Maximilian was a major patron of the Renaissance in the North as well as a creative force in his own right, and as such admired and able to maintain a relationship with many important artists and scholars of his time, most notably the humanists who praised him as a second Apollo and Father of the Muses. In the Low Countries, Maximilian was a divisive figure, sometimes represented as the saviour of the country and sometimes as an autocratic tyrant (both possibly historical truths). While his Burgundian supporters (beginning with Molinet) tended to identify him with the Saviour (either in the guise of an eagle or the only begotten Son), Maximilian and his German supporters, especially his closest humanist circle, usually identified himself with Apollo-Phoebus (or the Sun), Hercules, Saint George and some other saints. Hugh Trevor-Roper remarks that in comparison with princes in Italy and Flanders as well as his own descendants, he did not commission great religious pictures. His tastes focused on himself, his family, German and Roman ancient heroes, and certain saints that he considered to have a kinship to his house.
Gedechtnus Gedechtnus (memorial) is a term used by the emperor to refer to his monumental projects that served to institutionalize and memorialize his image and that of his family. The core of these was his massive autographical (or semi-autographical) corpus, including
Theuerdank,
Freydal,
Weisskunig, the
Ehrenpforte (
Triumphal Arch), genealogical projects, various triumphal celebrations, architectural projects like his Cenotaph in Innsbruck, musical works by leading composers of the day like Heinrich Isaac and Paul Hofhaimer.
Maria Golubeva judges these projects as glorification for posterity, rather than propaganda in the normal sense of the word.
Theuerdank and
Weisskunig are considered "the last attempt to revive medieval chivalrous ideals." For
Theuerdank,
Freydal and
Weisskunig as well as his Latin autobiography, Maximilian dictated content of chapters, provided sketches, revised drafts and was generally the driving force of these projects himself, although dozens of artists were involved in the creative process. In the cases of the Triumphal Arch and the Triumphal Procession, with the help of
Johannes Stabius, he provided the texts on iconography and close supervision. He was the designer of his own Cenotaph. Watanabe-O'Kelly notes that the projects often made use of luxurious elements, which indicated that they were not intended for the mass. Maximilian issued privileges to printers of such projects, but a number of these works, by their design, "invited reproduction, reuse, appropriation and imitation". Theuerdank (one of the few projects completed in the emperor's lifetime), in particular, quickly became free-for-all, public shareware after its first publication in 1517, pirated initially by printers in the Low Countries. The
Triumphal Arch as well as other depictions of triumphal celebrations by the emperor as his artists have been called "the most elaborate imaginary procession designs." According to Jasper Cornelis van Putten, the
Triumphal Arch is the most influential genealogical woodcut, following which printed monumental genealogies became popular with European rulers until well into the eighteenth century. It is also "the most celebrated hierographic monument". Other than the glorification aspect, the emperor, with the help of his artistic advisors, had a habit of inject dark allegories and his inner turmoil into the works. For portraits, he preferred woodcuts as it was the cheapest medium. The iconic oil painting
Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I by Albrecht Dürer was a rare case another medium was used instead.
Architecture • The
Wappenturm, or Heraldry Tower (now destroyed) in Innsbruck, was built in 1496 following the design of and the Türing workshop that produced the Goldenes Dachl that stands next to it. It was built near the part of the palace in which arms and armour were stored. The tower serves as a billboard for dynastic propaganda, displaying the coats of arm of the territories (54 in total) Maximilian claimed. The standard bearers here had a more noble look in comparison with those on the Goldenes Dachl. The top showed the bust portraits of Maximilian and his two wives, as if on a royal balcony. Later, another royal couple was added, presumably Ferdinand I and Anna of Hungary and Bohemia. • A remarkable monument, that was never completed (as work ceased after Maximilian's death), is the Speyer monument to German emperors and empresses (the characters selected are Maximilian's ancestors, together with emperors from the Hohenstaufen and the Salic lines, who were buried at the
Speyer Cathedral). The structure was intended to comprise a round temple on twelve octagonal pillars with the whole surmounted by a giant crown. Maximilian seemed to intend to create a bronze effigy of himself as the focal point of the structure. The surviving crown is 6 m in diameter, with a fragment in the shape of a palm leaf being 1.55 m high, and one of the eight surviving sculptures of emperors being 1.78 m high. Like other Maximilianic monuments, the design is more Gothic than Renaissance. Another plan that was never carried out, partly for financial reason, was a memorial chapel for himself in Falkenstein (Falconstone) near
St. Wolfgang. He was going to have himself buried in this area, until the archbishop of Salzburg,
Leonhard von Keutschach, persuaded him choose
St. George's Cathedral, Wiener Neustadt, probably with considerable financial help. • Certain previously built structures were utilized and modified to befit Maximilian's propagandistic purposes. An extant example is the towers (
Oberer Stadtturm and
Unterer Stadtturm, also called
Kaiser Maximilians Wappentürme or ''Maximilian's heraldry towers'') in
Vöcklabruck, which Maximilian realized to be easy to identify from distance. The facades were altered with frescoes that displayed
coats of arms of the territories he ruled and those he aspired to rule as well, as well as
an image of himself. During Napoleon's invasion, the frescoes were removed. After 150 years, during renovation, they were discovered and restored. • The Cour de Bailles was a square (now lost) in front of the Palace of the Dukes of Brabant that Maximilian and Margaret began to build in 1509. The angles were cut off with an open-worked stone balustrade, interrupted by pedestals (that carried the figures of birds and quadrupeds) and octagonal columns on each of which stood a duke of Brabant. The figures were designed by Jan van Roome, alias des Bruxelles, and the sculptor was
Jan Borman, who executed them in wood, which would be cast in bronze by Renier van Thienen, who only completed the statues of
Godfrey II,
Godfrey the Bearded, Maximilian and Charles V. The construction would be completed in 1521 though. • In 1513, he finished the imposing and very costly tomb of Frederick III in
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna (the original design was from the Netherlander
Nikolaus Gerhaert of
Leiden; Maximilian and his circle played the decisive role in the appointment of the tomb and the décor). This is among "the fourteen burial sites of late-mediaeval kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire was never looted, disturbed or altered". There were rumours that the tomb was empty, so a very small opening was created in 1969 for the purpose of observation and recording, but only in 2013, it became possible to take photographs. There are gilt metal plates with inscribed texts that celebrate Frederick's and Maximilian's achievements.
Astrology Inheriting an interest in
astrology from his father, Maximilian extensively utilized astrological works for propaganda in general and for self-presenting in particular, although Darin Hayton notes that, propaganda here should not be understood as an attempt to deceive the public, as propaganda is sometimes described in the modern sense. Rather, Maximilian and his circles were sincere in their belief of a relationship between politics and science, and in their efforts to promote an enhanced role for scientific knowledge in politics. • In Johannes Lichtenberger's popular 1488
Pronosticatio, the main fight happens between a pair of eagles (
Frederick III and Maximilian, by then
King of the Romans) with a wolf (symbol of France; their kings are coded as lilies). The Bavarian Wittelbachs, also antagonistic, are coded as lions. As the author tries to collect as many prophesies as possible, the French are at times presented positive. Even a French version of the emperor-prophecy (Kaiserprophetie) with anti-Habsburg tone is mentioned, that a new "Karl" of French ancestry will rule Germany and reform the Church and his name begins with "P". The author also predicts a conflict between the Eagle and the Pope, as well as the conquest of Rome. • The
Tractatus super Methodium, written by the Augsburg lawyer and cleric , edited by
Sebastian Brant and printed in 1498 by
Michael Furter in Basel, also proved a best-seller, although less well-researched than Lichtenberger's work. Maximilian is shown fighting the Turks, now the main enemy, although it is concluded that the fight will ultimately be won by a king whose name begins with "P" (
Philip the Handsome, whose mother comes from
Francia)
Plays Dramatic works by Maximilian's court scholars and Poet Laureates as well as others who supported him tended to double as encomium for imperial politics and commentary on contemporary events. •
Tragedia de Turcis et Suldano and
Historia de rege Frantie supported Maximilian's anti-Ottoman and anti-French agenda. The works predicted the defeat of the French and the Ottoman (even though the fighting had not started yet).
Historia de rege Frantie is the first German Neo-Latin tragedy, also the first German Humanist tragedy. •
Konrad Celtis wrote for Maximilian
Ludus Dianae and
Rhapsodia de laudibus et victoria Maximiliani de Boemannis. The
Ludus Dianae displays the symbiotic relationship between ruler and humanist, who are both portrayed as
Apollonian or Phoebeian. Maximilian was the most important of Celtis's earthly Apollos, while Celtis, as one of the most important advisors of Maximilian, played an essential role in shaping the image of Maximilian. The other humanists support this image as well – the idea behind was that an ideal ruler outshone everything. The function of the emperor as the promoter of arts and learning (Musagetes or Musarum pater) was important but the political mission was highlighted as well (as shown by Willibald Pirckheimer's text that accompanied the Great Triumphal Carriage, mentioned above.)
Apollo was also the symbol of the Renaissance that Celtis and the humanists wanted to bring to Germany.
Poems , Fol. 149. Kudrun'' • The character of
Priest King Johannes or John as recorded in the
Ambraser Heldenbuch (a compendium of medieval epic, partly inspired by the
frescoes depicting ancient heroes Maximilian saw in the
Runkelstein Castle) commissioned by Maximilian and written by Hans Ried, according to is an alter ego of Maximilian, who considered himself as a descendant of the race of Holy Grail (
Gralsgeschlecht). The story of
Loherangrin, son of
Parzival and cousin of John, as recorded by
Wolfram von Eschenbach's work, is also connected to Maximilian's life story, as Loherangrin was taken by a swan to
Antwerp, where he married the Princess of
Brabant. When asked by his wife where he had come from (something he had forbidden her to do), Loherangrin left, but their descendants remained. Many generations later, Maximilian married the Princess of Burgundy (Mary of Burgundy, who was also Duchess of Brabant). Rainer Schöffl connects the story of Kriemhild and Siegfried in the
Nibelungenlied (also part of the
Ambraser Heldenbuch) to Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian. Kriemhild, also a Burgundian princess, is often shown with a falcon. The "falcon dream" (
Falkentraum) is a favourite motif the
Nibelungenlied. In the first adventure, she dreamed of a tame
falcon who was killed by two eagles. In the story, Siegfried set out for
Worms (capital of the Kingdom of Burgundy according to the
Nibelungenlied) because he heard of Kriemhild's beauty. Siegfried is depicted as a passionate hunter, too, with equipments similar to those used by Maximilian, as shown by his
Geheimen Jagdbuch (
Hunting Book). He is also a dragon slayer like Maximilian's favorite saint, Saint George. Schöffl notes, though, that the emperor must have realized that some of Siegfried's actions (like cheating Brunhild with a magical cloak to gain Kriemhild as a "bought bride") did not fit into his chivalrous concepts, and that was why he did not claim Siegfried as one of his ancestors. Like Maximilian and Mary's marriage, Siegfried and Kriemhild's marriage also became a love marriage, but ended too soon and suddenly, in a violent manner. Gunda Lange writes that the
Nibelungenlied and the
Kudrun (both take the woman as the central character and are put next to each other in the
Ambraser Heldenbuch) are connected by the overuse of the dangerous courtship motif, which seems to reflect Maximilian's literary preferences, as this is the way his courtship of Mary of Burgundy is stylized in his works. Christopher Wood links the
Ambraser Heldenbuch to extensive archaeological activities by Maximilian (already started by his father
Frederick III around the city of Worms). The work seemed to be intended to double as materials for his genealogical projects. , from the illustrated manuscript
Encomia, consisting of three books of panegyric poems, written by Johannes Michael Nagonius for the emperor. Between 1493 and 1504. • The epic
Austriados (around 1513) glorifies Maximilian's deeds in the War of Bavarian succession. The author was Riccardo Bartolini (born 1470), Maximilian's "most important Neo-Latin panegyrist". This is one of the Latin epics dedicated to the emperor by Italian poets, including
Encomiastica (1504) by Giovanni Stefano Emiliano Cimbriaco,
Pronostichon de futuro imperio propagando (1493/1494) by Giovanni Michele Nagonio,
Magnanimus (ca. 1517–1519) by Riccardo Sbruglio. Pulina notes that the epics aspire to connect to traditional ideals and models of heroization, but also adapt to the person of Maximilian and contemporary developments. •
Sebastian Brandt was a lifelong admirer of the emperor and dedicated various panegyrical works to him, although he criticized Maximilian on some aspects. For example, he criticized the court historians who fawned over their prince in his
The ship of fools: I wish I had a covered ship Wherein all courtiers I would slip And those who eat at nobles' board And hobnob with a mighty lord So that they may be undisturbed And by the rabble never curbed. •
Helius Eobanus Hessus, widely reputed to be Germany's finest Latin poet and never crowned Poet Laureate, rebuked the emperor for rewarding undeserved poets, and expressed his pride that it was the Muse who gave him the laurel: Nubila scandentem lauri de stipite cygnum Hesso stemma suum Iibera Musa dedit. The generous Muse gave Hessus for his device the swan rising from the laurel branch to the clouds. •
Ulrich von Hutten was in the service of the emperor for some time, and wrote poems dedicated to Maximilian. One of this was
Italia to Maximilian, to which Eobanus Hessus replied with
Maximilian to Italia, using the emperor's name. •
Jean Molinet's chef d'oevre "Ressource du petit peuple" (a work about the fates of "small people" in wars), described either as poem or rhythming prose, addressed Maximilian, whose character he praised but whose politics he reproached. Before Maximilian came to Burgundian lands, Molinet wrote
Le naufrage de la Pucelle (1477), a work that mixed prose and poetry that advised Mary of Burgundy (presented in the work as the Pucelle) on how to deal with the death of her father and the threat from France (presented as whales and sea monsters). Maximilian was alluded to as an eagle that would save the ship. When Molinet depicted them as pagan deities, like in
Bergier sans Soulas (1485), Mary was portrayed as Lune (Moon,
Diana) while Maximilian was Apollon, Phoebus, Titan or King of Ilion, Philip was
Jupiter, Margaret of Austria was
Venus, while the King of France was
Pan and the King of England was
Neptune. In an updated version of his
Complainte (the original was written in 1464), Maximilian was a lion and Mars. • In their 1507
Cosmographiae Introductio (a revolutionary work in cartography, together with the map
Universalis Cosmographia that accompanies it),
Martin Waldseemüller and
Matthias Ringmann wrote in the dedication to Maximilian: Since thy Majesty is sacred throughout the vast world Maximilian Caesar, in the furthest lands, Where Phoebus Apollo raises his golden head from eastern waves And seeks the straits called by Hercules' name, Where midday glows under his burning rays, Where the
Great Bear freezes the surface of Ocean ... The poem is short but often noted for the connection between cosmography and imperial ideology.
Drawings, paintings and engravings • A pair of sketches (late fifteenth century or early sixteenth century at the latest) portray the King of the Romans, pale and emaciated after almost three months of imprisonment (although his captors tried to make his imprisonment pleasant with banquets and luxury), having a banquet and attending the Mass of Peace on his last day in Bruges. Warburg and Friedländer opine that the sketches likely reflect an immediate visual experience, because, among other reasons, from a retrospective point-of-view, an artist would not consider the banquet an important moment and no one would want to be reminded of the oath Maximilian was forced to take and later did not keep. '' by
Hans Memling. Note the eagle on the flag. During the
1482–1492 Flemish revolts against Maximilian as well as the later war against Guelders (which was believed, by many, as a dynastic struggle between the Habsburgs and the King of France, that had nothing to do with the Low Countries), as continual warfare and taxes (levied to support those wars) put pressure on the society – including the middle class that the contemporary renown painter belonged to, many works portraying Maximilian in a satyrical way appeared. The signs through which one can recognize the allusion to Maximilian and tend to be the features of his face, especially his distinctive nose, and the imperial eagle. •
Hans Memling's
St. Ursula Shrine, dated around 1488–89, showed the author as an opponent of Maximilian's politics. During the 1510s and 1520s, Maximilian's vassals and retainers tended to commission Holy Kinship paintings to praise the Habsburg's marriage politics and also to pray for the prosperity of their own family. Other examples include: • In 1509,
Lucas Cranach the Elder painted the famous
Holy Kinship Altarpiece for Frederick and John, the brother Electors of Saxony. In this instance, as the brothers were territorial lords instead of Maximilian's direct vassals,
the appearance of the emperor as Cleophas (left) seemed to have another purpose, related to political problems within their territory. Here Maximilian-Cleophas was the husband of Anne and not Mary Cleophas like in the Strigel diptych. • The
famous diptych of Maximilian's extended family (after 1515), painted by
Bernhard Strigel, labels Mary of Burgundy as "Mary Cleophas, believed to be sister of the Virgin Mary" while Maximilian was labeled as Cleophas, brother of Joseph. This painting was likely commissioned to commemorate the 1516 double wedding (between House of Habsburg and House of Hungary) and then bequeathed to the scholar
Johannes Cuspinian as a sign of imperial favour (it would become part of his family altar and some years later was paired with another Holy Kinship painting that depicted the family of Cuspinian). • Sebastian Scheel's 1517 altarpiece, in which the emperor also features as Cleophas. •
Jan van Scorel's Holy Kinship Altarpiece, painted in 1520, in which St. Joseph, who wore a hat reminiscent of the style of the
Order of the Golden Fleece and had a hawk nose, clearly resembled Maximilian.
Saint George was the emperor's favourite saint. Maximilianic iconography tends to fuse the saint and the emperor, as the Defender of Christendom. The cult of Saint George nurtured by Maximilian caused ambitious rivals to emulate to compete with him (for example,
Frederick the Wise of Saxony hired Lucas Cranach to make works depicting Saint George for him, that rivalled those made for the emperor). • In 1508, the year Maximilian became Emperor-elect,
Hans Burgkmair executed double chiascuro woodcuts, featuring Saint Georgle and Maximilian, completed with an inscription describing him as "vanguard of the army of Christians". • Around 1509–1510,
Daniel Hopfer created the etching
The Emperor Maximilian as Saint George (dated by Madar to 1518/1520 and Silver to 1519). • Around 1515, Lucas Cranach produced the work
Maximilian idealized as Saint George. On his deathbed, Maximilian planned a project called
Arch of Devotion (
Andacht), of which the title page would show "Maximilian, crowned and enthronedin the armor of the Order of St. George, whose shield hangs above him, balanced by the joint arms of Austria and Burgundy, alongside the central imperial arms above the throne". The emperor also ordered that: "Write [of] my Tomb institution and the Order of St. George as well as of my family and ordained descent." The plan was never carried out. Instead, his death was glorified by a woodcut by
Hans Springinklee under the order of Johannes Stabius that described a complete different scheme (see below) The idea was laid out in 1512. It is unclear whether this was meant as a counterpart for the
Ehrenpforte or a program for the fresco cycle of the planned memorial chapel in Falkenstein. Müller opines that it is possible it was intended to serve both purposes. Maximilian's veneration of Saint George also influenced the knights of his time, who shared his ideals of chivalry. • Hans von Hungerstein (1460–1503) commissioned the Master of the
Strasbourg Chronicle to illustrate his personal edition with
a depiction of Maximilian as an ideal knight, with features of Saint George. The depiction also shows how von Hungerstein, as a knight himself, wanted to be remembered. • The knight , Maximilian's trusted companion who rose from a low status and was a significant patron and collector of artworks himself (several artworks commissioned by Waldauf depict Maximilian), modelled himself after the emperor in veneration of the saint. The portrait of Waldauf by Marx Reichlich (1500–1505) In the altarpiece he commissioned from
Marx Reichlich, Saint George and Saint Florian appeared behind a kneeling Waldauf. Art historians usually note that the one who is depicted in the form of Maximilian is Saint Florian, Waldauf's name saint though. by , 1512. The "German woman", as Maximilian personally dictated, wears her hair loose and a crown, sitting on the Imperial throne, corresponds both to the self-image of Maximilian I as King of Germany and the formula
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (omitting other nations). She now takes central stage in Maximilian's
Triumphal Procession, being carried in front of
Roma. During his reign, Maximilian and his humanists reinvented
Germania as the mother of the
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In the previous eras, she was presented as one of the lands conquered or ruled by the Roman emperors, and then by the Holy Roman Emperors (see also:
History of the personified Germania), often in subordination to both imperial power and Italia (or Roma) and Gallia. In Maximilian's imagination, she reflected the self-image of emperor and took a central role in his
Triumphal Procession (Maximilian died before this project was completed though. When it was first printed in 1526 by
Archduke Ferdinand, the future emperor, she disappeared.) She was pacific, yet virile, and as the emperor personally dictated, with her hair loose and wearing a crown. She was presented as Mother, Sovereign Lady (Herrscherin), the Empire and the Birthland, as well as embodiment of Imperial rulership. The humanist Heinrich Bebel also spread a story about his dream, in which Germania told him to talk to her son (Maximilian). His first wife,
Mary of Burgundy, played an important role in Maximilianic iconography, as display of personal attachment or representation of the fusion of the Houses of Burgundy and Austria or both. In many cases, her iconography is blended with that of the
Virgin Mary, who was her patron, and also especially revered by the emperor (his other favourite saints tended to be military saints). '', 1506 Maximilian kept certain themes consistent in representations of the two Marys and his association with them for decades. According to Silver, when he supervised Mary of Burgundy's tomb in the
Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Maximilian had already anticipated some later elements for his own burial. Their tombs were both made in bronze, and both of them were buried beneath the altar. Both tombs show attention to the assertive rather than the mournful side of family ancestry and possessions. • In the
Hours of Mary of Burgundy (according to Anna Eörsi, Maximilian was the last commissioner of this book, likely from the time he became Mary's husband or a new father. Images were also added after Mary's death.
Hugo van der Goes was likely the illustrator), (
folio 14v), Maximilian appears as a deacon waving the censer and bowing down before the Virgin (image of Mary of Burgundy) and the Child (image of Philip the Fair), the new ruler of the world. The image is likely inspired by the legend of
Augustus paying homage to the infant Jesus. • Eörsi notes that in 1477, a medal celebrating Mary and Maximilian's wedding (likely commissioned by Maximilian himself), displays the motif of the Virgin with Child as well, with an inscription using content from the
Song of Songs ("tota pvlcra es amica mea et macvla non est in te": "you are wholly fair and there is no blemish in you") – the obverse shows names and coats-of-arms of the couple while the reverse show the Virgin between two saints. Karaskova agrees that the one who commissioned this medal should be Maximilian but the date must have been much later (a sign is the symbol of the
Order of the Golden Fleece, which he did not become a member – and its sovereign – until 1478). The appearance on the medal of
Saint Sebastian, a saint to whom Maximilian especially devoted, seems to suggest the connection to his status as King of the Romans (he was elected in 1486). Also in this year, an image produced for the book usually called ''Maximilian's Old Prayers Book'' was created, showing Maximilian praying to Saint Sebastian. There are three falcons in the picture: the one chasing another bird seems to be an allegory for Maximilian himself, protecting mother and child (Mary and Philip). • In one of
Albrecht Dürer's most famous works, the
Feast of the Rosary, the Virgin Mary (representation of Mary of Burgundy, according to Klaas van der Heide) was depicted holding the infant Jesus (representation of
Philip the Fair) while placing a rosary on the head of a kneeling Maximilian. Rothenberg notes that, in the painting (considered by him to be a "direct visual counterpart" to the
motet Virgo prudentissima, mentioned below), "The most prudent Virgin thus crowns the Wise King with a rose garland at the very moment when she herself is about to be crowned Queen of Heaven." • In Dürer's 1518
Death of the Virgin, or the
Dying Mary of Burgundy, which anticipated the emperor's death in 1519, Maximilian is shown as an apostle bowing down in distress (next to
Zlatkonia, the commissioner of the painting, who is shown as reading an open book in the middle of the room; Philip the Fair is depicted as a young Saint John standing next to Mary) in front of the dying Virgin (or Mary of Burgundy). Her soul, depicted as an infant, is about to get crowned by Christ in Heaven. Anna Jameson remarks that, the painting "all the legendary and supernatural incidents with the most intense and homely reality". The Latin inscriptions are passages taken from the
Canticles, or
Song of Songs, about Mary, coming from the Desert, beautiful as the moon and excellent as the sun, terrible as an army, rising to be reunited with her beloved and crowned in Heaven. • The motif of the Virgin and the Eagle, as the shared iconography of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian, was also seen during Maximilian's "joyous entry" into Antwerp (1478), on one of the tableaux presented to him by the city. An eagle (also alluded to as the presence of the Holy Spirit) was shown offering his own blood to the maiden. The symbol for both Antwerp and Burgundy was also a virgin, while the eagle was the symbol of the House of Habsburg. The Antwerp (later, his loyal ally in his later turbulent regency) community seemed to welcome Maximilian as their saviour, but also wanted to subtly remind him of limits to his powers and his responsibilities as ruler together with Mary. • The monumental motet
Virgo Prudentissima, that describes the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was commissioned by Maximilian and written by
Heinrich Isaac in preparation of the 1508 coronation of the emperor and played a very important role in Maximilianic iconography. It affiliates the reigns of two sovereign monarches – the Virgin Mary of Heaven and Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire. The motet describes the
Assumption of the Virgin, in which Mary, described as the most prudent Virgin (allusion to
Parable of the Ten Virgins), "beautiful as the moon", "excellent as the sun" and "glowing brightly as the dawn", was crowned as Queen of Heaven and united with Christ, her bridegroom and son, at the highest place in Heaven. Rothenberg notes that, "In Isaac's compositions Mary becomes the figurative mother who crowns Maximilian, just as King Solomon's mother had crowned him." Other than Dürer's
Feast of the Rosary, Rothenberg opines that the idea of the motet is also reflected in the scene of the Assumption seen in the
Berlin Book of hours of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian. The antiphon of the motet reads: Virgo prudentissima, quo progrederis quasi aurora valde rutilans? Filia Syon tota formosa et suavis es, pulchra ut luna electa ut sol. Most prudent Virgin, where are you going glowing brightly as the dawn? Daughter of Zion, you are wholly fair and sweet, beautiful as the moon, excellent as the sun. The motet's text by George Slatkonia, expanding on the antiphon, reads: "The most prudent Virgin, who brought holy joys to the world, and transcended all spheres, and melted the stars beneath her feet with brilliant beams and gleaming light [...] the Mother of the eternal almighty, the Queen, powerful in Heaven, on land and at sea, whose divinity is deservingly venerated [and whom] every spirit and human being adores? We call upon you, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, to pour upon her ears chaste vows and prayers for the holy Empire, for the Emperor Maximilian; may the omnipotent Virgin grant that he conquer his malicious enemies; may he restore peace to the people and safety to the lands. [...] the highest place belongs to Him by whom you were assumed, to whom you shine beautiful as the moon and are as excellent as the sun." Later, around 1537–1538,
Virgo prudentissima was rewritten by Hans Ott to be rededicated to Christ as (all Marian references were replaced) and Maximilian was replaced with his grandson
Charles V, then the reigning emperor. Moritz Kelber agrees with Rothenberg's interpretation of
Virgo Prudentissima and its connection to the
Feast of the Rosary. He adds that Maximilian considered the Virgin the patron of his reign and symbol of his march to Italy. The Marian symbols appeared notable not only in regard to the Reichstag at Constance but other occasions like Philip the Fair's funeral. Later, in the Reichstag of Augsburg (1548), his eldest granddaughter
Mary of Hungary "appropriated" Marian symbols through music as well (in this case, the Virgin became associated with the ruler herself). File:Abb. summe laudis o maria initiale Maximilian Benedictus de Opitiis.jpg|thumb|right| Illustration from the printed work
Unio pro co[n]servatio[n]e rei publice (
Antwerp: Jan de Gheet 1515), showing Maximilian singing the motet
Summe laudis o Maria by Benedictus de Opitiis to the Virgin. Fol. Dv. According to Größing, he did have a beautiful singing voice with which he liked to entertain his grandchildren (and make them sing along). He sometimes sang along his chapel too – these people had to surround him in his campaigns, composed works and performed in the strangest (and dangerous) of circumstances, because he could not imagine a life without music. The Virgin appears in other composers' works too, with some of the most notable being: •
Sub tuum presidium by
Pierre de la Rue: The motet sets to music one of
the popular Marian prayers ("under your protection and shield..."), which seemed to be particularly significant for Maximilian. In 1508, when he paid a splendid visit to
Antwerp, he placed his activities under Her protection with this motet. • "Summe laudis o Maria" by Benedictus de Opitiis: The motet was produced and performed for the same occasion in 1508. The text, composed by Petrus de Opitiis (brother of Benedictus) begins with a praise for the Virgin which is followed by a praise for Maximilian. reminiscent of
Virgo Prudentissimas structure. Lodes notes that the
son of Mary in the text does not mean Jesus alone (the son's name is never mentioned), but also Maximilian himself (similar to Obrecht's
Missa Salve diva parens, mentioned below). CMME's editor argues that the date of 1508 for these motets is not a certainty. These motets were later printed in the
Unio pro conservation rei publice (by Jan de Gheet, Antwerp, dated 1515), "eldest printed edition of polyphonic music in the Netherlands. It celebrates the visits of emperor Maximilian of Austria and his successor Charles V to the city of Antwerpen in 1508 and 1515". • The
Alamire manuscript VatS 160, a choir book sent to Pope
Leo X as a gift and likely first made for Lord
John III of Bergen of Zoom, presents Maximilian as the Saviour and the secular representative of God, and also contains numerous references to the connection between Mary of Burgundy and the Virgin Mary, based heavily on Molinet's literary "inventions". The texts
Populus qui ambulat in tenebris vidit lucem magnam (1477) and
Le paradis terrestre (1486) are both allegorical texts used as the titles of chapters in Molinet's
Chroniques. In these texts, Emperor Frederick III is compared to God while Maximilian is seen as the Only Begotten Son, who is sent to save the Burgundian nation and wed Mary of Burgundy. The
Le paradis terrestre describes Maximilian's return to the 'Kingdom of the Father', where he was crowned as king of the Romans. The mass
Missa Salve diva parens by the composer
Jacob Obrecht (d.1505) declares: 'Hail divine mother of the lovely offspring, Virgin dedicated to the good things of eternity, through whom the true Light, God, shone upon the world, and the ruler of Olympus submitted himself to become flesh' ('Salve diva parens prolis amene, / eternis meritis virgo sacrata, / Qua lux vera, deus, fulsit in orbem / et carnem subiit rector olimphi'). According to van der Heide, here Mary (of Burgundy) and her Olympus (the Burgundian nation) is visited by the True Light (Maximilian). The mass was likely made to celebrate Maximilian's return to the Low Countries in 1508/1509. The mass
Missa Ave regina celorum, also by
Jacob Obrecht, is a tribute to both the Virgin Mary and Mary of Burgundy. Here, Mary became the deceased heavenly Mother, Friend and Queen of Emperor Maximilian. Silver notes that Maximilian's vision of religious music was not the simple result of sacral precedents seen by him in the chapels of the Low Countries, but tied to his militancy, his self-image as a martial ruler and the strong right arm of the Christian faith. Alexander the Great and Caesar were great sources of inspiration for him in music, as he said himself in the
Weisskunig. Professor Nicole Schwindt notes that in his time, "this convergence of military heroism and artistic sensibility was a new profile for a ruler, which was not universally accepted and still had to be legitimized by citing Aristoteles." Beyond political representation, this reflects on Maximilian as an individual who turned to music for deeper aesthetic desires as well. • The song
Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen is usually associated with the memory of Maximilian, written by Isaac, although the legend that the emperor was the lyricist was now considered highly unlikely. The song can be found in early collections such as Liederbuch Ludwig Iselins (Ludwig Iselin's Songbook). The song
Bentzenower (no.54) in this book is about the fight against Maximilian of Hans Pienzenau, the commander of Kufstein who was later executed after Maximilian took the fortress in 1504. • The ballad
Fraulein von Britannia, appeared in 1491, tells the story of Maximilian and
Anne of Brittany. Michael Mullet comments that the ballad is "royalist soft pornography", but portrays rulers as actual people.
Armour and weapons The ancient hero
Hercules and the Biblical figure
Samson were also favourite figures of the emperor and identified with him through different mediums of art. According to Silver, "Hercules, then, is a perfect pagan parallel to St. George or to the biblical lion slayer, Samson, illustrated later in the Prayerbook by Breu. Hercules and Samson also shared the parallel of being undone by women." • Frederick the Wise commissioned a suit of armour for Maximilian. The armour depicted images of Samson and
Delilah, the Idolatry of
Solomon,
Judith with the head of
Holofernes, and
Phyllis and Aristotle. According to Jacqueline Q.Spackman, "The inclusion on male armor may have been a warning to the man wearing the armor that even the mightiest and most intelligent of men (in this case Emperor Maximilian) can be seduced or tricked by women." • There's a bard (now in the Royal Armoury in Madrid), usually identified as made by
Kolman Helmschmied and originally belonging to Maximilian, before being inherited by
Charles V. The figures of Hercules, here shown performing
Labours of Hercules, is an allegory for Maximilian himself. Samson is shown with Delilah. The bard was once accompanied by a suit of armour that depicted the same subject. The extremely elaborated and innovative bards crafted by
Lorenz Helmschmied were important as iconographic and propagandic devices for Maximilian in his Burgundian years, as the horse wearing his bards served as living banners for the master even when he could not be present himself. Maximilian utilized the technological expertise of
Augsburg, renowned for its innovative wonders and automata, for his bards that, in combination with equine and human performances, would produce optical and technological marvels corresponding to the Burgundian
entremets for the Burgundian viewers. Kirchhoff writes that, "In its most luxurious iterations, horse armor did far more than protect an expensive and extensively trained steed. It transformed the animal's body into a moving sculpture and a communicative surface upon which to inscribe the iconography of power. In the case of the bard now in Vienna, the crupper plates that encase the horse's flanks form imperial double eagles that are enlivened by etched feathers and emblazoned with an escutcheon bearing the arms of Austria. The corresponding crupper shown in images of the 1480 entries uses the marshalled heraldry of the Habsburg and Burgundian dynasties,supported by a figure that resembles the duchess herself, to declare the consolidation of Mary and Maximilian's power [...] No surviving equine armor approaches the technical and visual ambition of the articulated bard, and the Helmschmids are the only armorers known to have created matrixes of steel plates flexible enough to encase a horse's entire lower body as it moved. Indeed, this type of armor became associated with Maximilian, who continued to commission bards that covered horses' legs and bellies to arm his own steeds and also as diplomatic gifts to forge alliances and demonstrate Habsburg power." The recipients of these bards included
Sigismund I the Old, who was presented with "two coursers all covered with steel to the fetlocks and the belly, save in the spurring place". Another case was
Henry VIII's so-called Burgundian bard. • The bard shown on the 1517
Doppelguldine, like the armour Maximilian wore, displays the fluting technique associated with
Maximilian armour. Surviving examples of the parts of armour crafted specifically to cover the horse's legs are very rare. The most remarkable case is an element made for a horse's forearm or gaskin, decorated with the fluting technique and etched bands that display the style of Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg, the inventor of the metal etching technique (circa 1470—1536). This part is preserved in Brussels's ''Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire'' (10212). It is dated around 1515 and most likely made by the Helmschmid workshop. Other than Seusenhofer, another favourite master of Maximilian was Hans Laubermann, "the wealthiest armorer in Innsbruck". A particularly exotic invention of Seusenhofer was the pleated skirt armour, which required exceptional skill to deal with metal the same way as with fabric. According to the MET, "the base was an imitation in steel of the cloth skirt that was sometimes worn over armor. The deep, arched cutouts in front and back allowed the wearer to sit on horseback; the close-set holes along these openings were for the attachment of textile decoration, probably fringe. The etching imitates the elaborate embroidery and cut velvet of fashionable court costume." Works of this type contributed to Seusenhofer's status as Maximilian's favourite armourer for donations. A notable example was
the harness made for Charles of Burgundy (future
Charles V) in 1512-1514. The
Maximilian armour style was likely originally conceived to "create a dazzling effect as sunlight reflected on its polished, rippling steel", although it turned out that the flutings strengthened the defensive capability of the armour. The flutings also might have been designed to imitate the pleatings of costumes in the late 15th century. Swords (see
External links), knives, crossbows, cannons and other weapons were an artistic and propagandistic medium to Maximilian as well, although the audience here is more limited. • A blued steel ceremonial sword (
Prunkschwert), made by Hans Sumersperger (1492–1498) in Tyrol in 1496, opulently decorated with heraldic symbols and selected personal saints (one side is Saint George; the other is the Virgin) "was designed to be read from the tip of its blade back to its hilt, thus oriented clearly toward the sovereign who extended it in a ritual-like dubbing". Lhotsky notes that the Mary side shows more prestigious symbols, associated with higher ranked territories (kingdoms and duchies). Silver connects the heraldry seen here to those of the Wappenturm. • The hunting sword (
Hirschfänger), also with blued steel and made by Sumersperger in Tyrol, shows the Mother of God on one side, standing on a crescent moon and crushing the serpent. The other side shows Saint Sebastian (also a patron of Maximilian, as the saint of soldiers and archers) being tied to a trunk and pierced by arrows. There are carved mother-of-pearl figures of a saint on the handle, presumably Barbara or Catherine. • The round shield of Maximilian, now in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, was made around 1505. The single-headed eagle indicates that the date of creation was before Maximilian's 1508 coronation, and the style of decoration was before
Daniel Hopfer made the breakthrough that unified the "heterogeneous world of motifs of the earlier period in the spirit of the Renaissance." A recent restoration allows the shield's pictorial wealth, unparalleled for its time, to be observed. The text of the motet
Ave mundi spes Maria (there are differences in comparison with the version seen in the Codex Mus. Ms. 3154 in the Bavarian State Library, Munich, usually called the Choir book of
Nikolaus Leopold) frames the shield, with the sentence "Mattheo Gurcensi episcopo dedicatum" (referring to the powerful official
Matthäus Lang, then Bishop of Gurk) appearing several times. This motel seems to have played an important role in the court culture. The decoration shows diverse scenes that do not have one heterogeneous theme: there are scenes that represent masculine virtues and activities (fencing scenes, wild man fighting against a bear, Saint George defeating the dragon unicorn fleeing a hunter and running towards the lap of a maiden etc.) contrasting with scenes representing male weakness and female dominance (Phyllis and Aristotle etc.), scenes of heroic poeatry and love narratives (Tristan, Lancelot etc), dancers, man being hanged upside down, etc The animals (chamois, deers, stags, dragons...etc) and certain decorative motifs like the elaborated candelabra seem to have developed from models seen in French-Burgundian and Netherlandish tapestries or Italian and German arts. • The Hungarian shield (1515, Innsbruck) combines the style of Albrecht Durer and the Danube school with 15th century influence.
Maximilian's inventory books Maximilian commissioned a series of inventory books that record important information about his arsenals. These books called
Zeugbuch, serve the aesthetic purposes as well. The Vienna manuscript is the most famous one. A
Zeugbuch recently discovered in Munich, Cod. icon. 222, "contains extensive information on the armament kept at approximately 100 locations – from castles and towns to monasteries and fortified churches – within the historical Slovenian territories."
Tapestries •
Legend of Notre Dame du Sablon (or
Our Lady of the Zavel) tapestries, commissioned by (1459–1517), circa 1518, with design attributed to Bernaert van Orley, features
the scene Franz von Taxis was bestowed the postal rights by Frederick III according to Maximilian's arrangement. ==Posthumous depictions in artworks and popular culture==