodied  itself  in  the  cathedrals  of  Barce- 
lona, Leon,  Oviedo,  Toledo,  Seville,  and  the  monastery 
churches  of  Batalha  and  Belem.  In  Burgos,  towards  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  an  architect  from  Cologne 
executed  the  most  beautiful  facade  for  a  church.  Palma, 
in  the  island  of  Majorca,  is  a  Gothic  city  which  looks 
as  if  it  were  all  one  construction.  It  is  probable  that 
after  the  taking  of  the  island  by  the  Spaniards  a  colony 
of  German  stonecutters  emigrated  there.  Throughout 
Hungary  also  we  find  buildings  of  the  German  school 
of  architecture,  and  partly  executed  by  German  masters, 
which   challenge   comparison   with   structures  in    any 


ARCHITECTURE  ]  69 

part  of  the  world.  The  most  striking  mediaeval 
buildings  in  the  ancient  Polish  city  of  Cracow  all  bear 
the  stamp  of  the  German  school. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  Gothic  edifices  belonging  to  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  is  not  seldom  an  over- 
powering wealth  of  ornamentation,  but  buildings  were, 
nevertheless,  always  constructed  '  according  to  the  laws 
of  compass  and  measure,'  and  wonderful  beauty  is  to 
be  found  in  the  graceful  and  elegant  designs  of  the 
ornamentation.  In  Germany,  as  well  as  in  England 
and  Spain,  especially  in  the  cathedrals  of  Segovia  and 
Salamanca,1  the  later  Gothic  style  is  still  characterised 
by  great  beauty  and  power.  Immediately  before  the 
total  decay  of  the  architectural  art  in  Germany,  Mar- 
garet of  Austria,  daughter  of  Maximilian,  founded  the 
Cathedral  of  '  Our  Lady  of  Brou,'  which  seems  to  com- 
bine all  the  different  features  of  Gothic  beauty  in  one 
sublime  whole. 

The  influence  of  Germanic  art  continued  to  be  felt 
during  the  first  period  of  the  so-called  '  Eenaissance,' 
for  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  earlier  Eenaissance 
architecture  were  in  all  essentials  the  same  as  had  sur- 
vived from  the  Middle  Ages.  The  architects  of  the  new 
school  inherited  the  old  technical  skill  and  a  wealth  of 
noble  forms  and  designs,  and  so  long  as  they  remained 
true  to  the  grand  traditions  of  the  past  they  produced 
much  beautiful  work. 

So  many  ecclesiastical  monuments  of  German  medi- 
aeval art  have  been  levelled  to  the  ground  that  it  is 
difficult  to  form  an  exact  idea  of  the  enthusiasm  which 
then   prevailed   for   the   building   of  churches.      The 

1  Street,  in  his  Gothic  Architecture  in  Spain,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  428-432, 
considers  these  later  Gothic  cathedrals  '  in  some  respects  equal  to  the 
grandest  works.' 


170  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

number,  however,  which  have  survived  is  so  great 
that  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  at  no  other 
period  of  history  were  so  many  buildings  erected  for 
the  worship  of  God  as  in  that  extending  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  Eeformation. 
This  zeal  pervaded  the  whole  of  Germany,  and  was 
found  in  small  as  well  as  in  large  towns  ;  even  in  the 
villages  there  sprang  up  churches  which  in  artistic 
beauty  were  equal  to  the  great  cathedrals,  and  in 
proportionate  expenditure  of  labour  and  money  were  not 
outdone  by  the  minster  edifices  of  Freiburg  and  Ulm.1 
Even  in  the  remote  northern  parts  of  Germany, 
where  culture  was  slow  in  penetrating,  many  churches 
were  erected  or  remodelled  between  1450  and  1515  ;2 
of  such  there  are  specimens  in  Berlin,  Brandenburg, 
Breslau,  Dantzic,  Fiirstenwald,  Gardelegen,  Gleiwitz, 
Giistrow,  Havelberg,  Heiligengrabe,  Jiiterbog,  Liibeck, 
Neu-ruppin,  Neustadt-Eberswald,  Pelplin,  Pritzwalk, 
Eostock,  Salzwedel,  Seehausen,  Stendal,  Stettin,  Stral- 
sund,  Tangermiind,  Thorn,  Werben,  Wilsnack,  Wismar, 
Wittstock,  Wolmirstadt,  Wursthausen,  and  Ziesar.  In 
many  of  these  places  the  building  of  several  churches 
was  carried  on  at  the  same  time.  In  Dantzic,  for  in- 
stance, besides  the  magnificent  '  St.  Mary's '  (1502),  the 
noble  St.  John's  (1460-1465),  the  Holy  Trinity  Church 
and  the  chapel  of  St.  Anna,  the  choir  of  the  Carmelite 
Church,  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  others,  were 
built  or  completed  (1481-1495).  In  these  districts, 
where  they  were  reduced  to  working  with  bricks,  the 

1  The  names  of  most  of  the  architects  of  those  buildings  are  unknown ; 
but  between  1450  and  1520  nearly  two  hundred  architects  are  known, 
amongst  whom  may  be  mentioned  Burkhard  Engelberger  in  Augsburg, 
and  the  Moritzes  in  Ratisbon.     See  Sighart,  pp.  418-495. 

3  In  this  list  are  mentioned  only  those  buildings  whose  dates  are 
authentic.     Otte,  pp.  489-623. 


ARCHITECTURE  171 

powers  of  North  German  master-builders  were  remark- 
ably exemplified ;  for  with  this  plain  material  they 
could  produce  the  most  magnificent  work.  They  ex- 
celled specially  in  the  art  of  making  arches.  The 
highest  of  these  was  to  be  found  in  Dantzic. 

At  Stuttgart  the  Church  of  St.  Leonard  was  erected 
in  1474,  the  abbey  church  in  1490  ;  and  the  hospital 
Church  of  St.  Ulrich  was  commenced  in  1467,  while  that 
of  St.  George  was  completed  between  1490  and  1505. 
St.  Maurice's  dates  from  the  same  period.  Amongst 
the  most  magnificent  architectural  works  are  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Eatisbon  (1486),  of  Ulm  (1507),  and  the  Frauen- 
kirche  of  Munich,  erected  between  1468  and  1488. 

Westphalia  and  the  Ehenish  Provinces  kept  pace 
with  Suabia  and  Bavaria  in  architecture  at  this  period. 
Among  the  Westphalian  cathedrals  and  churches  may 
be  mentioned  those  of  Blomberg,  Bocholt,  Borken,  Coes- 
feld,  Corbach,  Dortmund,  Everswinkel,  Hamm,  Lies- 
born,  Lippstadt,  Liidinghausen,  Mollenbeck,  Minister, 
Nottuln,  Eheine,  Schwerte,  Soest,  Unna,  Vreden,  and 
Weddern. 

In  the  Ehenish  Provinces  may  be  mentioned  Alzey, 
Andernach,  Baden-Baden,  Basle,  Bern,  Bingen,  Bonn, 
Bruchsal,  Calcar,  Clausen  near  Treves,  Cleves,  Coblenz, 
Cologne,  Constance,  Cues  on  the  Mosel,  Duisburg,  Elten,, 
Emmerich,  Essen,  Freiburg,  Heidelberg,  Herensheim 
near  Worms,  Kiedrich,  Lamdau  in  the  Palatinate, 
Linz,  Mentz,  Meisenheim,  Metz,  Neustadt-on-the-Hardt, 
Eokeskyll,  St.  Goar,  Simmern,  and  Sobernheim  above 
Kreuznach,  Strasburg,  Thaum,  Treves,  Worms,  Xanten, 
Zug,  and  Zurich.  In  the  last-mentioned  city  the  Min- 
ster was  built  between  1480  and  1490  ;  the  Church  of 
Our  Lady  between  1484  and  1507,  and  the  Wasser- 
kirche  between  1479  and  1486.     Architectural  activity 


172  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

was  at  its  height  in  Cologne  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  following  churches  were  all  enlarged  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  :  St.  Ursula  between 
1449  and  1467  ;  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Apostles  in 
1451  ;  St.  Severinin  1479  ;  the  Church  of  the  Brothers- 
Minor,  St.  Lawrence  and  St.  Martin,  in  1480  ;  and  the 
Church  of  St.  John  and  Cordula  in  1483.  In  the  years 
1456,  1493,  and  1504  additions  were  made  to  the 
Church  of  St.  Columba.  In  1472,  and  again  after  1491, 
St.  Paul's  was  enlarged.  The  Church  of  the  Maccabees 
was  erected  in  1462  ;  the  Chapel  of  St.  Thomas  in  1469  ; 
the  Chapel  of  St.  Catherine  in  1474.  In  1477  the  Church 
and  cloister  of  St.  Apern ;  1480,  the  Church  and  Mon- 
astery of  Sion  ;  about  1480  the  Church  of  the  Brothers 
of  the  Cross ;  in  1483  the  Church  and  Monastery  of 
Mommersloch ;  in  1489  the  Baptistery  of  St.  John's  ; 
1490,  the  Church  of  the  Weidenbach  Brothers ;  1493, 
the  second  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Capitol ;  1505,  the 
Baptistery  of  St.  Severin.  Besides  all  this,  operations 
were  carried  on  intermittently  at  the  great  cathedral 
from  1447  to  1513. 

In  the  Ehenish  Provinces,  where,  on  the  whole, 
Christian  architecture  reached  its  highest  development, 
the  years  from  1450  to  1515  were  perhaps  the  most 
fruitful  period  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Grand  structures 
were  erected  even  in  small  places  ;  as,  for  instance, 
were  built  the  beautiful  parish  church,  the  Chapel  of 
St.  Michael  at  Kiedrich  in  the  Eheingau,  and  the 
'  Schwanenkirche.'  The  latter  may  perhaps  be  said  to 
mark  the  highest  point  of  art  in  buildings  of  this  sort. 
It  shows  also  in  a  striking  manner  how  the  architects 
of  those  days  could  adapt  themselves  to  circumstances, 
and  could  deal  equally  skilfully  with  small  matters 
as  with  large  ones. 


ARCHITECTURE  173 

The  development  of  architecture  went  hand  in 
hand  with  that  of  science.  At  the  same  time,  for 
instance,  when  the  newly  founded  Universities  of  Basle 
and  Freiburg  were  enjoying  their  first  flush  of  success 
there  were  erected  in  Basle  (1470-1487),  the  south 
tower  of  the  Minster  (1484-1500),  and  the  Church 
of  St.  Leonard's  (1496-1503),  and  at  Freiburg  the 
cathedral  choir,  with  its  beautiful  circle  of  chapels, 
was  built  between  1471  and  1509.  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main  exhibited  at  that  period  a  zeal  in  church  building 
which  was  quite  remarkable  when  compared  with  its 
history  at  other  times.  The  Church  of  St.  Peter's  was 
added  to  in  1452  ;  the  '  Weissfraukirche '  in  1455,  and 
the  Church  of  St.  Leonard's  and  the  cathedral  in  1512. 

In  Franconia  and  Hesse  also  hundreds  of  churches 
were  erected.  The  following  catalogue  is  the  result  of 
accurate  researches  made  in  a  single  division  of  these 
lands,  viz.  the  present  Prussian  administrative  district 
of  Cassel. 

In  the  following  places  ecclesiastical  buildings  were 
either  newly  erected  or  restored  or  enlarged :  Asmus- 
hausen,  1518  ;  Bischofsheim,  1512  ;  Breitenau,  1508 
Bruch-kobel,  1505;  Burgeln,  1500;  Cassel,  1483 
Cathrinhagen,  1517  ;  Connefeld,  1514  ;  Fulda,  1447 
Furstenhagen,  1489;  Eschwege,  1446-1494,  1450- 
1466 ;  Frankenberg,  1515  ;  Friemen,  1498 ;  Geln- 
hausen,  1467  ;  Gemiinden,  1485  ;  Gudensberg,  1500  ; 
Haindorf,  1449  ;  Hanau,  1474  and  1505  ;  Cassel,  1483  ; 
Harle,  1492  ;  Hofgeismar,  1449  and  1460  ;  Marburg, 
1447-1473  ;  Margretenhaun,  1487  ;  Mollenbeck,  1505  ; 
Nassenerfurt,  1512;  Naumburg,  1512;  Niederelsungen, 
1515;  Nieder-Hohne,  1508;  Niederwalgern,  1479; 
Petersbem,  1479  ;  Rauschenbenr,  1453  and  1508  • 
Eetterode,  1453  ;  Riebelsdorf,  1500  ;  Rosenthal,  1518  ; 


174  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Eotenburg,  1484-1501;  Schlierbach,  1460;  Schmal- 
kalden,  1509  ;  Schonberg,  1490  ;  Schweinsberg,  1506  ; 
Soden,  1464  ;  Sontra,  1483-1493  ;  Spangenberg,  1486  ; 
Spiesscappel,  1500-1504 ;  Steinau,  1481  and  1511 ; 
Trendelburg,  1458  ;  Wiichtersbach,  1514  ;  Waldcappeb 
1501 ;  Wehrda,  1490 ;  Wetter,  1506 ;  WiUingshausen, 
1511  ;  Windecken,  1495  ;  and  Wolfterode,  1515. 

From  this  list  we  learn  that  one-fourth  of  the 
churches  which,  despite  the  ravages  of  the  war,  are 
still  standing  in  this  imperial  province  date  from  the 
latter  end  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

To  turn  to  another  district,  we  find  that  nearly  half 
of  the  churches  of  any  note  in  both  the  Alsatian 
districts  of  Kaisersberg  and  Eappoltsweiler  belong  to 
the  same  period.1 

All  this  goes  to  prove  how  influential  at  this  period 
the  Church,  for  whose  service  all  these  buildings  were 
erected,  must  have  been  throughout  the  whole  of 
Germany.  Such  a  multitude  of  beautiful  places  of 
worship  could  not  have  been  built  had  not  a  Christian 
spirit  of  piety  and  devotion  pervaded  all  classes  of 
society.  It  was  not  the  love  of  art  which  superinduced 
piety,  but  the  pious  character  of  the  people  combined 
with  its  high  mental  culture  expressed  itself  in  a  love 
of  Christian  works  of  art.  The  nation  put  forth  its  best 
efforts  in  these  works,  and  all  participated  in  the 
expense  by  larger  or  smaller  alms  according  to  their 
means. 

To  see  this  we  have  only  to  look  at  the  building 
accounts  of  the  church  at  Xanten,  from  which  we  learn 
that  the  foreman  of  the  works  received  from  one  a  bed, 
from  another  a  coat,  from  a  third  a  measure  of  corn, 

1  See  Straub,  Statistique  monumentale  des  Cantons  de  Kayserberg  et 
de  Bibauville.     Strasburg,  1860. 


ARCHITECTURE  175 

from  a  fourth  a  cow,  and  so  on,  to  be  disposed  of  for  the 
"benefit  of  the  building  fund.  Helmets,  coats  of  mail, 
weapons,  and  so  forth,  were  hung  in  the  choir  of  the 
church  and  sold  for  the  same  purpose.  Here  a  citizen 
offers  his  jewellery,  there  a  landed  proprietor  makes 
contributions  of  tithes  ;  others  bring  building  materials, 
others  subscribe  the  money  they  would  have  paid  as 
entrance-fee  to  a  club  or  association ;  a  man-servant 
gives  a  few  small  coins,  a  poor  old  woman  some 
pennies.  The  very  masons  employed  gave  with  one 
hand  what  they  received  as  wages  with  the  other. 

The  same  feelings  prevailed  in  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main.  When  the  building  of  the  cathedral  was  pro- 
ceeding, the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Bartholomew  appointed 
a  person  who  sat  all  day  by  the  picture  of  '  The  Agony 
in  the  Garden '  in  the  cemetery  to  receive  contributions. 
The  poor  people  brought  not  only  money,  but  house- 
hold articles  and  clothing  as  contributions.  Calves, 
pigs  and  poultry  were  given  as  donations,  and  these 
the  Brotherhood  undertook  to  care  for  until  they  were 
fit  to  be  killed  and  sold.  Every  Saturday  the  collector 
put  the  goods  up  for  auction.  Not  unfrequently  a 
man  would  give  his  harness  or  his  best  coat,  or  a 
woman  some  of  her  wearing  apparel,  to  be  disposed  of. 

In  a  manuscript  chronicle  of  the  Cathedral  of  Ulm 
we  find  it  related  that  near  the  parish  church  building 
office  a  hut  was  erected  to  which  each  might  bring  his  or 
her  offerings.  '  No  apron,  bodice,  or  necktie  should  be 
disdained.'  All  the  articles  were  to  be  disposed  of  at  a 
certain  market  to  the  best  advantage  for  the  benefit  of 
the  church.  Certain  citizens  engaged  to  supply  horses 
and  men  to  work  for  periods  varying  from  a  year  to  a 
month.  In  this  manner  the  work  progressed  at  such  a 
rate  that  by  the  year  1488  the  magnificent  temple,  with 


176  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

its  tower,  was  not  only  built  and  roofed,  but  furnished 
with  fifty-two  altars,  and  all  this  without  any  outside 
help.  According  to  the  accounts  the  building  and 
steeple  cost  nine  tons  of  gold.  In  the  year  1452  Claus 
Lieb  had  the  wonderfully  beautiful  sacristy  built  at  his 
own  cost,  and  by  his  request  (for  in  those  days  it  was 
the  privilege  of  the  founder  to  put  up  a  tablet  or  his 
coat  of  arms),  his  anvil  and  hammer  were  buried  in  the 
foundation,  and  the  motto  '  Claus  Lieb,  surnamed  the 
goldsmith,'  was  engraved  over  the  sexton's  door.  In 
the  year  1517  the  '  Mount  of  Olives  '  was  finished  near 
the  cathedral.  It  consisted  of  three  images  besides 
Christ  and  His  three  apostles,  and  cost  the  donor, 
Maria  Tausendschone  (a  confectioner),  seven  thousand 
guldens. 

The  erection  of  so  many  grand  churches  was  due  to 
the  unanimity  and  generosity  of  all  classes,  from  the 
richest  and  highest  to  the  humblest  and  poorest. 
Town  and  country  vied  with  each  other  in  pious 
emulation  of  faith  and  zeal  and  artistic  taste,  and  this, 
too,  at  a  time  when  immense  sums  were  also  being 
generously  devoted  to  establishing  foundations  for 
various  benevolent  objects.  In  the  year  1477  the  Pope, 
in  a  rescript  addressed  to  the  civil  authorities  of 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  warns  them  against  allowing 
the  city  to  '  impoverish  itself  through  over-generosity 
to  the  Church.' 

In  ecclesiastical  architecture  art  found  a  means  of 
clear  and  vigorous  expression.  But  it  by  no  means 
confined  its  powers  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  All 
the  departments  of  life,  both  public  and  private,  came 
equally  under  its  beautifying  influence. 

Next  to  providing  worthy  temples  for  the  service  of 


ARCHITECTURE  177 

God,   architects    endeavoured    to    serve    the    cause    of 
public  good  and  freedom,  and  one  result  was  the  erec- 
tion of  those  wondrous  towers,  portcullises,  and  fort- 
alices,   wonders    of   strength,    for   the    destruction    of 
which   modern   mechanical   appliances   have    scarcely 
proved  adequate.     They  built  halls  of  justice,  arsenals, 
assembly-halls,    and   guildhalls   for    social   gatherings. 
The  city  towers  and  gates  were  often  built  by  the  most 
eminent  architects.      While  the    different   towns  vied 
with  each  other  in  raising  structures  to  the  honour  and 
glory  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  care  was  also 
taken  to  have  public  buildings  which  would  be  testi- 
monials   to   posterity   of  the    power,    prosperity,   and 
culture  of  this  period.     It  was   not  only  in  times  of 
peace,  but  often  amid  the  clash  of  arms,   that  these 
monuments  grew  up.1 

Germany  was  equally  well  supplied  with  sacred 
and  with  secular  buildings.  The  houses  of  the  nobles 
and  well-to-do  citizens,  with  their  high-reaching  gables, 
their  artistic  and  appropriate  windows,  cornices,  and 
innumerable  projections,  as  well  as  the  plain  wooden 
cottages  of  the  peasants,  were  all  alike  witnesses  to 
the  love  of  the  beautiful  which  was  so  common  amoner 
the  people  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

In  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the  architectural  dis- 
tinction of  Germany  in  former  times  we  recommend 
the  study  of  Merian's  illustrations  to  Zeiler's  '  Topo- 
graphy.' 

1  Justus  Moser  says  :  '  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  in  former  times 
houses  were  not  as  well  lighted,  but  this  may  be  in  some  measure 
accounted  for  by  the  necessity  then  existing  of  fortifying  cities.  See 
Reichensperger,  Christ,  germanische  Bauhunst,  pp.  20,  30,  32,  37. 


VOL.  I.  N 


178  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


CHAPTEE  II 

SCULPT  17EE    AND    PAINTING 

In  Germany,  as  with  all  other  nations,  the  development 
of  architecture  went  on  simultaneously  with  that  of  the 
sister  arts  of  sculpture  and  painting.  Architecture 
needs  the  co-operation  of  these  two  arts,  and  can  only 
reach  perfection  by  an  intimate  connection  with  them ; 
as,  on  the  other  hand,  sculpture  and  painting  only  con- 
tinue to  nourish  so  long  as  they  have  their  centre  in 
architecture. 

The  walls  of  the  temples  of  God  once  finished,  it 
was  necessary  to  relieve  their  bareness  by  colour,  and 
to  ornament  them  by  pictures  and  statues  which  would 
represent  the  persons  and  teachings  to  whose  honour 
they  were  erected,  and,  so  to  speak,  '  be  admonitors  to 
a  higher  life.'  The  Christian  religion  required  that  the 
place  where  the  Saviour  dwells  and  condescends,  in 
love  and  grace,  to  become  one  with  men,  and  where 
the  faithful  are  lifted  up  to  heaven  through  prayer  and 
devotion,  should  be  decorated  with  all  that  is  most 
beautiful  on  earth  and  best  calculated  to  hallow  and 
purify  the  imagination.  Hence  painting  and  sculpture 
may  be  said  to  have  grown  out  of  architecture,  and 
attained,  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  to  the  highest 
expression  of  Christian  life  and  feeling.  A  wonderful 
depth  of  lofty  idealism  and  childlike  simplicity,  of 
natural   graee    combined   with   supernatural   sanctity, 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  ]79 

seems  to  breathe  forth  from  the  great  masterpieces  of 
these  arts. 

The  churches  were  not  only  houses  of  prayer,  but 
monumental  exponents  of  Biblical  history.  They  were 
also  museums,  always  open  to  any  among  the  people, 
historical  galleries,  where  from  year  to  year  fresh  works 
of  art  were  always  being  placed.  By  constant  contem- 
plation of  these  works  from  earliest  youth  artistic  taste 
was  cultivated ;  and  artists  were  kept  well  employed, 
for  new  orders  were  constantly  given,  both  by  indi- 
viduals and  societies. 

Each  wealthy  family,  each  guild  or  society,  each 
brotherhood,  wished  to  have  its  own  artistic  monument 
to  the  honour  of  God — either  a  picture,  a  statue,  a 
stained-glass  window,  or  an  altar.  The  different  mem- 
bers of  the  donor's  family  were  sometimes  themselves 
represented  at  the  feet  of  the  sacred  subject ;  and  the 
artist  often  drew  a  representation  of  himself  in  some 
corner  of  the  group  of  praying  figures,  or,  as  in  the 
case  of  Adam  KrafFt  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Sacrament  in  St. 
Lawrence's  in  Nuremberg,  kneeling  as  if  in  prayer,  clad 
in  his  working  apron  and  with  his  tools  in  his  hands. 

All  provinces  of  life,  secular  as  well  as  religious, 
public  as  well  as  private,  were  beautified  and  idealised 
by  painting  and  sculpture.  The  city  halls,  arsenals,  and 
other  public  buildings,  the  houses  of  the  wealthy 
burghers,  which  were  almost  art  galleries,  all  testified 
to  the  universal  culture  of  the  times.  Nor  were  the 
dwellings  of  the  poor  left  undecorated ;  they  always 
had  an  image  or  picture  of  the  family  patron  saint  on 
the  front.  Even  the  public  thoroughfares  showed  how 
closely  the  love  of  art  was  connected  with  the  everyday 
life  of  the  people.     The  streets,  with   their  frescoed 

N-2 


180  HISTORY   OF   THE    GERMAN   PEOPLE 

walls,  were  like  illustrated  chronicles,  which  told  more 
of  the  habits  of  the  people  than  many  books  written  on 
the  subject.  Distinguished  artists  used  to  practise  their 
hands  at  these  mural  frescoes,  and  in  some  cases  pro- 
duced better  results  than  in  their  other  works,  thus 
exhibiting  their  masterpieces  on  the  homely  burgher 
dwelling's  of  the  streets.  Large  sums  were  often  ex- 
pended  upon  the  decoration  of  streets.  In  Nuremberg, 
for  instance,  the  gilding  of  the  fountain  (1447)  cost  the 
city  five  hundred  florins,  and  the  regilding  of  the  same 
in  1491  four  hundred.  All  the  masterworks  of  the 
period  are  of  a  decidedly  national  character. 

Although  art  is  the  common  property  of  mankind, 
and  has  its  roots  in  the  universal  life  of  humanity,  it  is 
at  the  same  time  the  particular  expression  of  the  mind 
under  its  special  racial  conditions.  Like  language  and 
customs,  it  has  its  first  origin  in  the  religious  feelings  of 
the  people.  Art  expresses  the  inner  life  of  a  nation, 
its  highest  thoughts  and  aspirations,  by  pictures  and 
statues,  as  language  does  by  words,  or  as  culture  does 
by  the  manners  of  social  intercourse.  The  German 
artists  of  the  fifteenth  century  threw  all  their  intense 
patriotism  into  their  works.  One  can  almost  discover 
all  the  specialities  of  the  different  German  tribes  by 
examining  the  works  of  the  different  artists.  As  every 
large  German  city  had  its  own  dialect,  so,  too,  it  had  its 
peculiarities  in  art  characteristics. 

All  those  admirable  artists  who  produced  such  a 
variety  and  multitude  of  beautiful  works  were  plain, 
humble  citizens  or  labourers  belonging  to  the  city 
corporations.  Anyone  wishing  to  devote  himself  to  art 
went  to  the  studio  of  a  master,  learned  how  to  prepare 
the  necessary  materials,  worked  at  the  ordinary  tasks 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  181 

of  his  trade,  ascended  step  by  step  in  his  apprenticeship, 
studied  the  works  and  style  of  his  master,  and  then  set 
out  on  his  '  Wanderjahre.'  When  he  had  succeeded  in 
producing  something  of  real  merit  he  ceased  to  be  an 
apprentice  ;  but  until  then  he  continued  to  work  with 
the  master  and  to  help  in  executing  the  orders  which 
the  latter  received.  The  masters  themselves  worked  as 
painters,  sculptors,  carvers,  glass-workers,  braziers,  bell- 
casters,  goldsmiths,  bronzers,  with  their  apprentices. 
They  all  ate  at  the  same  table,  slept  under  the  same 
roof,  maintaining  meanwhile  the  strictest  discipline. 

Among  the  large  number  of  those  whose  lives  are  a 
record  of  the  development  of  artistic  life  in  Germany, 
and  who  show  now  how  closely  art  was  bound  up  with 
everyday  existence  and  how  thoroughly  it  was  in  touch 
with  the  real  needs  of  the  age,  we  will  take  as  an 
example  the  life  of  Jacob  Heller,  draper  and  alderman, 
of  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  This  man  was  highly  re- 
spected by  his  fellow-citizens  for  his  known  excellence 
and  his  knowledge  of  business.  He  had  seen  a  good 
deal  of  the  world,  had  been  at  Eome  in  1500,  and  on 
several  occasions  he  had  represented  the  city  in  the 
Imperial  Parliament  and  abroad.  His  numerous  foun- 
dations and  legacies  are  a  witness  of  his  benevolence 
and  fellow-feeling  for  the  poor  and  the  afflicted,  of  his 
loving  forethought  for  his  own  dependents,  and  the 
perfect  kindliness  of  his  relations  with  his  faithful 
domestic  servants.  Out  of  patriotism  and  love  of 
learning  he  gave  a  large  sum  to  build  a  library  for  the 
general  use  of  the  city,  and,  desiring  to  have  a  part 
even  after  death  in  the  beautifying  and  improving  of 
Frankfort,  he  bequeathed  large  sums  for  the  erection  of 
public  buildings,  churches,   &c.     Deep,  earnest  piety 


182  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

and  strong  faith  and  loyalty  to  the  Church  were  the 
motives  which  influenced  his  whole  life,  and  the  main- 
springs of  his  patronage  of  art.  He  kept  painters  and 
glass-workers,  sculptors  and  founders,  goldsmiths  and 
makers  of  church  raiment  at  work  executing  his  orders 
and  embodying  his  piety  in  lasting  forms  of  art ;  and  for 
many  of  the  costly  vestures  which  he  ordered  for  the 
town  churches  or  for  outlying  churches  and  monasteries 
he  himself  gave  minute  directions  as  to  the  material  and 
design.  For  instance,  a  high  mass  vestment  for  the 
Dominican  monastery  in  Frankfort  was  to  be  '  of  red 
velvet  of  the  most  beautiful  kind,  fashioned  in  the  richest 
and  most  costly  manner,  adorned  with  a  handsome 
cross,  and  figures  of  John  and  Mary.  His  own  and  his 
wife's  armorial  bearings  were  also  to  be  inserted.  He 
ordered,  moreover,  two  Gospel  garments  and  a  cope 
with  St.  James  and  St.  Catherine  embroidered  on 
them,  for  which  his  wife's  pearls  were  to  be  used,  and 
on  which,  besides  the  pearls,  eighty,  or  if  necessary  one 
hundred,  florins  were  to  be  spent,  in  order  that '  it  might 
be  worthy  of  being  dedicated  to  the  honour  of  God.' 
While  still  living  he  had  a  bronze  statue,  representing 
Death,  made  for  his  tomb  in  the  Dominican  cloister.1 
In  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  he  had  placed  a  sculptural 
representation  of  Christ  and  His  sleeping  disciples  in 
the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  for  the  preservation  of 
which  he  left  an  endowment.  These  things,  however, 
were  of  small  artistic  value  compared  with  the  altar- 
piece  which  he  had  executed  by  Albert  Diirer  in  1509 
for  the  Dominican  church,  and  the  '  Calvary,'  by  an  un- 
known sculptor,  which  he  presented  to  the  cathedral  in 
the  same  year.     The  altar-piece,  representing  the  As- 

1  It  was  afterwards  melted  and  sold  to  Jews. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  183 

sumption  and  the  coronation  of  the  Virgin,  was  much 
admired  at  the  time,  and  for  more  than  a  century 
enjoyed  a  widespread  reputation.  The  '  Calvary  '  is  the 
finest  specimen  of  mediaeval  sculpture  which  Frank- 
fort possesses.  It  consists  of  seven  figures  larger  than 
life-size,  all  of  them  marvels  of  lifelike  work  and  finished 
chiselling.  Particularly  beautiful  is  the  majestic  figure 
of  the  Christ,  whose  drooping  head  and  sorrow-stricken 
countenance  are  exceedingly  impressive.  At  the  base 
of  this  group  is  the  following  inscription  in  Latin  :  '  In 
the  year  1509  this  was  erected  by  Jacob  Heller  and  his 
wife,  Catherine  von  Molhaim,  inhabitants  of  Nuremberg, 
in  their  own  name  and  that  of  their  ancestors,  to  the 
honour  of  our  glorious  Conqueror,  Jesus  Christ,  and  in 
the  hope  that  God  may  grant  grace  to  the  living  and 
eternal  rest  to  the  dead.'  The  Bible  texts  which  are 
interspersed  here  and  there  among  the  group  and  in  the 
folds  of  the  drapery  are  extremely  interesting,  as  showing 
the  spirit  in  which  the  monument  was  erected.  The 
final  text,  '  And  Jacob  rose  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  took  the  stone  that  he  had  put  for  his  pillows,  and 
set  it  up  for  a  pillar,' 1  had  evident  reference  to  his  own 
name  and  to  the  fact  that  the  '  Calvary  '  was  erected  to 
the  memory  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  as  a  place 
of  devotion  for  present  and  future  generations.  He  also 
directed  that  '  the  rector  of  the  school  (St.  Bartholo- 
mew's) and  six  boys  should  perform  devotions  in  front 
of  this  crucifix  in  honour  of  the  Passion  every  Friday 
of  the  year.'  He  left  an  endowment  for  keeping  two 
lamps  constantly  burning  before  the  '  Calvary '  in  the 
Church  of  Our  Lady. 

In   those  days  Christians  considered  all  i>ood  works 

1  Gen.  xxix.  18. 


184  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

as  pleasing  to  God — as  performed  '  through  God ' — 
that  is,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  God  to  do 
good  works,  such  as  the  corporal  and  spiritual  works 
of  mercy,  the  building  and  ornamenting  of  churches, 
and  whatever  is  conducive  to  bringing  men's  thoughts 
to  piety.  All  these  works  should  be  performed  for 
'  God's  glory  and  in  order  to  obtain  happiness  in  the 
other  world.' 1 

The  natural  result  of  the  general  belief  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  efficacy  of  good  works  was  that  neither 
State  nor  city  had  to  be  taxed  for  the  current  expenses 
of  schools,  hospitals,  churches,  or  the  support  of  the 
poor,  as  all  these  objects  were  amply  provided  for  by 
voluntary  contributions.  To  this  belief  also  innume- 
rable works  of  art — monuments  of  religious  and  patriotic 
ardour — owe  their  origin. 

The  little  town  of  Calcar,  on  the  Lower  Ehine,  in 
whose  church  are  still  extant  a  number  of  exquisite 
pictures  and  specimens  of  sculpture,  is  a  good  example 
of  this.2  In  Calcar  were  several  brotherhoods,  amono- 
which  those  of  Onr  Lady  and  of  St.  Anne  appear  to  have 
distinguished  themselves  by  generous  orders  for  works 
of  art.  In  1492  the  latter  society  gave  a  commission 
to  Master  Derick  Bongert  for  the  very  beautiful  carved 
altar  to  the  Holy  Family  which  is  still  in  existence.  In 
the  accounts  of  the  Society  of  '  Our  Lady '  are  charges 
for  a  '  Burial  of  Christ '  executed  by  a  Master  Arnt,  and 
for  a  carved  altar  by  Master  Ewart  in  1492.  In  1498 
the  same  '  Brotherhood '  decided  to  erect  an  altar  in 
honour  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord.  The  president, 
accompanied  by  the    pastor,  Johann  Houdan  (doctor 

1  Dcr  Seelenfiihrer,  p.  9. 

2  Wolf,  Ucber  St.  Niclrfaische  Kirche  in  Calcar,  1880. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  185 

and  formerly  professor  of  theology),  went  to  Utrecht  in 
order  to  examine  altars  there.  An  artist  whom  they 
took  with  them  made  drawings,  assisted  by  Master 
Arnt.  The  best  wood  was  procured  from  the  royal 
forests  and  Amsterdam,  and  immediately  on  their 
return  a  carpenter  from  Calcar  was  employed  to  con- 
struct the  framework  of  the  altar  ;  the  rest  of  the  work 
was  then  divided  among  different  sculptors  and  carvers 
of  Calcar  according  to  their  particular  qualifications. 
Thus  the  groups  of  Christ's  entry  into  Jerusalem,  the 
feast  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  and  the  washing  of  the  dis- 
ciples' feet,  which  adorn  the  base,  were  assigned  to 
Jan  van  Haldern.  The  fluting  and  ornamentation  were 
done  by  Derick  Jeger,  and  the  upper  portion,  repre- 
senting the  sufferings  of  Christ,  was  the  work  of  Master 
Lodewich,  the  renowned  carver.  This  marvellously 
beautiful  work  of  art  was  completed  in  1500,  and  the 
president  of  the  society  handed  Master  Lodewich  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  gold  florins  in 
payment.  This  same  society  assigned  the  execution  of 
the  exquisite  altar  in  honour  of  the  Mother  of  Sorrows 
to  another  citizen  of  Calcar,  Master  Heinrich  Douwer- 
mann.  Between  1505  and  1508  the  beautiful  choir 
stalls,  which  rank  among  the  best  specimens  of  art  in 
the  Rhenish  Provinces,  were  built  and  carved  by 
Heinrich  Bernts.  For  this  work  the  church  gave  him 
two  hundred  gold  florins,  two  quarters  of  rye,  four  casks 
of  beer,  and,  as  a  compliment  to  his  wife,  a  mantle  and 
five  yards  of  silk  from  Ypres,  in  Flanders.  The  can- 
delabrum in  the  Virgin's  chapel,  which  measured 
thirteen  feet  in  height  and  seven  in  width,  and  is  a 
marvel  of  its  kind,  was  also  begun  by  Heinrich  Bernts, 
but,  as  he  died  before  its  completion,  it  was  finished  in 


186  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

1510  by  Master  Kerstken,  of  Kingenbergh,  a  citizen  of 
Calcar. 

Besides  the  sixteen  carvers  whose  names  became 
famous  in  Calcar,  there  were  at  the  same  time  a  number 
of  painters  at  work  in  the  little  town.  The  names  of 
thirteen  of  them  are  still  known,  and  amongst  these  Jan 
Joest,  commonly  known  as  Master  Jan  von  Calcar, 
who  died  in  1519,  is  the  most  important.  In  1505  the 
Society  of  Our  Lady  entrusted  him  with  the  work  of 
executing  the  four  panels  of  the  high  altar,  the  designs 
for  which  were  made  by  the  superior  of  the  neighbour- 
ing Ursuline  convent.  We  have  records  also  of  two 
glass-workers  of  the  years  1485-1515,  and  eight  silk- 
embroiderers,  by  whom  the  church  vestments,  flags,  and 
other  articles  of  church  decoration,  all  richly  em- 
broidered with  devices  in  pearls  and  precious  stones, 
were  executed.  Among  these  embroiderers  we  may 
mention  a  certain  Brother  Egbert,  probably  a  Domi- 
nican monk.  Several  organs  were  also  constructed  in 
Calcar,  but  we  know  nothing  of  these  beyond  what  is 
set  down  in  the  account-books  kept  between  1482  and 
1519. 

In  the  art  remains  of  Calcar  we  find  the  same  close 
connection  between  sculpture  and  painting  which  ex- 
isted in  the  earliest  times,  particularly  in  Greece. 
Sculpture  in  stone,  wood,  and  ivory  was  coloured,  and 
we  find  bas-relief  work  introduced  into  paintings. 

The  Plastic  Art 

Sculpture  comes  next  in  order  to  architecture.  Its 
business  is  to  furnish  and  decorate  the  spaces  produced 
by  the  architect.     In  their  best  period  we  find  the  two 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  187 

arts  closely  bound  up  together,  and  the  masterpieces  of 
sculpture  bear  the  clear  stamp  of  their  relation  to  their 
mother-art.  The  greater  number  of  the  masterworks 
of  the  fifteenth  century  have  been  destroyed,  but  we 
have  yet  remaining  many  good  specimens  in  stone, 
metal,  and  wood — such  as  statues  on  domes,  churches, 
chapels,  and  private  houses  ;  porches ;  altars  covered 
with  figures  in  low  and  high  relief;  bronze  altars, 
tabernacles,  organ  frames,  baptismal  fonts  ;  monuments 
for  tombs  in  stone  and  brass  ;  chancel  and  choir  stalls  ; 
church  vessels  of  all  sizes  and  in  different  metals ; 
monstrances,  ciboriums,  reliquaries,  altar-crosses,  cro- 
ziers,  candelabra,  and  other  metal  work ;  drinking 
cups,  scabbards,  and  such-like. 

The  business  of  the  gold  and  silversmiths  was  par- 
ticularly brisk  and  diversified,  and  many  of  them  pro- 
duced results  which  quite  equalled,  if  they  did  not 
surpass,  the  best  Greek  and  Oriental  work.  This 
branch  of  art  reached  its  highest  perfection  at  Nurem- 
berg, Cologne,  Augsburg,  Eatisbon,  Landshut,  and 
Mentz.  In  the  year  1475  there  were  more  than  thirty 
thousand  goldsmiths  in  Mentz,  and  many  whose  names 
have  come  down  to  posterity  were  citizens  of  Augs- 
burg, Eatisbon,  and  Landshut.1  The  famous  goldsmith, 
George  Seld,  was  employed  for  twenty-six  years  in 
Augsburg  at  the  construction  of  a  silver  altar  for  the 
cathedral.  It  was  a  representation  of  the  scenes  of  the 
Last  Supper,  the  Passion,  and  the  Eesurrection,  and  it 
weighed  almost  two  hundred  pounds. 

The  goldsmiths'  trade  in  Nuremberg  often  numbered 
more  than  fifty  '  masters,'  who  had  large  workshops  and 

1  Sighart,  pp.  551-554.      There  is  hardly  a  German   town  of   that 
period  which  did  not  claim  some  renowned  goldsmith.     See  Myer,  i.  475. 


188 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


sent  specimens  of  their  handicraft  all  over  Europe. 
They  did  not  confine  their  business  to  mere  orna- 
mental works,  costly  vases  and  so  forth,  but  excelled  in 
modelling  figures  and  casting  them  in  different  metals. 
The  ornaments  of  that  period  were  all  of  great  artistic 
value.  They  represented  all  kinds  of  figures,  single 
and  in  groups,  religious  and  secular,  and  done  in  metal 
and  enamel — enamelled  peacocks,  for  instance,  with 
dazzling  tails ;  the  figures  of  ladies  with  light-coloured 
dresses  and  golden  crowns  studded  with  pearls  and 
precious  stones.  In  1509  the  Council  of  Nuremberg 
ordered  gold,  silver,  and  enamelled  flowers  of  great 
beauty  to  be  made  for  Ladislaus,  king  of  Hungary. 
In  1512  it  presented  Lawrence,  the  bishop  of  Wiirtz- 
burg,  with  a  silver  reliquary  on  which  the  emblems  of 
the  months  of  the  year  were  most  artistically  carved.1 

In  order  to  form  some  idea  of  the  wealth  of  gold 
and  silver  work  in  Germany  in  the  fifteenth  century  we 
have  only  to  read  the  treasure-lists  of  some  of  the 
churches,  such  as  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  in  Nurem- 
berg in  1466,  and  the  Cathedral  of  Freising  in  1482. 
In  the  inventory  of  the  Cathedral  of  Passau  we  read  of 
silver  reliquaries  in  the  shape  of  churches  and  towers, 
of  twenty  silver  branches,  of  forty  silver  statues,  shrines, 
and  monstrances.  In  the  Cathedral  of  Bern,  among 
other  treasures,  were  a  silver  statue  of  the  Christ  weigh- 
ing thirty-one  pounds,  two  silver-gilt  angels  of  eighty 
pounds  weight,  silver  busts  of  St.  Vincent  and  St.  Acha- 
tius,  a  massive  casket  for   relics  of  the  patron  saint 

1  A  decree  of  the  Council  of  Nuremberg  in  1552,  directing  the  spoiling 
of  the  churches,  gives  some  of  the  art  wealth  of  the  city.  The  gold  and 
silver  weighed  900  lbs.  and  brought  1,700  marks.  The  works  of  Albert 
Diirer  were  sold  as  '  Papist  pictures  '  to  Italians,  Frenchmen,  Englishmen, 
and  Hollanders. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  189 

weighing  twenty-eight  pounds  and  set  with  precious 
stones  valued  at  two  thousand  ducats,  and  the  statues 
of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  each  weighing  twenty-four 
pounds.  We  find,  furthermore,  that  in  the  year  1462 
the  Abbot  Conrad,  of  Tegernsee,  bought  two  silver 
reliquaries  and  four  monstrances,  one  of  which,  orna- 
mented with  a  representation  of  the  Mother  of  God, 
cost  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  florins.  A  figure  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  surrounded  by  an  aureole  cost  more 
than  five  hundred  florins.  There  were  silver  statues  of 
St.  Benedict  and  St.  Scholastica,  a  pectoral  cross  of 
pure  gold  and  precious  stones,  a  large  mitre,  a  chain 
and  cross,  many  reliquaries,  and  eighteen  chalices. 
Articles  of  this  sort  were  also  in  the  possession  of  pri- 
vate individuals. 

There  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Cathedral  at  Khur  a 
silver-gilt  monstrance,  three  feet  high,  made  in  1490,  the 
figures  and  ornamentation  of  which  are  marvels  of  art. 
It  is  surpassed  in  cost  but  not  in  beauty  by  the  Osten- 
sorium  of  Master  Lucas,  citizen  and  councillor  of  Donau- 
worth  in  1513,  which  represented  in  wonderful  enamel 
work  coats  of  arms,  forty  figures  and  inscriptions,  and 
was  presented  to  the  monastery  by  Maximilian. 

Nuremberg  attained  quite  as  high  a  reputation  for  its 
bronzes  as  for  its  silver  and  gold  work.  As  early  as  the 
year  1447  the  poet  Hans  Eosenplut  wrote  thus  of  the 
workers  in  bronze  :  '  In  Nuremberg  I  find  many  workers 
in  brass  who  have  no  equals.  Everything  that  flies  or 
runs,  swims  or  poises,  man,  angel,  bird  or  brute,  fish  or 
worm,  every  creature  of  ornamental  form,  everything 
that  is  on  earth,  they  can  fashion  out  of  bronze. 
Nothing  comes  amiss  to  their  art.  Their  skill  and 
works  are  seen  in  many  lands.     It  is  meet  that  they  be 


190  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

named  and  acknowledged  as  great  artists.  None  such 
could  Nimrod  find  to  build  the  Tower  of  Babylon. 
Therefore  I  sing  the  praise  of  Nuremberg,  for  it  excels 
other  cities  in  clever  and  skilful  men : 

Viel  meister  vindt  ich  in  Nurnbergk, 

Der  sein  ein  teil  auf  rotschmid  werk, 

Der  gleichen  in  aller  werth  nit  lebt. 

Was  fleucht  und  lauft,  schwinibt  oder  schwebt, 

Mensch,  Engel,  Vogel,  Visch,  Wurni  und  Tyr 

Und  alle  creatur  in  loblicber  zyr, 

Und  alles  das  aus  der  erden  mag  entspriessen, 

Desgleichen  konnen  sie  aus  messing  giessen, 

Und  keinerley  stuck  ist  in  zu  schwer, 

In  Kunst  imd  Erbeit  wird  offenbar, 

In  mangen  landen,  vern  und  weit. 

Sind  das  in  gott  soldi  weisheit  geit, 

So  sein  sie  wol  wert,  dass  man  sie  nennt, 

Und  fir  gross  kunstig  meister  erkennt, 

Wer  Nimrot  nit  solch  meister  gewann, 

Der  den  turn  liess  pauen  zu  Babilan, 

Darumb  icb  Nurnbergk  precis  und  lob, 

Wan  sie  leit  alien  steten  ob, 

Mit  klugen,  kunstreichen  mannen. 

The  most  renowned  of  the  Nuremberg  metal- 
workers was  Peter  Yischer,  a  simple  coppersmith,  who 
brought  the  art  of  casting  to  the  highest  perfection. 
Neudorfer  writes  of  him :  '  This  Peter  Vischer  was 
affable  towards  all  and  well  skilled  in  true  art,  and  was 
so  well  known  in  the  speciality  of  casting  that  any 
prince  or  potentate  visiting  the  city  rarely  omitted  going 
to  his  workshop.'  Unassuming,  modest,  and  greedy 
after  learning,  even  in  his  old  age,  he  was  to  be  seen 
every  day  working  in  his  foundry.  Through  a  long 
life  he  maintained  the  closest  intimacy  with  the  stone- 
cutter Adam  Krafft  and  the  coppersmith  Sebastian 
Lindenast.  The  three,  according  to  Neudorfer,  '  grew 
up  together  and  were  like  brothers.  On  feast  days 
they  went  on  excursions  together  as  though  they  were 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  191 

still  young  apprentices ;  often,  too,  going  without  food 
or  drink.'  In  his  masterpiece,  the  shrine  of  St.  Sebald, 
in  the  church  of  that  name  in  Nuremberg,  Vischer 
represented  himself  at  the  base  with  a  full  beard,  clad 
in  the  garb  of  a  metal-caster,  with  apron,  cap,  and 
hammer. 

On  this  work  Vischer  was  employed  from  the  year 
1508-1519,  assisted  by  his  five  sons.  At  the  base  was 
engraved  the  sentence :  '  Erected  to  the  glory  of  God 
Almighty  and  the  honour  of  the  prince  of  heaven, 
St.  Sebald,  by  the  alms  of  pious  souls.'  It  weighed  one 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  tons  twenty-nine  pounds ;  and 
in  clearness  of  execution,  sublimity  of  conception,  and 
richness  of  fancy  it  was  equalled  by  perhaps  only  one 
work  of  its  kind  in  that  century — Ghiberti's  great 
bronze  gate  in  Florence.  This  fine  piece  of  sculpture 
admits  of  many  different  interpretations,  but  the  leading 
intention  of  the  master  seems  to  have  been  to  repre- 
sent the  honour  which  the  world  paid  to  the  Saviour. 
Deriving  all  good  from  Him,  creatures  glorified  Him 
and  returned  to  Him — Nature  with  all  her  produce, 
heathendom  with  its  heroic  deeds  and  its  natural 
virtues,  the  Old  Testament  with  its  prophets,  and  the 
New  with  the  Apostles  and  saints.  The  infant  Christ, 
enthroned  at  the  summit,  holding  the  earth  in  His 
hand,  typifies  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  all  creation. 
The  statues  of  the  Apostles  are  unsurpassed  in  expres- 
siveness and  masterly  execution,  though  several  of  them 
certainly  do  not  exhibit  the  solemn  repose  and  serenity 
of  the  older  plastic  art ;  the  unrestful  attitudes  of  the 
figures  strike  one  as  an  expression  of  the  stirring 
religious  life  of  the  period. 

Among  the  other  extant  works  of  Vischer,  the  most 


192 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


remarkable  are  the  tombs  of  the  bishop  of  Bamberg 
and  of  Margaret  Tucher  in  the  Cathedral  of  Ratisbon, 
representing  the  raising  of  Lazarus.  For  the  grand 
sepulchral  monument  that  Maximilian  ordered  at  Inns- 
bruck, Vischer  executed  the  statue  of  the  Enaiish  Kino- 
Arthur,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  dignified  calm  and 
the  beauty  of  its  finish.  According  to  Neudorfer, 
Vischer's  best  works  in  bronze,  which  were  scattered 
throughout  Poland,  Bohemia,  and  Hungary,  and  were 
in  the  possession  of  many  of  the  princes  of  the  Holy 
Eoman  Empire,  are  entirely  unknown  at  the  present 
day. 

The  works  of  his  friend  Sebastian  Lindenast,  who 
could  make  statues,  drinking-vessels,  buckles  and  other 
ornaments  out  of  copper  which  looked  as  beautiful  as 
if  made  of  gold  and  silver,  are  likewise  lost.  Between 
the  years  1506  and  1509  Lindenast  embellished  the 
artistic  clock  of  the  Frauenkirche  at  Nuremberg  with  a 
statue  of  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.  on  his  throne,  and 
a  herald  standing  before  him.  This  clock  is  a  most 
ingenious  specimen  of  artistic  mechanism.  The  hours 
are  struck  by  a  figure  of  Death,  and  at  the  sound  two 
horn-blowers  near  the  throne  blow  their  instruments, 
the  electoral  princes  walk  out  of  a  door,  pass  before 
the  Emperor,  salute  him,  and  then  disappear  through 
an  opposite  door.1 

In  Northern  Germany,  the  principal  brass  foundries 
were  in  Brunswick,  Dortmund,  Erfurt,  Leipsic,  Mag- 
deburg, and  Zwickau.  One  of  the  best  examples  of 
bronze  work  was  the  tabernacle  in  the  Church  of  Our 


1  See  Otte,  pp.  264,  719  ;  Baader,  i.  73,  99-111.  Most  of  the 
figures  were  sold  as  old  copper,  only  the  Emperor  and  his  heralds  bein^r 
spared. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  193 

Lady  of  Liibeck ;  it  was  over  thirty  feet  high,  and  was 
the  joint  work  of  the  goldsmith  Nicholas  Eughesee  and 
the  founder  Nicholas  Gruden,  in  the  year  1479. 

The  innumerable  metal  tablets  in  the  floors  and 
walls  of  the  churches  are  interesting  in  many  ways,  and 
give  a  good  idea  of  the  notions  of  death  current  in  the 
Middle  Ages. 

The  art  of  bell-founding  also  reached  perfection  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  largest  bells  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Cologne,  cast  in  1448  and  1449  ;  that  of  St.  Mary's 
Church  in  Dantzic,  cast  in  1453  ;  that  in  Erfurt,  1497, 
excel  all  bells  of  earlier  or  later  periods  both  in  work- 
manship and  ornamentation  and  in  their  musical  beauty 
of  tone.1  Side  by  side  with  metal-work,  sculpture  and 
carving  in  wood  and  stone  made  also  immense  strides 
at  this  period.2  Adam  Krafft,  the  friend  of  Yischer, 
was  the  most  celebrated  and  the  most  prolific  among 
sculptors  in  stone  ;  and  by  his  simplicity,  sterling  worth, 
and  warmth  of  heart,  he  was  a  good  representative  of  the 
German  character  of  the  day.  He  may  be  compared 
to  Albert  Diirer  in  these  respects.  He  surpassed  all 
other  German  artists  in  his  power  of  representing  the 
sorrowful  Passion  of  our  Lord.  Krafit's  best  works  in 
Nuremberg  belong  to  the  years  between  1490  and  1507. 
A  story  connected  with  his  most  famous  sculptural 
achievement,  '  The  Seven  Pictures  of  the  Passion,' 
affords  good  evidence  of  the  religious  spirit  of  the  time. 

1  '  The  bells  made  in  far-off  antiquity  and  by  the  Catholics  of  the 
Middle  Ages  were  cast  of  the  best  metal,'  said  Hahn,  Campanalofjie 
(Erfurt,  1822).  L.  von  Ledebnr  said  :  '  With  the  Eeformation  the  casting 
of  harmonious  bells  ceased.' 

2  Ivory  carving  preceded  wood  carving.  Eor  evidence  of  the  repu- 
tation of  German  ivory  carvers  in  Italy  see  G.  Schafer  (Darmstadt,  1872), 
p.  74. 

VOL.  I.  O 


194 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


A  citizen  of  Nuremberg  named  Martin  Ketzel  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  in  the  year  1477  in  order  to 
measure  the  exact  distance  between  Pilate's  house  and 
Mount  Calvary.  Having  lost  the  measure  on  his  way 
home,  he  made  a  second  pilgrimage  in  1488,  and  in 
1490  he  commissioned  Adam  Kraff't  to  erect  seven 
stone  pillars  between  his  own  house  (afterwards  known 
as  Pilate's  House)  and  the  St.  John's  Cemetery  according 
to  the  measure  brought  home.  On  each  pillar  was  a 
large  representation  in  relief  of  a  scene  from  the 
Passion,  with  a  descriptive  inscription  and  its  exact 
distance  from  Pilate's  house.  They  are  most  remarkable 
and  touching  groups,  particularly  the  last,  on  which  is 
inscribed:  'Here  lies  Christ  dead  before  His  Blessed 
Mother,  who  with  heart-broken  grief  weeps  and 
mourns.'  The  reclining  dead  body  is  carefully  and 
tenderly  supported  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  The 
sorrowful  mother  draws  the  head,  from  which  the 
crown  of  thorns  has  just  fallen,  towards  her.  Mary 
Magdalen,  at  the  Saviour's  feet,  wets  the  winding-sheet 
with  her  tears.  Each  figure  represents  the  deepest 
and  sincerest  feeling.  The  clothing  is  copied  from  the 
dress  of  the  citizens  of  Nuremberg,  which  increases 
the  realistic  impression  of  the  group. 

A  representation  of  the  burial  of  Christ,  executed 
by  the  same  artist  by  order  of  the  art-connoisseur  and 
curator  Sebald  Schreyer  in  the  year  1492,  is  cha- 
racterised by  the  same  dignity  and  devotional  feeling, 
with  even  greater  grace  of  execution.  Between  the 
years  1496  and  1500  Krafft  received  a  commission  from 
Hans  Imhoff  to  construct  a  tabernacle  for  the  Church 
of  St.  Lawrence.  It  was  sixty-four  feet  high  and  was 
supported   by  three   kneeling   figures,   for   which    the 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  195 

artist  and  two  of  his   apprentices   served   as   models. 
Supported  by  three  life-sized  kneeling  figures,  it  rises 
up  like  a  beautiful  flowery  tree,  whose  branches  and 
leaves  grow  out  of  the  stone  and  end  in  a  beautifully 
carved,  crozier-like  blossom.     The  pillars  are  adorned 
with  carved  figures  of  saints,  and  the  door  is  guarded 
by  two  angels.    The  Blessed  Sacrament  being  instituted 
as  a  commemoration  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  several 
scenes  from  the  Passion  are  represented  by  the  artist, 
which,  with  the  Eesurrection  as  the  fruit  of  the  Last 
Supper,  completes  the  believer's  hope.     This  work  is 
surpassed  in   beauty  by  a  '  Sacraments-Haus '  in    the 
Cathedral  of  Ulm,  which  was  executed  between  1461 
and  1469  by  the  '  Meister '  von  Weingarten  at  the  order 
of  Angelica  Zaehringer.     The  latter  is  one  of  the  best 
specimens  dating  from  the  Middle  Ages.    The  carving 
is  so  delicate  that  it  resembles  lacework.     In  former 
decades  the  old  tradition  referring  to  the  often  truly 
filagree-like  work  of  the  stonecutters  and  sculptors,  viz. 
that  the  work  consisted  of  cast  stone,  has  been  regarded 
as  a  myth,  and  the  art  of  casting  stone  has  been  num- 
bered nowadays  among  lost  arts.     But   the  researches 
of  more  recent  times  have  shown  the   correctness  of 
that  supposition.    As  to  height,  the  '  Sacraments-Haus  ' 
of  Ulm  exceeds  that  of  Nuremberg  by  one-half. 

Dill  Eiemenschneider  carried  on  a  kindred  style  of  art 
to  that  of  Krafft,  and  had  large  workshops  in  Wiirtzburg. 
His  principal  works  are  a  *  Descent  from  the  Cross  '  for 
the  monastery  at  Maidbrunn,  the  monuments  of  the 
bishops  Eudolph  von  Scherenberg  and  Lawrence  von 
Bibra  in  the  Cathedral  at  Wiirtzburg,  and  that  erected 
in  1499-1513  to  the  emperor  Henry  II.  and  his  wife 
Kunigunde  in   the    Cathedral   at   Bamberg.      On   this 

o  2 


19G  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

monument  repose  the  figures  of  the  two  saints,  and  they 
are  characterised  by  great  beauty  of  proportion  and 
finish.  On  the  four  sides  are  illustrations  in  high  relief 
of  traditionary  legends.  Eiemenschneider  also  carved 
the  very  beautiful  altar  in  the  Church  of  St.  Kilian  at 
Heilbronn. 

Amongst  the  most  versatile  artists  of  that  period  we 
must  mention  Veit  Stoss,  born  in  1447,  who  worked 
alternately  in  Cracow  and  at  Nuremberg.  He  was 
wood-carver,  sculptor,  engraver,  painter,  mechanic, 
and  architect  all  in  one.  In  the  year  1489  he  com- 
pleted the  high  altar  of  the  Church  of  our  Lady  in 
Cracow,  in  1492  the  monument  of  King  Casimir  in  the 
cathedral,  and,  in  1495,  147  stalls  in  the  choir  of  the 
Church  of  Our  Lady.  Stoss's  influence  in  the  art  circles 
of  Poland  and  Hungary  was  of  decided  importance. 
The  German  style  is  unmistakable  in  all  the  specimens 
of  sculpture  still  extant  in  the  Zipser  Comitiit.  In 
Nuremberg  also  Stoss  was  indefatigable  in  his  industry, 
and  his  patrons  and  customers  extended  from  Transyl- 
vania to  Portugal.  Neudorfer  writes  of  him :  '  He 
executed  in  coloured  wood  carving  for  the  kino-  of 
Portugal  life-size  statues  of  Adam  and  Eve  of  such  per- 
fection that  they  seemed  to  be  of  living  flesh  and  blood. 
Moreover,  he  showed  me  a  map  which  he  had  drawn 
of  all  the  mountains,  valleys,  cities,  rivers,  and  forests.' l 
His  principal  work  at  Nuremberg  is  '  The  Eosary ' 
which,  by  order  of  Anthony  Tucher,  he  completed  for 

1  Veit  Stoss  is  the  only  one  among  the  great  artists  of  the  Middle 
Ages  whose  character  could  be  assailed.  In  a  lawsuit  he  forged  a 
signature  (see  Chronihen  der  deutschen  Sta'dtc,  x.  6G7),  for  which 
he  was  burned  with  hot  irons  in  the  cheeks.  He  claimed  that  he  was 
unfairly  judged,  and  in  1506  Maximilian  restored  him  to  citizenship 
(Baador,  i.  14-25). 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  197 

the  Church  of  St.  Lawrence  in  1518.  There  were  so 
many  wood-carvers  in  Nuremberg  that  one  wonders 
how  they  could  all  have  made  a  living. 

Conspicuous  amongst  the  sculptors  for  depth  of 
imagination  and  conception  is  the  '  Meister '  Jurgen 
Syrlin.  His  carved  stalls  in  the  Cathedral  of  Ulm  are 
studies  of  the  philosophy  of  nature,  history,  and  revela- 
tion. Presiding  over  a  wealth  of  vegetable  and  animal 
life,  the  artist  represents  Humanity  in  a  threefold  series 
of  striking  scenes — first,  speculative  paganism  groping 
dimly  after  a  god ;  second,  the  promises  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  and  third,  the  fulfilment  of  the  Christian 
revelation.  Heathendom  is  represented  by  its  famous 
men,  such  as  Pythagoras,  Cicero,  Seneca,  Quintilian, 
and  the  Sibyls ;  Judaism  by  the  patriarchs,  prophets, 
and  holy  women  ;  Christendom  by  the  Apostles,  the 
women  of  the  New  Testament,  and  other  saints  of  the 
Church.  The  artistic  execution  is  entirely  in  keeping 
with  the  philosophic  depth  of  the  conception.  The 
figures  are  full  of  life  and  expression,  and  one  is  through- 
out impressed  by  the  wonderful  breadth  and  variety  of 
treatment.  The  whole  work  was  completed  in  the 
short  period  between  1469  and  1474. 

North  Germany 1  was  by  no  means  behind  the  middle 
and  southern  provinces  in  the  cultivation  and  pursuit 
of  art.  Even  in  Pomerania  artistic  zeal  and  industry 
•covered  the  whole  land,  attaining  special  excellence  in 
wood-carving.     The  beautiful  altar-piece  in  the  Church 

1  Mangenberger  writes  :  '  We  have  heard  so  much  of  Nuremberg,  Ulm, 
and  Suabian  art  life  that  we  might  be  tempted  to  look  on  the  South  as 
the  art  centre.  But  I  do  not  agree  with  this.  There  are  many  art 
treasures  in  the  North,  in  Lubeck,  in  "Wismar,  and  in  Berlin,  while  in  the 
Archaeological   Museum   in  Dresden  we   find   330   specimens   of   wood- 


198  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

of  Triebsee,  for  instance,  and  another  in  a  church  on  the 
island  of  Ummanz,  are  amongst  the  most  remarkable 
art  treasures  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

Comparatively  few  of  the  artists'  names  have  come 
down  to  us.  They  seem  to  have  been  singularly  in- 
different to  fame.  Their  works,  so  to  speak,  were  the 
outcome  of  their  spiritual  life ;  and  herein  doubtless 
lies  the  secret  of  their  power.  Their  works  produce 
such  an  impression  of  greatness  because  of  the  greatness 
of  their  own  natures. 

Painting 

The  brothers  Hubert  (1432)  and  Jan  (1440)  van 
Eyck  may  be  called  the  founders  of  German  painting 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  They  were  the  first  who 
introduced  the  methods  of  oil-painting,  which  had 
already  long  been  in  use,  into  the  higher  branches  of 
art,  and  the  first  also  who  introduced  the  general  study 
of  Nature  into  painting.  This  is  seen  in  the  truthful- 
ness both  of  their  portrait  painting  and  of  the  land- 
scapes in  their  historical  pictures.  Their  fame  spread 
over  all  lands,  and  pupils  flocked  to  them  from  Italy,  as 
well  as  from  the  different  parts  of  Germany.  It  was 
from  them  Antonelli  da  Messina  acquired  the  love  of 
landscape  painting  which  he  carried  back  to  Venice;, 
and  in  Florence  the  influence  of  their  school  was  mani- 
fested even  in  Domenicus  Ghirlandajo.  The  Van  Eyck 
school  had  greater  weight  among  the  artists  of  Upper 
Germany,  and  many  of  their  pupils,  such  as  Lucas  Moser 
of  Weil  and  Frederick  Herlen  of  Nordlingen,  belonged 
to  the  Netherlands  school. 

Yet  it  was  not  Flemish  influence  that  controlled  the 
epoch-making  masters  of  German  art  as  to  treatment 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  199 

and  subject-matter,  but  rather  the  school  of  Cologne, 
which  had  already  made  a  good  start  under  Greek 
influence  (possibly  as  early  as  the  time  of  the  Othos), 
and  developed  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence  after  the 
fourteenth  century.  It  was  by  '  Meister  '  Wilhelm  and 
'  Meister'  Stephan  Lochner,  of  Constance,  that  this  school 
was  brought  up  to  its  pinnacle  of  fame  in  1451.  Loch- 
ner's  method  of  art  was  in  vogue  at  Cologne  up  to  the 
sixteenth  centurv,  and  had  a  considerable  number  of 
distinguished  followers. 

Among  the  many  foreign  artists  who  nocked  to 
Cologne  we  may  mention  two  particularly — Hans  Mem- 
ling,  about  the  year  1495,  called  '  the  Dutch  Hans,' 
whom  some  authors  have  falsely  represented  as  of 
Flemish  origin,  but  who  was  born  in  Franconia,  and  the 
Suabian,  Martin  Schongauer.  In  the  oldest  of  Mem- 
ling's  paintings  the  faces  have  a  decidedly  Rhenish 
character.  The  buildings  have  all  the  characteristics 
of  Rhenish  architecture,  and  the  colouring  is  decidedly 
of  the  Cologne  school — certainly  not  of  that  of  Tan 
Eyck.  Memling  remained  faithful  to  the  Cologne 
method  even  long  after  he  had  migrated  to  Bruges, 
and  had  worked  under  Roger  van  der  Weyden  the 
elder  (1464),  the  most  gifted  pupil  of  the  two  Van 
Eycks.     The  same  was  the  case  with  Martin  Schon- 


gauer. 


If  we  compare  that  loveliest  creation  of  Stephen 
Lochner  in  the  Cologne  City  Museum,  '  The  Madonna 
of  the  Rose  Garden,'  and  his  great  picture,  the  so-called 
'  Cathedral  Picture,'  with  Mending's  renowned  works  in 
St.  John's  Hospital  in  Bruges  and  '  The  Seven  Joys  of 
Mary'  in  the  Munich  Pinakothek,  or  with  Schongauer's 
'  Madonna '  in  the  Church  of  St.  Martin  in  Colmar,  we 


200  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

must  be  struck  by  the  similarity  in  style.  These  three 
masters  surpass  their  contemporaries  in  boldness,  deli- 
cacy of  outline,  and  in  the  delineation  of  meek  inno- 
cence and  purity,  as  well  as  by  the  force  and  beauty  of 
their  figures,  particularly  of  their  Madonnas. 

The  great  perfection  of  these  masters  and  their 
accomplished  pupils  consists  in  their  blending  of  the 
real  and  ideal.  While  their  saints  seem  like  beings 
of  a  higher  sphere,  they  are  endowed  with  all  the 
realism  of  strength  and  life.  The  graphic  details  of 
their  surroundings  make  them  seem  like  individual 
portraits,  and  carry  us  back  to  the  time  in  which  they 
lived. 

For  the  Germans  their  works  are  of  peculiar  charm, 
as  indicating  the  fervour,  truth,  and  simplicity  of  their 
religious  feelings.  They  are  also  of  great  psychological 
value,  as  showing  the  gradual  growth  of  culture  among 
the  people.  The  '  Head  of  Christ '  by  Memling,1  and  the 
'Descent  from  the  Cross '  by  Schongauer,2  suffice  to  prove 
the  deep  religious  feeling  of  the  age  in  which  such 
masterpieces  were  produced.  In  Mary's  countenance 
Schongauer  has  united  holiness,  love,  sorrow,  and  bliss 
in  one  striking  whole.  Great  tears  roll  down  her  cheeks 
and  seem  to  soften  her  sorrows,  and  a  sense  of  sacred 
sympathy  fills  the  hearts  of  beholders.  Mending's 
'  Head  of  Christ '  is  unsurpassed  by  any  painting  before 
or  after  him.  No  other  artist  of  any  nation  has  ever 
combined  such  Divine  majesty,  love,  and  wisdom. 

As  a  typical  work  of  an  age  '  in  which,'  to  quote 
the  words  of  Wimpheling,  '  men  sought  to  promote  the 
worship  of  the  Eedeemer  by  kindling  devotion  to  His 
mother,'  Mending's  '  Seven  Joys  of  Mary '  deserves  men- 

1  In  the  Pinakothek  at  Munich.  2  At  Colrnar. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  201 

tion.  It  may  be  described  as  a  continuation  in  pictorial 
form  of  Conrad  von  Wtirzburg's  poem,  '  The  Golden 
Forge.'  As  another  proof  of  the  intimate  connection 
between  religion  and  art  we  may  cite  Eoger  van  der 
Weyden's  painting,  '  The  Seven  Sacraments,'  in  the 
Antwerp  Gallery.  It  is  a  triptych  representing  the 
interior  of  a  Gothic  cathedral.  In  the  middle  panel 
the  crucified  Saviour,  as  the  source  of  salvation,  is  de- 
picted surrounded  by  His  blessed  mother,  St.  John, 
Magdalen,  and  the  holy  women.  In  the  background  is 
seen  an  altar  at  which  mass  is  going  on.  The  priest  is 
in  the  act  of  elevating  the  host.  To  this,  the  holiest  of 
the  sacraments,  the  central  position  is  fitly  given.  The 
other  sacraments  are  represented  in  the  side  panels,  each 
in  its  proper  place  and  surrounded  by  angels  and  ban- 
ners suitably  inscribed.  The  perfection  of  its  concep- 
tion and  the  noble  simplicity  of  the  accessories  make  it 
deeply  impressive.  It  may  be  described  as  a  pictorial 
epic  poem. 

Memling  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  typical 
representative  of  the  Lower  Ehine  school  of  art ;  his 
works  contain  so  much  that  was  so  beautiful  and 
grand  in  conception,  so  much  strength  and  beauty 
of  colouring,  that  one  can  never  take  one's  fill  of  gaz- 
ing at  them. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  Cologne  methods,  but 
with  a  distinctly  original  tendency,  the  Westphalian 
school  developed  remarkable  power  and  harmony  of 
expression  and  tenderness  of  tone  and  colouring.  The 
headquarters  of  this  school  were  in  Minister,  and  the 
most  renowned  representatives  were  Jarenius  von 
Soest  and  the  Liesborn  '  Meister.'  Curiously  enough 
the  works  of  the  famous  Viennese  painter,  Wolfgang 


202  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Eueland  (1501),1  of  the  Tyrolese  Michael  Pacher  and 
Frederic  Pacher,  from  Bruneck,  and  Casper,  Johann,  and 
Jacob  Eosenthaler,  from  the  Southern  Tyrol, 2  have  much 
in  common  with  the  masters  of  the  Lower  Khine  school,, 
although  there  is  no  trace  of  any  personal  connection 
between  them. 

Among  the  artists  of  this  school,  Martin  Schon- 
gauer,  already  mentioned,  exercised  the  strongest  and 
most  lasting  influence.  He  raised  German  art  to  such 
repute  throughout  Europe  that  his  paintings  and  en- 
gravings were  looked  on  by  Italian,  Spanish,  and 
English  purchasers  as  precious  treasures.  He  has 
been  compared  to  Eaphael's  master,  Perugino.  The 
closest  friendship  existed  between  Schongauer  and 
Perugino.  They  often  sent  their  sketches  to  each  other, 
and  any  art  connoisseur  will  at  once  see  that  they  have 
borrowed  much  from  each  other. 

Schongauer's  studio  in  Colmar  was  the  actual  '  high 
school '  of  painting  in  Germany,  particularly  for  the 
Suabian  artists,  who,  in  fine  taste  and  spiritual  depth, 
were  worthy  competitors  with  all  the  other  German 
schools.  It  was  here  that  Bartholomaus  Zeitbloom,  of 
Ulm,  for  the  noble  simplicity,  truth,  and  purity  of  his 
work  fitly  called  '  the  most  German  of  all  painters/ 
received  his  training.  Here,  too,  worked  Hans  Burgk- 
mayer,  of  Augsburg,  who  won  a  high  reputation  by 
his  treatment  of  both  religious  and  profane  subjects, 
and  who  was  the  earliest  of  the  South  Germans  to 
introduce  landscape  backgrounds.     Hans  Holbein  the 

1  He  belonged  to  a  guild  of  Viennese  artists  who  were  already  active 
in  Vienna  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

2  I  agree  with  the  opinion  of  Bohrner  in  this  matter.     Pacher  gained 
his  reputation  from  the  altar  in  the  Austrian  church  of  St.  Wolfgang. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  203 

elder,  in  early  life  one  of  the  best  of  German  artists, 
received  also  much  valuable  help  from  Schongauer. 
In  the  earliest  works  of  Hans  Holbein  the  younger  we 
also  detect  strong  marks  of  the  influence  of  the  Colmar 
master.  Even  Albert  Diirer,  in  spite  of  the  entire 
originality  of  his  genius,  was  in  some  measure  influenced 
by  him. 

To  Diirer  and  Holbein  the  younger  is  due  the  glory 
of  having  exalted  German  art  to  its  highest  pinnacle. 
These  two  painters  excelled  all  others  in  creative 
genius  and  grandeur  of  conception.  Their  powers  of 
observation  were  so  keen  and  penetrating,  they  were  so 
fertile  in  invention  and  so  rapid  in  execution,  that  we 
may  well  apply  to  them  what  was  once  said  of  Shake- 
speare :  '  The  sceptre  of  his  genius  held  sway  over 
thousands  of  spirits.'  Their  best  works  belong  to  the 
Christian  period  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages.  They 
are  by  no  means  champions  of  the  so-called  Eenaissance. 
Whatever  they  adopted  from  foreign  schools  of  art 
never  detracted  in  the  least  from  their  German  origi- 
nality and  depth  of  humour.  If  we  find  them  imitating 
certain  antique  styles  and  decorations,  it  is  only  through 
concession  to  the  fashion  of  their  day,  and  without 
prejudice  to  their  individuality.  Such  deviations  are 
but  as  the  tiny  offshoots  of  a  deeply  rooted  stem. 
Had  there  been  no  outbreak  of  religious  wars,  or  had 
their  genius  been  encouraged  by  like  favourable  con- 
ditions as  were  granted  to  a  Eaphael  or  a  Titian,  they 
would  have  accomplished  far  more  that  was  worthy  of 
them. 

Albert  Diirer  is  the  only  German  artist  of  his  day 
who  has  left  us  any  personal  records  of  his  parentage 
and  early  bringing-up.     His  memoirs  are  not  only  of 


204  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

great  personal  interest,  but  they  give  a  vivid  insight 
into  the  ancient  customs  of  the  citizen  class,  from 
which  most  of  the  German  artists  have  sprung. 

Dtirer's  father,  who  was  a  goldsmith  by  trade,  was 
the  son  of  a  German  family  settled  in  Hungary. 
Thence  he  went  to  Holland,  where  he  remained  a 
long  time  among  '  the  great  artists,'  and  finally  settled 
at  Nuremberg,  where  he  married.  Here  Albert,  one  of 
eighteen  children,  was  born  on  May  21,  1471.  The 
honest  goldsmith  was  a  thorough  adept  at  his  trade — 
in  the  words  of  his  son  Albert,  '  a  true  artist  and  a 
pure-minded  man.'  He  found  it  difficult,  however,  to 
support  his  large  family.  He  underwent  many  trials, 
contradictions,  and  disappointments,  but  he  was 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  for  he  was  a  patient 
Christian  man,  kind  to  all,  and  grateful  to  God.1 
These  characteristics  are  all  apparent  in  the  portrait  of 
him  painted  by  his  son  Albert  in  1497,  and  which  is 
now  in  the  Pinakothek  at  Munich.  It  represents  a  tall, 
somewhat  haggard  figure ;  the  face  is  expressive  of 
deep  gravity,  softened  by  piety  and  peace  of  mind. 
This  serenity  of  disposition  he  always  sought  to  culti- 
vate in  his  children.  '  My  dear  father  took  great  pains 
to  bring  them  up  (his  children)  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
His  highest  wish  was  so  to  educate  them  that  they 
might  be  pleasing  to  God  and  respected  by  men.  His 
daily  advice  to  us  was  to  honour  God  and  love  our 
neighbour.' 

Of  his  mother,  Dtirer  says  :  '  Her  chief  delight  was 
in  goins?  to  church :  she  scolded  me  well  when  I  did 
wrong,  and  she  was  constantly  solicitous  to  preserve 
me  and  my  brothers  from  sin.     When  I  went  out  or 

1  Thausing,  Diircr's  Briefe  unci  Tagebucher,  p.  73. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  205 

came  in  her  words  were  ever,  "  Go  in  the  name  of 
Christ."  She  gave  us  much  good  advice,  and  was  ever 
watchful  for  our  salvation.  I  cannot  speak  too  highly 
of  her  good  deeds,  of  her  charity  to  all,  and  of  the 
reverence  in  which  she  was  held.' 

With  regard  to  his  own  education,  he  continues : 
'  As  soon  as  I  could  read  and  write  my  father  took  me 
away  from  school  and  taught  me  the  goldsmith's  trade. 
As  time  went  on,  my  inclination  turned  more  towards 
painting  than  to  the  work  of  a  goldsmith.  I  represented 
this  to  my  father,  but  he  was  not  at  all  pleased,  for  he 
lamented  that  the  time  already  spent  in  learning  his 
trade  should  be  wasted.  In  time,  however,  he  relented, 
and  on  St.  Andrew's  Day,  November  30,  1486,  he 
apprenticed  me  to  Michael  Wolgemuth,  to  work  for 
him  for  three  years.  During  those  three  years  God 
granted  me  great  industry,  and  I  learned  well ;  but  I 
had  much  to  suffer  from  the  other  apprentices.' 
Wolgemuth  was  one  of  the  chief  painters  of  Nuremberg, 
and  did  much  for  the  progress  of  art. 

'  When  I  had  completed  my  term  of  apprenticeship, 
father  sent  me  abroad,  and  I  travelled  for  four  years 
until  he  called  me  back  again.'  '  During  his  "  Wan- 
derjahre,"  writes  a  friend,  'he  met  at  Colmar  the 
goldsmiths  Caspar  and  Paul  and  the  painter  Ludewig, 
and  at  Baisle  the  goldsmith  George,  all  four  of  them 
brothers  of  Martin  Schongauer,  by  whom  he  was  most 
cordially  entertained.' 

'  In  1490  (after  Whitsuntide)  I  returned  to  Nurem- 
berg. And  after  I  came  home  Hans  Frey  consulted  with 
my  father  and  gave  me  his  daughter  Agnes  for  my 
wife,  and  with  her  two  hundred  gulden,  and  we  were 
married. 


206  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

'  After  this  my  father  was  seized  with  a  fatal  attack 
of  diarrhoea.  When  he  saw  that  death  was  near  he 
resigned  himself,  recommended  my  mother  to  my  care, 
and  enjoined  me  to  lead  a  good,  God-fearing  life.  He 
received  the  sacraments  and  died  in  the  year  1502. 
Oh,  my  dear  friends,  all  of  you,  I  beg  you  for  God's 
sake  when  you  read  of  my  father's  death  to  say  a 
Pater  Noster  and  an  Ave  Maria  for  him,  and  for  your 
own  soul's  sake,  that  we  may  serve  God  by  a  good  life 
and  earn  a  happy  death  !  It  is  impossible  that  anyone 
who  leads  a  pious  life  should  have  a  bad  end,  for  God 
is  full  of  mercy.' 

Dlirer  expresses  the  same  sentiments  in  a  little  poem 
on  Death,  illustrated  with  a  woodcut,  which  he  pub- 
lished as  a  leaflet  in  1510:  '  He  who  thinks  daily  on 
death  God  will  look  on  him  with  mercy.  He  enjoys  that 
peace  which  God  alone,  and  not  the  world,  can  give. 
He  who  does  good  in  life  finds  strength  in  the  hour 
of  death,  which  he  hails  as  the  bearer  of  eternal  bliss.' 

Wer  taglich  sich  zum  Sterben  schickt, 
Pen  hat  Gott  gnadig  angeblickt ; 
Er  steht  in  rechten  Friedens  Bann, 
Den  Gott  nur,  die  Welt  nicht  geben  kann  ; 
Dem  wer  iin  Leben  Gutes  thut, 
Den  iiberkoinmt  ein  starker  Muth, 
Und  ihn  erfreut  des  Todes  Stund, 
Da  ihm  die  Seligkeit  wird  kund.1 

Very  touching  is  his  intimation  to  his  friends  of  his 
mother's  death  :  '  Now  be  it  known  to  you  that  in  the 
year  1513  my  dear  suffering  mother,  whom  I  took  to  my 
home  two  years  after  the  death  of  my  father  (for  she 
was  very  poor),  and  who  lived  with  us  for  nine  years,  was 

1  Thausing,  pp.  154-159.  See  vols,  xiv.-xv.  Diirer  placed  a  sum  of 
money  in  the  city  treasury  for  an  annual  mass  to  be  said  at  St.  Sebald's 
(Baader,  pp.  1-6). 


SCULPTURE  AND   PAINTING  207 

taken  so  sick  one  morning  that  we  had  to  break  open  her 
door,  as  she  could  not  open  it  to  us.  We  carried  her 
into  another  room  and  the  last  sacraments  were  admin- 
istered to  her,  for  everyone  thought  she  was  dying.  .  .  . 
On  May  17,  1514,  a  year  from  the  day  on  which  she 
was  taken  ill,  two  hours  before  nightfall,  my  mother 
departed  this  life  in  Christian  peace  and  fortitude,  and 
with  the  consolation  of  both  the  holy  sacraments.  She 
gave  me  her  blessing,  prayed  that  the  peace  of  God 
might  be  with  me,  and  exhorted  me  to  keep  free  from 
sin.  She  asked  for  some  holy  water  to  drink.  She 
feared  the  pains  of  death,  but  said  she  had  no  fear  of 
appearing  before  God.  She  was  seized  with  a  painful 
agony  and  seemed  troubled  by  some  apparition,  for 
after  a  long  silence  she  asked  for  holy  water.  Then  her 
eyes  grew  dim  ;  I  noticed  she  had  two  convulsions  of 
the  heart ;  she  closed  her  eyes  and  lips  and  died  in  great 
pain.  I  prayed  aloud  for  her.  I  cannot  express  my 
grief.  God  be  gracious  to  her  !  Her  greatest  happiness 
was  to  speak  of  God,  and  she  loved  to  see  Him  honoured. 
She  was  in  her  sixty-third  year.  I  buried  her  as  honour- 
ably as  my  means  would  allow.  God  grant  me  a  death  as 
beautiful  as  hers.  May  God  Himself  and  His  heavenly 
hosts,  my  father,  mother,  friends,  and  relations  be  pre- 
sent with  me  at  that  hour !  May  God  grant  us  ever- 
lasting life,  Amen !  She  looked  even  more  beautiful  in 
death  than  she  had  done  in  life.' 1 


1  Thausing,  Diirer's  Brief e  unci  Tagebiicher,^.  136-138.  Thansing, 
in  commenting  on  those  letters,  says  :  '  We  find  no  pride,  no  morbid 
humility,  no  dissension.  His  practical  attention  to  present  duties  and 
his  firm  faith  in  religion  saved  him  from  despondency.  His  heart  was 
too  strong  and  elastic  to  give  way  to  grief.  The  man  puts  his  mind  in 
his  work,  and  in  the  details  which  he  gives  in  those  records  we  are  move  d 
by  his  earnestness  and  simplicity.' 


208  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Here  have  we  a  picture  of  simple,  domestic  life 
which  proves  how  closely  religion  was  bound  up  with 
the  family  affections,  how  '  both  spring  from  the  same 
root.'  It  also  accounts  for  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
domestic  subjects  in  Diirer's  works  and  for  the  details 
they  give  of  German  interiors.  All  that  was  most 
beautiful  in  his  character  sprang  from  his  love  for  his 
home,  and  we  can  trace  the  advice  received  at  the 
parental  deathbed  in  his  own  fidelity  to  family  ties. 
]5y  the  work  of  his  hands  he  earned  the  daily  bread  for 
his  family,  exhibiting  indefatigable  industry  under  the 
most  trying  circumstances  as  painter,  designer,  etcher, 
engraver,  sculptor,  goldsmith,  and  printer.  There  is 
hardly  a  single  branch  of  art  that  can  be  named  in 
which  his  influence  was  not  felt. 

The  philosophical  spirit  in  which  Dtirer  looked  on 
life  was  engendered  by  his  deep-seated  conviction  that 
the  best  ever  proceeds  from  God.  '  If  it  be  asked,'  he 
writes,  '  how  shall  we  set  about  to  make  a  beautiful 
picture  ?  some  will  say  by  knowledge  of  man — others 
will  disagree  with  this,  and  I  am  one  of  the  latter.  Who 
will  make  this  clear  to  us  ?  Not  he  who  looks  on  even 
the  least  of  God's  creatures  without  thinking  of  the  end 
of  its  creation,  not  to  speak  of  man,  who  is  the  special 
creature  of  God  and  to  whom  all  others  are  subject.  I 
acknowledge  that  the  artist  who  has  had  most  experi- 
ence may  make  a  better  figure,  but  it  will  not  be  per- 
fection, for  that  is  beyond  man's  power.  God  alone  is 
perfection  and  can  alone  reveal  it  to  man.  He  alone 
holds  truth  and  knows  what  constitutes  perfection  in 
human  proportions.'  Art  was  to  him  '  the  power 
which  God  gave  men  to  model  various  forms  of  humanity 
and  other  creatures.' 


SCULPTUI1E  AND  PAINTING  209 

The  culminating  period  of  his  activity  extended  to 
the  outbreak  of  the  religious  controversies.  By  far  the 
most  important  of  his  works  in  different  branches  of  art 
belong  to  the  time  before  these  schisms.  Even  the 
studies  for  his  most  famous  work,  '  The  Four  Tempera- 
ments,' were  begun  before  the  year  1518. 

From  the  universality  of  his  works,  Diirer  may  be 
looked  on  as  a  light  to  the  whole  world  of  art.1  Even 
Eaphael  borrowed  from  him.  Conspicuous  among  his 
German  pupils  and  followers  are  Hans  Schauffelin, 
Albrecht  Altdorfer,  Hans  Baldung,  Mathaus  Griinwald, 
and  Lucas  Cranach. 

Among  the  various  branches  of  pictorial  art  which 
flourished  in  Germany  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, glass- staining  reached  great  perfection.  Wher- 
ever it  was  not  compelled  to  put  on  a  monumental  or 
purely  decorative  character,  it  stands  uppermost  in 
the  production  of  easel  pictures.  With  the  simplest 
means  and  appliances  the  most  brilliant  effects  were 
produced.  The  '  cabinet  glass-staining  '  of  the  fifteenth 
century — to  judge  from  the  specimens  in  heraldic 
shields — may  be  considered  as  unsurpassable. 

The  guild  system  entered  into  this  department  of  art 
also.  Painters  and  glass-stainers  generally  formed  a 
brotherhood  amongst  each  other,  and  went  in  company 
on  stated  davs  to  the  service  of  God,  to  masses  for  the 
dead,  and  to  social  gatherings.  Glass-staining  was 
practised  with  great  success  in  many  of  the  monas- 
teries. The  Dominican  Jacob  Griesinger,  of  Ulm  (1491 ), 
gained  great  renown  in  Bologna  by  his  method  of  burn- 
ing in  the  colours,  and  he  founded  a  school  of  his  own. 

1  See  Waagen,  i.  199  ;   Sighart,  p.  619.     Diirer  always  took  a  catholic 
view  of  life  (Kaufmann,  pp.  83-89). 

VOL.  I.  P 


210  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

We  are  indebted  to  him,  amongst  other  discoveries,  for 
that  beautiful  yellow  which  is  produced  from  silver. 
*  He  was  a  man  of  virtuous  and  godly  life,  and  an  ex- 
ample to  all  citizens  and  nobles.'  Glass-stainers  were 
met  with  in  the  monasteries  of  Clus  (1486)  and  Wal- 
kenried  (1515).  In  the  Convent  of  Wienhausen,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  lay  sister 
Adelheid  Schraders  glazed  and  painted  all  the  win- 
dows. About  the  same  time  a  nun  of  the  St.  Cathe- 
rine's convent  in  Nuremberg  wrote  a  little  German 
book  in  which  she  gave  instructions  for  making  glass 
pictures  in  mosaic. 

Among  the  principal  specimens  of  the  artistic  glass- 
work  of  the  period  may  be  mentioned  those  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Catherine  in  Salzwedel,  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Stendal,  in  the  Church  of  Falkenhagen,  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Matthew  in  Treves,  in  the  choir  of  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Freiburg,  in  the  Cathedrals  of  Eatisbon,  Augs- 
burg, and  Eichstadt,  in  the  Frauenkirche  at  Munich,  in 
the  Chapel  of  the  Palace  at  Blutenberg,  in  the  Churches 
at  Pipping  and  Jenkofen,  in  the  Churches  of  St.  James 
at  Straubing,  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Vienna  Palace,  and 
in  the  church  at  Heiligenblut,  near  Weiten. 

The  glass  paintings  of  Nuremberg,  Ulm,  and  Cologne 
are  the  most  famous,  and  are  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  those  in  the  Church  of  Magdalen,  and  the  Wil- 
helmiter  Church  at  Strasburg.  Those  in  the  Nurem- 
berg churches  of  St.  Lawrence  and  St.  Sebald  are 
considered  to  be  among  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world. 

Veit  Herschvogel,  born  in  1451,  and  descended  from 
a  family  of  glass-stainers  in  Nuremberg,  had  no  equal 
in  his  art.     Among  his  finest  works  is  the  '  Volkamer 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING  211 

Window '  in  the  Church  of  St.  Lawrence,  which  repre- 
sents the  genealogical  tree  of  Christ,  and  the  patron 
saint  and  family  of  the  donors.1  The  two  choir 
windows  in  the  Cathedral  of  Ulm,  which  were  ordered 
from  Hans  Wild  by  the  city  (1480),  are  amongst  the 
most  beautiful  specimens  of  colouring  which  this  art 
can  produce.  The  five  windows  in  the  northern  nave 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Cologne  were  executed  in  the  years 
1507-1509,  and  have  become  celebrated  far  and  wide. 

Nearly  all  the  numerous  glass-painting  works  in 
the  monasteries  have  gone  to  ruin,  only  a  few  frag- 
mentary specimens  being  found  here  and  there,  as,  for 
instance,  of  the  magnificent  paintings  of  the  Stations  of 
the  Cross  in  Hirschau,  where  the  abbot  Trithemius,  in 
1491,  had  forty  windows  illustrated  with  subjects  taken 
from  wood  engravings  in  '  The  Bible  of  the  Poor.' 

This  glass-painting  was  not  confined  to  churches  and 
cloisters.  Stained-glass  windows  were  to  be  found  in 
the  castles,  the  city  halls,  the  guildhalls,  and  in  the 
houses  of  the  patricians.  We  find  such  artists  as  Hol- 
bein and  Diirer  supplying  designs  and  drawings  for 
these  works.  An  Augsburg  authority  writes :  '  In 
former  times  there  were  no  churches  or  public  build- 
ings, or  even  houses  belonging  to  citizens  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, which  did  not  possess  painted  windows.' 
This  applies  to  all  the  larger  cities,  particularly  in 
Southern  Germany,  where  this  industry  flourished 
most. 

Miniature  painting  was  another  branch  of  art  which 
was  brought  to  great  perfection ;  it  was  held  in  such 

1  See  Neudorfer,  p.  147  ;  also  Lochner,  pp.  147-150.  For  remarkable 
windows  made  from  1417  to  1515,  see  Rettberg's  Nuremberg  Letters, 
pp.  136-138. 

p  2 


212  HISTOEY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

high  repute,  indeed,  that  the  miniature  painters  ('  the 
illuminators  ')  formed  a  separate  guild  in  several  cities. 
Prayer-books  especially  were  embellished  by  this  species 
of  art.  In  many  convents,  where  the  community  num- 
bered forty  or  fifty,  each  nun  possessed  an  illuminated 
office-book.  It  was  a  common  thing  for  the  greatest 
masters  of  painting  to  illuminate  books  destined  as 
presents  with  pictures  or  pen-and-ink  sketches.  One 
of  these,  prepared  by  Dtirer  for  the  Emperor  Maximi- 
lian, is  remarkable  for  its  taste  and  originality  and  the 
grotesque  humour  of  its  designs. 

The  principal  homes  of  this  art  were  Nuremberg  and 
Eatisbon,  where  the  Glockendon  family  and  Berthold 
Furtmeyer  were  respectively  the  leading  artists.     The 
episcopal  missal  in  five  volumes  which  Furtmeyer  exe- 
cuted for  the  Archbishop  Bernhard  von  Bohr,  of  Salz- 
burg,  in   the  year   1481,  ranks  among  the  finest  and 
most    original    examples  of  this   kind    of    work.     In 
Suabia  the  monks  distinguished  themselves  as  miniature 
painters.    From  the  year  1472  to  1492  Father  Johannes 
Frank,  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Ulrich,  in  Augsburg,  was 
one  of  the  best  illuminators  of  his  day.     The  Fathers 
Conrad  Wagner,  Stephen  Degen,  and  Leonhard  Wagner 
also  worked   with   him.      The    monks   Johann   Keim, 
Maurus     and    Heinrich    Molitor    (1468)    illuminated 
breviaries  and  devotional  books  in  the  Monastery  of 
Scheyern.      In  Yornhach    the   Brother  George  Baum- 
gartener  illustrated  a  history  of  the  world.     In  Ebers- 
berg,  Brother  Vitus  Auslasser  illuminated  a  herbarium. 
In   Nuremberg   the    Carmelite    nun   Mother  Margaret 
(1450  to  1490)  filled  five  folios  with  illuminated  initials 
and  pictures.    In  the  same  city,  between  the  years  1491 
and  1494,  the  Brothers-Minor  completed  an  illuminated 


SCULPTURE   AND  PAINTING  213 

missal,  the  pictures  of  which  were  remarkable  for  their 
technique  and  colouring.  The  large  and  beautiful 
pictures  in  the  breviary  of  the  Benedictines  of  St. 
Stephen  are  the  work  of  Brother  John  Esswurm 
.(1515). 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  names  of  the  many  who 
practised  miniature  painting  in  the  monasteries,  but 
they  serve  to  show  us  that  this  modest  branch  was  still 
cherished  in  the  quiet  cell  at  a  time  when  more  pre- 
tentious art  was  spread  over  the  world.1 

All  branches  of  art  seem  to  go  hand  in  hand,  from 
architecture  and  sculpture  to  painting  and  embroidery. 
Exquisite  specimens  of  carpets,  vestments,  and  other 
ornaments,  dating  from  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  Imperial  Treasury  at  Vienna,  in 
the  Church  at  Eisleben,  in  the  Cathedral  and  City-Hall  at 
Eatisbon,  in  the  Cathedrals  of  Spires  and  Halberstadt, 
in  the  Churches  of  St.  Lawrence  and  St.  Sebald  at 
Nuremberg,  and  in  several  churches  in  Cologne  and 
elsewhere.  Not  only  the  vestments,  but  the  carpets, 
the  dresses  of  the  nobles,  the  flags,  and  the  trappings 
of  the  horses,  were  adorned  with  graceful  and  ingenious 
pictures  or  figures,  which  were  designed  by  the  de- 
corator or  the  first  masters  of  the  day.  Those  who  did 
this  work  were  called  '  silk  sewers,'  and  their  great 
number  shows  in  what  request  this  kind  of  decoration 
was  held. 

After  speaking  of  a  silk  embroiderer  who  had  be- 
come so  deft  in  the  art  that  '  out  of  pieces  of  silk  he 
could  imitate  the  human  figure,'  Neudorfer  writes  :  '  As 
women  took  part  in  this  art,  I  must  not  omit  to  bear 
witness  to  a  proof  of  their  perseverance.     For  years, 

1  There  are  very  few  ancient  miniatures  extant. 


214  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

when  the  ornamental  work  for  churches  had  so  de- 
veloped, the  ladies  proved  themselves  clever  and 
industrious,  not  alone  in  silk  embroidery,  but  in 
tapestry,  as  is  proved  by  the  quantity  of  tapestries, 
bench-coverings,  cushions,  &c,  to  be  found  in  the 
houses  of  the  old  families.  The  old  master,  Sebald 
Baumhauer,  sacristan  at  St.  Sebald's,  whom  Albert 
Diirer  described  as  a  good  painter,  told  me  that  he 
had  got  it  from  reliable  sources  that  in  the  times  past 
the  widows  who  employed  themselves  with  this  work 
remained  all  day  at  St.  Sebald's,  in  the  little  sacristy  at 
St.  Michael's,  bringing  their  food  with  them.' 

In  the  convents  embroidered  figures  for  the  orna- 
mentation of  the  churches  were  made  in  great  quan- 
tities, and  princesses  and  noble  ladies  joined  in  the 
work  for  the  honour  of  God. 


215 


CHAPTER  III 

WOOD   AND   COPPER   ENGRAVING 

Wood  and  copper  engraving  followed  close  upon  the 
development  of  painting  in  Germany.  During  the 
latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  these  two  arts  were 
considered  a  necessary  supplement  of  painting,  were 
placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  it,  and  were  cultivated 
by  eminent  artists. 

This  German  invention  of  engraving  was  as  im- 
portant in  its  results  to  art  in  general  as  typography 
was  to  science  and  learning,  being  the  means  by  which 
artistic  works  were  multiplied  and  brought  within  reach 
of  all  classes.  But  its  services  were  not  limited  to  art. 
It  helped  to  forward  intellectual  development  generally. 
As  printing  preserved  the  results  of  intellectual  activity, 
so  did  engraving  give  lasting  form  to  the  works  of  the 
imagination. 

It  was  at  first  chiefly  employed  in  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  and  thus  we  find  the  practice  of  the 
art  during  a  considerable  period  mostly  confined  to 
monasteries.  The  mendicant  orders  especially  were 
wont  to  supplement  their  instructions  by  the  distri- 
bution of  appropriate  pictures  among  the  people. 
They  used  them,  moreover,  for  their  own  edification 
and  for  the  glorification  of  their  patrons  and  founders. 
By  degrees  these  pictures  came  to  be  wanted  not  only 
for  ecclesiastical  but  for  domestic  use.     Private  indi- 


216  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

viduals  would  wish  to  possess  a  representation  of  the 
Saviour,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  or  of  their  patron  saint. 
The  price  of  an  oil-painting  or  a  carved  crucifix  was 
beyond  the  means  of  most  people,  but  even  the  poorest 
could  afford  to  buy  some  little  illustrated  leaflet  to 
hang  on  a  wall  or  door,  or  to  place  in  a  book. 

In  the  first  stages  of  the  art  engravings  were  printed 
on  single  sheets  ;  but  towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century  the  so-called  typographical  picture-books  ap- 
peared, containing  a  series  of  representations  accom- 
panied by  explanatory  texts  and  practical  reflections. 
Examples  of  this  kind  of  work  are  the  'Apocalypse,' 
the  '  Historjr  of  the  Passion,'  the  '  Salve  Eegina,'  the 
'  Dance  of  Death,'  and  the  '  Bible  for  the  Poor  '  (Biblia 
Pauper  urn).  The  best  known  of  these  are  the  '  Bibles 
for  the  Poor,'  which  contained  from  fifty  to  sixty  scenes 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  with  printed  ex- 
planations. The  poor,  for  whom  this  work  was  de- 
signed, were  not  so  much  the  pauper  classes  among 
the  people,  but  the  poor  preachers,  who  often  were  not 
in  a  position  to  buy  complete  Bibles,  and  could  thus 
provide  themselves  with  a  narrative  of  the  principal 
events  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  German  translations 
of  the  Bible  intended  for  the  people  were  also  furnished 
with  wood  engravings.  The  copy  published  by  Koberger, 
of  Nuremberg,  for  instance,  contained  more  than  one 
hundred  wood  engravings. 

As  a  printer  and  publisher,  Koberger  deserves 
much  praise  for  having  employed  artists  of  the  highest 
eminence  to  furnish  the  designs  for  these  illustrations. 
The  woodcuts  which  were  prepared  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Michael  Wolgemutli  in  1491  for  the  '  Schatzbe- 
halter  der  wahren  Eeichthiimer  des  Heils'('The  Treasury 


WOOD  AND   COPPER   ENGRAVING  217 

of  True  Riches  of  Eternity '),  as  well  as  those  for  Hart- 
mann  Schedel's  'Book  of  Chronicles'  (1493),  show 
marks  of  distinct  progress.1  Still  more  important  are 
the  works  of  Hans  Burgkmair,  of  Augsburg,  who  made 
the  designs  for  more  than  seven  hundred  woodcuts. 
By  order  of  Maximilian,  and  in  conjunction  with  Albert 
Dtirer  and  others,  this  same  artist  made  the  drawing 
for  the  celebrated  '  Triumphal  Procession  of  the  Em- 
peror,' as  well  as  twenty  designs  for  the  illustration  of 
the  '  Weisskunig '  and  the  '  Theuerdank.' 

The  most  celebrated  artists  of  the  day,  such  as 
Diirer,  Holbein,  Hans  SchaufFelin,  and  Lucas  Cranach, 
allowed  their  paintings  and  drawings,  even  their  large 
compositions,  to  be  reproduced  and  multiplied  by 
the  engraver's  art.  Some  of  them  even  worked  at  the 
art  themselves.  Thousands  of  impressions  were  struck 
off,  and  found  a  ready  sale  at  fairs  and  church  festivals 
throughout  Europe.  Religious  subjects  and  secular, 
satirical  and  humorous,  were  all  represented.  Political, 
ecclesiastical,  and  social  questions  were  all  handled  in 
turn.  In  these  productions,  which  were  meant  for  the 
masses  and  destined  to  be  bought  by  them,  a  certain 
amount  of  catering  to  popular  tastes  is  to  be  observed 
in  the  treatment ;  and  this  is  true  even  of  many  of 
Diirer's  works,  although  he  soared  above  the  level  of 
the  masses,  and  assumed  in  his  purchasers  a  higher 
grade  of  thought  and  culture. 

Wood  engraving  reached  its  greatest  perfection 
through  the  exertions  of  Dtirer.  The  fifteen  illustra- 
tions of  the  Apocalypse,  which  were  his  earliest  wood- 
cuts, and   those  with  which  he  made  his  debut  before 

1  See  Thausing,  Diirer's  Leben,  pp.  49-52.     For  engravings  of  that 
period,  see  Hase,  pp.  28-35. 


218  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  world  in  1498,  in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  are 
masterpieces  of  the  art  and  monumental  works.1  In 
these  he  has  depicted  by  means  of  religious  symbols  the 
terrors  of  God's  judgments  and  the  joys  of  the  blessed. 
Particularly  striking  and  impressive  are  the  four  horse- 
men and  the  four  angels  at  the  great  river  Euphrates. 

His  two  sets  of  woodcuts  for  the  '  Passion  '  (known 
as  the  Large  and  the  Little  Passion)  are  equally  remark- 
able for  power  and  truthfulness,  and  affect  one  as  does 
a  great  tragedy.  The  figure  of  Christ  in  the  frontispiece 
leaves  an  ineffaceable  impression.  He  is  sitting  on  a 
stone,  removed  from  all  participation  in  earthly  life — 
alone  with  His  grief !  In '  The  Little  Passion '  Jesus  rests 
His  head  on  His  hand.  In  the  other  one,  the  insult- 
ing soldier  bends  the  knee  in  mockery  before  Him, 
while  His  hands  are  folded  in  prayer.  In  both  the 
Saviour's  countenance  looks  at  the  beholder  with  an 
expression  that  pierces  through  the  soul.  It  represents 
the  continual  grief  which  the  sins  of  man  inflict  on  the 
Saviour.  Hence  the  hands  and  feet  bear  the  marks  of 
the  wounds.  The  artist  must  have  had  in  his  mind  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  '  Come  ye,  and  behold  if  there  is 
any  sorrow  like  unto  My  sorrow.'  Diirer  threw  his 
whole  soul  into  this  work,  and  he  expresses  here  in  a 
picture  what  his  meditations  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
led  him  elsewhere  to  embody  in  his  hymn,  'Sieben 
Tageszeiten  '  ('  Seven  Periods  of  the  Day  ').2 

Zur  Vesperzeit,  da  nahm  man  ihn 
Vom  Kreuz,  bracht'  ihn  znr  Mutter  hin, 
Die  Allmacht  still  verborgen  lag 
In  Gottes  Schooss  an  jenem  Tag. 

1  Springer,  pp.  184,  185.     There  is  proof  that  Diirer  contributed  th& 
designs  for  170  of  those  engravings  (Kauftnann,  A.  Diirer,  p.  36). 

2  See  Lulhardt,  pp.  44,  45. 


WOOD   AND   COPPER  ENGRAVING  219 

O  Mensch  !  betrachte  diesen  Tod, 
Heilmittel  fur  die  grosste  Noth  ! 
Maria,  aller  Jungfrau'n  Kron, 
Sieh  da,  das  Schwert  des  Simeon  ! 
Hier  lieget  aller  Ehren  Hort, 
Der  von  uns  nimmt  die  Siinden  fort. 

O  Du,  allmachtiger  Herr  und  Gott, 
Die  grosse  Marter  und  den  Tod, 
Die  Jesus,  der  Eingebor'ne  Dein, 
Gelitten,  urn  uns  zu  befrei'n, 
Betrachten  wir  niit  Innigkeit. 
Herr !  gib  mir  wahre  Reu  und  Leid 
Ob  meiner  Siinden,  bess're  rnich, 
Das  bitte  ich  ganz  von  Herzen  Dich  1 
Herr  !  nach  der  Ueberwindung  Dein 
Lass  mich  des  Sieges  theilhaftig  sein  !  ' 

'At  eventide  they  took  Hini  from  the  cross  and 
brought  Him  to  His  Mother.  On  that  day  Omnipo- 
tence lay  in  the  lap  of  Deity.  0  man,  behold  this 
pure  oblation  suffered  for  thy  soul's  salvation  !  Mary, 
the  crown  of  virgins,  to-day  recognises  Simeon's  sword. 
Here  lies  the  shield  of  purest  worth,  which  saves  us 
from  sin's  punishment.  0  Thou,  Almighty  Lord  and 
God !  Here  we  meditate  on  the  pain  and  death  which 
Jesus,  Thy  only  begotten,  suffered  for  us.  Lord  !  grant 
me  sorrow  and  repentance.  Forgive  me  my  sins,  I 
pray  Thee  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  Lord, 
through  Thy  triumph  over  sin  let  me  partake  of  Thy 
glory ! ' 

The  engraving  of  '  Christ  bearing  His  Cross,'  which 
contains  such  a  wealth  of  figures,  is  well  known  to  have 
furnished  Eaphael  with  a  subject  for  one  of  his  greatest 
paintings. 

Next  to  the  sublime  tragedy  of  '  The  Two  Passions,' 
the  twenty  woodcuts    (most  of  them  dating  between 

1  Thausing,  Diirer's  Leben,  pp.  154-155. 


220  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

1504-1505)  intended  to  illustrate  'The  Life  of  Our  Lady' 
claim  our  admiration.  They  are  idyls  of  purity,  sweet- 
ness, and  melancholy.  The  whole  atmosphere  of  these 
scenes,  the  landscapes,  the  life  of  Nature,  the  picturesque 
blending  of  human  and  animal  life,  result  in  a  soft 
Arcadian  beauty  which  tempers  the  gravity  of  the 
character  of  Mary  and  her  parents.  Among  the  most 
touching,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  agreeable,  of 
this  series  is  the  deathbed  of  the  Mother  of  God.  She 
is  surrounded  by  the  Apostles.  Peter  is  sprinkling  her 
with  holy  water ;  John  hands  her  the  burning  taper, 
while  a  third  holds  up  a  crucifix.1  Diirer  is  inspired 
in  this  work  by  his  veneration  for  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
Art  has  this  in  common  with  love,  that  it  delights  in 
the  most  trivial  circumstances  relating  to  the  beloved 
one. 

In  Diirer's  woodcuts  for  '  The  Life  of  Our  Lady  '  he 
exemplifies  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  old 
German  art.  Like  the  poet  of  the  'Heiland,'  who  makes 
the  whole  stream  of  the  Gospel  story  as  it  were  to  '  flow 
through  his  native  Saxony,'  he  invests  Christ  and  His 
disciples  with  the  national  character  of  Germany.  All 
the  accessories  of  the  Church  legends  are  so  many  bits 
of  local  colouring,  which  make  every  scene  familiar 
and  realistic. 

In  the  archives  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Clare  in 
Nuremberg,  dating  from  the  time  when  Charity  Pirk- 
heimer  was  prioress,  can  be  found  the  sketches  pre- 
pared for  Diirer's  last-named  work.  A  comparison 
between  these  and  the  finished  composition  gives  us  an 
idea  of  the  originality  and  talent  of  the  artist.     His 

1  This  picture  was  often  copied  by  Diirer's  disciples.     This  explains 
why  so  many  works  on  the  subject  bear  his  name  (Nayler,  p.  32). 


WOOD   AND   COPPER  ENGRAVING:  221 

masterpiece,  however,  was  the  woodcut  of  the  tri- 
umphal arch  of  Maximilian,  done  by  the  order  of  the 
Emperor.1 

Contemporaneously  with  the  art  of  wood-cutting, 
steel  engraving  reached  also  a  high  degree  of  perfection. 
The  first  known  specimens  point  to  Upper  Germany — 
probably  Bavaria — as  the  cradle  of  the  art.  At  all 
events,  it  was  a  German  invention,  and  unquestionably 
was  in  vogue  in  Germany  long  before  it  became  known 
in  Italy.  German  goldsmiths  were  the  first  who  made 
copper-prints  of  popular  religious  pictures  for  dissemi- 
nation among  the  people.  The  two  engravers  of  repute, 
Franz  von  Bocholt  and  Israel  von  Meckenen(1503),  fall 
far  short  in  technical  skill  of  two  other  masters  of  the 
art  who  are  known  to  posterity  only  by  their  mono- 
grams, and  whose  works,  dating  from  1451  to  1466,  are 
unrivalled  in  design  and  finish.  It  was  on  the  model 
of  one  of  these,  the  Meister  E.  S.,  that  Martin 
Schongauer  formed  himself,  and  the  latter  gained  as 
great,  if  not  greater,  influence  as  engraver  than  as 
painter.  With  the  exception  of  Albert  Diirer,  he  ex- 
celled all  others  in  invention,  expressiveness,  and  noble 
simplicity  of  style.  His  engravings,  of  which  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  are  still  known,  are  spread 
throughout  the  world,  and  have  earned  him  a  European 
reputation.  It  is  stated  that  even  Michael  Angelo 
undertook  the  laborious  task  of  copying  one  of  them. 
His  '  Temptation  of  St.  Anthony  '  was  much  admired. 

Among  the  pupils  who  got  -their  art  training  at 
Schongauer's  studio  in  Colmar,  the  most  prominent  is 
BartholomUus  Zeitbloom,  of  Ulm,  to  whom  a  hundred 

1  Thausing,  Diirer' s  Leben,  pp.  370-373. 


222  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

and  fifty  plates  of  great  beauty,  partly  stippled   and 
partly  engraved,  are  ascribed. 

Albert  Diirer  was  a  disciple  of  Schongauer's.  The 
art  of  engraving  owed  more  to  Albert  Diirer  than  to 
any  other  for  its  advancement,  extension,  and  perfec- 
tion. To  him  also  belongs  the  invention  of  etching,  and 
his  works,  known  at  home  and  abroad,  were  more  fre- 
quently copied  than  those  of  Schongauer,  and  used  by 
distinguished  artists,  such  as  Andrea  del  Sarto,  Nicholas 
Alunno,  and  Marco  da  Eavenna,  as  designs  for  their 
paintings.  It  was,  therefore,  with  just  pride  that  the 
military  architect,  Daniel  Specklin,  wrote  :  '  Whatever 
Italians  say,  the  art  of  copper  engraving  is  one  of  those 
subtle  arts  that  owe  their  perfection  to  Germany.' 

Schongauer  had  already  applied  this  art  to  the  most 
manifold  uses,  not  only  illustrating  sacred  subjects,  but 
producing  genre  pictures  also,  animals,  heraldic  shields, 
designs  of  all  sorts  for  embroidery ;  and  as  for  Diirer's 
creations,  they  embraced  every  imaginable  subject, 
religious,  historical,  mythological,  humorous,  satiri- 
cal, architectural,  landscapes,  portraits,  &c,  and  his 
inventive  and  imaginative  powers  were  equalled  only 
by  his  industry.  Among  the  various  productions  of 
Diirer,  three  stand  out  in  bold  relief  in  which  he 
has  embodied  his  moral  conception  of  the  universe. 
These  are  '  The  Knight,  Death,  and  the  Devil'  (executed 
in  1513),  'Saint  Jerome,'  and  'Melancholy'  (1514). 
They  rank  also  among  the  best  examples  of  engraving 
on  copper.  In  the  first  mentioned  we  see  a  knight, 
clad  in  shining  armour,  riding  along  an  unbeaten  path 
in  a  rocky  defile;  Death  stalks  by  his  side  crowned  with 
serpents,  and,  with  a  cruel  leer,  he  holds  before  him 
the  hour-glass.     The  Devil,  in  even  more  hideous  form, 


WOOD   AND   COPPEE   ENGRAVING  223 

and  armed  with  a  grappling-hook,  stretches  his  claws 
towards  the  rider,  who,  without  fear  of  either,  rides 
calmly  forwards,  his  firm  faith  and  consciousness  of 
duty  fulfilled  giving  him  a  sure  hope  of  victory.1 

The  sentiments  which  the  artist  symbolises  in  '  The 
Knight,  Death,  and  the  Devil '  are  further  developed  in 
the  second  picture.  This  one  introduces  us  into  the 
chamber  of  St.  Jerome,  who  sits  at  a  desk  writing. 
The  sun  pours  through  the  small  window-panes ;  its 
rays  fall  on  the  figure  of  a  lion  stretched  out  with  half- 
opened  eyes,  and  a  dog  slumbering  at  his  side.  All  is 
order  and  harmony,  and  no  outward  disturbance  seems 
capable  of  ruffling  the  peaceful  expression  which  rests 
on  the  countenance  of  the  venerable  Father  of  the 
Church,  a  peace,  however,  which  he  is  not  satisfied  to 
enjoy  alone,  for  he  is  at  work  to  spread  abroad  the 
knowledge  which  he  possesses,  and  which  is  the  source 
of  his  own  happiness.  The  third  picture  is  of  an  en- 
tirely different  character — a  winged  woman,  bearing  a 
myrtle  crown  on  her  head,  which  rests  on  her  left  hand, 
while  a  book  and  compass  are  held  in  the  right  hand, 
sits  on  the  seashore.  A  lean  and  exhausted  greyhound 
lies  stretched  at  her  feet.  The  various  implements  and 
symbols  of  science  that  are  scattered  around  her  in  wild 
confusion  produce  a  chaotic  effect,  which  is  heightened 
by  the  straggling  beams  of  a  comet  that  pierces  the 
clouds.  Here  there  is  no  vivifying  sunlight,  no  har- 
monious order,  as  in  the  chamber  of  St.  Jerome  ;  none  of 
the  sustained  expression  of  peace  and  calm  which  charac- 
terises the  saint  at  his  work,  or  the  knight  in  the  midst 

1  H.  Grimm  connects  Ritter,  Tod  und  Tcufel  with  the  Enchiridion 
Militis  CJiristiani  from  Erasmus.  See  Preussische  Jahrbucher,  1875, 
xxxvi.  543-549. 


224  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  danger  and  distress.  The  woman  sits  sunk  in  deep 
thought,  her  look  wandering  far  away,  her  countenance 
expressive  of  the  bitterest  sorrow. 

The  three  pictures  are  symbolic  of  different  periods 
of  thought  in  Germany.  While  the  first  two  represent 
the  soul  fighting  and  working  for  good,  the  first  and 
real  object  of  life,  still  upheld  and  strengthened  by  a. 
firm  faith,  the  third  symbolises  an  age  of  presumption, 
when  man  sought  to  fathom  the  mysteries  of  life  and 
Nature  by  his  own  intelligence,  and  is  in  despair  at 
finding  himself  so  often  foiled.  As  if  to  soften  the  im- 
pression  of  the  whole,  the  artist  introduces  the  rainbow 
which  spans  the  horizon. 

Not  one  among  Diirer's  numerous  pupils  and  fol- 
lowers came  near  to  him,  '  the  prince  of  wood  and 
copper  engravers,'  in  his  combination  of  seriousness 
and  humour,  in  exuberance  and  depth  of  imagination, 
although  several  of  them,  such  as  Hans  Schauffelin, 
Albrecht  Altdorfer,  Heinrich  Aldegrever,  Hans  Sebald, 
and  Beham,  reached  a  high  pitch  of  technical  ability. 
Many  of  his  later  followers  forsook  the  grandly  simple 
German  style,  and  fell  into  stiff  mannerisms. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  recognise  that  success  in  the 
art  of  engraving  was  influenced  by  the  decrease  or  in- 
crease of  faith  and  patriotism.  As  soon  as  the  old 
traditions  began  to  be  despised,  the  forms  and  practices 
of  religion  neglected,  originality  of  conception  waned, 
and  by  degrees  art  fell  into  coarse  realism.  As  a  proof 
of  this  we  may  cite  Lucas  Cranach,  born  in  1472,  who 
is  the  best  known  of  Diirer's  followers,  and  who  intro- 
duced his  methods  into  Saxony.  His  earliest  pictures, 
belonging  to  the  period  between  1504  to  1509,  are  per- 
meated by  deep  earnestness,  simplicity,  and  humour, 


WOOD  AND   COPPER  ENGRAVING  225 

which  place  them  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  art.  Chris- 
topher Scheurl,  of  Nuremberg,  did  not  hesitate  to  rank 
him  immediately  after  Diirer  among  German  artists. 
But  from  the  time  that  Cranach  began  to  stoop  to  a 
voluptuous  style  his  art  degenerated  more  and  more 
year  by  year. 


VOL.  I.  {i 


226  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


CHAPTEB  IV 

POrULAK    LIFE    AS   REFLECTED    BY   ART 

During  its  period  of  glory  German  art  was  a  faithful 
reflex  of  German  life  and  character,  and  of  all  the  lead- 
ing phenomena  of  this  stirring  and  eventful  age.  All 
things  that  had  any  bearing  on  life  were  taken  cogni- 
sance of  by  art.  Whatever  asserted  itself  in  life  found 
its  highest  expression  in  art. 

Amongst  the  ruling  characteristics  of  German  life 
at  that  time,  next  to  religious  earnestness,  was  fresh 
and  hearty  humour.  The  sport  of  the  intellect  with 
contrasts,  which  forms  the  kernel  as  it  were  of  humour, 
if  not  exclusively  the  attribute  of  Christian  art  and 
literature,  is  at  any  rate  a  very  marked  feature  of  it. 
For  as  it  was  Christianity  that  first  brought  out  in  con- 
scious relief  the  height  and  depth  of  the  human  spirit, 
as  well  as  the  relations  between  human  freedom  and 
the  eternal  laws  of  God,  and  thus  established  a  hrm 
centre  round  which  the  play  with  '  opposites  '  might 
move,  so  long,  therefore,  as  personal,  domestic,  and 
public  life  all  rested  on  the  basis  of  Christianity,  so 
long  as  the  Church  was  a  centre  of  unity  of  the  com- 
plicated organism  of  society  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the 
humorous  vein  in  the  national  life  flowed  on  with 
vigour  and  freshness,  branching  out  in  every  direction, 
and  enlivening  every  department  of  life.  Witness  the 
p>icturesqueness  and  poetry  of  the  popular  manners, 


TOPULAR  LIFE  AS  REFLECTED  BY  ART     227 

the  various  feasts  and  public  sports — some  of  them 
singular — in  which  the  jester  and  the  donkey1  played  a 
prominent  part.  The  innumerable  witty  sayings,  comic 
pictures  and  caricatures  of  that  age,  attest  the  truth  of 
this  theory.  Where  firm  faith  reigns,  fun  and  humour 
grow  abundantly,  for  the  mind  which  is  convinced  of 
the  truth  enjoys  life,  and  meets  it  with  composure,  for- 
titude, and  intelligence.  In  times  of  unbelief  or  narrow 
bigotry  and  fanaticism  popular  humour  disappears. 

Had  the  Church  desired  in  the  Middle  Ages  to  sup- 
press popular  humour  and  fun,  the  strength  of  her 
power  and  influence  would  have  made  it  an  easy 
matter  ;  but  such  discipline  was  far  from  her  system. 
Embracing  all  classes  of  men  in  her  fold,  she  under- 
stood their  various  wants  and  aspirations,  and  en- 
€Ouraged  a  free  and  independent  expression  of  their 
feelings  so  long  as  belief  as  such,  and  she  herself  as  its 
guardian,  were  not  impugned  ;  she  fostered  and  en- 
couraged the  spirit  of  humour,  and,  so  to  speak,  allowed 
it  '  to  mount  guard  over  the  holy  places,'  as  if  to  keep 
man  mindful  of  the  distance  between  the  sacred  and 
the  profane.  Not  alone  on  the  buttresses  and  the 
water-spouts  and  exterior  parts  of  consecrated  places 
were  grotesque  caricatures  to  be  found,  but  also  on 
the  interior  pillars,  the  lecterns,  in  the  sanctuary,  and 
even  on  the  very  tabernacle,  were  they  carved.  From 
harmless  ridicule  we  sometimes  find  this  art  pass  into 
satire,  but  always  giving  evidence  of  the  general  thirst 
for  truth,  the  sense  of  the  nothingness  of  earthly  great- 
ness, and  the  struggle  between  good  and  evil  ever  going 
on  in  the  soul  of  man. 

1  '  Our  popular  religious  feasts  of  the  Middle  Ages,'  says  Gervinus 
(xi.  277-278),  '  were  full  of  poetry,  while  now  everything  is  chilled 
hy  formality.' 

Q  2 


228  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

The  grotesque  carvings  in  the  churches  and  monas- 
teries, particularly  on  the  choir  seats,  fulfilled  the  same 
mission  to  the  clergy  that  the  Court  jester  did  to  the 
nobles.  In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
jesters  were  given  to  the  princes,  '  as  highly  polished 
mirrors  which  humorously  reflected  their  own  weak- 
nesses.' 

As  long  as  the  position  of  the  Church  on  her  eternal 
pillars  was  acknowledged,  it  pleased  her  to  see  the  spirit 
of  humour  lashing  the  abuses  of  those  who  held  secular 
or  spiritual  power  by  ridiculing  the  public  luxury  and 
extreme  love  of  worldly  things.  These  railleries  became 
dangerous  only  when  authority  was  weakened  and  the 
spirit  of  God  Himself  denied.  All  restraint  being  then 
removed,  what  had  previously  been  light  banter  became 
lawless  license  and  vulgar  caricature,  threatening  popu- 
lar demoralisation. 

In  an  age  when  a  protecting  law  forbade  excess  and 
the  object  proposed  was  understood,  the  bringing  into 
contrast  of  things  elevated  with  things  commonplace 
was  not  only  tolerated,  but  encouraged,  even  though  it 
sometimes  bordered  on  the  coarse ;  for  example,  we 
find  an  artist  with  great  patience  and  pious  reverence 
illuminating  a  prophecy  in  a  prayer-book,  and  in  the 
decoration  of  the  vignette  he  draws  an  ape  like  a 
hunter  aiming  his  arrow  at  another,  who  turns  his 
back  for  a  target.  The  pen-and-ink  sketches  with 
which  Diirer  illustrated  a  prayer-book  for  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  are  full  of  comic  allusions.1     For  instance, 


1  A.  Diirer's  Randzeichmmgcn  aus  dem  Gebetbuch  Maximilia7is  X. 
(Stoger  :  Munich,  1850).  For  explanations  see  Heller,  i.  pp.  369-386  ; 
Thausing,  Diirer's  Leben,  pp.  380-381 ;  Schafer,  Deutsche  Stadtnahr- 
zeichen,  Hire  Entstehung,  Geschichte  und  Deutung,  vol.  i.  (Leipsic,  1858). 


POPULAR  LIFE  AS  REFLECTED  BY  ART     229 

in  the  illustration  accompan}Ting  a  prayer  against 
human  weakness,  Diirer  represents  the  thin  figure  of  a 
doctor  who,  with  large  spectacles,  is  examining  a  urinal, 
while  in  his  left  hand  he  holds  his  rosary  behind  his 
back.  Over  a  prayer  to  be  defended  from  temptation 
the  same  artist  drew  a  fox  playing  the  flute  by  the  side 
of  a  puddle,  and  attracting  a  flock  of  chickens,  which 
surrender  themselves  to  him.  Close  to  a  giver  of  alms 
stands  a  fox  that  has  stolen  a  hen.  A  satyr  sits  blow- 
ing a  horn  while  an  angel  prays.  Beneath  David  play- 
ing on  the  harp  we  find  a  screaming  heron.  An 
'  Address  to  the  Mighty  '  is  illustrated  by  a  picture  of 
an  emperor  who  holds  a  globe  in  his  left  hand,  the 
sceptre  in  his  right,  while  he  is  seated  in  a  carriage 
drawn  by  a  goat,  which  a  child  on  a  wooden  horse 
drags  by  the  beard.  Among  the  most  remarkable  of 
these  serio-comic  productions  is  a  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  absorbed  in  prayer  while  the  Holy  Spirit  hovers 
above  her  ;  in  the  left  corner  the  devil  is  vanishing, 
followed  by  a  hailstorm,  and  tearing  his  hair. 

The  spirit  of  humour  had  the  effect  of  bringing  into 
bold  relief  that  which  was  of  the  greatest  importance. 
It  was  not  wanting  even  in  representations  of  the  enmity 
of  the  devil  to  good,  and  of  the  triumph  finally  of  Christ 
and  His  Church.  We  find  the  artists  placing  near  the 
spirit  of  evil  angels  in  every  position  of  infantile  sport. 

The  extravagances  and  abuses  of  the  time  are  con- 
sequently ridiculed  and  satirised  in  the  best  known 
engravings,  the  female  vanity  and  love  of  dress  taking 
ever  a  prominent  place.  Amorous  fops,  old  as  well  as 
young,  were  used  as  targets  for  wit,  and  artists  were 
inexhaustible  in  their  mockery  of  any  insolent  preten- 
sions on  the  part  of  the  peasants. 


230 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


The  peasant  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  most  parts 
of  Germany  was  not  an  oppressed  boor  condemned  to  a 
life  of  sordid  vulgarity,  as  after  the  social  revolution  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  but  a  sturdy,  independent  being, 
full  of  courage  and  spirit.  Having  the  right  to  bear 
arms,  he  was  as  well  equipped  for  self-protection  as  any 
city  guild  associate.  He  took  part  in  public  life  and 
sat  in  district  courts  ;  indeed,  the  literature  of  that 
period,  still  extant,  gives  us  more  concise  descriptions 
of  his  life,  habits,  and  manners  than  of  those  of  the 
higher  classes. 

In  Franconia,  Bavaria,  Breisgau,  and  Alsatia,  just 
where  the  peasant  war  raged  the  most  fiercely,  the 
peasants  lived  in  such  ease  that  they  aspired  to  equality 
with  their  superiors,  imitating  their  manners  and  style 
of  living  and  dressing  in  silk  and  velvet.  In  one  of  the 
Nuremberg  carnival  plays — the  satire  of  which  is  directed 
against  the  stuck-up  peasants — there  are  some  rhymes 
to  the  effect  that  peasants  cannot  bear  that  the  nobles 
and  their  children  should  be  dressed  better  than  them- 
selves. 

Formerly  the  peasants  wore  grey  mantles,  grey  caps 
and  battered  hats,  hemp  smocks,  and  linen  jackets. 
Their  shoes  were  tied  with  bast,  and  their  hair  cut  in 
Wendish  fashion  above  their  ears.  Their  saddles  and 
bridles  were  equally  plain. 

Nun  aber  sich  die  Paurheit 
Den  Rittern  gleich  hat  geklait 
Mit  Gewand  und  mit  Geparden, 
Nun  mag  es  nimmer  guot  werden. 

Sebastian  Brant  expresses  the  same  sentiment  in  his 
'  NarrenschifT — 

Die  bauern  tragen  seiden  kleid 
Und  goldene  Ketten  an  deni  Leib. 


POPULAR  LIFE  AS  REFLECTED  BY  ART     231 

'  The  peasants  wear  silken  dresses,  and  golden  chains 
hang  about  round  them.' 

Mit  aller  farb,  wild  uber  wild, 
Und  auf  dem  Arniel  eines  narren  bild, 
Das  Stadtvolk  jetzt  vom  batiern  lehrt, 
Wie  es  in  bosbeit  werd'  gemehrt. 

Coarse  ticking  no  longer  contented  them  :  they 
must  have  clothes  from  London  or  Malines  cut  in 
modern  fashion. 

'  Of  all  colours,  of  all  furs,  they  wear  them  in  their 
armlets,  pictures  of  fools.  The  city  folk  can  now  learn 
wickedness  and  foolishness  from  the  peasants.' 

Follies  of  this  sort  account  for  the  constant  carica- 
turing of  the  peasants.  It  was  the  fashion  to  make  fun 
of  their  absurdities,  so  that  there  was  a  good  sale  for 
such  representations.  Thus,  for  instance,  on  the  last 
page  of  marginal  illuminations  which  Durer  designed 
for  Maximilian's  prayer-book  he  chose  a  peasant's 
dance.  A  man  and  woman  are  hastening  to  join  the 
dance,  the  woman  with  her  hair  floating  down  her  back 
and  wearing  a  long  town-made  dress,  and  the  man  with 
wide-open  mouth  and  hands  awkwardly  thrown  up  in 
the  air.  Another  couple  are  dancing  a  minuet :  the  man 
steadies  himself  by  carrying  a  glass  of  water  on  his 
head. 

A  still  more  comical  scene  is  drawn  in  pen  and  ink 
by  Schongauer,  in  which  foppish  villagers  and  their 
sweethearts  are  represented  at  a  dance  trying  to  ape 
the  manners  of  the  city,  but  betraying  their  boorish- 
ness  by  their  grotesque  movements.  These  rustic 
attempts  at  city  ways  recall  Don  Quixote's  attempts 
at  chivalry.  They  have  tried  in  vain  to  hide 
their    country   origin   by  borrowing    all  the    outward 


232  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

appurtenances  of  their  superiors.  Here  we  see  a 
broken  scabbard,  and  there  a  naked  knee  obtruding 
from  a  torn  hose. 

Thanks  to  the  number  of  these  genre  pictures,  done 
by  the  best  artists  of  the  time,  we  are  familiar  with  the 
manners  of  the  day,  and  can  contrast  them  with  those 
of  later  times.  A  market  scene  is  represented  in  a 
miniature  or  on  glass  in  which  women  and  young 
girls  recommend  their  wares  and  offer  them  for  sale — 
white  bread  and  butter  on  a  white  plate,  eggs  in 
baskets,  and  milk  in  jugs.  Pigeons  and  young  chickens 
are  tied  in  hampers,  which  are  carried  on  the  heads  of 
the  women,  who  wear  dresses  made  of  coarse  stuff,  the 
bodices  high  in  the  neck  and  crossed  over  the  bosom, 
the  skirts  scant  and  of  convenient  length.  An  apron  is 
tied  by  strings  knotted  in  front.  The  hair,  divided  in 
the  middle,  is  allowed  to  hang  loose  by  the  young 
girls,  while  by  the  older  women  it  is  hidden  under  a 
handkerchief,  which  hangs  loosely  down  or  is  tied 
under  the  chin. 

We  also  find  the  popular  amusements  of  the  day 
represented  with  the  same  precision  and  accuracy. 
For  instance,  one  picture  shows  us  children  spinning 
tops,  trundling  hoops,  playing  blindman's  buff,  swing- 
ing and  turning  somersaults.  Another  shows  us  older 
people  amusing  themselves  with  chess,  backgammon, 
and  dice.  May  festivals  and  shooting  parties  are  often 
represented.  Dancing  being  the  favourite,  indeed  the 
general,  amusement  of  the  people  in  the  Middle  Ages,  it 
naturally  formed  a  constant  subject  for  art.  The  lower 
orders  always  preferred  to  dance  in  the  open  air.  The 
inns  never  contained  dancing-halls,  and  we  see  the  gay 
crowds  collected  on  the  green,  dancing  to  the  music  of 


POPULAR  LIFE   AS   REFLECTED   BY   ART  233 

the  tambourine,  the  bagpipe,  or  the  violin.  The 
wealthier  classes  had  their  private  dancing-saloons,  and 
sometimes  used  the  city  halls  for  this,  their  favourite 
amusement.  A  copper  engraving  by  Israel  von 
Meckenen  gives  us  a  good  idea  of  those  dancing- 
festivals  which  were  so  popular  on  the  Eliine  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the  centre  the 
musicians  are  placed  on  a  gallery  supported  by  pillars. 
The  dancing  couples  seem  to  be  moving  with  great 
difficulty,  on  account  of  the  tight-fitting  jackets  and 
pointed  shoes  of  the  men,  and  the  cumbersome  trains 
of  the  ladies ;  these  trains  completely  cover  the  floor. 
Endless  variety  is  displayed  in  the  costumes.  The 
head-dresses  are  shaped  like  sugar-loaves,  high  on  the 
head,  and  with  long  veils  falling  to  the  ground,  or  flat 
coifs,  ornamented  with  flowers  or  ribbons.  The  men 
wear  loose  jackets  over  their  tight-fitting  vests,  fastened 
with  buckles,  and  long  cloaks  reaching  to  the  floor,  or 
else  short  mantles.  The  women  all  wear  low-necked 
dresses  ;  the  men's  faces  are  shaved,  but  their  hair 
hangs  in  curls  round  the  head.  For  headgear  they 
wear  a  gaily  embroidered  band,  a  hat  with  feathers,  or 
a  turban-like  cap. 

From  the  stained  glass,  the  miniature  paintings,  and 
even  the  altar  pictures  of  the  period,  we  can  form  an 
exact  idea  of  the  prevailing  taste  for  rich  materials  and 
bright  colours,  for  art  in  the  Middle  Ages  copied 
exactly  from  Nature.  We  see  the  dresses  for  state 
occasions  made  of  thick  brocade  of  the  richest  colours, 
and  embroidered  with  gold  and  silver ;  the  long  sleeves 
slit  open  and  trimmed  with  embroidery.  Dresses  en- 
riched with  precious  stones  and  pearls  often  had  six 
and  seven  rows  of  coral  chains  around  the  neck.     Many 


234 


HISTORY  OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 


finger-rings  were  worn.1  A  study  of  the  inventories- 
still  extant  of  the  wardrobes  of  well-to-do  citizens  will 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  luxury  and  variety  of  the 
dress  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  will  of  the  wife  of. 
George  Winter,  of  Nuremberg,  dated  1485,  there  is 
mention,  among  other  things,  of  four  mantles  of  Malines 
silk,  six  long  over-skirts,  three  smock  frocks,  three 
under-dresses,  six  white  aprons,  one  black,  two  white 
bath  cloaks.  Along  with  other  jewels  we  find  thirty 
rings  mentioned.  A  citizen  of  Breslau  contributed  to  his 
daughter's  trousseau  (1490)  a  fur-lined  mantle  and  dress, 
four  dresses  of  different  values,  several  caps,  sashes,  and 
armlets,  a  bodice  embroidered  with  pearls,  and  a 
betrothal  ring  worth  twenty-five  florins.  We  read  of 
another  citizen's  daughter  receiving  in  1470  from  her 
guardians,  as  an  inheritance  from  her  mother,  thirty- 
six  gold  rings,  besides  several  chains,  buckles,  and 
cinctures. 

The  pictures  of  headgear  both  of  men  and  women 
are  very  diverse  and  extraordinary.  Women  wore 
pointed  lace  caps  a  yard  high,  or  head-dresses  formed 
of  coloured  stuff  pressed  and  ornamented  with  gold 
and  precious  stones.  The  head-dress  of  the  unmarried 
women  of  the  bourgeois  class  in  the  city  was  particu- 
larly remarkable,  consisting  of  a  muslin  handkerchief 
laid  in  folds  on  a  wire  frame,  and  having  ribbon  strings 
to  tie  under  the  chin.  The  shapes  of  men's  hats  and 
caps  were  quite  as  remarkable.  On  some  of  the  illu- 
minated parchments  of  the  city  regulations  of  Hamburg 
we  find  patterns  of  hats  and  caps,  some  high  and  some 
low  ;  some  with  wide,  and  others  with  narrow  brims, 

1  Jewellery  in  those  ages  possessed  great  artistic  value,  and  much 
taste  was  displayed  in  armour. 


POPULAR   LIFE   AS   REFLECTED   BY   ART  235 

turned  up  behind,  or  vice  versa.  There  were  beaver, 
felt,  or  cloth  hats  of  various  colours  and  designs, 
trimmed  with  feathers,  gold  ornamentation,  or  ribbons 
that  hung  down  to  the  ground. 

Long  curls  were  considered  a  great  adjunct  to 
manly  beauty,  and  much  time  and  care  were  bestowed 
on  the  arrangement  of  them.  When  the  son  of  the 
wealthy  patrician,  Jerome  Tscheckenburlin,  of  Basle, 
became  disgusted  with  the  vanities  of  the  world  and 
joined  the  Carthusian  order  at  the  age  of  twenty-six, 
he  had  his  portrait  painted  in  the  Court  dress  in  which 
he  entered  the  monastery.  Long  curls  encircled  his 
forehead  and  fell  over  his  shoulders.  In  the  portraits 
of  the  youthful  King  Maximilian  we  always  notice  his 
beautiful  wavy  hair  falling  low  over  his  neck.  Even 
Albert  Dtirer,  the  son  of  the  plain  goldsmith,  seemed  to 
delight  in  his  ringlets.  Sometimes,  even,  we  see  men 
with  their  curls  encircled  by  an  enamelled  band, 
fastened  by  buckle  and  heron's  plume,  or  even  with  a 
bunch  of  ivy  or  flowers. 

Instead  of  flowing  curls  the  women  wore  thick 
braids  of  hair  behind  the  ears,  which  gave  rise  to  the 
reproach  that  '  the  women  wear  the  hair  of  the  dead.' 
The  young  girls  wore  their  plaits  in  gold  or  jewelled 
nets,  to  which  were  attached  golden  aiglets.  Diirer's 
well-known  picture  of  the  espousals  of  the  Virgin  gives  us 
a  good  idea  of  the  favourite  dress  of  the  young  fiancees 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  Over  a  short  velvet  dress,  which 
Mary  holds  in  one  hand,  she  wears  a  richly  fur-trimmed 
robe  with  train  and  hanging  sleeves.  On  her  head  is  a 
small  cap  and  veil.  Amongst  her  companions  is  a 
Nuremberg  woman  of  good  position,  who  wears  a  full 
mantle  and  a  piled-up  linen  cap. 


236  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Still  more  striking,  though,  than  the  shapes  of  clothes, 
even  among  the  working  classes,  was  the  variety  of 
their  colour.  Stone-cutters  and  carpenters  worked  in 
costumes  consisting  of  red  coat  with  blue  trousers  and 
caps,  or  in  yellow  coats  with  red  trousers  and  caps ; 
others,  again,  are  represented  in  light  blue  and  green 
mixed  with  yellow  and  red.  The  merchants  behind 
their  counters  also  wore  the  same  bright  colours.  A 
peasant,  bringing  his  pig  to  market,  wears  a  red  hat, 
green  coat,  and  brown  trousers.  A  truckman,  wheeling 
a  hogshead  before  him,  appears  in  a  red  coat  lined  with 
green,  red  cap,  blue  hose,  and  bronze  riding-boots. 
The  village  dandies  seemed  to  delight  in  producing 
ridiculous  effects  by  the  multitude  of  colours  they  wore 
at  the  same  time.  One  side  of  their  costume  would  be 
of  one  colour,  while  the  other  was  composed  of  all  the 
shades  of  the  rainbow  divided  into  different  figures ; 
others  would  appear  in  reel  from  head  to  foot. 
Embroidery  was  also  much  used.  In  the  year  1464 
Bernhard  Eohrbach,  from  Frankfort,  had  the  sleeves  of 
his  coat  so  richly  embroidered  that  they  had  eleven 
ounces  of  silver  on  them. 

Art  in  those  days  was  a  faithful  portrayal  of  life  in 
all  its  varieties  and  absurdities,  its  virtues  and  its  vices, 
the  caprices  and  the  tyranny  of  its  fashions,  its  wealth 
and  luxury,  its  misery  and  its  squalor.  Each  class  and 
condition  of  humanity  is  in  turn  presented  to  our 
vision.  Take,  for  instance,  the  hideous  rabble  in  Martin 
Schongauer's  '  Carrying  of  the  Cross,'  who  are  driving 
the  Saviour  to  His  death.  They  are  clad  in  the  clothes 
which  chance  or  charity  has  given  them.  One  has  an 
overcoat  without  sleeves,  and  his  legs  are  naked ; 
another  has  trousers,  but  his  feet  are  bare,   and  his 


POPULAR  LIFE  AS  REFLECTED  BY  ART     237 

short,  torn  jacket  discovers  a  tattered  shirt.  Another, 
with  naked  shoulders,  wears  a  cap  with  tassels,  from 
under  which  a  long  curl  escapes  and  hangs  down  on 
his  neck.  A  fourth  has  bound  his  head  in  a  kind  of 
cotton  turban,  and  a  fifth  wears  a  shapeless  felt  on  his 
close-cut  hair,  whilst  his  neighbour  lets  his  unkempt 
locks  float  in  the  wind.  Among  the  rabble  we  discover 
figures  that  look  as  if  they  had  seen  better  days.  One 
is  dressed  in  a  garment  trimmed  with  fringe  and  ribbon 
loops,  and  his  arms  are  bared  to  the  elbow.  Another, 
with  laced  shoes  and  naked  legs,  has  wrapped  a  sheep- 
skin round  his  shoulders  as  though  it  were  a  royal 
ermine.  An  old  man  is  clothed  in  a  hermit's  frock. 
The  effect  produced  by  all  these  figures,  and  which  one 
sees  so  often  reproduced  in  the  pictures  of  the  time,  is 
painfully  repulsive,  and  gives  a  vivid  idea  of  the  masses 
who  played  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  politico-eccle- 
siastical strifes  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Amongst  all  this  foppery  and  folly,  however,  the 
workmen,  the  burghers,  the  professional  and  the  scien- 
tific men,  stand  out  in  more  sober  relief.  Both  in  form 
and  colouring  the  dress  of  the  artisans  was  very  simple. 
It  generally  consisted  of  a  short,  convenient,  blouse- 
like garment,  and  tight  or  wide  trousers,  either  coming 
down  over  or  tucked  into  the  boots  or  shoes.  When 
at  work  they  slipped  on  sleeveless  jackets  and  tucked 
their  shirt-sleeves  up  to  their  shoulders.  On  their 
closely  cropped  heads  they  wore  either  caps  or  felt 
hats.  The  dress  of  the  burghers  was  a  short  vest  with 
an  outer  garment  over  it,  either  in  the  shape  of  a  blouse 
closed  in  front  and  put  on  over  the  head,  or  else  a  coat 
open  down  the  front.  This  outer  garment  was  gene- 
rally brown  or  black,  and  lined  or  bordered  with  fur. 


238  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Scientific  and  professional  men  wore  long,  full  robes, 
reaching  to  the  feet,  almost  always  of  a  dark  colour, 
but  occasionally  red.  A  simple  biretta-like  cap  covered 
their  close-cut  hair.  These  distinct  costumes  for  each 
rank  and  position  are  very  characteristic  of  '  the  true, 
honest  German  citizen  '  and  German  domestic  life,  and 
are  truthfully  depicted  by  German  art.  How  home-like 
and  comfortable,  for  instance,  is  the  room  in  which 
Diirer  depicts  St.  Jerome !  It  has  two  windows  with 
small  round  panes ;  the  ceiling  is  of  dark  timber ;  in 
the  corner  is  an  antique  oak  table,  on  which  are  the 
crucifix  and  an  inkstand,  and  the  furniture  is  ample 
and  comfortable.  In  the  background  we  see  the  large 
hour-glass  which  is  considered  an  indispensable  ac- 
cessory in  all  well-regulated  households,  the  row  of 
tapers  ready  lighted,  the  flasks  of  balsam,  and  the 
medicine  case  stocked  with  household  remedies.  There 
lies  also  the  leather  portfolio  with  writing  materials 
and  a  large  scissors.  Beside  the  Eosary  lies  a  brush  ; 
from  the  ceiling  hangs  a  gourd ;  under  the  bench  are 
thick-soled  sabots.  Everything  bespeaks  German  thrift 
and  domestic  comfort. 

Anything  that  may  be  wanting  to  make  this  a  com- 
plete picture  of  a  German  home  is  added  by  Diirer  in 
the  bedroom  of  St.  Anna  after  the  birth  of  the  Virgin, 
A  wide  staircase  with  heavy  balustrades  leads  from  the 
end  of  the  room  to  an  upper  storey;  near  the  door, 
whose  massive  locks  attract  attention,  is  a  washstand 
with  all  its  conveniences,  the  towels  and  brushes  hang- 
ing near.  On  a  shelf  are  seen  a  richly  bound  prayer- 
book,  a  handsome  candlestick,  spice  and  medicine 
boxes.  In  front  of  the  window  is  drawn  up  one  of 
those  comfortable    seats  which  are   yet  to  be  seen  in 


POPULAR  LIFE  AS  REFLECTED  BY  ART     239 

old  German  houses.  There  are  no  chairs  in  the  room, 
but  instead  several  cushioned  seats.  The  table  is  mas- 
sive, and  the  national  carved  chest,  the  repository 
of  the  choice  household  linen,  stands  in  the  corner. 
St.  Anna  lies  in  a  canopied  bed,  and  is  in  the  act  of 
taking  some  soup  or  other  refreshing  beverage.  Every- 
thing around  her  bespeaks  the  perfection  of  housekeep- 
ing. The  sponsors  and  neighbours  gathered  together 
are  also  refreshing  themselves  with  food  and  drink,  and 
one  stout  housewife  in  full  armour  of  side-pocket,  bunch 
of  keys,  and  chatelaine,  seems  particularly  anxious  for 
a  drink.  A  maid-servant  is  in  the  act  of  brinoincr  in  a 
cradle  and  a  bath  for  the  infant  Mary. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  pictures  of  German 
domestic  life  is  Diirer's  '  Holy  Family  at  their  Daily 
Duties.'  Mary  sits  outside  the  door  with  spindle  in  her 
hand,  while  the  infant  Jesus  lies  in  His  cradle,  and 
Joseph  is  making  a  wooden  trough.  Little  angels,  in 
the  shape  of  boys,  are  collecting  the  chips  in  a  basket 
and  at  the  same  time  indulging  in  childish  pranks ; 
one  of  them  brings  a  bunch  of  lilies  of  the  valley 
to  the  young  mother.  It  is  a  faithful  representa- 
tion of  German  life,  where  'everything  is  open  and 
well  regulated ;  where  all  is  peace,  and  freedom,  and 

joy-' 

The  domestic  hearth  was  the  central  point  in  the 
lives  of  our  forefathers,  and  we  cannot  cease  to  admire 
their  skill  in  making  home  comfortable  and  attractive. 
Nothing  that  was  in  daily  use  was  too  trivial  or  ignoble 
to  be  beautified.  The  hand  of  the  artist  was  observ- 
able in  the  balustrades,  the  ceilings,  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, the  stoves  and  the  candelabra.  Even  tjie  com- 
mon kitchen  furniture  of  a  burgher's  house,  of  which 


240  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

some  samples  are  still  extant,  betrays  the  same  care. 
Thus  it  was  with  excusable  pride  that  Wimpheling  said 
that  Germany  deserved  universal  admiration  not  only 
on  account  of  its  sublime  creations  in  painting,  sculp- 
ture, and  architecture,  but  also  in  the  originality  dis- 
played in  the  making  of  common  things.  This  may 
be  explained  by  the  sympathy  which  existed  between 
the  artists  and  mechanics. 

Art  had  grown  out  of  manual  work  as  a  flower 
from  its  stem,  and,  retaining  its  close  connection  with 
its  fountain-head,  it  continued  to  exercise  the  most  im- 
portant influence  on  all  the  productions  of  artisans 
or  mechanics.  The  earliest  artists,  indeed,  called  them- 
selves mechanics.  For  instance,  in  the  early  documents, 
Syrlin  of  Ulm  is  described  as  'joiner,'  Adam  Kraflft  as 
'  stonecutter,'  and  Peter  Vischer  as  '  coppersmith.'  The 
architect  of  a  cathedral  was  not  above  designing  a 
simple  villa.  The  carver  of  the  choir-stalls  also  made 
house  furniture.  The  most  renowned  painters  used 
their  talents  for  decorating  houses,  painting  windows, 
or  illuminating  the  coats  of  arms. 

Artists  and  mechanics  worked  in  conjunction  and 
perfected  each  other.  The  latter  aimed  at  artistic 
merit  in  their  work,  but  had  no  wish  to  overstep  its 
limits,  finding  in  their  workshops  sufficient  employment, 
remuneration,  renown,  and  pleasure.  The  simplest 
work  was  a  labour  of  love,  and  hence  the  lasting  im- 
pression which  it  was  able  to  produce.  Art  and  art 
handiwork  found  ready  welcome  and  encouragement 
amongst  the  well-to-do  classes,  who  were  proud  of  pos- 
sessing treasures  of  art  grown  on  native  soil,  '  beautiful 
things  of  home  production.' 


241 


CHAPTEE  V 

MUSIC 

While  architecture,  sculpture  and  painting,  woodcutting 
and  copper  engraving,  were  making  such  progress, 
music,  the  mightiest  of  arts,  was  by  degrees  attaining 
to  perfection.  From  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century 
the  number  of  German  composers  was  unusually  large, 
and  their  compositions  of  very  high  merit.  Musical 
advantages  were  so  very  great  that  even  mediocre 
talent  had  a  chance  of  reaching  a  high  grade  ;  indeed, 
all  branches  of  art  were  studied  and  practised  as  labours 
of  love,  and  by  an  appreciative  people.  Music,  being 
pre-eminently  calculated  to  express  religious  sentiment, 
took  a  high  position ;  professors  of  the  art  were  the 
most  highly  thought  of,  whether  in  cathedral,  chapel,  or 
college. 

The  actual  basis  of  the  new  school  of  music  was  the 
Gregorian  Chant.  On  this  the  German  masters  built 
up  a  true  science  of  Church  music,  in  the  polyphonous 
structures  of  which  the  whole  deep  meaning  of  the  old 
Church  hymns  is  developed.  In  their  grand  Masses,  as 
well  as  in  their  motetts  on  psalms,  antiphons,  or  Church 
hymns,  there  is  a  close  analogy  to  the  architectural 
wonders  of  the  age.  The  same  harmony,  exactness, 
and  symmetry  pervades  both,  and  as  in  architecture  a 
strict  mathematical  intelligence  was  at  work,  subduing, 
controlling,    animating,    and    spiritualising    the    hard, 

vol.  i.  R 


242  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

lifeless,  concrete  material  of  stone,  wood,  or  metal,  so 
in  music,  by  the  same  conformity  to  law  and  orderly 
development,  out  of  the  bare  mathematics  of  sound  the 
most  wonderful  harmonies  were  let  loose. 

The  merit  of  perfecting  the  harmony  of  many 
voices  is  due  to  South  Germany,  where  the  high-class 
music  of  the  Minnesingers,  as  well  as  popular  songs, 
were  more  plentiful  and  vigorous  than  elsewhere,  and 
where  organ-building  and  organ-playing  were  earliest 
brought  to  perfection. 

The  '  Lochamer  Song  Book,'  which  is  one  of  the 
oldest  musical  works,  dating  from  the  commencement 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  is  a  monument  of  considerable 
artistic  proficiency ;  but  the  many  exquisite  melodies 
contained  in  it  are  collected,  not  only  from  South 
Germany,  but  also  from  the  Netherlands.  Another  con- 
temporary witness  to  the  musical  proficiency  of  the  Low 
Countries  is  a  book  of  songs  published  at  Augsburg  in 
the  year  1458. 

William  Du  Fay,  of  Hainault  (1474),  Jacob  Obrecht, 
supposed  to  have  been  born  on  the  Ehine  (1507),  and 
Johann  Ockenheim,  from  Flanders  (1512),  are  con- 
sidered the  pioneers  of  all  musical  schools  down  to  our 
time.  The  works  of  Ockenheim  combine  a  profound 
knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  music  with  wonderful  skill 
in  harmony  and  rich  original  melody.  We  seem  to 
hear  his  very  soul  breathing  in  his  compositions,  so  full 
are  they  of  tender  sentiment  and  of  deepest  feeling. 

His  greatest  pupil  was  Josquin  de  Pres,  whose 
praises  were  loudly  sung  by  his  contemporaries.  '  His 
genius,'  said  Heinrich  Loritz  of  Glarus,  in  his  '  Dodeca- 
chordia,'  '  was  such  that  he  could  do  what  he  liked  ; 
no  one  exceeded  him  in  power  of  expression  or  dexterity 


music  243 

•of  execution  ;  no  one  was  more  thoroughly  master  of 
his  subject,  just  as  no  Latin  epic  poet  could  compare 
with  Virgil.'  Adrian  Coclicus,  of  Nuremberg,  who 
studied  under  Josquin,  spoke  of  his  master  as  follows  : 
'  He  was  the  first  of  those  music  kings  who  surpassed 
all  others  because  they  not  only  taught,  but  they  knew 
how  to  unite  theory  with  practice,  understood  all  the 
different  schools,  and  could  give  expression  to  all  the 
emotions  of  the  soul.'  When  Josquin  discovered  real 
talent  in  a  pupil  he  immediately  taught  him  to  compose 
and  arrange  several  parts.  He  thought  the  power  of 
composing  very  rare,  and  it  was  against  his  principles 
to  encourage  mediocrity,  saying  there  were  already 
such  glorious  works  left  us  by  the  old  masters  that 
there  is  not  one  in  a  thousand  who  could  equal  or 
better  them. 

Jacob  Obrecht  far  surpassed  both  Ockenheim  and 
Josquin  in  sublimity  and  simple  beauty  of  style. 
Glareau  says :  '  Obrecht's  works  are  filled  with  wonder- 
ful majesty  and  simplicity  ;  he  sought  after  effect  and 
technical  beauty  to  a  less  degree  than  Josquin,  depend- 
ing on  the  natural  impression  of  his  creations  on  the 
audience.  It  is  said  that  his  imagination  was  so 
creative  that  he  was  able  to  compose  a  whole  Mass  in  a 
night. 

Obrecht  lived  some  time  in  Florence  at  the  Court  of 
Lorenzo  di  Medici,  and  there  met  his  countryman, 
Heinrich  Isaak,  who  from  1475  to  1480  was  Capel- 
meister  at  San  Giovanni,  and  gave  lessons  to  the 
children  of  the  music-loving  Medici.  In  Florence 
Obrecht  was  treated  with  such  distinction  that  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  appointed  him  his  diplomatic, 
agent  to  Lorenzo.     He  spent  his  last  years  at  the  Court 

K  2 


244  HISTORY   OF   TILE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

of  Maximilian,  and,  together   with   Josquin,  was   the 
pride  fo  the  imperial  orchestra. 

Heinrich  Isaak  ranks  among  the  most  renowned 
musicians,  not  alone  of  his  own,  but  of  all  succeeding- 
centuries.  Among  his  best-known  works  were  two 
motetts,  in  six  parts,  planned  on  a  grand  scheme,  com- 
posed to  glorify  the  highest  spiritual  and  temporal 
powers,  as  represented  by  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor. 
Another  motett  on  a  hymn  to  the  Virgin  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  best  examples  of  sweetness  and  purity  of 
style.  His  principal  work,  an  arrangement  of  the 
Offices  of  the  Church  for  Sundays  and  Holy  Days,  con- 
tains the  most  instructive  models  for  the  study  of  the 
Gregorian  chorale  and  figured  counterpoint.  In  this 
last  work  his  pupil,  Louis  Senfl  of  Zurich,  a  man  of 
deep  religious  feeling  and  of  brilliant  imagination, 
aided  him  not  a  little.  Among  Senfl's  composi- 
tions, the  one  commencing  'Eternal  God!  at  whose 
command  the  Son  came  upon  the  earth  '  is  a  jewel. 
It  belongs  to  those  historical  songs,  in  the  widest 
sense  of  the  word,  which  embody  the  spirit  of  a  whole 
epoch. 

Another  very  distinguished  composer  of  religious 
hymns  of  the  fifteenth  century  worthy  of  mention  was 
Heinrich  Finck,  Capelmeister  to  the  Polish  Court  at 
Cracojjv  from  1492.  The  finale  of  his  pilgrim  canticle, 
'  In  Thy  name  we  journey  on,  Lord,'  shows  all  the  fire 
of  Handel's  great  choruses.  His  numerous  arrange- 
ments of  Latin  hymns  are  fine  and  solemn  compositions. 
His  '  Seven  Salutations  to  the  Suffering  Eedeemer,' 
motetts  for  four  or  six  voices,  are  full  of  beauty  and 
technical  correctness,  and  breathe  the  tenderest  piety. 
Contemporary  German   art  can  show  hardly  anything 


music  245 

of  equal  inspiration,  except  perhaps  Albrecht  Diirer's 
woodcuts  of  '  The  Passion.'  It  has  also  been  compared 
to  the  fine  arrangement,  in  four  parts,  of  the  '  Lamen- 
tations '  by  the  German  Stephen  Mahu,  the  precursor 
of  Palestrina,  and  almost  a  contemporary  of  Finck's. 
The  dean,  Arnold  von  Bruch  of  Laibach,  composed  in 
the  same  spirit  as  Finck  and  Mahu,  and  his  works,  full 
of  sublimity  and  tenderness,  are  among  '  the  best  in  this 
branch  of  music' 

The  religious  music  of  that  period  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  that  aesthetic  perfection  which  consists 
in  uniformity  of  the  parts  making  a  grand  whole.  In 
spite  of  the  greatest  variety  of  expression,  there  is 
always  the  same  basis  of  Church  music.  One  leading 
purpose  informs  the  whole,  giving  everywhere  '  measure 
and  proportion,  life  and  movement,  light  and  colour.' 
The  harmony  wells  up  from  the  heart  of  the  idea,  and 
hence  is  always  characteristic,  true,  and  various.  If, 
perchance,  as  in  the  late  Gothic  architecture,  some 
artificialities  have  crept  in  in  the  works  of  the  best 
masters,  the  essential  substance  remains  always  unspoilt 
by  such  tradition ;  and,  like  priests  of  the  hostile 
influences,  the  artists,  indeed,  were  always  freer  from 
these  the  more  firmly  they  held  to  the  ground  of  eccle- 
siastical tradition,  and  laboured  as  high  priests  of  the 
beautiful  for  the  service  of  the  altar.1 

A  like  creative  enero-v  was  manifested  in  the  treat- 
ment  of  'secular  matter.  Almost  all  the  foremost 
writers  of  sacred  music  composed  exquisite  melodies 
for  the  national  lyrics,  and  not  seldom  struck  a  chord 
which    finds    an    echo    to    this    day.       They    are    in 

1  Bernald  makes  a  grave  mistake  when   he  asserts   that  the  most 
brilliant  epoch  of  German  music  dates  from  the  Reformation. 


246 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 


wonderful  sympathy  with  the  sentiment,  and  give  the- 
deep  expression  which  is  wanting  to  the  words ;  so 
that,  as  the  Nuremberger  John  Ott  expresses  it,  '  the 
listener  pauses  to  consider  the  deep  meaning.' 

The  melody,  for  instance,  which  Heinrich  Isaak 
composed  for  the  song  attributed  to  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,  '  Innsbriick !  I  must  leave  thee,'  is  of 
world-wide  fame.  The  air  by  the  same  composer  to 
the  words  '  My  only  joy  in  the  wide  world '  is  a  pearl 
of  priceless  worth,  and  will  always  remain  an  expression 
of  all  that  is  most  sweet  and  tender  in  the  German 
national  character.  Heinrich  Finck's  songs  are  also 
pervaded  by  this  same  earnest,  religious  tone. 

German  humour  asserted  its  sway  in  music  just  as 
much  as  in  sculpture  and  painting.  Every  shade  and 
degree  was  represented,  from  the  most  roguish  merri- 
ment to  the  bitterest  satire,  as  may  be  seen  in  such 
specimens  as  Malm's  '  Es  wolt  ein  alt  Man  auf  die 
Bulschaft  gan  '  (An  old  man  would  a-wooing  go) ;  Isaak's- 
song  of  the  '  Peasant's  Little  Daughter  ' ;  Senfl's  '  Laub, 
gras,  und  bliih,'  and  Finck's  peasants'  drinking  song, 
'  Der  Ludel  und  der  Hensel.' 

What  makes  all  the  music  of  this  period  so  pecu- 
liarly delightful  is  its  healthy  piety,  manly  energy  and 
vigour,  constantly  allied  with  tender  sentiment  and 
hearty  enjoyment  of  life — the  same  qualities  which 
pervade  the  works  of  the  masters  of  the  plastic  arts. 

As  the  new  figurate *  music  was  developed  the 
desire  became  ever  stronger  to  perfect  the  material  of 


1  The  term  '  figurate  music  '  (Figuralmusik)  is  used  to  distinguish  the 
music  that  was  capable  of  being  combined  into  many  parts  by  a  rudi- 
mentary kind  of  counterpoint  from  the  unrhythmic,  unisonous  plain  song 
or  canto  formo  of  the  Church,  which  it  had  begun  to  supersede. 


music  247 

its  performance,  and  obtain  a  richer  and  purer  fulness 
of  tone.  The  first  improvement  was  made  in  the 
organ,  the  noblest  of  all  instruments.  A  German 
craftsman  living  in  Venice,  named  Bernhard,  hit  upon 
the  bold  idea  of  tuning  the  manual  of  the  organ  an 
octave  higher,  and  accompanying  the  more  beautiful 
quality  of  sound  thus  produced  by  doubling  the  bass 
notes — i.e.  repeating  them  in  a  lower  octave  ;  his  in- 
vention of  the  pedals1  about  1470  transformed  the 
instrument  into  a  mighty  fabric. 

In  the  year  1475  Conrad  Eosenberg  of  Nuremberg 
built  an  organ  with  manual  and  pedals  for  the  Bare- 
footed Friars,  and  one  for  the  cathedral  at  Bamberg. 
The  orsfan  for  the  Church  of  St.  Lawrence  in  Nurem- 
berg,  said  to  have  been  built  by  Heinrich  Traxdorf,  and 
enlarged  by  the  monk  Leonhard  Marca  in  the  year 
1479,  was  quite  renowned  for  its  magnificence.  In  the 
year  1483  Stephen  Castendorfer  from  Breslau  added 
the  pedal  to  the  cathedral  organ  at  Erfurt.  In  1499 
Heinrich  Kranz  built  the  great  organ  of  the  church  in 
Brunswick,  and  at  the  same  time  a  fine  instrument  was 
built  for  Strasburg.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  nearly  all  the  principal  cities  in  Germany 
possessed  organs  with  pedals.  The  Humanist  Eudol- 
phus  Agricola  is  cited  as  the  builder,  or  at  least  one 
of  the  builders,  of  the  organ  in  St.  Martin's  in  Gro- 
ningen. 

In  proportion  as  the  instrument  itself  was  perfected 
the  players  of  it  became  more  skilful,  and  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifteenth  century  several  priests  and  monks 

1  The  pedal  had  been  already  invented  in  Germany,  and  the  Italians 
gave  Bernhard  the  credit  of  it  because  he  had  introduced  the  invention  into 
Vienna.     Arnold,  pp.  68  69. 


248  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

had  already  earned  high  reputations  as  organists.  Conrad 
Baumann,  born  blind  in  Nuremberg,  reached  such  per- 
fection that  the  poet  Hans  Kosenplut,  in  writing  of 
his  playing,  said,  '  He  restores  courage  to  the  dis- 
heartened.' 

Noch  ist  em  maister  in  diesem  gedicht, 

Der  hat  mangel  an  seinem  gesicht, 

Der  hayst  mauster  Conrad  Paumann, 

Dem  hat  got  solche  gnad  gedan, 

Dass  er  ein  mayster  ob  alien  mayster  ist 

Wan  er  tregt  yn  seitnem  sinnen  list 

Dy  musica  mit  yrm  sussen  don. 

Solt  man  durch  kunst  einem  meister  kron, 

Er  trug  wol  anf  von  golt  ein  knon. 

'  This  poem  tells  of  another  who  has  lost  his  sight. 
His  name  is  Conrad  Baumann,  and  God  has  granted 
him  to  be  master  of  masters.  His  subtle  art  draws 
forth  music's  sweetest  tone.  Surely  if  man  honours 
art  his  must  be  the  golden  crown.' 

He  was  a  visitor  at  many  Courts,  and  the  recipient 
of  rich  presents  on  his  leaving  them,  particularly  at 
those  of  Frederick  (the  Emperor)  and  the  Dukes  of 
Ferrara  and  Mantua.  Italy  raised  him  to  the  dignity 
of  knighthood  in  recognition  of  his  great  talent.  He 
ended  his  days  at  Munich  in  1473,  at  the  Court  of  the 
music-loving  Duke  Albrecht  III.  of  Bavaria.  Bau- 
mann's  works  are  the  oldest  evidences  which  remain 
of  proficiency  in  instrumental  composition.  They  are 
proof  that  the  organ  was  played  very  generally  in 
Germany  at  a  period  when  it  was  almost  unknown  in 
other  parts  of  Europe. 

After  Baumann  may  be  mentioned  Paul  Hofheimer 
from  Eadstadt,  Court  organist  to  Maximilian,  as  the 
father  of  the  highest  method.  In  writing  of  him 
Ottmar  Nachtigall  says  :  '  He  was  never  wearisome  by 


music  249 

lengthiness,  nor  poor  from  brevity ;  wherever  his  mind 
and  hand  could  reach  he  moves  on  with  free  elastic 
gait.      His  most   brilliant   execution   never   interferes 
with  the  majestic  stateliness  of  his  modulations ;  he  is 
never  content  with  producing  something  merely  grand 
and   solemn :    it  must  always   be    also   blooming  and 
delightful.     Not  only  has  he  not  been  surpassed,  but 
he  never  has  been  equalled.'     Many  excellent  organists 
went  out  from  his  school  and  exercised  their  art  in 
Vienna,  Passau,  Constance,  Bern,   Spires,   and   at  the 
Court  of  Saxony.     In  1512  Arnold  Schlick,  organist  at 
the  Palatine  Court  of  Heidelberg,  published  the  '  Spiegel 
der  Orgelmacher'  (The  Mirror  of  the  Organ-makers),  and 
'  Die  Orgel  Tabulatur '  (The  Organ  Keyboard),  works 
which  give  us  much  information  as  to  organ- building, 
and  also  throw  light  on  the  musical  science  of  the  day, 
particularly  as    regards  choral  singing  and  organ  ac- 
companiment.    In  the  practical  application  of  acoustics 
Schlick  was  far  in  advance  of  the  theorists  of  his  own 
and  the  following  century.     He  was  also  a  good  lute- 
player,  and  published  fourteen  pieces  for  that  instru- 
ment. 

The  art  of  lute-playing,  like  the  finer  organ-playing, 
owes  its  origin  to  Nuremberg ;  the  lutes  made  there  by 
Conrad  Gerla  about  1460  were  sought  after  from  far 
and  near.  Charles  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  ordered 
three  of  them  for  his  Court  lutists.  Conrad's  descend- 
ants, the  two  Hans  Gerla,  were  also  good  lute-makers, 
as  well  as  good  players  on  that  instrument  and  on 
the  violin.  No  lute-player,  however,  came  near  to 
the  blind  Conrad  Baumann,  who  was  himself  '  the 
finest  of  all  musical  instruments  and  the  master 
musician.'      Baumann   is    also    the    inventor   of    lute 


250  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

notation.  Besides  Arnold  Schlick,  Hans  Judenkunig,. 
Hans  Gerla,  and  Hans  Neusiedler  published  books 
on  the  lute  which  also  contained  theoretical  in- 
struction. 

The  brilliant  works  of  the  composers  were  not  slow 
to  awaken  the  activity  of  theorists,  authors,  and  pro- 
fessors. The  two  oldest  theorists  were  the  Carmelites 
Johann  von  Erfurt  and  Johann  Goodenach.  The  latter 
was  instructor  of  Franchinus  Gafor,  who  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  Italian  professors  in  the  year  1500.  A  con- 
temporary of  his  was  Johann  Fiirber,  Court  choirmaster 
to  Ferdinand,  King  of  Naples,  and  afterwards  canon  in 
the  church  of  Nivelles.  Trithemius  wrote  of  him  in  the 
year  1495  as  follows  :  'He  is  learned  in  all  branches,  a 
good  musician,  and  a  remarkable  mathematician.  He 
wrote  three  works  on  counterpoint,  one  on  melody, 
and  another  on  the  origin  of  music'  These  works  are 
a  complete  collection  of  the  musical  theories  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  science  in  his  day.  They  are  clear 
and  precise  as  to  matter  and  the  arrangement  of  it, 
written  in  good  Latin,  and  full  of  explanatory  examples, 
either  original  or  drawn  from  the  best  sources. 

The  monk  Adam  von  Fulda  was  also  a  remarkable 
theoretical  musician.  He  published  a  treatise  on  music 
and  arranged  a  motett  on  a  hymn  tune  for  four  voices 
which  gained  great  favour  through  Germany.  Other 
musical  authorities  of  their  day  were  the  priests  Conrad 
von  Zabern  of  Mentz  (1474),  Sebastian  Yirding  from 
Amberg  ;  later,  Jacob  Faber  from  Stablo  (1496)  and 
Michael  Eeinsbeck  from  Nuremberg  (1500).  A  book 
of  musical  instruction,  written  in  1511  by  Johann 
Cochlaus,  rector  of  the  school  of  St.  Lorenz  in  Nurem- 
berg, is  characteristic  of  the  age.     It  is  so  deep  that 


music  251 

one  is  at  a  difficulty  to  believe  that  it  could  be  used  for 
general  instruction,  and  yet  it  was  expressly  designed 
for  the  pupils  of  St.  Lorenz,  who,  together  with  the 
pupils  of  two  other  schools,  had  a  musical  competition 
each  year  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Catherine,  in  the  presence 
of  connoisseurs,  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  rector 
sung  through  the  Mass.  Competitions  in  music  were 
not  uncommon  in  the  German  schools  in  the  fifteenth 
century. 


252  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


CHAPTER  VI 

POPULAE  POETRY 

As  we  have  shown,  the  fine  arts,  particularly  music, 
were  in  their  prime  in  Germany  at  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Poetry,  however,  in  its  limited  sense 
must  be  excepted,  although  we  should  be  wrong  in 
concluding  that  all  poetic  inspiration  had  died  away. 
A  creative  imagination,  which  is  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  poetic  art,  had  already  been  at  work  in  the 
soul-stirring  impressions  made  by  the  masterpieces  of 
the  plastic  art  and  in  the  wonderful  musical  compo- 
sitions. The  material  and  form  were  alone  different. 
Poetry  at  that  time  asserted  her  sway  not  in  words,  but 
in  marble,  in  metal,  in  wood,  in  colour  and  in  tone ;  so 
when  music,  the  forerunner  of  poetry  in  the  gradual 
development  of  a  people  (inasmuch  as  it  is  the  necessary 
accompaniment  and  inspirer  of  the  drama  and  the  epic), 
had  reached  such  perfection,  it  left  the  hope  that  a  new 
springtime  of  poetry  as  an  art  was  at  hand.1 

This  hope  had  still  firmer  grounds.  In  the  first 
blossoming  time  of  literature  the  poetic  art  had  been 
born  of  popular  song ;  in  particular  the  grand,  heroic 
epics  of  the  native  sagas  had  grown  out  of  the  national 
songs.  National  poetry,  however,  had  been  suppressed 
and  arrested  in  its  development  by  the  learned  and 
artistic  poetic  circles  among  the  ecclesiastics  and  the 

1  See  Gervinus,  li.  p.  249. 


POPULAE  POETRY  253 

nobility  ;  but  as  soon  as  this  influence  had  died  out  in 
the  course  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  former  sprang 
up  again  with  renewed  creative  force,  and  its  productions 
might  have  supplied  new  matter  and  life  for  the  poetic 
art  had  not  violent  disturbing  forces  interfered  witli  in- 
tellectual culture  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  revival  of  popular  poetry  kept  pace  with  the 
growth  of  independence  and  the  impulse  towards  free- 
dom in  the  people.  It  was  not  the  heritage  of  any 
particular  class,  but  of  the  whole  nation.  All  traditions 
that  had  been  loved,  all  feelings  that  had  been  cherished 
by  the  people  from  time  immemorial — joy,  sorrow, 
mirth,  or  humour — now  found  vent  and  expression  in 
simple,  effective  lyrics.  And  it  was  just  this  plain,  un- 
cultivated style  that  made  the  deepest  impression, 
because,  like  Nature's  own  utterance,  it  spoke  the  un- 
varnished truth.  Here  we  have  the  real  thiner,  not 
vague  memories  ;  here  are  depicted  our  immediate  sur- 
roundings, the  present  simple  joys,  nothing  far  off  and 
distant;  and  all  is  so  lifelike  and  real  that  the  very 
trees  and  flowers  seem  to  speak  to  us. 

As  the  common  property  of  the  nation,  these  folk- 
songs were  sung  before  the  emperor  and  the  peasant 
alike,  in  the  palace  and  the  cottage,  under  the  village 
linden  on  summer  evenings  and  at  the  festive  board. 
Even  in  the  sacred  house  of  prayer  the  same  melodies 
were  often  sung  that  were  heard  at  the  peasants' 
gatherings.  Words  and  music  were  inseparably  bound 
up  together,  and  both  were  essential  to  the  complete- 
ness of  the  songs.  Verses  were  not  then  made  simply 
to  be  read.  No  poet  ever  published  a  poem  without 
either  composing  a  choral  accompaniment  for  it  or 
adapting  it   to  some  known  melody.      The  poem  de- 


254  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

pended,  to  a  great  extent,  on  the  musical  accompani- 
ment for  its  popularity  and  its  survival. 

It  was  not  alone  by  the  modulations  of  the  voice 
that  the  full  meaning  of  the  folk-songs  was  expressed. 
The  movement  of  the  dance  was  often  so  contrived  as 
to  emphasise  the  poetic  sense.  Many  of  our  present 
rustic  dances  probably  originated  in  these  popular 
songs. 

The  authors  of  such  songs  are  unknown.  Some- 
times it  is  '  The  gay  hunter  singing  to  the  woods  the 
echoes  of  his  heart,'  sometimes  'A  shepherd  com- 
muning with  the  flowers,'  or,  again,  'The  miners' 
•drinking  song  ' : 

Und  der  uns  diesen  Reihen  sang, 
So  wohl  gesungen  hat, 
Das  haben  gethan  zwei  Hauer 
Zu  Freiburg  in  der  Stadt. 
Sie  haben  so  wohl  gesungen 
Bei  Meth  und  kiihlem  Wein, 
Dabei  da  ist  gesessen 
Der  Wirthin  Tochterlein. 

And  he  who  sang  this  song, 

So  well  has  he  sung  it, 

All  about  what  was  done 

By  two  miners  from  Freiburg. 

With  mead  and  cool  wine  full 

Right  merrily  they  sang, 

"While  by  them  sits 

The  host's  fair  young  daughter. 

Sometimes  it  is  a  pious  knight  who  sings  while  he 
rides  through  the  lands,  or  a  maiden  who  bewails  her 
absent  lover. 

This  gift  of  song  was  not  common  to  the  masses, 
but  was  the  possession  of  a  favoured  few,  who  '  voiced 
forth  the  feelings  of  the  people.'  They  were  less  the 
creators  than  the  discoverers  of  the  voices  of  joy  and 


POPULAR   POETRY  255 

sorrow,  of  complaint  and  hope,  which  filled  the  soul  of 
the  nation. 

These  songs,  which  had  power  to  penetrate  the 
innermost  fibres  of  the  heart  and  to  strike  each  note  of 
its  harmonious  chords,  were  soon  carried  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  from  heart  to  heart,  and  became  the  indestruc- 
tible property  of  the  nation,  because  '  A  thought  had 
escaped  from  an  isolated  soul  that  was  common  to 
humanity  and  appealed  to  every  human  heart.' 

These  folk-songs  are  the  pulsations  of  the  nation's 
heart,  embodiments  of  its  joys  and  of  its  sorrows,  and, 
above  all,  of  its  affections. 

The  old  German  songs  surpassed  all  others  in 
originality  and  quaintness,  in  earnestness  and  humour. 
Many  of  them  are  so  chastely  modest,  so  calm  and  un- 
impassioned,  that  they  were  evidently  composed  by 
women.  The  farewell  ballads  are  particularly  touching  ; 
for  instance,  the  following  : 

Min  herz  das  ist  betriibet  ser, 
Das  schafft  ir  friuntlich  scheiden, 
Er  niag  genesen  nimniermer, 
Und  mocht  wol  sterben  vor  leide. 
Min  hoste  cron, 
Ich  muss  dich  Ion, 
Und  muess  davon, 
Wan  ich  muess  iiber  die  heide. 

My  heart  is  very,  very  sad, 
'Tis  absence  gives  it  pain. 
Joy  can  no  more  reach  it, 
But  welcome  sorrow's  death, 
For  I  must  leave  thee  ! 
And  from  my  native  heath 
My  wandering  footstep  guide. 

The  wanderer  journeys  forth,  but  his  heart  fails  him, 
and  he  adds : 


256  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Dort  hoch  auf  jenem  berge 

Da  get  ein  miilerad, 

Das  malet  nichts  denn  liebe 

Die  nacht  bis  an  den  Tag ; 

Die  mule  ist  zerbrochen, 

Die  liebe  hat  ein  end, 

So  g'segen  dich  got,  mem  feines  lieb  ! 

Jez  far  ich  ins  elend.' 

Up  there  on  yonder  hill 
The  mill  wheel  goes  round  ; 
Day  and  night  it  grinds 
True  love,  true  love  alone. 
The  mill  wheel  is  broken, 
And  love,  true  love,  is  dead  ! 

0  God,  rest  thee,  my  treasure, 
"While  I  go  forth  to  misery  ! 

'  To  misery '  means  to  exile.  The  love  of  the  Father- 
land was  so  strong  in  the  ancient  German,  that  to  live 
out  of  it  was  exile  or  banishment,  and  a  source  of  the 
greatest  unhappiness.  The  following  refrain  tells  of  a 
deep,  still  love  : 

Ich  hort  ein  sichellin  rauschen , 
Wol  rauschen  durch  das  Korn, 
Ich  hort  eine  feine  magt  klagen  ; 
Sie  het  ir  lieb  verloren. 

Lass  rauschen,  sichele,  rauschen 
Und  klingen  wol  durch  das  korn  ! 
Weiss  ich  ein  meidlin  trauren, 
Hat  iren  bulen  verloren. 

1  heard  the  sickle  rustle, 
Sweeping  through  the  yellow  corn. 
I  heard  a  maiden  weeping 

For  her  lover  gone  afar. 

Sweep  by,  O  sickle,  sweep  ! 
Sing  through  the  yellow  corn. 
I  heard  a  maiden  weeping 
For  her  lover  gone  afar. 

No  sorrow,  no  love  : 

Es  ist  ein  alt  gesprochen  rat 
Mer  wan  vor  hundert  iaren, 
Und  wer  nie  laid  versuchet  hat, 
Wie  mas  der  lieb  erfaren. 


POPULAR   POETRY  257 

It  is  an  oft-repeated  tale, 
A  century  old  and  more, 
Who  ne'er  in  sorrow  hath  wept, 
Never  in  love  hath  smiled. 

God  guides  : 

Mein  herz  das  ist  betriibet  ser, 

Gott  alle  ding  zum  besten  ker  ! 

Ich  fahr  dahin  mit  schmerzen, 

Ich  sich,  dass  ich's  nicht  wenden  kann, 

Gott  trost  all'  betriibte  herzen. 

My  heart  is  oppressed  to-day. 
God  guides  us  on  our  way. 
I  walk  life's  path  still  tottering, 
I  have  no  strength  within  rne. 
God  helps  the  confiding  heart. 

The  popular  poetry  of  the  age  was  in  close  sym- 
pathy with  Nature,  and  invoked  the  trees  and  flowers, 
birds  and  beasts,  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  to  take  part 
in  its  joy  or  sorrow,  its  earnestness  or  its  humour. 
Sometimes  Nature  is  an  integral  part  of  the  poem,  some- 
times only  the  background  or  the  setting. 

So  long  as  the  Germans  were  free  from  the  passion 
and  bitterness  engendered  by  party  spirit  and  religious 
wars  they  were  great  admirers  of  Nature.  Its  influence 
is  to  be  noted  in  all  their  works  and  ways.  The  annual 
fairs  bore  proof  of  this,  and  so  did  the  arts,  even  when 
pursued  within  the  cloister  or  the  walled  city.  Architec- 
tural art  adorned  the  stone  houses  with  carvings  of 
trees,  flowers,  &c. ;  and  while  the  painters,  even  when 
giving  the  most  purely  spiritual  expression  to  their 
faces,  went  to  Nature  for  their  backgrounds,  German 
poets  knew  no  fitter  symbols  of  human  happiness  than 
the  sun's  effulgence,  the  moon's  beams,  the  bird's  song, 
or  the  woodland  shade.1     Love  of  Nature  was  at  the 

1  Uhland's  work  on  folk-songs  ranks    among   the  best  of  German 
literature. 

VOL.  I.  8 


258  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

bottom  of  life  and  of  poetry,  as  we  see  from  the  folk- 
songs in  their  minute  descriptions  and  keen  observa- 
tion of  its  laws  and  phenomena.  Those  songs,  so  well 
known,  'The  Joyous  Summer-time,'  'Will  you  hear  a 
new  Song  from  the  Box-tree  ? '  '  There  is  a  Linden  in 
the  Vale,'  &c,  seem  ever  fresh  and  new. 

Next  come  the  numberless  hunting  songs,  as  well  as 
songs  of  true  knights,  full  of  humour  and  spirit : 

Wem,  wein  von  dem  Rhein, 
.  Lauter,  claur  und  fein ; 
Dein  varb  gib  gar  lichten  schein 
Als  crystal  und  rubin. 
Du  gibst  Medicein 
Fur  trauren,  schenck  du  ein — 
Dein  craft  wunder  tuot, 
Dem  zagen  gibst  du  muot ! 
Dem  argen  kargen  mildes  pluot ! 

Wine,  wine  from  the  Rhine, 
Pure,  clear,  and  fine, 
Thou  outshinest 
Crystal  and  ruby. 
Thou  solace  of  the  sad  ! 
Thou  cure  of  all  things  bad  ! 
Thou  mak'st  brave  the  coward  ! 
Thou  open'st  the  miser's  heart ! 

The  popular  ballads  and  romances  of  the  Germans 
will  bear  comparison  with  those  of  all  other  nations  ; 
nor  were  they  wanting  in  historical,  warlike,  and  poli- 
tical songs  and  satires.  The  latter  were  used  as  power- 
ful weapons  by  all  classes.  For  instance,  in  the  great 
wars  between  the  princes  and  the  cities  (1449)  the 
following  doggerel  was  aimed  at  the  three  warlike 
bishops  : 

'  The  poor  city  knows  no  longer  where  she  is,  but 
vainly  spills  her  innocent  blood  in  war.  Lord!  take 
care  of  us,  we  pray  ;  for  those  who  should  preserve 
Christians  and  the  Holy  Faith  are  at  the  head  of  armies 


POPULAR   POETRY  259 

•seen.  The  bishop  of  Mentz  leads  the  dance ;  better 
that  he  should  lead  the  choir.  The  bishop  of  Bamberg 
follows  in  his  train,  and  he  of  Eichstadt  fills  up  the  set. 
Battle  wild  has  killed  sweet  charity.  Because  the  holy 
propagators  of  Faith  and  Christianity  have  forgotten  to 
sermonise,  0  God,  we  turn  to  Thee.' 

This  was  answered  by  the  upholders  of  the  princely 
party.  The  cities  are  accused  of  having  destroyed 
churches  and  monasteries,  not  sparing  even  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  The  peasants  and  the  people  were  accused 
of  rivalling  the  nobility  in  pride  and  pomp  until  it 
became  unbearable  : 

'  They  believe  themselves  unequalled,  and  call  them- 
selves the  " Eoman  Empire,"  while  they  are  but  peas- 
ants. Formerly  they  stood  behind  the  door  when  the 
princes,  who  governed  the  land  and  the  people,  passed 
by.  The  King  Sigismund  must  surely  have  been  bereft 
of  sense  when  he  permitted  those  people  to  carry  fife 
and  drum ;  it  puffed  them  up  with  pride,  and  they  as- 
sumed what  by  right  belonged  to  the  princes  alone.' 

At  the  close  of  the  song  is  a  wish  for  the  success  of 
the  princes'  party  : — 

'  That  success  follow  the  nobles  in  ending  all  this 
peasant  turbulence  pray  I  with  all  my  heart ;  and  may 
the  people  get  nothing  but  humiliation,  pain,  and  re- 
pentance.' 

Cyriacus  Spangenberg  writes  in  his  chronicles  of 
Mansfeld,  in  the  year  1452  :  '  Songs  were  made  and 
sung,  exhorting  the  rulers  to  maintain  justice  in  the 
government ;  not  to  allow  too  much  power  to  the  nobles 
or  too  much  luxury  to  the  citizens,  and  not  to  overtax 
the  country  people ;  to  keep  the  highways  safe,  and 
to  see  that  justice  and  equity  were  done  to  all.' 

s  2 


260  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

There  was  universal  complaint  of  the  want  of  mode- 
ration and  justice,  particularly  with  regard  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  recently  adopted  Eoman  Code,  on 
account  of  their  unjust  judgments  of  the  people. 

In  a  street  ballad  written  before  1474  the  jurists 
and  doctors  of  the  law  are  satirised.  They  are  called 
by  the  populace,  'Law-benders,' 'Purse-cutters,'  'Blood- 
suckers.' In  a  pamphlet  written  in  the  year  1493 
we  find  the  judges  threatened  with  expulsion,  and  the 
princes  exhorted  not  to  love  the  Jews,  with  whom  they 
were  accused  of  having  transactions. 

'  Now  that  which  is  worst  of  all  is  that  the  princes 
will  sro  with  the  dosrs  of  Jews  who  rob  all  the  Chris- 
tians.  Herren  princes,  will  }^ou  hear  me  ?  You  are  in 
danger ;  they  curse  you  vengeance  from  morning  until 
night.  If  you  love  God  avoid  three  things  on  earth : 
Set  not  your  heart  on  usury.  Make  not  justice  your 
slave  if  you  will  be  saved.  Love  not  the  Jew;  give 
him  not  your  confidence.  He  is  the  thief  of  your  soul 
and  the  insulter  of  Our  Lady.' 

Nor  were  the  clergy  spared,  particularly  those  who 
belonged  to  the  nobility,  and  cared  only  for  the  income 
of  the  benefices,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  gaming  and 
luxury. 

'  Their  conduct  causes  us  much  pain.  What  they 
should  restrain  in  us,  that  they  do  themselves  every 
day.  It  is  a  world-wide  complaint ;  they  dishonour 
the  name  of  priest.' 

Brigandage  by  the  nobles  became  unbearable ; 
things  even  came  to  such  a  pass  that  it  was  looked  on 
as  an  honourable  amusement,  and  was  actually  taught 
systematically. 

In  1478  Werner  Eolewink  tells  us  with  much  detail 


POPULAR  POETRY  261 

how  the  young  nobles  in  Westphalia  were  regularly 
trained  to  become  freebooters.  While  riding  in  the 
field  they  would  sing  in  their  native  patois  : 

Ruten,  roven,  det  en  is  gheyn  schande, 
Dat  doynt  die  besten  van  dem  lande. 

To  ride  and  to  rob  is  no  shame  ; 
The  best  on  the  land  do  the  same. 

To  which  the  peasants  answered  in  their  turn : 

Hangen,  raden,  koppen,  stecken,  en  is  gheyn  sun. 
Wer  dat  nicht,  wy  en  behelden  neit  in  dem  munde. 

Let  us  hang,  root  out,  cut,  shut  up  ;  'tis  no  sin. 
He  who  will  not  do  it  will  have  nothing  left. 

Innumerable  folk-songs  of  a  severe,  satiric,  and 
denunciatory  nature  were  directed  against  the  heretical 
innovators  who  attacked  the  unity  of  the  Church,  and 
also  against  the  Swiss  who  showed  a  desire  to  serve 
under  the  French  against  the  Emperor.1 

Song  was  the  popular  passion.  The  people  sang 
because  '  There  is  nothing  that  can  rejoice  the  soul  like 
a  refrain  sung  from  the  heart.'  They  said  :  '  It  is  well 
.at  all  gay  gatherings  and  pastimes  to  sing  good  German 
songs  in  order  to  prevent  gossip  and  drinking.'  We 
find  in  a  prayer-book  written  in  1509,  '  Where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  let  there  be  singing.  Sing 
during  your  work  in  house  and  field,  at  your  seasons 
of  prayer  and  devotion,  in  times  of  joy  and  in  times  of 
sorrow.  Good  songs  are  agreeable  to  God  ;  bad  ones 
are  sinful,  and  must  be  avoided.  Singing  to  the  honour 
of  God  and  His  saints — singing  such  as  is  heard  in 
Christian  churches  on  Sundays  and  feast-days — the  sing- 
ing of  servants  and  children  collected  before  the  worthy 

1  Wimpheling  gives  this  as  a  proof  of  the  general  religious  excitement 
and  of  the  popular  dislike  to  the  Hussites. 


262  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

heads  of  families,  is  particularly  edifying,  and  disposes- 
the  heart  to  joy.     God  loves  the  cheerful-hearted.' 

Lyric  poetry  is  the  truest  index  of  the  character  of 
a  nation,  and  may  be  called  the  breath  and  pulse  by 
which  we  can  measure  the  force  of  its  life.  In  Germany 
this  life  manifested  itself  both  in  the  secular  folk-songs 
and  in  the  hymns  used  in  private  life,  in  the  canticles 
sung  at  divine  service  in  the  churches  and  at  the  many 
religious  gatherings  of  the  people. 

As  early  as  from  the  ninth  century  religious  hymns 
in  various  dialects  had  existed  in  Germany.  Those  few 
examples  which  are  preserved  dating  from  the  thirteenth 
century  bespeak  the  simple  faith  and  piety,  and  deep 
religious  sentiments  of  the  people.  In  the  year  1148 
the  provost  Gerhoh  of  Eeichsberg,  in  his  commentary 
on  the  Psalms,  wrote  :  '  All  over  the  world  the  praise  of 
the  Saviour  is  sung  in  the  native  tongues  of  the  different 
countries ;  particularly  is  this  the  case  among  the 
Germans,  whose  language  is  so  well  fitted  to  this  pur- 
pose.' The  monk  Godfrey,  who  accompanied  St. 
Bernard  (1146-1147)  when  he  preached  the  crusade, 
wrote  as  follows  to  the  bishop  Hermann  of  Con- 
stance :  '  As  soon  as  we  left  German  soil  your  hymn, 
"  Christ  be  gracious,"  ceased,  and  no  one  was  there  to 
sing  God's  praise  like  your  countrymen.  The  Italians, 
especially,  have  no  hymns  of  their  own  in  which  they 
can  glorify  God  for  all  His  wondrous  works.' 

From  the  twelfth  century  onwards  we  get  more  and 
more  information  concerning  the  German  hymns  which 
were  used  at  divine  service,  and  for  pilgrimages,  pro- 
cessions, and  mystery  plays.  Hymns,  we  learn,  were 
even  sung  at  battles.  In  1410  we  find  the  knights  of 
the  Teutonic  order  singing,  '  Christ  is  arisen.'     At  the 


POPULAR  POETRY  263 

bloody  field  of  Tannenberg,  and  in  1167,  at  the  battle 
of  Tusculum,  the  German  army  sang, '  Christ,  Thou  Who 
wert  born  ' ;  while  the  archbishop  Christian  of  Mentz 
led  the  attack,  bearing  the  flag  in  his  hand.  The  canticle 
that  precedes  preaching,  '  Come,  oh  Holy  Ghost ! '  the 
Christian  hymn,  '  A  beauteous  Babe  ' ;  the  Easter  song, 
'  Christ  is  arisen  ' ;  and  that  for  Pentecost,  '  Let  us 
invoke  the  Holy  Spirit,'  date  from  the  thirteenth  century. 
In  speaking  of  the  last- mentioned  the  famous  preacher, 
Brother  Berthold  (dead  in  1272),  said,  'It  is  a  very 
profitable  hymn.  You  should  sing  it  often  and  with 
devotion,  in  order  to  raise  your  hearts  to  God  and  to 
call  Him  to  your  aid.  It  was  a  happy  thought,  and  he 
was  a  wise  man  who  composed  it.'  Berthold  urged 
any  among  his  hearers  who  had  the  power  to  compose 
another  like  it.  In  an  Easter  hymn,  attributed  to  the 
pastor  Conrad  of  Queinfort,  we  read  in  the  fifth  verse : 
'  Sing  forth  in  accents  sweet  and  soft,  ye  faithful  in 
the  church ;  ye  priests  in  the  chancel.  Now  let  your 
song  come  forth  and  proclaim  Christ  is  arisen.  To-day 
hath  He  burst  the  bands  of  death.' 

In  the  fourteenth  century  the  Benedictine  monk 
Johann  of  Salzburg  was  the  most  zealous  advocate  of 
Church  hymns.  He  made  a  very  valuable  collection  of 
the  best  of  the  ancient  ones,  which,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  secular  priest,  he  set  to  music.  At  the  end  of  the 
Middle  Ages  there  were  still  extant  many  hymns  which 
were  written  in  imitation  of  his  style  and  set  to  his 
compositions.  In  the  fifteenth  century  Heinrich  von 
Laufenberg,  deacon  of  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau,  about 
1445,  and  later  a  monk  in  Strasburg,  arranged  many 
religious  songs  to  popular  melodies. 


264 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


The  fifteenth  century  was  an  essentially  prolific 
period  in  the  production  and  development  of  sacred 
song.  The  struggles  for  reform  in  the  Church,  the 
awakened  spirit  of  culture,  and  the  increase  of  German 
Bibles  and  books  of  piety,  all  favoured  this  growth. 
Even  the  religious  controversies  of  the  times  contributed 
to  the  same  end,  for  the  heretics  who  used  poetry  as  a 
means  of  spreading  their  doctrines  had  to  be  met  with 
their  own  weapons. 

By  the  invention  of  printing  with  movable  type 
it  became  possible  to  convert  into  common  property 
a  number  of  beautiful  hymns  which  had  hitherto 
been  confined  to  certain  districts,  and  many  of  the 
hymns  used  in  Germany  at  the  present  day  date  back 
to  1470  and  to  1520.  In  one  of  his  sermons  Martin 
Luther  said :  '  The  papists  had  beautiful  hymns  and 
canticles  ;  for  example,  "  0  Thou  Who  hast  conquered 
hell  and  vanquished  the  devil,"  also  "  Christ  arose  from 
all  His  tortures."  They  sang  them  from  their  hearts. 
At  Christmas  they  sang,  "  To-day  a  beauteous  babe  is 
born  to  us  "  ;  at  Pentecost  they  sing,  "  We  pray  Thee, 
O  Holy  Ghost !  "  and  during  the  Mass  is  heard  the 
beautiful  canticle,  "  Oh,  God  be  praised  and  blessed, 
Who  has  fed  us  with  His  own  flesh." ' 

The  more  the  love  of  song,  both  sacred  and  secular, 
was  developed  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
the  more  did  the  national  melodies  also  improve ;  and 
musical  composers  were  filled  with  emulation  to  produce 
worthy  settings  for  the  melodious  lyric  emanations  of 
the  nation. 

The  number  of  hymns  arranged  for  four  voices  by 
Erhard  Oeglin  are  proofs  of  the  great  advance  of  this 


POPULAR   POETRY  265 

art  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.1  Such 
hymns  as  the  following  were  very  popular  :  '  Christ  is 
arisen,'  '  Let  us  invoke  the  Holy  Spirit,' '  In  God's  name 
we  live,'  '  A  loaded  ship  approaches,'  '  I  know  a  beauti- 
ful May,  the  fairest  time  of  the  year,'  '  Oh,  blessed  the 
day ! '  '  Christ,  Thou  mild  and  good  ! '  '  Three  holy 
women  went  by,'  '  Praise  to  Thee,  0  Jesus  Christ ! ' 

*  God  lives  within  us,'  '  God  be  praised  and  blessed,' 

*  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Thou  Lord  and  God,'  '  Through 
Christ  crucified  do  we  live,'  '  Eejoice,  0  Christendom ! ' 
'  Tender  Mary,  heavenly  maid  ! '  '  Like  a  fair  rose  didst 
thou  spring  up,'  '  In  remembrance  of  Jesus'  agony  in 
the  garden  do  I  cry  to  Thee  in  my  wants,'  '  Thou  inter- 
cessor with  God,'  '  Lord  God !  Who  takest  the  name 
of  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  us  ! '  '  Praised  be  Jesus  and 
Mary.' 

These,  like  many  such  hymns,  were  a  synopsis  of 
the  law,  making  Christ  the  beginning  and  the  end  of 
all  salvation.  What  a  number  of  tender  and  beautiful 
hymns  we  find  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  and  the  saints ! 
But  dependence  on  the  Saviour  is  the  keynote  of 
all,  as  in  the  following :  '  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are 
surrounded  by  death.  From  whom  can  we  seek  de- 
liverance if  not  from  Thee,  0  Lord  ?  Thee  alone,  Whom 
we  have  offended.' 

They  are  permeated  by  a  confiding  faith:  'Jesus, 

1  Luther's  Sammtliche  WerJce,  edit.  Frankfort,  v.  23.  In  rela- 
tion to  Kaweraa's  assertion  that  those  hymns  were  not  sung  in  the 
churches,  see  Ansivers  to  my  Critics,  pp.  61-62.  More  than  half  the 
hymns  attributed  to  Luther  were  of  much  earlier  origin,  and  were 
adapted  to  the  new  doctrines  by  him,  while  others  are  merely  translations 
from  the  Latin.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  he  composed  a  single  one  of  the 
many  for  which  he  gets  credit.     See  Meister,  xvi.  30. 


266  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Thou  comforter  of  the  penitent !  He  who  seeks  Thee 
will  be  comforted  and  saved.'  '  0  Jesus !  sweetest 
source  of  the  heart,  Thou  shinest  more  brilliantly 
than  the  sun.  Thy  goodness  chases  away  all  sorrow 
and  all  the  vanity  of  the  world.'  '  No  tongue  can 
say,  no  pen  express,  He  alone  who  has  felt  sorrow 
knows  the  sweetness  of  loving  Jesus.'  '  Had  I  sacrificed, 
my  young  life  to  God,  my  Creator,  He  would  have  given 
me  His  kingdom.  Oh,  what  happiness  that  would  have 
been  ! '  '  He  suffered  a  painful  death  for  us.  He  forsook 
His  kingdom,  and  for  us  fought  valiantly.'  'Had  I  to 
give  up  the  world  it  would  cost  me  little.  I  shall  turn 
to  Jesus,  and  to  Him  alone.' 1 

The  Christmas  carols,  especially  those  relating  to 
the  flight  into  Egypt,  are  particularly  expressive  of  the 
deep  religious  feeling  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Their 
naive  and  childlike  simplicity  is  unsurpassed  in  the 
realm  of  poetry.  There  are  more  than  a  hundred  of 
such  Christmas  melodies  extant,  the  best  of  which  is 
the  following :  '  Out  of  a  delicate  root  came  forth  a 
rose.  It  sprang  from  Jesse,  as  our  fathers  tell  us,  and 
at  midnight  blossomed  the  little  bud  amidst  the  winter's 
cold.' 

Among  all  creatures  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  the  most 
highly  venerated,  as  '  the  epitome  of  all  the  virtues ' 
and  the  most  powerful  intercessor  with  the  Eedeemer  : 

'  I  have  chosen  a  lovely  maiden.  She  is  of  high 
birth  and  my  heart's  delight.  Yea,  for  many  years  are 
her  praises  sung.  She  hails  from  noble  origin,  and 
comes  from  high  degree.  She  is  like  a  wonderful 
garden  filled  with  fair  flowers.  My  weariness  has 
ceased  since  I  have  beheld  her.     She  is  the  crown  of 

1  Uhland,  i.  p.  866. 


POPULAR  POETRY  267 

women.  She  is  the  crown  of  virgins.  She  is  the 
delight  of  angels.  She  is  the  light  of  heaven.  Neither 
sun  nor  moon  surpasses  her  in  brightness.' 

In  most  of  the  pious  hymns  Christ  is  pictured  as 
the  bridegroom  of  the  Church  and  of  each  soul,  as  we 
may  see  in  the  following  religious  allegory: 

'  We  will  build  a  little  house,  a  retreat  for  our 
soul ;  Jesus  shall  be  master,  Mary  the  directress.  Fear 
of  the  Lord  shall  guard  the  door,  the  love  of  God  be 
the  willing  slave.  Humility  shall  reign  there,  and 
Wisdom  shall  lock  all  in.' 

A  Christian's  longing  after  heaven  speaks  in  every 
line  of  the  following  hymn  : 

'  I  wish  that  I  were  home  and  away  from  worldly 
consolation  ...  in  that  home  where  I  shall  gaze  on 
God  eternally.  Awake,  my  soul !  prepare  thy  wings ; 
the  choir  of  angels  await  thee  there ;  this  earth  is  too 
narrow  for  thee ;  thou  shalt  come  here  no  more.  In 
our  home  above  there  is  life  without  suffering,  health 
without  pain.' 

The  German  hymns  sung  by  the  people  did  not  in 
those  days,  any  more  than  in  these,  belong  to  the 
liturgy  proper ;  nevertheless,  custom  and  their  uni- 
versal use  at  the  different  religious  services  and  obser- 
vances gave  them  something  of  a  liturgical  character. 
They  were  the  outpourings  of  faith  and  joy,  and 
supplemented  the  set  prayers  in  which  the  laity  took 
part  during  the  services.  Not  only  at  the  processions, 
at  the  pilgrimages  on  the  great  feast-days,  and  at  the 
dramatic  representations,  but  before  and  after  sermons, 
as  well  as  after  some  of  the  responses  at  Mass  and 
morning   and   evening    prayers,    they   were    sung    in 


268  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOrLE 

German,  which  led  to  the  remark  of  Philip  Melancthon, 
in  his  '  Apologia  '  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  that  '  the 
custom  of  singing  hymns  in  the  German  language  had 
been  universally  practised.' 

Mystery  Plays 

Sacred  dramatic  representations  kept  pace  with  the 
increase  of  sacred  song.  The  close  study  of  this  ques- 
tion furnishes  a  prolific  means  of  understanding  the 
development  and  inner  working  of  the  German  mind. 

From  the  earliest  Christian  times  divine  service 
assumed,  so  to  speak,  the  symbolic  character  of  sacred 
drama.  The  great  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  itself  is  a  com- 
memorative representation  and  rehearsal  of  the  great 
world-redeeming  tragedy  of  Golgotha.  Each  of  the 
five  parts  marks  the  progress  of  the  propitiatory  offer- 
ing, and  unfolds,  as  it  were,  before  the  eyes  of  the 
people  present  the  great  religious  subject  contained  in 
it.  Hence  the  great  masters  of  music  have  found  in 
the  Mass  the  most  inspiring  subjects  for  their  composi- 
tions. At  High  Mass  the  personal  actors,  so  to  say, 
'  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and  the  people,'  keep  up  con- 
tinuous dramatic  intercourse,  speaking  to  and  answer- 
ing each  other.  Everything  appertaining  to  the  service 
— the  altar,  the  vestments,  colours,  even  the  very 
plan  and  architectural  style  of  the  churches — are  sym- 
bolical. In  the  vesper  office,  with  its  antiphons, 
psalms  and  responses,  parts  are  severally  assigned  to 
the  priest  and  people.  During  the  processions  both 
the  clergy  and  the  lay  helpers  in  their  various  dresses, 
the  guilds  and  associations  with  their  distinctive  badges, 
tapers  and  flags,  contributed  to  the  dramatic  effect. 


POPULAR   POETRY  269 

Besides  these  dramatic  elements  which  we  find  in 
the  Church  services  from  the  earliest  ages,  there  were 
religious  plays  composed  by  the  ecclesiastics.  As  they 
were  meant  for  the  instruction  and  edification  of  the 
people,  they  were  acted  in  the  church  itself,  or  else  in 
the  churchyard  or  cloisters.  The  origin  of  those  plays 
(called  Mystery  Plays)  was  the  use  of  simple  dramatic 
representations  to  illustrate  the  great  truths  of  religion.. 
For  instance,  at  Christmas  there  was  a  representation 
of  the  infant  Saviour  with  His  blessed  mother  bending 
over  Him.  On  Good  Friday  a  crucifix  was  buried  in 
the  ground  and  taken  up  again  on  Easter  morning. 

This  symbolical  treatment  of  festivals  and  Scriptural 
truths  concluded  with  living  representations,  into  which 
allusions  to  local  occurrences  crept ;  and  later  even 
any  comic  element  which  had  reference  to  the  subject 
was  introduced. 

At  the  latter  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  each  part  of 
our  Lord's  career  on  earth,  from  the  Nativity  to  the 
Ascension,  used  to  be  made  the  subject  of  sacred  repre- 
sentation. But  the  story  of  the  Passion  and  the  Eesur- 
rection  held  the  most  prominent  position.  The  Easter 
plays  were  the  most  carefully  worked  up,  and  displayed 
the  greatest  variety  of  illustration,  for  their  object  was 
to  develop  the  great  plan  of  the  world's  redemption. 
They  began  with  the  fall  of  Lucifer  and  his  angels,  and 
their  expulsion  from  heaven.  The  tree  of  knowledge 
was  made  the  type  of  the  Cross — Adam,  dying,  sent 
Seth  to  the  Garden  of  Paradise  to  procure  him  a  fruit 
from  the  tree  of  life.  The  latter  receives  a  twig  from 
the  tree  from  a  cherub  who  sits  at  the  gate  which  will 
cure  his  father  and  give  him  eternal  life ;  but  in  the 
meantime  Adam  having  expired  in  his  absence,  Seth 


270  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

plants  the  twig  on  his  grave,  and  from  it  the  tree  which 
was  to  supply  the  wood  for  the  Cross  grows. 

By  way  of  prologue  to  these  performances,  repre- 
sentations of  the  prophets  and  sibyls  who  had  foretold  the 
coming  of  the  Eedeemer  were  often  introduced,  followed 
by  some  of  the  scenes  and  miracles  of  His  life.  Then 
came  the  awful  tragedy  of  the  Passion,  the  glorious 
scene  of  the  Easter  Eesurrection,  and  not  unfrequently 
scenes  of  the  Last  Judgment  followed  the  whole.  Like 
the  most  sublime  epic,  so  is  the  Christian  drama  tragic 
in  its  nature,  and  it  is  equally  meet  that  Christian 
and  profane  history  should  alike  close  with  the  Final 
Judgment. 

Besides  the  sacred  plays  which  were  concerned 
with  the  life  of  our  Lord,  and  which  formed  the 
principal  group  of  these  ancient  dramatic  compositions, 
there  were  others  relating  to  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Of 
this  class  some  were  devoted  to  her  exclusively,  some 
to  the  mother  and  Son  together ;  others  illustrated 
some  parable  or  legend,  while  others,  again,  referred  to 
Antichrist  and  the  Judgment. 

Among  the  most  important  of  the  latter  group  may 
be  mentioned  one  entitled  '  The  Eise  and  Fall  of  Anti- 
christ,' written  at  Tegernsee.  This  is  the  earliest  play 
of  German  origin,  and  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
dramatic  literature  in  the  Middle  Ages.  It  had  not 
only  an  ecclesiastical  but  a  political  bearing,  by  asso- 
ciating the  idea  of  Antichrist  with  the  princes  and  their 
relations  to  the  Eoman  Emperor  of  the  German  people. 
There  are  evidences  that  this  piece  was  frequently 
played  during  the  fifteenth  century.  It  opens  with 
a  representation  of  several  allegorical  characters, 
followed   by  typical  ones  of  Paganism  and  the  Syna- 


POPULAR   POETRY  271 

gogue.  Next  comes  the  Church,  surrounded  by 
the  symbolical  olive  branches,  and  Justice  holding  in 
her  hand  the  scales  and  sword.  On  the  right  of  the 
Church  stands  the  Pope  with  his  ecclesiastics ;  on  her 
left  the  Emperor  with  his  warriors  and  vassals,  whose 
submission  he  claims ;  '  for,'  so  writes  the  historian, 
'  all  the  world  was  tributary  to  the  Eoman  Empire.' 
This  had  been  accomplished  by  the  courage  of  the 
forefathers,  but  forfeited  by  their  descendants,  who  now 
wished  to  re-establish  the  universal  sovereignty  and 
oblige  the  kings  and  vassals  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
Emperor.  The  Kings  of  Greece  and  Jerusalem  bowed 
to  the  imperial  power,  but  the  King  of  France  only 
submitted  after  many  battles,  whereupon  the  Emperor, 
as  acknowledged  chief  of  all  Christendom,  triumphs, 
and,  together  with  the  pagan  King  of  Babylon,  lays  the 
crown  and  sword  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord  in  Jeru- 
salem, singing,  '  Graciously  take  what  I  bring  Thee, 
King  of  kings ;  Thine  be  the  power ;  only  through 
Thee  do  we  reign.     Thou  alone  art  Master  of  all.' 

But  the  arch-enemy  of  Christianity  arose  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  Antichrist  appeared,  attended  by  Hypocrisy  and 
Heresy.  '  On  thee,'  he  said  to  Hypocrisy,  '  shall  my 
work  be  founded ;  and  thou,'  turning  to  Heresy,  '  slialt 
nurture  its  growth  by  annihilating  the  clergy  for  me.' 
Both  in  turn  assure  him  of  their  services.  '  The  Church 
has  long  tottered,'  sings  Hypocrisy.  '  Vanity  has  long 
held  her  grasp  on  Mother  Church.  Whence  the  lavish- 
ness  of  bedecked  men?  God  loves  not  worldly  pre- 
lates. The  1 1  »yal  heads  are  assuming  extreme  power.' 
'Through  our  timely  advice  you  will  soon  govern  the 
whole  earth  we  have  led  the  laity  to  be  favourably 
disposed    towards   you.     Now    you   will   destroy   the 


272  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

teaching  of  the  priests.'  Antichrist  begins  his  work 
with  the  words,  '  At  last  I  am  born,  after  lying  so  long 
conceived  under  the  heart  of  the  Church.  I  shall  be 
raised  up  and  subdue  power.  I  shall  set  aside  the  old 
and  dictate  the  new.'  The  throne  of  Antichrist  is  seen 
reared  in  the  very  temple  of  the  Lord ;  the  Church  in 
ignominy  and  distress  flies  to  the  Pope.  Antichrist 
summons  each  of  the  kings  to  do  him  homage.  The 
Kin^s  of  France  come  forward  with  their  allegiance, 
and  he  stamps  his  initials  upon  their  foreheads.  The 
German  king,  to  whom  he  sends  presents,  spurns  his 
ambassadors  and  war  is  the  result,  in  which  the  Ger- 
man troops  conquer.  Antichrist  changes  his  tactics 
and  tries  the  influence  of  superstition.  He  cures  one 
who  was  apparently  lame,  heals  a  pretended  leper, 
raises  a  man  supposed  to  be  dead,  and  by  this  means 
wins  over  the  Germans.  The  Emperor  on  bended 
knees  offers  him  his  throne,  flatters  him,  and  receives 
his  crown  back  from  Antichrist.  With  the  assistance 
of  the  Germans,  Antichrist  conquers  the  King  of  Baby- 
lon and  orders  the  crucifixion  of  the  Jews,  who  had  at 
first  acknowledged  him,  but  .who  had  been  converted  by 
Enoch  and  Elias  to  belief  m  Jesus  crucified.  The  power 
of  Antichrist  has  passed  the  limits  of  his  dominion,  and 
from  the  heights  he  thus  proclaims  his  own  glory  : 

'  Here  is  the  fulfilment  of  my  prophets,  my  kindred, 
and  those  who  had  my  rights  at  heart.  This  is  the 
glory  which  they  have  so  long  prepared  for  me.  Those 
who  are  worthy  shall  enjoy  it  with  me ;  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  audacious  whom  vanity  has  blinded, 
safety  and  peace  will  be  secured  to  all.' 

Suddenly  the  rolling  thunder  announces  the  Judg- 
ment.    Antichrist  is  hurled  from  his  throne,  the  hypo- 


POPULAR   POETRY  273 

crites  fly  in  confusion,  the  seduced  repent,  and  the 
delivered  Church  sings  a  joyous  Alleluia.  'Behold 
the  fate  of  those  who  take  not  God  for  their  helper ! 
I  am  like  the  fruitful  olive  tree  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord.     Sing  the  praises  of  our  God.     Alleluia  ! ' 

This  drama,  so  simple  in  its  conception,  must, 
through  its  earnestness  and  realistic  representation, 
have  been  very  impressive,  for  we  find  that  when  it  was 
played  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main  in  1469,  the  authori- 
ties were  obliged  to  protect  the  Jews  from  the  fury  of 
the  populace.1 

At  first  these  Mystery  Plays  were  composed  exclu- 
sively in  Latin.  By  degrees  the  Latin  songs,  scattered 
here  and  there,  became  Germanised,  and  finally  the  old 
text  was  replaced  entirely  by  a  new  German  text.  The 
German  drama  and  German  sacred  song  were  closely 
interwoven  one  with  the  other.  The  lyric-dramatic 
'  Marienklagen  ('  Dolours  of  Mary  ')  belonged  to  the  one 
almost  as  much  as  to  the  other. 

The  Mystery  Plays  became  so  popular  that  in  the 
fourteenth  century  they  were  played  by  the  people  in 
the  village  churches,  and  as  a  proof  of  their  popularity 
it  is  attested  that  they  were  not  written,  but,  like  the 
epics  of  old,  handed  down  like  tradition  from  one  gene- 
ration to  another. 

As  long  as  the  custom  continued  of  "iving  these 
representations  in  the  churches  the  stage  was  always 
erected  under  the  choir  loft.  Later  they  were  held  in 
the    churchyard  and  in  the  market-place.     Here    the 

1  Kriegh,  Burgerthum,  p.  586, n.  419.  'Between  1456  and  1506  there 
were  only  three  representations  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main.'  '  At  Alsfeld 
a  three  clays'  representation  of  the  Passion  was  given  in  the  years  1501, 
1511,  1517.'     Wilken,  p.  110. 

VOL.  I.  T 


274  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

actors  assembled  (not  professional  ones,  for  there  was 
no  charge  for  admission),  but  the  ecclesiastics  and 
scholars  in  the  higher  schools,  and  such  citizens  as 
were  willing  to  take  the  female  characters  or  wished  to 
witness  the  performance.  Following  the  example  of 
the  painters,  who  clothed  their  saints  according  to  the 
fashions  of  the  day,  the  costumes  were  of  local  fashion. 
God  the  Father,  the  angels  and  the  prophets,  were  re- 
presented in  priestly  vestments,  but  Christ  always  in 
bishop's  robes.  It  was  a  matter  of  earnest  religious 
feeling  both  to  the  actors  and  the  audience,  and  the 
performances  always  began  with  the  chant : 

'  Let  us  pray  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preserve  us  in  the 
faith  until  we  leave  this  vale  of  tears  for  our  true 
home.     Kyrie  eleison  ! ' 

Let  me  quote  the  introduction  to  the  play  of  '  St. 
Dorothea  '  as  an  example  of  the  prologues  : 

'  In  all  his  undertakings  man  should  invoke  God's 
help  with  earnestness,  in  order  to  accomplish  his  work 
with  less  sin  and  more  merit.  May  God  and  the  Holy 
Virgin  now  assist  us !  Let  us  all  join  in  saying  the 
canticle  of  the  Holy  Ghost.' 

The  manager  appeared  as  one  of  the  saints,  gene- 
rally St.  Augustine,  or  sometimes  as  Virgil — '  the  ancient 
pagan' — and  explained  the  period  and  circumstances 
of  the  representation.  Each  actor  advanced  to  the 
front  of  the  stage,  repeated  his  part,  and  retired.  The 
choirboys  sang  the  accompanying  hymns,  and  at  the 
conclusion  all  went  to  a  church  service  or  joined  in 
singing  some  appropriate  hymn ;  after  the  Easter  Play, 
for  instance,  'Christ  is  arisen,'  or  'Jesus,  mild  and  holy.' 

These  plays  generally  took  place  in  the  afternoon, 
lasted  several  days,  and  required  a  large  number  of 


POPULAR  POETRY  275 

actors,  especially  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
when  all  branches  of  art  had  arrived  at  such  perfection. 
In  1498  a  Passion  Play  was  acted  at  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main  which  lasted  four  days,  and  gave  such  uni- 
versal satisfaction  that  it  had  to  be  repeated  that  same 
year.  We  read  in  some  of  the  documents  of  the 
Archives  :  '  Those  who  took  part  in  the  Passion  Play  in 
front  of  the  Eoemer  played  each  afternoon  until  the 
Angelus  for  four  consecutive  days,  and  appeared  in 
fine  and  appropriate  costumes.' 

A  four  days'  representation  of  the  Passion  and 
Easter  Play,  ending  with  the  ascension  into  heaven, 
which  was  given  at  Frankfort  in  1506,  required  as  many 
as  276  actors.  This  was  followed  by  a  kind  of  Church 
epic,  in  which  two  actors,  surrounded  by  Christians 
and  Jews,  representing  the  Church  and  the  Synagogue, 
held  a  discussion,  at  the  close  of  which  eight  or  ten  of 
the  Jews  were  baptised  by  the  actor  representing 
St.  Augustine,  the  Synagogue  sending  up  a  wail  of 
lamentation,  while  the  Church  sang  an  '  Alleluia,'  in 
which  the  audience  joined. 

Besides  being  treated  on  the  stage,  these  sacred 
subjects  were  illustrated  by  pictures  in  processions  at 
the  Corpus  Christi  Festival  and  by  tableaux  vivants. 
In  this  manner,  for  instance,  at  Kunzelsau,  in  the  year 
1479,  the  whole  of  Scripture  history,  from  the  Creation 
to  the  Day  of  Judgment,  was  represented  in  groups. 
In  1507  the  city  councillors,  the  different  corporations 
and  religious  societies,  undertook  such  a  play  in  Zerbst. 
In  Freiberg,  Saxony,  'Mysteries'  were  acted  every 
seven  years  at  Whitsuntide.  On  the  First  Sunday  after 
Pentecost  the  Bible  period  extending  from  the  fall  of 
the  angels  to  the  expulsion  from  Paradise  was  repre- 

t  2 


276 


HISTORY   OF   THE    GERMAN   PEOPLE 


sented  ;  on  the  second,  the  redemption  of  the  world,, 
and  on  the  third,  the  Last  Judgment.  These  plays  were 
conducted  on  a  magnificent  scale  and  participated 
in  by  all  classes.  The  chronicles  of  the  time  give 
evidence  of  the  impression  made  by  such  '  elevating 
scenes.' 

Taken  as  a  whole,  these  Passion  Plays  were  very 
instructive  to  the  people.  They  were  looked  forward 
to  with  eager  pleasure  by  old  and  young,  and  they 
exercised  a  highly  moral  influence.  They  had  the 
advantage,  like  the  Greek  tragedies  of  old,  that  their 
subject-matter  was  well  known  to  the  people,  and  one 
or  two  characteristic  traits  sufficed  to  introduce  each 
as  an  old  acquaintance.  The  performers  were  hailed 
with  joy  as  the  impersonations  of  characters  that  had 
been  long  familiar  in  pictures  and  prayer-books,  and 
which  the  audience  were  deeply  interested  to  see 
brought  to  life,  as  it  were,  by  their  own  relatives.  It  is 
easy  to  realise  the  strength  of  the  impression  that  would 
be  produced  by  these  plays  on  large  masses  of  people 
animated  with  the  same  spirit  and  looking  on  them  in 
the  light  of  religious  observances.  The  scenic  effects 
can  mostly  be  compared  to  magnificent  living  pictures, 
raised  so  far  above  the  common  occurrences  of  daily 
life  that  they  forcibly  arrested  and  impressed  the  at- 
tention. What,  indeed,  could  surpass  the  importance 
of  the  subject  treated,  which  was  nothing  less  than  the 
unfolding  of  the  grand  designs  of  God  for  humanity  ? 
In  their  stately  epic  harmony  and  rich  and  varied 
symbolism  these  representations  have  much  in  common 
with  architectural  and  pictorial  art.  The  grouping  of 
the  actors  was  but  a  living  reproduction  of  the  countless 
church  statues,  and  while  their  costumes  were  copied 


POPULAR   POETRY  277 

from  the  paintings  of  the  day,  so  striking  is  the  con- 
nection that  it  has  been  aptly  said  that  the  works  of 
Diirer  remind  one  of  the  Passion  Plays. 

There  was  nothing  monotonous  in  these  Passion 
Plays.  The  writers,  as  well  as  the  artists  of  that  period, 
showed  a  wonderful  richness  of  imagination  in  treating 
supernatural  subjects.  They  blended  the  truths  of 
revelation  and  the  events  of  everyday  life  with  an 
insight  into  the  depths  of  religious  philosophy  worthy 
of  the  Mystics.  Their  grouping  of  the  various  charac- 
ters shows  striking  dramatic  talent.  The  way  in  which 
they  used  scenes  from  the  Old  Testament  as  intro- 
ductions to  the  Mystery  Plays  proper  also  showed 
their  appreciation  of  the  prophetic  connection  between 
the  Old  and  New  Testament.  For  instance,  the  selling 
of  Joseph  into  bondage  by  his  brethren  is  made  to  pre- 
figure the  treachery  of  Judas. 

The  rather  rough  comic  element  which  crept  in  by 
degrees  remained,  in  Germany  at  least,  innocent  and 
harmless  ;  entirely  free  as  it  was  from  anything  like 
malice  it  had,  indeed,  rather  the  effect  of  elevating 
what  was  good  by  force  of  contrast.  The  most  serious 
and  pathetic  scenes  were  frequently  interlarded  with 
coarse  comedy  in  which  swaggering  soldiers,  vendors 
of  patent  medicines,  usurious  merchants  and  Jews  were 
ridiculed.  A  favourite  comic  character  introduced  in 
connection  with  the  Easter  Play  was  the  bargaining 
merchant  who  sold  spices  to  the  two  Marys  on  their 
way  to  the  tomb.  While  he  is  quarrelling  with  his 
wife  over  the  value  of  the  merchandise  his  servant 
amuses  the  audience  with  a  volley  of  the  witticisms, 
slang,  and  invectives  peculiar  to  his  class,  and  of  which 
there  was  a  plentiful  supply  in  the  fifteenth  century. 


2 78  HISTOEY  OF  THE  geeman  people 

Judas  is  made  to  minister  to  the  comic  element  by 
finding,  on  going  out,  that  he  has  been  paid  the  price  of 
his  treachery  in  false  money.  But  the  never -failing 
character  is  the  Devil,  who  at  one  time  is  made  to  take 
the  part  of  a  stupid  bungler,  at  another  of  a  presump- 
tuous braggart,  while  again,  as  in  '  The  Devil's  Net," 
he  figures  as  a  preacher  inveighing  against  himself. 

A  very  remarkable  play,  composed  in  Low  German, 
was  acted  at  Eedentin,  near  Wismar  (1475),  in  which 
the  comic  position  of  the  devils  is  fraught  with  deep 
meaning.  Lucifer,  finding  his  power  overcome  by  the 
mystery  of  the  Eedemption,  sits  chained  in  a  barrel, 
which  is  supposed  to  represent  hell,  and  indulges  in  a 
soliloquy  which  shows  his  bitterness  and  wild  despair. 
The  proof  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ  through  the  Kesur- 
rection,  and  the  deliverance  of  the  souls  in  limbo,  are 
facts  unbearable  to  him.  He  is  not  only  enraged  by 
his  own  damnation,  but  filled  with  envy  and  hate 
towards  redeemed  mankind,  and  bewails  that  a  creature 
whom  he  despised  as  lower  than  himself  will  enter 
heaven,  from  which  he  is  banished.  It  reminds  one  of 
an  illustration  by  Diirer  in  the  famous  Prayer-book  of 
Maximilian,  where  the  Devil  is  screaming  and  tearing 
his  hair  at  the  Incarnation.  Chained  fast  himself, 
Lucifer  sends  his  devils  out  into  the  world  in  order  to 
drag  men  into  hell ;  but  they  act  stupidly,  and  are  at 
last  all  sent  in  a  body  to  Liibeck,  where  he  sees  a  rich 
harvest.  Then  follow  clever  satires  aimed  at  the  pre- 
vailing abuses  and  weaknesses.  As  Dante  in  his  '  Divine 
Comedy '  introduces  the  various  political  questions  of 
his  time,  so  does  this  poet  of  the  Middle  Ages  make  use 
of  the  feuds  existing  between  the  houses  of  Liibeck  and 
Wismar,  and  by  this  local  colouring  adds  materially  to* 


POPULAR   POETRY  279 

the  point  of  his  satire.  Both  cities  were  open  to  the 
reproach  of  dishonesty  in  trade,  and  so  we  see  bakers, 
cobblers,  tailors,  innkeepers,  weavers  and  butchers 
coming  forward  and  confessing  their  peccadilloes  to  the 
Devil.  In  cutting  irony  the  author  makes  them  beg 
forgiveness  of  him,  as  though  he  were  the  judge  on  the 
Last  Day  and  had  power  to  absolve  them. 

The  satire  is  principally  directed  against  the  Ger- 
mans, inasmuch  as  it  is  in  the  German  and  not  in  the 
Slavonic  States  that  the  Devil  is  represented  as  seeking 
for  souls.  Lucifer  speaks  German  to  the  devils  and  to 
sinners.  Addressing  Satan,  he  says  :  '  Don't  you  under- 
stand German  better — do  you  think  that  I  am  a 
Slav  ? '  Satan  brings  in  a  priest  whom  he  has  sur- 
prised indulging  in  worldly  thoughts  while  reading  the 
service,  but  the  priest  makes  hell  so  intolerable  to  the 
devils  that  he  is  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  a  neighbouring 
marsh.  Satan  complains,  but  Lucifer  mocks  him,  and 
tells  him  that  he  should  have  left  the  priest  in  peace. 
The  latter's  threats  of  the  Final  Judgment  make  no  im- 
pression on  Lucifer,  for  it  is  so  far  away,  and  in  the 
meantime  hell  can  be  filled.  The  proposed  end  of  the 
author  is  to  warn  his  audience  against  presumption. 
Lucifer  sends  forth  frightful  screams,  he  knows  no 
peace,  and  his  hate  for  mankind  urges  him  to  follow 
them  with  constant  temptations  ;  to  men  of  goodwill 
alone  is  peace  promised,  and  the  prayer  for  the  dead, 
'  Give  them,  0  Lord,  eternal  peace ! '  closes  the  play. 

In  the  prose    and  poetry  as  well  as  in  the   sculp- 
ture  of    the    Middle   Ages   we    find    the    punishment 
of    ecclesiastical  dignitaries  a   fruitful  field  of  satire 
We  often    see    the  Devil    tying   priests,    monks,    and 


280 


HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


high  officials  with  ropes  and  dragging  them  into  the 
abyss  of  hell.  The  sins  and  foibles  of  the  clergy  we 
find  satirised  and  made  public  in  writings  and  in  the 
decoration  of  church  edifices,  but  the  Church  itself 
and  the  Christian  belief  was  not  attacked  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  For  instance,  in  the  well-known 
play  '  Dame  Jutta,'  written  by  the  ecclesiastic  Theo- 
dore Scherenberg  in  1480,  and  founded  on  the 
then  accepted  historical  fable  of  Pope  Joan,  not  a 
single  word  hostile  to  the  Church  is  to  be  found. 
The  Devil  tempts  Jutta  to  undertake  the  scandalous 
character.  Jesus  Christ  deplores  to  His  mother  the 
audacious  conduct  of  the  woman  in  disturbing  the 
established  order  of  the  Church  and  of  Nature,  and 
He  threatens  to  let  her  die  in  her  sin ;  but  Mary 
intercedes : 

'  Oh,  Thou  Who  hast  chosen  me  to  be  Thy  mother, 
do  not  let  this  poor  soul  perish  ! ' 

This  intercession  appeases  the  Divine  wrath ; 
Jesus  grants  pardon  on  condition  that,  in  expiation  of 
the  public  scandal  which  she  has  given,  the  sinner 
will  submit  to  temporal  punishment.  Joan  accepts, 
and,  turning  to  the  Saviour,  begs  Him  to  forgive  her 
as  He  has  forgiven  so  many  sinners  : 

'  Forgive  me  my  sin,  0  merciful  God,  through 
the  merits  of  Thy  bitter  passion.  Lord,  do  not  let 
me  be  lost  for  eternity.' 

She  also  begs  the  help  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  : 

'  Mary !  most  pure  mother,  thou  consoler  of 
sinners,  I  fly  to  thee,  for  I  am  a  sinner.  My  eyes 
are  shedding  tears  of  blood,  let  them  plead  for  me ; 
pray  for  thy  poor  child.' 

She  is   slain  in  the  streets  of  Eome ;   St.   Michael 


POPULAR  POETRY  281 

rescues  lier  soul  from  the  devils,  and  Jesus  receives 
it  into  glory : 

'  Welcome,  l\Py  beloved  daughter  !  Thou  shalt  be 
happy  in  My  kingdom.  The  sin  thou  hast  committed 
is  forgiven  thee,  for  Mary,  My  beloved  mother,  has 
interceded  for  thee  ;  St.  Nicholas  also  ;  therefore  be  in 
peace.' 

And  the  hymns  of  the  earthly  processions  are 
united  with  the  heavenly  songs  of  joy. 

Even  in  the  profane  and  coarse  carnival  songs  by 
Hans  Eosenpltit  and  the  barber  Hans  Folz,  where 
the  riotous  peasants,  the  avaricious  Jews,  the  cheating 
tradesmen,  and  unworthy  priests  are  so  severely 
satirised,  the  Church  and  the  faith  are  universally 
respected,  and  often  defended,  as  we  find  in  the  case 
where  Hans  Folz  in  1483,  in  the  play  entitled  '  The 
Bohemian  Error,'  represents  the  Hussite  heresy  (which 
had  many  followers  in  Nuremberg)  as  an  inheritance 
from  Judas  Iscariot. 

These  carnival  plays,  which  were  so  very  popular 
at  Nuremberg,  and  to  a  less  degree  at  Ingolstadt, 
Bamberg,  Ltibeck,  Lucerne,  and  Basle,  had  nothing 
whatever  in  common  with  the  Mystery  Plays.  The 
severest  sarcasms  or  burlesques  of  the  latter  differed 
materially  from  the  coarse  jokes,  the  words  of  double 
meaning,  and  the  dissoluteness  of  the  former,  in 
which  not  alone  the  rabble,  but  the  young  scions  of 
the  wealthy  Nuremberg  merchant  princes,  delighted. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  how  luxury  should  prevail 
in  a  citv  like  Nuremberg,  which,  according  to  Rosen- 
pliit,  was  peopled  in  the  fifteenth  century  by  seven 
different  nationalities — Hungarians,  Slavs,  Turks,  Arabs, 
French,  English,  and  Hollanders. 


282  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Besides    the    Mystery    Plays,    pieces    taken    from 
the  comedies  of  the  old  classics  were  often  played  by 
the    students  of    the    colleges    and    universities  as   a 
means  of   acquiring  fluency  in    conversational   Latin. 
Joseph    Griienbeck    published    in   the    year    1497     a 
collection   of  the   pieces   played   by   the   students    at 
Augsburg.     At    a   still   earlier   date    the    comedies  of 
Terence  were   adapted  in  Zwickau  to  the  stage,  with 
German     introductions     and    explanations    for    those 
pupils  who  were  not  far  advanced  in  the  Latin  lan- 
guage.    A  prose  translation  of  the  comedies  of  Terence 
appeared   at   Strasburg   in    1499,   and   in  1486    Hans 
Nythardt  of  Ulm  had  already  translated  one  play  of 
this  poet's,  and  had  attempted  in  the  Preface  and  in 
comments  to  set  forth  the  rules  of  classic  poetry  with 
regard  to  the  structure  of  comedy.     In  1511  the  canon 
Albrecht  von  Eyb  published  a  good  translation  of  two 
pieces  of  Plautus  in  Strasburg.     We  also  find  several 
original  plays   composed    after    the    style    of   the   old 
classics,   the   first   of    which  was    a   humorous    piece 
called  '  Henno,'  by  Johann  Reuchlin,  which  was  acted 
at  the  house  of  Johann  von  Dalberg  at  Heidelberg.     In 
it  the  mania  of  the  lower  classes,  especially  the  peasants, 
for  law-suits,  the  predictions  of  a  soothsayer  and  the 
intrigues  of  a  lawyer,  are  cleverly  satirised. 

The  religious  and  political  anarchy  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  which  stunted  intellectual  culture,  was  as 
unfavourable  to  dramatic  writing  as  to  all  other  arts. 
The  general  state  of  disturbance  was  destructive  of  all 
creative  genius. 


283 


CHAPTER  VII 

'TOPICAL       POETRY 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  national  poetic  taste  appeared' 
in  the  profane  and  religious  folk-songs,  and  although 
the  periodical  feasts  with  their  innocent  rejoicings  did 
much  to  elevate  men's  thoughts  by  taking  them  from 
the  merely  practical,  still  the  age  of  true  poetry  as  an 
art  and  fosterer  of  imagination  was  past.  We  find 
none  of  its  creations  capable  of  ennobling  life  or  of 
stimulating  thought,  none  glowing  with  the  true  poetic 
fire.  The  writing  of  poetry  had  become  a  trade  in 
which  rude  reality  was  the  predominating  feature. 
The  didactic  style  prevailed,  and,  taking  all  their  inspira- 
tion from  the  present  time,  our  poets  rarely  got  beyond 
bare  description  or  the  beaten  track  of  narrow  views. 
To  poetic  talent  in  its  true  sense,  therefore,  they  can 
lay  but  little  claim.  Nevertheless,  if  one  takes  into 
consideration  the  earnestness  and  loyalty  with  which 
they  worked  for  the  cultivation  of  their  contemporaries 
and  the  bettering  of  the  State  politically  and  religiously, 
they  must  be  conceded  a  certain  merit.  The  out- 
spoken honesty  with  which  they  dared  to  proclaim  the 
truth  to  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  had  in  it  something 
of  a  refreshing  spirit.  They  called  virtue  virtue  and 
vice  vice,  and  cited  high  and  low  alike  before  the  Great 
Judge  of  good  and  evil.  '  If  you  wish  to  read  poetry,' 
says  the  '  Soul's  Guide,'  '  read  that   which  under  the 


284  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOTLE 

guise  of  fiction  proclaims  the  truth ;  which  praises  virtue 
and  condemns  vice ;  which  will  teach  you  to  labour 
and  to  pray.'  They  urged  men  to  labour,  and  we  find 
this  the  theme  of  much  of  the  writings  of  the  day ;  as, 
for  instance,  Eosenpliit  in  his  '  Miracle  of  the  Drop  of 
Sweat.'  '  Work,'  he  says,  *  is  the  divinest  law  on  earth. 
Work  is  serving  God,  and  the  industrious  man  has  a 
great  advantage  over  the  idle  and  voluptuous  ones, 
whose  lives  are  full  of  care  and  anxiety.  Idleness  and 
extravagance  are  the  sources  of  much  evil;  regret 
follows  a  life  of  idleness  and  luxury.' 

In  the  year  1461  the  preacher  Ulrich  Boner  wrote 
in  his  book, '  Precious  Stones,' '  He  who  passes  his  youth 
in  idleness  will  probably  in  age  have  his  eyes  swollen 
with  tears  of  regret.' 

A  work  after  the  Italian  style,  written  by  Hans  von 
Yintler  in  the  year  1486,  and  entitled  '  The  Book  of 
Virtues,'  belonged  to  the  didactic  school  so  much  in 
vogue.  It  was  directed  against  the  licentious  lives  of 
the  young  aristocrats,  who  '  knew  better  how  manure 
enriched  the  soil  than  in  what  true  nobility  consisted.' 
Moreover  he  animadverted  severely  on  the  pride  and 
extravagance  of  high  position.  '  Let  anyone  seeking  to 
behold  the  wonders  beyond  the  sea  come  to  me,  and  I 
will  show  him  plenty  of  curiosities  in  the  way  of  bracelets 
and  bonnets  and  hair  gear  !  Our  fops  wear  the  toggery 
of  buffoons  ;  the  women  sweep  up  the  mud  with  trains 
two  yards  long,  and  wear  lappels  to  their  caps  three 
times  this  length — they  wish  to  make  themselves  as  con- 
spicuous as  men.  As  a  friend  I  blame  them  for  that 
which  dishonours  them,  for  those  who  are  pious  deserve 
to  be  warned.  But  there  are  needy  women  of  noble 
birth  who  desire  to  be  decked  like  princesses  with  pearls 


TOPICAL   POETRY  285 

and  gold,  though  they  have  not  as  much  in  their  kitchen 
as  would  feed  a  chicken.  Yet  I  can  swear  there  is  no 
garment  more  beautiful  than  modesty.'  In  order  to 
enforce  the  strength  of  his  invective  against  the 
popular  vices  Vintler  brought  forward  examples  from 
the  past,  and  told  numberless  stories  to  prove  the  evil 
of  superstitious  belief  in  fortune-telling  and  dreams. 
'  Had  the  fortune-teller,'  he  says,  '  the  power  that  he 
claims,  God  would  cease  to  be  God.'  '  Many  a  holy 
man  has  had  to  labour  long  and  wearily  before  God 
made  known  to  him  the  teaching  of  a  mystery.  Will 
He  then,  think  you,  obey  the  mandate  of  a  sorcerer  ?  ' 

A  pamphlet  entitled  '  Spiegel  des  Eegiments  in  der 
Fiirsten  Hofe  '  (The  Mirror  of  the  Court  Government)  is 
equally  severe  on  the  courtiers.  Writing  from  his  own 
experience  the  unknown  author  holds  up  before  those 
in  high  places  a  picture  of  their  conduct,  which  is  SO' 
disastrous  to  their  inferiors ;  and  he  gives  them  much 
sound  advice.  Johann  Eoch,  city  recorder  at  Eisen- 
bach,  and  later  prebendary  at  the  cathedral,  gave  advice 
to  the  knights  in  his  '  Eitter  Spiegel '  and  in  his '  Counsel 
to  Councillors.'  The  author  of  'The  Devil's  Net' 
gravely  exposes  the  different  vices  of  the  different  States 
in  an  imaginary  conversation  between  the  Devil  and  a 
hermit.  He  finds  sin  everywhere,  and  approves  only  of 
hermits,  monks,  those  who  become  voluntarily  poor, 
and  those  who  live  in  retirement.  His  zeal  for  the 
unity  of  the  Church  and  for  obedience  to  her  authority, 
and  his  loyalty  to  the  Emperor,  are  equally  apparent. 
Speaking  of  the  electoral  princes,  he  complains,  '  They 
have  sworn  fidelity  to  the  empire,  but  their  oath  is 
forgotten.  They  have  allowed  the  empire  to  be  dis- 
membered and  they  have  divided  the  spoils.' 


'286  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

The  popular  poem  '  Die  Welsh  Gattung '  (The  Italian 
Eace)  had  a  strong  political  tendency.  It  exposed  the 
failings  of  all  classes,  but  was  particularly  severe  on  the 
princes  and  on  the  advocates  of  the  newly  introduced 
Eoman  Code.  According  to  the  writer,  all  power  must 
be  concentrated  in  one  man  if  Germany  was  not  to  go  to 
the  wall.  The  emperors  had  made  so  many  concessions 
that  they  were  no  longer  obeyed.  Before  it  was  too 
late  the  leaders  in  the  land  should  join  in  restoring  all 
his  power  to  the  Emperor.  If  the  unity  of  the  Father- 
land was  thus  restored,  the  prevailing  abuses  would 
disappear.    Otherwise  the  Empire  should  inevitably  fall. 

Sebastian  Brant  addressed  the  following  advice  to 
the  princes  and  other  self-seeking  authorities :  '  In  the 
name  of  God,  princes,  consider  your  conduct ;  suppose 
the  empire  falls,  you  yourselves  are  not  immutable ! 
All  bodies  are  stronger  when  united  than  when  divided. 
Unity  brings  power,  but  division  weakness.  Germany 
was  once  so  strong  in  unity  that  it  commanded  universal 
respect,  but  now  the  Germans  are  destroying  their  own 
kingdom.  You  have  to-day  a  good  king,  whose  sceptre 
will  guide  you  all  wisely  if  you  will  but  come  to  his 
aid.  The  good  Prince  Maximilian  is  worthy  of  the 
Imperial  crown.  He  will  rule  our  sacred  land  and 
save  you  from  being  like  the  seafarer,  asleep  on  the 
stormy  ocean.  Awake  from  your  dreams  !  The  axe  is 
at  the  root  of  the  tree.' 

The  author  of  '  Die  Welsh  Gattung '  shows  his 
patriotism  by  defending  the  simple  judicial  procedure  of 
the  old  German  law  against  the  subtleties  of  the  Eoman 
•Code. 

Among  the  many  satires  levelled  against  the  abuses 
.among  the  clergy  and  the  ignorance  of  statesmanship 


TOPICAL  POETRY  287 

in  the  princes,  which  were  so  disastrous  to  the  people, 
may  be  mentioned  '  Eeineke  Vos '  (The  Eomance  of  a 
Fox),  which  appeared  in  Liibeck  in  1498,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  important  poems  as  a  specimen  of  Low-Ger- 
man dialect.  It  is  an  adaptation  of  the  poet  Wilhelm's 
4  Keynard.' 

'  Narrenschiff '  (The  Fool's  Bark),  by  Sebastian  Brant, 
is  without  doubt  the  most  remarkable  of  the  popular 
poems  of  its  time  (1494).  It  is  satirical  in  form  but 
profoundly  religious  in  spirit.  The  reputation  of 
German  poetry,  which  had  steadily  declined  for  more 
than  a  centurj'-,  was  raised  both  at  home  and  abroad 
by  this  production.  Few  works  in  literature  can  boast 
of  such  a  decided  and  immediate  success  as  the  i  Nar- 
renschiff.'  Copies  of  it  were  spread  over  all  Germany 
in  an  incredibly  short  time.  It  was  translated  into  Low 
German  and  Dutch.  Twice  it  was  translated  into  Latin. 
In  France  three  translations  of  it  appeared  in  different 
editions.  In  England  it  was  translated  twice.  Emen- 
dations, imitations,  and  adaptations  of  it  appeared  in 
shoals  from  year  to  year.  Contemporaneous  writers 
compared  the  poet  to  Dante.  Trithemius  said,  'The 
"  JSTarrenschiff"  is  a  divine  satire,'  and  he  expressed 
a  doubt  that  anything  could  be  found  to  equal  it  in 
eloquence  and  profundity.  Wimpheling  recommended 
its  use  in  the  schools,  and  Geiler  von  Kaisersberg  quoted 
from  it  in  many  of  his  sermons.  Although  Brant  may 
be  said  to  have  imitated  styles  already  in  vogue,  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  founder  of  a 
certain  epoch  of  literature.  '  He  was  the  first  fully  to 
express  the  ideas  of  the  middle  classes  and  to  inaugurate 
what  may  be  called  a  bourgeois  literature.'  No  poet 
before   or  after   him    so    thoroughly  united   the   deep 


288  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

earnestness  and  the  fearless  humour  which  were  the 
most  characteristic  features  of  the  German  middle 
classes  of  the  period.  He  left  the  impress  of  his  own 
individuality  on  the  language,  and  more  than  one  of  his 
peculiar  expressions  or  turns  form  the  linguistic  graces 
of  succeeding  generations.  With  fearless  candour  Brant 
reproaches  those  in  power,  both  clerics  and  laymen, 
with  their  shortcomings.  When  and  wherever  he  en- 
counters vice  he  exposes  it  unsparingly.  Sometimes 
with  severity,  and  again  with  wit,  he  brings  before  our 
eyes  the  miser  and  the  usurer,  the  builder  and  the 
mechanic,  the  peasant  and  the  beggar,  the  litigious,  the 
gambler,  and  the  astrologer.  Of  the  latter  he  says  :  '  It  is 
not  fitting  that  a  Christian  should  have  recourse  to  pagan 
practices — that  he  should  consult  the  planets  whether 
it  be  the  day  to  buy,  to  build,  to  fight,  to  many,  or  to 
form  a  friendship.  Our  work  and  conduct  and  recom- 
pense should  come  from  God,  and  tend  to  Him  alone.' 

It  was  not  alone  the  vices  and  weaknesses  of  his 
time  that  Brant  scourged  unmercifully,  but  those  which 
are  common  to  humanity  in  all  ages ;  as,  for  instance, 
when  he  attacks  the  pride  which  makes  men  aspire 
beyond  their  condition,  the  vanity  of  the  world,  the 
dishonesty  of  adulterating  merchandise,  the  want  of 
conscience  with  which  the  labourer  or  mechanic  ac- 
complishes his  task,  we  see  our  own  age  as  clearly 
mirrored  as  that  in  which  the  poet  wrote.  It  speaks 
well,  however,  for  the  contemporaries  of  Brant  that 
they  accepted  in  such  a  good  spirit  corrections  so 
severely  given  by  him,  Heynlin,  and  Geiler  von  Kaisers- 
berg. 

Brant  is  not  a  mere  satirist  or  moralist,  but  a 
fervently  religious  poet,  who  brands  all  those  as  fools 


POLITICAL   AND   POPULAR   POETRY  289 

who  are  willing  to  barter  things  eternal  for  those  which 
are  transitory.  Although  it  was  this  detail  which  gave 
its  title  to  this  famous  book,  it  also  teaches  the  wisdom 
which  gains  eternal  life ;  and  for  this  reason  Geiler  of 
Kaisersberg  calls  it  '  The  Mirror  of  Salvation.'  Brant's 
son,  Onufrius  (the  pupil  of  Zasius)  says  of  the  '  Narren- 
schiff' :  '  It  does  not  teach  foolish  things,  but  exposes 
folly.  It  shows  how  many  fools  vanity  blinds.  This 
book  teaches  us  all  virtue  and  bears  good  to  us.  If  we 
read  between  the  lines,  it  would  save  us  from  eternal 
death  and  bear  us  to  celestial  shores.  When  we  know 
it  well  we  may  call  it  "  Salvation's  Ship."  ' 


VOL.  1.  U 


290  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

PROSE    AND    POPULAR   READING 

The  prose  of  a  nation  is  as  characteristic  of  its  culture 
as  is  the  poetry.  As  the  latter  may  be  said  to  be  the 
first  natural  beginnings  in  the  technical  use  of  language, 
so  the  former  represents  the  goal  attained  through  much 
labour  and  exertion  of  the  mind.  It  is  an  historical 
fact  that  national  poetry  preceded  prose,  for  an  artistic 
and  perfect  use  of  prose  bespeaks  a  high  state  of  national 
education. 

In  Germany,  while  poetry  by  degrees  fell  into  de- 
cadence, prose,  on  the  contrary,  advanced  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  fourteenth  century  side  by  side  with  the 
plastic  arts.  It  made  such  gigantic  strides  in  compass, 
variety,  and  importance,  that  not  only  were  the  founda- 
tions of  all  that  was  perfected  in  later  centuries  laid 
down  then,  but  in  every  separate  branch  of  prose  writ- 
ing— philosophy,  narrative,  rhetoric — numbers  of  works 
were  brought  out,  and  often  of  distinguished  character. 

The  narrative  style,  both  in  history  and  fiction,  was 
brought  to  great  perfection.  Proofs  of  this  we  may 
find  in  the  book  entitled  '  Consolation  of  the  Soul ' 
(written  in  the  Cologne  dialect),  also  in  the  Low-German 
fables  and  proverbs  to  be  found  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
Dominican  Hermann  Corner,  of  Liibeck,  in  which  the 
tales  are  told  with  great  versatility  and  dramatic  inte- 
rest. 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR  READING  291 

The  writers  of  fiction  in  Lower  Germany  were  parti- 
cularly distinguished  for  their  ingenuous,  elegant,  and 
poetic  style  of  diction.  The  translations  also  were 
particularly  well  done,  a  good  example  of  which  is  the 
version  from  the  Latin  of  '  The  Seven  Sacres.'  The 
writers  lean  to  the  popular  dialect,  and  usually  avoid 
all  use  of  foreign  words  and  expressions,  which  was  in 
later  times  such  a  blemish  in  literary  work.  The  style 
is  simple,  graceful,  and  charming. 

Several  of  the  historical  works  of  this  period  are 
written  in  a  direct  and  truly  epic  style,  very  appropriate 
to  the  events  and  characters.  The  '  Limburger  Chro- 
nicle,' which  belongs  to  the  fourteenth  century,  gives  a 
good  idea  of  the  style  of  the  epoch.  Of  like  character 
are  the '  Chronicles  of  Alsace,'  by  Jacob  Twinger,  canon 
of  Strasburg  (from  Konigshofen),  and  the  '  Chronicles 
of  Thuringia,'  by  Johannes  Eothe,  a  priest  of  Eisenach. 
The  popular  Bavarian  chroniclers,  Hans  Ebran  of  Wil- 
denberg,  Ulrich  Eiitrer,  and  Veit  Arnpeck,  the  pre- 
cursors of  the  historian  Johann  Thurmayer  (surnamed 
Aventin),  were  also  examples  of  persevering  industry, 
true  love  of  their  profession,  and  pure  literary  talent. 
The  Sleswick  historian,  Peter  Eschenloer,  was  distin- 
guished for  his  knowledge  of  diplomacy.  Switzerland 
is  remarkably  rich  in  historians,  and  among  her  most 
renowned  we  may  place  Melchior  Euss  and  Petermann 
Etterlin,  of  Lucerne,  Conrad  Justinger  and  Diebold 
Schilling,  of  Bern. 

We  have  a  remarkable  record  of  burgher  life  in 
the  autobiography  and  town  chronicles  of  the  great 
traveller  and  tax-receiver,  Burkard  Zink,  of  Augsburg. 
With  delightful  candour  and  in  fluent  language  he  im- 
parts to  the  reader  a  knowledge  of  his  own  travels  and  of 

u  2 


292  HISTORY    OF   THE    GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  popular  life  in  the  rich  city  of  Augsburg,  while  he 
evinces  the  deepest  interest  in  the  concerns  and  welfare 
of  the  people. 

Even  better,  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  is  the 
1  Nuremberg  Chronicle,'  by  Siegmund  Meisterlin.  For 
a  long  time  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  work  of  much 
importance.  Having  completed  his  education  at  the 
famous  Benedictine  school  of  SS.  Ulrich  and  Afra 
at  Augsburg,  Meisterlin  was  commissioned  by  the 
Nuremberg  Council  to  visit  the  monasteries  of  Fran- 
conia,  Bavaria,  and  Suabia,  in  order  to  collect  mate- 
rials for  a  book  on  the  monasteries,  which  work  he 
completed  in  the  year  1488.  In  the  preface  and  else- 
where he  speaks  beautifully  of  the  importance  of  history 
and  the  mission  of  the  historian.  He  proposes  to  him- 
self the  task  of  teaching  the  rising  generation  the 
glorious  past  of  Nuremberg,  to  the  end  that  they  may 
be  strengthened  by  the  study  of  what  their  forefathers 
had  done,  and  may  learn  to  honour  what  they  had 
acquired.  '  I  believe  it  well  for  all  when  our  young 
men  follow  the  good  example  of  their  fathers  and  main- 
tain the  order  which  they  established.  Cicero  says  that 
all  are  emulated  by  the  hope  of  praise  and  glory  ;  what 
is  contemptible  seeks  concealment.  Our  young  men 
will  be  encouraged  by  the  praises  of  their  forefathers, 
who  had  been  sorely  tried  and  had  overcome  much. 
They  will  avoid  evil,  practise  virtue,  love  peace,  and 
be  exemplary  at  home  and  abroad.  For  this  reason 
we  devote  ourselves  to  history,  throwing  aside  what  is 
but  fable  and  legend,  for  history  only  asks  for  truth. 
We  undertake  this  task  hoping  for  the  approval  of  all 
who  love  the  renown  and  good  of  the  Fatherland.'  The 
goddess  of  Envy   said :    '  As   she   wandered   all   over 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  293 

Germany,  she  saw  no  city  where  Divine  worship  was 
more  devout,  where  the  clergy  were  better  educated, 
where  more  alms  were  given  or  stricter  justice  practised, 
than  in  Nuremberg.' 

After  Meisterlin,  the  task  of  writing  history  in 
Nuremberg  passed  literally  into  the  hands  of  the 
people.  The  chronicles  written  by  the  brewer  and 
guardian  of  the  poor,  Heinrich  Deichsler,  as  well  as 
many  other  annals  of  current  events,  introduce  the 
reader  into  the  heart  of  the  burgher  life  and  the 
interests  of  the  times.  They  lay  bare  with  such  dis- 
tinctness the  manners  and  pastimes  of  high  and  low 
that  we  seem  to  walk  the  streets,  aye,  even  to  enter 
the  very  homes.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  popular 
annals  of  any  age  to  compare  in  fulness  with  those 
written  in  Nuremberg  in  the  last  years  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

In  the  '  Cronica  van  der  hilligen  stat  von  Coellen,' 
written  in  the  local  dialect  by  an  unknown  author  in 
1499,  a  most  interesting  statistical  history  of  the 
Middle  Ages  is  preserved  to  us.  It  shows  us  also,  by 
its  pure  and  attractive  style,  how  far  superior  the  Low- 
German  writing  was  to  the  Upper  German.  It  is  not 
confined  to  the  history  of  the  city  of  Cologne,  but, 
after  dealing  with  that  city,  takes  up  matters  of 
universal  interest.  In  the  preface,  after  enlarging  on 
the  utility  of  historical  studies,  the  author  says  that, 
"  for  the  honour  of  God,  His  holy  mother,  and  the  three 
kings,  I  have  taken  courage,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
to  compile  a  history  taken  from  the  German  and  Latin 
Chronicles,  which  are  so  useful  and  interesting  to  read. 
I  shall  write  this  book  in  the  local  dialect  because 
every  man,  according    to    his  natural    bent,  is    more 


294  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

inclined  to  his  own  national^  and  that  which  belongs 
to  it,  and  loves  to  hear  of  the  land  which  gave  us  birth 
and  of  the  deeds  of  our  forefathers,  rather  than  of 
strangers.  Therefore  shall  I  write  what  is  interesting 
and  remarkable  in  the  history  of  Germany.  And  as 
the  most  honourable  and  sacred  town  of  Cologne  is 
called  the  metropolis  and  capital  town  of  all  German 
lands,  I  shall,  according  to  the  adage,  "  Paris  for 
France,  London  for  England,  Eome  for  Italy,  Cologne 
for  Germany,"  begin  by  relating  the  origin  and  com- 
mencement of  this  same  cit}r,  according  to  what  is 
found  in  ancient  documents.'  While  the  chronicler 
does  not  ignore  the  prejudices  of  the  time  or  the  cor- 
ruption to  be  found  in  the  authorities,  lay  and  ecclesi- 
astical, he  does  not  agree  with  the  grumblers  of  the 
century.  '  Those  who  have  preceded  us  have  had 
much  more  to  suffer  than  we.  In  comparison  with 
those  times  the  present  are  golden  years.  Just  because 
of  the  peaceful  and  happy  days  which  we  enjoy  are  we 
the  more  apt  to  be  disturbed  by  the  anxieties  and  cares 
which  are  inevitable.' 

Jacob  Unrest,  the  Austrian  chronicler,  pastor  of 
St.  Martin's  at  Techelsberg,  in  Carinthia,  whose  writings 
come  down  to  1499,  approaches  nearest  to  the  manner 
of  the  Cologne  chronicler.  The  South  German  dialect, 
with  its  many  provincialisms,  is  peculiarly  fitting  to 
the  naive,  simple,  pithy  style  of  the  Chronicles.  The 
author  possesses  quick  perception,  sound  judgment, 
and  even  temper.  His  simple  words  breathe  an  elevated 
idea  of  right  and  truth — another  point  of  resemblance 
to  the  chronicler  of  Cologne.  Both  men  are  determined, 
to  the  best  of  their  ability  and  knowledge,  to  tell  the 
plain  unvarnished  truth,  and  to  expose  abuses,  whether 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  295 

found  in  priest  or  layman.  The  advice  given  in 
'  The  Soul's  Guide '  was  as  applicable  to  them  as  to 
other  historians  of  the  century  :  *  The  powerful  ones 
of  the  earth,  laymen  and  ecclesiastics,  should  learn 
from  times  gone  by  to  be  earnest,  humble,  and  good. 
The  frivolous  come  to  want  and  evil,  the  haughty  shall 
be  smitten  by  God,  but  peace  and  grace  shall  flow  to 
the  humble  well-doer.  There  is  a  Prince  above  earthly 
princes,  a  Judge  above  earthly  judges,  who  rewards 
and  punishes.  These  are  the  lessons  to  be  learned 
from  the  past,  and  be  it  known  that  every  sin  brings  its 
own  punishment.' 

Like  the  best  artists  of  the  age,  the  chroniclers  did 
not  aim  at  wielding  personal  influence.  Their  desire 
was  that  the  matter  of  their  work  should  instruct, 
animate,  and  purify.  They  were  too  deeply  impressed 
with  the  true  object  of  history  and  the  noble  mission 
of  the  historian — 'Like  a  mirror  of  Divine  justice,  to 
honour  and  praise  the  good  men  of  the  past,  to  brand 
the  acts  of  the  wicked,  and  to  lead  the  living  to  paths  of 
well-doing ' — to  employ  any  of  the  artifices  of  rhetoric. 
We  often  find  in  the  old  chronicles  warnings  similar  to 
that  addressed  by  Hans  Ebran  von  Wildemberg  to  the 
princes :  '  0  rulers,  lay  as  well  as  cleric,  turn  from 
your  sins,  lest  the  punishment  of  God  fall  on  all 
Christendom  !  You  will  be  held  responsible  at  the  Last 
Judgment.' 

In  almost  all  the  old  chronicles  we  are  struck  by 
the  writers'  loyalty  to  the  people,  to  the  Fatherland, 
and  to  the  Eoman  Emperor  of  the  Germans,  whom 
Burkard  Zink  calls  «  the  prince  above  all  Christian 
princes  and  rulers.'  '  The  Book  of  Chronicles,'  which 
appeared  in  1493,  says :  '  Germany,  converted  through 


296  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN    PEOPLE 

the  holy  faith  to  goodness  and  virtue,  is  known  every- 
where through  her  trade  and  commerce,  through  her 
hospitality  to  visitors,  and  her  sympathy  with  the 
afflicted.  She  is  behind  no  nation  in  manners  or 
morals,  in  political  power  and  in  her  warriors ;  neither 
does  she  cede  to  other  nations  a  claim  to  greater  wealth 
in  metals,  for  they  get  nearly  all  their  silver  from 
German  merchants.  Our  nation  can  raise  sufficient 
troops,  without  foreign  help,  to  withstand  otheT 
countries.  Much  can  be  said  of  Germany's  culture, 
justice,  faith,  and  loyalty.'  Even  the  histories  of 
foreign  countries  were  written  '  so  as  to  reflect  honour 
on  the  German  nation,'  as  Bernhard  Schoferlin  expressly 
says  in  his  'Eoman  History,'  published  by  Johann 
Schoferlin  in  Mayence  in  the  year  1505. 

This  work  is  worthy  of  notice  for  many  reasons 
over  and  above  its  correctness  of  style.  It  alludes  in 
the  preface  to  the  then  popular  books  on  chivalry, 
and,  agreeing  with  the  principle  inculcated  in  '  The 
Soul's  Guide,'  that  '  truth  is  higher  and  worthier  than 
all  imaginations  of  fiction,'  recommends  the  study 
of  history  as  the  best  antidote  to  false  representations. 
The  author,  a  doctor  of  imperial  law,  says  :  '  I  shall  not 
confine  myself  to  any  special  books,  but  shall  cull  from 
authoritative  Latin  and  Greek  works,  following  the 
example  of  the  bee,  that  sucks  sweetness  from  a  variety 
of  flowers  in  order  to  make  its  honey.  I  shall  hope 
to  put  my  work  into  pure  German,  and  I  shall  trust 
that  some  good  will  spring  from  it,  or  at  least  that  it 
will  be  found  as  beneficial  as  those  books  on  chivalry 
which  are  much  read,  and  which  are  made  up  of  fables 
incapable  of  giving  men  the  intelligent  ideas  of  praise- 
worthy ambition  excited  by  conscientious  historians.' 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  297 

These  words  find  an  echo  in  ' The  Soul's  Guide  ' :  'In 
our  day  everyone  aspires  to  read  and  write  ;  this  is 
praiseworthy,  and  very  much  to  be  recommended  when 
the  books  are  good,  but  not  when  they  incite  to  sensu- 
ality and  immodesty.  Such  is  the  character  of  many 
fictitious  books ;  do  not  read  them.  Eead  good  books 
and  authentic  histories ;  this  is  good  for  thy  salva- 
tion.' '  The  Consolation  of  the  Soul,'  taking  still  higher 
ground,  says :  '  There  are  many  who  read  or  listen  to 
bad  books,  but  they  lose  their  time,  for  they  find  in 
them  no  consolation  for  their  souls.  Idle  people  read 
books  about  Tristan,  about  Dietrich  of  Bern,  and  the 
giants  of  old  who  served  the  world  and  not  God.  In 
these  books  there  is  no  good,  for  they  contain  no  con- 
solation for  the  soul.  To  read  them  is  a  waste  of  time, 
and  we  shall  have  to  account  to  God  for  misspent 
hours.' 

These  quotations  give  us  some  idea  of  the  many 
popular  books. 

Amongst  the  works  whose  poetic  and  romantic 
character  appealed  most  to  the  imagination  of  the 
German  people,  those  which  dwelt  on  their  own  and 
foreign  heroes  held  the  first  place.  Many  of  them 
were  only  prose  versions  of  old  poems.  To  this 
class  belonged  the  history  of  Duke  Ernest — a  popular 
favourite  on  account  of  his  misfortunes  and  courage — 
which  was  published  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  history  of  William  of  Austria  (1481),  of 
Wigalois — the  Knight  of  the  Wheel — (1493),  and  that 
of  Frederic  Barbarossa  (1519) ;  the  old  tradition  of 
the  adversities  of  the  mermaid  Melusine  (1474),  a  touch- 
ing picture  of  maternal  love,  the  loves  of  Prince  Floris 
and  his   dear   Bianceffora    (1499),   and    the    story   of 


298  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

Lotlier  and  Mailer  (1514),  which  belonged  to  the  Car- 
lovingian  traditions.  The  story  of  Tristan  and  Isolde 
reappeared  in  the  year  1498,  and  the  compiler  says  of 
it  in  his  preface  that  the  reading  proves  that  '  un- 
lawful love  brings  only  sorrow  and  want,  and  leads 
even  the  noblest  characters  to  an  evil  and  unhappy 
end.' 

Among  the  popular  books  of  the  fifteenth  century 
may  be  mentioned  a  novel  published  in  1471.  The 
heroine,  Griselda,  a  peasant  ennobled  through  her 
marriage,  remains  faithful  and  true  to  her  husband,  the 
margrave,  notwithstanding  his  cruelty  to  her.  We 
would  also  mention  the  '  Teachings  of  the  Seven 
Sages,'  a  fifteen-volume  work,  which  has  attained  to 
many  editions  since  1473,  and,  finally,  the  'Marvels  of 
Fortunatus,  with  his  Wishing  Cap  and  Purse  '  (1509). 

The  satirical  and  comic  books  which  were  so 
popular  in  Germany  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
which  were  filled  with  humour  of  every  degree,  from 
pleasant  raillery  to  downright  coarseness  and  buf- 
foonery, help  us  to  understand  much  of  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  We  may  apply  to  them  the  words  of  Eulenspiegel 
to  the  hostess  of  Nugenstadten,  '  That  is  my  business.' 
By  this  '  business '  the  writers  tried  to  justify  the  rude 
style  which  they  used  against  the  over-culture  and 
pedantry  as  well  as  the  other  abuses  of  the  age. 
One  of  the  most  popular  books  of  this  class  was 
'  The  Questions  and  Answers  of  King  Solomon  and 
Marcolph,'  which  was  first  published  in  1487.  Plain 
common-sense  is  here  contrasted  with  vain  learning, 
and  natural  understanding  claims  the  victory  over 
blatant  pedagogism.  All  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  are 
parodied  extemporaneously  by  Marcolph  ;  for  instance, 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  299 

'  So  that  the  king,  bearing  crown  and  sceptre,  dodged 
before  and  behind  the  sun,  while  his  shadow,  dragging 
in  the  mud,  seemed  to  mock  the  royal  dignity.' 

Marcolph  is,  however,  surpassed  by  Till  Eulen- 
spiegel,  the  jester  par  excellence  of  the  lower  classes,  who 
got  credit  for  all  the  jokes  of  the  century.  This  book  is 
the  most  complete  collection  of  witticisms  imaginable. 
It  spares  neither  priest  nor  layman,  learned  nor  un- 
learned, high  nor  low.  It  bears  the  imprint  of  the  lower 
classes  of  society,  from  which  it  took  its  origin,  and 
betrays  a  certain  malicious  cunning,  which  pervades  all 
Eulenspiegel's  characters,  and  which  is  a  marked  trait  of 
the  German  peasant.  The  emblem  on  the  title-page  is 
well  chosen.  An  owl  peering  into  a  mirror  seems  to  re- 
flect the  bitter,  feline,  mean  attacks  in  the  book.  While, 
however,  its  ridicule  of  the  higher  classes  is  rude  and 
uncouth,  it  never  descends  to  obscenity.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  even  here,  as  in  the  vulgar  plays  of  the 
carnival  time,  despite  all  the  satires  on  the  personal 
vices  of  the  clergy,  the  Church  itself  is  never  attacked  ; 
while,  on  the  contrary,  the  same  respect  is  not  shown 
to  the  Eeformation. 

The  taste  for  foreign  travel  which  was  so  general  in 
the  fifteenth  century  gave  a  special  character  to  the 
literature  of  the  time,  and  made  accounts  of  journeys 
particularly  popular ;  for  instance,  '  The  Travels  of 
Marco  Polo,'  '  The  Adventurous  Journey  of  Sir  John 
Mandeville,'  and  the  descriptions  of  the  newly  dis- 
covered Western  world. 

The  writings  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  and  the 
Crusaders,  describing  pilgrimages  into  the  Holy  Land, 
gave  a  religious  colouring  to  this  class  of  literature. 
'  There   are   many   books   describing   the   holy  places 


300  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

which  pious  Christians  from  far-off  lands  visit  for  the 
honour  of  God  and  the  veneration  of  His  blessed  mother 
and  saints,  and  where  they  sing  and  pray.  Eead  such 
books  to  inflame  thy  heart ;  be  cheerful,  take  thy  staff ; 
be  filled  with  courage,  humility,  and  piety,  and  pray  to 
God  and  His  saints.  As  it  is  pleasant  to  visit  new 
lands  and  people,  so  should  we  wish  to  make  pilgrimages 
to  sacred  places.' 

Amongst  these  descriptions  of  travels  two  are 
specially  worthy  of  notice :  '  The  Pilgrimage  of  the 
Knight  Arnold  Harff  to  the  Holy  Land,'  and  the  book 
published  in  1486  by  the  Chamberlain  Bernhard  von 
Breidenbach  under  the  title,  '  Die  heyligen  Eayssen 
ghen  Jherusalem '  ('  The  Holy  Journeys  to  Jerusalem '). 
The  latter  contains  full  and  exact  descriptions  of 
different  places,  and  gives  vivid  pictures  of  their  condi- 
tion at  that  time.  Take,  for  instance,  the  following 
glowing  description :  '  I  have  not  seen  or  heard  any 
man  who  says  that  he  has  beheld  the  like  of  the  church 
at  Bethlehem  for  costliness  and  solemnity.  For  very 
many  great  and  noble  pillars  of  marble  are  set  in  it  in 
four  rows.  Also  the  outer  church,  called  the  "  Ship  " 
of  the  church,  from  the  pillars  to  the  balcony,  is  made 
of  beautiful  noble  mosaic  work,  with  all  the  histories 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment. Also  the  whole  upper  pavement  of  the  church 
is  made  of  marble  of  many  colours,  embellished  with 
beautiful  painting,  and  all  so  costly  that  many  think 
its  value  cannot  be  estimated.'  This  book  went  through 
several  editions  in  German  and  Latin,  and  was  trans- 
lated into  Dutch,  French,  and  Italian,  and  in  1498  even 
into  Spanish. 

The  dedication  of  the  book,  to  the  archbishop  of 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  301 

Mentz,  Berthold  von  Henneberg,  contains  a  remark- 
able passage  on  the  spread  of  books  and  the  rage  of 
the  day  for  writing.  It  reminds  one  of  the  words  in 
the  '  Seelenflihrer  '  :  '  Everybody  nowadays  wants  to 
read  and  to  write.'  '  There  is  no  end,'  says  Breidenbach, 
'  to  the  new  books  that  are  written.  Learned  and 
unlearned  write  poetry  and  make  books — garrulous 
old  women,  twaddling  old  men,  chattering  sophists — 
all  pride  themselves  that  they  can  write.  It  has  actu- 
ally come  to  this,  that,  in  plain  words,  anyone  who 
can  use  a  pen,  anyone  who  can  put  words  together  in 
writing,  or  can  transpose  and  ?ms-arrange  them,  flatters 
himself  he  has  made  a  new  book.' 

Conspicuous  amongst  those  who  contributed  to  the 
development  of  German  prose  were  Heinrich  Steinhowel,, 
a  doctor  of  Ulm,  and  the  Wurtemberg  Chancellor, 
Nicholas  von  Wyle,  both  of  them  translators  of  fictitious 
writing  from  Latin,  French,  and  Italian.  Even  noble 
ladies,  such  as  the  Duchess  Margaret  of  Lorraine,  her 
daughter  the  Countess  Elizabeth  von  Nassau-Saar- 
brticken,  and  the  Archduchess  Eleanor  of  Austria,  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  translations.  The  latter 
published  at  Augsburg  in  1483  the  romaunt  of  Pontus 
and  Sidonia,  which,  for  love  of  her  consort,  the  Arch- 
duke Sigmund,  she  had  arranged  from  the  French  in 
order  that  '  much  good  learning  and  instruction  and 
comparison  might  be  obtained  from  it,  especially  by 
the  young,  so  be  they  would  hear  and  understand  the 
good  deeds  and  the  great  honour  and  virtue  of  their 
parents  and  ancestors.' l 

An  extraordinary  mass  of  material  for  narrative — 

1  See  Wackernagel,  Litteratur,  pp.  356,  357  ;  Holland,  pp.  140-142  ; 
Lindemann,  History  of  German  Literature. 


302  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

anecdotes,  stories,  historical  deeds,  and  parables — 
brought  over  to  the  West  of  Europe  by  the  Crusaders, 
and  the  advancing  study  of  the  ancient  writings,  is 
collected  together  in  the  '  Deeds  of  the  Eomans,'  which 
was  published  in  1489,  and  was  the  first  work  of  pure 
High  German  fictitious  prose.1 

'  The  German  nation,'  writes  Wimpheling,  '  has  an 
unquenchable  love  both  for  song  and  for  narrative  of 
all  sorts.'  Hence  it  was  the  habit  of  the  publishers  to 
enliven  the  contents  of  purely  instructive  prose  writings 
by  the  insertion  here  and  there  of  light  or  serious 
romance ;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  pamphlet  by  Albrecht 
von  Eyb,  of  Bamberg,  '  Whether  or  No  a  Man  should 
take  a  Legal  Wife  ' ;  in  the  '  Mirror  of  Virtue  and 
Decorousness,'  by  Marquard  von  Stein ;  and  in  that 
book  of  religious  edification  we  have  already  so  often 
referred  to,  the  '  Seelen-trost.'  In  this  last  we  find, 
amongst  others,  the  well-known  story  of  the  <  Gang 
nach  dem  Eisenhammer.'  By  the  end  of  the  century 
there  were  already  three  whole  collections  of  tales  with 
a  didactic  purpose  compiled  from  the  fields  of  history 
or  romance.2 

Fables  were  also  used  for  instructional  purposes. 
Thus,  for  example,  in  1483,  Eberhard  of  the  Beard,  of 
Wurtemberg,  had  the  Oriental  book  of  fables,  '  Bidpai,' 
'  Das  Buch  der  Beispiele  der  alten  Weisen,'  translated 
from  Latin.  The  fables  of  St.  Cyril,  or  the  '  Book  of 
Natural  Wisdom,' were  published  at  Augsburg  in  1490, 
and  in  1484  the  'Book  and  Life  of  the  Fable-writer 
Esop,  translated  from  Greek  into  Latin,'  was  published 
in  German  by  Steinhowel,  '  to  the  praise  of  the  Arcli- 

1  Gesta  Romanorum.  2  Wackernagel,  p.  358 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  303 

duke  Siegmund  of  Austria.'  This  book  was  one  of  the 
greatest  favourites  of  the  day.  '  The  reader,'  says 
Steinhowel,  '  should,  like  the  bee,  suck  the  honey  from 
the  flowers ;  not  only  read  the  stories,  but  feed  on  their 
morals.' 

There  was  a  marked  development  also  at  this  period 
in  the  prose  writings  which  dealt  with  natural  science, 
medicine,  and  jurisprudence.  To  the  latter  branch 
Sebastian  Brant  contributed  largely  by  his  popular 
writings. 

The  capacity  of  the  German  language  for  philoso- 
phical expression  originated  with  the  Mystics.  It  was 
they  who  first  discovered  the  art  of  expressing  the 
most  profound  and  abstract  ideas  in  clear  and  in- 
telligible German  speech  ;  while  at  the  same  time  a 
wonderful  poetic  charm  clothes  all  their  utterances. 
Many  of  their  treatises  and  collections  of  abstruse 
maxims  and  rules  for  the  contemplative  life  appeared, 
after  the  invention  of  printing,  in  a  variety  of  editions ; 
those  especially  of  Henry  Suso,  John  Tauler,  and  Otto 
von  Passau,  and  the  translations  of  the  -  Imitation  of 
Christ.' 

Many  of  the  fifteenth-century  books  of  devotion 
and  edification  are  amongst  the  noblest  monuments 
of  German  prose :  for  instance,  the  '  Himmelstrasse,' 
the  '  Seelen-trost,'  the  '  Schatzbehalter,  oder  Schrein 
der  wahren  Keichthumer  des  Heils.'  In  simplicity 
and  vigour  of  language,  in  penetration,  truth,  and 
depth  of  matter,  they  are  unequalled  in  single  pas- 
sages, and,  of  their  kind,  altogether  unsurpassable 
models. 

In  oratorical  prose  Gieler  von  Kaisersberg  was  con- 


304  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

spicuously  a  master,  both  as  regards  eloquence  of 
language  and  depth  of  thought.  In  his  collected 
sermons  he  shows  a  profound  knowledge  of  mankind, 
clear  calm  reasoning  powers,  and  the  gift  of  popular 
expression ;  all  his  similes,  images,  and  allegories,  his 
proverbs,  plays  on  words,  and  witticisms,  his  fables, 
stories,  and  anecdotes  are  taken  fresh  from  life  and 
reality.  Hence  his  sermons  are  a  perfect  mine  of 
information  concerning  the  national  life  of  the  time. 

At  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  German  authors 
wrote  in  several  different  dialects ;  but  it  was  from  a 
mixture  of  Upper  and  Lower  German,  in  which  the 
dialect  of  Mid-Germany  played  a  leading  part,  that  the 
so-called  universal  German  ('  gemeines  Deutsch ')  de- 
veloped, and  which  became,  chiefly  through  the 
exertions  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  the  general 
language  of  the  empire  and  of  diplomacy. 

It  was  Luther  who  first  made  it  the  general  lan- 
guage of  literature  ;  his  books  were  written  in '  gemeines 
Deutsch.'  He  protects  himself  against  the  charge  of 
being  the  inventor  of  a  new  language  in  the  following 
words :  '  I  have  no  special  peculiar  German  language 
of  my  own,  but  I  use  that  which  is  common  to  Ger- 
mans, so  that  both  the  '  Ober-  and  Niederliinder  '  may 
understand  me.  I  speak  the  same  language  as  the 
Saxon  chancellors,  whose  lead  is  followed  by  all  the 
kings  and  princes  in  Germany.'  The  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian and  the  Elector  Frederic,  Duke  of  Saxony,  may 
be  said  to  have  consolidated  all  the  different  forms 
of  German  speech  in  the  Eoman  Empire  into  one 
language. 

If  we  except  Luther,  with  his  remarkable  natural 
gift  of  speech,  which  was   developed  in   an   unusual 


PROSE   AND   POPULAR   READING  305 

degree  by  diligent  study  of  the  fifteenth-century  prose 
writers  and  by  his  intercourse  with  the  people,  we  may 
fairly  assert  that  in  the  sixteenth,  not  to  say  the  seven- 
teenth, century,  as  compared  with  the  fifteenth,  prose 
composition  of  all  sorts  was  decidedly  retrogressive ; 
and  that  in  place  of  the  earlier  simple,  natural,  fluent 
writing,  a  sort  of  clumsy,  jerky,  stuttering  and  stam- 
mering had  come  into  fashion,  which  cannot  be  read 
without  a  feeling  of  pain.1 

German  prose  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  not  to  be 
excelled  in  vigour  and  purity,  and  by  reason  of  this 
vigour  it  has  survived  to  this  day  as  an  imperishable 
monument  of  uncorrupted  and  unadulterated  German 
national  character. 

1  This  conclusion  was  arrived  at  by  the  great  '  Germanist '  Franz 
Pfeiffer  in  his  researches.  See  his  Germania,  iii.  p.  409  ;  see  also  Kurz, 
pp.  742,  743. 


VOL.  I.  X 


BOOK  III 
POLITICAL  ECONOMY 


Introduction 

At  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  political  economy  had 
advanced  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  other  sciences, 
and  this  fact  is  very  easily  understood.  The  develop- 
ment of  a  people  consists  in  the  co-operation  of  the 
various  branches  of  culture ;  accordingly,  we  find 
economic  progress  going  hand  in  hand  with  intellectual 
advancement.  Economic  progress  exerts  a  powerful 
influence  on  mental  culture,  while  the  latter,  in  its 
turn,  affects  the  condition  of  the  former.  History 
furnishes  many  proofs  of  the  close  relations  between 
the  two. 

Political  economy  is  concerned  with  the  three 
branches  of  industry — agriculture,  manufactures,  and 
commerce. 

Agriculture  has  for  its  aim  the  production  of  raw 
material,  and  includes  farming  and  cattle-breeding. 
Manufacturing  deals  with  the  transforming  and  utilising 
of  the  natural  productions,  and  embraces  all  the  indus- 
trial interests.  Commerce,  finally,  is  the  means  of 
exchange  between  nations,  and  is  the  avenue  of  supply 
and  demand.  Thus  the  various  branches  of  political 
economy,  being  dependent  on  each  other,  progress  in 
the  same  proportion  so  long  as  the  development  of  each 

x  2 


308  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

is  normal.  They  work  together  and  are  dependent  on 
each  other,  so  that  agriculture  and  manufactures  help 
each  other,  and  commerce  perfects  the  object  of  both. 
The  politico-economic  condition  of  a  nation  depends 
on  the  co-operation  and  equilibrium  of  these  various 
branches. 

Let  a  general  social  disturbance  arise,  let  the  mer- 
cantile spirit  depress  manufacturing  interests  or  foster 
idleness,  the  politico-economic  standing  of  the  nation 
suffers,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  moral  and  intellectual 
character.  These  evils  increase  in  proportion  as  capital, 
which  means  unearned  income,  succeeds  in  influencing 
the  relations  between  man  and  man  for  its  own  benefit. 


309 


CHAPTER  I 

AGRICULTURAL    LIFE 

In  considering  the  agricultural  condition  of  a  country, 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  know  to  whom  the 
land  belongs,  how  it  is  divided,  and  how  it  is  worked. 

At  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  we  find  the  greater 
portion  of  the  soil  belonging  to  sovereign  princes  (lay 
and  ecclesiastical),  to  feudal  lords,  monasteries  and 
institutions,  to  the  nobles  and  the  cities.  Generally 
speaking,  these  different  properties  had  not  yet  coalesced 
into  great  tracts,  but  belonged  to  separate  owners, 
living  quite  at  a  distance  from  each  other.  It  was  very 
seldom  that  a  whole  village  belonged  to  one  proprietor. 
It  was  generally  held  by  three  or  four  proprietors,  who 
let  it  out  to  feudal  lords,  and  these  in  turn  sublet  to 
smaller  tenants. 

We  find  in  almost  all  parts  of  Germany,  particu- 
larly those  where  the  nobility  had  not  great  power, 
certain  tracts  belonging  to  peasant  proprietors  lying 
between  the  estates  of  the  nobles.  In  the  north-western 
and  south-eastern  portions  of  Germany,  in  Friesland 
and  Lower  Saxony,  in  Suabia,  Franconia,  and  in 
the  Ehine  Provinces,  in  old  Bavaria  and  the  Tyrol, 
there  were  several  prosperous  landed  peasant  proprie- 
tors or  corporations. 

The  principle  of  '  the  indivisibility  of  property ' 
-almost  universally  discountenanced  the  breaking-up  of 


310  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

properties,  and  was  a  great  protection  to  the  peasant 
population.  Generally  the  eldest  son  inherited  not 
only  the  land,  but  all  the  stock  and  farming  and 
household  utensils.  The  property  descended  from 
father  to  son,  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  proprietor 
possessing  a  certain  '  inalienable  right '  to  their  support 
in  the  house.  The  house  could  not  be  sold  or  mort- 
gaged without  the  consent  of  the  next  heir,  and  the 
Saxon  law  (Sachsenspiegel)  obliged  the  latter  to  pay 
only  such  debts  as  were  within  the  value  of  his  chattels.1 
This  was  to  protect  the  peasants  from  usurious 
lending.  Geiler  of  Kaisersberg  wrote :  '  When  the 
Jews  know  they  cannot  get  much  out  of  a  property  they 
will  not  lend  much.' 

Amongst  both  the  freehold  and  leasehold  peasant 
properties  there  were  three  different  classes — those  of 
from  90  to  330  acres,  those  of  60  acres,  and  those 
of  less  extent. 

Besides  the  '  farmers,'  there  were  (under  various 
names)  '  house  tenants,'  who  possessed  merely  a  hut,  or 
at  most  a  cottage  and  garden  or  a  little  field.  The 
heritages  and  property  which  belonged  to  the  Church 
were  of  vital  importance  to  the  very  poor,  because  they 
consisted  not  only  of  houses,  but  tracts  of  land,  for  the 
care  of  which  the  Church  was  held  responsible ;  this 
was  the  means  of  providing  many  with  shelter  and 
work.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  Church 
lands  were  sub-rented  to  peasants,  from  among  whom 
w  collectors  of  tithes '  were  appointed.  These  collectors 
were  responsible  for  the  rents  in  money  or  produce. 

1  The  possessions  of  the  peasant  tenant  were  looked  upon  as  inalienable. 
See  C.  v.  Vogelsang,  Die  Nothwendigl-eit  einer  neuen  Gtrundenlastung 
(Vienna,  1880),  p.  11. 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  311 

There  were  also  '  free  farmers  '  on  church  or  seignorial 
land,  paying  generally  to  the  lord  of  the  soil  the  '  third 
sheaf.'  The  first  was  supposed  to  pay  the  necessary 
expenses  of  cultivating,  the  remaining  two  went  to  the 
farmer  and  to  the  lord.  Others  held  land  for  life,  this 
land  being  termed  '  Zinslehen '  (i.e.  a  feudal  tenure  for 
which  rent  is  paid) ;  others  again  by  inheritance  and  in 
return  for  certain  personal  service.  Many  lived  on  the 
manors  under  the  special  protection  of  the  lord  of  the 
soil,  cultivating  their  land  (i.e.  the  land  of  their  lords), 
many  as  '  coloni '  on  outlying  (or  detached)  land. 

The  agricultural  population  being  made  up  of  these 
different  classes  of  holders,  it  might  be  said  that  at  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages  most  of  the  land  was  virtually 
in  the  hands  of  the  tenants,  the  lords  of  the  soil  merely 
receiving  rent  or  service  for  it.  By  degrees  the  posses- 
sions of  tenants  became  as  independent  as  those  of  free 
peasants. 

We  never  find  that  tenants  were  serfs.  Serfdom, 
which  became  so  general  after  the  close  of  the  social 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  only  known 
in  the  fifteenth  century  among  the  peasants  of  Pome- 
rania.  Besides,  Germany  was  under  the  influence  of 
the  Church,  which  proclaimed  the  old  Suabian  common 
law  taken  from  the  Scripture :  '  No  man  belongs  to 
another ' ;  also  the  imperial  law  :  '  The  people  are  God's 
and  the  tribute  is  the  Emperor's.'  These  principles  pre- 
vailed generally.  Those  who  paid  rent  for  their  land, 
either  in  money  or  personal  service,  could  not  leave  the 
holdings  confided  to  them  without  the  permission  or 
knowledge  of  their  lords;  they  were  'bound  to  the  land,' 
but  they  had  personal  liberty,  and  their  leases  were  for 
the  most  part  perpetual,  descending  from  father  to  son, 


312  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

generally  to  the  eldest.  In  case  of  no  male  issue  the 
eldest  daughter  inherited.  In  case  of  there  being  no 
children  the  land  reverted  to  the  lord  of  the  soil. 
Taxes  were  charged  on  the  '  colonial '  land  (land  culti- 
vated by  '  coloni'),  whilst  the  seignorial  and  ecclesiastical 
proprietors  were  exempt  with  respect  to  their  own  land 
(i.e.  land  under  their  immediate  management),  which 
is  an  unanswerable  proof  that  the  '  colonial '  estates 
were  not  looked  upon  as  the  exclusive  property  of  the 
lord  of  the  soil.  They  were  '  tied  property '  for  land- 
lord and  tenant  alike. 

From  a  politico-economic  point  of  view  this  species 
of  tenure-right  over  tenants  personally  free  was  evi- 
dence of  a  care  for  the  peasant  on  a  hereditary  basis. 
Through  it  he  was  assured  a  habitation  and  a  living, 
the  surest  foundation  of  self-respecting  independence. 
The  hereditary  leasing  worked  well  agriculturally,  for 
the  tenant  with  a  perpetual  lease  was  as  much  inte- 
rested in  the  improvement  of  the  land  as  the  lord  of 
the  soil.  The  hereditary  tenant,  even  in  those  pro- 
vinces, Pomerania  for  instance,  where  at  a  later  date 
the  peasantry  became  so  miserable,  did  not  fear  to 
improve  the  property,  for  the  buildings  and  all  their 
furniture,  the  seed  and  the  cattle,  were  his.  Even 
the  forests  were  at  his  disposal  for  the  necessities  of 
husbandry. 

The  contemporary  writer  Kantzow  says :  '  The 
peasants  of  Pomerania  pay  a  modest  toll  and  render, 
besides,  certain  personal  services.  They  are  well-to-do, 
and  when  they  no  longer  wish  to  belong  to  the  manor 
they  can,  with  the  permission  of  the  landlord,  sell  their 
holding  and  pay  him  a  tenth  of  the  price.  Then  they 
are  free  to  go,  and  take  their  children  where  they  will.' 


AGRIOULTUEAL   LIFE  313 

Kantzow  writes  further  of  the  manor  tenants  of  the 
island  of  Rugen : *  '  The  peasants  of  this  land  are  rich 
and  well  to  do ;  they  pay  a  small  toll  and  render  some 
service,  but  otherwise  they  have  no  obligations.  Most 
of  them  pay  money  instead  of  services  ;  such  persons 
consider  themselves  entirely  free  and  refuse  to  pay 
court  to  the  petty  nobility.  Their  position  is  so  good 
that  sometimes  a  pcor  nobleman  gives  his  daughter  in 
marriage  to  a  rich  peasant,  whose  children  look  on 
themselves  as  half  noble.' 

The  holdings  of  the  '  temporary  tenants '  (termed 
leases  on  pleasure)  could  not  be  revoked,  any  more  than 
the  hereditary  leases,  for  the  sake  of  increase  of  rent  or 
any  arbitrary  whim  of  the  landlord. 

The  rights  and  obligations  of  the  manor  lords  and 
manor  tenants  in  most  parts  of  Germany  were  clearly 
laid  down  in  the  so-called  '  Oracles  or  Manor  Rights.' 
These  regulations,  particularly  those  published  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  are  striking  evidences  of  the  broad 
and  impartial  character  of  the  German  laws  and  of  the 
good  sense  which  inspired  them.  Complaints  of  tres- 
passing and  infringement  on  the  part  of  both  manor 
lord  and  tenant  were  frequent  enough.  In  times  of 
disturbance  there  were  instances  of  encroachments  and 
violence  against  the  weak  ;  but,  generally,  these  troubles 
were  settled  either  by  legal  redress  or  amicable  com- 
pensation. 

The  manor  lords  and  manor  tenants  were  put  in 

1  Lette  and  V.  Ronne,  i.  17.  The  farms  were  formerly  hereditary. 
In  East  and  West  Prussia  the  following  law  was  in  force  until  1414  :  '  If 
the  tenant  makes  over  his  lease  to  a  bondsman  with  the  permission  of  the 
landlord,  having  paid  his  tax,  the  latter  cannot  prevent  his  leaving.'  In 
Westphalia  we  find  the  word  slavery  first  in  1558  (see  Kindlinger,  Horig- 
keit).  There  was  no  question  of  serfdom  ;  it  was  unknown  before  the  six- 
teenth century  (see  G.  Haussen,  p.  12). 


314  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

possession  by  the  lord  of  the  soil  or  by  his  representa- 
tive. Before  this  investiture  the  incoming  party  made 
an  oath  of  allegiance  which  bound  him  to  all  the 
required  conditions.  With  this  oath  of  allegiance 
began  the  duty  of  the  lord  to  protect  the  property  of 
the  tenant  and  to  provide  for  him  in  case  of  war, 
famine,  or  other  great  calamity.  Although  '  bound  to 
the  soil,'  the  tenant  could,  without  the  permission  of 
the  lord,  send  his  children  or  members  of  his  family 
into  the  service  of  other  masters,  or  into  cities  or  villages, 
where  they  could  earn  the  right  of  citizenship.  Should 
the  tenant  wish  to  leave  the  manor,  he  had  to  discharge 
all  outstanding  rent  or  service,  settle  with  his  creditors, 
and  publicly,  sometimes  at  the  church  on  Sunday, 
announce  his  intention.  He  must  leave  '  in  full  day- 
light ' — that  is,  openly.  '  His  preparations,'  prescribes 
the  law,  '  must  be  made  by  daylight ;  the  fire  must  be 
extinguished  before  sunset.  In  the  evening  his  goods 
or  baggage  must  be  put  upon  a  waggon,  the  pole  of 
which  pointed  in  the  direction  in  which  he  intended 
going,  and  then  he  was  to  be  accompanied  on  the  road 
by  many.' 1  Former  tenants  could  return  to  their 
holdings  by  re- assuming  the  imposed  conditions.2 

The  rentals  of  manor  tenants  were  generally  very 
moderate,  and  often  paid  in  kind  or  in  services  whose 

1  WeistJiuvi  des  Hofes  Prouzfeld  bei  Pruim,  1476 ;  Niedecluren, 
1469 ;  Tablatt,  1471 ;  Grimm,  Weisthilmer,  ii.  p.  558,  L.  219-225.  Among 
the  regulations  of  the  Abbey  of  Alpirsbach  we  find  the  following :  '  The 
tenant,  having  paid  his  obligations,  may  go  where  he  will.  The  bailiff 
shall  take  leave  of  him  with  the  words,  "  Go,  in  the  name  of  God  ;  should 
it  be  to  your  advantage  to  return,  come.  You  will  find  us  what  you  have 
already  found  us  "  '  (Grimm,  i.  376). 

2  The  Weisthilmer  of  1477,  1518;  Grimm,  i.  292  ;  Maurer,  Fronhofe, 
iii.  pp.  134-137.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  many  landlords 
gave  their  tenants  complete  freedom. 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  315 

nature  was  exactly  agreed  upon.  For  instance,  in 
Austria,  only  twelve  days'  service  during  the  year  was 
required.  A  very  peculiar  tax  was  the  '  death  tax,'  by 
which  on  the  death  of  a  tenant  the  heir  was  obliged  to 
pay  '  the  best  head  or  chattel,'  which  meant  the  best 
head  of  cattle  or  piece  of  clothing.  This  tax  corre- 
sponded to  the  '  succession  tax,'  which  was  exacted  in 
towns  from  '  non-burghers,'  although  not  nearly  so  high 
as  the  latter,  which  in  some  cases  reached  25  per  cent.1 
In  the  Austrian  dukedoms,  where  the  '  best  tax '  was 
abolished  as  an  intolerable  imposition,  there  was  a  death 
tax  of  5  per  cent,  on  all  unencumbered  inheritance, 
from  which,  however,  pious  bequests,  instruments  of 
husbandry,  and  clothing,  and  such  things,  were  excepted. 
In  Tyrol  the  lord  of  the  soil  received  a '  succession  tax ' 
of  only  1  per  cent. 

As  an  acknowledgment  of  suzerainty  the  law  in 
many  places  prescribed  a  service  clause.  In  the  dis- 
trict of  Langenberg,  for  instance,  the  inhabitants  of 
eight  villages  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  in  pairs  un- 
invited during  the  three  days  of  Whitsuntide,  and 
dancing  under  the  linden  trees  in  the  presence  of  the 
landlord,  who  entertained  them  with  cake  and  beer. 
Those  who  remained  away  or  refused  to  dance  were 
punished. 

While  performing  their  feudal  services  the  peasants 
were  supported  by  the  landlord.  We  find  the  knights 
of  the  Teutonic  order  at  Tischingen  gave  their  service 
tenants  red  wine,  beef,  and  barley  bread  while  they 
rendered  their  service.  In  the  documents  of  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Strasburg  we  read  :  '  Be  it  known  that  all 
manor  tenants  shall  pay  each  year  three  days'  bodily 

1  As  in  Constance,  1512.     Mone,  xvii.  p.  132. 


316  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

service  as  the  bailiff  may  direct  him ;  when  the  day  is 
over  he  shall  sit  upon  a  stool,  and  the  bailiff  shall  give 
him  a  loaf  long  enough  to  reach  from  his  knee  to  his 
chin,  called  the  "  night  loaf."  In  the  documents  of 
Hansbergen,  near  Strasburg,  we  read :  '  The  peasants 
shall  be  served  twice  a  year  with  two  dishes  of  meat, 
and  the  meat  shall  be  four  fingers  wider  than  the  dishes, 
and  there  shall  be  new  glasses  and  new  dishes,  and 
enough  of  wine.'  At  Alzey  'the  peasants,  men  and 
women,  had  to  give  two  days  at  harvest  time.  When 
the  women  had  young  children,  they  must  go  home 
three  times  a  day  to  suckle  them.  At  night  each  man 
shall  receive  such  a  loaf  as  the  twenty-fourth  part  of  a 
hogshead  of  grain  will  make.'  The  law  was  very  ex- 
plicit in  regard  to  the  amount  of  provisions  to  be 
allowed  to  wine  carriers,  and,  while  it  generously  stipu- 
lated '  two  kinds  of  meat,  two  kinds  of  bread,  and  two 
kinds  of  wine,'  it  took  care  that  they  should  not  take 
too  much  of  the  latter.  In  the  Chronicles  (' Weisthiimer5) 
of  the  Abbev  of  Priim  we  read  :  '  When  the  carrier 

ml 

arrives  at  evening  at  the  Moselle  he  shall  be  fed  with 
soup  and  sufficient  wine.  On  the  road  he  shall  have 
one  quart  of  wine  to  each  mile,  but  he  shall  not  drink 
so  much  that  he  cannot  care  for  goods  under  his  charge. 
When  he  comes  home  he  shall  have  two  sorts  of  meat, 
two  sorts  of  wine,  and  two  sorts  of  bread  ;  but  he  shall 
not  drink  enough  to  make  him  strike  against  the  door, 
else  he  shall  be  punished.'  The  term  of  body  service 
was  generally  two  days,  often  one  day  and  one  night. 

The  money  or  service  rents  of  the  manor  lord  or 
manor  tenant,  according  to  law,  were  delivered  by  him 
personally  or  by  his  representative  to  the  lord  of  the 
soil,  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  these  payments  to  be 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  317 

returned  by  gifts  or  otherwise.  The  tenant  or  his  mes- 
senger was  entertained  by  the  lord  ;  in  some  places 
even  clothed  and  amused  by  music  and  dancing.  For 
instance,  the  Eanger  of  Laufen,  when  he  paid  his  dues 
of  swine  at  the  Castle  of  Constance,  received  in  return 
'  the  weight  of  his  fattest  pig  in  rye.'  The  messenger 
who  brought  the  shoulders  and  hams  of  swine  to  the 
Castle  at  Hirscholm  was  to  be  honourably  received  and 
placed  at  a  table  with  white  vessels.  His  horse  was  to 
be  placed  in  the  stable  overnight,  and  have  enough  of 
oats ;  on  taking  his  departure  in  the  morning  the  man 
was  to  receive  a  fee  '  according  to  ancient  custom.' 
The  carpenters  and  coalmen  belonging  to  the  manor 
of  Sigolsheim,  between  Colmar  and  Schlettstadt,  fared 
even  better.  On  presenting  their  dues  '  each  man  shall 
receive  one  yard  of  cloth  to  make  a  pair  of  breeches. 
.  .  .  Whoever  shall  cut  wood  in  our  forests  shall  receive 
from  each  house  an  ounce  of  pennies,  and  be  well  and 
kindly  received  at  Munsterthal.'  '  At  night  a  straw 
bed  shall  be  made  for  him  ;  an  old  man  shall  watch  his 
clothes  in  order  that  they  may  not  be  burned.  The- 
Abbot  of  St.  Gregory  shall  give  him  two  pairs  of  new 
shoes.  He  shall  then  go  to  the  farm  of  Wilze  to  break- 
fast, and  thence  to  the  farm  of  Durincheim,  where  he 
shall  be  well  treated,  and  given  red  wine  out  of  the  cask.'' 
In  the  book  of  '  Manor  Eights '  of  Menchinger 
(1441)  we  read:  'The  bailiff  has  a  "  harvest  right"; 
all  those  who  cannot  mow  must  rake  one  day  for  him.1 

1  Grimm,  Bechtsalterthiimer,  p.  395  (see  p.  318).  '  I  consider,'  saj'S- 
Grimm,  '  that  the  terms  of  leasing  and  of  service  in  the  olden  time  were 
better  and  easier  than  the  conditions  under  which  the  peasants  and  factory 
workers  are  now.  The  law  which  prevailed  through  the  whole  German 
Empire  making  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  legal  time,  so  to  speak, 
was  often  advantageous  to  the  worker.' 


318  HISTORY    OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

A  bell  shall  be  rung  to  call  them  to  the  house  of  the 
bailiff,  when  a  piper  shall  conduct  them  to  the  field, 
who  in  the  evening  shall  lead  them  back.'  The  same 
4  Manor- right  Law  '  requires  that  '  when  the  fishermen 
bring  fish  to  the  manor  house  the  wife  of  the  bailiff 
shall  give  him  a  good  loaf,  and  when  he  has  done  his 
work  extraordinarily  well  she  shall  be  very  good  to 
him,  and  give  him  a  roast. 

Besides  the  taxes  which  were  brought,  there  were 
others,  so  called  '  collectable,'  which  were  collected  by 
the  manor  lord.  The  precision  of  the  laws  shows 
remarkable  consideration  ;  for  instance,  the  baby  in  the 
cradle  must  not  be  wakened,  nor  shall  the  fowl  on  the 
nest  be  frightened.  Should  the  wife  of  the  tenant 
be  in  child-bed,  the  collector  must  be  content  with  the 
head  of  a  fowl,  leaving  the  body  for  the  strengthening 
of  the  invalid.  When  the  collector  took  lodgings  at 
the  tenant's  he  was  obliged  to  leave  his  sword  and  spurs 
at  the' door,  '  so  as  not  to  frighten  the  wife.' 

A  sentence  taken  from  the  '  Manor  Laws '  of  the 
manor  of  Walmersheim,  which  belonged  to  the  Abbey 
of  Prtim,  may  serve  to  show  us  with  what  care  the 
rights  of  all  were  respected :  '  Besides  the  other  taxes, 
each  quarter  of  land  shall  pay  the  manor  lord  seven 
eggs.  The  eighth  egg  shall  be  placed  by  the  wife  on 
the  threshold  and  broken ;  the  part  that  falls  inside 
shall  belong  to  the  tenant,  that  on  the  outside  to  the 
lord.' 

The  laws  with  regard  to  the  punishment  of  those 
backward  in  their  payments  give  us  much  information 
about  the  condition  of  the  tenants.  Generally  the 
penalty  consisted  of  a  small  money  fine  or  some 
slight   compensation   in   the  shape  of  bread  or  wine. 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  319 

Occasionally  the  holding  was  confiscated,  but  the  law 
recommended  the  lord  '  not  to  be  hard,  and  to  allow 
sufficient  time ;  to  be  merciful  to  the  poor  in  particular, 
unless  they  be  obstinate  and  extravagant.' 

Usually  the  delinquent  was  allowed  a  reprieve.  In 
the  regulations  of  Kleinfrankenheim,  in  Lower  Alsatia, 
we  read  :  '  He  who  has  not  paid  his  rent  in  the  sunlight 
and  before  the  sun  sets  must  give  seven  shillings,  when 
the  agent  may,  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses, 
deprive  such  a  one  of  his  land  ;  but  he  must  be  given 
three  notices  within  fourteen  days.  The  messenger 
who  brings  the  notices  shall  receive  two  measures  of 
wine.  Should  the  dues  not  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the 
fourteen  days,  the  poor  man  need  not  fear  any  jjrocess 
for  a  year,  when  the  land  belongs  to  the  lord  to  dispose 
of  as  he  pleases.  But  if,  during  the  year,  the  tenant 
was  not  at  home  when  the  notices  were  served,  or  if 
the  back  charges  are  all  paid,  the  agent  shall  reinstate 
the  tenant.'  Up  to  the  last  moment  the  dilatory  tenant 
could  remit  his  dues  to  the  collector.  The  manor 
laws  of  Birgel,  the  property  of  St.  Peter's  manor  of 
Mentz,  decree  that  '  on  St.  Thomas's  Day  preceding 
Christmas  each  tenant  shall  pay  his  lord  thirty  pennies, 
and  if  he  has  not  the  money  he  may  give  security.  If 
in  the  course  of  the  day  he  does  not  give  either  money 
or  security,  the  bailiff  shall  put  the  land  into  the  hands 
of  the  lord.  Should  the  agent  coming  to  collect  the 
tax  meet  the  poor  man  bringing  his  dues  before  he 
reach  the  great  door,  then  shall  he  remit  him  his  debt.' 

In  reference  to  the  treatment  of  those  who  did  not 
pay  their  dues,  either  in  money  or  kind,  the  Chronicle 
of  Bieber  (in  Hundsruck),  in  1506,  says :  '  The  bailiff 
himself  shall  not  go    to  distrain.      He  shall  seek  the 


320  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

judge  of  the  district,  who  shall  repair  to  the  house  of 
the  tenant  and  mortgage  only  what  is  sufficient  to  pay 
the  outstanding  debts.  The  agent  shall  remain  outside, 
and  not  go  into  the  house.'  Should  the  judge  find 
enough  in  the  house  to  meet  the  debt,  he  handed  it  over 
the  fence  to  the  bailiff,  but  if  not  he  begged  the  latter 
to  have  patience  '  until  God  stretched  forth  His  hand 
to  the  poor  man.' 

All  these  ordinances,  so  minutely  framed,  clearly 
prove  that  '  the  poor  man,'  personally  free,  still  belonged 
to  the  estate,  was  not  without  protection,  and  that  his 
position  with  regard  to  his  landlord  was  anything  but 
degrading.  This  ownership  of  the  tenant  secured  him 
his  living,  and  in  most  cases  made  the  home  an  inherit- 
ance from  father  to  son.  Where  the  tenant  gave 
personal  service  he  was  looked  upon  as  belonging  to 
the  household  of  the  landlord. 

There  was  great  variety  in  the  characteristics  of 
the  rural  settlements.  The  villages  in  the  mountainous 
districts  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Tyrol,  in  Upper  and 
Lower  Austria,  in  Styria,  in  Carinthia,  in  the  Bavarian 
Highlands,  and  in  the  moorlands  of  the  North  and 
Baltic  Seas,  were  nothing  more  than  scattered  groups 
of  farms,  seignorial  manors.  The  peasants  of  Pomerania 
and  Lower  Bavaria  dwelt  on  isolated  farms  ;  those  of 
the  Ehenish  Provinces  lived  on  closely  grouped  farms, 
and  those  of  the  western  forest  lands  dwelt  in  small 
villages  or  hamlets. 

In  the  hill  country  and  high  plains  of  the  South,  as 
well  as  in  the  North  German  '  flats,'  there  were  large 
compact  villages.  In  Westphalia  there  were  peasant 
tenements,  manor  houses,  and  villages  side  by  side  with 
one  another.     The  peasants  of  Pomerania  and  Lower 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  321 

Bavaria  lived  on  scattered  isolated  farms,  those  of  the 
Rhine  on  small  holdings  in  little  villages,  those  of  the 
western  forest-lands  in  small  villages  and  hamlets. 

Many  characteristic  villages  founded  under  the  old 
German  agrarian  laws  of  field  and  forest  confederation 
still   existed.      Besides   the   regular   rented    premises, 
each  village  owned  a  common  district,  or  mark,  called 
Allgemeine,  Allmeine,  or  Almende,  consisting  of  forest, 
pasture-grounds,  meadows,  heath,  and  bog,  and  from 
the  common  rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  in 
this  district  the  whole  settlement  was  called  a  Gemeinde. 
Every  man  resident  in  the  village — not  only  the  free 
man,  but  also  the  serf — had  his  share  in  it ;  but  it  was  an 
essential  condition  that  he  should  really  be  a  resident, 
possessing  his  own  '  smoke,'  his  own  '  hearth,'  his  own 
'  meat  and  bread '  or  '  separate,  independent  meals,'  that 
is,  that  he  should  have  a  separate,  independent  house- 
hold.    Occasionally,  however,  the  serfs  had  to  pay  a 
small  rental  for  their  share  in  the  common  mark.     For 
instance,  in  Homau  and  Keclhheim,  in  the  Taunus  dis- 
trict, the  serfs,  according  to  a  chronicle  of  1482,  had  to 
pay  a  '  Lent  fowl  and  three  farthings  ' ;  in  the  Almende 
attached   to    the  Abbey  of  Lindau    a  Lent  fowl ;    in 
Winnigen  on   the   Moselle  '  a  gracious  gift  of  wine/ 
according  to  the  harvest.     Many  of  these  communal 
holdings,  however,  were  free  for  all,  '  to  use  to  the  best 
of  their  necessities ' ;    they  had  '  water,  pasture,  and 
game.'     '  The  fish  of  the  water  and  the  game  of  the 
land  for  their  nourishment  and   necessity.'     But  they 
could  sell  no  part  of  the  land,  neither  could  the  land- 
lords sell  anything  without  the  consent  of  the  village 
community ;  they  were  not  even  allowed  to  cut  wood 
without  this  consent,  and  export  it  from  the  district. 
VOL.  i.  y 


322  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

Each  member  of  these  associate  villages,  whether  lay 
or  civil,  with  or  without  a  tax,  had  rights  on  the 
common  district  as  well  as  in  the  particular  portion 
owned  by  him  individually.1 

In  the  fifteenth  century  the  privileges  of  the  mem- 
bers of  these  communal  villages  consisted  in  c  acorning ' 
(i.e.  sending  their  animals  into  the  forest  to  eat  acorns), 
pasture,  and  wood  rights.  Eegular  days  were  assigned 
for  the  cutting  and  carrying  of  wood,  when  each  house- 
holder, under  the  direction  of  an  overseer,  took  what 
he  required  for  building  and  burning,  for  fencing,  for 
his  vineyard,  and  any  other  purposes.  As  the  live 
stock  formed  a  very  important  feature  of  the  farmer's 
possessions,  great  care  was  bestowed  upon  the  pasturage. 
In  most  cases  the  number  of  cattle  to  be  owned  by  each 
farmer  was  explicitly  settled  by  law. 

To  those  inhabitants  of  the  communal  villages  who 
did  not  enjoy  full  membership,  such  as  artisans,  certain 
privileges  were  accorded.  They  were  allowed  to  graze 
a  goat,  a  pig,  or  a  cow  on  the  common  land.  The  very 
poor  were  given  as  alms  either  the  produce  of  a  fruit 
tree  or  the  right  to  cultivate  a  small  garden  within  the 
district  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  besides  a  place  to 
build.  In  many  confederate  villages  building-  and  fire- 
wood was  given  to  this  latter  class.  In  certain  places 
a  woman  at  childbirth,  whether  she  belonged  to  the 
community  or  not,  was  allowed  a  certain  amount  of 
firewood,  which  was  doubled  if  the  child  was  a  boy. 

Such  allowances  were  called  '  friendly  offerings  to 
those  who  stand  in  need  of  our  assistance,'  and  to  a 
certain  extent  they  were  bestowed  on  travellers  also. 

1  This  made  the  robbery  of  Church  property  in  the  sixteenth  century 
also  a  robbery  of  the  poor,  who  lost  their  benefits  from  the  Almende. 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  323 

Entries  like  the  following  are  frequently  to  be  met  with 
in  the  '  Chronicles ' :  '  If  a  stranger  wishes  to  fish  he 
can  throw  his  line  in  our  brooks  ; '  '  any  traveller  may 
eat  all  the  grapes  he  wishes,  but  he  must  not  put  any 
in  his  sack.  The  watchman  shall  not  charge  him  for 
what  he  has  taken,  but  invite  him  to  proceed  further, 
and  put  him  on  the  right  way  ; '  '  a  stranger  riding 
through  the  fields  may  take  as  much  grain  as  he  can 
hold  in  his  hand  on  a  gallop ; '  '  a  carrier  passing  the 
field  may  take  three  sheaves.'  Even  the  beasts  of  burden 
belonging  to  strangers  were  cared  for.  '  Should  a 
stranger  travelling  with  his  goods  and  beasts  be  sur- 
prised by  the  darkness,  his  horses  must  be  unyoked  and 
cared  for  overnight  by  the  community.  In  case  of 
accident  the  traveller  might  take  whatever  wood  was 
necessary  for  the  repairing  of  his  waggon. 

As  the  fields  and  forests  belonging  to  the  com- 
munity were  considered  'sacred  and  inviolable,'  the 
periodical  inspection  and  determining  of  possessions 
and  boundaries  was  regarded  by  the  whole  community 
as  an  occasion  of  deep  importance.  The  processions 
were  accompanied  by  flags,  drums,  and  fifes,  and 
assumed  something  of  a  religious  character.  On  the 
boundaries  of  the  district  altars  were  erected,  the  Gospel 
was  sung,  and  the  pastor  called  down  a  blessing  on  the 
land.  In  the  seignorial  or  manor  districts  the  agents 
of  the  lord  joined  in  the  procession.  The  possessions 
of  private  individuals,  whether  fields,  woods,  gardens, 
or  vineyards,  were  marked  out  and  generally  enclosed 
by  hedges,  which  it  was  a  legal  offence  to  injure.  The 
lands  belonging  to  the  community  were  always  sur- 
rounded by  a  hedge,  a  ditch,  or  a  simple  wall. 

The  methods  of  house  building  among  the  peasants 

T  2 


324  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

varied  under  the  different  reigns  and  with  the  various 
races.  The  houses  of  the  Franconians  were  built  with 
the  dwelling,  stable,  barn,  and  sheds  all  in  a  close 
square,  so  that  the  owner  could  easily  go  from  one  to 
the  other  without  setting  foot  outside  his  own  walls.  The 
houses  of  the  Suabian  peasants  consisted  of  two  storeys  ; 
the  stable  was  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  sheds  were 
under  the  same  roof.  In  the  Saxon  peasant  house  the 
hearth  was  built  in  the  middle,  and  the  peasant's  wife 
from  her  seat  behind  it  could  keep  an  eye  on  the  whole 
establishment  at  once — children,  servants,  horses  and 
cows,  garret,  cellar  and  dwelling-rooms.  The  seat  by 
the  hearth  was  the  best  in  the  house.  The  fire  was 
kept  burning  on  the  hearth  all  day  long,  and  smouldered 
on  through  the  night,  only  being  put  out,  according  to 
old  custom,  at  the  death  of  the  head  of  the  house.1 

The  very  walls  gave  evidence  of  the  deep  devotion 
of  the  peasant  to  his  home  ;  the  frescoed  ploughshare, 
sickle,  sheaf,  or  the  vine-hoe,  told  how  proud  the  owner 
was  of  his  work.  '  The  Book  of  Fruits  '  says :  '  The 
true  peasant  has  no  greater  blessing  than  his  house  and 
wife  and  children.  He  loves  his  work  and  holds  his 
calling  in  high  esteem,  for  God  Himself  instituted  it  in 
Paradise.'     A  popular  song  ran  thus  : 

'  The  knight  said,  "I  am  born  of  a  noble  race."  The 
peasant  spoke  :  "  I  cultivate  the  corn  ;  that  is  the  better 
part.  Did  I  not  work  you  could  not  exist  on  your 
heraldry,"  &c.' 

The  tiller  of  the  soil  played  an  important  part  in 
the  communal  organisation  which  regulated  the  duties 
and  rights  of  each  member.     Each  associate  was  called 

1  These  customs  still  exist  among  the  well-to-do  peasants  in  Schleswick 
and  of  Oldenburg  (Rhiel,  Familic,  p.  213). 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  325 

upon  to  assist  in  maintaining  order  and  justice.  In  all 
things  appertaining  to  the  interests  of  the  village  he 
had  a  vote.  In  all  discussions  and  quarrels  the  maxim 
was  :  '  All  for  one,  one  for  all.' 

That  fraternal  bond,  community  of  interests,  was  the 
foundation  of  this  communal  life,  so  greatly  prized  by 
the  peasants. 

The  mayor,  agent,  and  district  judge  were  elected 
by  the  vote  of  the  people,  and  had  jurisdiction  not  only 
over  the  profits  of  the  commune,  but  also  over  the  leased 
possessions.  At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  the 
Saxon  maxim,  '  What  the  mayor  with  the  approval  of 
the  majority  decides  for  the  benefit  of  the  village  must 
not  be  opposed  by  the  minority,'  still  had  weight. 

The  manner  of  farming  was  naturally  determined  by 
the  character  of  the  soil,  but  the  system  of  succession  of 
crops  generally  prevailed  throughout  the  confederate  vil- 
lages. The  field  was  planted  the  first  year  with  winter 
crops,  the  second  with  summer  wheat,  and  the  third  it 
was  allowed  to  lie  fallow,  in  order  that  the  soil  might 
recover  from  the  exhaustion  occasioned  by  production. 
In  the  fifteenth  century  cultivators  began  to  utilise  the 
fallow  ground  by  planting  what  they  called  '  fallow 
crops,'  consisting  generally  of  vetches  and  peas.  All 
over  Upper  Germany  as  far  as  the  Lower  Ehine  we  find, 
close  to  the  regularly  farmed  fields,  Biindenbau,  which 
were  fields  of  the  best  soil  never  permitted  to  lie  fallow, 
but  devoted  to  the  raising  of  vegetables,  flax  and 
hemp.  Grazing  prevailed  in  Southern  Germany  and 
along  the  coast,  and  here  the  fields  were  sown  alternate 
years  with  grass  and  wheat. 

The  agricultural  management  of  each  confederate 
village  or  district  was  settled  by  the  parish,  as  were  also 


326  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

the  succession  of  crops,  the  fallow  year,  the  raising  of" 
stock,  the  irrigating  of  meadows,  the  forestry,  &c.  No 
profit  might  be  made,  no  straw,  hay,  or  other  fodder,  or 
raw  material  might  be  exported,  and  no  manufacture 
carried  on  without  the  permission  of  the  parish 
authorities. 

Agricultural  science  and  forestry  made  decided 
progress  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  we  find 
special  attention  paid  to  regulations  for  thinning,  which 
had  hitherto  been  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave 
large  tracts  in  the  forest  bare.  For  instance,  a  law  was 
made  in  Ober-Winterthur,  in  1472,  that  '  It  shall  be 
decided  each  year  what  trees  can  be  cut  down  without 
injury.'  Of  still  later  date  we  find  'cutting  laws' 
for  the  Khenish  communal  forests.  Great  care  was 
bestowed  on  replacing  the  trees  which  had  been  cut 
down  by  others  whose  wood  was  best  suited  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  age.  Oak  and  beech  trees,  for  in- 
stance, were  specially  cultivated  when  pigs  formed  an 
important  item  of  farm  profit.  The  cultivation  of  trees 
in  the  sixteenth  century  left  little  for  modern  times  to 
improve  :  the  acorns  were  planted,  and  then  the  sap- 
lings transplanted  and  surrounded  by  hedges.  In 
order  to  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  pork 
trade  was  carried  on  in  the  fifteenth  century  we  will 
cite  only  one  fact.  In  1473  thirty-five  thousand  pigs 
belonging  to  the  tenants  of  the  bishopric  of  Spires,  and 
eight  thousand  from  the  Palatine  possessions,  besides 
many  others  belonging  to  those  having  forest  rights, 
were  sent  to  eat  acorns  in  the  wood  of  Lusshart,  between 
Bruchsal  and  Philipsburg. 

Dating  from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  are 
innumerable  forest  laws,  but  as  they  emanated  from  the 


AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  327 

princes  and  lords  of  the  soil,  and  favoured  the  cruel 
amusement  of  the  chase,  they  were  much  to  blame  for 
the  peasant  wars. 

A  report  of  the  regulations  drawn  up  by  a  Ehine- 
lander,  Nicholas  Engelman,  head-steward  from  1495  to 
1516  for  the  demesne  of  Erfurt,  which  belonged  to  the 
estate  of  the  archbishopric  of  Mentz,  gives  us  a  very 
vivid  idea  of  the  peasant  life  of  the  time. 

This  property  in  and  around  Erfurt  consisted  of 
several  parcels  of  land  containing  fields,  gardens,  pas- 
tures and  vineyards,  besides  forests  of  willows,  alders 
and  evergreens,  covering  in  all  six  hundred  and  sixty 
acres.  There  were  also  several  mills  and  houses  in  the 
surrounding  villages  which  paid  rent  or  service  to  the 
estate.  During  his  stewardship  Engelman  renewed  all  the 
registers,  cleared  up  the  intricacies  of  the  laws  affecting 
the  different  classes  of  tenants,  established  well-defined 
water-right  laws,  and,  finally,  completed  the  above- 
mentioned  report,  which  is  an  exhaustive  account  of 
the  management  of  the  demesne.  The  regulations  with 
regard  to  field,  forest,  and  vineyard  show  an  advanced 
state  of  agricultural  science.  This  work  of  Engelman's 
is  a  memorial  for  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  in 
some  respects  similar  to  the  Agricultural  Capitulary  of 
Charlemagne  for  the  beginning  of  that  period. 

At  the  head  of  those  responsible  for  the  management 
of  the  estate  stood  the  *  kitchen  steward,'  who  was  en- 
trusted with  the  care  of  the  house  expenses  and  the  gene- 
ral supervision  of  the  farm  work.  Next  to  him  came 
the  porter,  who  was  an  expert,  and  decided  questions 
about  the  farming :  then  followed  the  kitchen  steward's 
secretary,  who  kept  an  account  of  the  harvest ;  and  the 
forester,  who,  besides  the  management  of  the  woods, 


328  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

supervised  the  field  works  of  the  day-labourer  and  of 
the  so-called  '  Fione,'  who  had  to  give  a  specified 
number  of  days  of  labour  to  the  landlord.  The  ad- 
ministration also  employed  a  messenger,  a  salt  inspector, 
a  bridge  toll-taker  with  three  assistants,  and  two  bailiffs. 
We  also  find  mention  of  a  head-forester  and  his  assistant, 
an  agriculturist  and  assistant,  two  meadow-masters, 
three  vineyard-masters,  a  cook,  a  scullion,  a  baker,  a 
miller,  with  their  assistants,  the  house-waiter,  cheese- 
maker,  the  dairymaid,  a  cowherd,  and  also  a  cooper,  a 
fisherman,  and  a  brewer.  The  duties  of  each  are  ex- 
plicitly set  forth.  In  this  long  list  of  servants  we  find 
only  two  women  mentioned,  so  that  what  we  now  con- 
sider woman's  work  must  have  been  done  bv  men.  All 
knew  how  to  read  and  write.  The  manor-house,  which 
stood  in  the  town,  contained  the  chief  house  and  chapel, 
a  second  house,  the  wardrobe,  the  granary,  the  stable, 
two  cowhouses,  a  barn,  a  shed,  servants'  quarters,  a 
prison,  a  bakery,  a  brewhouse,  and  a  bath-house. 

The  principal  superintendent  lived  in  the  chief  house, 
where,  according  to  the  simple  style  of  living  of  the  age, 
he  appropriated  only  two  rooms,  the  chief  luxury  of 
which  consisted  in  glazed  windows,  doors  that  shut,  and 
good  floors  ;  with  him  lived  the  secretary  and  keeper 
of  seals.  In  the  second  house  were  rooms  for  visitors 
and  the  eating-room  of  the  accountant. 

Of  all  the  buildings,  the  most  important  was  the 
granary,  where  the  threshed  corn,  wheat,  barley,  rye, 
oats,  vetches,  rapeseed  and  hops  lay.  Three  times  a 
year  the  head-baker  was  obliged  to  turn  over  the  corn, 
and  once  a  year  to  winnow  it,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
ravages  of  the  corn  worm.  With  the  assistance  of  the 
porter,  the  forester,  the  agriculturist,  and  an    expert 


AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  329 

thresher  he  selected  the  grain  best  fitted  for  seed,  for 
malting,  or  for  grinding,  and  in  season  gave  out  the 
proper  quantity  to  be  sown,  keeping  exact  tally  on  two 
sticks  of  how  much  was  delivered  daily.  One  of  the 
sticks  was  retained  by  the  agriculturist,  while  the  other 
was  placed  in  the  seed  bin.  The  same  formality  was 
observed  with  regard  to  the  grain  for  bread  or  for  stock 
feeding,  and  for  malting.  The  double-stick  tally  was 
brought  into  requisition  in  the  latter  case  also,  and  a 
close  watch  kept  on  the  miller. 

The  same  care  and  exactness  were  observed  in  the 
kitchen,  stables,  and  storehouses,  and  as  the  inventories 
are  still  extant  we  can  form  a  good  idea  of  the  imple- 
ments used. 

In  summer  the  cattle  were  put  out  to  graze,  and  the 
herdsmen  were  instructed  to  '  use  much  vigilance  '  in 
preventing  their  doing  any  injury  to  the  crops.  The 
milch  cows  were  driven  at  midday  to  the  manor  to  be 
milked  ;  the  cheese-woman  (die  Kasemutter)  saw  that  the 
dairymaid  fed  and  milked  them  well,  that  she  took  the 
milk  to  the  cellar  and  put  it  in  pans.  In  winter  the 
cattle  were  housed  ;  the  herdsmen  gave  them  fodder 
and  straw  to  sleep  on,  helped  the  maid  to  remove  the 
manure,  and  saw  that  the  animals  were  not  hurt  in 
their  stalls.  Besides  the  butter  that  was  sent  in  to  the 
kitchen,  much  was  salted  down  in  tubs. 

The  land  was  worked  on  the  '  three-year-succession  ' 
system — that  is,  fallow,  seeding,  and  rolling.  Owing  to 
the  winter  housing  of  the  cattle  there  was  always  an 
abundance  of  manure.  At  reaping  and  harvest  time 
the  peasants  were  obliged  to  assist — as  day-labourers 
working  by  contract.  Wheat  and  rye  were  cut 
with  the  sickle,  but  barley,  oats,  and  lentils  were  mown. 


330  HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

The  grain  was  left  in  the  field  long  enough  to  allow  the 
weeds  bound  with  the  sheaves  to  die,  when  it  was  borne 
in  a  waggon  into  the  barnyard. 

Particular  care  was  bestowed  on  the  meadows  in 
those  days,  when  clover  was  not  yet  grown.  In  spring 
the  meadow-master  passed  over  the  fields  with  his  hoe 
and  rake  in  order  to  level  the  molehills ;  he  was 
required  to  be  very  careful  when  the  grass  was 
sprouting,  so  as  to  prevent  any  damage  to  the  crop, 
The  hedges  which  surrounded  the  meadows  were 
trimmed  yearly.  The  harvesters  were  hired.  If  the 
hay  became  damp  the  service  tenants  were  obliged 
to  spread  it  out,  rake  it  together,  and  put  it  in  the 
stacks.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  haymaster  to  see  that 
this  was  all  done,  and  that  the  meadow  was  raked  clean. 

As  to  forest  culture,  which  was  so  important  an 
item,  the  woodcutting  was  regulated  according  to  dif- 
ferent rules.  In  felling  the  willow  only  half  the  tree 
was  cut  down,  in  order  that  what  was  left  might  sprout 
anew  and  be  fit  for  the  '  six-year '  cutting.  In  cutting 
firewood,  the  parts  of  the  tree  destined  for  hop  poles, 
vine  stakes,  cuttings  and  hedges,  were  laid  in  separate 
piles.  The  cuttings  were  placed  in  water  until  about 
to  be  planted.  Beechwood  was  also  felled  after  a  set 
plan,  the  cutting  taking  place  only  after  the  expiration 
of  a  certain  time.  To  each  woodcutter  a  certain 
task  was  assigned,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  forester 
to  see  that  his  work  was  done  with  a  sharp  axe,  that 
the  branches  were  not  lopped  off,  that  the  wood  was 
laid  in  bundles  containing  a  score,  and  that  these  were 
correctly  counted.  In  order  to  insure  the  increase 
of  wood  each  cutter  was  obliged  to  leave  a  certain 
quantity  of  his  assigned  share  uncut.     At    the    close 


AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  331 

of  the  day's  work  each  woodcutter  could  take  home  a 
bundle  of  brushwood,  and  in  winter  he  carried  a  load. 
Each  year  the  ditches  through  the  woods  and  along  the 
roads  were  repaired  for  the  preservation  of  the  neigh- 
bouring property. 

The  vineyards  extended  over  seventy  acres,  and  the 
manner  in  which,  according  to  the  report,  the  vines 
were  tended  showed  marked  skill  and  enterprise.  The 
day-labourers  for  this  work  were  hired  according  to 
contract,  just  as  in  the  haymaking  and  harvest 
seasons.  Before  the  time  of  vintage  the  cellarer 
had  to  see  that  the  casks,  tubs,  buckets,  troughs, 
dippers,  and  measures  were  in  order.  The  grape 
gatherers,  carriers,  and  treaders  were  closely  watched 
by  the  forester  and  clerk  :  '  they  must  gather,  carry,  and 
press  industriously.'  After  the  vintage  the  cellarer 
delivered  to  the  head-steward  the  quantity  gathered, 
sold  the  husks  by  the  tub,  carefully  watched  the  fer- 
mentation, racked  off  the  wine,  sold  the  dregs  to  the 
distillers,  and  separated  the  muddy  wine,  which  was 
used  in  the  cooking  of  fish  or  to  make  vinegar. 

In  good  years  the  wine  over  and  above  that  which 
was  carried  to  the  manor  was  sold  by  retail  to  the 
citizens.  These  sales  were  often  occasions  of  great 
excitement.  The  buyers,  all  impatient  to  be  served 
at  once,  grew  very  noisy  ;  the  attendants  were  enjoined 
to  prevent  any  cheating  and  to  preserve  order. 

The  cellarer  paid  particular  attention  to  the  wine 
which  was  intended  for  domestic  use,  racking  it  off 
at  the  proper  time  and  pouring  it  into  hogsheads. 
Each  time  a  stoop  of  wine  was  drawn  or  a  hogshead 
emptied  he  cut  a  notch  in  his  stick.  At  the  close  of 
the  year  the  quantity  of  wine  in  stock  was  compared 


332  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

with  the  tally,  and  the  result  with  the  amount  of  wine 
used  in  the  preceding  year. 

The  brewhouse  also  was  under  the  supervision  of 
the  cellarer,  who  saw  to  the  watering,  fermenting,  and 
drying  of  the  malt.  He  carried  it  to  the  mill,  took 
from  the  granary  the  correct  quantity  of  hops,  hired 
his  own  assistant,  and  watched  over  the  brewing.  He 
took  care  of  the  beer  when  made,  and  served  it  in  large 
jugs  at  table. 

The  kitchen  and  cellar  were  beautifully  kept ;  all  the 
servants,  both  the  'Fionem  and  hired  labourers,  ate  at  the 
manor-house  ;  food  was  lavishly  provided,  but  the  regu- 
lar servants  were  directed  to  watch  that  the  labourers 
did  not  take  away  what  was  left  or  give  it  to  outsiders. 
One  of  the  duties  of  the  manor-house  was  to  provide 
for  the  support  of  a  large  number  of  poor  labourers. 
Hence  it  was  not  without  reason  that  the  chief  steward 
was  called  '  the  kitchen-master.'  Oxen,  sheep,  calves, 
and  swine  were  killed  at  the  manor,  ham,  bacon  and 
sausage  prepared,  meat  salted  and  smoked  ;  and  the 
kitchen-master  was  directed  to  '  see  that  the  cook  and 
clerk  acquit  themselves  properly  of  their  task,  to  see 
himself  that  the  oxen  and  swine  be  killed  at  the  proper 
time  and  put  in  salt,  hung  up  and  dried.  He  must 
take  care  that  the  fresh  meat  to  be  used  during  the 
year  be  cleanly  and  healthfully  prepared,  that  each 
person  have  his  share,  that  what  is  left  be  carefully 
put  away  and  utilised,  and  that  the  cook  serve  the 
master  and  servants  well,  cleanly,  and  healthily,  and 
that  each  person  have  enough.' 

The  bath-house  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  The  house  servant  was  directed 
'  to   carry   wood   when   desired    and  to  put  water  in 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  333 

the  kettle  and  baths.'  The  cheese-maker  and  kitchen- 
maid  must  then  '  make  a  lye,  warm  the  rooms,  and 
wash  the  benches,  stools,  and  floors  clean.'  The  house- 
waiter  '  shall  sweep  and  clean  the  rooms  and  heat  them, 
he  shall  wash  the  hand  basins  and  jars.' 

This  report  of  Engelman's  gives  us  an  insight  not  only 
into  the  domestic  economy  of  the  period,  but  also  into 
the  Christian  discipline  which  regulated  the  manners. 
At  the  Erfurt  manor-house  authority  was  strictly  main- 
tained, but  kindness  and  amiability  pervaded  the  whole 
household.  The  chief  steward  was  advised  to  avoid 
everything  which  could  lead  to  strife  with  neighbours  ; 
he  was  to  keep  on  friendly  terms  with  the  mayor  of 
Erfurt.  Every  individual  belonging  to  the  estates,  each 
citizen  of  the  town,  and  any  others  who  might  apply  to 
him,  were  to  be  kindly  received  by  him,  and  given  what- 
ever advice  and  assistance  they  required.  All  the  olden- 
time  usages  for  the  help  of  the  poor  were  put  in  practice. 
For  instance,  although  those  who  put  the  wine  in  the 
cellar  were,  by  the  conditions  of  their  leases,  bound  to  do 
it  gratuitously,  they  nevertheless  received  annually  from 
60  to  120  pennies  as  wages.  The  cooper,  too,  was  paid, 
although  he  owed  his  services  to  the  estate.  If  anyone, 
through  ignorance,  failed  to  pay  the  tax,  half  or  all  the 
penalty  was  remitted.  The  manor  tenants  could  sell 
some  fields  to  outsiders,  but  on  condition  that  the 
buyer  should  give  five  shillings  additional  towards  the 
peasants'  fund.  If  the  purchaser  refused  this  five- 
shilling  tax  his  crops  could  be  levied  on,  and  if  he  did 
not  heed  this  warning  they  were  seized.  But  persuasion 
was  first  tried,  because  '  levying  and  seizing  cause 
much  annoyance,  and  are  apt  to  lead  to  strife.'  A  fine 
of  five  shillings  was  imposed  on  every  proprietor  who 


334  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

did  not  march  in  the  Eogation  procession.  His  sons, 
too,  were  required  to  join,  so  that  they  '  should  know 
the  size  of  the  fields  and  their  situation.' 

The  rights  of  authority  were  strictly  maintained  at 
the  Erfurt  manor.  Everyone  had  to  promise  obedi- 
ence to  the  head-steward  in  all  things  honourable  and 
important,  to  avoid  anything  which  might  injure  his 
Electoral  Highness — in  a  word,  to  fulfil  all  the  duties 
of  faithful  servants.  It  was  forbidden  for  one  servant 
to  abuse  the  other,  but  when  there  was  cause  of  com- 
plaint it  must  be  made  to  the  steward  and  settled 
according  to  his  advice.  The  kitchen-master  must  not 
allow  any  of  the  servants  to  pass  the  night  away  from 
the  manor  without  his  permission.  He  was  not  allowed, 
however,  to  inflict  immediate  punishment,  but  to  give 
the  offender  one  or  two  warnings.  Only  offences 
against  honour  were  punished  without  indulgence. 
Any  servant  who  had  stolen,  abused  the  freedom  of  the 
manor,  or  committed  a  grave  offence,  was  paid  his 
wages  and  turned  away,  having  first  sworn  not  to 
revenge  himself. 

Above  all,  the  kitchen-master  was  enjoined  to  set  a 
good  example,  and  to  begin  his  daily  duties  by  visiting 
the  chapel.  The  written  regulations  read :  '  The 
kitchen-master  must  go  to  church  early  every  day, 
hear  Mass,  and  say  aloud  before  the  people  five  Paters 
and  Aves  in  honour  of  the  wounds  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  thanking  Him  for  His  sacred  Passion,  begging 
Him  to  forgive  him  all  his  sins,  to  show  him  mercy,  to 
preserve  him  from  sin,  and  to  grant  him  grace  to  do 
His  holy  will ' ;  he  must  also  '  take  care  of  all  committed 
to  him,  and  serve  his  master  faithfully  and  well.'  He 
shall  also  reverence  the  mother  of  God,  say  a  prayer  in 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  335 

honour  of  her  nativity,  and  beg  her  to  intercede  with 
her  beloved  Son  for  him. 

The    strict   observance   of  religious  duties  by  the 
servants  was  strenuously  insisted  upon.     We  find  in  a 
domestic  law  book  at  Konigsbriick,  near  Selz :  '  Each 
servant  shall  hear  the   entire  Mass  and  sermon  every 
Sunday  and  holy  day,  and  not  leave  the  church  before 
it  is  ended.     Whoever,  without  permission,  shall  not 
hear  the  Mass  and  sermon  shall  be  deprived  of  meat  at 
lunch,  or  be  fined  five  shillings.'     Then,  '  So  often  as 
the  servants  sit  down  to  eat,  the  steward  shall  remind 
them,  by  knocking  on  the  table,  to  pray,  and  whoever 
shall  laugh  or  refuse  to  pray  after  this  shall  be  fined  a 
Batzen.'    Then, '  When  the  Angelus  is  rung  the  steward 
shall  call  the  servants  to  prayer,  and  whoever  disobeys 
shall   be  punished  in  like  manner.'      The  cup-bearer 
Erasmus  of  Erbach  made  a  similar  law  in  1483  for  his 
property   at    Odenwald :    '  All   the   servants   must   be 
taught  that  praying  and  working  go  together.     They 
must  pray  together  at  table  before   and  after  eating, 
and  at  sound  of  the  Angelus  when  it  rings  ;  for  this 
they  shall  stop  their  work,  and  not  excuse  themselves 
on  the  score  that  they  have  too  much  to   do.     They 
shall  attend  Mass   and  sermon  on  Sundays   and  holy 
days,  and  be  careful  not  to   disturb  others  by  their 
merriment.     Whoever  disobeys  this  often  shall  be  dis- 
charged at  the  close  of  the  year  and  sent  from  the 
manor.     The  steward  and  overseer  shall  be  particular 
to  set  a  good  example,  and  the  steward,  at  least,  shall 
begin  his  day  by  hearing  Mass.' 

The  landed  property  of  the  cities  was  a  very  impor- 
tant matter  in  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  interest  of 
their  towns  and  the  development  of  their  resources  the 


336  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

municipal  bodies  were  always  anxious  to  acquire 
property,  particularly  forest  land.  Between  1463  and 
1492  the  municipality  of  Gorlitz  bought  up  the  landed 
property  of  a  reduced  noble  family.  The  municipality 
of  Grossglockau  did  the  same  with  regard  to  several 
estates  of  nobles  and  the  forests  appertaining  thereto. 
Through  purchase,  mortgage,  and  sometimes  conquest, 
many  towns  became  possessed  of  valuable  landed 
estates.  The  landed  property  of  Eothenburg,  a  little 
town  in  Franconia  of  only  six  thousand  inhabitants, 
covered  an  area  of  more  than  six  thousand  square 
miles,  with  a  population  of  about  fifteen  thousand. 
The  landed  estate  of  Ulm  comprised  not  less  than 
fifteen,  and  that  of  Nuremberg  twenty,  square  miles. 

These  city  estates  were  generally  managed  by  free 
farmers ;  the  number  of  manor  tenants  was  relatively 
small. 

The  cities  themselves  were  not  exclusively  com- 
mercial centres :  agricultural  interests  formed  also  a 
part  of  their  riches.  Like  the  confederate  villages, 
they  also  had  their  communal  districts  of  plain,  pasture, 
and  forest,  the  limits  of  which  were  marked  by  various 
signs,  crosses,  holy  pictures,  and  trees,  and  an  inspection 
of  those  boundaries  took  place  yearly.1  Every  con- 
federated citizen  of  a  commune  had,  over  and  above 
his  own  separate  possessions,  a  share  in  the  general 
privileges  of  forest,  pasture,  and  fishing.  In  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  besides  this  general  pasture  and  forest 
privilege,  each  citizen  had  a  right  to  let  his  stock  in  on 
the  private  fields  which,  according  to  a  law  of  1504, 

1  See  Maurer,  Stadteverfassung,  ii.  162,  171,  802-803,  and  iii.  181. 
In  Westphalia  we  find  several  very  elegant  city  houses  (in  Beckum  for 
instance)  still  retaining  the  semi-rural  surroundings  of  former  times. 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  337 

were  left  fallow  every  third  year.  Certain  laws  in 
cities  were  enacted  to  regulate  the  cultivation  of  the 
fields,  the  manner  of  ploughing  and  letting  the  ground 
rest,  also  the  management  of  the  vineyards  and  forests. 
These  laws  related  not  only  to  the  district,  but  to  the 
individual  divisions  of  the  commune  as  well. 

Besides  those  inhabitants  of  cities  who  also  possessed 
farms,  several  monasteries,  institutions,  nobles,  and 
country  proprietors  kept  large  yards  in  the  towns,  from 
which  they  could  the  more  conveniently  dispose  of 
their  productions  and  carry  on  the  management  of 
their  affairs.  Even  the  burgher  always  kept  cows  or 
swine,  for  he  was  considered  very  shiftless  who  '  must 
always  buy  his  own  meat  and  milk.'  Even  in  large 
commercial  towns  there  could  be  found  cattle,  swine, 
and  sheep.  In  1481  Frankfort-on-the-Main  had  to  pass 
a  law  forbidding  pigsties  to  be  placed  on  the  side  of 
the  house  fronting  the  street.  Sheep-breeding  was  con- 
ducted on  such  a  scale  among  the  Teutonic  knights  in 
Sachsenhausen  that  the  chief  master  had  to  bind  him- 
self by  contract  that  not  more  than  a  thousand  sheep 
should  be  confined  in  any  one  yard  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
city,  on  account  of  the  injury  which  such  large  flocks 
did  to  the  foliage. 

Hens,  geese,  ducks,  and  pigeons  were  propagated  in 
such  numbers  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main  that  the  muni- 
cipality appointed  a  committee  called  '  the  pigeon 
knights.'  At  Ulm  it  was  found  necessary  to  forbid  by 
law  any  citizen  keeping  more  than  twenty-four  swine. 
The  citizens  used  to  send  their  well-fed  stock  out  to 
graze  by  day,  and  bring  them  back  at  night.  The 
poor  might  turn  their  cows  loose  when  it  did  no  injury. 
It  was  only  in  1475  that  Nuremberg  passed  an  ordinance 
vol.  i.  z 


338  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

forbidding  the  running  of  pigs  in  the  street.  At 
Liibeck,  Bremen,  Magdeburg,  Spires,  and  Worms,  farm- 
ing and  cattle-breeding  formed  an  important  item  of 
profit  during  the  early  ages  ;  in  Munich  agriculture  was 
one  of  the  principal  resources  of  the  citizens.  In 
Basle,  Bibrach,  Frankfort,  Landau,  Eeutlingen,  Spires, 
Ulm,  Worms,  and  other  cities,  the  agriculturists,  as  well 
as  the  vine-growers  and  gardeners,  formed  a  special 
guild. 

Agriculture  was  so  popular  a  pursuit,  even  in  the 
towns,  that  it  has  been  asserted  that,  considering  the 
difference  of  population,  a  larger  proportion  followed 
that  avocation  in  the  Middle  Ages  than  in  our  time. 
As  a  consequence  vegetables  and  animal  food  were 
more  plentiful,  and  generally  speaking  cheaper,  and 
consequently  more  generally  eaten  by  the  poorer  classes, 
than  is  the  case  in  Europe  to-day.1  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  as  the  cities,  notwithstanding  their 
great  prosperity,  did  not  suffer  from  being  over-popu- 
lated,2 the  prices  for  the  things  necessary  for  subsist- 

1  According  to  Kloden,  in  the  Jahrbuch  fur  Nationalokonomie  of 
Hildebrand,  i.  218,  in  the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  century  not 
less  than  30,854  head  of  cattle  were  slaughtered  for  the  consumption  of 
from  six  to  twelve  thousand  inhabitants  per  year  ;  more  than  twelve  times 
as  many  as  in  1802-1803.  Conrad  Celtes  asserts  that  in  Nuremberg  100 
head  of  cattle  were  slaughtered  each  week,  besides  large  quantities  of  pork, 
mutton  and  poultry.  Schmoller,  FleiscJiconsum.,  p.  291 ;  Kriegh,  Biirger- 
thum,  p.  382. 

2  From  statistics  we  find  that  the  average  population  of  Strasburg  in 
the  fourteenth  century  was  50,000.  Constance  never  had  a  population 
of  more  than  10,000.  (Schmoller,  FleiscJiconsum.,  p.  296  ;  Schanz,  Gesel- 
lenverband,  p.  8.)  The  population  of  Nuremberg  increasedjvery  much  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  number  of  births  in  1482  was 
2,300,  or  at  the  rate  of  six  per  day.  (Chroniken  der  deutschen  Stddte,  x. 
-370.)  Froissard  estimates  the  population  of  Rheingau  in  1497  at  30,000. 
Some  passages  in  Mone's  letters  from  Hanover  would  imply  that  the 
villages  were  not  as  thickly  populated  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  now,  but  we 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  339 

•ence  were  low  ;  those  for  luxuries,  on  the  contrary,  were 
very  high.  The  flax  and  hemp  industry  was  considerable 
in  many  places  ;  in  Ulm,  for  instance,  at  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  as  many  as  sixty  thousand  pieces  of 
linen  or  cotton  were  bleached  yearly.  It  was  asserted 
that  Germany  produced  more  linen  than  all  the  rest  of 
the  world.1 

Near  the  larger  cities  garden  culture  developed  in 
proportion  to  the  general  prosperity.  There  was  so 
much  saffron  grown  in  the  gardens  around  Altenburg 
in  the  year  1500  that  it  brought  in  several  thousand 
thalers  to  the  town.  At  and  around  Erfurt  pastel,2 
saffron,  aniseed,  coriander,  and  vegetables  were  largely 
cultivated.  The  cultivation  was  so  remunerative  that 
in  good  years  the  profits  from  it  amounted  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Erfurt  to  more  than  one  hundred 
thalers.3 

The  inhabitants  of  Erfurt  had  a  high  reputation  as 
skilled  gardeners.  Next  to  Erfurt,  Mentz,  Wurzburg, 
and  Bamberg  were  distinguished  for  horticulture. 
Erankfort-on-the-Main,  Nuremberg  and  Augsburg  were 
remarkable  for  their  flower  gardens,  where  the  marsh- 
mallow,  the  primrose,  the  hyacinths,  and  the  auriculas 
were  to  be  seen  in  every  variety  of  shade  and  colour. 

The  author  of  the  '  Book  of  Fruits,  Trees  and  Boots,' 

must  remember  that  the  number  of  villages  was  greater,  so  many  were 
destroyed  during  the  wars  of  the  peasants  and  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  See 
Landau,  Waste  OrtscJiaften,  pp.  382,  386,  390. 

1  German  linen  was  imported  into  almost  every  country  of  Europe. 
The  greater  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Silesia  were  weavers  or  spinners. 
See  Hildebrand's  Jahrbuch  fur  Nationalokonomie,  VII.  ii.  215-230. 

2  Pastel  was  then  used  instead  of  indigo. 

3  See  Langethal,  iii.  121-122.  Nuremberg  was  also  famous  for  its 
nursery  gardens.  (Celtes,  De  Orig.  Norimb.  p.  2.)  In  the  year  1505 
Maximilian  sent  gardeners  to  take  lessons  in  the  nurseries  of  Nuremberg. 

z  2 


340  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

enlarges  on  the  beauty  of  the  German  gardens,  not  only 
of  those  that  belonged  to  the  wealthy,  but  also  to  those 
of  moderate  means,  particularly  in  the  Ehenish  pro- 
vinces. 

The  poets  also  sing  of  the  lovely  blossoms  of  the 
almond  trees.  Sebastian  Miinster  says  in  his  Geography: 
'  Between  Spires  and  the  western  mountains  there  were 
almond  trees  enough  to  supply  the  whole  of  Germany. 
The  country  round  the  little  town  of  Deidesheim  is  like 
one  field  of  almond  trees.'  Eysengrein  in  his  Chronicles 
writes  :  '  The  excellent  wine  made  in  the  Spires  dis- 
trict is  exported  to  Switzerland,  Suabia,  Bavaria, 
Lorraine,  and  to  Southern  Germany,  sometimes  even  to 
England.' 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  vine  was 
the  object*  of  very  special  attention.  It  grew  in  places 
in  which  it  is  at  present  unknown.  In  Erfurt  sixty 
thousand  pailsful  of  wine  used  to  be  gathered  in  good 
years.  In  Hesse  the  vine  was  cultivated  with  such 
success  by  the  monasteries,  the  nobles,  the  citizens,  and 
the  knights  of  the  Teutonic  order  at  Marburg,  and 
even  by  the  peasants,  that  the  wine  equalled  that  of  the 
Ehine  and  of  Burgundy.  Fulda,  Marburg,  Witzen- 
haufen,  and  Cassel  were  the  centres  of  the  vine  culture, 
and  were  completely  surrounded  by  vineyards  and  vine 
villages.  In  the  province  of  Brandenburg  many  vine- 
yards were  to  be  found  around  the  cities  of  Kathenow, 
Brandenburg,  Cologne-on-the-Spree,  Oderburg,  Guben, 
Ltibben,  and  other  places.  In  Mecklenburg,  besides 
the  principal  vineyards  of  Schwerin  and  Plauen,  there 
were  in  1508  many  vineyards  in  full  bearing  which 
extended  as  far  as  Llibeck. 

Owing  to  the  universal  use  of  wine  in  the  fifteenth 


AGKICULTURAL   LIFE  341 

-century   the   vine  was  much  more  generally  planted 
than  in  our  times.     Indeed,  the  vineyards  occupied  so 
much  of  the  land  around  Frankfort-on-the-Main  that 
the  municipality,  in  the  interest  of  horticulture,  forbade 
in  1501  any  increase  in  the  number  of  them.     Between 
the  years  1472   and  1500   the  grape  crop  in  the  city 
possessions   averaged   seven   hundred    and   thirty-two 
vats.     It  is  easy  to  believe,  then,  that  at  the  patrician 
weddings  as  much  as  a  whole  vat  of  wine  was  drunk, 
and  that  at  the  marriage  of  the  patrician  Arnold  von 
Glauberg,  in  the  year  1515,  as  much  as  six  hogsheads 
were  drunk.      In  the   district  of  Kelheim,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Danube,  vineyard  after  vineyard  was  to  be 
seen  on  slopes  that  are  now  totally  unproductive.     In 
1509  the  city  of  Eatisbon  possessed  inside  and  outside 
of    its   walls   forty-two   vineyards.     The  red   wine   of 
Bavaria   found  a  ready  sale,  not  only  at   home,   but 
abroad.      Wine  instead  of  beer  was  the  general  drink 
in  those  days  in  Bavaria  :  '  the  day-labourer,'  says  the 
'  Book  of  Fruit  and  Grain,'  '  always  drank  wine  twice  a 
day,  as  he  ate  meat  twice  a    day.'      The  vine  grew 
abundantly  in  the  Bavarian  palatinate.     At  Ulm  three 
hundred  waggon-loads  of  grapes  were  often  sold  on  one 
market  day.      In  Vienna  the  grape  gathering  lasted 
forty  days,  and  two  or  three  times  daily  nine  hundred 
waggons  entered  the  city  laden  with  vessels  of  grape 
juice   (must).      But    the  vineyards    par   excellence    of 
Germany  were  on  the  Upper  Ehine,  and  the  wines  most 
prized  were  those  made  in  the  Upper  Ehenish  Province. 
The  Benedictine  Monastery  of  Johannesberg  and  that 
of  the   Cistercians  at  Eberbach  were  famous  for    the 
perfection  of  their  wines. 

Bee  culture  also  nourished  throughout  Germany, 


342 


HISTORY   OF  THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


but  towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was 
almost  entirely  abandoned.1 

In  the  last  decades  of  the  fifteenth  century  an  agri- 
cultural literature  began  to  be  formed,  and  the  many 
editions  into  which  these  works  ran  are  proof  of  the 
interest  taken  in  the  question,  particularly  by  the 
people  of  the  cities.  Eleven  different  editions  in  Latin 
and  German  of  the  Bolognese  senator's  (Petrus  of  Cre- 
centus)  famous  work  on  agriculture  appeared  between 
the  years  1470  and  1494  in  Louvain,  Augsburg,  Stras- 
burg,  Mentz,  and  elsewhere;  those  brought  out  in 
Strasburg  and  Mentz  were  beautifully  illustrated  by 
wood-engravings.  '  The  Book  of  Nature,'  for  which  a 
very  learned  man  collected  material  during  fifteen 
years,  had  also  an  extensive  sale.  The  first  edition 
bears  no  date  or  place  of  publication ;  the  following- 
ones  appeared  in  1475,  1478,  and  1481,  and  were  pub- 
lished by  Hans  Bamler  of  Augsburg  ;  still  later  ones  by 
Hans  Schonperger  in  1482  and  by  Antonius  in  1499. 
The  book  comprises  strange  essays  on  human  nature, 
animals,  trees,  vegetables,  stones,  and  metals,  and  the 
object  which  the  writer  sets  before  him  is  '  the  treat- 
ment of  very  useful  and  interesting  subjects,  of  which 
the  reader  may  learn  some  useful  facts.'  However, 
besides  some  rather  strange  things,  it  contains  some 
valuable  information  on  the  subjects  of  forestry  and 
bee  culture. 

A  Westphalian  publisher  in  Louvain  brought  out 
Columella's  work  on  gardening,  and  Cuspanian  added 

1  Bee  culture  was  of  much  greater  importance  then  than  now  becaiise- 
of  the  quantity  of  wax  used  in  the  churches,  and  because  honey  was  used 
where  we  now  use  sugar.  (Abhandlung  ilber  Bienenrecht  des  MittehiJ- 
ters,  p.  47,  Nordlingen,  18G5.  Bee  also  Busch,  Handbuch  des  geltendcu 
Bienenrecht s,  p.  14.) 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  343 

a  preface  to  the  second  edition  in  1483,  entitled  '  The 
Virtue  of  Plants.'  By  far  the  most  important  agricul- 
tural work  was  the  already  mentioned  '  Book  of  Fruits, 
Trees,  and  Eoots,'  which  appeared  in  Mentz  in  1498. 
It  describes,  among  other  things,  the  different  kinds  of 
grain  and  how  it  should  be  treated  in  different  soils, 
the  best  season  to  sow  it,  what  kind  of  manure,  &c.  ;  it 
teaches  the  best  way  to  plant  and  propagate  trees,  and 
shows  a  predilection  for  fruit  trees  and  vines.  The 
latter  were  always  favoured  by  the  Germans,  '  because 
the  vine  is  so  valuable,  and  is  so  much  praised  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures.'  The  author  adds,  jestingly,  '  In  Ger- 
many wine  drinking  is  practised  by  all  pious,  Bible- 
loving  people.'  There  are  extant  reports  on  the  state 
of  agricultural  science  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages 
by  contemporary  authority,  coming  from  two  widely 
different  sections,  the  Ehine  Provinces  and  Pomerania. 

'  On  German  soil,'  says  the  '  Book  of  Fruits,  Trees, 
and  Vegetables,'  '  there  is  no  more  beautiful  or  produc- 
tive land  than  the  Ehine  Province  ;  there  one  finds  such 
an  abundance  of  wine  that  even  the  poor  man  may 
satisfy  his  thirst,  there  grow  wheat,  rye,  barley,  and 
fruit  of  all  kinds  in  plenty.  The  country  between 
Bingen  and  Mentz  is  thickly  populated  on  both  sides 
of  the  river ;  there  farm  touches  farm  and  village  suc- 
ceeds village,  and  that  land  shows  what  can  be  produced 
by  a  good  soil  and  the  industry  of  man.  There  poverty 
is  seldom  to  be  found  among  those  who  are  willing  to 
work.     There  also  the  bee  culture  is  prosperous.' 

The  Englishman,  Brother  Bartolomeus  of  the  Minor- 
ite order,  writes  as  follows :  '  The  Ehine  Province  is  a 
narrow  stretch  of  country  extending  along  the  banks 
of  the  Ehine  between  the  mountains  from   Bingen  to 


344 


HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 


Mentz.  The  territory  is  small,  but  remarkably  pro- 
ductive from  the  river  to  the  tops  of  the  hills.  So 
beautiful  is  it  that  not  only  its  own  inhabitants,  but 
travellers  also,  look  on  it  as  an  enchanted  land.  The 
soil  is  so  fruitful  and  rich  that  everything  grows  with 
remarkable  luxuriance  and  ripens  quickly.  The  same 
farm  grows  the  greatest  variety  of  fruits  and  cereals, 
not  to  mention  the  vine.' 

In  1500  Johannes  Butzbach  writes  in  his  '  Wander- 
biichlein ' :  '  The  Ehine  Province  is  a  blessed  land,  rich 
in  wine,  fruit,  cereals,  wood,  and  water  ;  its  beautiful 
villages  resemble  cities ;  the  stately  Ehine  runs  through 
it,  rich  in  islands  containing  broad  plains.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  brave  and  prosperous.  The  fruit  gardens  are 
most  valuable.  I  knew  one  poor  man  who  realised  in 
one  year  thirty  florins  from  the  cherries  which  he  sold 
in  Mentz.' 

The  culture  of  fruit  was  most  successfully  carried 
on  in  the  Ehine  Province  and  in  Bavaria.  The  '  Book 
of  Fruits,  Trees,  and  Vegetables  '  speaks  of  entire  groves 
of  fruit  trees  surrounding  the  villages  of  the  Ehine  Pro- 
vince, '  and,'  writes  the  author, '  they  are  well  and  most 
intelligently  cultivated  ;  so  also  in  Bavaria.  I  remarked 
the  beauty  of  the  fruit  trees  and  the  care  which  was 
given  to  them.  For  a  small  sum  the  poor  man  can  lay 
in  apples,  pears,  and  nuts  sufficient  for  himself,  wife, 
and  children  during  the  winter  time.  This  industrious 
thrift  is  very  praiseworthy  and  ought  to  be  imitated.' 
The  variety  of  apples  differing  from  each  other  in  form, 
colour,  and  taste  is  indescribable. 

Kantzow,  writing  of  Pomerania,  says :  '  This  land 
produces  more  than  twenty  times  more  corn,  rye, 
wheat,   barley,  oats,  peas,  buckwheat,  and  hops  than 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  345 

the  people  can  use,  so  that  a  large  quantity  of  rye  and 
barley  was  exported  to  Scotland,  Holland,  and  Brabant, 
and  much  hops  and  barley  to  Norway  and  Sweden. 
Many  a  burgher  shipped  yearly  10,000  bushels  of 
corn.  They  raise  a  great  many  horses  of  different 
breeds,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  and  bees,  which  they  also 
export.  The  grass  lands  are  very  extensive.  Honey, 
bacon,  butter,  wool,  leather,  and  lard  were  exported 
with  much  profit.  Woodcock,  partridges,  rabbits, 
swans,  bustards,  wild  geese  and  ducks  were  in  profu- 
sion, but  owing  to  the  game  laws  they  could  be  used 
only  as  much  as  the  princes  and  nobles  allowed.  As 
for  the  other  game,  whoever  wished  hunted  it.  Fishing 
was  excellent.' 1 

The  great  agricultural  prosperity  which  prevailed 
in  most  parts  of  Germany  placed  the  peasantry  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  a  position  with  which  their  condition  in 
later  times  forms  a  sad  contrast. 

Kantzow  writes :  '  In  Pomerania  the  peasants  are 
rich,  their  wearing  apparel  is  mostly  of  English  or 
other  costly  material,  such  as  the  nobility  and  citizens 
in  easy  circumstances  wore  in  former  times.' 

The  peasants  of  Altenburg  were  so  well  oft  they 
wore  caps  of  bearskin,  coral  necklaces,  to  which  were 
hung  pieces  of  gold,  and  silk  ribbons,  which  were  then 
very  expensive. 

Eolewinck  puts  the  following  words  in  the  mouth 
of  the  nobility:  'There  is  more  lent  out  now  to  one 

1  Kantzow,  ii.  421,  424,  427.  In  writing  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in 
Sangerhausen,  Spangenberg  says  in  his  Chronicle,  ended  in  1554, '  We  write 
of  the  time  before  the  poor  were  impoverished  by  intolerable  taxes.  They 
lived  well  because  so  much  attention  was  paid  to  agriculture,  cattle-breed- 
ing, fishing,  game,  and  to  the  manufacture  of  beer  and  wine.'  (Buder, 
Niitzliche  Sammlung  verschiedener  Schriften,  p.  297.     Frankfurt,  1735.) 


346  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

peasant  than  to  ten  of  us,  and  lie  invests  it  as  pleases 
him.' 

The  appearance  of  the  peasants  who  in  1476  flocked 
in  thousands  to  hear  the  new  prophet  of  the  people, 
popularly  called  '  the  trumpet  of  Niklashausen,'  gives 
some  evidence  of  their  comfortable  condition  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  Northern  and  Central 
Germany:  they  had  abundance  of  money,  and  wore 
jewels  and  fine  clothes.  The  chronicler  Stolle  tells  us 
that  in  one  day  70,000  people  were  collected  in  Niklas- 
hausen, most  of  them  peasants.  They  brought  wax 
candles  so  large  that  it  required  from  three  to  four 
men  to  carry  them.  The  zeal  of  this  '  prophet '  in 
denouncing  vanity  in  dress  and  jewellery  is  evidence 
of  the  wealth  of  the  peasantry. 

Wimpheling  writes  of  the  Alsatian  peasantry  :  '  The 
prosperity  of  the  peasants  here  and  in  most  parts  of 
Germany  has  made  them  proud  and  luxurious.  I  know 
peasants  who  spend  as  much  at  the  marriage  of  their 
sons  and  daughters  or  the  baptism  of  their  infants  as 
would  buy  a  small  house  and  farm  or  vineyard.  They 
are  extravagant  in  their  dress  and  living  and  drink 
costly  wines.' 

The  amounts  spent  at  patronal  festivals  and  at 
marriages  give  the  same  evidence  as  to  the  peasants  of 
Franconia. 

The  Austrian  chronicler  Unrest  says,  in  the  year 
1478,  of  the  peasants  of  Carinthia  that  'No  one  earns 
more  money  than  they.  It  is  generally  acknowledged 
that  they  wear  better  clothes  and  drink  better  wine 
than  the  nobles.' 1 

1  Unrest,  pp.  631-642.     For  evidences  of  the  comfortable  condition  of 
the  Austrian  peasants,  see  Bucholtz,  Ferdinand  der  Erste,  pp.  B,  50,  53, 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  34T 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  in  1497  ordinances 
were  passed  in  Landau  and  other  places  forbidding  '  the 
common  peasant  to  wear  cloth  costing  more  than  half 
a  florin  the  yard,  silk,  velvet,  pearls,  gold,  or  slashed 
garments.' 1 

Costly  clothing  bespoke  costly  living.  We  read  in 
the  '  Book  of  Fruits,  Trees,'  &c.  :  '  If  the  peasant  work 
hard  he  has  a  good  table,  and  eats  flesh,  fish  and  fruits, 
and  drinks  good  wine — sometimes  too  much.  This  last 
I  do  not  praise,  but  in  other  things  the  peasant's  table 
is  of  the  healthiest.' 

In  1500  the  plain-spoken  Suabian,  Henry  Miiller, 
wrote  :  '  In  my  father's  time,  who  was  himself  a  peasant, 
the  peasants'  fare  was  very  different  from  what  it  is 
to-day.  They  had  an  abundance  of  meat  every  day  ; 
on  festival  and  Kermesse  (fair)  days  the  table  was  loaded 
with  all  that  was  good.  Wine  was  drunk  like  water ; 
everyone  ate  and  took  away  as  much  as  he  wished,  so 
great  was  the  prosperity  that  prevailed.  It  is  other- 
wise now,  for  the  times  have  long  been  bad  ;  everything 
is  dear,  and  the  fare  of  the  most  comfortable  peasant  is 
far  inferior  to  that  which  the  day-labourer  and  servant 
used  to  have.' 

Day-labourers  and  servants  were  better  off  at  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages  than  the  peasants.     According 

313,  316.  The  Austrian  poet  Helbling  speaks  of  the  wealth  of  the  pea- 
sants, saying,  '  In  Austria  the  only  free  men  are  the  peasants  '  (p.  421).  For 
a  description  of  the  condition  of  the  peasants  in  the  Tyrol  and  Bohemia 
at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  see  Gcsch.  des  bbhmischen  Aufstandes 
von  1618,  i.  145-150. 

1  Neue  Sammlung  der  Reichsabschiede,  ii.  p.  47-49.  Mascher,  on 
page  279  of  his  Urkunde  aus  dem  fiinfzehnten  Jahrhundert,  says  :  '  One 
seldom  saw  a  labourer  who  did  not  wear  a  hat  which  cost  more  than  half 
the  rest  of  his  clothing.  There  is  no  longer  much  difference  in  the  dress 
of  the  noble,  the  citizen,  and  the  peasant.'  The  excesses  of  the  time  in 
eating  and  drinking  are  often  the  subjects  of  song.     Uhland,  p.  1646. 


348  history  or  the  German  people 

to  statistics,  wages  were  never  before  so  high,  and  the 
large  number  of  people  who  had  to  live  by  hard  labour 
were  never,  before  or  since,  so  well  situated  as  during 
the  period  from  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  through 
the  first  decade  of  the  sixteenth. 

In  order  to  rightly  estimate  the  wages  of  the  day- 
labourer  and  servant  in  those  times  it  is  necessary  to 
consider  the  cost  at  that  time  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 
We  must  begin  by  comparing  the  statistics  of  different 
countries  at  the  same  time,  and  if  the  facts  collected 
coincide  we  may  draw  a  just  conception  of  the  matter 
considered. 

For  Northern  Germany  let  us  first  consider  the 
reports  gathered  in  Saxony.  From  the  years  1455  to 
1480  the  average  price  of  a  pair  of  common  shoes  was 
from  two  to  three  groschen ;  for  a  domestic  fowl,  half 
a  groschen ;  for  a  pike,  one  groschen  ;  for  a  sheep,  four 
groschen  ;  for  twenty- five  stock-fish,  four  groschen ; 
for  a  cord  of  wood,  delivered,  five  groschen ;  for  a  yard 
of  best  native  cloth,  five  groschen  ;  for  a  bushel  of  rye, 
six  groschen.  At  the  same  date  a  day-labourer  earned 
weekly  from  six  to  eight  groschen,  or,  we  might  say, 
the  price  of  a  sheep  and  a  pair  of  shoes  ;  with  the 
earnings  of  twenty-four  days  he  could  purchase  at  least 
one  bushel  of  rye,  twenty-five  stock-fish,  a  cord  of  fire- 
wood, and  two  to  three  yards  of  cloth.  Clothing  was 
particularly  cheap.  We  find  a  chorister  in  Leipsic  pay- 
ing seven  groschen  for  the  making  of  a  coat,  trousers, 
hat,  and  jacket.  The  Duke  of  Saxony  wore  a  hat  which 
cost  three  groschen  and  a  half.  They  were  good  times 
for  the  Saxon  labourer  when  wages  were  high  and  the 
price  of  necessaries  low. 

We  can  understand  the  complaints  of  the  workman 


AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  349 

in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  when  we  consider 
that,  while  their  wages  were  increased  only  six  pennies, 
the  price  of  rye  rose  from  six  to  twenty-four  groschen 
per  bushel,  the  price  of  a  sheep  from  four  to  eighteen 
groschen,  and  so  on  with  the  other  necessaries. 

In  Holstein  a  labourer  of  the  fifteenth  century  could 
buy  half  a  bushel  of  rye,  three-quarters  of  a  bushel  of 
oats,  or  a  bushel  of  turnips  with  one  day's  wages,  a 
lamb  fit  to  kill  with  three  to  four  days'  wages,  while 
the  earnings  of  twenty-two  days  would  buy  a  fat  cow. 
The  wages  were  even  higher  in  other  localities. 

In  Cleves,  on  the  Lower  Ehine,  a  labourer  who  was 
fed  in  the  house  of  his  employer  could  with  six  days' 
wages  buy  a  quarter  of  a  bushel  of  rye,  ten  pounds  of" 
pork  or  twelve  of  veal,  six  large  jugs  of  milk,  two 
bundles  of  wood,  and  have  a  weekly  surplus  over  that 
in  from  four  to  five  weeks  would  enable  him  to  purchase 
a  blouse,  six  yards  of  cloth,  and  a  pair  of  shoes.  It  is 
known  that  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  at  the  close  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  the  wages  of  six  days'  labour  would  buy 
a  lamb,  seven  sheep,  and  eight  pigs,  while  one  day's 
earnings  would  purchase  two  geese. 

During  the  fifteenth  century,  at  Augsburg,  in 
average  years,  one  could  purchase  from  six  to  seven 
pounds  of  the  best  meat  by  one  day's  work ;  in  poor 
years  one  pound  of  meat  or  seven  eggs,  a  quart  of  peas, 
a  measure  of  wine,  and  what  bread  he  needed,  and  still 
retain  the  half  of  his  wages  to  pay  for  clothing,  lodging, 
and  other  necessaries. 

In  1464  the  labourers  received  eighteenpence  per 
day  in  the  principality  of  Beyreuth,  while  they  could 
buy  the  best  beef  for  twopence  per  pound  and  sausage 
for  one. 


350  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN  PEOPLE 

The  statistics  from  Austria  are  much  the  same ;  for 
instance,  we  find  by  the  account  books  of  Jacob 
Pamperl,  who  was  manager  of  the  Abbey  of  Kloster- 
nauberg  from  1485  to  1509,  that  the  wages  of  a  day- 
labourer  were  ten  farthings  a  day  and  his  board,  while 
the  legal  price  of  beef  was  two  farthings  per  pound. 
The  usual  price  of  a  pair  of  women's  or  men's  shoes 
was  sixteen  farthings ;  the  making  of  a  pair  of  trousers 
cost  ten  farthings,  and  a  peasant's  coat  cost  twenty-four. 
In  many  countries  where  labourers  worked  for  pay  and 
board  there  were  laws  regulating  the  exact  quantity  of 
food  and  drink  they  had  a  right  to.  In  the  laws  made 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  Berthold  von  Henne- 
berg,  in  1497,  for  the  management  of  his  possessions  in 
the  Ehine  Provinces,  we  find :  '  In  the  morning  soup 
-and  bread ;  for  lunch  at  midday  a  strong  soup,  good 
meat,  vegetables,  and  half  a  jug  of  ordinary  wine  ;  in 
the  evening  a  strong  soup,  or  meat  and  bread.' 

In  1483  the  innkeeper  Erasmus  Erbach  of  Oden- 
wald  ordered  that  all  the  labourers,  men  and  women, 
who  work  in  the  fields  shall  receive  twice  in  the  day 
meat  and  half  a  jug  of  wine ;  on  Sundays  they  shall 
have  fish  or  food  equally  nourishing.  On  feast  days 
and  Sundays  those  who  have  worked  during  the  week 
shall  be  well  treated,  having,  after  mass  and  sermon, 
plenty  of  meat  and  bread  with  a  large  jug  of  wine.  At 
weddings  they  shall  have  enough  roast  meat.  Besides, 
they  shall  be  given  a  large  loaf  of  bread  and  as  much 
meat  as  shall  furnish  lunches  for  two. 

According  to  the  household  regulations  of  the 
Bavarian  Count  Joachim  von  Gettingen  in  1520,  the 
domestics  were  to  have  every  day  at  meals :  '  In  the 
morning  soup  and  vegetables  (milk  was  allowed  to  the 


AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  351 

labourers) ;  at  midday  one  kind  of  meat,  one  vegetable, 
a  pepper  soup,  preserves  or  milk  ;  at  night  soup  and 
meat,  turnips,  and  preserve  or  pickle ;  milk,  chicken  or 
eggs,  with  soup  and  two  portions  of  bread,  shall  be  given 
to  the  women  who  desire  it ;  if  they  have  come  over 
half  a  mile  they  shall  have  an  additional  plate  of  soup 
and  a  small  jug  of  wine.' 

The  meals  allowed  in  Saxony  to  the  servants  and 
workpeople  were  still  better.  In  the  household  laws 
published  by  the  Dukes  Ernst  and  Albert  in  the  year 
1482  it  was  expressly  decreed :  '  The  domestics  and 
labourers  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  what  they  receive. 
Besides  their  wages  they  shall  have,  twice  a  day,  for 
dinner  and  supper,  four  dishes  :  soup,  two  kinds  of  meat, 
and  one  vegetable.  On  feast  days  five  dishes  :  soup, 
two  kinds  of  fish,  and  two  vegetables.' 

As  an  evidence  of  how  general  was  the  use  of  animal 
food,  we  quote  from  the  '  Soul's  Guide '  in  de- 
scribing extreme  destitution.  '  There  are  poor  people 
who  go  a  week  or  more  without  meat,  or,  at  best,  with 
very  bad  meat.'  The  times  had  begun  to  get  bad  in 
1533,  when  the  Bavarian  States'  authority  decreed  that 
*  care  be  taken  that  the  people  eat  meat  each  day,  take 
two  meals,  and  that  the  hotels  serve  good  boils  and 
roasts.  In  view  of  the  general  destitution  all  were 
advised  to  refrain  from  meat  two  or  three  days  in 
the  week,  and  innkeepers  were  admonished  to  give 
only  fruit,  bread  and  cheese  outside  of  the  regular 
meals.' 

The  decrease  in  the  use  of  animal  food  in  the  six- 
teenth century  was  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of 
the  depression  of  general  prosperity  throughout  Ger- 
many.    The  wages  were  only  half  what  they  had  been 


352  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

between  1450  and  1500. l  Animal  food,  formerly  the 
ordinary  diet  of  the  people,  became  by  degrees  an 
article  of  luxury. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  the  wages  for  domestic 
service  kept  pace  with  those  of  the  labourers.  For 
instance,  at  the  Castle  of  Dohan,  in  Saxony,  the  stable- 
man received,  besides  board  and  lodgings,  nine  florins 
yearly ;  the  donkey-driver  seven  florins  and  a  half ;  the 
dairymaid  three  florins  and  twelve  to  eighteen  groschen, 
and  this  at  a  time  when  a  fat  ox  could  be  bought  for 
three  to  four  florins.     In  Dresden  the  wages  of  a  cook 

1  A  similar  condition  of  things  existed  in  England,  France,  and  Italy. 
The  labouring  classes  were  much  better  off  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century  than  they  are  to-day  in  any  country  in  Europe.  See  Sismondi, 
Histoire  des  Bepubliques  italiennes,  chap.  xci. ;  Histoire  de  Bertrand  du 
Guesclin  et  de  son  epoque  (Paris,  1876) ;  see  Luce,  chap.  hi.  In  speaking 
of  the  English  labouring  classes  at  the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth 
century  Chancellor  Fortescue  says,  '  They  have  abundant  nourishment  of 
both  flesh  and  fish,  and  wear  good  woollen  clothing.  Their  houses  are 
well  furnished  and  their  tools  are  of  the  best.'  Under  Henry  VIII.  an 
Act  of  Parliament  in  the  interest  of  the  poor  refers  to  four  kinds  of  meat ; 
but  the  laws  dating  from  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  are  proof  of  the  miserable 
condition  of  the  poor,  and  pauperism  is  officially  recognised.  See  Hallam, 
Europe  during  the  Period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Part  II.  ch.  ix. ;  Cobbett's 
History  of  the  Protestant  Reform,  p.  471. 

James  C.  Thorold  Rogers,  the  most  important  modern  English 
writer  on  political  economy,  says  in  his  History  of  Agriculture  and  Prices, 
vol.  iv.  p.  23  (Oxford,  1882)  :  'The  fifteenth  century  and  the  early  years  of 
the  sixteenth  were  the  Golden  Age  of  the  English  husbandman,  the  artisan, 
and  the  labourer.'  At  p.  100  he  says  :  '  The  fifteenth  century  was  a  period 
in  which  wealth  was  very  generally  distributed,  for  wages  were  relatively 
high,  agricultural  produce  was  cheap,  and  land  was  valued  as  a  rule  at 
twenty  years'  purchase.'  Later,  on  the  contrary :  '  There  is  visible  a 
great  decline  in  the  style  of  living.  Before  the  Reformation  wine  was 
abundant,  cheap,  and  freely  used.  Afterwards  it  became  an  occasional 
luxury.  The  enjoyments  of  the  middle  class  were  stinted,  and  even  those 
of  the  more  wealthy  were  few.  It  would  be  a  long  task  to  illustrate  this 
in  detail,  but  my  reader  will  find,  from  the  change  in  values,  to  be  com- 
mented on  hereafter  in  particular,  that  there  was  a  great  contrast  between 
the  plenty  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  scarcity  of  the  sixteenth  century  '  (pp. 
137-138). 


AGRICULTURAL   LIFE  353 

were,  besides  board  and  lodging,  seven  florins  and 
four  groschen ;  of  a  kitchen-maid,  two  florins  and  ten 
groschen  ;  of  a  swineherd,  four  florins.  Thus  the  wages 
of  the  latter  would  purchase  the  finest  ox  or  twenty 
sheep. 

In  Mosbach,  in  1483,  a  dairymaid  could  earn 
thirteen  florins  thirty  kreutzers  a  year,  besides  fifty-four 
kreutzers  for  her  dress.  In  Constance  a  cart-driver 
earned  yearly  nineteen  florins,  with  board  and  a  pair  of 
shoes,  four  vards  of  cloth  and  six  of  cotton. 

Their  fare  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  day-labourers, 
with  whom  they  generally  ate.  From  the  domestic 
accounts  still  extant  we  learn  that  wine  was  as  gene- 
rally in  use  as  meat.  In  hiring  a  cart-driver  at  Wein- 
heim,  in  1506,  it  is  expressly  contracted,  '  No  one, 
unless  he  wish  to  do  so,  is  obliged  to  give  wine.' 
Another  notice  to  a  maid  reads,  '  No  wine  is  promised.' 
In  the  domestic  regulations  for  Konigsbrtick  it  is  written 
that  '  Any  servant  being  absent  at  meal-time  shall  have 
neither  meat  nor  wine.'  In  Openheim  and  four  neigh- 
bouring villages  it  was  agreed  that  '  Each  labourer  in 
the  summer  should  have  not  more  than  one  measure  of 
wine,  and  in  spring  and  winter  he  should  be  satisfied 
with  a  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  measure.'  At  Sieburg 
wine  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  simple  necessaries 
of  life.  In  1425  the  municipality  decreed  that  wine 
should  not  be  given  to  labourers.  In  the  Ehenish 
Provinces  fish  was  so  commonly  given  that  the  maid- 
servants in  Spires  complained  to  the  city  council  that 
they  were  so  often  obliged  to  eat  Ehine  salmon. 

The  decrease  of  wages  and  curtailment  of  privileges 
of  servants  dates  from  the  sixteenth  centurv ;  so  also 
does  forced  domestic  service,  by  which  the  tenants  of  the 

VOL.  I.  A  A 


354  HISTORY   OF   THE   GERMAN   PEOPLE 

seigniors  were  compelled   to    allow  their    children  to 
serve  at  the  manor-house  for  very  low  remuneration. 

From  these  statistics,  gathered  from  different  sources, 
it  is  evident  that  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  the 
industrious  labourer  was  enabled  to  provide  well  for 
his  own  wants,  and,  if  he  were  married,  to  lay  up  what 
was  called  an  independence  for  his  family. 


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4  Napoleon  as  a  Strategist,'  by  Count  Yorck  von  Wartenberg ;  '  The  Art  of  War,'  by  Lieut.- 
Gen.  Baron  von  der  Goltz ;  and  others  of  equal  importance. 

MILITARY    HANDBOOKS. 

Besides  the  above,  additions  will  be  made  to  the  well-known  Military  Handbooks,  originally 
edited  by  Major-General  C.  B.  Brackenbury,  R.A.  This  series  will,  in  future,  be  edited  by  Captain 
W.  H.  James,  and  the  additions  will  include  'Modern  Cavalry,'  by  Captain  D.  Haig,  and  '  Field 
Fortification,'  by  Captain  Gregson,  late  R.E. 

FIELD  ARTILLERY:  its  Equipment, Organisation,  and  Tactics. 
By  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sisson  C.  Pratt,  late  R.A.  Sixth  Edition,  revised 
and  brought  up  to  date  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eden  Baker.  Small 
crown  8  vo.  [In  the  press. 

THE    AGRICULTURAL    SERIES.      Small  crown  870. 

This  Series  will  contain  works  on  the  following  subjects,  to  be  published  successively  :— 

1.  CHEMISTRY.    By  R.H.Adie,  M.A.,  B.Sc,  Lecturer  on  Chemistry, 

St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  T.  B.  Wood,  M.A.,  Secretary  and 
Lecturer  on  Agricultural  Chemistry  to  the  Cambridge  and  Counties 
Agricultural  Education  Scheme. 

2.  BOTANY.    By  Wm.  Fream,  LL.D. 

3.  PHYSIOLOGY  AND  FEEDING.     By  T.  B.  Wood,  and  R.  H. 

Adie. 

4.  AGRICULTURE.      By   Robert   Menzies,   M.A.,   Examiner    in 

Agriculture,  University  of  Cambridge. 

5.  HORTICULTURE.  

KILLBOYLAN  BANK.    By  E.  M.  Lynch.     Crown  8vo. 

Advocates  the  establishment  of  Rural  Banks,  by  which  the  small  tradesman  or  farmer  might 
obtain  the  necessary  amount  of  credit  essential  to  his  improving  his  position.  The  information 
is  given  in  narrative  form,  the  scene  being  laid  in  an  Irish  village. 

ENGLISH    AND    FOREIGN    PHILOSOPHICAL    LIBRARY. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY.  Vol.  III. 
By  G.  W.  F.  Hegel.  Translated  from  the  German  by  E.  S.  Haldane, 
assisted  by  F.  H.  SlMSON.     Large  post  8vo.  12*. 


INTERNATIONAL    SCIENTIFIC    SERIES.    Crown  8vo.  5s.  each. 

NEW  VOLUMES. 
ICE  WORK,  PRESENT  AND  PAST.    By  the  Rev.  T.  G.  Bonney, 

D.Sc,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  F.G.S.     Illustrated. 

A  CONTRIBUTION  TO  OUR  KNOWLEDGE  OF  SEEDLINGS. 
By  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.,  M.P.,  F.R.S.  Popular 
Edition.     Illustrated. 

THE  POLAR  AURORA.    By  Alfred  Angot.    Illustrated. 

An  account  of  the  various  theories  which  have  been  put  forward  from  time  to  time  in  ex- 
planation of  the  Aurora,  and  a  statement  of  the  present  state  of  scientific  knowledge  in  regard 
to  the  phenomenon,  and  of  its  connection  with  terrestrial  magnetism  and  solar  spots. 

THE  ART  OF  MUSIC.    By  C.  Hubert  H.  Parry,  Mus.Doc. 

This  work,  after  going  through  five  Editions  as  a  12s.  volume  since  the  autumn  of  1893,  has 
now  been  revised  and  thoroughly  brought  up  to  date  before  being  brought  out  in  this  series. 


London:  KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  &  CO.  Ltd. 


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