Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I, mighty Hapsburg Emperor, called both the "Last Knight" and the "First Mercenary" because of his military prowess, was also a patron of the arts second to none. He commissioned a veritable mountain of art, including illuminated manuscripts, and this was largely influenced by the magnificent primer that was made for him, also known as the Textbook for Emperor Maximilian . Unlike most primers, this manuscript is splendidly illuminated and its adornment is on par with the personalized manuscripts made for adults. The primer gives a foundation for education, from ABC's to important prayers and biblical verses, a calendar, German translations of the Latin prayers, and more.
Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
In the Middle ages, the basic subject matter in teaching was usually arranged with handwriting on simple blackboards, foldable paper boards, or even un-illustrated workbooks. Textbooks, richly decorated with miniatures, with a few exceptions, are exceedingly rare. One of the most valuable is the splendidly illuminated codex from Vienna, that is associated with the famous name of Maximilian I. From this school book, written about 1466 by the Imperial Chancellor Wolfgang Spitzweg, the young Emperor learned his ABC's and prayers such as the Our Father, Ave Maria, and more as well as jingles in the Latin and German languages: in short, all the basic contents of the medieval syllabus. The manuscript is the oldest copy of a group of three known textbooks that were specifically prepared for Maximilian and were all from the same master illuminator. In contrast to the author, the illuminator has remained anonymous. The colorful miniatures, richly decorated with gold, the illuminated initials, the genre scenes, and the religious representations show narrow references to the manorial student. From the beginning, we see Maximilian in one-on-one instruction with one of his teachers; when saying grace, the young prince always appears at table.
Inspired by Illumination at an Early Age
The cultural and historic meaning of the textbook to Maximilian I cannot be determined with sufficient accuracy. History highlights Maximilian I as being "the last knight and the first mercenary", and it is with this book that the versatilely gifted prince, under whom the Hapsburgs rose to be the mightiest dynasty of Europe, learned to read. The exquisite artistic production of this parchment manuscript was the first contact the young Maximilian had with illumination. It so excited him in its vitality that he became a major sponsor of the genre in later years. The manuscript features 14 miniatures inside of initials with polished gold backgrounds, each of which introduces a new section. Its floral frames feature a multitude of leafy tendrils, flowers, insects, animals, and people, indicating that it was the work of a very talented master. This illuminator has remained anonymous, but its author is known with certainty to be Wolfgang Spitzweg, an imperial clerk. Nonetheless, this work planted the artistic seed in young Maximilian, who would grow into one of the greatest art patrons of his day.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian I.
- Size / Format
- 54 pages / 28.4 × 21.4 cm
- Origin
- Austria
- Date
- Around 1466
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Illustrations
- 14 historiated initials
- Artist / School
- Wolfgang Spitzweg (scribe)
Master of the textbook for Emperor Maximilian I (illuminator)
Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
Young Maximilian at Prayer
This gorgeous pink historiated “O” initial with acanthus leaf décor was framed by glimmering gold leaf with a very finely embossed pattern. It contains a miniature of Prince Maximilian participating in mass, shown kneeling at the altar with a fine golden chalice alongside a tonsured priest who is dressed in elaborate vestments. Maximilian is depicted with long, flowing blond locks of hair and his pious expression might easily be interested by a modern beholder as boredom.

Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
Alphabet / Our Father Page
The opening page of this rare manuscript is framed by gorgeous flowering tendrils of red, green, and blue with a heron on the left margin and a face hidden at the bottom. At the top we see the Prince’s escutcheons: the red-and-white stripes of the Hapsburgs (right); the castles, shields, and fleur-de-lys of his Portuguese mother (left); the double-headed Reichsadler or Imperial Eagle (center).
We see the alphabet with several examples of the lowercase letter “a” above, while the rest of the page has the Our Father in Latin. It is adorned by the first of the manuscript’s 14 perfect historiated initials. The Prince is depicted in several of these with flowing blonde locks of hair, and in this case is wearing green-gold brocade and seated next to his tutor, dressed in red.

#1 Das Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian (Real Gold Edition)
Language: German
#2 Das Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian (Normal Edition)
Language: German
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Éditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Eos-Verlag
- ET&B
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Helikon
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- J. Thorbecke
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- Müller & Schindler
- National Library of Wales
- Nova Charta
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Propyläen Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología
- Stainer and Bell
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi Tudomànyegyetem
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Xuntanza Editorial
- Zollikofer AG