Book of Heroes

This work catalogs the famous Heldenrüstkammer or “Heroes’ Armory” of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand II (1529–95), a collection of arms, armor, portraits, and other objects in Ambras Castle associated with the most famous men of the 15th and 16th centuries, who all happened to be great warriors and military commanders. The collection is still preserved today. Among the most fascinating of the objects is Bartlmä Bon’s suit of armor, which towers over the rest of the collection because the knight in the Archduke’s service was supposedly more than 8 feet tall. Ferdinand II commissioned a book inventorying this collection, considered to be the very first systematic presentation of objects in the history of museums, and tasked his valet, counsellor, and confidential secretary Jakob Schrenck von Notzing (1539–1612) with its creation.

A Splendid Catalog of Warriors

In addition to a frontispiece, 125 woodcuts illustrating the text and were made by the Flemish engraver Dominicus Custos (1560–1612) according to designs by the Italian painter Giovanni Battista Fontana (1524–1587). Various European princes and warriors are depicted in portrait wearing their armor in decorative surroundings, a short biography accompanies each image. Unfortunately, Ferdinand II died before the initial publication of the Latin Armamentarium Heroicum in 1601, this German edition of the monumental work was published in 1603. Von Notzing’s work is considered to be the first printed and illustrated museum catalog in the world.