Theuerdank. The Epic of the Last Knight

The amazing tales of the knight Theuerdank and his companion Ehrenhold constitute the last great epic verse of the late Middle Ages. The courageous knights journey to woo his future wife, Mary of Burgundy, and his triumph in battles and other perilous acts of bravery are the focus of this highly embellished real-life story of Emperor Maximilian I (14591519).

A king of Germany before becoming Holy Roman Emperor in 1508, Maximilian was a great patron of the arts, but also the first modern-age ruler to recognize its potential for propaganda. He commissioned a trilogy of luxurious illustrated books to immortalize his existence, among them Theuerdankthe only volume to be published during his lifetime, composed by Melchior Pfinzing, based on Maximilians rather fanciful draft.

The 118 ornate, gold-adorned woodcutsone for each chapterwere made by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Hans Schäufelein, and Leonhard Beck, while the typeface (known as the Theuerdank typeface and marked by striking elephant trunks) was especially designed for the book by the printing workshop of Hans Schönsperger the Elder.

This edition, inspired by an extremely rare hand-colored original from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, comes with an essay by Stephan Füssel (covering Maximilians life and work, as well as his role in the art of printing and use of printed materials) and selections from Melchior Pfinzings clavis, or key, which was included in the original to kindly point out to Maximilians contemporaries exactly what part of the tales were more fiction than fact.

The collection also showcases the famed elephant trunks typeface in double-spread fascimilestrue to the original down to every stain and smudge. A chapter-by-chapter retelling of the tales in modern vernacular sheds light on the narrative strategy and real events behind the allegories.