Emperor Friedrich III and Archduke Maximilian 1485/86: Reunion – Royal Election – Journey to the Netherlands
We are well informed about the long-awaited royal coronation, which was meticulously prepared by Maximilian and his court, through the chronicle of the Burgundian court secretary Jean Molinet. It ultimately became one of the most splendid moments in Maximilian’s life. As early as autumn 1485, the extremely elaborate travel preparations had begun.[9]
Maximilian had not seen his father, Emperor Friedrich III, since leaving for the Netherlands eight years earlier. Their first meeting since then, along with their respective chapels, took place in Aachen: Maximilian arrived there on December 12, and Friedrich III on December 22, 1485. Christmas was celebrated with several masses in Aachen Cathedral, and the rulers visited the church’s sacred relics.[10]
Abb. Das Münster von Aachen
Architekturskizze des Aachener Münsters von Albrecht Dürer aus dem sogenannten Silberstiftskizzenbuch, das während seiner Reise in die Niederlande entstand. Dürer erlebte in Aachen am 23. Oktober 1520 die Königskrönung Karls V.
(British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings. © Wikimedia Commons.)
Aachen Cathedral (» Abb. Das Münster von Aachen) was chosen for the staged reunion as a location of both spiritual and political significance. On the one hand, the cathedral was one of the largest pilgrimage centres of its time: among its most outstanding relics were, notably, the robe supposedly worn by Mary at Christ’s birth and the swaddling clothes of the infant Jesus.[11] The song Hilf, Frau von Ach (» Abb. Hilf, Frau von Ach), part of Maximilian’s court chapel repertoire,[12] reflects this context: the “poor sinner” invokes the Holy Mother of God of Aachen (“Ach”). The homorhythmic declamation, interspersed with pauses, of all voices at the conclusion—“[Gnad mir nit] spar || und nimm mein wahr || Frau, durch dein sieben Schmerzen”—resembles similarly evocative musical gestures found in other songs from contemporary religious practice, such as Maria zart (» Hörbsp. ♫ Maria zart).
Abb. Hilf, Frau von Ach
Das Lied Hilf, Frau von Ach im Druck » Aus sonderer künstlicher art… von Erhart Oeglin, Augsburg 19. Juli 1512 (D-Mbs Rar. 27, Tenor-Stimmbuch, fol. Aiv und Aijr).
(urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00082229-7 / urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00082229-7)
Additionally, Aachen Cathedral, built under Charlemagne, was the traditional site for royal coronations in the Holy Roman Empire. This made the location of the meeting profoundly symbolic: only recently (around October/November 1485) Emperor Friedrich III, in light of the precarious political situation in the empire, decided to elevate his son Maximilian to kingship during his lifetime, a goal Maximilian himself had pursued for years.[13]
Frederick and Maximilian met at Cologne on 4 January 1486. They celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, the Feast of the Three Kings), again symbolically, in Cologne, where the relics of the Three Magi were venerated. On 16 February 1486, Maximilian was finally elected king by the prince-electors at the Imperial Diet in Frankfurt, thereby confirming him as the designated successor to the imperial throne. This was followed by the symbolic enthronement upon the altar.[14]
After Easter, the entourage returned to Aachen, where an exceptionally lavish Adventus (ceremonial entry into the city) was staged. Alongside the group of monastic clergy and Aachen citizens carrying their “Achhörner” (“Aachen horns”), trumpeters and drummers accompanied the relic of Charlemagne, which was carried under a canopy.[15] The grand coronation ceremony in Aachen Cathedral and Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel took place on 9 April 1486. On the following day, as at Christmas 1485, Maximilian again saw the relics, this time in the presence of his father.[16]
Yet the months-long celebrations, receptions, and elaborately arranged religious ceremonies did not end there. From 20 July to 16 October, 1486, the newly crowned King Maximilian travelled with his father and his son, Archduke Philip, accompanied by their three courts (and likely their chapels as well), at Maximilian’s expense, through the cities and provinces of the Netherlands. They spent extended periods in Leuven, Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges (1–13 August), where they received a triumphant reception.[17] Additionally, after several temporary separations due to Maximilian’s need to engage in the southern war zone, they stayed in Lille and Antwerp. The emperor’s presence greatly enhanced Maximilian’s prestige in the Netherlands while simultaneously serving as a demonstration of power against France, the ongoing adversary in the conflict.[18] The costs of this highly elaborate coronation journey, which lasted almost an entire year, were immense.
[9] See the descriptions in Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 469–471; see also Cuyler 1973, 32–35.
[10] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 474.
[12] The song is preserved in two contemporary sources that both reflect the repertoire from Maximilian’s court (» B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Aufschwung der Liedkunst unter Maximilian I.; » B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Liederdrucke): in » D-As Cod. 2° 142a (fol. 69v–70r; the tenor incipit of the otherwise textless notation reads „hilff fraw von Ach“) and in the songbook » Aus sonderer künstlicher art… (Augsburg: Erhard Oeglin 1512), where the song appears second after the Marian hymn Dich mütter gottes rüff wir an.
[13] Wolf 2005, 98–102. Friedrich moved the Reichstag, originally scheduled for December 1485 in Würzburg, to January in Frankfurt am Main.
[14] For the election of Maximilian as king, see in detail Wolf 2005, 100–122, especially 115 f. During the altar installation ceremony, the newly elected king was indeed placed on the altar, the throne of Christ; see in detail Bojcov 2007, 243–314: „Die Altarsetzung […] war Teil der Wahlprozedur und war am besten dazu geeignet, einen aus dem Kreis der mehr oder weniger Gleichen auszusondern und über sie [zu] erheben.“ (Bojcov 2007, 292).
[15] See Schenk 2003, 307–313, 336–338; see also » D. Fürsten und Diplomaten auf Reisen.
[16] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 474 und 511. – The Aachen pilgrimage usually took place every seven years.
[17] Custis 1765, 68 f.; see also Wolf 2005, 191–200.
[1] See Dunning 1970.
[2] Basic principles regarding the symbolic relationship between Cantus firmus material and mass composition can be found in Kirkman 2010. Reinhard Strohm can plausibly connect the creation of two Obrecht masses with foundations in Bruges (Strohm 1985, 40 f., 146 f.). For Obrecht’s Missa Sub tuum presidium, see » J. Körper und Seele.
[3] Roth 1998, especially 46 f., 52 f., 55. From Rome, the Mass likely found its way into the extensive choirbook » I-VEcap 761 in the mid-1490s. For the creation time and circumstances of this manuscript, see Rifkin 2009.
[4] The documents regarding the suspected trip to Rome were compiled by Rob C. Wegman (Wegman 1994, 139–144), although he assumes that the Mass was already present in Rome by that time.
[5] The mass repertoire of the Burgundian court chapel from the 1460s and 1470s can be found in the choirbook » B-Br Ms. 5557 (facsimile: Wegman 1989). The six anonymously transmitted L’homme armé masses in the choirbook » I-Nn Ms. VI E 40 are also likely associated to the Burgundian chapel. The “Alamire Manuscripts,” closely associated with the court, were created during or after the reign of Philip the Handsome (» A-Wn Mus. Hs. 15495).
[6] See Strohm 2009.
[7] A detailed account with names of singers, their positions, and musical qualities can be found in Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 469 f.
[8] The date commonly given is 17 November 1492 (see Fiala 2015, 434); Honey Meconi (Meconi 2003, 20–23) interprets the surviving payment records differently and assumes the transfer took place on September 30, 1495; see also Gasch 2015, especially 363 f.
[9] See the descriptions in Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 469–471; see also Cuyler 1973, 32–35.
[10] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 474.
[12] The song is preserved in two contemporary sources that both reflect the repertoire from Maximilian’s court (» B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Aufschwung der Liedkunst unter Maximilian I.; » B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Liederdrucke): in » D-As Cod. 2° 142a (fol. 69v–70r; the tenor incipit of the otherwise textless notation reads „hilff fraw von Ach“) and in the songbook » Aus sonderer künstlicher art… (Augsburg: Erhard Oeglin 1512), where the song appears second after the Marian hymn Dich mütter gottes rüff wir an.
[13] Wolf 2005, 98–102. Friedrich moved the Reichstag, originally scheduled for December 1485 in Würzburg, to January in Frankfurt am Main.
[14] For the election of Maximilian as king, see in detail Wolf 2005, 100–122, especially 115 f. During the altar installation ceremony, the newly elected king was indeed placed on the altar, the throne of Christ; see in detail Bojcov 2007, 243–314: „Die Altarsetzung […] war Teil der Wahlprozedur und war am besten dazu geeignet, einen aus dem Kreis der mehr oder weniger Gleichen auszusondern und über sie [zu] erheben.“ (Bojcov 2007, 292).
[15] See Schenk 2003, 307–313, 336–338; see also » D. Fürsten und Diplomaten auf Reisen.
[16] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 474 und 511. – The Aachen pilgrimage usually took place every seven years.
[17] Custis 1765, 68 f.; see also Wolf 2005, 191–200.
[19] The reconstruction of the Latin text according to Staehelin 1975, 20–23.
[20] The underlying text, a type of hymn strophe, could represent a humanistic expansion of the Marian hymn O quam glorifica luce coruscas (attributed tp Hucbald of Saint-Amand, 840–930), in the same rare meter (catalectic Asclepiadeus minor), especially since the cantus firmus of the mass, notoriously resistant to reconstruction, seems to show similarities with that in Févin’s Missa O quam glorifica (Strohm 1985, 148).
[21] “Rector” does not appear in the New Testament, but frequently in Ovid, especially concerning Augustus and Jupiter; see Flieger 1993, 67–69.
[22] See Stieglecker 2001, 388–391 et passim; for general information on humanistic veneration of saints, see Flieger 1993, 17–122.
[23] See Wegman 1994, 179–183.
[24] Current historical events have their counterparts in the New Testament, which in turn represent the fulfilment of events from the Old Testament in salvation history. “Thus, a legitimization of the Christian ruler from the Old Covenant takes place, which as already appears as the Carolingian-Franconian period, aappears to have been placed alongside the legitimation from the ancient empire as equally important.” (Cremer 1995, 88 f.).
[25] Maximilian I.: Weißkunig 1888, 47–49.
[26] Müller 1982, 147 f.; Dietl 2009, 37–40.
[27] Ca. 1513/14;Maximilian dictated the book in part and corrected it by hand.
[28] » A-Whh Hs. Blau 9 Cod. 24, fol. 38r; see also Silver 2008, 136 f., including the illustration.
[29] Cremer 1995, especially 88–99; Wiesflecker 1971, 65–67.
[30] Silver 2008, 137.
[31] See also Müller 1982, 147 f., 333; Wiesflecker 1971, 121, 131 f.; Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 338.
[32] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 535 (in free translation).
[33] “I have revealed Your name to the people whom You gave Me from the world.” With these words, Christ Himself (here impersonated by Maximilian) declares whose true Son He is, according to the Gospel of John.
[34] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 529–539; see also Frieden 2013; Thiry 1990, 268–270.
[35] Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 533–539; see also Müller 1982, 147.
[36] Ode 1,1 Caesar magnificis; see also Mertens 2000, 74 f.; foundational works on this topic: Tanner 1993; Seznec 1953.
[37] Wiesflecker 1991, 355 f.
[38] In the so-called Apel Codex (» D-LEu Ms. 1494), it seems that repertoire from Maximilian’s court was repeatedly included, mediated through the repertoire of the court chapel of Frederick the Wise of Electoral Saxony, who was in close contact with Maximilian from at least 1490; see Lodes 2002, 256–258.
[39] The text might also have been included in the manuscript » A-LIb Hs. 529 (“Linzer Fragments”), but only a small amount of music is preserved there.
[40] Regarding the “multiple meaning” in late medieval poetry, see Wehrli 1984, especially 236–270; Müller 1982, 146–148, also 124–129.
[41] The only other contemporary musical manuscript I know that begins with the words “[O Mater dei] memento mei” is the splendid manuscript B-Br 228, also produced in Petrus Alamire’s workshop. There, the words are attributed to the praying Archduchess Margaret, Maximilian’s daughter; see the illustration Blackburn 1997, 596 f., and Blackburn 1999, 188.
[42] See, among others, Borghetti 2015; Borghetti 2008, especially 208–214.
[43] “[…] lesquelz, ensamble unis, estoffoyent une très bonne chapelle dont il fut grandement honouré et prisiet des princes d’Alemaigne.” (Molinet 1935–1937, vol. 1, 470).
[44] Edition in Maas 1996, 43–47.
[45] In the text sections, first, forgiveness is requested from the Lord and thanks are given to the almighty King. Then, a prayer is made for “our (worldly) King” (“Pro rege nostro”) that the Lord may preserve him and that he may not fall into the hands of the enemies, and that the souls of the faithful may rest in peace. After a spoken “Our Father,” a final prayer to the Virgin Mary is sung, who carried the Son of the eternal Father. The musical petitions to God, for the king, and for Mary are concluded with a four-part “Amen” in each case. The music follows the rhythmic structure (in both the two- and four-part sections) exactly as per the text declamation (see Edwards 2011, 62 f.), and the largely homorhythmic, simple setting does not change throughout the piece, remaining the same for all three thematic areas.
Empfohlene Zitierweise:
Birgit Lodes: “„Mehrfacher Sinn“: Jacob Obrechts Missa Salve diva parens und die Königskrönung Maximilians”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/mehrfacher-sinn-jacob-obrechts-missa-salve-diva-parens-und-die-konigskronung-maximilians> (2017).