Augustin Schubinger (English)

Augustin Schubinger (c. 1460–1531/32) is considered one of the most significant instrumentalists of the time around 1500. As an outstanding cornettist and trombonist, but also a skilled lutenist, he had a career that, after initial years in Augsburg, led through an activity in Florence to decades of employment at the courts of the Habsburg rulers from Frederick III to Ferdinand I. Schubinger’s prominent position is evident not least in the Triumphzug of Emperor Maximilian I: a well-known depiction of the “Chapel Wagon” shows Schubinger playing the cornett in cooperation with the chapel and the trombonist Hans Steudl; the caption for Schubinger’s portrait reads: “Augustin/Zinckenblaser/ Maister” (Augustin/cornett player/master).

Abb. Augustin Schubinger und die Kantorei Maximilians I. / Augustin Schubinger and the Cantorey of Maximilian I

„Musica Canterey“, aus: Triumphzug Maximilians I., A-Wn Cod.min. 77 (Ende 16. Jahrhundert), fol. 11r; Digitalisat: https://digital.onb.ac.at/RepViewer/viewer.faces?doc=DTL_3174567&order =1&view=SINGLE.© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Vgl. auch » Abb. Triumphzug Kantorei (nach anderer Quelle, ohne Beschriftung). /

„Musica Canterey“, from Triumphzug Maximilian’s I ,A-Wn Cod.min. 77 (end of 16th century), fol. 11r; Digitalisation: https://digital.onb.ac.at/RepViewer/viewer.faces?doc=DTL_3174567&order =1&view=SINGLE.© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. See also » Abb. Triumphzug Kantorei (from a different source, without captions).

Augustin Schubinger und die Kantorei Maximilians I. (Ausschnitt) / Augustin Schubinger and the Cantorey of Maximilian I (Detail)

Augustin Schubinger als Zinkenist, dahinter Posaunist Hans Steudl, beide von einem Notenpult lesend (Ausschnitt aus: Abb. Augustin Schubinger und die Kantorei Maximilians I.).„Musica Canterey“, in: Triumphzug Maximilians I., A-Wn Cod.min. 77 (Ende 16. Jahrhundert), fol. 11r; Digitalisat: https://digital.onb.ac.at/RepViewer/viewer.faces?doc=DTL_3174567&order =1&view=SINGLE.© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. /

Augustin Schubinger as cornettist, behind him trombonist Hans Steudl, both reading from a music stand. (Detail from: Abb. Augustin Schubinger und die Kantorei Maximilians I.). ‚Musica Canterey‘, in: Triumphzug Maximilian’s I, A-Wn Cod.min. 77 (Ende 16. Jahrhundert), fol. 11r; Digitalisat: https://digital.onb.ac.at/RepViewer/viewer.faces?doc=DTL_3174567&order =1&view=SINGLE.© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

The accompanying pictorial programme states among other things that „vnnder den Zÿnngken der Augustin [der maister sein solle]“ (among the cornett players, Augustin [should be the master]),[1] which makes Schubinger one of six musicians named in the Triumphzug.

As an internationally renowned and sought-after instrumentalist who participated in the musical culture of court chapels and in particular in the cultivation of composed polyphony, Schubinger represents a relatively new type of musician. The development of this type is related to a social and aesthetic appreciation of instrumental music-making that took place during the fifteenth century.[2] This is manifested, among other things, by the fact that instrumentalists, in contrast to the non-sedentary minstrels, increasingly took up permanent positions in urban and courtly centers, and that the prominent ones among them were now also discussed, appreciated, or depicted by chroniclers, theorists, poets, and visual artists. The result is that players like Schubinger become accessible in the documents, and their life and work can be at least partially reconstructed.

Like many professional instrumentalists since the fifteenth century, Augustin Schubinger came from a family in which this profession was practiced by several members over multiple generations.[3] The first known member of the Schubinger dynasty of wind players was Ulrich (the Elder), Augustin’s father. Ulrich’s career is already typical of the social and economic rise that instrumentalists achieved during the fifteenth century through their association with urban and court institutions. Ulrich Schubinger worked as a city piper in Augsburg from as early as 1457; he is regularly referred to as “Ulrich von Landsberg” in the Augsburg accounting books, the so-called Baumeisterbücher,[4] which suggests that he probably migrated from Landsberg am Lech, only 40 km away. Thus, he belonged to the ensemble of wind players of the city of Augsburg that initially consisted of three musicians, and from 1447 onwards, four.[5] The imperial city of Augsburg, which flourished culturally and economically during the late Middle Ages, maintained this ensemble as an official representative of urban musical life, like many municipalities in southern Germany from as early as the late fourteenth century.[6]

Abb. Augsburg. Stadtansicht aus Hartmann Schedels Weltchronik (1493) / Augsburg. City panorama in Hartmann Schedel's World Chronicle (1493)

Hartmann Schedel, Das buch der Cronicken vnd gedechtnus wirdigern geschichte[n] vo[n] anbegyn[n] d[er] werlt bis auf dise vnßere zeit, Nürnberg: Anton Koberger 1493, fol. xciv–xciir (D-Mbs 2 Inc.c.a. 2922; Digitalisat: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb00059084)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ /

Hartmann Schedel, Das buch der Cronicken vnd gedechtnus wirdigern geschichte[n] vo[n] anbegyn[n] d[er] werlt bis auf dise vnßere zeit (The book of chronicles and memorable stories from the beginning of the world until our time, Nürnberg: Anton Koberger 1493, fol. xciv–xciir (D-Mbs 2 Inc.c.a. 2922; Digitalisation: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb00059084)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ /

In 1471, Ulrich Schubinger is documented in Innsbruck at the court of Duke Sigismund of the Tyrol.[7] He returned to his position in Augsburg by 1477 at the latest, where he remained until his death in 1491/92. His reputation and wealth are evidenced by the Augsburg tax records from the 1470s and 1480s, which show that “Meister” (master) Ulrich, like other city pipers, belonged to the upper 10–15% of Augsburg taxpayers.[8]

Ulrich had several sons: besides Augustin, there were Michel (c. 1450 – c. 1520), Ulrich the Younger (c. 1465 – c. 1535), and Anthon (c. 1470 – after 1511). They also achieved successful careers that culminated in positions in the service of princes of the Holy Roman Empire and in northern Italian city-states.[9] Their beginnings, of course, lay in Augsburg, where the Schubinger brothers, it is assumed, were trained by their father and initially also entered municipal service. Michel became a city piper in 1472,[10] possibly replacing his father, who is not documented in Augsburg from that year until 1476, and was probably employed elsewhere.[11] Upon returning to Augsburg, Ulrich the Elder received a payment in 1477 for “seine Sun für ain claid” (a garment for his sons).[12] As Keith Polk has plausibly argued, Michel left the city that same year, apparently to work for Maximilian I.[13] His position was likely taken over by the next oldest son, namely Augustin. In any case, Augustin seems to have regularly appeared as a city wind player in the Augsburg sources from 1481 onwards and remained in this position—apart from a short stint at the court of the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1484/85[14]]—until 1487.[15] In 1482, the third of the Schubinger brothers, Ulrich the Younger, was also appointed as a city piper. Thus, from this point on, three of the four Augsburg wind players were Schubingers for several years—a not entirely unusual constellation, as members of a family frequently clustered in courtly and municipal instrumental ensembles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[16]

Augustin Schubinger ended his tenure as an Augsburg city piper on March 31, 1487, and entered the service of Emperor Friedrich III for two years.[17] The (currently) only known source from the Habsburg court that presumably refers to this phase of Schubinger’s career dates from the time of Friedrich’s son and successor, Maximilian I. In 1500, Maximilian promised an “Augustin pfeyffer” (Augustin piper) an increase in the allowances that had been granted by Friedrich III from the revenues of the Vienna tollhouse.

Abb. Erhöhung des Bezugs von Augustin „pfeyffer“ 1500

Augustin pfeyffern geschefft an die Raiter / in Osterreich als das Original anzaigt / […]

Edler vnnd lieber getreuer. Wir haben aus sondern gnaden / vnnserem getreuen Augustin Pfeiffer noch zwen Schilling / zu dem halben phunndt pfennig das Im abermals durch weilandt / vnseren hern vnd vatter kaiser Fridrichen loblicher gedächtnus / aus vnnserm mauthaus zu wien zugeben verschriben worden ist / zuraichen bewilligt vnnd zugesagt. Demnach Emphelhen / Wir euch mit ernst das Ir demselben Augustin Pfeiffer hinfur / sollich zwen schilling mit obangezaigten halben pfunnt jarlich / ab gemelten vnnserm mauthaus laut vorberüter seiner verschrey-/bung so er desshalben hat zugeben verordnet daran thuet. Geben / zu Augspurg den fünnfften tag des monats july anno d xvc.

Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv Wien, Alte Hofkammer, Gedenkbücher 05, fol. 113v (128v); Digitalisat: https://www.archivinformationssystem.at/bild.aspx?VEID=231767&DEID=10&SQ… Wiedergabe des Texts bereits bei Wessely 1956, 88.

It is quite likely that “Augustin pfeyffer” (Augustin the piper) can be identified as Schubinger. Around the year 1500, the musician is indeed frequently mentioned in Augsburg sources under this designation.[18]

The allocation of revenues from the Vienna tollhouse represents a type of provision often practiced at the Habsburg court, which served as the secular counterpart to the endowment of clerical members of the court. It involved granting lay servants, in addition to their salary, income from a position in the financial administration.[19] How long Augustin (Schubinger) held this benefit cannot be precisely determined. By 1530, it had already been transferred for some time (“yetz nun langher”) to “N. Herwartt von Augspurg”, possibly a member of the well-known Augsburg patrician family Herwart.[20]

In 1489, Schubinger moved to Florence, one of the leading centres of instrumental music-making at the time.[21] The pivotal role in Florentine instrumental music was played by the piffari, an alta cappella ensemble, alongside two groups of trumpeters. Initially composed of three musicians, since 1443 the ensemble consisted of four musicians—three players of the soprano or alto shawm, and one trombonist.

Abb. Die Florentiner piffari begleiten einen Tanz (ca. 1450) / The piffari of Florence accompanying a dance (c. 1450)

Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, gen. Lo Scheggia (?), Scena di danza, Galleria dell’Accademia di Belle Arti, Florenz, Kat.Nr. 00187148 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassone_adimari.jpg) (Ausschnitt). ©Wikimedia Commons.  Zur Neuinterpretation dieses Gemäldes, das lange als Tafelbild auf der Hochzeitstruhe (Cassone) von Boccaccio degli Adimari galt und als Darstellung des Hochzeitszugs gedeutet wurde, siehe McGee 1992-95. /

Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, called Lo Scheggia (?), Scena di danza, Galleria dell’Accademia di Belle Arti, Florenz, Kat.Nr. 00187148 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassone_adimari.jpg) (Detail). ©Wikimedia Commons. On the new interpretation of this painting, which had long been believed to be a panel from the wedding cassone of Boccaccio di Adimari and was seen as representing the wedding procession, see McGee 1992-95.

Schubinger was hired in 1489 as the successor to the recently deceased trombonist Johannes di Johannes d’Alamania,[22] and thus held a position that was not only prestigious but also economically attractive. In addition to a comfortable base salary with various additional benefits, the Florentine piffari were offered the prospect of retirement benefits and the opportunity for additional income through private engagements, particularly from members of the Florentine nobility.[23]

The alta ensemble, combining shawms and a brass instrument with a slide mechanism, had become an established standard ensemble by 1450 across much of Europe, maintained by numerous cities and princes in Burgundy, the German-speaking regions, and Italy.[24] The widespread adoption of this ensemble type and its associated playing practices and repertoires was accompanied by increased transregional mobility of alta cappella players. A prominent phenomenon in the instrumental music scene of the fifteenth century was the significant presence of “German” instrumentalists in Italy. From the mid-century, musicians from “Alemania”[25] in the wind ensembles of Italian cities and courts played a leading role in their field. This phenomenon is sometimes compared in the secondary literature to the hegemony of Franco-Flemish singer-composers in the field of vocal polyphony.[26] Augustin Schubinger, his brothers Michel, who worked as a piffaro at the court in Ferrara from 1479 to 1519/20,[27] Ulrich the Younger, who was employed by the Gonzaga in Mantua from 1502 to 1519,[28] and Anthon, who also served the d’Este in Ferrara between 1506 and 1511,[29] thus represented a general condition, albeit in a particularly pronounced manner.

The trend towards recruiting German musicians can be clearly traced in Florence thanks to the abundant source material. As early as 1399, a “Niccolao Niccolai Teotonico” was employed there. In 1443, the piffaro ensemble was expanded to four players, all from the German-speaking region, specifically from Basel, Constance, Augsburg, and Cologne. That same year, the Signoria also decreed that henceforth only “forenses et alienigeni” (foreigners) should be appointed as piffari, probably referring to persons from north of the Alps.[30] While this stipulation was not consistently observed subsequently, the trombonists of the Florentine alta cappella were indeed always from the German-speaking area until the end of the fifteenth century.

The Florentine piffari performed the typical duties of urban wind ensembles: they provided music at ceremonial or representative events of the commune (such as processions or receptions of high-ranking guests), at banquets, and at public dance festivals (which, as mentioned, did not exclude the musicians from taking on private engagements). A specific feature was their integration into the patronage system characteristic of Florence under the Medici. The Medici did not maintain their own court ensembles but used their economically and politically dominant position to support the city’s instrumentalists and the chapel choirs at church institutions, primarily by actively recruiting (first-class) musicians for these institutions.[31] This resulted in patron-client-like relationships between the Medici and the singers and instrumentalists they patronised, who were effectively employed as their court musicians in addition to their official ecclesiastical or municipal duties.[32]

Lorenzo de’ Medici was decisive in appointing Augustin Schubinger to the trombonist position that became vacant in 1489, in collaboration with the Schubinger family’s network. Lorenzo, or his agent in this matter, the Florentine piffaro Jacopo di Giovanni, initially considered two individuals for the post: Bartolomeo Tromboncino and Augustin Schubinger. The young and already renowned Tromboncino ultimately declined due to his commitments to Francesco Gonzaga, and remained in Mantua.[33] Schubinger had apparently caught the attention of the Florentines during a stay in Milan in February 1489. In June 1489, Jacopo went to see Augustin’s brother Michel in search of Augustin, only to find that Augustin’s current whereabouts were unknown. However, Michel sent a letter to Lorenzo de’ Medici as a precaution, reaffirming his brother’s willingness to move to Florence.[34]

Another socially and musically significant trace of the networks in which Augustin Schubinger was involved is preserved in the form of a rental agreement recorded in December 1489 for a house on Via Argenti in the parish of San Lorenzo.[35]

Abb. Schubingers Florentiner Mietvertrag / Abb. Schubinger's Florentine rental agreement

[ 4. Zeile links:] Locatio

Item postea et cetera eisdem anno et indictione die II decembris 1489. Actum in dicto / palatio presentibus Francisco Nicole Simonis et / ser Ioanne Baptista Pierantonii de Paganuccis testibus.

Iohannes … de Tondinis olim capsonarius florentinus pro se et suis / heredibus locavit ad pensionem

Augustino Ulrighi de Almania tromboni ad presens dominationis / Florentie presenti et conducenti et cetera

Vnam domum cum sala et cameris et curia, puteo interno et aliis suis

habituris positam Florentiae in populo Sancti Laurentii de Florentia in via / Argenti nuncupata cui a primo dicta via, a secundo bona Gerozii de Medicis a tertio / bona sotietatis del Bigallo a quarto dicti locatoris in predictis confinis / pro tempore undecim mensium proximorum futurorum initiatorum die primo presentis mensis infrascripti / dexembris pro pensione dicti temporis XI mensium florenorum septem largorum de grossis et / solvendorum per hos menses per totum mensem aprilis florenos quattuor similes residuos videlicet florenos 3 1/3 per totum mensem octobris / mensibus infrascriptis;

promictens dictus locator conductori predicto dicta bona alteri non locare et cetera et e / converso dictus conductor et visis presentibus et mandatis.

Cornelius Laurentii de Alamania et                         cantores et ipsius quilibet se

Arrigus Ugonis de Alamania                                       principaliter et in solidum et cetera obligando

promiserunt dicto locatori petere et cetera excipere et cetera quod dicta bona […] dictus conductor / adhibere boni, loci et cetera sive temporis denuntiet et cetera et solvere pensionem et cetera ad / pretium alias predictum proprio de sermone et cetera promiserunt […]

Florenz, Archivio di Stato, Notarile Antecosimiano 1972 (1489), fol. 147. Edition und Transkription in: Schwindt/Zanovello 2019, 3–4.

[on the left:] Rent

Item afterwards etc. the same year and indiction, day 2 of December 1489.
Drawn in the said palace, in the presence of ser Francesco of Nicola of Simone and ser Giovanni Battista of Pierantonio Paganucci as witnesses.
Giovanni … Tondini, former banker, on his behalf and on behalf of his heirs leased for a rent to Augustin of Ulrich from Alemania, trombone player, currently present and residing in the territory of Florence etc. 
One house with hall and rooms and courtyard, an internal well, and its other annexes, located in Florence, in the parish of San Lorenzo in via dell’Argento delimited in the first place by the said street, then by the property of Gerozio de’ Medici, then by the property of the society of the Bigallo, and finally by the [property of the] said landlord in the aforementioned boundary for the time of the next eleven months, beginning on the first day of the present month of December inscribed above for a rent of said 11 months of seven large florins and to be paid for those months for the whole month of April four similar florins, that is 3 . for the whole month of October [to be paid] for the months mentioned above 
Said landlord promises not to lease the said property to others etc. and for his part the tenant has considered the present scripture and rules. 

Cornelio di Lorenzo from Alamania and singers and each pledging for himself 
Arrigo d’Ugo from Alamania and offering a full guarantee of repayment, promised to the said landlord to request etc. etc. that said tenant will use the property, the place etc. and observe the rental period etc. and will pay the rent etc according to the amount registered elsewhere according to the contract etc. promised.

Florence, Archivio di Stato, Notarile Antecosimiano 1972 (1489), fol. 147. Edition and transcription in: Schwindt/Zanovello 2019, 3–4.

As guarantors for “Augustinus Ulrighi de Almania trombone” were – as usual in the legal practice of late medieval Florence – two “countrymen’ from the same professional milieu, namely Cornelio di Lorenzo “de Alemania,” a singer from Antwerp at the Church of Santissima Annunziata and the Baptistery of San Giovanni,[36] and “Arrigus Ugonis de Alemania,” that is, Henricus Isaac. The close personal connection between Schubinger and Isaac, expressed in the solidarity act of a guarantee declaration, suggests that their relationship was not only musically productive (» H. Kap. Textlose Kompositionen). Furthermore, their acquaintance may have been a significant factor in Isaac’s entry into Habsburg service in 1496. As Nicole Schwindt and Giovanni Zanovello have plausibly argued, it was likely Schubinger, who was already working at Maximilian I’s court at the time, who directed his employer’s attention to the composer, who was still in Florence but seeking new employment.[37]

Augustin Schubinger was last recorded in Florence in 1493.[38] Soon after, he left the city and returned to Habsburg service. The exact timing of this transition is unknown, but it is assumed that Schubinger’s departure from Florence was due to the crisis the city faced following the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1492, which significantly impacted the city’s musical life. In 1493, key musical institutions such as the chapels at the Cathedral, San Giovanni, and Santissima Annunziata were dissolved. Augustin was first documented as a musician for Maximilian I in February 1495.[39] It is possible – even if it cannot be proven – that he was among the cornett and trombone players who performed at the wedding mass of Maximilian and Bianca Maria Sforza on March 16, 1494, in Innsbruck, as described by an envoy from Ferrara  (» I. Kap. Maximilian in Innsbruck).[40]

Following the common practice of Habsburg rulers to make their servants available to other members of the dynasty for shorter or longer periods, Schubinger transferred to the service of Philip the Fair in 1496/97.

Abb. Philipp der Schöne (um 1500) / Philip the Fair (c. 1500)

Meister der Magdalenenlegende (tätig um 1490 – um 1526 in Brüssel [?]), Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie (© KHM-Museumsverband). /

Master of the Legend of St Magdalene, active c. 1490 -1526in Brussels [?]. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie (© KHM-Museumsverband)

It cannot be definitively proven that Schubinger’s move was related to Maximilian’s financial distress at the time, which forced him to partially dismiss his musicians, partially “outsource” them, or finance them from sources other than his Innsbruck Treasury, but this would not be implausible.[41] In any case, Schubinger received a one-time payment in January 1497 for the “bons et agréables services” he had rendered to Philip the Fair,[42] suggesting that Schubinger’s presence in the Low Countries began before the end of 1496/97. This makes the previously expressed assumption likely that he was the “teutonicus” who played the cornett (“cornu”) at a mass in the collegiate church of Sint Goedele in Brussels in 1496.[43]

A little later, on March 10, 1497, Schubinger was permanently appointed as “varlet de chambre et joueur des cornet et du lut,”[44] and consequently appears under the “pensionnaires” in the “Ordonnance de l’hôtel” of Philip, issued on that day.[45] Both indicate a privileged position: As a pensionnaire, Schubinger received an annual fixed salary independent of his presence at court, amounting to 270 livres, paid in four instalments every three months. This distinguished him from the majority of court employees, who received a daily wage only for the days they actually spent at court.[46] Furthermore, he held the position of va(r)let de chambre, which was granted to specially qualified individuals such as craftsmen or artists, representing the highest rank attainable at court and including direct personal interaction with the prince.[47] This was presumably a necessity given Schubinger’s appointment as lutenist, exercising a musical activity typically situated in a more intimate setting.

Augustin Schubinger returned to Maximilian’s court in 1499. He may have joined his new (and former) employer at the beginning of the year while Maximilian was in the Low Countries.[48] However, Schubinger is documented in Augsburg as “augustin pfeiffer […] des Ro. künigs diener” (Augustin piper […] servant of the Roman king)[49] at the end of November or beginning of December, and from the end of the year, his whereabouts matched the royal itinerary. Maximilian spent the winter from November 1499 to February 1500 at Innsbruck. On 23 January 1500, Schubinger received a payment there “zu zerung vnnd vnnderhaltung auf seinen diennst” (for sustenance and maintenance for his service).[50] In January 1500, the Milanese envoy Erasmo Brascha tried unsuccessfully to lure the virtuoso, highly esteemed by Maximilian and his entire court, to Mantua.[51] From June to August 1500, Schubinger received additional payments from the court, “auff seinen soldt” (for his salary) and for Liefergeld, that is, a reimbursement of expenses, in this case to cover the costs of horse maintenance.[52] It is noteworthy that other musicians of Maximilian, the “Pusawners” (trombonists) Peter and Jörg Holland, Jobst and Jörg Nagel, also received Liefergeld between April and September,[53] and that these payments were made in Augsburg.[54] Here, a Reichstag (Imperial Diet) opened on April 10 and concluded five months later. Apparently, Maximilian brought not only his chapel and the trumpet corps but also his “Pfeifer” (pipers) to this event, which, like all Imperial Diets, served also as a stage for the ruler’s self-representation.[55] These pipers likely formed an old-fashioned alta cappella or perhaps even a “modern” cornett and trombone ensemble (» Kap. „Posaun vnd Zinckhen han wir gestelt zu dem Gesang“). The participation of the wind players, specifically a cornettist (perhaps Schubinger), is documented at the solemn High Mass on Pentecost Sunday (June 7) in Augsburg Cathedral. Clemens Sender’s Chronicle of the City of Augsburg reports that “des kinigs canterei” (the king’s chapel) had sung “mit mancherlei trumethen, pfeiffen und orgeln” (with various trumpets, pipes, and organs).[56] Two days later, the  “k. Maj. Sinngerknaben” (His Royal Majesty’s choirboys) were specially honoured “so am Pfingstag in den Zinghken gesunngen haben” (for singing with the cornetti on the feast of Pentecost).[57]

Only two months after the end of the Augsburg Reichstag, on November 2, 1500, Schubinger was again employed as a “joueur de lut” (lute player) by Philip the Fair, as in 1497, with an annual salary of 270 livres.[58] This began a second period of more than five years of service at the Burgundian court,[59] characterized not least by participation in the Archduke’s first journey to Spain. Philip and his entourage set off from Brussels on November 4, 1501, and reached Spain at the end of January 1501. In the spring of 1503, they took a longer return journey that led through France and Savoy to the Tyrol, where Philip met his father in September, and ended with their arrival in Mechelen in early November 1503.

For the first time, several reports from these years specifically relate to certain performances by Schubinger. We know that he played at a service at the collegiate church of Sint Rombout in Mechelen on Candlemas 1501.[60] More importantly, through a description of Philip’s journey to Spain written by Antoine de Lalaing, a chamberlain at the Burgundian court, we know about Schubinger’s involvement in two significant events: the High Mass on Pentecost Sunday (May 15) 1502 at the Cathedral of Toledo, attended by Philip, his wife Joanna, and her parents Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile; and the Mass on Easter Sunday (April 16) 1503 in Bourg-en-Bresse, the then residence of Philip’s sister Margaret of Austria and her husband, Duke Philibert of Savoy.[61]

Abb. Maximilian I., Philipp der Schöne, Johanna von Kastilien / Maximilian I, Philip the Fair, Joanna of Castile

Albrecht Dürer, Die Hochzeit Philipps des Schönen und Johannas von Kastilien, aus: Ehrenpforte (ca. 1515), National Gallery of Art, Washington/DC, Nr. 1964.8.695.a (https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.47899.html). /

Albrecht Dürer, The Wedding of Philip the Fair and Joanna of Castile, in: Ehrenpforte (c. 1515), National Gallery of Art, Washington/DC, Nr. 1964.8.695.a (https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.47899.html)

Lalaing’s description of both occasions explicitly mentions that the singers and Schubinger played the cornett together: “avoecq les chantres jouoit de son cornet maistre Augustin lequel foisoit bon à ouyr” (together with the singers, Master Augustin played his cornett, which was beautiful to hear). This provides the second oldest clear evidence for the then-emerging practice of combining vocalists and wind players after the payment record for the “in den Zinken singenden” boys (singing with the cornetts) at the Reichstag of 1500 (» H. Kap. „Posaun vnd Zinckhen han wir gestelt zu dem Gesang“). It is remarkable that Lalaing even reported this at all, since contemporary chroniclers usually omitted detailed information about musical performances, let alone the names of the musicians involved. Aside from Schubinger’s reputation and the quality of his playing, it was probably the novelty and thus the unfamiliarity of this practice that drew Lalaing’s attention.

So far, the secondary literature has assumed that Schubinger accompanied Philip on his second journey to Spain, which began in January 1506; during this trip, Philip died unexpectedly on September 25. This assumption is based on the identification of Schubinger with Augustin de (la) Scarparye (also Scarperye, de Carperie, etc.), a trumpeter who appears in several documents of the Burgundian court from 1501 to 1506.[62] However, this identification is incorrect. These are two different people, as evidenced by the Ordonnance de l’hotel issued by Philip on the occasion of his first journey to Spain in 1501. In this document, both musicians are listed—Augustin de Scarparye (possibly referring to Scarperia near Florence) among the trumpeters, and Schubinger separately among other instrumentalists, namely three “musette” players and a fife-drum pair.[63] While Augustin de la Scarparye is repeatedly documented in connection with Philip’s second journey to Spain, there is no evidence that Schubinger was at the Burgundian court from January 1506 onward. In fact, he was back in Germany by early June at the latest, as indicated by a payment from the city of Nördlingen to him and an unnamed trombonist:[64]

Abb. Zahlung der Stadt Nördlingen an Schubinger, 8. Juni 1506 / Payment of the city of Nördlingen to Schubinger, 8 June 1506n

Augustain zincken blasser des kinigs / Busauner ver ert selbander uff freytag / vorm pfingsttag folium 6 –––––– i gulden. 

Stadtarchiv Nördlingen, Stadtkammerrechnungen 1506, fol. 58r. © Stadtarchiv Nördlingen. /

Augustain cornett player of the king / trombonist awarded together on Friday before Pentecost fol. 6 - 1 guilder. City archive, Nördlingen, Stadtkammerrechnungen 1506, fol. 58r. © Stadtarchiv Nördlingen

Schubinger must have returned to Germany before June 1506 to re-enter Maximilian I’s service. The Nördlingen source refers to him as a musician of the “king,” which in the context of a Swabian imperial city likely meant the Roman king, i.e., Maximilian, and not the King of Castile. Furthermore, a letter from Lorenz Behaim to Willibald Pirckheimer from June 1506 explicitly mentions the “Roman king” as Schubinger’s employer (» H. Kap. Eine süddeutsche Humanistenkorrespondenz).

As often discussed, Maximilian’s itinerant lifestyle and governance, which still adhered to the medieval “traveling kingship” tradition, required similar mobility from his musicians. However, this did not mean that the court musicians were always in the monarch’s retinue. Instead, they often travelled to his various destinations ahead of or behind him, or they made longer or shorter stops at different locations separate from the main court camp, remaining “on call” to be summoned as needed. This high degree of mobility applied not only literally but also figuratively Only on exceptional occasions such as Imperial Diets did Maximilian gather all his musicians around him. The norm was that the emperor surrounded himself with parts of his court music, that is, with specific ensembles or groups of musicians or even just individual musicians, depending on the occasion, necessity, or desire.[65]

It can not only be assumed in principle that this flexible utilisation also affected Schubinger, but can be traced in concrete terms, at least in some cases, thanks to a comparatively denser source situation. Examples include the years 1507/1508 and 1512.

Maximilian arrived in Alsace from Innsbruck in mid-February 1507, where he stayed until his departure to the Imperial Diet in Constance in April, in time for its opening on 30 April. Meanwhile, Schubinger was in Nördlingen around February 19 and a month later in Augsburg.[66] Although his name is not explicitly mentioned in any sources related to the Imperial Diet, it can be assumed that Schubinger was summoned to the assembly in Constance sometime during April or May. Maximilian summoned his entire court music to this event, including the full chapel (which likely arrived in Constance as early as February), the trumpet corps, and players of cornetts and trombones, who performed at banquets, a fireworks display, and church services in conjunction with the chapel.[67] After the closure of the Imperial Diet in July 1507, Maximilian set off for Innsbruck, while the chapel began a long stationing in Constance, lasting until May 1509. This period proved particularly productive; Henricus Isaac began working on his Propers cycle known as Choralis Constantinus).[68] Only in two cases is there more detailed information about the whereabouts of the instrumentalists after the Imperial Diet. Paul Hofhaimer settled permanently in Augsburg in 1507 on Maximilian’s orders.[69] Schubinger did not stay long with the chapel, since his accommodation and hospitality costs were reimbursed by the Tyrolean Treasury in Innsbruck at the end of November 1507.[70] At this time, Maximilian was no longer in the Tyrol, but had been traveling in the Allgäu since early November. Schubinger’s initial destination is unclear. However, an undated payment recorded in the account book of the city of Mechelen, covering expenses from November 1, 1507, to October 31, 1508,[71] suggests that he rejoined the court camp during the second half of 1508, when Maximilian was in the Netherlands for the preparation and conclusion of the League of Cambrai.

At the beginning of 1512, Maximilian was in Upper Austria, where he also took his chapel.[72] He then travelled through Bavaria to Trier, arriving in mid-March, a month before the opening of the Imperial Diet on April 16. Schubinger is documented in Innsbruck at the beginning of that month, where he received reimbursement of expenses from the Tyrolean Treasury on April 8.[73] It can be assumed that Schubinger was called to Trier around this time. This is supported by the fact that the Imperial Diet Chronicle of Peter Maier, a secretary to the Bishop of Trier, reports on church services of Maximilian I’s chapel with instrumental participation, particularly a mass on Cantate Sunday (May 9) “die ist discantiert” (that was sung polyphonically) and “darinn mit zincken vnd basunen geblasen” (played with cornetts and trombones).[74] In the second half of May, Maximilian departed from the Imperial Assembly to the Netherlands. Another payment from the city of Mechelen to “meester Augustyn luytslagher vanden keyser” (Master Augustin, lutenist of the emperor) confirms that Schubinger (along with his trumpeters and an unnamed organist) accompanied him.[75]

Abb. Schubinger im Rechnungsbuch der Stadt Mecheln 1512 / Schubinger in the account book of Mechelen, 1512

item Gegheven meester Augustyn luytslagher vanden keyser xj juno 1512

twe gouwen gulden                                                                                                   xiiij schilling

item Gegheven den orgalist vanden keyer ten daghe als boven                   vj schilling iij denar

[Item Gegheven doerweerders ]

item Gegheven den trompetters vanden keyser iiij gouwen gulden            xxviij schilling /

item given Master Augustin, lutenist of the emperor, 11 June 1512, two gold guilders = xiv s.

item given the organist of the emperor on the same day  6 s. 3 d.

[payment to the imperial doorkeepers]

item given the imperial trumpeters 4 gold guilders = 28 s.

In mid-July, the emperor left the Netherlands for Cologne, where the Imperial Diet had been moved from Trier. He arrived on 16 July. After the Diet concluded at the end of August, Maximilian remained in Cologne until early November. He then travelled to Alsace, where he spent most of the time until March 1513. Whether Schubinger was part of the emperor’s entourage in Cologne is unknown. In any case, they had gone their separate ways by November at the latest, when Schubinger made another stop in Augsburg.[76]

Since the end of his service for Philip the Fair and his return to Maximilian I’s court, Schubinger was frequently documented in Augsburg. He stayed there partly with his employer but also several times independently of the main court camp.[77] This corresponds to a known pattern, since Augsburg, alongside Innsbruck, was the preferred place where Maximilian’s musicians, sometimes individually, sometimes in smaller groups, set up their quarters between their stays at court.[78]

Although there are no indications that Schubinger, during his service with Maximilian, settled permanently in Augsburg, as Paul Hofhaimer did from 1507, a lasting closer connection to his hometown can be assumed. He retained his citizenship,[79] and at least periodically, his family probably remained in Augsburg during his absence. This is suggested by the fact that only his wife appears in the tax records for many years.[80] Being recorded in the tax books usually required personal presence in the city, at least during the tax survey conducted in October/November.[81] It is thus plausible that Schubinger’s wife remained in Augsburg while he was away. Furthermore, the tax books, organized by tax districts, reveal that the Schubingers lived at the Rossmarkt in the Jakobervorstadt until 1505. By 1507 they had moved to the area known as “Kappenzipfel”, where the famous Fuggerei was built around 1520.[82]

Abb. Jörg Selds Stadtplan von Augsburg 1521 / Abb. Jörg Seld, Augsburg city map of 1521

1) Barfüßerkirche, 2) Fuggerei, 3) Perlachturm, 4) Rossmarkt.

Jörg Seld, Plan von Augsburg, Holzschnitt, 1521. Augsburg, Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv.Nr. G 26455 (Ausschnitt). Reproduktion: Worm 2018, 381.

/ 1) Carmelite church, 2) Fuggerei, 3) Perlach tower, 4) Rossmarkt

Jörg Seld, Augsburg city map, woodcut, 1521. Augsburg, Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Inv.Nr. G 26455 (Ausschnitt). Reproduktion: Worm 2018, 381.

It is noticeable that the tax records for Schubinger and his wife record that no amount was to be paid, or the note “dat nihil” (pays nothing) is found.[83] The reason for this cannot be definitively determined, but it is possible that Schubinger – like Paul Hofhaimer – enjoyed an imperial tax exemption.[84]

We know of Schubinger’s stays in Augsburg primarily through the city’s expenditure books, the so-called Baumeisterbücher. These books record numerous payments to servants, especially musicians of princes of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly Maximilian I, each year under the category “varende leute” (travelling persons).[85] It is not entirely clear what prompted the city to make these payments, which typically amounted to two gulden per person. Since, with few exceptions, these were instrumental musicians, the payments are most plausibly explained as compensation for performances at typical events such as entries, celebrations, or dance events, either alongside the city’s own pipers, or instead of them.[86]

Documents from the year 1514 provide a closer look at the terms of Schubinger’s employment at Maximilian’s court. The letter of appointment is dated January 1 1514 and covers the next three years.[87] The corresponding contract of service is personally signed by Schubinger:

Abb. Schubingers Dienstrevers 1514 / Abb. Schubinger's service contract of 1514

Ich Augustin Schubinger Beken als mich die Kaÿserlich Maiestat mein allergnedigister her Zu ainem Pu-/sauner mit zwaÿen pherden auff dreÿ jar lanng die nechsten nach ainander volgend aufgenomen vnd bestelt vnd / die genanten drew Jar aufs ein yede Jar hundert gulden Reinisch zu Sold vnd dan So Ich von Irer mt an hoff / eruordert vnd gebraucht würde yede Monat auff ain pherd für lifergelt vnd schaden zehen gulden Rheinisch Auch dar zu / wan Ir mt Irer mt hoffgesind claiden würdet Summer vnd Winter claider zugeben bewilligt vnd zuegesagt hat / Also das mir solchs ain jedes Jar gegen meÿner gepürlichen quittung von Irer mt hoffphenningmaister wer dan ÿe / zu zeitten sein würdet geraicht vnd gegeben werde. Dagegen Ich Ir mt mit Pusaunen vnd andern Instrumenten / Musicalien der Ich dan yezo jn vbung bin vnd ob jch ÿe zu zeitten darzue beschaiden würde getreulich vnd vleissiglich / dienen vnd mich allezeit dar jnnen gehorsam vnd gutwillig brauchen lassen soll Alles nach inhalt Irer Kay mt / brieff vnd vorschreibung mir deßhalben geben vnd vberantwort. Das Ich darauff Irer Kaÿ mt zuegesagt / vnd versprochen hab tue das wissenntlich in crafft ditz briefs Also das Ich Irer Kaÿ mt mit Pusaunen vnd / anndern Instrumenten Musicalien So offt Ich zu Irer Mt eruordert werd getreulich vnd vleissig dienen / Auch gehorsam vnd gutwillig brauchen lassen darzu In alweg Irer mt nutz vnd frumen furdern schaden warnen / wenden vnd sonnst alles das tun wil vnd soll das ein getrewer diener seinem herren zu tun schuldig vnd pflichtig / ist trewlich vnd ongeuerd Des zu vrkunth hab Ich meÿnen namen mit aigner hanndt zu enndt dis briefs vnder-/schriben vnd furgedruckten pethschafft verfertigt Beschehen zu Augspurg am Ersten tag des Monats Januarij / Nach Cristi gepurt Funffzehenhundert vnd Im [vierzehnten] Jar / Augustein Schubinger

A-Whh Urkundenreihe, Familienurkunden 968

Fixed-term appointments, which could indeed accumulate to long-term employment relationships, were not uncommon at Maximilian’s court. For example, the trombonist Hans Steudl, who served Maximilian for many years,[88] was reappointed on January 1, 1514, for three years, just like Schubinger.[89] The composition of the remuneration was also typical, consisting of a salary, expenses for the maintenance of a horse, at a rate of 10 florins per horse,[90] and an allowance for livery. Due to the high prices of textiles, the allowance for livery significantly boosted the income. For instance, in July 1531, after his retirement, (» Ch. The Provision Letter of 1523 and the Last Years) Schubinger received an allocation of 13 gulden, 30 kreuzers, and twelve pfennigs for clothing, roughly one and a half times his active monthly salary.

In sources from Maximilian’s court, Schubinger is mentioned for the last time in a list of the court personnel that was created in January 1519, immediately after the emperor’s death in Wels. Here, he appears – once again along with the trombonist Hans Steudl – under the category “zallschreiber vnd ander hoffgesind” (clerks and other court servants):

Abb. Schubinger im Hofstaatsverzeichnis 1519 (2 Seiten) / Abb. Schubinger in the court personnel list, 1519 (2 pp.) (2 Abbildungen)

A-Whh Hofarchive, Obersthofmeisteramt, Sonderreihe, Kt. 181, Konv. 3 (Hinterlassener Hofstaat nach dem Tode Kaiser Maximilians I. zu Wels), fol. 6r–6v. Edition: Fellner/Kretschmayr 1907, S. 143 /

A-Whh Hofarchive, Obersthofmeisteramt, Sonderreihe, Kt. 181, Konv. 3 (court estate left after Maximilian’s death at Wels, 1519), fol. 6r–6v. Edition: Fellner/Kretschmayr 1907, p. 143.

The fact that Schubinger and Steudl are listed at the end of this category (see arrow on the second page) can be explained by the absence of a number indicating the horses assigned to them or the delivery money to be paid for them. Nicole Schwindt inferred from this that Steudl and Schubinger simply did not have their own horses and travelled “wie im virtuellen Triumphzug […] auch im wirklichen Leben mit dem Kapellwagen” (in real life with the chapel wagon, as in the virtual Triumphzug).[91] However, this blanket conclusion is questionable. As the aforementioned employment documents from 1514 show, Schubinger was entitled to money for a horse at that time (and Steudl even for two horses). Moreover, the court personnel list from 1519 reveals that many higher-ranking and high-ranking servants were also not granted horses,[92] as were the “Personen so zu Innsprugg sein” (persons in Innsbruck) listed separately in the second part of the directory (with the exception of the falconers). This suggests that the 1519 personnel list does not reflect the fundamental contractual entitlement to horses or delivery money but only made a provision for the current situation and possibly only granted horse allowances to those court members who still had some travel activity, such as from their current location to one of the typical “home bases” of the court, such as Innsbruck or Augsburg.

More significant, however, is the classification of Schubinger and Steudl under “ander hofgesind” (other court servants). This presumably reflects the recurring problem throughout the sixteenth century of how to classify players of cornetts, trombones, and string instruments within the traditional court organisational scheme. Traditionally, the court music organisation units included (only) the chapel on one side and the trumpet corps on the other. Although cornettists and trombonists probably collaborated with the chapel in practice, they did not quite fit the institution “chapel” in the traditional sense of an association of clerics and singers. On the other hand, while they shared with the trumpeters the characteristic of being instrumentalists, they were also active in the field of polyphonic “art music” and thus musically, socially, and functionally represented a different sphere than the paramilitary corps of field or natural trumpeters. It is symptomatic of this “intermediate status” in the sixteenth century that cornettists, trombonists, and string players were sometimes listed with the trumpeters, sometimes with the chapel, or (like Schubinger and Steudl in 1519) in separate categories in the Habsburg court personnel lists.[93]

From 1519 to 1522, Schubinger enjoyed the ‚usual‘ allowance of two guilders from the city of Augsburg for four years.[94] It seems likely that he initially stayed in his hometown after the death of Maximilian I., as many former servants of the Emperor, including some musicians, temporarily settled there from January 1519, waiting until Maximilian’s successor, Charles V, wished to employ them, or whether they needed to look for new job opportunities.[95]

For the approximately sixty-year-old Schubinger, the death of Maximilian I did not herald the end of his active career and permanent retreat to Augsburg. Instead, he entered the employment of Ferdinand I, the grandson of Maximilian, born in 1503. Ferdinand spent the years from 1518 to 1521 at the court of his aunt, Margaret of Austria, in the Low Countries. Following an agreement with his brother Charles V to divide the Habsburg territories between them, Ferdinand took over the rule of the Austrian hereditary lands in 1521/22. A letter of provision, with which Ferdinand I granted Schubinger an annual pension in 1523, speaks of the services the musician had rendered to the Archduke (» Ch. The Provision Letter of 1523 and the Last Years). Additionally, a record in the account book of Mechelen, the residence of Margaret of Austria, from 1520 probably refers to Schubinger. Under the section “van den officiers van don Fernando,” payments to several members of the Archduke’s household are listed, including trumpeters and a “tamboryn” as well as “Meester augustijn vuyt duytschlant die op thuereken speelt” (“Master Augustin from Germany, who plays the horn [= cornett?]”).[96] The addition “from Germany” is probably related to the fact that almost all members of Ferdinand’s household at that time came from Burgundy and Spain, making a German origin a distinctive identifying feature. Not least, Schubinger appears in the account books of Ferdinand’s treasurer general, Gabriel von Salamanca, from the period 1522/23: » Abb. Schubinger in Gabriel von Salamancas Rechnungsbüchern 1522/23.

The mention of Schubinger in sources related to the early court of Ferdinand has further significance. Together with other references, it suggests that Ferdinand had a wind band, specifically a cornett-trombone ensemble, well before the year 1527, which has so far been considered the “actual” beginning of his court music (» I. Kontinuität und Wandel, Kap. Ferdinands und Annas Zink-Posaunen-Ensemble).

Habsburg rulers customarily supported long-serving members of the court in old age or after the end of their active service through a “provision” or pension. Schubinger too received such a pension in 1523. This provided him with a lifelong pension of 40 gulden annually, and simultaneously released him from all service obligations to the House of Habsburg.

Schubinger’s Provision Letter of 1523

Maister Augustin Schubinger / pusawner / xl gulding rh provison / Wir Ferdinand von gots gnaden prinz und infant in his-/panien Erzherzog zu österreich, herzog zu Burgundi / Steyr, kerndten und Crain & Grave zu Tirol & / Bekennen für uns und unser erben offennlich / mit diesem brief, daz wir unnseren getreuen maister / Augustin Schubinger pusawner, umb seiner getreuen / vleissigen diennste willen so er weiland unnseren / lieben herren und anherren kaiser maximilian hoch- [fol. 76v] loblichen gedechtnius, lannge zeit an Irer mt hof und / nachmals unnseres lieben herrn und brueder / kaiser karlen und unns, bis auf heut dato be-/wissen, unnd getan hat, zu ergezlichait aller der-/selben seiner dienste und annordnungen nichts / ausgenommen, so er zu gedachten unnseren lieben / herrn und brueder, und unns zuhaben vermainit, / zu seiner fursehung vierzigk guldin Reinisch / järlicher provison sein lebenlanng von den ein-/komen und gevellen der tirolischen camer / geordnet, unnd verschrieben haben, thun das auch / wissentlich hirmit in crafft dies brieffs, alß, daz er uns hinfür solch virzighte guldin Reinisch / provision, von bemelter tirolischer camer haben, / die ime auch järlich sein lebenlanng, durch / unsere gegenwirtig unnd künfftig raiträte dere ober-/österreichischen land von den einkommen / der selben unnser tirolischen camer, gegen seinen / quittungen, zu halben jarszeiten, geraicht unnd / bezalt, Und mit der ersten bezalung / von heut dato über ain halb jahr dem negsten / angefanngen werden, innhalt unns sonderen / bevelchs auf dieselben RaitRäte deshalben von / unns ausgegangen, Doch soll er wider bemelten / unnsern lieben herrn und Brueder kaiser karlen / unns unnd unnser haus österreich niemands weiter / wer der sey / nit dienen, sonder sich in allweg halten [fol. 77r] als ainen getreuen diener und provisioner geburt und zuesteet, alles treulich unnd ungeverlich, mit / urkundt dis brieffs, Geben zu Innsprugg / am ersten tag des monats Augusti, Nach Cristi / unnseres lieben herren gepurde, fünffzehnhundert / unnd ins dreyunndzwainzigistes jahres, / durch f.d. Rabenhaupt, unnd Rhta v. Waldenburger underschriben.

A-Ila Oberösterreichische Kammer, Kopialbücher, Geschäft von Hof, Bd. 87 (1523), fol. 76r-77r.

Whether the mention of Charles V as Schubinger’s employer was merely ‚pro forma‘, due to Charles’s position as head of the dynasty at the time, or whether Schubinger actually worked for Charles, cannot be determined. He might have had the opportunity to serve at events such as the king’s coronation in Aachen in 1520 or the Imperial Diet in Worms in 1521, but there is no evidence of Schubinger’s presence at these events.

If the payments of Schubinger’s provision were fully recorded in the Raitbücher (payment records) of the Innsbruck Treasury,[97] which can generally be assumed,[98] he, like many court servants, fell victim to the notoriously poor payment practices of the Habsburg rulers, as the annual payments to him were mostly well below the promised 40 guilders.[99]

Aside from his age, several factors suggest that the now elderly Schubinger, probably in his seventies, returned to his home town after 1523. He – and not just his wife – reappears in the Augsburg tax records,[100] and received annual payments from the city treasury from 1527 to 1531.[101] The payments from the Innsbruck Treasury were received on his behalf by his brother Ulrich or Marx Perner, a former trumpeter of Maximilian I:[102]

Augustin Schubinger Pusauner inabslag / seiner provison, zuhanden seines brudern / Ulrichen Schubinger Pusauner zu Salzburg / laut bevelch und quittung datum am xj tag octobris Anno xxiiij / xiij gulden (Augustin Schubinger, trombonist in compensation of his provision, to be handed to his brother Ulrich Schubinger, trombonist in Salzburg, according to order and receipt dated 11 October, year 1524 / 13 gulden).[103]

The Raitbücher of the Innsbruck Treasury record several payments to Schubinger from May to July 1531 “in Abschlag seiner Provision” (in deduction of his provision), with the explicit addition in May, “inansehung das er in schwerer krankhait vnd todtsnöten ligt” (in view of his severe illness and imminent death). These are the last (currently known) documents related to this key representative of instrumental music around 1500.