![A FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND A YOUNG MAN, illustration on a leaf from Das Spiegelbuch, in Middle High German, illustrated manuscript on paper [East Swabia, probably Augsburg, c.1470s]](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/CKS/2018_CKS_16018_0028_001(a_franciscan_friar_and_a_young_man_illustration_on_a_leaf_from_das_spi084242).jpg?w=1)
![A FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND A YOUNG MAN, illustration on a leaf from Das Spiegelbuch, in Middle High German, illustrated manuscript on paper [East Swabia, probably Augsburg, c.1470s]](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/CKS/2018_CKS_16018_0028_000(a_franciscan_friar_and_a_young_man_illustration_on_a_leaf_from_das_spi094259).jpg?w=1)
Details
A FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND A YOUNG MAN, illustration on a leaf from Das Spiegelbuch, in Middle High German, illustrated manuscript on paper [East Swabia, probably Augsburg, c.1470s]
An exceptionally finely illustrated leaf from a rare didactic poem – the only known survivor of the work in private hands.
275 x 197mm (Chancery folio). Recto with 31 lines of verse written in brown ink in a German bastarda introduced by a three-line red initial, verso with seven lines of verse above two figures surmounted by speech scrolls drawn in black ink with green, pink and blue wash (a few tiny holes, careful professional repairs to the paper affecting the first four lines of verse on recto and verso and the last line on recto, overall darkening, small tears and nicks to upper and lower edge, remains of paper hinges at right edge on recto).
Content: This leaf comes from the first section of Das Spiegelbuch, a didactic poem presenting the eternal medieval argument in favour of turning from concern with the rewards of the world to the rewards of the spiritual life and the promise of salvation. It opens straightforwardly as a dialogue between a worldly young man and a religious – on the present leaf depicted as a Franciscan friar. The nature of the text, restricted to spoken exchanges, has led to the suggestion that it was either intended to be acted out or was derived from morality plays. The text survives in seven codices, all in public collections, and this single fragment, whose whereabouts have been unknown since its inclusion in the sale catalogue of Ludwig Rosenthal of Munich in 1905: see www.handschriftencensus.de/werke/3167.
Comparison with the text in a manuscript from the Clarissan convent in Freiburg (St Gallen, Stiftsbibl. Cod 985) shows it would have been the third leaf of the work. Although the present leaf differs because it is written in Eastern Swabian dialect it corresponds approximately to lines 85-126 of that manuscript (with lines 93-96 and 115-116 compressed and line 119 lacking). The speech in the scrolls reads as follows and may be a unique feature: 'Got ist barmherczigkait vol / dar umb kom ich noch wol' ('God is full of mercy / therefore I am still well') and 'Ain uff recht leben solt du han / und alle zit die sund lon' ('An upright life you should have / and abandon sin forever').
Illustration: The cycle of illustrations was an essential component of the Spiegelbuch and most of the surviving manuscripts are laid out so that the text above the illustration on a verso continues and ends on the facing recto. The present leaf is differently arranged and the text opens on the recto and finishes above the illustration on the verso.
This is a finely executed illustration with the figures drawn in confident, taut penlines that convey both their form and their interaction. It is a type of illustration that makes its impact through penwork rather than colouring, yet colour has been carefully applied: in addition to the grey wash on the habit and hem, the doublet and book were coloured with a red wash, now faded, and the lips were accented with touches of pink bodycolour, hose and collar with blue and the hat and ground with green. The quality of the draftsmanship, its accomplishment and the extent of the detail it provides, distinguish this leaf from the majority of illustrated German vernacular manuscripts, which often depend on immediacy and vigour for their appeal.
An exceptionally finely illustrated leaf from a rare didactic poem – the only known survivor of the work in private hands.
275 x 197mm (Chancery folio). Recto with 31 lines of verse written in brown ink in a German bastarda introduced by a three-line red initial, verso with seven lines of verse above two figures surmounted by speech scrolls drawn in black ink with green, pink and blue wash (a few tiny holes, careful professional repairs to the paper affecting the first four lines of verse on recto and verso and the last line on recto, overall darkening, small tears and nicks to upper and lower edge, remains of paper hinges at right edge on recto).
Content: This leaf comes from the first section of Das Spiegelbuch, a didactic poem presenting the eternal medieval argument in favour of turning from concern with the rewards of the world to the rewards of the spiritual life and the promise of salvation. It opens straightforwardly as a dialogue between a worldly young man and a religious – on the present leaf depicted as a Franciscan friar. The nature of the text, restricted to spoken exchanges, has led to the suggestion that it was either intended to be acted out or was derived from morality plays. The text survives in seven codices, all in public collections, and this single fragment, whose whereabouts have been unknown since its inclusion in the sale catalogue of Ludwig Rosenthal of Munich in 1905: see www.handschriftencensus.de/werke/3167.
Comparison with the text in a manuscript from the Clarissan convent in Freiburg (St Gallen, Stiftsbibl. Cod 985) shows it would have been the third leaf of the work. Although the present leaf differs because it is written in Eastern Swabian dialect it corresponds approximately to lines 85-126 of that manuscript (with lines 93-96 and 115-116 compressed and line 119 lacking). The speech in the scrolls reads as follows and may be a unique feature: 'Got ist barmherczigkait vol / dar umb kom ich noch wol' ('God is full of mercy / therefore I am still well') and 'Ain uff recht leben solt du han / und alle zit die sund lon' ('An upright life you should have / and abandon sin forever').
Illustration: The cycle of illustrations was an essential component of the Spiegelbuch and most of the surviving manuscripts are laid out so that the text above the illustration on a verso continues and ends on the facing recto. The present leaf is differently arranged and the text opens on the recto and finishes above the illustration on the verso.
This is a finely executed illustration with the figures drawn in confident, taut penlines that convey both their form and their interaction. It is a type of illustration that makes its impact through penwork rather than colouring, yet colour has been carefully applied: in addition to the grey wash on the habit and hem, the doublet and book were coloured with a red wash, now faded, and the lips were accented with touches of pink bodycolour, hose and collar with blue and the hat and ground with green. The quality of the draftsmanship, its accomplishment and the extent of the detail it provides, distinguish this leaf from the majority of illustrated German vernacular manuscripts, which often depend on immediacy and vigour for their appeal.
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