The first textbook for the "last knight": the future emperor's golden miniatures for the Our Father and Hail Mary
Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
Vienna (Austria) — Around 1466

Textbook for Emperor Maximilian
Vienna (Austria) — Around 1466
This rare, masterfully illuminated primer helped educate the future Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519)
Maximilian went on to become one of the greatest patrons and collectors of art in history
Prayers such as the Our Father and Hail Mary were learned by the young heir to the throne with the help of beautiful miniatures

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
- Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian I.
Short Description
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 x 21.4 cm
- Origin
- Vienna (Austria)
- Date
- Around 1466
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Illustrations
- 14 historiated initials
- Artist / School
- Scribe: Wolfgang Spitzweg
Miniaturist: Master of the textbook for Emperor Maximilian I

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.
2 available facsimile edition(s) of „Textbook for Emperor Maximilian“
Das Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian (Real Gold Edition)
- Publisher
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 2005
- Limited Edition
- 50 copies
- Binding
- Two-color leather binding with hand-stitching on the spine
- Commentary
-
1 volume (104 pages) by Karl-Georg Pfändtner, Alois Haidinger
Language: German - More Information
- All folios are cut according to the original.
Das Lehrbuch für Kaiser Maximilian (Normal Edition)
- Publisher
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 2005
- Limited Edition
- 50 copies
- Binding
- Two-color leather binding with hand-stitching on the spine
- Commentary
-
1 volume (104 pages) by Karl-Georg Pfändtner, Alois Haidinger
Language: German - More Information
- All folios are cut according to the original.
Matching Works
Flemish Book of Hours of Marie de Medici
Named after the French Queen from the house of Medici: a book of hours with miniatures by the David Master from the *Grimani Breviary*
Experience MorePrayer Book of Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg
Simon Bening, Albrecht Glockendon, Hans Sebald Beham: miniatures by the greatest artists of the Northern Renaissance assembled in a magnificent collection
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Books of Hours
What is a book of hours? A prayer book for personal use based upon the “offices” or official prayers that were to be said...Experience moreGothic
Gothic illumination is some of the most spectacular and iconic imagery of medieval art and first emerged in Northern...Experience more15th Century
Come and explore an age of stark contrasts as Europe comes back from the brink: calamities like the Fall of...Experience morePrayer Books
Interested in a personal glimpse into the personality of a famous medieval figure? Prayer books were small codices...Experience more
- 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
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo