Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dürer et al.

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Friedrich Wanderer 1901 painting

I love this painting of the Nuremberg artists of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Of course, Dürer is taller than everyone else. That’s because he knows I’m going to write a book about him. He’s so very spiffy in his cow-mouth shoes.

This painting was done in 1901 by Friedrich Wanderer. From left to right are Adam Kraft, Veit Hirsvogel the glazier, Veit Stoss, Michael Wolgemut, Peter Vischer the Elder, Albrecht Dürer, Hans von Kulmbach, Johann Neudörfer, Nikolaus Glockendon, Anton Koberger with a press assistant, and Augustin Hirsvogel.

From that most excellent Journal of the Northern Renaissance  (Issue 1, 2009).  Scholarly AND open access.

Poor Conrad Rebellion of 1514

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2014_Armer_Konrad_Gaißer-Sondermarke I love it that we’re entering into the 500-year anniversaries of the events that play into my novels.  This stamp was issued to commemorate the Poor Conrad Rebellion of 1514. The rebels adopted the term “Poor Conrad” which was used by the nobility to mock them, meaning “poor fellow” or “poor devil.” The battle flag of the rebels depicted a farmer lying in front of a cross. But the revolt fell apart as the approaching well-armed ducal troops made more and more insurgents desert. Finally the Poor Conrad rebellion collapsed quietly. Ducal troops dragged the remaining 1,700 rebels to Schorndorf, where they were tortured, imprisoned and their commanders beheaded. A happy topic for conversation at Katharina’s wedding feast.

“Quotation Marks”

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In Line of Ascent, Jake works as a proofreader for this printer, Mathias Schürer, in 1515. Perhaps the quotation marks were Jake’s idea. 🙂

quotation marks

The earliest book discovered in which appeared indicia which may properly be termed marks of quotation was printed in 1516 at Strasbourg, Alsace (then in Germany), by Mathias Schurer. It was “De Vitis Sophistarum” by Flavius Philostratus. The marks consisted of two commas in the left hand margin of each page outside the regular type measure. They were placed at the beginning of each line in which a quoted passage appeared, and were evidently added after the page was set up, because their alignment varies greatly.

☛ Concerning Quotation Marks by Douglas C. McMurtrie, New York: privatly printed, 1934, p. 4. Read the full article here.

Slunk Vellum

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In Line of Ascent, Jake wanders the tanners’ quarter looking for Katharina and enters the workshop of a parchment maker.

A life-thief stole my world-strength,

Ripped off flesh and left me skin,

Dipped me in water and drew me out.

Stretched me bare in the tight sun…

Translation from Old English by Craig Williamson, “A Feast of Creatures- Anglo Saxon Riddle Songs”, Scolar Press, 1983

This Anglo-Saxon riddle describes the making of a book. Vellum comes from the French for calf. The finest vellum was slunk vellum from stillborn calves.

Just get a Kindle

Just get a Kindle

Although there is scholarly debate about whether all slunk vellum was from fetuses, Nicholas Hilliard in A Treatise Concerning the Arte of Limning (1598-1603) was pretty specific:

Knowe also that Parchment is the only good and best thinge to limme one, but it must be virgine Parchment, such as neuer bore haire, but younge things found in the dames bellye. Some calle it Vellym, some Abertive derived from the word Abhortive, for vntimely birthe. It must be most finly drest, as smothe as any sattine, and pasted with starch well strained one pastbourd well burnished, that it maye be pure without speckes or staynes, very smoothe and white.

And bras.

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Lengberg Bra.jpg

Bra found in Austrian castle radiocarbon-dated to the 1400s.

Henri de Mondeville, surgeon to Philip the Fair of France and his successor Louis X, wrote in his Cyrurgia in 1312–20:

“Some women… insert two bags in their dresses, adjusted to the breasts, fitting tight, and they put them [the breasts] into them every morning and fasten them when possible with a matching band.”

Read the full story HERE.