Freydal

Freydal is an uncompleted illustrated prose narrative commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I in the early 16th century. It was intended to be a romantic allegorical account of Maximilian's own participation in a series of jousting tournaments in the guise of the tale's eponymous hero, Freydal. In the story, Freydal takes part in the tournaments to prove that he is worthy to marry a princess, who is a fictionalised representation of Maximilian's late wife, Mary of Burgundy.

A scene from the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Freydal Illuminated manuscript: Freydal jousts with Veit von Wolkenstein (fol.133)[1]

The text was never completed, although a manuscript draft is held by the Austrian National Library. 256 miniature paintings to accompany the text were created by court painters, and 255 are preserved in an illuminated manuscript ‘tournament book’ held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. These miniatures vividly record the different types of jousts that were popular at the time as well as the court masquerades, or ‘mummeries’, that took place at the end of the day after each tournament. It is the most extensive visual record of late medieval tournaments and court masquerades that exists.

Background
Portrait of Maximilian I by Albrecht Dürer, 1519.

Maximilian I and his father Frederick III were part of what was to become a long line of Holy Roman Emperors from the House of Habsburg. Maximilian was elected King of the Romans in 1486; upon his father's death in 1493 he succeeded to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.[2]

During his reign, Maximilian commissioned a number of humanist scholars and artists to assist him in completing a series of projects, in different art forms, intended to immortalize his life and deeds and those of his Habsburg ancestors.[3] He referred to these projects as Gedechtnus ("memorial"),[4] and included a series of stylised autobiographical works: Freydal, the prose romance Weisskunig, and the poem Theuerdank.[3]

Freydal and Theuerdank are closely linked and together give an allegorical account of the events leading to Maximilian's marriage to Mary of Burgundy in 1477.[5] Mary died five years later, in 1482.[6] In Freydal, which is partly a tribute to Mary,[7] the eponymous hero pursues his fair lady by jousting in tournaments.[8] Theuerdank is effectively a sequel in which the hero overcomes dangers on the journey to his wedding.[5] Freydal has a comedic tone which contrasts with Theuerdank, which has more of the character of a tragedy.[9]

The theme of Freydal reflects Maximilian's lifelong enthusiasm for jousting. He attended his first tournament at the age of 14 and was captivated by its traditions and spectacle.[8] He staged many tournaments, including those to celebrate his wedding to Mary of Burgundy in 1477, his coronation as King of the Romans in 1486 and on the occasion of the First Congress of Vienna in 1515.[8] Maximilian was himself a participant in tournaments from 1485 until 1511, when he was in his 50s.[10] His affinity for jousting contributed to his soubriquet the “last knight”.[8]

Post-tournament festivities: grotesque-style dancers or mummers dance a moresca while Freydal, in a mask and holding torches, looks on (Freydal ms. fol.164, KMW)[11]

Creation and history

Maximilian appears to have begun planning Freydal in 1502.[12] The name Freydal was derived from Freyd-alb, meaning "white joyful young man".[13] In that year, he instructed his court taylor, Martin Trummer "to have drawn in a book all those costumes as yet seen in mummeries organised by his majesty".[12] A “mummery” was a late medieval courtly masquerade or costumed dance.[14]

This developed into the commissioning of planning sketches for the entire work, created over the next ten years.[12] They were drawn in pen on laid paper, using brown and black ink with watercolour over black chalk and leadpoint.[12] A collection of 203 of these are housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[15] A small number of additional drawings are held at the British Museum and the Vatican Library.[12]

Maximilian took a leading part in the creation of the work.[16] His instructions on the subjects to be illustrated as well as corrections, in his own hand, of some of the proofs have survived. In 1511, Maximilian dictated some of the text to his secretary, Max Trytssaurwein,[16] (or Marx Treitzsauerwein[17]) and the following year wrote "Freydal is half conceived, the largest part of which we have made in Cologne".[12] The work was never completed,[18] however, and the text exists only in draft form.[19] The manuscript text dictated to Treitzsauerwein, and corrected in Maximilian's hand, is held by the Austrian National Library in Vienna.[20]

Planning sketch for Freydal, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Although the text was never finalised, 256 high quality miniatures[19] were created between 1512 and 1515 to illustrate the text.[5] These were painted on paper in gouache with gold and silver highlights over pen, pencil and leadpoint[5] by two dozen anonymous[9] court artists under the direction of the imperial master-taylor.[18] All but one of the paintings are preserved in an illuminated manuscript ‘tournament book’ held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.[5] The remaining painting has been missing since at least 1600.[19]

It was intended to print and publish the work with woodcut illustrations derived from the miniatures.[18] Although Maximilian never succeeded in doing this,[18] and the text remained only a draft, five of the illustrations were trial printed.[19] These were from woodcuts made in about 1516 by Albrecht Dürer, albeit the cutting was somewhat rough. A sixth woodcut has been attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder.[21] One of the woodcut blocks has survived, and is held by the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin.[22]

In modern times, the Kunsthistorisches Museum illuminated manuscript tournament book has been published twice. A multi-volume edition, edited by Quirin von Leitner (de), was published in Vienna in stages between 1880 and 1882.[16][23] In 2019, the German publisher, Taschen, published the entire tournament book in a single volume, edited by Stefan Krause.[9][24]

Content

Narrative

Based on the draft text preserved in the Austrian National Library,[25] the story is an account of a series of tournaments in which Freydal – a young knight and Maximilian's literary alter ego – demonstrates his valour in combat in order to earn honour and fame[26] and to win the hand of a princess.[19] Freydal is the son of a “mighty prince” and he is born with “noble virtue”; his heraldic colours are white, red, and black, symbolising purity, fire, and bravery.[26]

Freydal in a “joust of war” (Antzogen-Rennen) with Wolfgang von Fürstenberg (Freydal ms. fol.17, KMW)[27]

The narrative begins with three noble ladies asking Freydal to compete in the tournaments.[19] A description of sixty-four tournaments follows in a ritualised and repetitive pattern.[26] Each is hosted by one of the finest courts in the land and comprises two different types of jousting; a foot combat; and a masquerade ball.[19] Freydal competes in each tournament and almost always wins.[16] Once all the tournaments are completed, Freydal receives a letter from one of the noble ladies who, it transpires, is a powerful queen; in the letter, she professes her love for him. The narrative ends with Freydal setting out to search for her, and Theuerdank then takes up the subsequent story.[19]

The work reflects Maximilian's vanity, as exemplified by a poem which forms part of the draft text:[7]

This did the gallant Freydal
In knightly deeds of fame
Thus rendering illustrious
The glories of his name.
His virtues and his goodness
Are manifest to all;
His many glorious triumphs
At tilt, at masks and ball...
His like will ne’er be seen again.[28]

However, the tournaments described are based on encounters Maximilian actually had. This is evidenced by a list of people involved in the story in the first seven quires of the draft text, and who are known to have been actual courtiers.[26]

Illuminated manuscript tournament book
Freydal in a “joust of war with flying and exploding shields” (Geschifttartschen-Rennen) with Sigmund von Welsperg (Freydal ms. fol. 29, KMW)[29]

The miniatures in the tournament book manuscript illustrate the types of jousting popular at the time, both on horse and on foot.[9] Freydal features in each illustrated combat and his opponent is an historical figure with whom Maximilian actually jousted.[9] Each picture, in the lower margin, identifies the name of the opponent and the other courtiers depicted.[11]

Two types of joust, Rennen (or “jousts of war” where the lance has a sharpened tip[30]) and Stechen (or “jousts of peace” where the lance has a blunted tip[30]) are depicted for each tournament.[16][19] Within these two broad groupings, eleven sub-types are shown.[19] In the Welsches Gestecht (Italian joust of peace) a board separates the jousters so that they can ride more closely to each other and strike their opponent frontally with greater force. This results in a spectacular splintering of the lances. In the Scharfrennen (joust of war with flying shields) the shield is shown loosely fixed to the rider's breastplate, the aim being to dislodge it. In contrast, the objective of the Antzogenrennen is to unseat the opponent and his shield is fixed to his armour.[19] The Feldrennen (or Kampfrennen) jousts replicate skirmishes in war and the riders wear battlefield armour. The rarest type of joust depicted is the Krönlrennen where one rider wears the armour of a joust of peace but wields the lance of a joust of war and the other rider has the opposite combination.[14]

One of the most spectacular jousts depicted is the Bundrennen (joust of war with flying shields without bevors)[19] and its variation, Geschifttartschen-Rennen (joust of war with flying and exploding shields).[31] In the Bundrennen, the shield is held in place on the rider's breastplate with a complicated spring mechanism and when it is struck in the right place by the opponent it is ejected high into the air.[19] The Geschifttartschen-Rennen increases the spectacle by attaching multiple triangular platelets to the shield which, when the shield is ejected, come loose and explode into the air like a firework display.[31] Maximilian claimed to have invented this type of joust.[8]

Foot combat between Freydal and Claude de Vaudry (Freydal ms. fol. 39, KMW)[5]

In each of the tournaments, the participants are shown engaging in a foot combat. A variety of weapons are used, including iron clubs (Eisenkolben), flails (Drischel), swords (Turnierschwert)[32] and daggers.[33] The mêlée is also shown in the manuscript.[16]

After each of the sixty-four tournaments is a scene depicting a moresca (a pantomime dance) or other post-tournament festivities with male courtiers, including the knights who had competed in the tournament, dressing up to dance in a variety of exotic costumes.[18] Known as ‘mummeries’, these were a regular feature of the evening entertainment after tournaments.[14]

The male courtiers in the mummeries in the manuscript dress up, amongst other things, in costumes based on nationality or ethnicity, for example Turkish, Venetian or Burgundian costume, or as animals such as apes and creatures with bird's heads.[18] In one masquerade illustrated, the male participants engage in cross-dressing and wear women's gowns.[14]

In each scene, all the men are dressed in the same costume and normally wear a mask. Women, however, are always shown wearing their usual court attire.[18] In each of these post-tournament pictures, Freydal appears carrying a torch and wearing a mask.[18]


Scenes from the Kunsthistorisches Museum Freydal illuminated manuscript
Stechen – joust of peace, against Sigmund von Hardegk (fol.106)
Scharfrennen – joust of war with flying shields (fol.157)
Welsches Gestecht – Italian joust of peace (fol.14)
Mummery festivities (fol.156)
Foot combat with flails against Wilhelm Auer von Herrenkirchen zu Neudorf (fol.83)[32]
Cross-dressing mummery (fol. 207)

Significance

Tournament books were a feature of late medieval and renaissance courtly culture and provide a graphic record of jousting and its associated rituals. Notable examples include King René's Tournament Book and the tournament books of the Electors of Saxony.[34] The Freydal illuminated manuscript is considered one of the most important[34] and precious[16] of this genre. Not only is it the largest surviving tournament book, it is also an unparalleled pictorial source of jousting from the late medieval period.[35] It is the only one to depict spectacular falls.[8] In addition to illustrating the jousts themselves, it represents a remarkable catalogue of the weaponry used during tournaments[8] and is the most extensive record of mummery, the early court masquerade, that exists.[14] The manuscript has been recognised in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.[36]

However, Freydal was intended to be not only an artistic work but also political propaganda.[37] As part of what he called his ‘memorial projects’ or Gedechtnus, Maximilian I used literary and visual works such as Freydal to model and enhance his public image. His aim was to make up for his actual powerlessness and lack of centralised control over his own realms by presenting himself and his exploits as superior to any others.[38] As the historian Jan-Dirk Müller (de) has said, the extent to which Maximilian employed this strategy meant that his court “literally existed on paper: to a large extent it was a virtual quantity”.[38]

gollark: I guess you'd also want to do text search on captions.
gollark: Also, as a workaround for actually processing videos with ML being hard, has anyone tried making a video search tool by using existing scene change detectors and running CLIP on frames from each scene, or something?
gollark: That would be a valuable area of research.
gollark: Alternatively, perhaps you could retain decision theory by walking around in a tent, or something.
gollark: You can open your windows, however, which MAY work in some windy conditions.

References
  1. Krause 2014, pp. 177–178
  2. Terjanian 2019, p. 303
  3. Watanabe-O'Kelly 2000, p. 94
  4. Kleinschmidt 2008, p. 162
  5. Terjanian 2019, p. 120
  6. Terjanian 2019, p. 300
  7. Clephan 1995, p. 88
  8. Freeman 2019
  9. McLaren 2019
  10. Anderson 2017, pp. 104–105
  11. Locke 2015, p. 123
  12. Terjanian 2019, p. 123
  13. Strobl 1913, p. 4
  14. Terjanian 2019, p. 122
  15. Terjanian 2019, pp. 120, 123
  16. Clephan 1995, p. 87
  17. Kleinschmidt 2008, p. 178
  18. Locke 2015, p. 121
  19. Terjanian 2019, p. 121
  20. Silver 2002, p. 63
  21. Kurth 1963, p. 36
  22. Terjanian 2019, p. 129
  23. von Leitner 1880–1882
  24. Krause 2019
  25. Terjanian 2019, pp. 121, 122 note 2; Silver 2002, pp. 63–64
  26. Silver 2002, p. 64
  27. Krause 2014, pp. 172,174
  28. translation Clephan 1995, p. 88, note 1
  29. Krause 2014, pp. 175–176
  30. Jeep 2001, p. 759; Silver 2002, p. 63
  31. Terjanian 2019, p. 125
  32. Krause 2014, p. 179
  33. Krause 2014, p. 181
  34. Krause 2014–2015
  35. Terjanian 2019, pp. 120-121
  36. Taschen Catalogue
  37. Barber 1974, p. 298
  38. Müller 2003, pp. 307-308

Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.