Medieval Housebook of Wolfegg Castle

Medieval Housebook of Wolfegg Castle

The Medieval House Book of Wolfegg Castle contains practical knowledge useful for a nobleman and head of a family. It was completed ca. 1480 by a team of artists and scribes, probably in the Middle Rhine region. This splendid manuscript is as famous for the refinement of its miniatures as it is for the quality of the information it holds. They present a vivid depiction of everyday life in late medieval Germany, but the artist primarily responsible for them is known simply as the Master of the House Book. The artfully adorned manuscript is filled with practical knowledge for the running of an aristocratic household from accounting to defending one’s castle.

What is a Housebook?

Housebooks are collective manuscripts of occupational or professional content written by scholars since the late-15th century. Initially commissioned by the aristocratic upper class, in the 16th century they were also acquired by wealthy and educated members of the emerging middle class. These works collect three different types of texts: the so-called Hausväterliteratur or “Paterfamilias literature”, which deals primarily with the proper management – the so-called oikologia – of a household; the Artesliteratur or “technical literature” with descriptions of weaponry and warfare; and the Erbauungsliteratur or “edification literature”, the compilation of spiritual texts for domestic use. Additionally, housebooks contain the patron’s biographical information or deal with special events. Printed housebooks proliferated during the 16th century but lost their popularity by the end of the century with some existing works being preserved in private ownership, including the manuscript at hand. Since the second half of the 20th century, they have been appreciated by scholars as significant sources, both with regard to their content and those who commissioned them.

State of the Manuscript

63 of the manuscript’s original 98 parchment leaves survive to the present. Of them, 47 contain at least partially colored pen and ink drawings measuring 25 x 15 cm for single pages and 35 x 26 cm for double pages. Most of the contents are drawn from various Latin and German texts and the hands of at least three different draftsmen can be discerned along with various colorists. The illustrations include coats of arms, planetary and astrological imagery, aristocratic pastimes such as tournaments, hunting, bathing, and courtship, and diagrams of various tools used by craftsmen and miners as well as military equipment and tactics.

Evolution of the Work

The composition of the manuscript appears to have changed as work on it progressed. Early sections are more elaborate in their design and execution using a sophisticated script and being more richly illustrated. Later sections added by another scribe are written in a simpler bastarda and are more practical in nature. Some of the illustrations appear to be based on engravings by the Master E.S., an anonymous late-Gothic German artist. However, some scholars argue that the housebook was designed with a coherent program that was never fully realized.

The Mysterious Patron

Despite beginning with an elaborate full-page coat of arms, the patron of this splendid compendium remains unknown. This coat of arms has never been definitively assigned to any family although names such as Ast, Klotz, Stange, or Buchner have been hypothesized. Some recent research speculates that the work was commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz, Berthold von Henneberg (1442–1504) as a gift to Maximilian I (1459–1519) when he was still Archbishop of Austria.

Ownership History

During the 17th century, the manuscript came into the possession of Maximilian Willibald von Waldburg-Wolfegg, who was one of the most important art collectors of his time. For the next three centuries, the housebook has been kept in Wolfegg Castle in Wolfegg, Upper Swabia, as part of a private collection that remains obscure to the public. In February of 2008, the House of Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee sold the work to an unnamed domestic buyer who is believed to be August von Finck Junior and is rumored to have paid 20,000,000 €.