Poetic Works of Helius Eobanus Hessus (Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies) 0866982574, 9780866983815, 9789004228931, 9789004228955, 9780866982573

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The Poetic Works of

Helius Eobanus Hessus Volume 3

The Renaissance Society of America Texts and Studies Series

Editor-in-Chief

Craig Kallendorf Texas A&M University

Editorial Board

Margarett Ezell, Texas A&M University Paul Grendler, Emeritus, University of Toronto James Hankins, Harvard University Gerhild Scholz-Williams, Washington University (St. Louis) Lia Schwartz Lerner, CUNY Graduate Center

VOLUME 1

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/rsa

The Poetic Works of

Helius Eobanus Hessus Volume 3 King of Poets, 1514–1517

Edited, Translated, and Annotated by

Harry Vredeveld

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2012

Cover illustration: Silverpoint portrait of Eobanus Hessus by Albrecht Dürer. ©The Trustees of the British Museum. Volume 1 of this edition was published as The Poetic Works of Helius Eobanus Hessus: Student Years at Erfurt, 1504–1509. Renaissance Text Series 18; Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 215 (Tempe, AZ, 2004). ISBN: 0-86698-257-4. Volume 2 was published as The Poetic Works of Helius Eobanus Hessus: Journeyman Years, 1509–1514. Renaissance Text Series 20; Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 333 (Tempe, AZ, 2008). ISBN: 978-0-86698-381-5. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hessus, Helius Eobanus, 1488-1540 [Poems. English & Latin] The poetic works of Helius Eobanus Hessus / edited, translated and annotated by Harry Vredeveld. v.cm.–(Medieval and Renaissance texts and studies ; 215) Contents: v. 1. Student years at Erfurt, 1504–1509 ISBN: 0-86698-257-4 (alk paper) 1. Hessus, Helius Eobanus, 1488-1540 — Translations into English. 2. Latin poetry, Medieval and modern — Germany — Erfurt — Translations into English. 3. Vredeveld, Harry. II. Title III. Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (Series) ; v. 215. PA8527.H4A28 2004 971’.04–dc22 2003070860

ISSN 2219-3091 ISBN 978 90 04 22893 1 (hardback) ISBN 978 90 04 22895 5 (e-book) Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper.

For Harmon, with admiration and a father’s love

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Corrigenda and Addenda to Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Corrigenda and Addenda to Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix HYMNUS PASCHALIS AN EASTER HYMN Illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 ORATIO, SIVE PRAELECTIO AN ORATION, OR INAUGURAL LECTURE Illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 DE VERA NOBILITATE ON TRUE NOBILITY Illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 DE GENERIBUS EBRIOSORUM ET EBRIETATE VITANDA THE SPECIES OF DRUNKARDS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

viii

contents DE VITANDA EBRIETATE ELEGIA AN ELEGY ON THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS

Illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 EPISTOLA ITALIAE ULRICHO HUTTENO EQUITE GERMANO AUTORE. RESPONSIO MAXIMILIANI AUGUSTI HELIO EOBANO HESSO AUTORE. HUTTENI DE EADEM RE EPIGRAMMATA ALIQUOT LETTER FROM ITALIA, BY THE GERMAN KNIGHT ULRICH VON HUTTEN. RESPONSE FROM HIS MAJESTY MAXIMILIAN, BY HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS. SOME EPIGRAMS ON THE SAME TOPIC, BY HUTTEN Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 VICTORIA CHRISTI AB INFERIS CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER THE UNDERWORLD Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 Text and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 Supplementary Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to Hymnus paschalis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to Oratio, sive praelectio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to De vera nobilitate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to De vitanda ebrietate elegia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to Epistola Italiae, Responsio Maximiliani, Epigrammata aliquot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes to Victoria Christi ab inferis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

509 511 527 539 561 611

List of Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index of Medieval and Neo-Latin Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glossarial Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

693 713 716 748

619 651

Illustration : The Renaissance portal to the Collegium maius in Erfurt Photo by author, 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Illustration : The Renaissance portal to the Collegium maius in Erfurt (Photo by author, ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Hymnus paschalis, festooned with a student’s notes. Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder,  (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Oratio, sive praelectio. [Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder, ] (Universitätsbibliothek, Basel) . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Two verse epigraphs over the portal to the Collegium maius at Erfurt (Photo by author, ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of De vera nobilitate. [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ] (Bibliothek des Evangelischen Ministeriums im Augustinerkloster, Erfurt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ] (Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. [Mainz: Johann Schöffer],  (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. Nuremberg: Hieronymus Höltzel,  (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Questio fabulosa recitata per Magistrum Iohannem Schram. [Erfurt: Heidericus and Marx Ayrer, ] (Universitätsbibliothek, Erfurt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Hieronymus Emser, Dialogismus de origine propinandi. Leipzig: Melchior Lotter,  (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of De vitanda ebrietate elegia. Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  (Universitätsbibliothek, Münster) . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten, Epistola ad Maximilianum Caesarem Italiae fictitia. [Strasbourg: Matthias Schürer, ] (Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ix

2 56 77

128

172

173

174

185

205 324

346

xii

list of illustrations

Illustration : Title page of Epistola Italiae and Responsio Maximiliani. Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  (Universitätsbibliothek, Münster). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems. Augsburg: Johann Miller,  (Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten, Opera poetica. [Frankfurt am Main: Christian Egenolff],  (Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg) . . . . . . . Illustration : Italia writes to Emperor Maximilian, as Venetian and French armies dismember her country. Woodcut in Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems (Augsburg, ), sig. Pr (Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Fortuna turns her wheel in the Italian Wars. Woodcut in Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems (Augsburg, ), sig. Hv (Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Victoria Christi ab inferis. Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  (Universitätsbibliothek, Münster) . . . . . . . . . . Illustration : Title page of Hymnus paschalis Christi resurgentis. Marburg: Christian Egenolff,  (Staatsbibliothek, Bamberg)

347

348

349

354

355 424 425

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To all the libraries that have welcomed me into their inner sanctums and gladly humored my requests I owe an abiding debt of gratitude. I most particularly wish to express my thanks to Dr. Michael Ludscheidt, head librarian of the Augustinerkloster at Erfurt, for kindly introducing me to that remarkable library in November , and to Dr. Heinz Ristory at the Stiftsbibliothek Klosterneuburg for sending me a photocopy of Euricius Cordus’ Epithalamium in nuptias Helii Eobani Hessi — not only free of charge, but by express mail. Much of the foundational work on the present volume was carried out during my tenure at the Ohio State University, Columbus (–). I am deeply obliged to the university for its unflagging support. The same goes for The Renaissance Society of America, especially as embodied in John Monfasani, executive director nonpareil until , Timothy Krause, Argus-eyed arbiter in all matters stylistic, and Craig Kallendorf, prime mover of the Texts and Studies Series which the present volume inaugurates. Thank you, John, Tim, and Craig, for your wise counsel and genial help! Warmest thanks also go to Ivo Romein, Gera van Bedaf, and the printers at Koninklijke Brill NV for the admirably professional way in which they worked to translate my manuscript into print.

CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA TO VOLUME 1

At Nar. . (:–) Joachim Camerarius praises Christoph Hack as “the best lyric poet of his generation.” This prompted the following remark in n. : “Though Camerarius, Cordus, Eobanus, and Hutten all praise his poetry highly, he published very little.” The truth of the matter is that Hack published very little under his own name. I know only of an epigram in Johann Kellner’s Isagogicon in Hebraeas literas (Haguenau, []), sig. Av, the heading of which reads: “Christophorus Hacus ad Hebraearum literarum studiosos.” Two other works of his, however, came out at Erfurt in  under the pen name “Christophorus Mancinus.” One of them is a book of lyric Psalm interpretations entitled Odae, sive Psalmi poenitentiales; the other is a prefatory epigram for Eobanus’ De generibus ebriosorum. The first to tentatively identify the otherwise-unknown “Christophorus Mancinus” with Christoph Hack was Carl Krause (HEH, :), discussing the epigram for De generibus ebriosorum. Had Krause known about the elusive Odae — just two copies are still extant1 — he would have easily confirmed his suspicion. For after Hack published the work, he promptly sent a copy to Eobanus, along with a (now-lost) verse letter in which he introduces himself and pays due tribute to the king of poets. Eobanus responded with two lyric poems of his own, in terms that fit Hack’s book perfectly. See Epp. , sigs. Ir–Ir, also printed as Sylv. . and .. Euricius Cordus, who contributed a liminary epigram to the Odae, also praises Hack’s lyrics in two epigrams, printed in Epp. , sigs. Kr–Kv. Eobanus and Cordus explicitly address their poems to “Christophoro Haco” and thank their new friend for his fulsome praises. Other details of Hack’s biography can be corrected or augmented in light of scholarship that I overlooked earlier, in particular: Georg Berbig, “Der Anbruch der Reformation im Kreise Weimar: Ein priesterlicher Sendbrief vom Jahre ,” Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie  (), , –, with contemporary documents giving 1 In Halle, ULB, and Stiftsbibliothek Klosterneuburg. A copy formerly in Munich, BSB, is lost. The same appears to be true for the Frankfurt copy mentioned in von Hase, no. . The Halle and Klosterneuburg copies contain numerous ms. glosses and marginalia, evidently taken down during (Hack’s?) lectures on the book.

xvi

corrigenda and addenda to volume 

the name as “Christoffel Hack” () and “Christoff Hack” () and placing him in the liberal camp of the reformers; and Martin Bauer, Evangelische Theologen in und um Erfurt im . bis . Jahrhundert: Beiträge zur Personen- und Familiengeschichte Thüringens (Neustadt an der Aisch, ), . See also Melanchthons Briefwechsel, vol. , ed. Heinz Scheible and Corinna Schneider (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, ), . Note  at Nar. . should now be replaced with the following text: Christoph Hack (Hacke, Hacus) of Großenehrich in Thuringia matriculated at the University of Erfurt in , earning the BA in . Camerarius, Cordus, and Hessus praise his lyrics highly, on the strength of the Odae, sive Psalmi poenitentiales [Erfurt, ] that he published under the name “Christophorus Mancinus.” The booklet (twenty-two leaves) opens with two epigrams, one by the poet himself, the other by Euricius Cordus. Its dedicatory letter, dated  June , is addressed to Dean Henning Blomberg and is immediately followed by an epigram by Hack’s friend Bertram von Damm. The book proper consists of eight poems in various lyric meters, the first being an exhortation to penitence. The remaining seven are free interpretations of the penitential psalms. Using his real name, Hack introduced himself to Eobanus by sending him a copy of the book as well as a laudatory letter in verse (now lost). Eobanus responded with enthusiastic praise; see Epp. , sigs. Ir–Ir (the first poem is dated ), also printed as Sylv. . and .. For Cordus’ praises, see Epp. , sigs. Kr–Kv (two epigrams, dated ). Hack uses the pen name “Mancinus” also in an epigram that he contributed to Eobanus’ De generibus ebriosorum a few months later [Erfurt, ], sig. Ar (no. A ). Hack was in Wittenberg in December of , preparing to lecture on the Gospels. In the summer of  he visited Johann Reuchlin at Bad Liebenzell and Ulrich von Hutten at Mainz. A monk at Erfurt, Hack became an early supporter of Luther. In the early spring of  he anonymously published a little satire, in prose and verse, against Hieronymus Emser: Ludus in Caprum Emseranum [Wittenberg, ]; see Eob. Luth. . After the rioting against the priests in June , Hack, like so many others that summer, turned his back on Erfurt and went to Wittenberg. Returning to Erfurt in , he became a “minister of the Gospel.” He was married there in March . From  to  he served as the first evangelical pastor in Buttstädt, Thuringia. Eobanus last mentions Hack at Epic. .–, in a catalogue of poets who mourn the death of Mutianus Rufus (d.  March ).

De pugna studentum, pp. –. The form pungna printed on the title page of the editio princeps () is a medievalism that can only have been introduced by the printer. For a similarly involuntary medievalism, see Max. , where the  edition prints “oppungnant.”

corrigenda and addenda to volume 

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De amantium infoelicitate. The unusual collocation citatiore gressu in Ama. . is probably taken from Act  of Johann Reuchlin’s Sergius, first published at Erfurt in . See Hugo Holstein, Johann Reuchlins Komödien: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des lateinischen Schuldramas (Halle, ), , l. : “citatiore gressu propero.”

CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA TO VOLUME 2 Her. Chr. A . Paul von Schwarzenberg’s epigram in part imitates a fourteen-line epigram that William Harris contributed six years earlier to Ortwin Gratius, Orationes quodlibetice periucunde (Cologne, ), sigs. Av–Ar. Both epigrams are written in hendecasyllables, both repeat the introductory couplet at or near the end, and share some similarities in phrasing. The introductory couplet in Harris’ epigram runs as follows: “Exi, floridus, elegans libelle,/Cultus, frugifer, undecunque tersus.” The concluding couplet has the same verses, but in reverse order. At l.  Paul von Schwarzenberg had l.  of Harris’ epigram in mind: “Non tristes metues subisse linguas.” Her. Chr. A . On Gregor Aubanus see now: Jürgen Leonhardt, “Classics as Textbooks: A Study of the Humanist Lectures on Cicero at the University of Leipzig, ca. ,” Scholarly Knowledge: Textbooks in Early Modern Europe, ed. Emidio Campi et al. (Geneva, ), –, in particular –. Her. Chr. .. In the critical apparatus delete the ghost entry: “manet scripsi: manes A.” Her. Chr. .. The phrase Apelleae genti is earlier found in Nikolaus Marschalk’s epigram “De laude litterarum Hebraicarum,” first page of [Aldo Manuzio], Introductio ad litteras Hebraicas utilissima [Erfurt, ]: “Ne contemne, puer! Sunt grammata prima sacratae / Gentis Apelleae. Nil nisi sacra docent.” See Bauch, . Her. Chr. B .–, “tantum . . . sibi nocet et dumtaxat / Se carnifex eviscerat.” The model must be Appendix Vergiliana, “De interno livore” (Anthol. Lat. ), l. : “Torquet viscera carnifex cruentus”; cf. also l. : “sibi poena semper ipse est.” Two Intriguing Copies of Heroidum Christianarum epistolae A. Dresden Copy The title page of Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ) in Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A..k,misc.), has an autograph inscription: “Ioanni Hesso cognomini suo D.D. Eobanus Hessus. Ex amicitia.”

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Eobanus adds: “Multa insunt errata calchographum imprudentia [commissa . . .].” The remainder is lost due to trimming. The copy is bound with several other works by Eobanus Hessus: Victoria Christi (Erfurt, ); Hymnus paschalis (Erfurt, ); Sylvae duae (Leipzig, ); Hutten’s Epistola Italiae and Eobanus’ Responsio Maximiliani (Erfurt, ). The Sammelband was originally owned by Johann Heß of Nuremberg (–). The inscription shows that Eobanus was good friends with Heß in mid-. The friendship may have started in Prussia, after Heß became secretary and notary to Johannes V. Thurzo, Bishop of Wrocław, in the early spring of . B. Basel Copy The copy of Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ) in the University Library, Basel (Aleph E VIII :), is bound with Eobanus’ Oratio, sive praelectio (Erfurt, ) and several other contemporary books. At sig. Ar the text correctly prints “praestiterim” (not “praestaverim”, as in the other copies that I have seen). The copy contains numerous glosses and sidenotes taken down during Eobanus’ lectures on the book, probably in the winter semester /. The ms. notes cover all the heroic letters, from Her. Chr.  through Her. Chr. . Some of the sidenotes include Greek words. It thus appears that Eobanus has now started studying the language. Textual Corrections in the Basel Copy At Eobanus’ direction, the student corrects misprints throughout the book. These go far beyond the ones noted in the Errata on sig. Vr. I first list the corrections that confirm emendations in my edited text: . revocantem > revocanti. . Afflicti > Affligi. . paenat > paena. . temeras > teneras. . ales > alas. . ipso tua > ipsa tuo. . pectore > pectora. . meae > mei. . ipsa > ipse. . Stygia > Styga. . tabe > tale. . attonito > attonita. . iniquas > iniquos. . pectore > pectora. . euce > eiice. . Hunc > Hinc. . gentilei > gentilem. . laniet > lanient. . tui > tue. . numere > munere. . Huic > Hinc.

Some of the corrections should be incorporated into the edited text: At . “heremicola” is corrected to “eremicola” (cf. note at Her. Chr. .). At . “responsu” is corrected to “responso” (as in BO).

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At . “Ostendit” is corrected to “Ostendet” (BO). A marginal note emphasizes: “Hic legas ‘ostendet.’ ” A gloss adds: “docebit te.” At . “tactae . . . Averni” is corrected to “tacti . . . Averni”.

Several of my emendations prove to be unnecessary: At . “caetera” is glossed with “ora”. Cerberus’ other two muzzles are broken. The reading “caetera” (AB) should be restored. At . “famae nuperioris opes” is glossed with “novorum scriptorum lucubrationes.” The reading of A should be preferred over “opus” (BO). At .– some glosses and a sidenote indicate that A (not BO) offers the correct text. The intended meaning is this: By altering the final syllable, Anastasia can easily change her name to the masculine “Anastasius.” Read: “Foeminei facile est mutare vocabula sexus./Sorbebit totum syllaba fracta genus.” The translation should be changed to: “It is easy to change my name from the feminine form. One altered syllable will swallow up the whole gender.”

Though not supported by the student’s corrections or glosses, a few other emendations may nonetheless be retained: At . “Frons” is glossed with “rami arbores”. I still suspect, however, that “Fons” (BO) was the originally intended reading. Cf. Her. Chr. .– and .. At . “Si velis” is corrected to “Si velit” (in accordance with the book’s Errata). “Si velit” is then glossed with “diutius abesse.” This explanation is not convincing. After all, it is Paphnutius who is being addressed here. Eobanus seems to have forgotten his originally intended correction of “Si velis” to “Si libet” (BO) that was frustrated by an error in the Errata. For the same correction see Her. Chr. .. At ., where I emend “putes” to “potest,” a gloss over “putes” offers the synonym “credas.” Here too Eobanus appears to overlook his original intent. Cf. “queat” in BO. According to a gloss at ., “sanctae” is to be corrected to “salute”: “hic stabit ‘salute’. ” Perhaps the student misheard, or Eobanus made a rash, onthe-spot correction. The intended reading must be “senectae” (BO). At . the glosses “me/monere debeas/verearis” show that Eobanus accepted the reading “moneas” during his lecture on this passage. However, “moveas” (BO) must be the originally intended reading, for in the immediately following distich Pelagia declares that she is in no need of admonition: “Non etiam ut moneas opus est.” At . the printed reading “in tenera” is glossed with “me iuvencula”. Eobanus appears to overlook the originally intended reading “interea” (BO).

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Notable Glosses and Sidenotes in the Basel Copy A series of glosses makes it plain that I have misunderstood the text at .–. The verses should be repunctuated as follows: Hoc utinam videat qui se putat omnia Caesar Cernere, qui nec se nec sua facta videt, Terribilisque sacra stupefactus imagine vultus Dicat: “Et hic tantus non putat esse deos. Quod non ille putat tantus, prius ille putavit. Ille quod est verum forte putare potest.”

The translation should be corrected to: How I wish the emperor could see this! He thinks he observes everything, but in fact sees neither himself nor his own deeds. And how I wish that he, stupefied by the sight of your awe-inspiring face, would say: “That great man, too, does not believe in the gods. What that great man does not believe [now], he did believe earlier on [cf. l. ]. It is possible that what he believes is indeed the truth.”

Other glosses and sidenotes offer insight into Eobanus’ interpretation of his text: At . a gloss (also found in other copies) states that the prophet referred to is David. A sidenote adds that we may also think of Isaiah and then quotes Vulg. Isa. .: “Ecce virgo concipiet . . . .” At . “monstra” is glossed with “satiri [satyri], canes, crocodili, onocrotalus, serpens Epidaurius.” At . “syncharites” is glossed with “eiusdem gratiae” (“of the same youthful charm”). At . a gloss at “aut duro fregerit ense latus” specifically points to Dido. At .– a sidenote says that Eobanus alludes to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At . “vultus posse videre tuos” is glossed with “carmina sua ad immortalitatem perventura.” At . “in triviis” is glossed with “in ludo triviali.”

Some of the sidenotes confirm biblical and literary parallels that I cite in the commentary. Other notes shed new light on Eobanus’ models: At .– a sidenote quotes stanza  of Ambrose’s hymn, “Intende, qui regis Israel” (AH :, no. ): “Ambrosius in hymno: ‘Non ex virili semine/ Sed mistico spiramine/Verbum Dei factum est caro.’ ” (A similar note occurs in other copies, but too cryptically for me to have made use of it earlier.)

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At .– a sidenote states: “Angehlusi Pollihcianusi: ‘Maior in erratis bonitatis gloria nostris,/Ille qui pro [for: Illeque prae] cunctis fulget amandus amor./Qui potuit celo Dominum deducere ab alto/Inque crucem summi tollere membra Dei.’ Picus Mirandula, non Pollicianus.” The (initially misattributed) quotation is from Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, “Deprecatoria ad Deum,” ll. –. See The Complete Works of St. Thomas More, vol. , ed. Anthony S.G. Edwards, Katherine G. Rodgers, and Clarence H. Miller (New Haven, ), . At .– a sidenote compares Claud. Carm. minora .–: “Claudianus: Et qui non terre spacio, non equoris unda,/non capitur caelo, parvos confluxit in artus.” At .– a sidenote points to “Boninus Mombritius de sancta cruce: ‘Sola tenes, o crux, vasti quota portio mundi,/Quem non omne capit celum, cui deficit ingens/Tellus, quandoquidem tenues libratur ad auras/ Corpus et horrendis pendent vestigia clavis.’ ” The quotation comes from Bonino Mombrizio, De dominica passione libri sex (; Leipzig, ), bk. , sig. Hv. (At Her. Chr. ., Eobanus adopts “Vidit et indoluit” from the same poem, bk. , sig. Dv: “Vidit et indoluit Dominum quem tradidit esse/Damnatum Iudas.”) At . a sidenote uses Plin. Nat. . to explain barbaricum pavimentum as a richly decorated floor mosaic. My translation, “the rude pavement,” should be corrected accordingly. At .– a sidenote points to Plato, Timaeus, and Lact. Inst. .. At ., “Stultus ut imperium cum Iove Caesar habet,” a sidenote writes: “Iuxta istos versiculos Virgilii: ‘Nocte pluit tota, redeunt spectacula mane:/ Divisum imperium cum Iove Cesar habet.’ ‘Iuppiter in celis, Caesar regit omnia terris.’ ” These verses were traditionally ascribed to Vergil. See Anthol. Lat., nos.  (D.R. Shackleton Bailey) and  (Riese); Jan M. Ziolkowski and Michael C.J. Putnam, eds., The Virgilian Tradition: The First Fifteen Hundred Years (New Haven, ), , , , , . At . a sidenote quotes Mart. ..–, as follows: “Martialis: ‘Lanificas nulli tres exorare puellas/contigit. Observant quam statuere diem.’ ” At .– a sidenote quotes Mart. ..: “Martialis: ‘Omnibus invideas, livide, nemo tibi.’ ”

Finally, a sidenote at . quotes an otherwise-unknown distich by Eobanus: “Eobanus alibi: ‘Nunquam solus agas quod sit pudor ante sodales./Ante homines non fac quod pudet ante Deum.’ ”

HYMNUS PASCHALIS

AN EASTER HYMN

Illustration : Title page of Hymnus paschalis, festooned with a student’s notes Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder,  Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna

INTRODUCTION

His journeyman years behind him, his masterpiece in hand, Eobanus returned to Erfurt on  July . Two weeks later, on August , he had settled in enough to pen a letter to Mutianus Rufus in nearby Gotha. After praising his friends at Leipzig and conveying their admiration for Mutianus, Eobanus breaks the news: “Need I say more? My dear Rufus, after long wanderings I am now finally back in Erfurt, with the intent of lecturing publicly on this new book of mine — the one I have often written you about. In fact, I am sending it along for you to look at, and not just to look at, but also to read, and not just to read, but also to pass judgment. For you know how much store I set by your judgment.” For the time being, Eobanus adds, he is staying at the home of their mutual friend, the physician and dean of medicine, Heinrich Eberbach. He cannot wait to see Mutianus’ reaction to the Letters of Christian Heroines. Until then he will be racked with anxiety. He concludes: “Good Lord, how much virtually everything has changed here! I am in fine health and doing well. Take care!”1 Mutianus did not keep his protégé on tenterhooks long. Writing to both Heinrich Urbanus and Eobanus on August , he exults to the former: “[Eobanus] is transported by a kind of divine frenzy. He has a marvelous imagination and sings with unbelievable fluency and charm. Add to this an almost Homeric grandness of style.” The Heroides is such a perfect blend of piety, learning, and elegance that its author, Mutianus predicts, will find fame not just with the humanists but also with the scholastics. Turning next to Eobanus, whom he addresses as “divinissime poeta” (“most divine poet”), he assures him of his everlasting friendship and admiration. If he did not respond immediately, it is because he has been detained by ecclesiastical and domestic obligations. Following some further high praise, Mutianus steers Eobanus toward a new task. He must not rest on his laurels! Urbanus is to show him a manuscript of “Neobius’ Triumph,” a pseudonymous poem celebrating Reuchlin’s victory over the Dominicans of Cologne and the inquisitor Jakob van Hoogstraten.2 “Be 1

Mutian. Ep. . Mutianus attributes the poem to Hermann von dem Busche: see Mutian. Ep. . Erasmus of Rotterdam assigns it to Ulrich von Hutten: see his Spongia, ASD .:, 2

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sure to read it from start to finish,” Mutianus exhorts his friend. And when he has done so, Eobanus too should take pen in hand to praise that most erudite of scholars, Johann Reuchlin.3 The Reuchlin Affair A distinguished jurist and trilingual scholar, Johann Reuchlin of Pforzheim (–) was the acknowledged dean of the German humanists. By  he had edited and translated a series of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin books, created the dictionary Vocabularius breviloquus (), and written two comedies for use in the schools. He had even published a Hebrew grammar and lexicon () and other aids to the study of that language. His pioneering work in Hebrew earned him great fame, but also cost him much personal anguish, because it embroiled him in a bitter dispute first with the converted Jew Johann Pfefferkorn, and then with the Dominicans and the conservative theologians in Cologne and elsewhere. At the urging of Pfefferkorn and his allies, Emperor Maximilian in  had turned to a commission of experts as well as to the theological faculties at Cologne, Mainz, Erfurt, and Heidelberg to determine whether all Hebrew books ought to be suppressed in order to safeguard the true faith and help convert the Jews. Of the respondents, only Reuchlin came out in opposition to the proposal. Thereupon Pfefferkorn attacked him in Handt Spiegel (Hand Mirror, ) for undermining Christianity. When Reuchlin defended himself in Augenspiegel (Eye Mirror, ), he provoked the wrath of the theologians at the University of Cologne. In  they instructed the inquisitor Jakob van Hoogstraten to begin heresy proceedings against him. As the case drew attention throughout Latin Europe, the humanists rallied to Reuchlin’s side — not to defend the Jews or their books but to resist what they saw as an onslaught of medieval barbarism against the new learning. Reuchlin was grateful for the outpouring of support and turned it to his advantage. In March  he published the humanists’ letters in Clarorum virorum epistolae (Letters of Illustrious Men). That same month the

ll. –. The poem was first published at Haguenau in , under the pseudonym Eleutherius Byzenus. See Hutten, Opera, :–; VLDH, :–. 3 See Mutian. Ep. .

introduction



episcopal court at Speyer acquitted him of all charges. Incensed, the inquisitor appealed the case to Rome, ultimately with success.4 The German humanists, meanwhile, did not stand idly by. In early October , Crotus Rubianus, Hermann von dem Busche, and others anonymously published Epistolae obscurorum virorum (Letters of Obscure Men), the famous satire that skewered the Cologne Dominicans for their dubious morals, appalling ignorance, and barbaric Latin. An expanded edition came out a year later. Early  saw the appearance of a second anonymous collection. It is now generally attributed to Eobanus’ good friend, Ulrich von Hutten. “King of Poets” Though an ardent supporter of Reuchlin, Eobanus had not yet presumed to introduce himself to the embattled humanist. That would have to wait until he had a better claim on Reuchlin’s attention. Privately, however, he expressed his admiration in a letter of  March  to the Viennese professor Joachim Vadian (–). Alluding to his forthcoming Letters of Christian Heroines, Eobanus assures Vadian that the Christianity he himself embraces is “not the barbaric religion that the slanderers of Reuchlin profess — good gods, what an erudite, what a saintly man he is!”5 Thus, when Mutianus asked Eobanus on  August  to write in praise of Reuchlin, he was flogging a willing horse. Despite some pressing personal business — our humanist was wooing his new love Katharina Später and was engaged to her the very next month6 — Eobanus promptly

4 See further: Rummel, Reuchlin; Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :xiii–xlvii; David H. Price, Johannes Reuchlin and the Campaign to Destroy Jewish Books (New York, ). 5 Vadian. Briefsammlung, , no. . 6 Katharina cannot be the “Flavia” that Eobanus extolled during his student days and in Prussia, as Krause argues in HEH, :. For in his Epithalamium in nuptias Helii Eobani Hessi et Thrynae Spateranae [Erfurt, ?], sig. Bv, Euricius Cordus goes out of his way to say that Katharina was his friend’s new love. As soon as Eobanus met Katharina (Cordus explains), he forgot about Flavia, Metra, and his other girlfriends: “pristinus exit / Et novus intrat amor, feriente Cupidinis arcu./Decantata prius iam sordet Flavia, sordet / Et Metra et quaecumque olim placuere puellae.” For “Metra” (along with “Cleopatra”), see also Mutian. Ep.  and ; for the whirlwind courtship, see Mutian. Ep.  and . The couple became engaged in the latter half of September. From then on Eobanus lived in the “Engelsburg,” the house of his future father-in-law. The wedding took place at the turn of the year.

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sent Reuchlin a laudatory letter (now lost), in which he offers to support him with satiric and panegyric epigrams. For good measure, he also presented Reuchlin with a copy of the Heroidum Christianarum epistolae. Preoccupied with his legal troubles, Reuchlin did not answer right away. Eobanus therefore wrote him a second letter (now also lost), wondering at the lack of response, but again offering support and including some epigrams in praise of Reuchlin, as an example of what he could accomplish in this arena. In a contemporary letter to Heinrich Urbanus (Ep. ), Mutianus Rufus quotes one of these poems. It is the one that Eobanus would go on to publish among the epigrams that conclude his Hymnus paschalis (B ): That subduer of monsters, Jupiter’s son, is renowned all over the world in recognition of his heroic deeds. Reuchlin’s glory is not inferior to his. He has vanquished monsters no less savage than the Hydra and the other beasts. Nobody asks what kind of monsters they are — unless you, cowl,7 perhaps don’t recognize yourself anymore!

Eobanus’ second letter elicited the long-desired answer — a far better one, indeed, than he could have dared hope for. For on October  Reuchlin wrote to excuse himself for not responding sooner.8 Addressing himself to “Helius Eobanus Hessus, teacher of refined literature at Erfurt, his highly valued friend,” he exclaims: “Don’t you see, Hessus, how those cruel mendicant magpies, those black-white Harpies,9 . . . those

7

The Dominican inquisitor Jakob van Hoogstraten (d. ). The letter was first edited by William Hamilton from an autograph in his possession. See his Discussions on Philosophy and Literature, Education and University Reform, nd ed. (London, ; repr. Bristol, ), :–. An inaccurate and incomplete apograph of the letter, now in Halle, Bibliothek der Franckeschen Stiftungen, Ms. A , was first edited (with notes) in Otto Clemen, “Briefe aus der Reformationszeit,” Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte  (), –. This version has now been reedited in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :–, no. , unfortunately in ignorance of Hamilton’s edition. Some corrections are in order. At ll. – read “quodam potentatu et ingenii dominio”; at l.  read “Erdifordiae.” At l.  read “spem tibi concipe”; at l.  read “revera” instead of “fore.” At ll. – read: “adapta citharam et Musis materiam colliga. Aeque foeliciter vale. E Stutgardia, vii. Kal. Novembres, anno m.d.xiiii.” After the salutation, Hamilton’s edition adds “Ad manus.” At the end of the letter Hamilton prints the postscript, “In fervente ad vindictam iambo non eris solus neque alter.” There can be no doubt about the authenticity of this postscript, for Eobanus alludes to it in his response of  January : “Magnum enim animum mihi facit, quod neque solus neque alter futurus sum.” See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –. Hereupon Eobanus lists a good many of his own friends who, he is confident, will join him in trumpeting Reuchlin’s victory. 9 A mendicant order, the Dominicans wore a black-and-white habit. 8

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Dominican brethren, who in our own time have fallen away from religion, are so incessantly waging war against me that I scarcely ever have a chance to breathe and recover my strength? And yet you complain that in so trying a period as this I did not respond to the letters you sent me!” Hessus may be at liberty to dance on the Helicon and pursue the pleasures of poetry, Reuchlin laments, but he himself is so vexed by those hornets that he has no time for friends or scholarship. “Hence,” he continues, if I were not so enthralled with you, I would envy you your good fortune and feel sorry for myself. For the truth is that you are the prince of literature — the noblest of them all, lacking any rival. Not only the so splendid exertions of your sovereign mind that you display in the Heroides, but also your very name [Hessus], a token of royal majesty, are such that they ought to stir many to envy, given the mindset of most people nowadays in this decaying world. For to the Ephesians the word “hessen” means the same as “king” in Latin. For that is what Callimachus, the poet of Cyrene, tells us in his hymn to Jupiter, when he says that Jove was chosen to be king of the gods, not by the casting of lots, but because of what he had accomplished. There he uses the verse, “ΟÓ σε qεêν ¡σσ²να π’λοι q¢σαν, £ργα δ¥ χειρêν,” where “hessena” means “supreme king.” For truly, among the Christian poets of your generation, you yourself are king. When you write verse, you exercise the kind of power and dominion of mind that affords you a more lordly command of meter than the others and gives you the ability to govern all the syllables in model fashion. And so I congratulate the University of Erfurt on possessing such a star as you.

At the end of the letter Reuchlin returns to his legal travails. Though he has won his case at Speyer, he knows that his enemies are furiously maneuvering to undo that decision. They have even appealed to the King of France. Who is next? The King of Persia? Reuchlin has therefore taken his case to Rome, where he has good hopes of emerging victorious. For tactical reasons, however, Reuchlin implores Eobanus to hold off publishing his planned book of epigrams: “For a brief time hang up your lyre, until the signal is given.10 In the meantime, however, please keep the lute in tune and gather up materials for your Muses.” In a postscript he adds: “With your vindictively satiric iambs you will not be the first, or even the second.”

10 Reuchlin alludes to Psalms . (. in the Vulgate): “On the willows there [in Babylonian captivity] we hung up our lyres.” Eobanus expounds on this allusion in his reply of  January . See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –.

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As may be imagined, Eobanus jumped for joy at Reuchlin’s praises. “When I first read them,” he confides to Reuchlin, “I exclaimed on the spot: ‘Now I have no more excuse for being down on myself!’ Your judgment tells me that I am not deceiving myself. To me it is like the Delphic oracle.”11 Certainly, he lost no time showing the letter off to his friends at Erfurt.12 Before long they were all calling him “the king of poets,” or simply, “the king.”13 Eobanus reveled in the title and jocularly extended it to everybody around him. His wife Katharina thenceforth was “queen,” their children became “princes” and “princesses,” their little home turned into a “royal castle.” And when Eobanus’ right-hand man, Petrejus Eberbach, returned from Italy in November , he was immediately dubbed “the Duke.” Eobanus offers a first taste of these jests in the dedicatory letter of his Hymnus paschalis, telling Ludwig Platz that if he, Eobanus, were king in actual fact, he would gladly make his friend the prince over an entire island. But, alas, he is king in name only. Platz will have to settle for having the book dedicated to him. Once the jubilation over Reuchlin’s compliments had subsided and his own wedding had been celebrated in royal style, with dinners and toasts and an epithalamium by Euricius Cordus, Eobanus could finally set his mind to composing a suitable response. By now it was  January  — the day of the Three Kings.14 After some earnest words of support for Reuchlin and warmest thanks for the letter, Eobanus gets to the point. The “asses in Cologne” will witness Reuchlin’s victory for themselves. As soon as that day arrives, Eobanus predicts, the Erfurt humanists “will celebrate a mighty triumph, for you can count on us to do that. But you too will celebrate a triumph. Indeed, the senate of

11 Letter of  January . See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :–, no. , ll. –, partially couched in verse (a pentameter): “Nunc ego non possum displicuisse mihi.” Like Ovid (and Fundinus in Ama. ., n.), our humanist enjoyed giving the impression that even in everyday speech he spontaneously breaks into verse. 12 Letter of  January , in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :–, no. , ll. – : “Ostendi tuas literas quibusdam hic bonis viris, qui non minus tuae laudis sunt studiosi quam adversae factionis inimici, et etiam, quod adeo mirum tibi non debet videri, ipsorum quibusdam theologiam profitentium.” He was still proudly showing off the letter in the autumn of . See his letter to Justus Jonas of  October , in Der Briefwechsel des Justus Jonas, ed. Gustav Kawerau (; repr. Hildesheim, ), , no. . 13 See Sylv. .; Camerarius, Nar. .–. 14 See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :–, no. , with valuable notes on pp. –.

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the Latin community has already decreed a triumph for you.”15 There is nothing that the King of France (rex Gallorum) can do about that! Musing about Reuchlin’s inevitable victory, Eobanus looks forward to the day when he can pick up the lyre again and sing songs of triumph over his enemies — those Galli, as he derisively calls them. In lower case, the word Galli means “barnyard cocks”; as a proper name, it can refer either to the French or to the castrated priests of Cybele. Eobanus explains: the Dominicans are mere Galli, unmanly priests, given to sensuality and hypocrisy, wolves in sheep’s clothing. “For what have those emasculated priests to do with hardy men? Nothing, except perhaps to recklessly hurl abuses at them time and again, until they finally give up and stop being so cocky.” The punning on Galli leads into an epigram calling on Jupiter (Emperor Maximilian) to knock the emasculated, but menacing Cock (French king) off his perch. But if that is too much to ask, he ought at least to remove the unmanly Galli in the German churches and replace them with “Druids,” that is, priests worthy of the name, “men of oak”: Paying no heed to the taunts of the emasculated Gallus, the armorbearer [eagle] snatched him up and deposited him before the feet of celestial Jove. “Almighty Jupiter, knock this Gallus to the ground, for he is sacrilegiously planning to clamber into your realms. But if you scruple to outrage holy Cybele, replace the Galli in your temples with Druids!”

Despite his eagerness to leap into the fight, Eobanus promises to keep his ardor in check for now. In the meantime he will go on gathering material for his book of epigrams. He has a great heap of them already! Just recently he composed some caustic iambs against the “Cologne diabologians” (as Reuchlin called his enemies) and will send them along in due time, together with many other epigrams in all sorts of meters. Eobanus is confident that Ulrich von Hutten, Hermann von dem Busche, Crotus Rubianus, and Georg Spalatin, not to mention Jakob Locher, Philip Melanchthon, and many others will join him in this battle. Moreover, he promises to rouse up some close Erfurt friends, who, together with him, will swarm like hornets around those frights, those most monstrous of monsters, so that they will have no peace either on land or on sea. Then let them call on the Galli, the French, the Persians, and what have you!

15

An allusion to “Neobius’ Triumph.” Cf. p.  above, with n. .

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At this point Eobanus offers a sample of his iambs. The epigram, written in alternating hexameters and iambic trimeters, calls on the humanist poets to defend their fellow poet against the attacks of the “Reuchlinscourge,” the wickedly stupid Dominican Jakob van Hoogstraten: Agite igitur, o vos Teutones, emensi Latialia regna poetae, Vestrum decus viriliter defendite!16 Impia molitur certamina17 Capniomastix,18 Tam nobilem ferens inique gloriam.  Heu, quibus ille odiis, heu, quanta exaestuat ira19 Vir barbarus, vir omnium stultissimus! Quid tibi cum20 doctis, bardo signate cucullo21 Hostrate, nate pessimis auguriis? At vos Capnionem, vates, defendite vestrum:  Vobis comoediam ille primus obtulit.22 Come then, o you German poets, well-traveled in Latium’s realms, manfully defend that ornament of yours! The Reuchlin-scourge23 is stirring up an unholy fight, for he cannot stand such glorious renown. Ah, with what bitter hatred, ah, what violent rage is that barbarian boiling over, of all men the stupidest! What business have you with scholars, cowl-wearing Hoogstraten, born for nothing but trouble? But you bards, defend Reuchlin, for he is one of you. He it is who first brought you comedy.24

16

Cf. Hor. Carm. ... Sil. .. 18 Eobanus could have known this recent coinage from Joachim Vadian’s letter of  April  to Reuchlin, printed in Clarorum virorum epistolae (), referring to Johann Pfefferkorn: “Capniomastix ex Iudaeo Christianus”; see Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. – (with note). He would certainly also have seen it in Cordus, Epith., sig. Bv, where Cordus talks about the satiric epigrams that Crotus Rubianus and Hermann von dem Busche are writing at Cologne: “Tu quoque cum docto Rubiano, candide Buschi, / Quos modo celsa suo tenet Agrippina recessu,/Si qua ferox vobis dabit ocia Capniomastix.” 19 Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; .. 20 Her. Chr. ., n.; ., n. 21 Cf. Hymn. B .. 22 Cf. Sebastian Brant, liminary epigram to Reuchlin’s Scaenica progymnasmata, hoc est, ludicra praeexercitamenta (Basel, ) (Texte .–): “Quo duce Germanos comaedia prisca revisit / Et meruit soccis Rhaenus inire novis.” Brant’s compliment is echoed in Hutten, Querel. ..–, and Triumphus Doctoris Reuchlini – (Opera, .–). 23 Jakob van Hoogstraten. 24 Reuchlin was the first German to publish school comedies in Latin: Scaenica 17

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After thus pledging his unwavering support, Eobanus thanks Reuchlin for the magnificent compliment that had made him jump for joy. He ends the letter on a personal note. He was married just a few days ago, for he is still a young man. On the day that he writes this letter he is turning twenty-eight. (At the time, he was still under the impression that he had been born in , rather than .)25 May his marriage be a happy one! And may God be a tower of strength to Reuchlin as he continues to face down his enemies! The Hymnus paschalis of Easter  Eobanus was as good as his word. Though he had already penned a sizable number of epigrams on Reuchlin’s behalf and continued to add to their stock in , he never did publish the collection, partly because of the promise he had given and partly because the Letters of Obscure Men overtook his project ten months later. He did not, however, waste time in broadcasting his commitment to Reuchlin’s cause. To the Hymnus paschalis on Christ’s victory over hell, written at Easter , Eobanus appended two of the three epigrams that he had already shared with Reuchlin privately. Besides these poems, there is no further allusion in the book to the Reuchlin affair. Eobanus’ biographer Carl Krause sees the matter quite differently. In his view, the Easter Hymn must itself be understood as a metaphorical, albeit “rather peculiar way” of celebrating Reuchlin’s triumph over the diabologians of Cologne.26 Krause’s argument runs as follows. Already on the title page Eobanus announces that he wrote the Easter Hymn to acclaim “the Christian victory” (“Christianae victoriae acclamatus”). “Victory,” of course, was the Reuchlinists’ battle cry at the time, by which was meant not just Reuchlin’s triumph, but the triumph of true Christian religion. And just as Christ, in Eobanus’ hymn, rescued the souls from their infernal dungeon and vanquished the powers of darkness, so Reuchlin, as a second Hercules, has subdued the monsters of obscurantism. Now that

progymnasmata (Basel, ), often referred to as Henno. His earlier comedy Sergius mocks the cult of relics. Deemed too controversial in , it was first published at Erfurt in . 25 See Camerarius, Nar. ., with n.  (:). 26 See Krause, HEH, :–.

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the “Christian victory” has been achieved — Christ’s and Reuchlin’s — Eobanus turns to the Jews who malign the Christian faith (ll. –): “Let the wretched Apella desist, therefore. Let him stop chattering at the rabble-rousers who deny that Christ rose again in his own body.” With the derogatory term Apella (“a circumcised Jew”), Krause argues, Eobanus must be taking special aim at Johann Pfefferkorn. In Krause’s interpretation, the hymn’s concluding prayer is especially replete with allusions to the Reuchlin controversy. Thus, when Eobanus prays that Christ may “hold the shield of salvation against those who slander the blessed faith,” he must be thinking of the inquisitorial Dominicans. In the prayer asking Christ to “let the true faith of the Christian sect flourish,” Eobanus adopts the patristic expression, “Christian sect,” that had been famously renewed by Reuchlin, but condemned by the ignoramuses of Cologne as smacking of heresy, because Christianity ought not to be called a sect.27 Though superficially attractive, Krause’s interpretation does not bear scrutiny. Take, for example, the title phrase Christianae victoriae. No contemporary reader, not even the most passionate Reuchlinist, would have interpreted the expression as “the Christian victory” and then have related it to “Reuchlin’s victory.” In the context of a poem on Easter, the words can only signify “the victory of Christ.” Eobanus is just following Latin idiom, by which an adjective stands for the proper noun. In a letter of  June , for example, he speaks of “Christianae Resurrectionis die” (“the day of Christ’s Resurrection”).28 Now if contemporary readers could see no allusion to Reuchlin on the title page, it follows that, without such guidance, they could also not have connected the hymn itself with Reuchlin’s victory — a victory, incidentally, that Eobanus and his fellow partisans could fairly anticipate in the early spring of , but not yet count on. Likewise, contemporary readers would hardly have associated Apella with Johann Pfefferkorn, certainly not in the context in which it occurs: a demand that the Jews stop denying that Christ rose from the dead. At any rate, Apella was a common term for Jew in the Renaissance period.29 At Heroides Chris27 See Reuchlin’s Augenspiegel [Tübingen, ], in Johannes Reuchlin, Sämtliche Werke, vol. ., ed. Widu-Wolfgang Ehlers et al. (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, ), , , and . 28 See Epp. fam., . Also compare Hymn., lim. . The liminary epigram celebrates “divinam palmam,” that is, Christ’s victory in the underworld. 29 The term goes back to Hor. S. ..: “credat Iudaeus Apella,/non ego” (“the Jew Apella may believe that, not I”).

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tianae ., for instance, Eobanus himself has the Empress Helen refer to the Jews as the “Apellaean people”; and at l.  of Victoria Christi, Satan mocks Jesus as “that Hebrew Apella.” As for Krause’s argument that Eobanus uses the expression “Christian sect” to show the world that he was a Reuchlinist at heart, we should remember that the phrase, in the non-pejorative sense of “Christian religion,” was hardly unique to Reuchlin and his supporters. It had been in use since the days of Tertullian and Ambrose. The patristic usage was carried on by the Renaissance humanists. In his Enchiridion militis Christiani, for example, Erasmus refers to Christianity as “Christianam sectam.”30 In  the French theologian Jacques Levèfre d’Etaples could still say that the followers of Averroës, before slipping into impious apostasy, adhered “first to the Arabic sect, then to the Christian one.”31 But if Eobanus did not use the Easter Hymn to acclaim Reuchlin’s “victory” covertly, as Krause thought, what then might have impelled him to write this new work of his? Was it a surge of religious fervor? Or was his motive, perhaps, somewhat more down-to-earth? The two epigrams prefacing the Easter Hymn tell us all we need to know about Eobanus’ frame of mind in that early spring of . The first epigram starts off by noting the poet’s prodigious output and then asks the reader to look at his latest offering too, for it sings “jubilations that bear witness to the victory of God.” This, he exclaims, is the theme with which his heart overflows. Having thus invited his readers to admire his Christian piety as well as his literary productivity (nine books in as many years!), Eobanus drives the point home in a rather saucy second epigram. In pointed contrast to the first poem, which bears the heading, “Consecrated to Popular Favor,” the second one is entitled, “Dedicated to Divine Truth.” The fame he has won during his journeyman years, Eobanus insinuates, has not brought him the respect he deserves in Erfurt: “When a much-missed man is back home again, he invariably finds his prestige diminished, for a prophet is without honor in his native land. But if nobody will applaud my poems until after I’m dead, then do me a favor. Don’t bother with my poems at all.” The subtext is plain. Eobanus appeals to the University of Erfurt to pay her renowned alumnus the homage he deserves — not sometime in

30

LB , col.  F. See The Prefatory Epistles of Jacques Lefèvre d’ Etaples and Related Texts, ed. Eugene F. Rice, Jr. (New York, ), , no. . 31

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the future, but right now — by offering him a lectorship. To underline the message, Eobanus features the university prominently on the title page (“ex Erphurdiensi Gymnasio”) and, for good measure, dedicates the book to Ludwig Platz, the well-regarded humanist and former dean of the philosophical faculty. In brief, our down-at-the-heels newlywed has resumed his strategy of winning a teaching post by dint of his growing celebrity as a Christian humanist, indeed, as “king of poets.”32 In Quest of a Lectorship When he returned to Erfurt in July , Eobanus must have entertained high hopes of an academic position there. His Christian Heroides was rapidly propelling him into literary stardom. Soon he would resume lecturing as magister novellus33 and make a name for himself as a cynosure for students. Furthermore, the University of Erfurt was now well on its way to recovering from the devastating riots of –;34 her professoriate was becoming more humanistically inclined. But even as Eobanus cultivated his contacts at the university, he also implored Mutianus Rufus to employ his good offices on his behalf. Ever the thoughtful mentor, Mutianus followed through quickly. Already in the late summer of  he approached their mutual friend Herbord von der Marthen, a professor of law who, as luck would have it, had just been appointed syndic of the city of Erfurt.35 In a letter written shortly after September , Mutianus reminds Herbord to “help Eobanus obtain a permanent lectorship, with regular salary.”36 A week or two later he sent him a more impassioned plea (Ep. ). Eobanus, Mutianus now reports, has received a very flattering letter from Bishop Job von Dobeneck, inviting him to return to his service in Prussia. The university ought to do everything in its power to retain him by creating a position for him in humane literature. Herbord must put pressure on all his friends at the university, in particular the mathematician Heinrich Leo and others on

32 For Eobanus’ earlier efforts to obtain a lectorship at Wittenberg and Leipzig, see Poetic Works, :–. 33 He had been forced to cut short his required two-year teaching stint at Erfurt in the early autumn of . See Poetic Works, :. 34 See introd. to Orat., pp. – below. 35 On his life, see Poetic Works, :, n. . 36 Mutian. Ep.  (last paragraph).

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the philosophical faculty. Were the professors to plead a lack of funds, Mutianus argues, Herbord can turn to the representatives of the Archbishop of Mainz and to the city councilors. They should just demand that the university fund the special position. Eobanus would make a superb addition to the faculty. Mutianus’ appeals fell on deaf ears. Herbord either could not or would not intervene on Eobanus’ behalf.37 But Mutianus had had his suspicions about Herbord’s intentions all along. Already in mid-August he had been disturbed to learn that the haughty, power-hungry jurist was shunning his old friend Eobanus simply because the latter happened to be staying with Dr. Heinrich Eberbach, whom Herbord hated with a vengeance.38 And so the months passed, with no sign of progress to speak of, even though Eobanus’ stock in Erfurt had risen enormously after Reuchlin crowned him “king of poets” and congratulated the university on having such a star in her midst. Unemployed, our profligate poet had no choice but to live with his future parents-in-law in the “Engelsburg” (“Angels’ burg”), as their house was called. At the turn of the year, he was married. But matrimony only made matters worse. For instead of wooing a rich widow, as Mutianus had advised, Eobanus insisted on wedding his beloved Katharina. Improvidently, he also neglected to secure a dowry from her well-to-do, but crusty old father.39 With neither savings nor income, addicted to dice and drink,40 Eobanus soon had to endure the incessant scolding of his parents-in-law.41 “The Angels’ burg,” Mutianus quipped to Heinrich Eberbach on March , “has turned into a demons’ burg.”42 In a perverse twist, Eobanus’ married status also prevented him from obtaining the sole endowed position that the university had to offer at the time, a lectorship set aside for unmarried men,43 and deterred Mutianus from recommending him to the University of Mainz.44

37 As late as September  Mutianus was still trying to win Herbord’s support, via their mutual friend Heinrich Urbanus. See Mutian. Ep.  and . 38 See Mutian. Ep.  and ; cf. Ep. . 39 Mutian. Ep.  and . 40 Mutian. Ep.  (early spring, );  ( June ). 41 Camerarius, Nar. .–; Mutian. Ep.  and . 42 Mutian. Ep. . 43 Kleineidam, :. 44 Mutian. Ep.  (April? ): Mutianus would have recommended Eobanus to Eitelwolf vom Stein, chancellor to Archbishop Albert of Mainz.



hymnus paschalis

By late February , Eobanus was grasping at straws.45 Increasingly desperate, he again pleaded with Mutianus to pull whatever strings he could to get him a position at the university or, at least, in a local grammar school. But on March , Mutianus was forced to admit failure: “I have implored . . . the help of Herbord [von der Marthen], but my good intentions have come to naught. You have neither risen up to the Capitol nor obtained a salaried job chattering among the teachers of the Labyrinth and loquacious Dialectic, as you desired. The Muse wanted you to be free.”46 Since no job was in the offing, at least not at Erfurt, Mutianus proposes another scheme: Eobanus ought to write a panegyric on Hartmann, Burgrave of Kirchberg and Prince-Abbot of Fulda, who has proved to be a good friend to the humanists and has jobs and money to hand out. Concurrently Mutianus sent a letter to the abbot, at the end of which he commends “Eobanus Hessus, that most celebrated of poets.”47 A week or so later he followed up by exhorting Hartmann to offer a situation to the “prince of poets,” just as he had earlier done for Crotus Rubianus. Because Eobanus was married, he (unlike Crotus) could unfortunately not be appointed to an ecclesiastical post. Still, with his background and learning he would make an excellent chancellor or, possibly, a tax collector to the tenant farmers, for he truly is “a man for all seasons.”48 On March , Mutianus wrote Hartmann again, urging him to be a Maecenas to Germany’s greatest poet. The university senate, he points out, has no stipend to offer Eobanus. But the scholastics — those “sophists, . . . who ought to be expending whatever it takes to obtain such marvelous advertisement” for the university — have been reluctant to jump on their grand

45 A slender anthology of verse that Eobanus published at this very time captures his mood perfectly: Heus lector, hic habentur Campani de miseria poetarum sapphicum . . . , M. Valerii Martialis epigrammata duo de contemptu poetarum, et quaedam alia lectu digna ad eandem rem facientia [Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder, ]. The booklet brings together some modern and ancient poems on the contempt in which poets are held and their consequent poverty. Probably intended to serve as a textbook for Eobanus’ private lectures, it was dedicated to the equally destitute poet Euricius Cordus on  March . See Möncke, –. 46 Mutian. Ep. . By “the Capitol,” Mutianus means the university. The Labyrinth (Laborintus) is a versified textbook on grammar, poetry, and rhetoric, used in the grammar schools and universities. Dialectic (logic) was one of the subjects of the trivium taught in the Latin schools. 47 Mutian. Ep. . 48 Mutian, Ep. .

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opportunity. This is where Hartmann can help. He must wield all his influence to pressure the magisters and senators into raising the funds required for a lectorship.49 On the same day that Mutianus wrote Hartmann, he also informed Eobanus about his most recent efforts and strongly counseled him not to listen to those in Erfurt who were trying to talk him into becoming a physician or advocate. “You,” he tells his friend, “are born for poetry.”50 After his experiences at Frankfurt an der Oder and Leipzig, Eobanus needed no persuasion. Despite the poverty, despite the daily humiliations in the Engelsburg, he remained convinced that his fame as “king of poets” would win him the coveted lectorship sooner or later. But he could not afford to sit back and (in the proverbial saying) wait for the roast pigeons to fly into his mouth. He had to keep on making the case that he was Germany’s greatest living poet. Hence, even as Mutianus was exerting himself on his behalf throughout the autumn and winter, Eobanus was thinking about a follow-up to the Christian Heroides, a book that would be grand in scope, appeal equally to the scholastic and humanistic factions at Erfurt, provide him with an attractive textbook to teach — and yet be publishable at short notice. Publish or Perish With the ambitious Reuchlin project on hold, Eobanus had several options for quickly publishing a major work of poetry. For one, he could sift through his papers to assemble a book of miscellaneous verse, or Sylvae. Already in his student days at Erfurt he had repeatedly held out the prospect of such a book. A little over a year ago he had dipped into that very collection to bring out the Sylvae duae, when he needed a publication to make his mark in Leipzig.51 However, reworking a couple of elegies, as he did at Leipzig in late , was a pretty straightforward task. Assembling and revising a whole volume of occasional poems would take much more time. Even if he managed to accomplish all that in short order, he would still have to reckon with a lengthy delay before so large a book could be printed. Besides, how would the “sophists” react

49 50 51

Mutian. Ep. . Mutian. Ep. . See Poetic Works, :.



hymnus paschalis

to a gathering of verse letters, ephemeral trifles, amatory amusements, even poems on behalf of the Teutonic Order? A better course of action would be to finish his elegy, On True Nobility. Guided by a detailed outline that Georg Spalatin had given him, Eobanus had started the poem at Leipzig in early . But after making good progress on it, he had bogged down and set the work aside for the time being, only to discover a few months later that he had misplaced the outline. Now, in February of , he picked up where he had left off a year before. But no sooner had he finished a draft than he realized that the poem might not be all that suitable as the impressive book that he required at this point. Again, Eobanus laid the poem aside. At this juncture, feeling that he must either publish or perish, he had an inspiration. Easter was coming up in another month or so. It struck him that this would be the perfect time to dust off the short epic, Christ’s Victory over the Underworld, that he had written at Cracow three years before.52 Here was a ready-made book, a perfect followup to his Christian Heroides! The poem met all the criteria he had set: it would seal his title as king of poets, gain the applause of the professoriate at Erfurt, and widen his appeal to the students who were already flocking to his lectures on the Heroides. All he had to do was to make some revisions and then to dedicate the work to his old host, Heinrich Eberbach, dean of medicine at Erfurt.53 But soon, it appears, Eobanus grew more ambitious. Now that he was at it, why not imitate the model set by Paulus Crosnensis? In the spring of  the Polish humanist had published a lengthy Sapphic Poem on the Harrowing of Hell and the Triumph of Christ.54 To this narrative work he had then added a “Hymn on Easter Day, Containing a Description of Springtime,” likewise in Sapphics.55 The booklet was rounded off with some devotional epigrams in elegiac meter: a “Pater noster,” an “Ave Maria,” and a “Salve Regina.” This was a model that Eobanus could emulate — even trump — at a moment’s notice. He would open the book with the epyllion, continue

52

See Poetic Works, :–. See introd. to Vict., p.  below. 54 Sapphicon de inferorum vastatione et triumpho Christi [Cracow, April ], reprinted at Cracow in . See Paul. Cros. Carm. .. Close verbal parallels confirm that Eobanus was well acquainted with the booklet. 55 “Hymnus in diem paschalem, continens verni temporis descriptionem.” See Paul. Cros. Carm. . 53

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with a Sapphic Easter hymn, and then conclude with a miscellany of recent epigrams. The work would bear the general title An Easter Hymn on Christ’s Victory over the Underworld and his Resurrection from the Dead.56 Eobanus outlined the book’s structure in a liminary poem. As it happened, he was not able to publish the epigram at the time. He did, however, keep a copy of it in his files. Going through his papers in  to select poems for his six books of Sylvae, he came across the unpublished epigram and decided to include it in the second book, as Sylv. .. Here is the old liminary poem, as it finally appeared in Sylvarum libri VI of  and Sylvarum libri IX of : IN AEDITIONE HYMNI PASCHALIS Musa, iterum variata, novo te nostra salutat Carmine, Musarum quisquis amicus ades. Ecce, renascentem variant sua sydera mundum, Et variata novo gramine vernat humus.  Sacra resurgenti celebravimus orgia Christo. Addidimus lyricae Sapphica plectra chely, Praeterea adiectis quaedam variata parergis, Ut tibi diversum gratius esset opus. Perlege. Conveniunt nostrae cum tempore Musae.  “Hoc quod te,” dices, “Hesse, decebat erat.” FOR AN EDITION OF HIS EASTER HYMN Friend of the Muses, whoever you may be, my Muse salutes you in this new poem of mine. You will find her quite changed this time around. To see why, just look around you! The seasons have turned, the world is being reborn. The earth too is changing, as it greens up with fresh grass. We [first] celebrate the sacred mysteries of Christ’s Resurrection. We then play the lyre in Sapphic measures and, to top this off, conclude with a variety of epigrams — extra adornments that will enhance your reading pleasure through their diversity. Go read the whole book! My Muses are in tune with the season. “This,” you’ll say, “is a work that lives up to your standards, Hessus!”

For reasons that are no longer apparent, the three-part book was never published. Perhaps the printer could not accommodate the volume into his schedule around Easter or balked at the financial risk of a larger

56 Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi. The title reemerges in the posthumous edition of Victoria Christi (Marburg, ). See the introduction to that poem, p.  below.



hymnus paschalis

publication. Quite possibly, too, Eobanus came to realize that dedicating Victoria Christi to Dr. Eberbach would irreparably damage his relations with Herbord von der Marthen. Syndic and professor of law, soon to be rector of the university, Herbord von der Marthen passionately hated Heinrich Eberbach and all those who supported him. Eobanus must have felt trapped by the politics of it all. Morally unable to withdraw his dedication to the one friend, but also afraid of alienating the other, he ended up shelving Victoria Christi instead. But on  June , Herbord von der Marthen was arrested for high treason. Released at the request of the university and his friends, he fled the city in early .57 Only then, it would seem, did Eobanus feel confident to publish his poem. Be that as it may, Eobanus split the big book into two sections. Its second, shorter portion came out in April . This part comprised the hymn and the little sylva of epigrams, together with two new liminary epigrams and a dedicatory letter to Ludwig Platz of Melsungen. The much longer first section, consisting of the dedication to Heinrich Eberbach and the epic poem on the harrowing of hell, was not printed until two years later. Because he had already used the title Hymnus paschalis for the Sapphic hymn of , Eobanus gave the epyllion the abbreviated title Victoria Christi ab inferis in . He had no choice but to discard the original liminary epigram, which envisioned a tripartite book. In early  Eobanus happened to be rummaging through his old papers again when he came across the manuscript for the large book that he had planned for Easter , or at least its opening section, with the Victoria Christi ab inferis. The last time he had seen the manuscript, it appears, was in the summer of , when he had copied out the liminary epigram, “In aeditione Hymni paschalis,” for Sylvarum libri VI. Since then, however, he had moved twice, from Nuremberg to Erfurt in  and from Erfurt to Marburg in . But even in the best of times, as he confesses in the dedication to book  of the Sylvae, he was remarkably careless when it came to preserving his files. The rediscovery of the old manuscript delighted him. Indeed, one rather suspects that, not having a printed copy of the  edition at hand any more, he had vainly searched for it when he was assembling the texts for the Operum farragines duae of . Now that the manuscript had turned up, however, he did the next best thing: preparing a separate publication,

57

See Kleineidam, :.

introduction



with a revised dedicatory letter. In April  he offered the book to Christian Egenolff ’s manager at Marburg, Andreas Kolbe. But with the printer too busy for the time being and Eobanus in failing health, the manuscript gathered dust at the print shop. There it lay, until Kolbe was finally reminded of it in late . Appending it to a book of sacred poetry by the Marburg professor Nicolaus Asclepius Barbatus, he rushed to redeem his negligence. Thus Eobanus’ Victoria Christi finally came out again in early  — in the manuscript version of  and under its original title. A new subtitle adds that Eobanus wrote the poem many years ago, as a young man; he had rediscovered it recently and brought it out at the University of Marburg in April .58 Composition Date In his dedicatory letter, dated “at the Easter holiday, ,” Eobanus tells Ludwig Platz that he wrote Hymnus paschalis specifically for the upcoming Easter feast (April ). The statement is borne out by internal evidence. At ll. – the poet tells us that springtime has arrived. Having left winter behind, the sun is now in the zodiacal sign of Aries (ca. March –April ) and is moving toward Taurus. At ll. – Eobanus alludes to the “Holy League” that was formed on  February  between Pope Leo X, Emperor Maximilian, King Ferdinand of Spain, Duke Massimiliano Sforza of Milan, and the Swiss Confederacy. Though ostensibly directed against the Turks, the League was actually aimed at France, which was then preparing a new campaign against Italy. The hymn may therefore be seen as originating in the hopeful atmosphere that followed the formation of the Holy Alliance. Printing History Originally intended as the second part of a larger work on Easter, Hymnus paschalis was published as a stand-alone booklet in April  by Johann Knappe the Elder in Erfurt:

58 Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi ab Helio Eobano Hesso iuvene olim scriptus, nuper inventus et aeditus in Schola Marpurgensi M.D.XL, mense Aprili. See introd. to Vict., pp. – below.

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hymnus paschalis A ()

[Fraktur:] Helij Eobani Heſſi | [roman:] HYMNVS PASCHALIS. NVPER | Ex Erphurdienſi. Gymnaſio Christian˛e | Victori˛e Acclamatus | AVRAE VVLGARI SACR | [ distichs] | DIVAE VERITATI POSITVM | [ distichs] | Ioannes Canappus Imprimebat | Erphurdie A Paſchali Iuſti= | cio M.D. XV. | Collation: o: A–B4, [ signed],  leaves Contents: Ar title page; Av dedicatory letter to Ludwig Platz; Ar–Br Hymnus paschalis; Br–Br epigrams by Eobanus Hessus; Br colophon; Bv blank Catchwords: None Running titles: None Copy text: Munich, BSB Call number: Res/ A. lat. a. / Colophon:

A digital facsimile of this copy can be viewed via VD , no. E . I have also examined the copy in Münster, UB (Coll. Erh. ) and in Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A..k,). The copy at Vienna, ÖNB (* .H.), was available to me in microfilm. The Vienna copy contains a large number of interlinear glosses and marginal notes, starting on the title page and ending at the bottom of sig. Br. These are student notes, evidently copied down during Eobanus’ lectures on the poem. At Hymn. , the Vienna copy misprints “Rhomanae” (the reading in the other three copies) as “Rhonanae.” There are further copies in Berlin, SB Preußischer Kulturbesitz; Cambridge University Library; and Stuttgart, Württembergische LB. Hymnus paschalis was not reprinted during Eobanus’ lifetime. The hymn itself was first edited by Philipp Wackernagel in Das deutsche Kirchenlied von der ältesten Zeit bis zu Anfang des XVII. Jahrhunderts, vol.  (; repr. Hildesheim, ), –, no. . Of the epigrams that conclude the booklet, two appear elsewhere, the one in manuscript, the other in print: B  This epigram was included, along with several others, in one of the two now-lost letters that Eobanus sent to Johann Reuchlin in the late summer of , probably the second one (ca. September). Mutianus Rufus quotes it from that source in an undated letter to Heinrich Urbanus, written in mid-September, . See Ms. lat. oct. , fol. r, in Stadtund UB, Frankfurt am Main. For a description of the manuscript, see Kataloge der Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main, .:

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Die mittelalterlichen Handschriften der Gruppe Manuscripta latina, by Karin Bredehorn and Gerhardt Powitz (Frankfurt am Main, ), – . Mutianus’ letter with Eobanus’ poem has been edited by Carl Krause in Der Briefwechsel des Mutianus Rufus (Kassel, ), , no. ; and by Karl Gillert in Der Briefwechsel des Conradus Mutianus (Halle, ), :, no. . Apart from minor differences in orthography and punctuation, the text of the poem in the manuscript is identical to that in A. In the manuscript the heading is lacking. B  The epigram was originally sent to Johann Reuchlin in a letter dated  January  (see pp. – above). This letter was first published in book , sig. yv, of: [Within a compartment cut from a single block:] ILLVSTRIVM | VIRORVM EPISTO | LÆ, HEBRAICÆ, GRÆ | CÆ ET LATINÆ, AD | Ioannem Reuchlin Phorcenſem | virum noſtra ætate doctiſſimum | diuerſis temporibus miſſæ, qui | bus iam pridem additus eſt | LIBER SECVNDVS | nunquàm antea editus. | Reuchliniſtarum exercitum pa | gina inuenies mox ſequenti. | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

Location:

Hagenoæ ex Officina Thomæ Anshelmi. Anno Incar | nationis Verbi M.D. XIX. Menſe Maio. | [printer’s mark] | o: a–z4, A–E4, [ (–E, E) signed], F2, [ signed] =  leaves ar title page; av preface to the reader by the printer Thomas Anshelm; ar–av Capnionis defensores acerrimi, viri Germaniae totius literatissimi splendidissimique (list of correspondents); ar–nr book ; nv– Er book ; Ev–Fr Appendices; Fr colophon; Fv blank Strasbourg, BNU Call number: R..

I have also consulted the copy in Munich, BSB ( Epist. ), in the digital facsimile available via VD , no. R . There are further copies in Basel, UB (two copies); Bretten, Bibliothek des Melanchthonhauses; Budapest, National Library; Cologne, Universität- und Stadtbibliothek; Dresden, SLUB; Durham, University Library; Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland; Edinburgh, University Library; Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek; Göttingen, Niedersächsische SUB; Haguenau, Bibliothèque municipale; Jena, Thüringer ULB; Leipzig, UB; London, BL; Michelstadt, Nikolaus Matz Bibliothek; Oxford, University Library; Paris, BN (digital facsimile available online); Strasbourg, BNU (a second copy); Stuttgart, Württembergische LB; Trier, Stadtbibliothek; Tübingen, UB; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Vienna, ÖNB; Wittenberg, Lutherhalle; Wolfenbüttel, HAB; Würzburg, UB; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek.



hymnus paschalis

In the critical apparatus this book is denoted by the siglum a. Eobanus’ epigram has been edited from this source in Hutten, Opera, :; Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –.

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

Helii Eobani Hessi HYMNUS PASCHALIS nuper ex Erphurdiensi Gymnasio Christianae victoriae acclamatus

AURAE VULGARI SACRUM Qui legis Hessiacae tot iam nova carmina Musae, Haec quoque, sed placido lumine, pauca vide. Iubila divinam canimus testantia palmam. Res animo, in versu copia nulla fuit. DIVAE VERITATI POSITUM Detrahit optati presentia semper honori, Et patrio vates nullus in orbe placet. Si nisi post mortem mea carmina nemo probabit, Displiceant semper carmina nostra, precor.

Epigr. . Tit. sacrum corr. manus in ex. Viennensi: sacr A.

Helius Eobanus Hessus AN EASTER HYMN newly trumpeted forth from the University of Erfurt to acclaim Christ’s victory

CONSECRATED TO POPULAR FAVOR You, who are already reading so many new poems by Hessus’ Muse, take a look at this little bundle too, but with kindly eye. I sing jubilations that bear witness to the victory of God. It is my heart, not my verse, that overflows with this theme. DEDICATED TO DIVINE TRUTH When a much-missed man is back home again, he invariably finds his prestige diminished, for a prophet is without honor in his native land. But if nobody will applaud my poems until after I’m dead, then do me a favor. Don’t bother with my poems at all.

Av

LITTERARUM SCIENTIA PRAESTANTI VIRO LUDOVICO PLATZ MOELSINGENSI, MAGISTRO, PHILOSOPHO, AC THEOLOGO, BONORUM COGNOMINI OPTIMO, EOBANUS HESSUS S. D. Darium Persarum regem, cum privatus adhuc apud Sylosontem Samium ageret, pro accepti ab eodem vestimenti beneficio in regno postea constitutum totius insulae imperium reddidisse ferunt.  Quem ego, mi humanissime Ludovice, si rex essem, libentissime quidem imitarer et pro beneficiis quae ubertim in me contulisti principem insulanum facerem.  Nunc vero nec regnum habenti nec ingratitudinis vitium admittenti quid faciundum censes?  Profecto quod potentissimo Artaxerxi obviam aliquando factus rusticus, affectum scilicet pium et veluti aquae haustu oblato liberalis animi testimonium.  Equidem salsa mola litent necesse est qui thus non habent.  Hymnum igitur, quem hoc Sacro (Christi dormitione) Triduo futurae instantis Paschatis festivitati praelusi, tibi nominatim adscripsi titulumque in libelli frontispicio ea  Sylosontem corr. manus in ex. Viennensi: Syosontem A. 1 Eobanus’ former teacher and now good friend Ludwig Platz of Melsungen matriculated at Erfurt in the winter semester /, earning the BA in  and the MA in . In  he became licentiate in theology. After  he was regularly elected to various high offices in the university. Thus he served as dean of the philosophical faculty in , –, and often thereafter, quodlibetarius in , and rector of the university in . He died in . Eobanus praised Ludwig as early as Rec. – and kept up contact with him during the years in Prussia. See Epp. fam., –, letter of  February ; Sylv. .. Upon his return to Erfurt, Eobanus presented Platz with a personally inscribed copy of the Heroidum Christianarum epistolae. See Poetic Works, :. 2 Darius I, known as Darius the Great, was King of Persia from  to  bce. The story of his dealings with Syloson is told in Herodotus .– and retold in Strabo .. and Val. Max. ., ext. . Eobanus’ immediate source, however, was Erasmus, Adag. ... In Erasmus’ somewhat simplified retelling, Syloson noticed that Darius — then still a private person — was taking a great fancy to the gorgeous cloak he was wearing. Impulsively, Syloson presented it to him as a gift. After becoming king, Darius remembered that act of generosity and rewarded the gift of a cloak by making Syloson the ruler of the island of Samos. 3 Eobanus jokingly alludes to the title of “king” that Johann Reuchlin had given him the previous autumn. See the introd., pp. – above.

TO LUDWIG PLATZ OF MELSUNGEN, A MAN OF OUTSTANDING ERUDITION IN LITERATURE, A TEACHER, PHILOSOPHER, AND THEOLOGIAN WHOSE NAME IS A BYWORD FOR EXCELLENCE, EOBANUS HESSUS SENDS GREETINGS.1 When King Darius of Persia, then still a private person, was dealing with Syloson of Samos, the latter offered him his cloak as a gift. Later on, after coming to power, Darius rewarded his benefactor by making him ruler of that whole island.2 If I, my cultured friend Ludwig, were king in actual fact,3 I would certainly follow his example with utmost glee and, in recognition of the kindnesses that you have showered on me, make you prince of an island too. Seeing, however, that I don’t have a kingdom but also don’t want to fall into the vice of ingratitude, what do you suppose I should do now? Undoubtedly what a peasant did for the mighty Artaxerxes when the king happened to ride by one day: namely, to demonstrate loving devotion and proof of a generous mind by offering you, as it were, a draft of fresh water.4 For the fact is that those who don’t have frankincense must offer up salted cakes instead.5 Accordingly, since I had just composed a hymn during this Sacred Triduum6 (the Dormition of Christ) for the upcoming Easter feast, I decided to dedicate the poem expressly to you. But I have a special

4 Artaxerxes II Mnemon (ca. –ca.  bce) was King of Persia from . One day, as he was riding through the countryside in his carriage, a peasant offered him a drink of water that he had scooped up in his cupped hands. The king graciously accepted the humble gift, measuring it not by its material value, but by the spirit in which it was offered. See Plutarch, Artaxerxes .. In the dedicatory letter to Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata (Moralia b), Plutarch tells the story to excuse himself for offering so small a work to so great a man as Emperor Trajan. Erasmus uses the same anecdote to excuse himself to Prince Henry for presenting him with a poem in praise of Britain (Carm. ). See Erasmus, Ep. , ll. –; also see Adag. ... For a similar anecdote about Artaxerxes, see Eob. Laud., ded. –. 5 The dictum is taken from the dedicatory letter to Pliny’s Natural History (praef. ). There the author excuses himself for dedicating such a modest work to so powerful and accomplished a man as Emperor Vespasian, and then concludes: “But the country people, and, indeed, some whole nations offer milk to the gods, and those who cannot procure frankincense substitute in its place salted cakes; for the gods are not dissatisfied when they are worshiped by every one to the best of his ability” (trans. John Bostock and H.T. Riley). 6 The final three days of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday).



hymnus paschalis ratione posui, ut et tu carmini ipsi sacro et vere Christiano tuo nomine et absolutissimae eruditionis gloria authoritatem tribuas et simul malevoli a calumniandi consuetudine deterreantur, si tam boni nominis maiestatem statim in anteliminari pagina reveriti fuerint.  In publicum igitur bonis (ut bona spes est) avibus exit libellus Christo sacer, tibi vero devotus.  Quem si probaveris, nolim tam exiguam operam melius collocasse. Vale.  Ad paschale iusticium, M.D.XV.

[ded.

an easter hymn

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reason too for placing your name at the head of the booklet. Given your reputation as a devout, sincere Christian and given the renown of your consummate erudition, you are sure to lend prestige to the work itself and simultaneously deter spiteful critics from their habitual carping, as soon as they find themselves confronted with the majesty of such a grand name right at the start, on the dedicatory page. And so this booklet, sacred to Christ but dedicated to you, goes out to the public (as I trust) under favorable auspices. If you approve of it, I could not hope to present this work, small though it is, to a better patron. Farewell. At the Easter holiday, .

EOBANI HESSI HYMNUS PASCHALIS

Ar







 Av



Ite, lugubres, elegi, Camoenas A triumphali prohibete pompa, Dum resurgenti placidum canamus Carmen Iesu. Carmen intonsi placidum choraules Sepe vocali geminate plausu. In chorum, vernis pueri revincti, State, coronis. O diem nulli meritis secundum! O diem Christo duce gloriosum, Quo salutatus redit ille victo Victor ab Orco! Ecce quam primo saliens ab ortu Luce sol mundum nitida colorat, Latius spargit croceum renidens Diva pudorem. O dies multum veneranda, salve, Omnibus maior meliorque cunctis Quas adit toto vagus et relinquit Lucifer anno. Namque pubescens et adhuc inaudax Mundus a primo Genitore rerum Hoc die primum stabili coactus Fine quievit. Vidit humani generis tyrannus Nec tulit divis hominem coaevum. Quem dolo captum ferus ex paterno Propulit horto.

7 Elegiac measures are appropriate for the sorrow of Good Friday. At the Resurrection they must give way to paeans of joy. Cf. Her. Chr. .– and Vict., ded. –. 8 The as-yet-beardless choirboys.

AN EASTER HYMN BY EOBANUS HESSUS Be off with you, elegiacs, and keep the Muses of mourning far from the triumphal procession, while we sing a gentle song to the risen Jesus.7 You unshorn choristers,8 keep on singing this gentle song to sonorous applause. Wreathed with vernal garlands, boys, take your place in the choir. O day, second to none in merits! [] O day that dawns in glory under the generalship of Christ, when we salute him as he returns victorious from his victory over Orcus! Look how the sun leaps at the break of day9 and blazons the world with his radiant light, how goddess Dawn smiles as she scatters her saffron blush far and wide. Oh hail, most venerable day! For you are greater and better than all the others that the wandering [] Bringer of Light10 enters and leaves the whole year round. For on this day the youthful and still timorous world, created by the Prime Father of the universe, rested for the first time in its permanent form.11 The tyrant of the human race could not bear to see that man dwelt with the gods. He cruelly ensnared him and drove him out of the Father’s Garden.

9 According to folk belief, the sun leaps for joy on Easter morning. People used to get up early that day just to watch the miracle. Eventually the practice gave rise to the Easter sunrise service. 10 The sun. 11 God rested from the work of creation on the seventh day, the Sabbath. In Christian usage, the Sabbath day becomes a Sunday.



hymnus paschalis







Ar 





Venit in terras male germinantes Nuper ex terra genitrice factus. Clausa mox vitae est, adaperta durae Ianua mortis, Donec annorum seriem recensens Quinquies vidit periisse mille Et ducentenos vetus ille magni Conditor anni. Virginis castae teneram per aurem Lapsus in nostrae regionis oram, Carnis humanae Deus impotentes Induit artus, Donec ex alta cruce pro salute Mortuus nostra, duce subiugato Mortis, antiquos tulit ex profundo Carcere manes. Noctis obscuram superavit umbram, Fregit inferni rabiem draconis, Liberos patres iterum paternum Duxit in hortum. Fugit infausti dominus profundi. Anguis Ixion, Iove natus undae Immemor fugit. Tenuit molestum Sysiphus orbem. Scilicet Christo veniente caedit Vanitas prisci malesuada saecli, Ille nam praefert manifesta pulsae Lumina nocti.

12 Ancient astronomers posited that the heavenly bodies revert to their original positions at the end of the great year (magnus annus). That point in the cycle also marks the return of the Golden Age. 13 According to a patristic calculation, Jesus was born at the end of the year . See Her. Chr. .–, with n.  (:); cf. Vict. –. 14 The Virgin conceived the Word through her ear. See Her. Chr. ., n.  (:); Vict. . 15 Relying on Acts ., Romans ., Ephesians ., and Peter . and ., patristic authors speculated that Christ descended into hell to preach to the spirits and liberate the Old Testament saints from the limbus patrum, the uppermost region of the underworld. The Harrowing of Hell is told at length in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .– (with notes) and Victoria Christi (with the introd., pp. – below).

an easter hymn

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[] Newly formed from Mother Earth, man entered the fields of noxious weeds. Then the door of life fell shut, that of harsh death swung open, until that Ancient of Days, the Creator of the Great Year,12 reviewing the succession of years, watched five thousand and two hundred pass away.13 Descending into this world of ours through the tender ear of a chaste Virgin,14 God [] clothed himself in the feeble limbs of human flesh, until at length he died for our salvation on the high cross, subdued the Prince of Death, and brought the ancient souls out of the depths of their prison.15 He vanquished the murky darkness of night, broke the frenzy of the infernal Serpent, and brought the liberated fathers back to the Father’s Garden. The lord of the accursed abyss fled. [] Ixion forgot about the snakes, Jupiter’s son forgot about the water; they ran away. Sisyphus stopped rolling the vexing boulder.16 Without a doubt, the corrupting myths of antiquity vanished at Christ’s arrival, for he dispelled the darkness and caused the light of day to shine forth.

16 When Christ descended into hell, even the most notorious sinners enjoyed a respite from their torments. Cf. Vict. – (with n. at ll. –). The idea goes back to the ancient myth of Orpheus in the underworld. After the legendary minstrel went down to bring his beloved Eurydice back to life, Hades was so transfixed by his music that all the torments ceased in hell. The wheel of fire to which King Ixion was bound with snakes stopped revolving. Jupiter’s son Tantalus stopped trying to get the fruit and water that were always nearby, yet forever out of reach. King Sisyphus stopped rolling his huge rock up a mountain. See especially Ov. Met. .–; also cf. Prop. ..–; Hor. Carm. ..–; Verg. G. .–; [Sen.] Her. O. –. Claudian, Rapt. Pros. .–, describes a similar holiday in hell at the arrival of Proserpine. The idea is Christianized in Prud. Cath. .–. Here the holiday in hell is an annual event at Easter. Another Christian poet who describes a holiday in hell at Easter is the Polish poet Paulus Crosnensis, with whose work Eobanus was well acquainted. See his Easter Sapphics, Carm. ..–.



hymnus paschalis



 Av









Ar

Interim terras meliore visit Sol novus vultu, veluti resurgens Cum suo nuper moriente eodem Rege cruentus. Ecce, lugentes Mariae sepulchrum Dum petunt, palla iuvenis nivali Candidus sedit timidasque tali Voce salutat: “Quem necis captum pedicis Iesum Quaeritis, vivit laqueoque cassus Mortis humanam reparavit ira Vindice vitam. Ite qua verno Galilaea cultu Prima victorem Dominum recepit. Haec dabit vobis iterum resumpta Carne videndum.” Illa facundus superum minister Fatus effugit tenues in auras, Ceu micans fulgur solet aestuantes Lambere nubes. Cesset infoelix igitur nec ullos Garriat contra rabulas Apella, Qui resurgentem proprio negarunt Corpore Christum. Regnat et victo dominatur Orco. Imperat caelis humilique terrae. Ipse surgentem melior renascens Mundus adorat. Tota naturae facies amoenae, Vis reflorentis genitiva terrae Sponte testantur nova parta toti Gaudia mundo.

an easter hymn

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Meanwhile the morning sun looked upon the earth with a brighter face, as if he, who had turned [] blood-red when his King died, had now risen together with him. Look, when the grieving Marys came to visit the sepulcher, they found a youth seated there, resplendent in a snowwhite raiment. He greeted the fearful women as follows: “The Jesus you seek, he who lay in the bonds of death, he is alive! Free of Death’s snare, he has redeemed human life with his avenging wrath. “Go to Galilee, which in her vernal splendor [] is the first to welcome the victorious Lord. That country will show him to you again, now that he has once more taken on flesh.” After speaking these words, the eloquent herald of heaven disappeared into thin air, just like a lightning flash that licks the whirling clouds. Let the wretched Apella desist, therefore.17 Let him stop chattering at the rabble-rousers who deny that Christ rose again [] in his own body. Christ is lord and master of vanquished Orcus. He rules over heaven and the lowly earth. Reborn in the springtime, the world itself adores the risen King. The loveliness of nature, the generative power of the earth as it flowers afresh, all spontaneously attest the marvelous joys bestowed upon the entire world.

17 Apella is the credulous Jew mentioned in Hor. S. ... Here the derogatory name represents the Jewish people as a whole, a people that in Eobanus’ view will believe anything except the truths of Christianity. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., with n.  (:); Vict. , n.



hymnus paschalis









Av







Phoebus, hyberno rediens ab astro, Molle Phryxaeae pecudis per aurum Alma ver cultum revocantis intrat Cornua Tauri. Ante brumali glacie rigentem Nunc humum laxant Zephyri monentque Arva sementi reparanda iunctis Vertere bobus. Flabra Riphaei Boreae quiescunt. Aura vitalis rediit Favoni Et novum terrae nova pollicenti Spirat honorem. Montium summi nivibus solutis Vertices manant, rapidoque volvunt Imbrium lapsu recidiva summis Saxa frutetis. Gratiae vernos religant capillos, Laureas nectunt faciles Napaeae, Naiades pulchro fluvios coronant Flore comantes. Hinc sui sylvis redeunt amictus Atque praetextu viridi renident. Hinc odoratas aperitur omnis Vallis in herbas. Quid canam? Magno redeunte Christo Ista non solum, sed et omne laetum, Quicquid est usquam spacioque magni Clauditur orbis. Terra Factori sua dona reddit, Mitior pontus Dominum fatetur, Astra testantur rediisse, caelo Consonat aer.

an easter hymn

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Returning from the constellations of winter, Phoebus [] traverses the fleecy gold of the Phrixian Ram and enters the bountiful horns of Taurus, who restores the splendor of springtime.18 Formerly rigid with wintry ice, the ground is now being thawed by the zephyrs. They remind the sower to repair his fields and plow them with his team of oxen. The arctic blasts from the North have subsided. The lifegiving west wind has returned and [] breathes new charm upon the newly promising earth. In the mountains the soaring peaks run with melted snows; and as the rain comes pelting down, rocks tumble through the highest thickets. The Graces garland their vernal locks, the gentle dell nymphs wind laurel wreaths, the long-haired Naiads crown the rivers with lovely flowers. From this day forward, the woods put on their mantles again [] and look resplendent in their greenery. From this day forward every valley opens up to sweet-smelling herbs. How shall I say it? At the return of Christ the Lord it is not just they who rejoice, but all creation everywhere — everything that the vast world encloses within its bounds. The earth offers the Maker her gifts, the becalmed sea confesses its Lord, the stars testify that you have returned, [] the air resounds from on high.

18 Phrixus and his sister Helle escaped from Colchis on a ram with a golden fleece. This ram was later changed into the constellation Aries. As a sign of the zodiac, Aries marks the start of spring. The sun enters Taurus on about April . Cf. Ov. Fast. .– ; .–.



hymnus paschalis



 Br









Bv 

Ille concentu resonat canoro Dulce clamantis per inane turbae, Qualibus credas superum moveri Vocibus orbem. Blanda ridentes pecorum per herbas Turba lascivit. Sedet ipse iuxta Ocio laetus gelidaque pastor Vernat in umbra. Ista naturae documenta passim Admonent curis hominem relictis Rite paschales adolere festis Ignibus aras. Ergo lustratis nova flamma templis Lucet, et flavos apium labores Hauriunt stupis alimenta sacri Dantibus ignes. Igne lucentes decorantur arae, Thureis aer nebulis gravescit, Natus e terra madet expiatis Caereus undis. Serviunt puris elementa sacris Et Creatorem celebrant abacta Lite. Concordi socioque firmant Foedera nexu. Nos Redemptori pia vota Christo Solvimus grati precibusque iustis Ante solennes Dominum precantes Volvimur aras: “Christe, qui mortem moriendo nostram Vincis et victor patrias ad arces Evolas, clemens tibi servientem Respice turbam. Christe, victrici tege Christianam Dextera plebem clypeumque contra Criminatores fidei beatae Tende salutis.

 Concordi corr. manus in ex. Viennensi: concordes A.

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It resounds with the tuneful chorus of birds singing sweetly in the void, with such voices, one likes to imagine, as might well move heaven itself. A charming herd of livestock gambols over the smiling grass. Happy in his leisure, the herdsman sits nearby and sings his springtime song in the cooling shade. These instructive examples throughout nature [] remind the people everywhere to set aside their daily cares and duly light the paschal altars with festive candles. That is why a new flame burns brightly in the purified churches; and at the wicks that nourish them, the sacred fires consume the bees’ pale-yellow labors.19 The lighted altars are adorned with fire, the air is heavy with clouds of incense, the earth-born [] candle drips with holy water.20 In this way the four elements serve our rites in purity and celebrate the Creator without their usual strife. They ally themselves in a bond of harmony and partnership. Gratefully we ourselves offer pious vows to Christ the Redeemer. Falling down before the festal altars, we beseech the Lord with righteous prayers: “Christ, who by dying vanquish our death [] and fly victorious to your Father’s heaven, look with mercy upon the people who serve you. “Christ, protect the Christian folk with your victorious hand and hold the shield of salvation against those who slander the blessed faith.

19 During the Easter Vigil, a new fire is kindled outside the church. This fire is used to light the paschal candle and thence the other candles in the church. 20 At the Easter Vigil, the burning paschal candle is dipped into the baptismal font.



hymnus paschalis







 Br



Christe, da nostris toties petitam Regibus pacem. Fera bella sopi, Ne trucidatos proprii cruentent Corporis artus. Deprope instantem prohibe tyrannum Sanguinis nostri. Quoadusque tandem In tuis late pateris furentem Finibus hostem? Pelle crudelis populosa Turcae Castra, qua vicina sinus Propontis Arcuat magnamque videt propinquus Bosphorus urbem. Error expiret Mahumeticorum, Floreant sectae rata Christianae, Regibus nostris iterum receptus Serviat orbis. Ipse Rhomanae dominator aulae Sternat adversum, Leo fortis, hostem. Maximus terris pelagoque regnet Aemilianus. Creditos reddat sibi terra fructus, Nec satis venti noceant nec imbres, Sed gravent passim reparata plenae Horrea messes. Hoc fave nobis, Genitor verende, Hoc triumphales hodie reportans Laureas, hoc tu, Sacer utriusque, Annue, Flatus.”

an easter hymn



“Christ, grant our kings the peace that we pray for so often. Lay ruthless war to rest, that they may stop slaughtering [] the members of their own body and staining them with blood. “Stop the tyrant from pressing on our borders and threatening our flesh and blood!21 How long will you suffer the enemy to wreak havoc far and wide in your realms? “Defeat the populous strongholds of the cruel Turk, close to where the Sea of Marmara curves like a bow and the Bosporus views the great city22 from up close. “Let the error of the Mohammedans come to an end, [] let the true faith of the Christian sect flourish, let the world again be subject to our kings. “May the ruler of the Roman Court, the mighty Leo,23 overthrow the enemy ranged against him. May Maximus Aemilian reign over land and sea.24 “May the earth return the fruits entrusted to her. May neither winds nor rains damage the crops, but may full harvests everywhere burden the rebuilt [] granaries. “Answer this our prayer, O venerable Father. Grant us this, O you who today bring back the laurels of triumph. Vouchsafe us this, O Holy Breath of the other two.”

21 After conquering Constantinople in , the Ottoman Turks were a constant threat to Central Europe and Germany. 22 Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). 23 Leo X, pope from  to . 24 The humanists often gave Maximilian I the flattering name “Maximus Aemilianus.” The name linked him with two of Rome’s greatest generals: Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator, who outlasted Hannibal in the Second Punic War, and P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus, hero of the Third Punic War.



hymnus paschalis

[b 

B 1 IN SEPULCHRO CHRISTI CLAUSO Ite procul, risus, numeri, ioca, gaudia, honores. Nil iuvat hic preter flere, dolere, mori. Si tamen ista legi patitur dolor, aspice, lector: Pro vita rerum mortua Vita iacet. B 2 IN EODEM APERTO Ne propera, lachrymas iterum positure, viator. Quid dubitas etiam marmora posse loqui? Clausus in hoc tumulo triduum Deus ecce revixit. Mors iacet. Hoc nequeunt saxa tacere. Vale. B 3 ANTE IMAGINEM CRUCIFIXI Taliter humano Deus est in corpore passus. Hac nisi parte Deum pingere nemo potest.

Bv

B 4 IN PICTORES IRONIA Quis color est animae? Trino quae forma Tonanti? Quam dederit pictor. Solus is ergo sapit. B 5 AD IDEM Si tam torvae animas cruciant post funera larvae, Certe ego post mortem Gorgonis esse velim!

25 The epigram takes aim at painters who naively anthropomorphize the Deity, as if God were a heathen divinity like Jupiter. But because God is Spirit, he can be painted only as the man Jesus, who was the Word made flesh. Eobanus’ strictures are traditional theological fare. See Helmut Feld, Der Ikonoklasmus des Westens (Leiden, ). The late fourth-century poet Ausonius similarly pokes fun at a painter who wanted to make a picture of Echo (Epigr. ). On Eobanus’ views about painters and painting, see Gerlinde

an easter hymn



B 1 INSCRIBED ON THE CLOSED SEPULCHER OF CHRIST Go far away, laughter, songs, jests, delights, honors! In this place there can be no joy except in weeping, grieving, dying. Still, if grief does not keep you from reading these lines, consider, reader: to save the life of the world, Life itself lies dead. B 2 INSCRIBED ON THE SAME SEPULCHER, OPENED UP Do not rush by, wayfarer. You will soon wipe your tears away. Why do you doubt that even marble can speak? God, who lay buried for three days in this tomb, behold, he has risen again. Death lies prostrate. About this the stones cannot remain silent. Farewell. B 3 BEFORE A PICTURE OF THE CRUCIFIED LORD Here is how God suffered in human flesh. Except from this aspect, no one can paint a picture of God.25 B 4 IRONICALLY, AGAINST THE PAINTERS What is the color of the soul? What does the Triune Thunderer look like? Whatever the painter decides. So he alone, it seems, is in the know! B 5 ON THE SAME TOPIC If the devils who torment the souls of the dead really look that fierce, I’d definitely prefer to be handed over to the Gorgon after my death!26

Huber-Rebenich, “Zur Wahrnehmung der Bildenden Kunst durch Literaten im Umfeld Dürers: Eobanus Hessus im Vergleich mit Joachim Camerarius,” in Künstler und Literat: Schrift- und Buchkultur in der europäischen Renaissance, ed. Bodo Guthmüller et al. (Wiesbaden, ), –. 26 Medusa, the serpent-haired Gorgon, was so horrible that all who looked at her turned into stone. The devils that Eobanus saw depicted are even more horrible to see.



hymnus paschalis B 6 STULTICIAE PICTORUM DERISIO Sex oculos totidemque manus, tot crura, tot aures Qui Tribus impinxit, tres putat esse Deos. B 7 IN EOSDEM IRONICE Quod neque mens hominum neque totum intelligit [aevum, Indocti potuit pingere docta manus. B 8 IN EOSDEM DE IUDICIO CHRISTI Ne sontes pereant Natum si Mater adorat, Iniustum nunquid vellet iniqua Parens? B 9 DIVITIS AVARI EPITHAPHIUM Scazon

Br

Procul, viator ista lecturus, stato, Ne forte pallio auferas partem saxi Vel spiritu inde pulverem tuo spires Qui tot collectus annis auget hoc bustum.  Nam dives hic avarus et tamen pauper Inopem et molestam dormio miser noctem. Nam quod labore inediaque quaesitum Aurum recondidi, mali aegerunt fures, Spuriique pessimi malique cognati  Male istud helluantur et meos manes Ultro lacessunt polluuntque tumbetum Scaenoque olente lotioque deformi, Canem vocantes Euclione peiorem Cynicoque quodam cuius excidit nomen.

[b 

an easter hymn



B 6 MOCKING THE PAINTERS’ FOLLY Anyone who paints the Trinity with six eyes and an equal number of hands, legs, and ears, assumes they are three different Gods. B 7 IRONICALLY, AGAINST THE SAME ONES What is beyond the ken of human thought and all eternity, that is something the schooled hand of an unschooled artist finds it easy to paint. B 8 AGAINST THE SAME ONES, ABOUT THE JUDGMENT OF CHRIST If the Mother beseeches her Son not to let sinners perish, isn’t the Parent doing wrong by wanting to thwart justice?27 B 9 EPITAPH FOR A RICH MISER In scazons Stay back, passerby — you there, who are starting to read these lines! I’d hate to see your cloak wear down my gravestone or have your breath blow away the dust that’s been gathering here these many years and building up this mound.28 For here is where I, rich miser (but a poor wretch all the same), sleep in penurious and distressing night. You see, the gold that I hoarded up with all my laboring and fasting, it’s being squandered by dissolute thieves. Loathsome bastards and despicable kinsmen [] are recklessly dissipating it. As if that’s not enough, they curse at my soul and defile my tomb with stinking filth and disgusting urine; they call me a dog worse than Euclio and some Cynic or other, whose name

27 After seeing a painting of the Last Judgment in which Mary is shown interceding with her Son on behalf of sinners, Eobanus poses a theological conundrum for the artist. If he cannot answer it, he should stick to subjects he does understand. 28 The miser’s headstone is made of cheap sandstone that soon crumbles into dust. By contrast, the spendthrift’s tomb (B ) is made of costly porphyry.



hymnus paschalis 

[b 

At ipse habere somnio aureos montes Et abditos latere ubique thesauros. Precor, viator, ista dixeris nulli, Ne somniando qua fruor voluptatem Aliquis furetur hocque dormiam peius.

B 10 ADULESCENTIS PRODIGI ET EBRIOSI EPITHAPHIUM Phaletium

Bv

Heus tu, quo properas, viator? Adsta Et nil perstrepe, sed vide silenter Rubro carmina scripta porphyrete. Hic somno simul et mero sepulti  Potoris iacet umbra Symphiloeni, Annis qui patre mortuo duobus Agros, horrea, tecta, prata, villas, Hortos, praedia, rura, iura, fundos Centum milia iugerum patentes,  Centum auri gravipensilis talenta, Sexcentos veteris cados Phalerni, Centum milia totque doliorum Uno gutture devoravit. Inde Haustu dum bibit ultimo quievit,  Praecavisse sitim ratus futuram. Suspenso hunc pede praeteri, viator, Ne si senserit impetu resumpto Vicinam voret ebrius tabernam. B 11 EOBANI HESSI DE CAPNIONE EULOGIUM Monstrorum domitor toto, Iove natus, ab orbe Nobile, virtutum praemia, nomen habet.

29 Euclio is an old miser in Plautus’ Aulularia who jealously guards a pot of gold. The “Cynic” is the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (fourth century bce). He became known as “the dog” (Greek, ky¯on, kynos), because in his quest for the natural life he turned

an easter hymn



escapes me.29 But as for me, I dream that I’ve got mountains of gold and that hidden treasures lie buried everywhere. I beg you, wayfarer, don’t mention this to anybody, for I’m afraid somebody might rob me of the pleasure I enjoy in my dreams and cause me to sleep even worse. B 10 EPITAPH FOR A YOUNG SPENDTHRIFT AND DRUNKARD In hendecasyllables Hey there, passerby, where are you rushing off to? Stop right there and don’t make a peep. Just look in silence at the inscription on the red porphyry. Here, buried as much in sleep as in wine, lies the corpse of the drunkard Symphiloenus,30 who in the two years after his father’s death devoured fields, barns, houses, meadows, villas, gardens, manors, estates, properties, farms of a hundred thousand acres each, [] a hundred talents of heavy gold, six hundred bottles of old Falernian wine, and two hundred thousand crocks — all in one fell gulp. Then, having drunk his last draft, he went to rest in the firm belief that he had taken his precautions against the future thirst. Tiptoe past him, wayfarer. For if he wakes up, he is liable to resume his onslaught and, in a drunken fit, devour the nearby tavern! B 11 A EULOGIUM OF REUCHLIN BY EOBANUS HESSUS31 That subduer of monsters, Jupiter’s son, is renowned all over the world in recognition of his heroic deeds. Reuchlin’s glory

conventional behavior on its head, for example by snarling and barking at people or urinating anywhere he pleased. 30 “Convivial wine bibber.” 31 On Johann Reuchlin and his fight against the Dominican inquisitor Jakob van Hoogstraten, see pp. – above. The poem was originally included in a letter (not extant) that Eobanus wrote to Reuchlin in the late summer of . Mutianus Rufus copied it out and sent it, with high praise, to Heinrich Urbanus in Ep. . Just as Jupiter’s son Hercules rid the world of such monsters as the nine-headed Hydra, which lived in the swamp of Lerna, so Reuchlin is now ridding the world of monsters like the anti-humanistic Dominicans at Cologne. Eobanus uses the same conceit to praise Reuchlin at Epic. .–.



hymnus paschalis

[b 

Gloria Capnioni non est minor. Ille nec Hydra Nec reliquis vicit monstra minora feris.  Qualia iam nemo quaerit — nisi forsitan esse Incipis ignotus, bardocuculle, tibi! B 12 EIUSDEM AD EUNDEM DE GALLIS MYSTICA PARENESIS Br

Semivir insultet Gallus licet, armiger illum Corripit et superi fert Iovis ante pedes. “Iuppiter omnipotens, Gallum prosterne volentem In tua sacrilego scandere regna pede.  Verum si dubitas magnam violare Cybelen, Pro Gallis Dryudas in tua templa refer.” B 13 EIUSDEM DE SUO POEMATE Vivida mortiferae circum laureta cupressi, Nec bene cum tribulis lilia blanda virent. Ut tamen in sylvis et molle virentibus hortis Conciliat varias gratia maior opes,  Carmina non uno semper manantia succo Plus animos, tanquam ficta parerga, iuvant. Ergo brevi clausum carmen paschale libello Non decuit solum continuumque legi.

B 12. Tit. A: deest a.  Corripit A: Arripit a. Cybelen violare sacratam a.

 Verum — Cybelen A: At tu si dubitas

32 Eobanus exhorts Emperor Maximilian to put the Galli in their place. The word Gallus has several meanings, including “Frenchman,” “barnyard cock,” and “castrated priest of Cybele.” The poem starts off by calling on Jupiter (Maximilian) to knock down the emasculated Cock (the King of France). But if that is too much to ask, he should at least remove the Galli (the cocky, but unmanly Dominican priests) from the German churches and replace them with “Druids” — true priests, “men of oak.” For the poem’s original context, see pp. – above.

an easter hymn



is not inferior to his. He has vanquished monsters no less savage than the Hydra and the other beasts. Nobody asks what kind of monsters they are — unless you, cowl, perhaps don’t recognize yourself anymore! B 12 THE SAME TO THE SAME. A MYSTICAL PARENESIS ABOUT THE GALLI 32 Paying no heed to the taunts of the emasculated Gallus, the armorbearer snatched him up and deposited him before the feet of celestial Jove.33 “Almighty Jupiter, knock this Gallus to the ground, for he is sacrilegiously planning to clamber into your realms. But if you scruple to outrage great Cybele, replace the Galli in your temples with Druids!”34 B 13 THE SAME POET ABOUT HIS BOOK35 Funereal cypresses do not look good around lively laurel groves, and charming lilies do not go well with thistles. But just as in forests and soft-green gardens an overarching charm ties the most varied treasures together, so songs, like jewelry, offer greater delight if they do not all come from the same mold. The Easter song contained in this slender booklet ought, accordingly, to be read, not by itself, but in context.

33 The “armorbearer” is the eagle, who bears Jupiter’s thunderbolts. Because the eagle symbolizes the German Empire, “Jove” stands for Maximilian here. 34 The spelling Dryudae that Eobanus uses in the Latin is meant to recall the Greek word for “oak” (drus). Such “men of oak” are true priests, not the pleasure-seeking, power-hungry priests of Cologne. 35 The epigram explains why Eobanus attaches a variety of epigrams to Hymnus paschalis. It is true that most of these poems have little or nothing to do with Easter. But variety, he argues, is the spice of life.



hymnus paschalis B 14 NON NISI PESSIMO Invide, si mordes, nostra est victoria. Verum Si mea tu laudas carmina, disperii!

[b 

an easter hymn



B 14 FOR NONE BUT THE WORST36 Spiteful cur, if you bite, the victory is mine. But if you praise my poems, then I’m done for!

36 Unlike other postscripts, in which Eobanus rails at some unidentifiable Zoilus, or captious critic, this distich alludes to an individual whom readers at Erfurt would have recognized at once: the controversial humanist Tilmann Conradi. Conradi had studied at Erfurt from / to  (BA, ), thereafter at Wittenberg (MA, ) and Bologna. Returning to Erfurt in early May , he started teaching an unsanctioned course, but was promptly stopped by the university. He was thereupon mocked by the young humanist Johann Femel. Despite the pleas of Mutianus Rufus, who wanted to keep a united front against the scholastics, Eobanus’ friend Euricius Cordus seized the chance to resume an old feud with Conradi and threw his support behind Femel. Cordus even published two eclogues in  (Bucolicon  and ) that branded Conradi a Proteus and a poetaster. Unable to find a teaching position in Erfurt, Conradi moved back to Wittenberg. There he took revenge with Choleamynterium, published in January . Without naming names, Eobanus publicly disparaged Conradi’s book in early March . He would do so again in late May and early June. See pp. – below. On the title page of Choleamynterium Conradi had printed, “Laes den hunt schlaffen/ er beyst dych” (“Don’t wake a sleeping dog: he’ll bite you”). Eobanus’ epigram answers in kind: “If a cur like you were to attack me in verse, I’d teach you a lesson you won’t forget. But if you were to praise me, I’d jump out my skin!” On the title page of the satiric epigrams he published in early June  (Contra maledicum Thiloninum Philymnum defensio), Cordus seizes on the same image, while alluding to his own emblem, the porcupine: “Beysz mich nit ich stich deych” (“Don’t bite me: I’ll stab you”). In the epigrams themselves he repeatedly calls his opponent a rabid dog prone to biting (esp. nos.  and ) and calls him “the worst of men” (e.g., no. ). See Cordus, Epigr., –.

ORATIO, SIVE PRAELECTIO

AN ORATION, OR INAUGURAL LECTURE

Illustration : Title page of Oratio, sive praelectio [Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder, ] Universitätsbibliothek, Basel

INTRODUCTION

In his campaign for a lectorship at Erfurt, Eobanus could rely on two great allies: his burgeoning fame as “king of poets” and, just as crucial, that charisma of his that quickly made him the natural leader of the Erfurt humanists and a magnet for students throughout Germany. With allies like these, he knew, it was only a matter of time before the professoriate yielded before the star in its midst. In the meantime, he had to keep up the pressure and stay in the public eye. As we have seen, he trumpeted Reuchlin’s congratulatory letter, enlisted his friends, and started a barrage of publications with Hymnus paschalis in April.1 A month later he was ready to open a new front. As magister novellus — he had resumed his required biennium of teaching at the university during the winter semester2 — Eobanus had scored a wonderful success lecturing on his own Heroidum Christianarum epistolae.3 Now he had to find a way to build on that triumph. But what topic should he pick next? And how should he announce the course? If the big Easter book had come out that spring, as originally planned,4 he would have made it the topic of his follow-up course. Of this volume, however, he had only been able to publish the relatively short Easter Hymn, with some concluding epigrams. That was not enough to sustain the enthusiasm that his lectures on the Heroides had inspired. After mulling things over, therefore, Eobanus decided it was time to extend his range. Hitherto he had lectured on his own books. Now he would demonstrate mastery also of two

1

See introd. to Hymn., pp. – above. In the early autumn of , Eobanus had been forced to cut short his required two-year teaching stint at Erfurt. See Poetic Works, :. Because the university did not pay the magistri novelli for their teaching, the magisters normally charged their students a fee for attending. In a goodwill gesture, however, Eobanus waived this fee for his earliest courses: see Orat. .. 3 Cf. Mutian. Ep. , written in the early autumn of ; Eob. Orat. .–.. Eobanus had intended to teach the book at Leipzig in early ; but when the conservative faculty heard about his plan, they evidently feared his lectures would prove too popular and draw students away from their own courses. Cf. Rummel, Debate, –. Bowing to the realities, Eobanus instead brought out the much more modest Sylvae duae to serve as the subject of his Leipzig lectures. 4 See pp. – above. 2



oratio, sive praelectio

subjects dear to the humanist heart: moral philosophy and ancient Latin literature. One hour a day he would teach Cicero’s Duties; in a second hour he would explicate Plautus’ Amphitruo. The two authors, Eobanus explained, would make a surprisingly fine pair: “For what could be more philosophical than Cicero? Likewise, what could be more poetic than Plautus? And yet this duo gets along so splendidly, so gracefully, so perfectly, that the one appears to cast a brilliant light on the other, such that in the end you cannot tell whether it is Cicero who is the more philosophizing or Plautus the more poeticizing of the two.”5 To advertise the courses, Eobanus held a praelectio, or inaugural lecture, on  May . Inaugural orations were an established institution at the late medieval and Renaissance university.6 They gave lecturers a chance to introduce themselves and to advertise their courses. Most of these praelectiones have not come down to us. However, some were deemed important enough to be published. The practice was introduced from Italy to Germany by the wandering scholar Peter Luder, who had studied at Ferrara and Padua. After holding his first such lecture at Heidelberg on  July , Luder gave essentially the same speech at Erfurt in  and at Leipzig in . Other German humanists followed, starting with Rudolf Agricola and Konrad Celtis.7 In January  Eobanus had himself presented an inaugural lecture at Leipzig but saw no need (or, perhaps, no opportunity) to have it published.8 In September  he would give another such speech to introduce his lectures on Erasmus’ Enchiridion. That oration came out in early , along with Justus Jonas’ inaugural lecture to his course on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.9

5

Orat. .–. On the genre, see Eva M. Sanford, “Inaugural Lectures on the Classics,” The Classical Journal  (), –; Ludwig Bertalot, “Humanistische Vorlesungsankündigungen in Deutschland im . Jahrhundert,” in Studien zum italienischen und deutschen Humanismus, ed. Paul O. Kristeller (Rome, ), :–. 7 See Joachim Gruber, ed., Conradi Celtis Protucii Panegyris ad duces Bavariae (Wiesbaden, ), xliii–xlvi. 8 See Poetic Works, :–. 9 Praefatio in epistolas divi Pauli Apostoli ad Corynthios Erphurdiae ad Christianae philosophiae studiosorum ordinem habita ab eximio viro D. Iodoco Iona Northusiano . . . . Huic addita est non multum dissimili argumento Eobani Hessi praefaciuncula in Enchiridion Christiani militis (Erfurt, ). 6

introduction



Eobanus’ publicity efforts, his charisma, his star power, all did their part in attracting students. Already on ca.  June  Mutianus was able to report on his friend’s success in the classroom.10 In November he told Justus Jonas: “Eobanus, they say, is lecturing to capacity crowds of students. All who hear him sing his praises.”11 Among his students that autumn, it appears, was Michael Nossen, a young Silesian who soon joined Eobanus’ humanist circle. So inspired by Eobanus’ lectures was Nossen that he promptly organized a performance of Plautus’ Amphitruo in Erfurt.12 Analysis From the start, Eobanus’ praelectio strikes an informal tone perfectly suited to a student audience. Its somewhat rambling introduction creates the impression of an unpremeditated talk, not an oration. The speaker even apologizes early on that he has “already digressed longer, perhaps, than I should have.” “Still,” he explains, “this is how I wanted to preface these haphazard remarks (for I’m not delivering a formal speech).” But concealing the tricks of rhetoric has always been the rhetorician’s stockin-trade. Closer analysis shows that Eobanus prepared his speech with considerable care. Drawing on an impressive range of ancient and modern writers, he shows off his erudition and stylistic range without ever speaking over the students’ heads or talking down to them. His words elegantly blend the serious and the jocular, the philosophical and the entertaining, the public and the private, prose and poetry. To motivate

10

Mutian. Ep. : “Eobanus dicitur feliciter docere.” Mutian. Ep. , written “on St. Rufus’ birthday” (not August , but rather one of the days in November): “Eobanum profiteri dicunt in maxima celebritate discentium. Laudant, qui audiunt.” Mutianus’ statement could refer to the Cicero-Plautus lectures, or to the second iteration of the Heroides course, perhaps even to both. 12 In an undated letter, printed in Epp. , sigs. Kv–Kr, Euricius Cordus invites his good friend Christoph Hack to come along with him to see a performance of the play: “Si veneris confabulabimur a mensa ad primam usque. Hinc descendemus spectaturi Mercurii et Sosiae Amphitruonis et adulteri Iovis iucundissimas et facetissimas rixas. Eam enim fabulam exhibiturus est Michael Nossenus utriusque noster.” As Krause suggests in HEH, :, the performance may have taken place in the dormitory where Nossen lived. Nossen did not officially matriculate at Erfurt until the autumn of  (BA , MA ), but might conceivably have attended Eobanus’ lectures during the summer. For Christoph Hack, see “Addenda and Corrigenda to Volume ,” pp. xv–xvi above. 11



oratio, sive praelectio

the students, Eobanus praises them for their enthusiasm in the previous course, but then prods them to stay motivated: he has noticed that they need the spur more than the bridle. With all due modesty, he highlights his personal contributions to the university and contrasts his teaching philosophy with that of some unnamed charlatans. And to convince students that the upcoming lectures will be worth their while, he turns the very heart of his speech into a laudation of the great Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher Cicero, with whom they will be spending much of the summer. This central section is followed by a praise of moral philosophy itself — the topic of Cicero’s On Duties — and a concluding exhortation to humanistic studies. Designed to promote himself and his course, Eobanus’ lecture employs an abundance of rhetorical devices and topoi. Its structure is the standard one: introduction (exordium), background (narratio), outline of the argument to be presented (propositio), the argument itself (argumentatio), conclusion (peroratio). Exordium (Orat. –) The speech opens with a captatio benevolentiae, in this case a praise of the University of Erfurt. The school, Eobanus assures his audience, is enjoying a glorious rebirth after the horrific blows that left her for dead. Students and faculty are streaming back. Humanistic teachers are being hired. The Collegium maius is being rebuilt in magnificent style. Five years earlier, on  August , a street battle between students and landsknechts had degenerated into a riot that was joined by a mob of townspeople. Forced to retreat, the students barricaded themselves in the Collegium maius. But the venerable hall — it was the oldest university building and seat of the philosophical faculty — was no match for the two heavy cannons and lighter pieces that the landsknechts brought into play. The building was heavily damaged, much of its library destroyed. For the university, the consequences were immense. Morale among the faculty and students, already fragile because of the civil unrest in , fell to new lows. Enrollments dropped; key faculty members left Erfurt. The once-storied university was in free fall. Heroic measures were called for and instituted. Turning its back on the past, the school promoted energetic humanists to high positions in the administration and recruited new ones. The curriculum was reformed. Moreover, plans were drawn up for the rebuilding of the Collegium maius in a blend of Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance styles. Progress on the reconstruction was

introduction



swift. The portal was completed in the summer of .13 Two epigrams in humanistic Latin were eventually inscribed above it. Narratio (Orat. –) In the opening paragraphs of his lecture, Eobanus’ aim has been to capture the students’ (and ultimately, the faculty’s) attention and goodwill by praising the university’s rebirth and grandeur, both symbolized by the Collegium maius. His object achieved, it is now time to showcase himself and his role within the academy. Here he has to tread a fine line. Promote himself too aggressively, and he comes across as a braggart. Present himself too modestly, and he undercuts his underlying goals. He therefore subtly prepares the audience by first inserting a six-line epigram that he “tossed off ” a few days earlier. The poem starts by lauding the grand building now going up. But an imposing structure, Eobanus points out, cannot by itself breathe life into the university. The cold stones must be animated by the liberal arts. What the university community needs now is another Amphion — the mythical king who brought together the massive blocks for Thebes’ walls by the harmony of his lyre. The message is clear: a modern university cannot survive without the poetae, as the scholastics were still derisively calling the humanists. Indeed, he carefully hints, the University of Erfurt will thrive only if she wholeheartedly accepts the modern Amphion in her midst, the poet-king Eobanus. The epigram serves as Eobanus’ cue for some reflections on the value of public-spiritedness. University members, he stresses, must think first and foremost of the common good. The true heroes are not those who win personal glory, but those who strive to be of the greatest service to the greatest number. That has ever been his own goal too. In proof, Eobanus points to the elaborate poem in praise of the university that he published during his student days (De laudibus et praeconiis incliti . . . Gymnasii litteratorii apud Erphordiam, ), as well as to other works that helped raise the university’s prestige right up to his departure in . Having lately returned from barbaric Prussia and brought along his Christian Heroides, he has lectured on this book in the winter semester /. He commends his students for so lovingly embracing “those chastest of maidens.” Though there were many who confidently predicted failure, the course has been a great success. The students can testify to that

13

Kleineidam, :. For the general background, see Kleineidam, :–.



oratio, sive praelectio

themselves! As a goodwill gesture, Eobanus has lectured free of charge and hopes to do so again from time to time, despite the personal cost. To be sure, he concedes, the “cankerworm of ambition” did motivate him to write the Heroides; but then, that is how all great works of poetry come into being. For all his ambition, Eobanus swears by the immortal God that he is no self-promoter eager to advance himself at the students’ expense. Most certainly he is not one of those instructors who create a sensation by speaking in oracular language — charlatans who teach in the backrooms of rented houses, who drop bits of Greek into their Latin, though unskilled in both, and go out of their way to teach the lewd poets, to the detriment of student morals. Eobanus’ diatribe is aimed not so much at setting the students at ease about his own philosophy of teaching — they already know what kind of an instructor he is — as at reassuring the senior professors that he himself, though a humanist and a poet, is determined to play by the university’s rules. He will not be another Tilmann Conradi. Tilmann Conradi, who styled himself Thiloninus Philymnus Syasticanus, was born in Brunswick not long after , but grew up in Göttingen. From / to  he studied at Erfurt. After earning the BA in , he published his first book of verse (no longer extant) in . Its style provoked scorn. Mutianus Rufus privately called its author as mad as Orestes, more obscure than Heraclitus.14 Euricius Cordus went further. He anonymously circulated an epigram mocking his fellow student. At first Conradi suspected Eobanus behind the attack. The latter, however, immediately protested his abiding friendship.15 In  Conradi left for Wittenberg. Here he published the prose comedy, Teratologia, which takes aim at ignorant clerics and their bad Latin. Unfortunately, with its archaisms, neologisms, and intermingled Grecisms and Greek fragments, Conradi’s own diction is often incomprehensible. An elegy printed in the book’s appendix rails against Euricius Cordus and his “rustic Muse.” Having received his MA at Wittenberg in , Conradi resumed his publications. In January  he brought out a drinking song, “The Triumph of Bacchus,” along with an erotic elegy and a set of satiric epigrams. Later that year he edited an elementary Greek grammar; and in early  he published a Greek text and Latin translation 14

Mutian. Ep. . See Conradi, Chol., bk. , sigs. Er–v, quoting Eobanus’ epigram (seven elegiac distichs). 15

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

of the mock epic, The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, which he dedicated to the Erfurt professors Johann Werlich and Maternus Pistoris. With these works in his résumé, Conradi returned to Erfurt in early May of  to what he fully expected to be an honorable welcome. But when he applied to the university for permission to lecture on the art of poetry, the faculty denied his request. Undaunted, Conradi rented rooms in the house “Zum Goldenen Kreuz” near the Lange Brücke and began lecturing on Hesiod’s Works and Days and the satires of Juvenal.16 His challenge to the university’s authority drew a quick response. Dispatching a bailiff, the faculty threatened to charge Conradi with breaking the oath sworn at his graduation as BA. At the same time, the young humanist Johann Femel17 mocked him in a sarcastic epigram. At this point one might have expected the Erfurt humanists to heed Mutianus Rufus’ call for solidarity with their comrade-in-arms against the conservatives at the university.18 But Euricius Cordus, for one, was far more intent on settling old scores than advancing the overall struggle. In two eclogues published in  (Bucolicon  and ) he excoriated his rival as a Proteus and a poetaster. Unable to obtain a teaching job in Erfurt or elsewhere, Conradi was forced to return to Wittenberg in the summer of . There, in early January , he unleashed a counterattack, seething with wrath and laced with Greek, against his Erfurt tormentors: An Antidote to Gall, Against the Philymnomastigial Bile Dripper of Erfurt.19 For his part, Eobanus immediately threw his support to his friends Femel and Cordus. Dedicating a little anthology of poems on the wretchedness of poets to Cordus on March , he told his impoverished fellow poet that he should regard the gift as a kind of seasoning that will help restore his appetite after the rotten, stomach-turning, nauseating hodgepodge he has just been served.20 A

16

Conradi, Chol., bk. , sigs. Cr–v; bk. , sig. Hr. Johann Femel later contributed an epigram to Eobanus’ De generibus ebriosorum. See Gen. ebrios. A , with biographical note. 18 See Rummel, Debate, –, . 19 Decii Magni Ausonii Libellus de ludo septem sapientum. Thilonini Philymni Choleamynterium in Fellifluum Philymnomastigiam Hercinefurdensem [Wittenberg, ]. The book’s dedicatory letter is dated  January . The “Bile Dripper” is Johann Femel, who had published his epigrams against Conradi under the pseudonym Fellifluus. On Tilmann Conradi, see Kleineidam, :–; VLDH, :–. 20 See Heus lector, hic habentur Campani de miseria poetarum sapphicum . . . , M. Valerii Martialis epigrammata duo de contemptu poetarum, et quaedam alia lectu digna ad eandem rem facientia [Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder, ], sig. Av. See further Möncke, 17



oratio, sive praelectio

month later he appended a two-line epigram to the Hymnus paschalis in which he again alludes to Conradi, this time as “the worst” of men (Hymn. B ). And when Cordus responded to Conradi’s vituperations with a book of satiric epigrams in June  (Contra maledicum Thiloninum Philymnum defensio), Eobanus wrote a preface openly condemning Conradi’s presumptions. In a concluding letter addressed to Cordus, he gives his friend the highest compliment a king can bestow. Of all the Hessian poets, he says, Cordus is second only to Eobanus himself.21 Propositio (Orat. ) Eobanus is now ready for the heart of his speech, the argumentation. Here he must convince the students that the upcoming course will be well worth their while. To keep them on board for the remainder of his lecture, however, he first offers a brief outline. The argumentation will consist of three parts: a praise of Cicero, a praise of moral philosophy, and an exhortation to the students to pursue humanistic studies. Once these themes have been dealt with, Eobanus promises, he will bring the speech to a quick close. Argumentatio, Part  (Orat. –): “The Glory and Peerless Excellence of M. Tullius Cicero” As announced in the propositio, the first part of the argument is devoted to “the glory and peerless excellence of M. Tullius Cicero.” But where is one to start in saluting the great man (– bce)? As an orator, he was the equal of Demosthenes. As Rome’s first philosopher, he made Greek thought accessible in elegant Latin dialogues. As statesman, he saved the republic from the Catilinarian conspiracy. As “father of the fatherland,” he died with fortitude during the proscriptions of Mark Antony. Keenly aware of the vastness of his theme and the long tradition of lauding Cicero, Eobanus assures the students that his own tribute will be neither as prolix nor as formidable as those of his predecessors.

–, with a reproduction of the title page and dedicatory letter on pp. –. Half a year later, Crotus Rubianus likewise makes fun of Conradi and his Choleamynterium in EOV . (p. , ll. –). 21 Eobanus’ two letters have been edited by Karl Krause in Euricius Cordus, Epigrammata () (Berlin, ),  and .

introduction

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Instead, he will offer them an overview: “I think it best partly to epitomize the earlier praises, partly also to skip over them in the course of this speech, lest I appear to be stitching together patches from other men’s garments.” The way is now clear for a collage of homages to Cicero, drawn from such modern masters as Filippo Beroaldo and Giannantonio Campano, and such ancients as Sallust, Quintilian, and Martial — not to mention Cicero himself. Toward the end, Eobanus quotes Quintilian’s advice: the student who “develops a strong love for Cicero may rest assured that he has made good progress.” He then adds his own encouragement: “Develop a love for Cicero, and you too will have made good progress.” Moreover, they should know that Cicero “does not frighten off the reader by the complexity of the topics that are examined in philosophy or by the obscure prolixity of either his questions or arguments. On the contrary, by his thoroughly delightful style of writing as well as his wonderfully limpid explanations and the graceful ease with which he presents the subjects under discussion, no matter how weighty, he ceaselessly invites us to understand them ever more deeply.” Eobanus concludes his praise with some words from the elder Pliny and a six-line epigram of his own. Argumentatio, Part  (Orat. –): “The Grandeur and Preeminence of Moral Philosophy” If the first part of the argument showed students that they must make Cicero central to their education, the second section aims to impress them with “the grandeur and preeminence of moral philosophy.” Realizing that his young audience will be getting restless, he promises to keep this portion of the argument shorter than the first. The students will be spending much of the summer semester on that topic anyway, when they study Cicero’s On Duties. Nevertheless, Eobanus explains, he cannot skip the subject altogether, because they are not yet galloping of their own accord. Unlike Theopompus of old, they still require the spur, not the bridle. They would much rather waste their time wandering the byways of medieval translations of Aristotle than take the “royal road” that Eobanus will offer them via Cicero. Lest he be misunderstood, Eobanus hastens to reassure his audience — and the conservative professors — that he has no thought of discouraging the study of philosophy per se. His aim is to give students a humanistic introduction to the discipline. Instead of the traditional lectures that are based on poor translations of badly mutilated



oratio, sive praelectio

texts, Eobanus’ will present Aristotle by way of his best Roman interpreter, the supreme stylist Cicero.22 But now to moral philosophy! Cicero “ranks the science of moral philosophy higher than all other fields in philosophy as a whole, and quite rightly so, considering that it itself represents the fruit of our life and consummate goal of everything that we all ultimately strive for, namely, the prize of true happiness.” This statement calls for some definitions. “What we term ‘moral philosophy,’ ” Eobanus explains, “the Greeks call ‘ethics’ and Cicero ‘duties.’ ” Its study originated with Socrates or Pythagoras and was thence fully developed by Plato and Aristotle. Because ethics teaches us “to search out that for which [all mortals] were born, namely, the happiness that consists in a reasoned plan for living an ethical life,” it is “the crown jewel of philosophy.” Only this study can make us “the equal of the gods.” The great writers of antiquity have always recognized that truth. Look only to Homer’s Odyssey, which in fact “treats of nothing other than moral philosophy” as it tells the epic tale of wise Ulysses. Many other ancient works, from Vergil’s Aeneid to Suetonius’ life of Vespasian, were likewise intended to be read as moral allegories. Argumentatio, Part  (Orat. –): “Exhortation to Pursue the Fittest Subjects of Study” Introducing the final part of his argument, Eobanus recalls that he promised the students “a kind of parenesis, or exhortation, if you will, to pursue the fittest subjects of study.” Mindful, however, that sermons are apt to bore hearers to death, he adopts one of the oldest devices in the preacher’s arsenal: the allegorical tale. Eobanus imagines he is facing “a downright formidable expedition” to reach his students and break down their resistance, because the region they inhabit “is heavily fortified with the wall of ignorance and defended by the strongest garrison imaginable: neglect.” This calls for some scolding: “How very few are there among you who are truly captivated by a love for learning, who don’t sleepwalk, so to speak, through their university studies

22 Eobanus is doing his part to put pressure on the university to abandon the medieval Aristotle in favor of modern translations. His efforts and those of other humanists to reform the curriculum on this point were successful. In the summer semester of  the faculty agreed to establish lectures on Aristotle in humanistic translations. See Kleineidam, :–.

introduction

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but would rather burn the midnight oil, who don’t let their work slide, but would gladly give up their leisure time in order to sweat, as it were, under the hot sun in the arena of philosophy! We expect the various disciplines just to fly into us, with no hard work or dedication on our part — just like those roast pigeons in the Paradise of Fools.” But the path to philosophy is long and arduous. To reach this queen of sciences, you need good guides and must climb seven stairs, each watched over by a divine lady. Describing each in turn, Eobanus identifies them as the seven Liberal Arts: the trivium Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, followed by the quadrivium Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, and Astronomy. Queen Philosophy has seven wise virgins who attend her: Theology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Domestic Economics, Politics, Jurisprudence, and Medicine. Seven foolish virgins — Physiognomy, Alchemy, Geomancy, Pyromancy, Chiromancy, Hydromancy, and Necromancy — may also be seen at her court. Another maiden can be found there too. Whether she is wise or foolish cannot be made out. “But this much is certain: she injects herself into everything, wherever she is. She never shuts up. Instead, she flits about, dances, writes, reads, sings, runs, reckons, disputes, observes, measures. She is a public nuisance.” Though a special favorite of Philosophy and the other maidens, she is despised by their adherents as a silly beast. But haughty girl that she is, she takes no notice of her detractors. She is Poetry — a maiden so proscribed at German universities that by just uttering her name Eobanus has made himself “a target for calumny.” In the final paragraphs of the parenesis, Eobanus explains why he introduced the allegory: “My sole purpose for doing this was to perk you up with an entertaining story of sorts, after this long sermon of mine made you start yawning quite a while ago. At the same time, however, I wanted to put the image of the liberal arts before your eyes in all its dazzling beauty, so that at the sight you too will strive with uttermost zeal, with total effort, with every fiber of your being toward the goal of embracing it.” He ends with a direct exhortation: “The arts and sciences don’t slip into us while we idly dream. It takes hard work and much latenight studying if we wish to aspire to the glory of erudition.” We must follow the example of such ancient heroes of learning as Pythagoras, Plato, and Apollonius, and burn the midnight oil like Demosthenes. The upcoming courses, joining the philosopher Cicero with the comic poet Plautus, will give students an opportunity to do precisely that. To those who might raise an eyebrow at the unusual combination, Eobanus responds with a quotation from Erasmus’ recent book of Similes: “Just as



oratio, sive praelectio

mandrake makes the wine go down smoother if it is planted next to vines, so philosophical reasoning becomes easier to absorb if it is combined with poetry.” Peroratio (Orat. ) As he had promised in the propositio, Eobanus keeps the conclusion brief. In a few words, he summarizes his message and makes a final appeal to the students to take it to heart. Eobanus and Plautus Eobanus’ oration highlights Cicero, but gives short shrift to Plautus. The Roman comedian is mentioned only in the title and, quite fleetingly, at the very end. The imbalance has its roots in rhetorical considerations. Eobanus’ main goal was to encourage students to attend his lectures. To keep the speech straightforward and entertaining for them, he had to focus on just one of his authors. Here, Cicero was the natural choice. He was by far the greater attraction; and his praises, so to speak, wrote themselves. Eobanus’ interest in Plautus was no sudden fancy. To all appearances, it had developed a year and a half earlier at Leipzig, under the influence of his dear friend Veit Werler.23 Born in Sulzfeld in Franconia, Werler had earned the BA at Leipzig in the winter semester / and the MA in the winter semester /. Thereafter he taught at the university as magister legens until . Like all unsalaried instructors in those days, he earned a living by charging students for attending his lectures and by tutoring. Werler regularly taught the classics: Horace’s Epistulae, Lucian’s dialogues (in Latin translation), Valerius Maximus, and Cicero’s De oratore, for all of which he had textbooks printed at Leipzig. His specialty, however, was Plautus. From  to  he taught twelve different comedies, in close to two dozen courses. For these courses, too, he arranged with the academic printer Melchior Lotter to have individual plays published in textbook editions, with plenty of marginal and interlinear space for student notes. These texts were, of course, not “editions” in the modern sense. As a private lecturer, Werler had no time

23

On Veit Werler, see Camerarius, Nar. ., with n.  (:–).

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

for manuscript collation and textual criticism. He had to be content with reprinting the Plautus editions of Giovanni Battista Pio (Milan, ) or Giovanni Francesco Boccardo, who called himself “Pilade” (Brescia, ; repr. Parma, ). This practice did not change even after , when he, as the most promising Plautus scholar in Germany, came into possession of the “Vetus Codex,” a precious manuscript now in the Vatican Library. In later years Werler lent the manuscript to his former student Joachim Camerarius, who eventually used it to establish a muchimproved text of Plautus’ comedies in .24 When Eobanus returned to Erfurt in the summer of , he took back with him the spark of Werler’s enthusiasm for Plautus. From Werler he may also have adopted the idea of a lecture series explicitly linking a prose writer with a poet, each to be taught in a separate class on the same day. For on  January , at the very time that Eobanus was planning his own lectures on the Sylvae duae, Werler had announced a course on selected dialogues of Lucian combined with another course on Plautus’ Casina. The two courses, he told the students, would take place back-to-back, Plautus at the third hour, Lucian at the fourth (i.e., at around  and  am). In announcing his lectures, Werler explained the combination in very much the same way that Eobanus would do the next year: “Lectioni Luciani coniuncta erit lectio fabularum Plauti, ut cum vate luculentissimo non imi subsellii orator copuletur” (“To the lectures on Lucian we will join lectures on Plautus, so that an orator of the highest rank will be coupled with a most delightful poet”).25 Werler, for his part, had taken the idea of combining a prose author and a poet from the much-admired Italian humanist Filippo Beroaldo the Elder (– ). Beroaldo delighted in such seemingly whimsical combinations. He would, for example, announce courses on Livy and Silius Italicus, on Cicero’s Letters and Lucan, or on Cicero’s Tusculans and Horace’s Odes. At the end of the inaugural lecture on Cicero and Lucan, Beroaldo explains: “Lectioni Lucani coniuncta erit lectio epistolarum Ciceronis,

24 See Friedrich Ritschl, “Veit Werler als Leipziger Docent und die Leipziger Plautusstudien im Anfang des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts,” reprinted in Ritschl, Opuscula, :–. Also see “Bio-bibliographisches zu Camerarius’ Plautusstudien,” in Ritschl, Opuscula, :–. 25 Course announcement of  January [], headed with the words: “Ego Vitus Vverlerus Sultzveltensis, philosophiae politioris Mhagisteri, lectoribus candidis hoc primo Ianuarii die, animorum ac corporum sanitatem pro novi anni munere exopto.” A copy has been preserved in the Yale University Library.

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oratio, sive praelectio

et ita cum poeta illustrissimo copulabitur orator inclytissimus” (“To the lectures on Lucan we will join lectures on Cicero, and thus an orator of the highest fame will be coupled with a most celebrated poet”).26 Here one sees plainly that Werler took from Beroaldo not only the idea of a joint course, but also Beroaldo’s rationale, right down to the very phrasing. Like all instructors, Eobanus had to make sure he had enough copies of the books on hand for his students. Cicero’s De officiis was no problem: it was a standard text, available in multiple printed editions. Plautus’ Amphitruo was another matter. Accordingly, Eobanus had Johann Knappe the Elder reprint the play in May . As copy text he used the edition by Giovanni Battista Pio, Plautus integer cum interpretatione Ioannis Baptistae Pii (Milan, ). The textbook came out — without place, printer, or date — under the title Marci Plauti comici clarissimi comoedia lepidissima Amphytrio.27 Its title page carries the following epigram: HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS LECTORI Italis illustri quantum comoedia Plauto Debeat, est scitu res gravis, apta tamen. Quippe adeo cuius foelix lascivia fertur Vellet ut hoc magnus Iuppiter ore loqui.  Atque ipsae si verba volent Latialia Musae, Plautino cuperent illa sonare melo.28 Deliciae, Veneres, urbana facecia, risus Quid valeant, Plauti scaena diserta docet. Cuius Musa alacris cui non sapit, ille profecto  Nil sapit et sensu friget et ingenio. Plautus hic est quem Rhoma suae decus inclyta linguae Et vocat et merito laudis honore fovet.29 Quod si forte mihi non velles credere, lector, Perlecto credes Amphytrione. Vale.

26

Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. r. Cf. von Hase, no. ; Ritschl, Opuscula, : (footnote); Krause, HEH, :, n. . The copy in Munich, BSB ( A.lat.b. /), is available online in digital facsimile. Another copy can be found in Münster, UB (C.E. ). A third copy is in private hands in Mannheim. See Leonhardt, –. 28 Cf. Quint. Inst. ..: “licet Varro ‘Musas,’ Aeli Stilonis sententia, ‘Plautino’ dicat ‘sermone locuturas fuisse, si Latine loqui vellent.’ ” 29 Cf. Gel. ..: “Plautus verborum Latinorum elegantissimus”; ..: “Plautus quoque, homo linguae atque elegantiae in verbis Latinae princeps”; ..: “Plautus, linguae Latinae decus.” 27

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

HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS TO THE READER How much Italian comedy owes to illustrious Plautus is hard to estimate, but essential to grasp. For his command of words is so happy that it is said mighty Jove might well want to speak with a tongue like this. In fact, if the Muses themselves desired to speak in Latin, they would want to do so with Plautus’ melodious voice. Delights, charms, urbane humor, and wit: how enchanting such devices can be, that Plautus’ graceful theater proves. Anyone who does not savor his lively Muse, certainly [] has no taste whatsoever and is dull of heart and mind. Not only is Plautus the one whom illustrious Rome calls the glory of her language, he is also the one she deservedly cherishes with praise and honor. But if perhaps you won’t believe me, reader, you’ll believe me once you have read his Amphitruo from start to finish. Farewell.

On the verso of the title page Eobanus reprints a testimonial from Filippo Beroaldo,30 the sentiments of which he had already versified in his liminary epigram: PHILIPPI BEROALDI DE PLAUTO TESTIMONIUM Marcum Plautum inter scriptores clarissimum ac Latinae linguae decus delitiasque dici et esse nemo non novit. Cuius sales et facetosam urbanitatem qui non probat, nihil prorsus probat. Cuius lectione qui non capitur, qua capiatur non dispicio. FILIPPO BEROALDO’S TESTIMONIAL ABOUT PLAUTUS The whole world knows that Marcus Plautus is justly called the most celebrated of authors and the glory and delight of the Latin language. Anyone who does not approve of his jokes and witty urbanity is incapable of approving anything at all. I do not see what could possibly enchant anyone who fails to be enchanted by reading him.

To Beroaldo’s testimonial Eobanus joins a word of encouragement to his readers: HESSUS ADIECIT Ergo vel impensae iacturam, candide lector, Quia sapis, aut operae non vereare. Vale.31 30 The testimonial is quoted from Plautus integer cum interpretatione Ioannis Baptistae Pii (Milan, ), sig. AAv: “Philippus Beroaldus lectori Salhutemi. Marcum Plautum inter scriptores clarissimum [etc.].” 31 Though Eobanus does not say so, the epigram versifies a brief passage at the end of Beroaldo’s preface to the Milan edition of , where the Italian humanist praises Pio’s commentaries: “Quisquis igitur Plautini poematis lector es studiosus, una cum Plauto specta hosce Pii commentarios; hosce tecum habe. Nec ullam operae verearis impensaeque iacturam.”



oratio, sive praelectio HESSUS ADDS: Well then, fair-minded reader, since you are a man of taste, you need have no fear of wasting either your money or your effort. Farewell.

The three extant copies all contain detailed student notes that were evidently taken down during Eobanus’ lectures on the play.32 The marginalia frequently offer alternate readings from Pilade’s Plautus edition (Brescia, ; repr. Parma, ): Has comoedias viginti Plautinas ex quibus Pylades Buccardus duodeviginti solerti diligentia correxit atque ex iis quinque elegantissime interpretatus est. The marginal notes likewise prove that Eobanus made extensive use of Pilade’s commentary, most likely in the edition of Amphitruo published by Matthias Schürer at Strasbourg in , under the title: M. Actii Plauti Asinii comici clarissimi Comoediae quinque . . . Cum lucubratiunculis ex commentariis Pylade Brixiani ornati. Printing History Eobanus’ inaugural oration was published just once, with no indication of place, printer, or date [Erfurt: Johann Knappe the Elder, May/June ]. With just a single copy still extant, the booklet remained wholly unknown to earlier scholars.33 A () [Fraktur] Oratio ſiue Praele | ctio Jn Auſpicio Officior˜u M | [roman] Tullii Ciceronis Et M. Accii Plauti Comœ= | diarum In Academia Erphurdienſi per | Magiſtr˜u Eobanum Heſſum In ead˜e | Academia Bonas litteras publice | profit˜etem habita M.D.XV. | In qua habentur | De Laudibus & reparatione Studii Erphurdieñ. | Contra malos preceptores | Laudes Ciceronis: Laus Moralis ph˜ıe˛ | Ad recta Studia Exhortatio | Artium Septenarii Tropologica Deſcriptio | Eiuſdem Eobani | [four distichs] | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

32

None o: A–C4, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av–Cv Oratio, sive praelectio

Leonhardt, –. I first reported the work’s existence in the bio-bibliographical article, “Eobanus Hessus ( January – October ),” in German Writers of the Renaissance and Reformation, –, ed. James Hardin and Max Reinhart (Detroit, ), . 33

introduction



Catchwords: None Running titles: None Copy text: Basel, Universitätsbibliothek Call number: Aleph E VIII :

The Basel copy contains some sidenotes in a humanistic hand. The copy is bound with Eobanus’ Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ). See p. xx above. Excursus: The Two Epigraphs over the Portal to the Collegium maius In the liminary epigram to his Oratio and again in the work’s opening paragraphs, Eobanus speaks with pride about the university’s recovery from the riot of  August  that had left the Collegium maius in shambles.34 With her central building ruined and ransacked, it looked as if the university had lost her very heart. Realizing that the Collegium maius was the key to revival, the university administration quickly commissioned architects to draw up plans for reconstruction. By the summer of  the grand portal was completed. The building as a whole was finished by the autumn of .35 Sometime during these years, two epigraphs were insculpted over the portal. The first to edit them was Johann Nicolaus Sinnhold, Erfordia Litterata: oder Gelehrtes Erfurt, vol. : (Erfurt, ),  (with somewhat normalized spellings and some transcription errors). Sinnhold’s text is repeated in: Wilhelm von Tettau, Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler der Stadt Erfurt und des Erfurter Landkreises (Halle, ), , with one correction, but also several new errors; and Paul Peters, “Das Collegium majus in Erfurt,” Mittheilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte und Alterthumskunde von Erfurt  (), –. Peters’ text is followed in Heinrich Bergner, Handbuch der Bürgerlichen Kunstaltertümer in Deutschland (Leipzig, ), :, and in Hans Schuchardt, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Stadt Erfurt, vol. , Weltliche (profane) Kunst im alten Erfurt (Göttingen, ), , with bizarrely mangled forms. Some of Peter’s readings appear also in the carefully transcribed and edited text in Richard Jahr and Wilhelm

34 35

See p.  above. See Kleineidam, :, .



oratio, sive praelectio

Lorenz, “Die Erfurter Inschriften (bis zum Jahre ): Die Grabinschriften; Inschriften an Bauwerken, an Werken der Plastik, der Malerei und des Kunstgewerbes,” Mitteilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte und Alterthumskunde von Erfurt  (), – (part , no. ). Gernot Fischer, Figurenportale in Deutschland – (Frankfurt am Main, ), , , , reprints Tettau’s text. A German translation of sorts was produced by Wilhelm Heinzelmann in “Die Universität Erfurt und der Humanismus,” Erfurter Lutherfest-Almanach: Zum Besten des LutherDenkmals in Erfurt, ed. Ottomar Lorenz (Erfurt, ), –, reprinted by Peters as well as Schuchardt. Here is a new text of the epigraphs, based on photographs that I took in November .36 The first epigraph, at the top left of the portal, is in iambic trimeters; the second, at the top right, is in Phalaecean hendecasyllables. (a) Oculis, viator, quam vides stupentibus, Res mira dictu, foecit haec seipsam37 domus. Titulum perhennem38 vera scripsit Gloria. Aeternitas dicavit.39 Omnes Gratiae40  Famulantur intus et novem pedissequae. Regina rerum possidet Sapientia. Fortuna nescit his bonis auctam domum. I nunc, viator, illa41 mirare, ut lubet. Passerby, the hall you are gazing at with wondering eyes — a marvelous thing to say! — this hall has built herself. True Glory wrote the inscription that will never perish. Immortality consecrated her. The Graces and the nine handmaids all attend her within.42 The Queen of the universe, Wisdom, abides here. Fortuna holds no sway over a hall endowed with such great blessings. Go now, passerby, and marvel at those things to your heart’s content.

36 The Collegium maius was demolished by American bombs on  February . Fortunately, the grand portal was largely spared. It was completely restored during the Luther Year . Reconstruction of the building as a whole was begun in  and completed in . 37 se ipsa Sinnhold, Peters, se ipsam Tettau, se ips¯ a Jahr/Lorenz. 38 perennem Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, phenn¯ e Jahr/Lorenz. 39 ditavit Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, Jahr/Lorenz. 40 Gratiae Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, graciae Jahr/Lorenz. 41 ista Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, Jahr/Lorenz. 42 The three Graces and nine Muses.

introduction

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(b) Heus tu, quo properas,43 viator? Audi. Author44 sum domus artium bonarum, Morum fida parens, magistra vitae, Virtutum via,45 gloriosa magni  Sectatrix Acadaemiae Platonis. Foelices facio. Bonis rependo Coelum pro meritis. An hoc, viator, Tanti non erat ut rogare velles? Hey there, passerby, where are you rushing off to? Listen! I, the hall before you, am the source of the liberal arts, faithful mother of good morals, teacher of life, path of virtues, renowned devotee of the Academy of great Plato. I bless people with happiness. In reward for good merits I grant heaven. Is this not important enough, passerby, that you would want to ask about it?

Estimates for the composition date of these epigraphs range from  (Schuchardt) to ca.  (Jahr/Lorenz). The identity of the poet who produced them is unknown. All we can say is that the verses are obviously humanistic in their polished brilliance. The question now arises: might they be the work of Eobanus Hessus? Eobanus was back in Erfurt for much of the building’s reconstruction. Given his interest in the Collegium maius, as manifested in the Oratio, and given his stature as king of poets, it would certainly have been natural for the university to commission the epigraphs from him. The argument for Eobanus’ authorship gains force with the discovery of some close verbal parallels to his published works. Thus the expression “his bonis auctam domum” (epigraph a.) is reminiscent of Laud. – , where our humanist glories in Erfurt and her university: “Foelix gymnasium, foelix Erphordia, tantis/Aucta bonis!”, as well as in Her. Chr. .: “Britannia . . ./Innumerabilibus . . . aucta bonis.” Most strikingly, epigraph b. (“Heus tu, quo properas, viator? Audi”) reprises Hymn. B .: “Heus tu, quo properas, viator? Adsta.” The conclusion of the same epigraph (“An hoc, viator,/Tanti non erat ut rogare velles?”) strongly resembles In Ed. Leeum . (closing line): “Num quod legeres, viator, hoc erat tanti?” The term domus, used in its Middle Latin sense of “hall” to describe the Collegium maius at epigraphs a., a., and b., appears also at l.  of the liminary poem to Oratio, sive praelectio and,

43 44 45

properas Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, p¯ peras Jahr/Lorenz. Auctor Sinnhold, Tettau, Peters, Jahr/Lorenz. via Tettau: Dea Sinnhold, Peters, dea Jahr/Lorenz.



oratio, sive praelectio

within the speech itself, at .. and ...46 The phrase “Res mira dictu” (epigraph a.) is quoted from Erasmus, Carm. . (likewise in iambic trimeters); but borrowings from Erasmus’ poetry are characteristic of Eobanus’ style at the time in question.47 Eobanus’ authorship, already persuasively indicated by circumstantial evidence, is confirmed beyond doubt by a page in Cod. Guelf. .  Aug. o (Wolfenbüttel, HAB). This manuscript is a substantial collection of texts, consisting of  leaves, with modern foliation, written by diverse hands in , , and . It was assembled at Erfurt by Dietrich Block of Hildesheim, the copyist of the last major piece in the collection (fols. r–r) and of several later insertions. Block matriculated at the university in , becoming BA in , MA in . After taking holy orders to secure a living, he studied medicine. At the turn of the century he was in Bologna, where he earned his doctorate. From  to  he was professor of medicine at Rostock, thereafter at Wittenberg until ca. .48 Having moved to Magdeburg, Block died there in .49 The manuscript has been described in detail by Otto von Heinemann, Die Handschriften der herzoglichen Bibliothek zu Wolfenbüttel, nd series, Die Augusteischen Handschriften,  (Wolfenbüttel, ), –, no.  (reprinted in Kataloge der Herzog-August-Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel: Die alte Reihe. Nachdruck der Ausgabe –, , Die Augusteischen Handschriften,  [Frankfurt am Main, ], –). Because it contains one of the twelve manuscripts of the Occultus Erfordensis by Nikolaus of Bibra (fols. r–v), the Wolfenbüttel codex has been of special interest to editors of that poem on Erfurt life.50 See Christine Mundhenk, Der ‘Occultus Erfordensis’ des Nicolaus von Bibra (Weimar, ), –.

46 The Collegium maius was also known as “Domus universitatis” and “Domus facultatis.” See Kleineidam, :. 47 Thus the two mock epitaphs at the end of Hymnus paschalis closely follow Erasmus, Carm. . See further Vredeveld, “Traces,” –. 48 He was elected rector there in the summer semester of . 49 See Bauch, –; Hans-Theodor Koch, “Die Wittenberger medizinische Fakultät (–): Ein biobibliographischer Überblick,” in Medizin und Sozialwesen in Mitteldeutschland zur Reformationszeit, ed. Stefan Oehmig (Leipzig, ), . 50 Eobanus mocks the late medieval poet at Gen. ebrios. .–.

Illustration : Two verse epigraphs over the portal to the Collegium maius at Erfurt Photo by author, 



oratio, sive praelectio

In the manuscript, the text of Occultus Erfordensis concludes with an explicit on fol. v, written by the copyist Konrad Hoppelsen (Hoppelssheym) of Eimbeck and dated . The remainder of the page was left blank. It is into this blank space that Block copied the epigrams for the Collegium maius, presumably in /: INSTAURATO COLLEGIO ERFFURDIANO CARMINA SUBSEQUENTIA INSCULPTA INVENIUNTUR:  SALTEM EX EIS ULTIMUM51 Mille et quingentos a Christo sexque decemque Annos si numeres, haec quo sit tempore nosces Instaurata domus, quam nunc de sorde vetusta Aspicis extractam sapientibus et studiosis.  EOBANUS HESSUS ERFFURDIANUS Oculis, viator, quam vides stupentibus, Res mira dictu, foecit haec seipsam domus. Titulum perhennem vera scripsit Gloria. Aeternitas dicavit. Omnes Gratiae  Famulantur intus et novem pedissequae. Regina rerum possidet Sapientia. Fortuna nescit his bonis auctam domum. I nunc, viator, ista mirare, ut lubet.  HENDECASILLABUM EIUSDEM Heus tu, quo properas viator? Audi. Auctor sum domus artium bonarum, Morum fida parens, magistra vitae, Virtutum via, gloriosa magni  Sectatrix Achadaemiae Platonis. Foelices facio. Bonis rependo Coelum pro meritis. An hoc, viator, Tanti non erit ut rogare velles?  TESTRASTICON EIUSDEM52 Mille et quingentos a Christo sexque decemque Si numerare voles annos, iam tempore nosces

51 The heading is written in gray ink, rather than the black ink used elsewhere. Meter: Hexameter. 52 Meter: Hexameter.

introduction

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Dedita quo studiis hanc arcem turba53 locarit, Quam causata suum tam posteritatis honorem.  VEL ALITER SIC54 Mille et quingentos annos septemque decemque A Christo numera, si quo sit tempore quaeris Instaurata domus quam nunc de sorde vetusta Miraris traxisse novum quicunque nitorem. Prima vero Erffurdiensis Universitatis domusque contubernalis fundatio facta est anno Domini .  TETRASTICON AD IDEM55 Ter quadringenti, ter centum, sexque, decemque Anni post natum preteriere Deum, Instaurata domus quando haec de sorde vetusta Phidiaca cultus induit arte novos.56 ON THE RESTORED COLLEGIUM IN ERFURT THE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING EPIGRAMS ARE FOUND INSCULPTED:  AT LEAST, THE LAST ONE OF THEM If you add up a thousand, and five hundred, and six, and ten years after Christ, you will know the date when this hall was restored. Today you see it rescued from the squalor of ages by wise and scholarly men.  EOBANUS HESSUS OF ERFURT Passerby, the hall you are gazing at with wondering eyes — a marvelous thing to say! — this hall has built herself. True Glory wrote the inscription that will never perish. Immortality consecrated her. The Graces and the nine handmaids all attend her within. The Queen of the universe, Wisdom, abides here. Fortuna holds no sway over a hall endowed with such great blessings. Go now, passerby, and marvel at those things to your heart’s content.

53

Cf. Pod. : “rectis studiis dedita turba.” Meter: Hexameter. 55 Meter: Elegiac distich. 56 Cf. Her. Chr. .: “positos cultus induta”; Psalt. .: “Magnificos cultus induit ipse sibi”; Eras. : “Ille sacris primus detractum nuper honorem/Reddidit et cultus vestiit arte novi.” 54



oratio, sive praelectio  HENDECASYLLABLES BY THE SAME POET Hey there, passerby, where are you rushing off to? Listen! I, the hall before you, am the source of the liberal arts, faithful mother of good morals, teacher of life, path of virtues, renowned devotee of the Academy of great Plato. I bless people with happiness. In reward for good merits I grant heaven. Is this not important enough, passerby, that you would want to ask about it?  TETRASTICH BY THE SAME POET If you add up a thousand, and five hundred, and six, and ten years after Christ, then you will know the time when a throng of scholars built this citadel,57 as much to their own honor as to that of generations still to come.  OR WITH A DIFFERENT DATE, AS FOLLOWS Add up a thousand, and five hundred, and seven, and ten years after Christ, if you want to know when this hall was restored. Whoever you are, you can marvel at its new splendor, now that it has been rescued from the squalor of ages. The original foundation of the University of Erfurt and this collegiate hall was actually laid in the year of our Lord .58  A TETRASTICH TO THE SAME EFFECT Thrice four hundred, three hundred, and six, and ten years passed after the birth of God when this restored hall sloughed off the squalor of ages and took on new elegance with the help of Phidias’ art.59

Block’s manuscript thus confirms that it was Eobanus who wrote the two long epigraphs for the Collegium maius. The manuscript also preserves four shorter epigrams. These poems, all of them tetrastichs, are close variations on the same theme. We may thus infer that the university commissioned Eobanus to write not just the two longer epigraphs, but also a set of four-liners from which to choose. Block’s manuscript suggests that the university ultimately settled on the last one in Eobanus’ original series of tetrastichs. That is why Block copied that epigram out

57 The citadel of learning (arx studiorum). For the image, cf. Orat. stud., sig. Br; Dial. , sig. Br; Idyl. .. 58 Originally called Collegium universitatis, the Collegium maius was the university’s first college when it was founded in . Eventually it was expanded to include six buildings. The College was home to some of the faculty members and to several hundred students in the philosophical faculties. See Kleineidam, :–. 59 Phidias was a celebrated Athenian sculptor and architect of the fifth century bce.

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first, along with the two longer epigraphs. Though never insculpted into the building, the remaining three epigraphs are nonetheless of interest to us, because they show Eobanus as the author of all the tetrastichs. Epigraph  in the manuscript is, after all, specifically attributed to him (“eiusdem,” “by the same poet”). Three of the tetrastichs give the date . A fourth offers the date  — presumably in case the restoration of the Collegium maius could not be completed until then.

ORATIO, SIVE PRAELECTIO, IN AUSPICIO OFFICIORUM M. TULLII CICERONIS ET M. ACCII PLAUTI COMOEDIARUM in Academia Erphurdiensi per Magistrum Eobanum Hessum in eadem Academia bonas litteras publice profitentem habita M.D.XV In qua habentur De laudibus et reparatione Studii Erphurdiensis Contra malos preceptores Laudes Ciceronis, laus moralis philosophiae Ad recta studia exhortatio Artium septenarii tropologica descriptio

EIUSDEM EOBANI Perdere non potuit sanctam Fortuna Minervam, Cuspide nam vitrea fortior aegis erat. Nunc age, responde nostris, Erphurdia, Musis! Plena tua est iterum gloria, plenus honor.  At quicumque legis nostros ubicumque libellos, Hoc memori clausum pectore carmen habe: Ut nova Thuringae surgit domus accola Gherae, Sic maior studiis accumulatur honos.

Epigr.  Thuringae scripsi: Thurignae A.

AN ORATION, OR INAUGURAL LECTURE, INTRODUCING A COURSE ON M. TULLIUS CICERO’S DUTIES AND THE COMEDIES OF M. ACCIUS PLAUTUS, held at the University of Erfurt by Magister Eobanus Hessus, a teacher of good literature at that same university, in the year  In which are contained The glories and the revival of the University of Erfurt A condemnation of bad teachers The praises of Cicero, a praise of moral philosophy An exhortation to the fittest subjects of study A tropological description of the septenary of arts

BY THE SAME EOBANUS Fortuna failed to destroy holy Minerva, for the Aegis proved mightier than the glassy spear.1 Now then, Erfurt, respond to my Muses! Your glory is once again ample, your honor restored in full. But you, readers of my books, whoever you are and wherever you may be, take the following verses to heart: just as this new hall is going up by the Thuringian Gera, so scholarship here is bursting forth to ever higher acclaim.

1 Protected by the shield of Minerva, patron goddess of wisdom and learning, the University of Erfurt has fended off the blows of brittle-as-glass Fortune and is recovering from the “Mad Year” –. Symbolic of all this progress is the Collegium maius, or Grand College, on the Gera River. Devastated in the riot of , it is now being rebuilt in magnificent style. See pp. – above.

Av

PRAELECTIO ERPHURDIENSIS HELII EOBANI HESSI IN PRINCIPIO OFFICIORUM CICERONIS ET PLAUTI AMPHITRYONIS HABITA X. KALENDARUM IUNII M.D.XV

. Si ullo unquam alio tempore de rectorum studiorum

Ar

instauratione deque totius huiusce litterariae rei salute et stabilitate bona esse spes potuit, nunc maxime non sperare solum sed et quasi redituras ab exilio bonas litteras nobis possumus polliceri, candidi iuvenes.  Etenim si superiora tempora cum presentibus conferre libeat, non video quamobrem magnopere Fortunam accusemus, quae aequabile illud et perpetuum in omnibus rebus temperamentum sic exercet, ut duobus vitae rerumque differentiis propositis alteram altera moderetur et conspergat.  Videre enim est eam esse in rebus humanis diversitudinem, ut quantum secundis nonnunquam efferimur, tantum deprimamur adversis.  Docet enim nos Fortuna multis casibus sic uti prosperis, ut tanquam instantia pericula semper timeamus. . Id verum esse domesticum nos exemplum docuit — tantum abest ut externa requiramus!  Quis enim est qui nesciat quantam anno ab hinc quinto nostrum hoc praeclarum gymnasium improborum hominum consiliis illatam calamitatem acceperit, quanta afflictatum vi, quantis pulsatum popularis violentiae procellis tamen restiterit et grassantis fortunae cesserit iniuriae, donec quasi | collectis reliquiis ipsum sese refovere cepit et preterita cum presentibus conferens de futuris sibi providet sapientissime?  Videmus enim (Deo gratia) conventum hunc scholasticum pulcherrimum et litterariam miliciam Erphurdiensem indies post acceptam cladem non solum augeri, sed et rectius multoque preclarius optimorum preceptorum tam copia quam summa diligentia institui.  Quae res cum multis aliis hac nostra multo ignobilioribus acadaemiis laudem et gloriam pepererit, tum maximam nobis conciliabit aestimationem dignitatis et praeeminentiae, vel propterea

AN INAUGURAL LECTURE, HELD IN ERFURT BY HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS AT THE START OF A COURSE ON CICERO’S DUTIES AND PLAUTUS’ AMPHITRUO ON 23 MAY 1515 If ever there was a time when we have good reason to hope for a revival of genuine scholarship and for the health and stability of this whole enterprise of literary studies, that time, fair-minded students, is now. Today we have reached the point where we may not only entertain the highest hopes, but even promise ourselves that humane letters will soon return, so to speak, from their exile. In fact, if you’ll permit me to compare times past with the present, I really don’t see why we should be all that upset with Fortuna, who, even as she oscillates between the two extremes in human life and affairs, ultimately maintains such a steady and unvarying mean in all things that the one kind of fortune is unfailingly balanced and interspersed with the other. At all events, it is not hard to discern that the vicissitudes of everyday life are so constituted that we are just as apt to be buoyed up by success sometimes as to be laid low by adversity. Through her many ups and downs, in fact, Fortuna teaches us that we must enjoy prosperity as if always expecting trials just around the corner.  The truth of this observation is confirmed by an example right here at home — so far are we from having to look to the outside! For is there anyone who doesn’t know what an enormous calamity this celebrated university of ours suffered five years ago at the instigation of villainous men, with what brute force she was battered, by what gales of mob violence she was pounded? Or how she nevertheless stood fast and would yield to the blows of outrageous fortune only, in a manner of speaking, for as long as it took to gather up her ashes, to begin the task of reviving herself, and, by weighing the past against the present, to provide for her future with consummate wisdom? For we have seen (thanks to God) that this most beautiful community of scholars, this militia of letters at Erfurt, has not only been growing stronger day by day since the disaster struck, but is also being furnished — quite properly so, and far more admirably! — with a good many outstanding instructors, all eager to devote themselves heart and soul to the task. If such dedication has brought fame and glory to many other universities that are far less distinguished than ours, it surely will win us a stellar reputation for excellence and preeminence, precisely because the University



oratio, sive praelectio

[

quod Erphurdiense Gymnasium nullo nisi iniquissimo tempore ulli unquam totius Germaniae scholae et litterarum gloria et doctorum virorum multitudine concessit.  Huc accedit quod quemadmodum scientiarum omnium laude et gloria hactenus, ita in futurum omnes Germaniae acadaemias aedificiorum maiestate, elegantia, et amplitudine facile superabimus.  Quae enim vel publica vel privata domus conferri poterit, si hoc quod tanto tamque preclaro inicio ex fundamentis surgere opus cernimus in fastigium eductum excreverit? . Quod si ad magistratus ipsos potius et aediles scholasticique aerarii dispensatores hic mihi sermo haberetur, dicerem hoc loco fortasse cum multa alia tum et hoc quod superioribus diebus sic lusi: 

Av

Aemula Caesareo surgit domus Amphytheatro. Esse quis hoc pulchrum magnificumque neget? At magis ingenuas pulchrum est florere per artes. Illa est magnificae gloria prima domus.  Huc aliquem confer dubiis Amphiona rebus: Attrahet impulsa frigida saxa lyra.  Quod si publica utilitate neglecta privata quisque commoditate seorsum occupabimur, actum de tam splendido tamque ornato studiosorum ordine quis dubitabit?  Etenim in publicis rebus administrandis nulla maior pestis est quam privatae utilitatis studium.  Quae res non solum civitates multas, sed et imperia, sed regna, sed provincias sepenumero evertit, perdidit, et absumpsit. . Dicerem multa ad hanc rem pertinentia, nisi alio nostra festinaret oratio.  Sum enim evagatus longius fortasse quam oportuit.  Sed libuit haec praefari tumultuario sermone (nec enim orationem facimus), ut omnium primum ostenderem quamoptime me

2 For the riots of – and the rebuilding of the Collegium maius, see the introd., pp. – and – above.

an oration, or inaugural lecture



of Erfurt, except in the worst of times, has never yielded to any school in all Germany, either in her reputation for scholarship or in the size of her faculty. Furthermore, just as hitherto we have outstripped all German universities through our fame and renown in every branch of learning, so too henceforth we shall easily outclass our competitors through the grandeur, elegance, and sheer size of our buildings. For what hall, be it public or private, will be able to match this one, once the structure that we see rising up from the foundations on so grand a scale and with such splendid promise has finally reached its planned height?2  Now if I were addressing these words instead to the university magistrates and to the building supervisors and school treasurers, I’d perhaps also tell them at this point, among many other things, the following verses that I tossed off in the past few days: Here a hall rises up to rival Rome’s Colosseum.3 Who would not agree that it is lovely and grand? But to excel in the liberal arts is even more lovely. That is the principal boast of this magnificent hall. At this critical juncture we must bring some Amphion hither: He’ll bring the cold stones to life merely by striking his lyre.4 But if each of us were to look out only for ourselves and our private advantage, with no regard for the public interest, who can doubt that such an attitude would be the death of so brilliant and so illustrious a company of scholars? The fact is that in the conduct of public affairs there is no greater bane than the pursuit of private advantage. This vice not only afflicts a good many cities, but oftentimes also overthrows, destroys, and consumes empires, not to mention kingdoms and provinces.  I could say much more on this topic, were my speech not hurrying in another direction. As it is, I have already digressed longer, perhaps, than I should have. Still, this is how I wanted to preface these haphazard remarks (for I’m not delivering a formal speech) in order

3 Literally, “Caesar’s Amphitheater,” a phrase quoted here from Martial. Originally called the Flavian Amphitheater, the Colosseum was begun by Emperor Vespasian and completed by Emperor Titus. 4 The legendary King Amphion moved the stones for the walls of Thebes by playing his lyre. A modern King Amphion (read: the king of poets, Eobanus Hessus) is needed now to turn the lifeless stones into a sanctuary of the Muses. Cf. Hor. Ars –.



oratio, sive praelectio

[

esse animatum ad decus gloriamque comparandam huic acadaemicae familiae.  Cuius augendae dignitatis si author esse non possum, ero tamen (quod certe de me et polliceri possum et prestare) auxiliator et exemplo reliquis, ut in id ipsi diligentius incumbant, in quo vires meas defecisse cognoverint.  Neque enim minus gloriosum esse arbitror, maximarum rerum instituisse exempla quo caeteri qui melius possunt incitentur quam eas ipsas maximas res gessisse.  Eamque obrem Cicero, Latinae eloquentiae vindex, in primo Officiorum libro Solonem prefert Themistocli, M. Scaurum C. Mario, Q. Catulum Gn. Pompeio, P. Nasicam Scipioni Aphricano, quod hii consilio plus quam | illi rerum gestarum gloria laudis et aestimationis sint consequti.  Ego vero (ut reliquos taceam) semper id mihi singularis gloriae loco duxi, si non solum mihi sed et iuxta Platonis edictum quam plurimis prodessem, in eoque esse situm iuventutis meae et semper quaesitae gloriae fructum cognoscebam, si bonorum operum exequtione bonis etiam placere possem.  Quam rem pro mei ingenii facultate (quae tamen sentio quam sit exigua) si non satis quidem egregie sum consecutus, consequtum tamen multi affirmant. . Sinite, quaeso, boni commilitones, non quidem gloriari me nec obiicere beneficia, sed piam voluntatem et animi affectum commemorare.  Puer olim quasi prima stipendia facturus in litteris ad hoc Erphurdiense stadium a parentibus dimissus, mox et vix dum a paucis hominibus cognitus gymnasium hoc versibus quibusdam magnorum virorum testimonio non contemnendis illustravi.  Tum et alia quaedam ad eius tametsi fortasse non gloriam certe tamen honorem et dignitatem pertinentia dedi, de quibus, quoniam mea sunt, quam brevissime mihi dicendum esse censui, ne fortasse cuipiam ex

Ar

. quaesitae scripsi: quesitae A. 5

. quaedam scripsi: quedam A.

See Cic. Off. .–. The thought does not occur in Plato. It does recur in Plato’s Roman interpreter, Cicero. See Cic. Div. ..; Fin. .; Off. .. 6

an oration, or inaugural lecture



to demonstrate right from the start how keen I am on bringing distinction and glory to this academic family of ours. If I myself prove incapable of raising her prestige in some way, I shall nonetheless — and this is a promise about myself that I can definitely not just make, but also keep — I shall nonetheless lend my full support and serve as an example to others, so that they may the more diligently step into the breach wherever they see my own powers wanting. For I think it no less glorious to set an example by which others, who happen to be more highly gifted, are spurred to sublime achievements than to bring off those same sublime achievements myself. It is for that very reason that Cicero, the patron of Latin eloquence, tells us in book  of Duties that he ranks Solon higher than Themistocles, Marcus Scaurus than Gaius Marius, Quintus Catulus than Gnaeus Pompeius, Publius Nasica than Scipio Africanus, because those men won higher fame and esteem through statesmanship than their counterparts did through exploits in war.5 Certainly I myself (to say nothing of other people) have always made it a special point of honor to try to be of service, not just to myself, but also, in accordance with Plato’s injunction, to as many as possible,6 and have recognized that the fruit of my youth and of the glory I’ve pursued all my life will only then come to ripeness, if in accomplishing good deeds I can also find favor among the good. If admittedly I have not been all that successful in attaining that goal to the full extent of my abilities (of whose limitations, however, I am acutely aware), nevertheless there are many who affirm that I have done my best to pursue it.  Permit me, I beg you, dear comrades in arms, not of course to plume myself or to dwell on any services of mine, but just to make mention of my goodwill and my sense of solidarity with you. Some years ago, when I was still in my teens, my parents sent me here to the Erfurt arena to begin, as it were, my basic training in scholarship. However, it wasn’t long before I, still virtually unknown in those days, illuminated this university in some verses that, according to the testimony of prominent men, are not altogether contemptible.7 Thereafter I also composed some other works, which, though they may not have added to her glory, nevertheless redound to her honor and credit. Since they are mine, I thought it best to bring them up just as briefly as possible, lest perhaps I give people the impression that I’m puffed up 7 During his student years at Erfurt, Eobanus published, among other books, a panegyric of the University of Erfurt, De laudibus et praeconiis incliti . . . Gymnasii litteratorii apud Erphordiam (Erfurt, ). See Poetic Works, :–.



Av

oratio, sive praelectio re non perinde magna cristas tollere videar atque illud, quod dici solet, male audiam, “Suum cuique pulchrum.”  Qui enim sua per se, licet sine fuco, benefacta commemorat, seipsum laudantis calumniam mirum si effugerit.  Quae tamen omnia apud doctos et sapientes viros adeo sunt excusata, ut non mediocrem virtutis aestimationem prae se ferre videantur. . Nuper autem | (ut ista puerilia omittam) ex barbaris regionibus reversus Latinas Musas mecum attuli, quae etiamnum per barbarissimas nationes sequtae ad haec exteriora me velut postliminio redeuntem ipsae reduxere, iam dudum caeli istius crassi et maligni inclementiam pro sua teneritudine ferre non potentes.  Bonam huius anni partem apud eas vobis quoque (ne solus haberem) insinuandas collocavi.  Laudo vestrum studium, probo diligentiam, commendo consuetudinem.  Amplexati estis et quasi ad animi sacietatem deosculati puellas castissimas — Heroidas scilicet Christianas, ut tandem nominemus nostrum illud novicium opus. . Clam me non est fuisse multos qui dicerent nunquam me istarum rerum prelectionem adeo festiviter institutam ad finem perducturum.  Quorum opinioni quantum mea constantia detraxerim vos ipsos testes appello, magis enim presentes habere non possum.  Fuere etiam qui dicerent non tantum communis utilitatis quantum mei ipsius commodi gratia professionem istam instituisse.  Quae quam vere ab eis dicta sint, ipsi velim nunc secum repetant, cum non solum ista preterita non poeniteat contulisse, sed et futura quaedam (quis enim omnia tandem posset?) gratuito vobis conferre sim paratus.  Inerat autem (quod scitis) in isto opere invulgando quidam gloriae vermiculus.  Cuius plerumque corruptione sic extimulamur ut popularis aurae cupiditate fiamus prorsus ebrii multaque faciamus ad nostram gloriam quae imperitae multitudini ad utilitatem privatam pertinere |

. prae scripsi: pre A.

. corruptione conieci: corſi¯oe A.

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



with pride over something not particularly great, or even hear them taunt me with that familiar adage, “To each his own seems beautiful.” For as you know, anyone who talks about his own services, even without embellishment, will be lucky to escape the charge of self-praise. Among scholars and philosophers, however, all such matters are so far from being inexcusable that they actually seem to have something quite commendable about them.  Now recently (to move beyond those juvenilia), when I returned from the barbaric regions,8 I did take the Latin Muses back with me. Having accompanied me even then through the most uncouth nations to those outposts of civilization, they themselves, in a manner of speaking, escorted me home out of exile; for sensitive souls that they are, they had long since proved incapable of enduring the harshness of that thick and glowering sky. A good part of the current year I have now spent with them, just to introduce them to you also.9 (Really, I did not want them all to myself!) I laud your enthusiasm, I approve your diligence, I commend your intimacy with them. You have embraced and, if I may say so, kissed them lovingly to your heart’s content — those chastest of maidens, those Christian Heroides, to finally mention that novel work of mine by name.  It hasn’t escaped me that there were a lot of people who predicted that I’d never bring this course, announced with such fanfare, to a successful conclusion. How much I’ve deflated their expectation through my perseverance, for that I call on you as witnesses. I certainly couldn’t ask for closer eyewitnesses than you! There were others, too, who declared that I had organized that course not so much for the common good as for my own advantage. It would be nice if those who talked like this would now repeat their statements among themselves. Then they’d recognize how much truth there was to their gossip, considering that I not only don’t regret having offered the aforementioned lectures to you free of charge, but am prepared to do the same with some of my future lectures (for who could afford to do this for free all the time?). Now in the publication of that work of mine, as you well know, the cankerworm of ambition (if I may use that expression) did indeed play a role. By its corruptive action we are very frequently so goaded on that we become utterly intoxicated with the thirst for popular favor and will do for personal glory many things that, to the untutored masses, seem to be aimed purely to

8 9

From Prussia, where Eobanus lived from the winter of / to April . He has been lecturing on the book this past winter semester.

 Ar

oratio, sive praelectio

[

videntur.  Cuiusmodi maxime sunt nostratia ista poetica deliramenta, dulces insaniae, imaginariae voluptates, iucunda Musarum somnia, et id genus multa exorbitamina mentium. . Verum ad institutum redeo.  Non sum, per immortalem Deum (id autem summum iuramentum est), non sum de eorum numero qui, quo ipsi gloriosiores vel ditiores evadant, auditorum et discipulorum profectus negligunt eorumque animos ita quibusdam verborum (quae domi prius meditati sunt) lenociniis demulcent et seducunt, ut quasi oraculum habeant quicquid ineptissimus aliquando preceptor concitatiore paulum spiritu effutiverit.  Quales sunt isti qui apud idiotas, illitteratos homines in privatis conciliabulis, si tria digrammata Graece fortasse commendicarunt, pleno ore, ingenti spiritu eructant atque ita sese ostentant ut male seductis pueris graculi — hem, Graeculi dicere volebam — videantur.  Quibus profecto longe esset consultius si, Ciceronis nostri precepti (quod est in Officiis) memores, eo uterentur sermone qui notus ipsis esset, “ne ut quidam” (sic ipse inquit) “Graeca verba inculcantes iure optimo” irrideantur.  Quibus illud Iuvenalis, velut offa Cerbero, in os non immerito obiici potest: Omnia Graece, Cum sit turpe magis nostris nescire Latine.  Sed profecto facimus plerique nostrum, ut, dum nimia Graecitate laboramus, neque Graeci neque Latini videamur.  Denique praeclara est illa et memoratu digna Pomponii Fortunati sententia: “O quantum verae

10 As everyone in the audience knew, Eobanus had a specific instructor in mind: the eccentric humanist Tilmann Conradi. See the introd., pp. – above. 11 See Cic. Off. . (trans. Walter Miller). 12 In Greek myth, Cerberus is the three-headed watchdog who guards the gate to Tartarus. When the Sibyl guiding Aeneas saw the monster bristling in his cavern, she pacified him by throwing him a honeyed cake steeped in soporific drugs. See Verg. A. .–. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr., ded. ., n.

an oration, or inaugural lecture



our private advantage. Of this sort are especially those poetic deliriums of ours, those sweet frenzies, delights of the imagination, enchanting dreams of the Muses, and many more such vagaries of the mind.  But I return to my theme. I am not, by the immortal God (this, in fact, is the most solemn of oaths), I am not one of those who, in order that they themselves may come out with greater glory or riches, pay no heed to the progress of their auditors and disciples, but rather enchant and bewitch their minds with certain flashy tricks of language (all worked out at home beforehand) to such an extent that these students regard as practically an oracle whatever the teacher, however inept he may be, happens to have blurted out a bit more rapturously than usual. The sort of people I refer to are the ones who teach at private meeting places, in the homes of ordinary, illiterate men.10 If they’ve happened to pick up a couple of two-letter words in Greek, they belch them out at the top of their lungs, with immense theatricality, and then preen themselves so much that to their badly duped pupils they come across as grackles — hem, Greeklings, I meant to say. Teachers of that stripe would surely be far better advised if they would remember the precept of our Cicero (it is in his Duties), namely, that they ought to use the language that they’re at home with, “lest” (as he himself writes) “like certain people who are continually dragging in Greek words,” they “draw well-deserved ridicule” on themselves.11 Into their teeth, like the honey cake thrown at Cerberus,12 one may quite justly cast the following quotation from Juvenal: Everything in Greek, Though it’s more disgraceful for us not to know our own Latin.13 But without question, that is exactly what a great many of us are doing. And so, as we become too preoccupied with Greek, we come across as neither Greeks nor Latins. Let me finish by quoting that remarkable dictum of Pomponio Fortunato’s,14 which is well worth committing to

13

Juv. .–. Giulio Pomponio Leto (–), a professor of rhetoric in Rome, was the founder of the famed Roman Academy. From time to time he varied his last name, styling himself “Fortunatus” (“Fortunate”) rather than “Laetus” (“Joyful”). He uses “Fortunatus,” for example, in his notes on Columella, De cultu hortorum ([Padua], ); Opera agricolationum (Bologna, ), bk. . See further R. Bianchi, “Pomponius Laetus, Julius,” in Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol.  (Munich, ), . 14



Av

oratio, sive praelectio Latinitatis cultu nitet Cicero et nolentem cogit sui exemplo, qui, cum in Officiis | et Tusculanis plurimisque in locis orationum suarum ex Graecorum fonte plurima exhauserit, Graeca tamen nunquam inserere voluit.”  Hii sunt, o boni iuvenes, qui non sanctissimae philosophiae divina dogmata, sed prophanatae litteraturae venena et incantamina ex conductarum domuum angulis, non ex philosophicis pulpitis vobis proclamant, et verborum lascivia non contenti, perniciosam doctrinam vendunt et superbientis stulticiae spiritu inebriati se doctos, se sapientes, reliquos omnes stultos, ineptos frivole garriunt, qui in Iuvenale, Ovidio, Martiali, Catullo, et id genus aliis quo quisque locus est turpior eo explicant ipsi diligentius et enucleatius, tanquam vero non sint alii quoque, qui legi et proponi studiosae iuventuti citra morum offensam possint.  Sed heus vos qui adestis, Qui legitis flores et humi nascentia fraga, Frigidus, o pueri, fugite hinc, latet anguis in herba!  Tametsi ego mihi tantum non arrogo ut a prophanorum poetarum vel scriptorum lectione vos deterream, sed eatenus adhibendum modum et aetatum discretionem censeo quatenus ingenui animi verborum lascivorum veneficiis magis quam rebus ipsis non polluantur.  “Verba,” enim, ut ait ille, movent animos. Oris lascivia pectus Pulsat et in venas semina mortis agit.  De quibus rebus quoniam mihi in presentia quidem non est institutus sermo, supersedendum censeo et ad id maxime properandum ad quod nostra festinat oratio. |

. cultu scripsi: cultus A.

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



memory: “Oh, how splendidly Cicero attires himself in the elegance of true Latinity and, by his own example, shames us into doing the same! For in his Duties and Tusculans and also at a great many places in his speeches he drank deeply from the well of Greek culture, yet never felt the desire to insert Greek.” The men I allude to, my dear students, are the very ones who proclaim to you, not the divine tenets of most holy philosophy, but rather the venoms and incantations of obscene literature. They do so from the backrooms of rented houses, not from university podiums. Not content with lewd language, they charge good money for their pernicious doctrine; and inebriated with the spirit of swaggering folly, they jabber in their asinine way that only they are learned, only they are wise, while all others are fools and dunces. From Juvenal, Ovid, Martial, Catullus, and other poets of this kind they pick out the most salacious passages; and the smuttier these are, the more diligently and meticulously they explain them — as if there really weren’t other poets too that could be read and studied by young people without offense to decency. But beware, all of you in attendance, You who cull flowers and strawberries that grow in the wild here, You lads, take to your heels! A cold snake lurks in the herbage.15 All the same, I don’t take it upon myself to deter you from reading the bawdy poets or writers. However, such reading should be undertaken in moderation, I think, and with due regard for the student’s age, lest ingenuous minds be polluted more by the sorcery of lascivious words than by the things themselves. For as the poet says:16 Words impassion the soul. The lips’ lewdness pounds on the breast [and Drives the seeds of death into our innermost veins. Since it is not my intent to delve into this subject, at least not right now, I think it best to refrain from further discussion and skip as fast as possible to the topic to which my speech is hastening.

15 16

Verg. Ecl. .–. The Italian humanist Baptista Mantuanus (–). See Mant. c. Poet. –.

 Br

oratio, sive praelectio

[

. Tria sunt, auditores, quae in huiusce sermonis ordine explicanda constitui.  Ea autem sunt M. Tullii Ciceronis (cuius clarissimum librum quem De officiis inscripsit vobis interpretabimur) laude et prestantia, moralis philosophiae (de qua in ipsis Officiorum libris explicatur) dignitate et praeeminentia, demum parenesis quaedam et ad rectissima studia amplectenda generalis adhortatio.  Quae tria ubi cursim et quam distincte licebit absoluta fuerint, sermoni nostro coronidem imponemus. . Quantum itaque ad id quod primum erat attinere videtur, scire vos non dubito multos quidem fuisse qui de laudibus Ciceronis satis copiose scripserint, verum alios exemplorum acervis, alios antiquitatum involucris, nonnullos orationis copia et longitudine multo graviores esse quam qui nostro proposito (quod compendium desyderat) satisfaciant.  Quae ego pro ingenii vestri captu et temporis ratione partim abbrevianda, partim etiam hoc orationis cursu omittenda censui, ne ex aliorum laciniis centones mihi sarcire videar. . De laudibus vero Ciceronis multa diligenter in arctum collegit vir inter nostri temporis ingenia magni nominis, Philippus Beroaldus Bononiensis, in ea oratione quam in eiusdem Rhetoricorum ad Herennium principio habuisse fertur.  Scripsit et Plutarchus Graecus philosophus multa in eius vita ad ipsius nominis gloriam pertinentia.  Scripsit et Apianus Alexandrinus multa de eodem in libris Bellorum civilium, quorum tamen neutrum citat Beroaldus.  Verum quantum ex omnibus simul collatis colligi

. sunt scripsi: sicut A. civilum A.

. Herennium scripsi: Herennum A.

. civilium scripsi:

17 See Filippo Beroaldo, “Oratio habita in enarratione rhetoricorum, continens laudationem eloquentiae atque Ciceronis,” Opuscula, fols. v–v. A distinguished humanist, Filippo Beroaldo the Elder (–) taught rhetoric and poetry at Bologna from  to about . After stays at Parma, Paris, and Milan he resumed his career at Bologna in . Among his students there was Eobanus’ mentor, Mutianus Rufus.

an oration, or inaugural lecture

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 There are three themes in all, listeners, that I’m resolved to develop in the course of this lecture. They are, first, the glory and peerless excellence of M. Tullius Cicero (whose best-known book, entitled Duties, I plan to expound to you); second, the grandeur and preeminence of moral philosophy (the matter of inquiry in those books of Duties); and lastly, a kind of parenesis, or general exhortation, to pursue the fittest subjects of study. When those three have been dealt with concisely, but as clearly as possible, I’ll bring my speech to a close.  Well then, as far as the first theme is concerned, I am sure you know that there are many scholars who have written pretty eloquently on Cicero’s merits. As you are also aware, however, some of those scholars are much more ambitious in the piling up of examples, others in the presentation of historical contexts, and still others (quite a few, actually) in putting on a display of grandiloquence and prolixity, than is suited to my purpose, which aims rather at the compendium. To keep the discussion at your level of understanding and to save time, I think it best partly to epitomize the earlier praises, partly also to skip over them in the course of this speech, lest I appear to be stitching together patches from other men’s garments.  Much that can be said in praise of Cicero has undoubtedly been summed up by a man who ranks among the leading lights of our time, Filippo Beroaldo of Bologna, in the lecture with which he reportedly opened his course on that author’s Rhetoric for Herennius.17 The Greek philosopher Plutarch also wrote much in his biography that pertains to the glory of Cicero’s name.18 Appian of Alexandria, too, wrote much on that topic in his books on The Civil Wars.19 However, Beroaldo cites neither of these works. But no matter how much material can be brought 18 Plutarch praises him in his Life of Cicero and Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero. Because Eobanus did not read Greek at this time, he used a Latin translation, perhaps the one in Opera epistolica M.T. Ciceronis (Paris, ) or Vitae Plutarchi Cheronei post Pyladem Brixianum longe diligentius repositae (Paris, ). But he may equally well have read it in the version by Leonardo Bruni Aretino, which actually is not so much a translation from Plutarch as Bruni’s own biography of Cicero (“Cicero novus”) and hence lacks the Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero. Bruni’s version was printed seven times among the Plutarch translations published in Italy from ca.  to . It also appears in the introduction to Cicero’s Opera omnia (Milan, ). The Milan version was reprinted at Cologne in  and at Leipzig in . See Ludwig Bertalot, “Zur Bibliographie des Leonardus Brunus Aretinus,” in Studien zum italienischen und deutschen Humanismus, ed. Paul O. Kristeller (Rome, ), :–. 19 Appian of Alexandria (second century ce) praises Cicero in De bellis civilibus Romanis .; . (Latin translation by Pier Candido Decembrio).

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potest, M. Tullius Cicero unus est omnium | dignissimus qui laudetur et certatim extollatur ab omnibus.  Cuius libros qui legerit, hic demum cognoscet quam merito sit laudandus, qui Latinae non solum eloquentiae, sed et philosophiae parens et unicum decus a doctissimis scriptoribus appellatur, qui “dono quodam providentiae” (ut Quintilianus ait) “genitus est in quo uno omnes suas vires eloquentia experiretur,” qui Demosthene eloquentior, Platone copiosior, Isocrate orationis iucunditate sonantior, Pericle concitatior et ad movendos affectus potentior, in cuius orationibus tanta inest vis (ut verissime scribit Campanus, recentiorum omnium facile disertissimus) ut, quod de Anthaeo poetae fabulantur, in caelum usque attolli et humerotenus reliquos omnes superare videatur.  In quam sententiam concedere videtur Quintilianus, sic scribens, “Precipuum vero lumen ut eloquentiae, ita preceptis eius dedit unicum apud nos specimen orandi docendique oratorias artes M. Tullius” Cicero, qui in omnibus suis scriptis (quod et ipse de se primo Officiorum gloriatur) copiose, ornate, distincteque dixisse comprobatur. . Si ad orationes eius, in quibus maxime excelluit, te convertas, divino quodam eloquentiae flumine manat, verborum copia foeliciter lascivit, rerum abundantia plenus turget, iucundissima varietate delectat.  Vi et quasi spiritu quodam orationis vehementi excitat, movet, et impellit quocumque volet adeo, ut nonnullos eius orationis potentia coactos strictis pugionibus (quod de Caesare scribit Plutarchus) ex patrum | ordine in medium quasi furibundos prosiluisse compertum sit.  Quorum tamen omnium adeo celebres habentur quas Philippicas ad aemulationem Demosthenis inscripsit ut, cum reliquae id efficerent ut amici defenderentur, heae hoc

20 The passage is based on Quint. Inst. ..– (my translation adapts the one by Donald A. Russell). Eobanus quotes and paraphrases Quintilian’s text, but in reverse order, just as Beroaldo does in Opuscula, fol. r.

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together from all these collections, M. Tullius Cicero is, of all people, the one most worthy to be praised and extolled by everybody with utmost enthusiasm. Whoever reads his books will come to appreciate how much this man deserves to be lauded — a man hailed by the most learned writers as the father and unmatched ornament, not only of Latin eloquence, but also of philosophy, a man who “by the favor of providence” (to quote Quintilian) “was born to be the one in whom eloquence could try out all her powers,” a man more eloquent than Demosthenes, more copious than Plato, more sonorous in oratorical charm than Isocrates,20 more vehement and forceful in arousing emotions than Pericles, a man in whose speeches there is so much power (as Campano,21 of all moderns the most well-spoken by far, phrases it with perfect aptness) that he, as the poets tell in their fable about Antaeus, seems to tower up into the sky and stand head and shoulders above all others.22 That is an assessment with which Quintilian evidently agrees, for he writes: “But among us Romans it was M. Tullius Cicero, the matchless ideal of both oratory and the teaching of the oratorical arts, who shed the brightest light, not only on the practice of eloquence, but also on its principles.”23 And indeed, in all his writings (as he boasts about himself in book  of Duties) he demonstrates that he spoke with ampleness, elegance, and clarity.24  If you turn to his speeches, in which he was especially brilliant, he flows with an all-but-divine stream of eloquence, he happily romps in the treasure house of words, he swells with an exuberance of themes, he enchants with a most delightful variety. With elemental force and the very spirit, if you will, of oratory, he rouses, moves, and impels his audience wherever he wills, to such a degree, in fact, that not a few of the senators, goaded by his power of speech, are known to have rushed forward like madmen, with daggers drawn (as Plutarch tells us about Caesar). Of all his speeches, however, the ones he entitled Philippics in emulation of Demosthenes enjoy so high a reputation because these, unlike the others, whose sole purpose is to defend his friends, endeavor

21 The renowned Italian humanist Giannantonio Campano (–) was Bishop of Crotone from  to  and Bishop of Teramo from . As part of the papal delegation at the Diet of Regensburg in , he delivered a rousing oration urging Emperor Frederick III to a crusade against the Turks. Eobanus similarly praises Campano in Gen. ebrios. . as “easily the most eloquent among the modern Italian writers.” 22 The son of Poseidon and Earth, Antaeus was a giant in Libya. 23 Quint. Inst. ... 24 See Cic. Off. ..

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dumtaxat conatae sunt ut non tam ex urbe Antonius eiiceretur quam Demosthenes Graecus Rhomana eloquentia superaretur.  Epistolarum familiarium libros in manus sumpseris, preter sententiarum gravitatem et Latini sermonis puritatem, orbis imperium, Rhomanae reipublicae statum, et velut diversorum temporum imaginem quasi in speculo contemplaberis.  Copiam denique Latinae orationis et usum scribendi pulcherrimum ac elegantissimum non secus ac ex fonte quodam Rhomanis verbis scaturiente hauries. . Ad reliqua te converte, contemne ista (si diis placet), et comparatione reliquorum abiice, sume in manus philosophica ista Academicarum scilicet quaestionum, De finibus bonorum et malorum, De natura deorum, De divinatione, De republica, Tusculanas quaestiones, libros Officiorum, et reliqua quae ex ipsis philosophiae penetralibus velut arcana quaedam depromsit.  Ibi tum prorsus obstupesces ubi videbis Latinum hominem Graecam philosophiam sic tractare ut penes eum nata videatur, non alibi prodiisse.  Qui cum non in orationibus solum sed et in philosophia quoque | Graeca cum Latinis (ut ipse primo Officiorum fatetur) coniunxerit, non immerito de se ipse gloriatus est, id nulli adhuc Graecorum contigisse ut idem utroque in genere elaborasset, ne dicam excelluisset.  Verum de Ciceroniana philosophia postea dixero si laudum eius velut sylvulam hanc incultam (neque enim panegyrim facere est animus) quam brevissime absolvero. . Sed cum permulta et pene infinita sint quae ad Ciceronis laudem conferri possint, ea demum summa est gloria, illud certissimum virtutis testimonium, ab hoste scilicet laudari.  Quod ipsum Ciceroni cum propter immensae eruditionis abundantiam, tum propter summam vitae integritatem et reipublicae administrandae prudentiam singularem (quam in eo consulatu quem Catilinariae coniurationis tempestate summa

. primo Officiorum scripsi: primoff A. A.

. administrandae scripsi: adminstrandae

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not so much to have Antony25 expelled from the city as to surpass the Greek Demosthenes with Roman eloquence. If you pick up the books of his Letters to Friends, besides the weightiness of his maxims and the purity of his Latin diction, you will find yourselves contemplating, as in a mirror, the government of world empire, the state of affairs in the Roman Republic, and, so to speak, the image of a distant age. In short, you will be imbibing all the resources of Latin oratory and drinking your fill of the most beautiful and elegant writing style, as though from some natural spring gushing with Roman speech.  If you now turn to the remainder of his works, disdaining the aforementioned ones — heaven forfend! — and laying them aside in favor of the rest, then take into your hands those philosophical treatises of his. I refer to the Academic Questions, The Ends of Good and Evil, The Nature of the Gods, Divination, The Republic, Tusculan Questions, the books of Duties, and so on, in which he summons forth the sacred mysteries, as it were, from the very shrine of philosophy. There you’ll be utterly astounded to see a Roman citizen treat Greek philosophy in such a way as if she were home-born, not adopted from the outside. Because he combined Greek and Latin studies not just in his speeches but also in philosophy (as he himself declares in book  of Duties), he could boast with perfect justice that, unlike him, none of the Greeks had had the good fortune hitherto of exerting himself in both fields, let alone of excelling in them. However, I’ll have more to say about Cicero’s philosophy later, once I finish this unpolished little treasury, so to speak, of his praises (for I really don’t intend to deliver a panegyric). Here I intend to be as brief as possible.  But although there is a prodigious, indeed, an almost infinite number of things that could be brought together in praise of Cicero, in the end the highest glory accorded to him, the most unequivocal witness to his excellence, is that he was lauded even by his enemy. Is there anyone who is not aware that this honor fell to Cicero, partly because of the bountifulness of his immense erudition, partly in recognition of his sterling personal integrity and remarkable wisdom in governing the republic (a wisdom that he demonstrated magnificently during the consulship he served to universal acclaim at the time of the Catilinarian 25 The Roman general and statesman Mark Antony (ca. – bce) maneuvered for power after Julius Caesar was murdered in  bce. Cicero, then allied with Octavian, delivered his fourteen Philippic Orations against Antony in – and persuaded the senate to declare war on him.

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cum laude gessit magnifice comprobavit) contigisse quis ignorat?  Palam omnibus et in professo est Crispum Salustium, Rhomanae historiae, ut Martialis scribit, principem, acerrimas cum Cicerone inimicicias exercuisse.  Ille tamen nihilominus hostis tantus et tam infestus in eo libro quem de Catilinaria machinatione luculentissime conscripsit primas ubique Ciceroni partes tribuit, eum prudentem et optimum consulem multis in locis appellans.  Unde et M. Catonis testimonio primus omnium patris patriae appellationem reportavit.  De eodem hostis quondam eius Caesar dictator non dubitavit predicare omnibus triumphis maiorem laudem adeptum Ciceronem.  O pulcherrimum verae gloriae elogium, o dulce virtutis preconium!  Quod maius aut quod verius verae laudis | argumentum quam ab eo laudari a quo lauderis invito?  Sed habet apud hostes quoque locum virtus, fitque plerumque ut non tam de virtute quam imperio et salute hostiliter contendatur. . Qui Cicero tametsi omnem pene Peripatheticam et Stoicam philosophiam (utranque enim sectatus est, ut ipse in prologo primi Officiorum de se ipso scribit) Latinam prestiterit, plura tamen daturus videbatur, si per nefandissimum M. Antonium licuisset.  Ipse enim libro secundo De divinatione sic scribit: “Adhuc quidem hec erant. Ad reliqua acri tendebamus animo sic parati ut, nisi qua gravior causa obstitisset, nullum philosophiae locum esse putaremus qui non Latinis litteris illustratus pateret.”  Magnificum illud Rhomanisque hominibus gloriosum, ut Graecis de philosophia litteris non egeant!  O gravem iacturam! O impietatem tuam, Marce Antoni, qui concivibus tantum munus invidisti tuis!  Etenim veteris illius proscriptionis et Philippicae

. divinatione scripsi: devinatione A. 26 For Martial’s compliment, see Mart. .. The Invective against M. Tullius Cicero was traditionally (but wrongly) attributed to the Roman historian Gaius Crispus Sallust (ca. –/ bce). Sallust did write an account of Catiline’s conspiracy, among other historical works.

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conspiracy)? Every schoolboy knows that Sallustius Crispus — the prince of Roman history, as Martial writes — assailed Cicero with utmost bitterness.26 And yet, when he composed his truly splendid book about Catiline’s machinations, that same inveterate and sworn enemy nevertheless paid the highest tribute to Cicero’s role throughout, calling him in many passages a wise and excellent consul. It was for the same reason, too, that Cicero, at the recommendation of Marcus Cato, became the first man to receive the title “Father of the Fatherland.”27 His erstwhile foe, the dictator Caesar, did not hesitate to declare that he, Cicero, had won a renown greater than all triumphs. O most beautiful proclamation of his true glory, O sweet commendation of his merit! What argument for genuine renown could be stronger or truer than to be lauded by a man who lauds you in despite of himself? But excellence has a place even among enemies; for in most cases the fighting is not so much about a man’s merit as about power and self-preservation.  Even though Cicero made nearly all Peripatetic and Stoic philosophy available in Latin (for he followed both of those schools, as he writes in the introduction to book  of Duties, with reference to himself), it nevertheless appears that he would have gone on to publish more, had that hellhound Mark Antony given him the opportunity. For in book  of Divination he writes: “These indeed are the ones I have finished thus far. As for the remaining books, I was so eagerly girding myself to complete them too that, if some dire situation had not stopped me, I like to think there would now be no topic in philosophy that was not illuminated and readily available in Latin.” What a magnificent and glorious ambition for the Roman people, that they not be deprived of Greek philosophy! Oh, the grievous loss! Oh, the crime you committed, Mark Antony, in begrudging your fellow citizens so marvelous a gift! The fact is that after attaining the Triumvirate, you never forgot that proscription that Cicero had engineered so long ago, or about his fulminations in the Philippics.28

27 In the aftermath of Cicero’s speeches against Catiline, Marcus Porcius Cato (– bce) called Cicero the savior of his country, the “Father of the Fatherland.” See Plutarch, Life of Cicero .. 28 After his father died young, Mark Antony’s mother married P. Cornelius Lentulus Sura. In  bce Cicero had this man executed as one of Catiline’s co-conspirators. According to Plutarch’s Life of Mark Antony ., Antony never forgave Cicero for this. In his Life of Cicero ., Plutarch says that after killing Cicero, the centurion Herennius followed Antony’s orders and cut off the statesman’ head and hands — the very hands that had written the Philippics.

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fulminationis memor cum triumviratum esses adeptus, caput illud, Rhomanae eloquentiae promptuarium, de suo corpore abstulisti.  Hoc, tu laurigeros ageres cum laeta triumphos, Hoc tibi, Rhoma, caput, cum loquereris, erat.  Linguam illam, omnis eloquentiae nervum, ense nefario prescidisti!  O rem atrocem! O factum male!  Quid gladium demens Rhomana adstringis in ora? Incipient omnes pro Cicerone loqui.

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. Non querelis locum sed laudi potius instituimus.  Proficere vultis, o iuvenes, o adulescentes, o pueri, o etiam provectae aetatis.  Audite Quintilianum, audite, inquam, et sapienti consilio acquiescite.  Sic enim inquit: | Hic demum “profecisse se sciat cui Cicero valde placebit.”  Placeat vobis Cicero, et profecistis.  Fieri autem nullo modo posse arbitror, ut, quod valde vobis placeat, id non etiam habere, amplecti, et undequaque ambire studeatis.  Fieri etiam non potest, ut, qui ultra primum vestibulum in Ciceronianis lectionibus progressus fuerit, non statim capiatur eius legendorum librorum quasi quodam inexplebili desyderio.  Non enim, ut plerique solent, rerum quae in philosophia consyderantur perplexitate aut questionum argumentorumve obscura prolixitate absterret lectorem, sed cum amabilissimo orationis filo tum rerum ipsarum quae scribuntur, tametsi gravium, limpidissima resolutione et gratiosa facilitate ad interiora agnoscenda semper magis ac magis invitat. . Quorsum vero haec?  Tanquam scilicet ipse latissimum Ciceronianae laudis campum ingredi, ne dicam pertransire audeam, pedem consulto refero, ne, . Linguam scripsi: Liguam A; ense scripsi: ensae A. 29 Mart. ..–. In Martial’s couplet, the first verse refers to Pompey, who also was decapitated. By altering Martial’s “Illud” in l.  to “Hoc, tu,” Eobanus makes both verses apply to Cicero.

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That is what prompted you to sever that head, the storeroom of Roman eloquence, from its body. This head was yours when you joyfully held your laurel-wreathed [triumphs, This head, Rome, was yours every time that you spoke.29 That tongue, the nerve of all eloquence, you cut out with your abominable sword! Oh, the atrocity of it! Oh, the heinousness of the deed! Why do you, madman, draw sword against the spokesman of Rome? [Now The whole world will start speaking in Cicero’s stead.30

 But I didn’t intend to make room for laments, only for praise. You wish to make progress, O young men, O adolescents, O boys, O even you who are getting along in years. Listen to Quintilian, listen to him, I tell you, and trust his wise counsel. For this is what he says: the student who “develops a strong love for Cicero may rest assured that he has made good progress.” Develop a love for Cicero, and you too will have made good progress. However, once you’ve developed a strong love for him, I think it is completely impossible that you will not also desire to have, to hold, and to cherish that passion in every way. It is equally impossible that the student of Cicero who has advanced beyond the first entry-level readings will not be captivated at once, in a manner of speaking, by a kind of insatiable craving to read his books. For, unlike so many other writers, he does not frighten off the reader by the complexity of the topics that are examined in philosophy or by the obscure prolixity of either his questions or arguments. On the contrary, by his thoroughly delightful style of writing as well as his wonderfully limpid explanations and the graceful ease with which he presents the subjects under discussion, no matter how weighty, he ceaselessly invites us to understand them ever more deeply.  But what am I getting myself into? Even as I venture to set foot in, let alone traverse, the exceedingly broad field of Cicero’s praises, I draw back, and with good reason, too. For if I bungle the task that

30

Here Eobanus combines Mart. ., ll.  and .

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si rem male tentatam male perfecero, fiam ridiculo et ad assem (ut inquiunt) insanire videar.  Nulla sunt quae diximus exigua pro Ciceronianae laudis magnitudine, quam nec ipse quidem, si revivisceret, suae uberrimae facundiae copia posset satis explicare.  Satis mihi visum est si, dum minimam laudum eius partem exprimere non possumus, audaciae, ne dicam temeritatis nostrae veniam deprecemur et quasi adorabundi ad omnium disciplinarum deum Ciceronem accedentes ea salutatione qua eum Plynius, ille naturae rerum consultus polihistor, | vii. libro Naturalis historiae veneratur, salutantes dicamus, “Salve, primus omnium pater patriae appellate, primus in toga triumphum linguaeque lauream merite, et facundiae litterarumque Latinarum parens,” et nostrum illud (si diis placet) adiiciamus: 

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Gloria Rhomulidum, Latiae pater unice linguae, Salve, Rhomanae maxima fama togae, Attica quo veteres Pallas duce liquit Athenas, Graeca prius, Latio schemate iussa loqui.  Salve, cui similem neque pristina viderat aetas Nec fortasse parem saecla futura dabunt.

. Hactenus M. Tullii Ciceronis laudum qualemcumque partem summis, ut aiunt, digitis attingere libuit.  Nunc ad secundam instituti nostri partem, hoc est moralis philosophiae commendationem, veniemus.  Quam iccirco breviorem esse volumus, quod bonam eius partem hoc semestri aestivo in hiis ipsis Officiorum M. Tullii Ciceronis libris vobis explicabimus.  Quam etiam rem omnino non attigissem nisi (ut de Theopompo, si bene memini, dicebat Isocrates) putarem vobis opus esse calcaribus adeo sponte non currentibus.

. exigua scripsi: aexigua A. . disciplinarum scripsi: displinarum A; litterarumque scripsi: litterarum A. .. unice scripsi: unicae A. 31

Plin. Nat. ..

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I rashly set myself, I’ll make myself the butt of jokes and come across madder (as they say) than a March hare. The little that I’ve brought up is as nothing against the magnitude of Cicero’s merit, which even he himself, were he to come back to life, would be hard pressed to delineate adequately with the wealth of his teeming eloquence. And so, being quite incapable of expressing even a miniscule portion of his merits, I consider it sufficient to beg pardon for my audacity, or rather, my temerity, to approach Cicero and (if you’ll pardon the expression) to adore him as the god of all disciplines, to pay him the same homage that Pliny, that learned polyhistor in the natural sciences, accords him in book  of the Natural History,31 and exclaim, “Hail to you, who of all men were the first to be called ‘Father of the Fatherland,’ the first to obtain in peacetime the triumph and the laurel of eloquence, and the father of oratory and Latin literature,” and (if I may be so bold) to add the following epigram of mine: Pride of the Romans, you peerless father of Latium’s language, Hail, embodiment of all the glories of Rome!32 Under your guidance, Attic Pallas left ancient Athens — She, bidden first to speak Greek, then in the Latin tongue, too. Hail to you, whose like no earlier era has witnessed And whose equal, perhaps, no future age will bring forth.

 Thus far it has been my pleasure to touch — even if only, as they say, with the fingertips — on some small part of the praises due to M. Tullius Cicero. Now I come to the second part of my design, namely, the commendation of moral philosophy. This part I want to keep shorter, for the simple reason that this summer semester I plan to explicate a good portion of it for you in these very books of M. Tullius Cicero’s Duties. Truth be told, it is a topic I most certainly would not have taken up with you, had I been convinced you were already galloping of your own accord (as Isocrates, if I remember correctly, said about Theopompus)33 and hence did not need the spurs that much. Well, how did you 32 Literally, “of the Roman toga.” As the formal outer garment of freeborn Romans, the toga became symbolic of Rome in peacetime. 33 The ancient Attic orator Isocrates remarked that his pupil Theopompus was so highly motivated that he needed the bridle, not the spur. See Cic. Att. ..; Brutus ; de Orat. .; Quint. Inst. ..; Erasmus, Adag. ... Eobanus’ students have the opposite problem: they need the spur, not the bridle. Cicero’s treatise On Duties is thus an appropriate choice for them.

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 Quae enim malo quodam fato vos remoretur inertia?  Mavultis bonas horas male collocare et sinistrorsum abduci quam malas emendare in meliores et via (ut dicitur) regia ingredi.  Quae ideo dicere me nemo sit qui existimet ut a philosophicis disciplinis (quas et sancte veneror et unice suspicio) vos abducam, | sed magis ut incitem et quasi fomite quodam ad easdem ferventius amplectendas accendam, quandoquidem preter philosophiam et eam quidem moralem nihil vobis in hiis libris proponam, tantum abest ut velim contemnere.  Philosophicam igitur nunc, non poeticam (quamvis nihil quod philosophus sciat poeta ignoret) lectionem ad vos affero, litterarum candidati, qui ut in Aristotelica philosophia cotidie peregregie erudimini, ita non debetis hanc Ciceronianam, quae illi simillima est, contemnere.  Tanto autem erit haec vobis ista iucundior quanto nativa et suo colore fulgens male peregrinata et multis iniuriis affecta est apparentior, siquidem Cicero nobis integer est et purus, suo lumine clarus et illustris, Aristotelem vero, quod et Politianus indolere videtur, habemus mancum, lacerum, atque adeo multis improborum hominum petulantia vulneribus confectum, ut vix illud quoque quod “de tam magno restat Achille” suum et non potius alienum esse appareat.  Sed probe nihilominus a diuturna peste sanatus Theodori Gazae, Georgii Trapezuntii, et Hermolai Barbari, veluti Peripateticae reipublicae triumviris auxilio et industria meliore quidem vultu nos aspicit, si forte agnosceremus.  Sed placet nobis antiquum tueri errorem potius quam novam et apparentem veritatem

. vos scripsi: nos A. 34 In the first chapter of his Miscellanea (Florence, ) the great Italian humanist Angelo Poliziano (–) defends a reading in Cicero’s philosophical writings by noting, among other points, that Aristotle’s works have come down to us in thoroughly corrupt form, full of interpolations and errors. 35 The phrase is taken from Ov. Met. ., where Ovid describes the funeral of the Greek hero Achilles.

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get yourselves mired in this sluggishness of yours? Through some bad fate, I suppose. As it stands, you would rather spend good hours badly and veer off track than turn bad hours into better ones and (to use a popular phrase) enter the royal road. Let no one among you imagine that I say this with the intent of steering you away from the philosophical disciplines (which I both venerate religiously and esteem to a singular degree) but rather with the aim of inciting you and firing you up, as with some sort of kindling, to embrace those studies more fervently. The fact of the matter is that I’ll be offering you nothing but philosophy in these books, and moral philosophy at that — so far am I from wishing to disparage that subject! It is on philosophy, therefore, not poetry (though nothing the philosopher knows should be beyond a poet’s ken), that I am now offering this course to you, candidates in the liberal arts. But just because you are being marvelously well educated every day in Aristotelian philosophy, that does not mean you are obliged to despise this Ciceronian version — which actually is remarkably similar to it. Indeed, you’ll find the latter more delightful than the former in the same way that a well-preserved local original is more presentable than a badly damaged import. For Cicero, as you know, has come down to us intact and unadulterated, glorious and resplendent in his own light. By contrast (something that Poliziano, too, seems to deplore),34 we possess Aristotle only in maimed, mutilated form — indeed, so badly disfigured by the many wounds inflicted by impudent scoundrels that hardly anything of that which “is left of that once-mighty Achilles”35 appears to be his own and not rather somebody else’s. But nevertheless thoroughly cured of that inveterate plague owing to the help and hard work of Theodore Gaza, George of Trebizond, and Ermolao Barbaro36 — those triumvirs, so to speak, of the Peripatetic Republic — he certainly gazes at us now with a healthier mien, to see if perchance we’ve noticed. But we would rather defend an old mistake than embrace a new and manifest

36 Theodore Gaza of Salonike (–ca. ) came to Italy in , where he worked hard to advance Greek studies. Among his many publications are a Greek grammar and excellent translations of Aristotle’s De animalibus and Problemata. Another Greek who lived in Italy for most of his life was George of Trebizond (–ca. ). A prolific author, George produced numerous translations of the Greek classics, including Aristotle, Plato, and Ptolemy. Ermolao Barbaro of Venice (/–) was a diplomat and philologist who contributed much to Aristotle studies through his lectures, translations, and commentaries.

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amplecti.  Verum nos istis in aliud tempus omissis ad instituta potius pergamus. . Cicero secundi Officiorum prologo sic scribit: “Cum tota philosophia frugifera et fructuosa nec ulla pars eius inculta ac deserta sit, tamen nullus feracior in ea locus est nec ube- | rior quam de officiis, a quibus constanter honesteque vivendi precepta ducuntur.” Hactenus ille.  Videtis, auditores, moralis philosophiae scientiam reliquis omnibus in philosophia universa locis praeponit, nec immerito, cum ipsa sit vitae nostrae fructus et finis ultimus ad quem tandem omnes tendimus, hoc est verae foelicitatis praemium. . Sed dicet aliquis: “Quid istoc obgarris? Illis verbis nullo loco Cicero moralis philosophiae mentionem facit.”  Audite, quaeso, ne re male accepta in temeritatem prolapsi male iudicare videamini.  Quod nos moralem philosophiam, Graeci aethicam, Cicero officia appellat.  Cuius rei locupletissimus testis est Georgius Valla, Expetendarum et fugiendarum libro xli., capitulo i., sic scribens: “Omnis igitur actio aut de nobis ipsis est aut de re domestica aut de republica. Prima aethica a Graecis nuncupatur, quam moralem nominare Cicero veritus est.” Hec ille.  Cicero, inquit, aethicam moralem nominare non est ausus.  Igitur quam Graeci aethicam dicunt, Cicero proprio et ad rem magis accommodato vocabulo officia appellavit, nos vero moralem non satis idonea translatione vocamus.  “Verum,” ut idem Valla statim subdit, “quoniam id verbum solum est quo possumus commode uti et iam receptum versatur ‘intra penetralia Vestae,’ ut veteres loqui solebant, sine metu nos quoque moralem nominabimus.”

37 The issue was being hotly debated at Erfurt at this very time. Under pressure from Eobanus and other scholars, the university thereupon decided to give up the medieval Aristotle translations and commentaries and to have the texts taught in humanistic Latin translations. See Kleineidam, :. On the general background, see Charles B. Schmitt, Aristotle and the Renaissance (Cambridge, MA, ), especially chap. , “Translations,” pp. –. 38 Eobanus misremembers. The quotation actually comes from the start of bk. . See Cic. Off. ..

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truth.37 However, let us leave these things for another time and instead continue to the topic before us.  In the introduction to book  of his Duties Cicero writes as follows: “Even though the whole field of philosophy is fertile and productive and not one part of it is left untilled and waste, nonetheless no portion yields richer or more abundant fruit than the one that deals with duties; for it is from these that we derive the precepts for a steadfast and honorable life.”38 Thus far Cicero. Here you see, listeners, that he ranks the science of moral philosophy higher than all other fields in philosophy as a whole, and quite rightly so, considering that it itself represents the fruit of our life and consummate goal of everything that we all ultimately strive for, namely, the prize of true happiness.  But here somebody will object: “Why are you jabbering this nonsense at us? In that quotation, Cicero doesn’t bring up moral philosophy anywhere.” Listen, please, for I wouldn’t want you to draw the wrong conclusion and show bad judgment because of a misunderstanding. What we term “moral philosophy,” the Greeks call “ethics” and Cicero “duties.” The most authoritative witness to this is Giorgio Valla, Things to Be Sought and Avoided, book , chapter , where he writes: “Every action, therefore, has its origin in ourselves, or in the domestic sphere, or in the state. The subject was first termed ‘ethics’ by the Greeks. Cicero, however, had scruples about calling it ‘moral philosophy.’ ” Thus far Valla.39 Cicero, he is saying, did not venture to call ethics “moral philosophy.” In other words, what the Greeks termed ethics, Cicero labeled with his own and more appropriate word “duties,” while we, in a somewhat imprecise translation, refer to it as “moral philosophy.” “However” (as the same Valla immediately goes on to say) “because that phrase is the only one we have ready at hand and, besides, has long since gained entry and currency ‘within the precincts of Vesta,’ to use an ancient expression,40 we too need have no fear of employing the adjective ‘moral.’ ”

39 Giorgio Valla (–) lectured at Pavia, Genoa, Milan, and (from ) at Venice. In addition to commentaries on Cicero, Ptolemy, Juvenal, and the Elder Pliny and translations from such Greek authors as Aristotle and Galen, he wrote a humanistic encyclopedia in forty-nine books, De expetendis et fugiendis rebus, which was published posthumously at Venice in . This and the next quotation occur on sig. KKv of that edition. 40 The expression is taken from Hor. Ep. ... Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. In Horace’s phrase, her temple represents good Latinity.

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. Unde autem moralis philosophia duxerit exordium, ambigue a veteribus proditum memoriae est.  Plerique a Socrate duxisse ortum putant, qui eandem ex caelo evocasse, hoc est primus docuisse dicitur, unde exiit illud Horatianum: “Rem tibi Socraticae poterunt ostendere chartae.” |  Verum Aristoteles primum ait de moribus scripsisse Pythagoram, sed ad numerum, ut solebat omnia, confuse et perplexe, Socratem vero multo uberius de moribus disputasse et tamen nec ipsum quidem recte.  Iccirco Platoni palmam tribuit, asserens eum omnium copiosissime exactissimeque de moribus disseruisse. . Moralis igitur philosophia non solum hominum singulorum, sed et domus ac civitatis mores consyderat, ut recte dixisse videantur qui polyticum dicant eundem esse oeconomicum et aethicum, quod qui possit toti prodesse civitati, is multo magis etiam domui ac sibiipsi.  Id vero cum foelicitatis expetendae sit veluti summarium, summopere niti mortales decet ut propter quod nati sunt id omnes uno studio expetant, foelicitatem videlicet quae in bene vivendi ratione consistit.  Hanc vero bene vivendi rationem moralis philosophia nobis prestat, quae tanto reliquis philosophiae partibus est prestantior, quanto anima corpore nobilior, ea siquidem nobilissima pars hominis, quae anima est, excolitur, ornatur, et demum perficitur.  “Cuius studium,” ut inquit Cicero noster, “qui vituperat, haud sane intelligo, quid nam sit, quod laudandum putet.”  Magnum vero hoc est, auditores, quod cum reliqua philosophia sine hac, quae de officiis est, imperfecta sit et sordeat quodammodo, tamen haec reliquarum artium adminiculo ornamentum prestat et parem superis hominem reddit.  Infinitum esset hoc in loco enumerare quot eius rei exempla nobis ipsa vetustas exhibeat.  Quot sunt, Deus bone, qui nulla litterarum scientia illustrati

. poterunt in edd. Horatii: poterint A. . perplexe scripsi: preplexe A. aethicum scripsi: aeticum A. . quot scripsi: quod A.

.

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 As to where moral philosophy might have taken its origin, that is a question to which the ancients do not give us a definitive answer. Most scholars hold that it originated with Socrates, who is said to have summoned it out of heaven, that is to say, was the first to teach it. It is out of this context that Horace’s well-known verse arose: “The Socratic pages will show you what you should write on.” Aristotle, however, states that the first to write on morals was Pythagoras, but that he did so numerologically (like everything else), unmethodically, and enigmatically, while Socrates debated much more fully about ethics, yet not even he correctly. For this reason Aristotle awarded the palm to Plato, asserting that he, of all philosophers, discoursed the most copiously and accurately on morality.  Moral philosophy, then, examines the ethics, not only of individuals, but also of the household and the state. Hence those who claim that political science is essentially the same as household management and ethics would appear to be correct, because he who can do good for the entire state can do likewise for his household and himself, and to a much greater degree. But since that same ideal represents, in a manner of speaking, the epitome of our search for happiness, all mortals should strive, earnestly and single-mindedly, to search out that for which they were born, namely, the happiness that consists in a reasoned plan for living an ethical life. Such a plan for living ethically, however, is something that moral philosophy offers us. This branch of philosophy is superior to the others in the same measure as the soul is nobler than the body, inasmuch as ethics develops, adorns, and ultimately perfects the noblest part of man, which is the soul. “If there is anyone who finds fault with studying it,” as our Cicero says, “I cannot for the life of me understand what else he might deem worthy of praise.”41 And a great thing it certainly is, listeners. For consider: without this branch, which deals with moral duties, the rest of philosophy would be imperfect and, in a way, sordid. Or to put it more positively: with the support of the other arts, ethics is the crown jewel of philosophy, for it makes man the equal of the gods. It would be an endless task to enumerate here how many exempla antiquity itself has handed down to us that illustrate this truth. How many people there are, good Lord, who, though unenlightened by literary studies, have

41

Cic. Off. ., where Cicero speaks of philosophy in general.

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bene tamen beateque vivendo (quod, ut dixi, moralis philosophia prestat) | caelum emeruerunt et in deorum catalogum adscripti sunt!  Homerus Ulyssem summo laudum velut compendio descripturus a moribus statim velut a re nobilissima extulit, dicens, Dic mihi, Musa, virum captae post tempora Troiae Qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes.  Nec aliud quicquam in tota ipsa Odyssea quam moralis philosophia tractatur.  Quod et de Virgiliana Aeneide verum esse nemo non intelligit nisi qui nihil intelligit.  Taceo hoc in loco Cyrum Xenophontis, Apollonium Philostrati, Alexandrum Curtii, Achillem Homeri et Statii, Argonautas Valerii, Traianum Plynii, Vespasianum Suetonii, et id genus alia non parum multa, quae a multis in quem finem scripta sint non intelliguntur.  Sed propositum mihi non fuit ut omnia in huiusce sermonis angustiam cogerem quae de moralis philosophiae laudibus dici potuissent, tametsi nec Campanus quidem ipse nec Beroaldus plura in eam rem prestiterunt.  Mihi satis est ipsam veritatem vobis absque fuco verborum ostendisse. . Superest ut quod tertio loco prestiturum me pollicebar quam brevissime expediam.  Id autem futurum dixi parenesim quandam et velut hortamentum ad rectissima studia capessenda.  In quam provinciam difficillimam expeditionem futuram mihi esse video quod ea

. emeruerunt scripsi: emeruit A.

. expeditionem scripsi: expedionem A.

42 The opening verses of Homer’s Odyssey, as translated by Horace in Ars –. In the present context, Eobanus prefers to understand the word mores in Horace’s text to mean morality, rather than customs. 43 According to an ancient Stoic interpretation, authoritative throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Odyssey is a morality tale in which Ulysses, the hero of wisdom, voyages over the seas of life in his quest for moral perfection. Cf. Eob. Ama. ., with nn. – (:–). Vergil’s Aeneid and other ancient epics were interpreted in the same light. See, for example, Cristoforo Landino, In Publii Virgilii Maronis allegorias, reprinted as books  and  in Christophori Landini Florentini libri quattuor (Strasbourg, ).

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nevertheless lived morally good and blessed lives (a gift, as I mentioned, that moral philosophy provides us) and thus earned their place in heaven and entry into the catalogue of gods! When Homer set out to describe Ulysses in what may be termed the supreme compendium of virtues, he extolled that hero right from the start by speaking of “morals,” as if that theme were the noblest imaginable. For he says, Sing to me, Muse, of the man who after Troy had been captured Saw the cities of many men and studied their morals.42 In truth, the entire Odyssey itself treats of nothing other than moral philosophy.43 That this holds true also for Vergil’s Aeneid is understood by all but the most ignorant people. I say nothing at this point about Xenophon’s Cyrus, Philostratus’ Apollonius, Curtius’ Alexander, Homer’s and Statius’ Achilles, Valerius’ Argonauts, Pliny’s Trajan, Suetonius’ Vespasian, and quite a number of other works in this genre, whose true aim is still widely misconstrued.44 However, it wasn’t my intent to cram everything that can be said in praise of moral philosophy into the narrow confines of this speech, though I might add that not even Campano himself, nor for that matter Beroaldo, has more to offer on this topic.45 For me it is sufficient to have shown you the naked truth, without verbal embellishment.  It remains for me to carry out, as briefly as possible, what I promised I would offer in the third section. Now this is what I said was in the offing: a kind of parenesis, or exhortation, if you will, to pursue the fittest subjects of study. To make my way into that province, I see I have a downright formidable expedition ahead of me, because

44 The Socratic philosopher and historian Xenophon of Athens (ca. – bce) idealized the Persian king Cyrus the Great in The Education of Cyrus. In the same vein Philostratus (ca. –/ ce) wrote a romanticizing life of the Pythagorian teacher Apollonius of Tyana. The Roman historian Q. Curtius Rufus (first century ce) wrote a history of Alexander the Great. Homer’s Iliad is the story of the Greek hero Achilles. The unfinished Achilleid by the Roman poet P. Papinius Statius (ca. –ca.  ce) treats the same subject. Statius’ colleague C. Valerius Flaccus (d. ca.  ce) composed a (likewise unfinished) epic about the Argonauts. The Roman administrator Pliny the Younger (/–ca. ) praised Emperor Trajan in an elaborate panegyric in ce. The Roman official and historian C. Suetonius Tranquillus (ca. –ca. ) wrote biographies of the Roman emperors, including an admiring one of Vespasian. 45 On these two Italian humanists, see nn.  and  above (pp.  and ).

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sit ignorantiae muro munitissima et negligentiae validissimo praesidio firmata.  Quotus enim quisque vestrum est qui vero litterarum amore teneatur, qui non velut somniando bonis studiis invigilet, qui non negliget et extra omnem laborem quasi in sole pulverem philosophicum desudet!  Disciplinae nobis ociosis et nihil tale optantibus velut in regione stultorum assae palumbes involitent. |  Ita enim miseri et amentes sumus, ut vixdum scientiarum umbram conspicientes intima philosophiae sacraria penetrasse et in bicipiti, ut Persius inquit, Parnaso somniasse nobis videamur.  Sed alia ingrediendum est via, si fructum consequi volumus cuius tantopere florem admiramur.  Ea autem levis est et multorum retro temporum vestigiis tritissima.  In principio quidem clivus apparet praeruptus et viarum salebrositate primo aspectu terribilis.  Per eum pueri serpunt multi quidem diversis itineribus plorantes et foemineo eiulatu nescio quem metum significantes.  Hii omnes primo per scalas quasdam, litteris ac syllabis, deinde etiam dictionibus inscriptas, recto quidem tramite ascendunt.  Ubi vero istas superaverint, in planiciem quandam deducti singuli singulos duces, quos paedagogos vocant, pro fortunae arbitrio sortiuntur.  Inde per diversa diverticula abducti partim ignorantia et negligentia ducum, coherent in vepribus et demum recidunt.  Alii autem, bonorum ducum cura et industria per regiam viam ascendentes, in viridarium quoddam longe amoenissimum perveniunt.  In cuius medio aeditissimo quidem loco quasi in throno sedentem aspiciunt foeminam quandam omnium quas terra fert speciosissimam formosissimamque, regio ornatu spectabilem.  Philosophiam vocant eius regni incolae.  Ad quam per septem gradus primum ascendere oportet si qui velit amplecti, nec enim amantibus se denegat, . negliget scripsi: negligent A.

. involitent scripsi: involitant A.

46 In medieval fantasy, the Paradise of Fools is a world upside down, a land where no one has to work for a living. Roast pigeons fly into your mouth, rivers run with wine, and so on. Eobanus describes the Land of Cockaigne a bit more fully in Gen. ebrios. .–.

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the region is heavily fortified with the wall of ignorance and defended by the strongest garrison imaginable: neglect. Indeed, how very few are there among you who are truly captivated by a love for learning, who don’t sleepwalk, so to speak, through their university studies but would rather burn the midnight oil, who don’t let their work slide, but would gladly give up their leisure time in order to sweat, as it were, under the hot sun in the arena of philosophy! We expect the various disciplines just to fly into us, with no hard work or dedication on our part — just like those roast pigeons in the Paradise of Fools.46 In fact, we’re such pitiful loons that the minute we catch a distant glimpse of the liberal arts, we fancy that we have already penetrated the innermost shrines of philosophy and, as Persius puts it, “have dreamed on twin-peaked Parnassus.”47 But if we really want to pursue the fruit whose blossom we admire so highly, we have to enter upon another road. Fortunately this path is smooth and extremely well trodden by the steps of many ages past. Initially, I grant you, the slope does appear to be steep, even frightening at first glance, because the ways are so rugged. Over it crawl a great number of boys. They come from different directions, to be sure; but every one of them weeps and lets out womanish wails, as if expressing a dread of something or other. They all work their way up this trail (which actually is quite straight) by using ladders of some description. These are inscribed with letters and syllables, later also with words. But when they’ve finished climbing those ladders, the boys reach a sort of plateau where, through the luck of the draw, they obtain guides of their own, whom they call pedagogues. Hereupon some get sidetracked on various byroads, in part owing to the ignorance and neglect of their guides. They get caught in the briers and finally tumble back down. Others, however, who through the care and diligence of good guides continue to ascend along the royal road, arrive at length in a kind of pleasure garden of the most exquisite beauty. In the center of this place, at its very crown, they behold a woman seated upon what looks like a throne. Of all the earth’s creatures, she is the most gorgeous and dazzling, a marvel to behold in her regal splendor. “Philosophy” is the name by which the inhabitants of her realm address her. If any of you desired to embrace her — for I should tell you that she does not deny herself to her lovers, but permits everybody to enjoy her — you first have to climb seven stairs.

47 In ll. – of the prologue to his Satires, Persius says that he did not become a poet instantly, just by dreaming on Mount Parnassus and having the Muses inspire him.

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oratio, sive praelectio sed omnibus sui copiam facit.  In singulis gradibus singulae puellae eidem ancillantes assident, tam gloriosae dominae manentes imperium.  In primo gradu puella sedet pullo quidem habitu sed admodum belle com- | posito.  Haec altera manu pueris prope adsistentibus nescio quas tabulas et quos pugillares tradere videtur, altera vero se superiorem commonstrat quasi ascendere iubens altius, et huic quidem nomen aiunt esse Grammaticae.  Secundum gradum ascendentes mulier excipit, vario quidem et versicolore vestimento circumamicta, facie frivola et subdolum quiddam exprimente.  Ea nescio quibus cavillationibus ad se venientes deterret primo, atque ita multos statim abigit.  Qui vero paulum duraverint, ita in sui amorem rapit ut ibi tantum maneant reliquisque contemptis semper cum ea cavillentur.  Hanc dicunt vocari Logicam.  Tertio gradui praeest virgo formosissima nec minus animosa, quae verborum lenociniis adeo est instructa, adeo elegans, ut amatores innumerabiles ad se trahat secumque plus quam ulla aliarum detineat.  Quam Rhetoricam vocant.  Quarti gradus princeps est puella albis vestibus, auro gemmisque distinctis, florumque et coronarum deliciis insignis.  Haec ad se venientibus cytharam tradit et plectrum atque interim ipsa semper quasi in aurem cantilat.  Haec vocatur (ut dicunt) Musica.  Ab ea digredientes in quinto gradu offendunt mulierem super mensam variis notis inscriptam incumbentem et continuo calculos in abaco ponentem.  Arithmeticam vocant, si bene memini.  Sextum gradum occupat quaedam fere anus mulier, sed speciosa tamen et valde speculabunda, quae manu circinum tenens metitur quasdam sectiones et partes orbis rotundi, quem identidem in manu volvit ac revolvit raro loquens, tanquam oblita rerum omnium.  Haec (ut eius amatores tradunt) | vocatur Geometria.  In supremo et principi dominae proximo gradu collocata est mulier annorum serie valde gravis, quae instrumento quodam quod ipsam sibi fabricasse aiunt insistens astra contuetur et tum ad ipsum instrumentum conversa nescio quas rationes colligit.  Certum est esse nobilem et potentem foeminam.  Eius nomen (ut aiunt qui cognoverunt) est Astronomia.

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



Seated on each of the stairs are maidens who assist her and wait on the commands of so glorious a mistress. On the first level sits a maiden who, though clad in drab garments, nevertheless looks altogether beautifully composed. With the one hand she appears to be handing out some type of writing tablets, both large and small, to the boys standing next to her; but with the other she demonstrates her superiority, as if commanding them to keep toiling upwards. Her name, so I’m assured, is Grammar. Those climbing the second stairway are greeted by a woman, who, by contrast, is wrapped in a variegated, many-colored robe. Her face has a frivolous look about it, expressive of a certain slyness. This lady does her best to discourage the newcomers with I know not what manner of sophistries, and consequently drives many away on the spot. But those who stay there for a little while are so smitten with love for her that they will not go any further. Instead, they disdain the others and constantly play the sophist with her. This woman, I’m told, is called Logic. In charge of the third level is a virgin who is as beauteous as she is highspirited. So skilled is she in the meretricious allurements of words, so utterly elegant, that she attracts countless lovers to her side and detains them more than any of the others. Her they call Rhetoric. Presiding over the fourth level is a maiden remarkable not only for her white raiment set off with gold and jewels, but also for the delightful flower garlands she wears. To the new arrivals she hands a lute and plectrum, all the while singing, as it were, into their ear. This lady, they say, is called Music. Departing from her, the boys arrive on the fifth level. Here they find a woman who is hunched over a table inscribed with various figures and who is continually positioning stones in an abacus. People call her Arithmetic, if I recall correctly. The sixth level is occupied by a quite ancient dame, but nevertheless goodlooking and very much on the watch. Holding compasses in her hand, she measures certain segments and parts of the globe, which she repeatedly turns back and forth with her hand. Rarely speaking, she seems oblivious to everything around her. This lady (as her lovers tell me) is called Geometry. On the highest level, the one closest to the mistress-in-chief, resides a woman greatly advanced in years. Peering through an instrument of some description that she is said to have constructed for herself, she painstakingly observes the stars and then, turning to the instrument itself, performs all sorts of computations.48 There can be no doubt that she is a noble and powerful lady. Her name (or so I’m told by those who know her) is Astronomy. 48

She is using an astrolabe to measure the altitude of the sun and stars in the sky.



Cr

oratio, sive praelectio

. Heae quidem puellae sunt quarum favore et ministerio ad ipsam Philosophiam, hoc est summam rerum omnium cognitionem, pervenitur.  Quae in sublimi solio residens multas quoque alias circum sese famulas habet et coadiutrices, quarum prima est quam nostri Theologiam vocant, ipsi dominae fere similis.  Deinde longe lateque diverso modo errant Methaphisica, Aethica, Oeconomica, Politica, Iurisprudentia, Medicina cum suis consectaneis, et quaedam fatuae virgines, Physionomia, Chimica, Geomantia, Pyromantia, Chyromantia, Hydromantia, Necromantia.  Inter has omnes circumquaque miro modo et agilitate discurrit quaedam, nescio prudens an fatua.  Sed hoc certum est: omnibus sese admiscet, ubique est.  Non quiescit, volat, saltat, scribit, legit, cantat, currit, numerat, disputat, speculatur, metitur, molesta est omnibus.  Aliquando solam omnium vices se explere posse iactat, atque adeo animosa est ut omnes lacessere audeat, supra modum tamen garrula ac dicacula ad numeros plerumque canens.  Eam omnes istae puellae valde familiariter accipiunt, osculantur, amplexantur, et quod magis est, ipsa Philosophia habet in pri- | mis deliciis.  Verum reliquarum puellarum amatores eam fere omnes contemnunt et summo insectantur odio, cavillantes reliquarum esse corruptricem et fatuam bestiam.  Ipsa vero superba est et se contemnentes adeo negligit ut ne homines quidem putet.  Huic vero puellae nomen est Poeticae.  Iam ob id nomen expressum calumnia mihi subeunda est. . Verum, o auditores, videtis quam graphice vobis hunc septenarium descripserim, quod non alio tendit nisi ut et fabulamento quodam iamdudum vos ex longo sermone oscitantes recrearem et simul ad oculos ponerem pulcherrimam studiorum imaginem, ut ea perspecta ad eam quoque amplexandam omni studio, omni conatu, omni labore contendatis.  Neque enim somniantibus nobis (ut dixi) irrepunt scientiae.  Labore et vigiliis opus est, si ad gloriam scientiarum ascendere volumus.

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



 These, indeed, are the maidens through whose favor and assistance one attains to Philosophy herself, that is, to the deepest insight into all things. Seated on her lofty throne, this lady has many other handmaids and assistants too. The first among them is the one we moderns call Theology, very much like the mistress herself. Behind her, roving far and wide, each in her own way, are Metaphysics, Ethics, Domestic Economics, Politics, Jurisprudence, Medicine, together with their adherents, as well as certain foolish virgins, Physiognomy, Alchemy, Geomancy, Pyromancy, Chiromancy, Hydromancy, Necromancy. Among all of these maidens — here and there and everywhere — one can see another maiden scampering about with breathtaking agility. Whether she is wise or foolish, I cannot tell. But this much is certain: she injects herself into everything, wherever she is. She never shuts up. Instead, she flits about, dances, writes, reads, sings, runs, reckons, disputes, observes, measures. She is a public nuisance. Every so often she’ll boast that she alone is capable of taking everyone else’s place. In fact, she is so spirited that she dares to challenge all comers. However, she is garrulous and talkative to a fault, generally singing in rhythmic verse as she goes along. All those maidens greet, kiss, and embrace her as a member of the family. And what is more, she is a special favorite of Philosophy herself. Those who love the other maidens, however, despise her almost to a man and rail at her with unbridled virulence, censuring her as a corrupting influence on the others and as a silly beast. But she is haughty. In truth, she takes so little notice of those who despise her that she doesn’t even consider them human. This maiden’s name, you may be sure, is Poetry. Simply because I uttered that name, I just made myself a target for calumny.49  But never mind. Listeners, you see how graphically I’ve described this septenary for you. My sole purpose for doing this was to perk you up with an entertaining story of sorts, after this long sermon of mine made you start yawning quite a while ago. At the same time, however, I wanted to put the image of the liberal arts before your eyes in all its dazzling beauty, so that at the sight you too will strive with uttermost zeal, with total effort, with every fiber of your being toward the goal of embracing it. For as I mentioned, the arts and sciences don’t slip into us while we idly dream. It takes hard work and much late-night studying if we wish to aspire to the glory of erudition. 49 The scholastics in Germany liked to insult the humanists by calling them all “poets,” and hence liars and bad Christians. Cf. Mutian. Ep. , , , and ; introd. to Eob. Gen. ebrios., pp. – below.



Cv

oratio, sive praelectio  “Labor improbus omnia vincit.”  Nihil est tam arduum, nihil tam difficile quod humano non possit ingenio contingi.  Gloria studiorum fructus est, at labores pariunt gloriam.  Stultus per inertiam et desidiam defluit et emarcessit.  Sapiens nunquam sine fructu ociatur.  Multa sunt harum rerum exempla, multa testimonia.  Quis omnia brevi sermone perstrinxerit?  Pythagoras, Plato, Apollonius, et plerique alii, amore sapientiae exules facti, nihil in omni vita omiserunt quod ad veram gloriam comparandam pertinere arbitrati sunt.  Multi quoque non peregrinantes sed domi quidem habitantes amore litterarum ita delituerunt ut mortui putarentur. |  Memoriae proditum est Demosthenem, Graecorum omnium eloquentissimum, ex altera parte nonnunquam caput rasitasse, ut exin ratione habita pudoris gratia non auderet in publicum egredi.  Hinc exiit illud insignis diligentiae elogium: “Ad Demosthenis laternam.” . Vos igitur, candidi auditores, si studiorum vestrorum fructum inemarcessibilem consequi, si gloriam patriae, vobis, parentibus, et amicis immortalem comparare vultis, ad Demosthenis lucernam vigilate, plus olei (ut de eodem dictum est) quam vini consumite.  Id autem facietis pulcherrime si me authore et incitatore dulcem poeticam cum sancta philosophia coniunxeritis, quorum utrunque vobis est in manu.  Quid enim Cicerone magis philosophicum?  Quid item Plauto magis poeticum?  Et hii duo tamen ita pulchre, adeo decenter, sic adamussim inter se conveniunt, ut alter alteri lumen et splendorem adiicere videatur, ut nescias magisne philosophetur Cicero an poetizet Plautus.  Quos ne temere nos coniungere aliquis possit criminari, audite Erasmum nostrum in libro Similium sic dicentem: “Ut mandragora iuxta vites nascens vinum reddit lenius, ita philosophiae ratio admota poeticae moderatiorem efficit eius cognitionem.”

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



“Unflagging toil overcomes all obstacles.”50 Nothing is so arduous, nothing so difficult, that it cannot be achieved by the human mind. Glory is the fruit of erudition; but it is our labors that produce this glory. The fool withers and wilts in idleness and sloth. The wise man never enjoys his leisure without making it yield fruit. For these truths there are many exempla, many witnesses. Who could possibly touch on them all in a brief speech? Pythagoras, Plato, Apollonius, and a host of others made themselves exiles for sheer love of wisdom. All their life they left nothing undone that they judged conducive to winning true glory. Likewise there have been many who did not travel abroad, but stayed home instead, where they so secluded themselves for love of learning that they were presumed dead. History records that Demosthenes, of all Greeks the most eloquent, would sometimes shave only half his face, just to make himself too embarrassed to dare go out in public. The story gave rise to that byword for memorable diligence: “By Demosthenes’ lamp.”  Now then, fair-minded listeners, if you want to pursue the unwithering fruit of your studies, if you desire to win immortal glory for your homeland, for yourselves, for your parents and friends, then work late nights by Demosthenes’ lamplight and (as they say about the same man) use more oil than wine. That, however, is exactly what you will be doing if you heed my advice and exhortation, by uniting sweet poetry with holy philosophy, both of which are within your grasp. For what could be more philosophical than Cicero? Likewise, what could be more poetic than Plautus? And yet this duo gets along so splendidly, so gracefully, so perfectly, that the one appears to cast a brilliant light on the other, such that in the end you cannot tell whether it is Cicero who is the more philosophizing or Plautus the more poeticizing of the two. Lest somebody or other should accuse me of bringing them together without good cause, listen to our Erasmus, who in his book of Similes has the following to say: “Just as mandrake makes the wine go down smoother if it is planted next to vines, so philosophical reasoning becomes easier to absorb if it is combined with poetry.”

50 For this medieval proverb, see TPMA, s.v. “Arbeit,” nos. –; Erasmus, Enchiridion, LB , col.  B. The proverb is based on Verg. G. .–, as quoted in Macr. ..: “labor omnia vincit / improbus”; cf. Walther .



oratio, sive praelectio

. Multis vero rationibus aliis ostendi potest poeticam cum morali philosophia coherere copula pulcherrima.  Sed nos ut nunc ad finem properamus, ita illa in ipsis libris quos in utroque genere interpretabimur ostendemus.  Agite igitur, studiosi iuvenes, moralis philosophiae et divinae poeticae coniunctionem sic animis vestris copulate ut nullo unquam turbine, nulla vi, nulla nec fortunae nec temporum iniuria possit avelli. Τ¢λοσ

[

an oration, or inaugural lecture



 Without a doubt, many other reasons could be adduced to demonstrate that poetry is joined with moral philosophy in a most beautiful relationship. But as we are now hurrying to a close, I plan to demonstrate those things in the very books of prose and verse that we’ll be interpreting. Come then, studious youths, knit the bond between moral philosophy and divine poetry so tightly in your hearts that it cannot be torn asunder by any whirlwind, by any violence, by any outrage at the hands of either fortune or time. The end

DE VERA NOBILITATE

ON TRUE NOBILITY

Illustration : Title page of De vera nobilitate [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ] Bibliothek des Evangelischen Ministeriums im Augustinerkloster, Erfurt

INTRODUCTION

The elegy on true nobility goes back to Eobanus’ journeyman years. Our poet was traveling from Frankfurt an der Oder to Leipzig in midDecember  when he stopped for a day or two in Wittenberg to look up his old friends: Johann Lang, who was lecturing on Aristotle and Greek; Justus Jonas, who was studying civil and canon law; and especially Georg Spalatin, who was building up a humanistic library at the university on behalf of Duke Frederick of Saxony. Immediately after his arrival, Eobanus sent Spalatin a note in verse to let him know that he had left the north country and would visit him shortly.1 The two men had not seen each other since their Erfurt days, but had stayed in contact through correspondence. Though few of these letters remain, they suffice to show us Eobanus’ discontents and aspirations during this period.2 Already on  April  he had told Spalatin about his anguish at having to live among the “barbarians” in Prussia, and had implored his influential friend to leave no stone unturned to obtain a lectorship for him in Wittenberg. The newly-founded university there, unburdened by a long history of scholastic education, held for him a special attraction. Hence, when Bishop Dobeneck asked him to study law in the early spring of , Eobanus’ first choice had fallen on Wittenberg, as we learn from another of his letters to Spalatin.3 He had reluctantly accepted his friend’s advice to avoid that university for now and had gone to Frankfurt an der Oder instead. Still, he remained deeply interested in someday teaching at Wittenberg. Now that he was in town, he naturally wanted to consult with Spalatin about his chances at the university and how he might best make his case. The friends seem to have quickly agreed that, after his long years in Prussia, Eobanus was too much of an unknown quantity in Wittenberg to gain a foothold in the university. He would have to publish the Christian Heroides first. That could most easily be accomplished in Leipzig. In the meantime he would do well to ingratiate himself in Wittenberg

1 2 3

Sylv. .. See Poetic Works, :–. Letter of  May , sent from Frankfurt an der Oder. See Mutian. Ep., :.



de vera nobilitate

by presenting Frederick the Wise with a poem reinforcing the Elector’s humanistic inclinations and singling him out for special praise. After some brainstorming, the friends came up with a suitable vehicle for such a panegyric: an elegy on true nobility. The work would begin by reminding princes that their nobility was acquired through the mere accident of birth, not through any merit of their own. They are in no wise superior to the rest of humanity, for all of us share the same Creator and the same parents, Adam and Eve: we all live the same life and must die the same death. It is only through virtue and achievement that we can be ennobled. Modern-day aristocrats, alas, have degenerated from their glorious ancestors. Wallowing in vice and glorying in crime, they value nothing but wealth and power. Against this satiric backdrop, the friends agreed, Eobanus ought then to highlight two modern exemplars of true nobility: Emperor Maximilian, who just a few months earlier had scored some notable successes against the Venetians,4 and Duke Frederick, who had founded the University of Wittenberg in  and shown himself an ardent supporter of humanistic studies ever since. Among other topics, the poem was then to laud the cultural achievements of modern Germany, in particular her universities from which a stream of nobleminded graduates is now flowing forth. To help Eobanus along, Spalatin undertook to make a detailed outline for the elegy and send it to him in the next few weeks.5 After moving into a collegiate dormitory at Leipzig, Eobanus’ top priority was to publish the Christian Heroides and then lecture on the book at the university. But when his friends cautioned him that the conservative professors would take it ill if he proved too successful at drawing students away from the traditional courses, he settled for the much more modest Sylvae duae, which came out in early January. Before the month was out, Eobanus obtained permission from the university to teach a course on the poems.6 Spalatin, meanwhile, had made good

4 In September–October , Maximilian and his Spanish allies waged a war of attrition against Venice, destroying and plundering everything they could on the Venetian mainland. From Mestre, imperial forces even bombarded Venice itself. On October , German landsknechts and Spanish mercenaries inflicted a devastating defeat on the Venetians at Vicenza. Eobanus alludes to these exploits at Her. Chr. .– as well as at Nob. –. 5 See Mutian. Ep., :–, letter to Spalatin of  June ; Ep., :, letter from Eobanus to Spalatin, dated  June , enclosed with no. . 6 See Poetic Works, :, , –.

introduction



on his end of the bargain. Aided by his friend’s outline, Eobanus threw himself into On True Nobility with utmost enthusiasm. In the heat of inspiration, however, he was unable to contain himself. Before he knew it, he had veered from the structure that his friend had so carefully planned. Halfway into the poem, Eobanus realized that he had lost track of the overall argument. There was no quick way out, short of rewriting a good part of the poem. And as he always did when the obstacles mounted and inspiration flagged, he lost interest and set the work aside for some later day.7 When Spalatin started wondering in late February why he still had not received the promised poem, Eobanus answered twice, first in March and then again in mid-April, to explain the delay. Unfortunately, neither letter reached Spalatin. Finally, as his friend kept pressing him, a visibly irritated Eobanus wrote back on  June : In my last letter, dear Spalatin, I was complaining that my letter to you had not been delivered by our mutual friend Sebastian [Myricius].8 But as I see (or rather, as I suspect), you didn’t even receive that letter of mine, in which I was complaining like that. How do you expect me to react, if I have to keep writing you to no purpose? I excused myself for not sending you my Nobility, for the simple reason that it isn’t finished yet. I told you that the piece had mushroomed so much that it was shaping up to be a small book. And so it has, dear Spalatin. I could not be content to stay within the bounds you set me. That is just how my mind works, frolicsome rather than disciplined. In the first flush of enthusiasm I did indeed pour everything I had into the poem and got as far as the halfway point. That burst of inspiration has faded away, to confess the truth. Then, as I kept putting off the poem from one day to the next, the fretful and painstaking work on my Heroides took over. This book is now being set up in the printing shop. I expect it to be published promptly in a couple of weeks. Being so overwhelmed with labor, I have no time to do anything else; for you know how essential it is for me to stay focused on this task. But, my dearest Spalatin, do your Eobanus this favor at least: be patient until I’ve sent those troublesome maidens out into the world. This I can promise, that you’ll receive the True Nobility at the same time as the Heroides. In fact, you’ll receive the poem as soon as I complete it. When I feel inspired, I can complete it in short order. All I ask of you is not to hold this matter against me, seeing that I am yours truly and remain totally devoted to your name, as will surely become more apparent from the Nobility itself.9

7 8 9

Cf. Camerarius, Nar. .– (:–). On Sebastian Myricius, see Poetic Works, :, n. . See Mutian. Ep., :–.



de vera nobilitate

By way of further explanation Eobanus adds: But to put in a word about my duty [to keep in contact], my good Spalatin: I really did write quite a long letter that Myricius was to take along to you on his way from here to Prussia. Why he didn’t give you the letter is beyond me. When I understood from your letter (which I did receive) that it hadn’t been delivered to you, I sent you another one via our friend Engentinus at the most recent fair here in Leipzig.10 The sum and substance of this letter, if I remember aright, was that the Nobility wasn’t finished yet, also that I was angry that Myricius didn’t give you the letter that he had taken along for you, and then that I had changed my address and had moved out of the collegiate dormitory into the city.

To all appearances, Eobanus did set himself to finish the poem when the Heroides came out in early July. But once more he found himself frustrated. His trouble had started when he strayed from Spalatin’s roadmap. The best course of action now would be to revert to the original plan. To his dismay, however, he discovered that in the intervening months he had misplaced the outline. There was nothing for it but to lay the poem aside.11 By this time he had given up all hope of a lectorship either in Wittenberg or in Leipzig. With the Christian Heroides in hand, he packed up his books and papers and returned to Erfurt, the city he had left almost five years earlier. Once back in Erfurt, Eobanus could see no urgency in bringing the troublesome elegy to heel. He had a new set of priorities now: his engagement and upcoming wedding to Katharina Später, his lectures on the Christian Heroides, and a book of satiric epigrams in support of Johann Reuchlin. Throughout the autumn and early winter, the unfinished elegy lay dormant. By early , however, marriage was forcing our carefree poet to confront the reality of having to make a living for himself and his

10 The humanist poet Philip Engelbrecht Engentinus earned his BA in , his MA in , both at Wittenberg. He left the city in the early autumn of  and took up studies at Freiburg. He taught at the university from  until his death in . See VLDH, :–. 11 Cf. Mutian. Ep., :, letter from Eobanus to Spalatin, dated  June , enclosed with no. . After Eobanus sent him a copy of the newly published Christian Heroides in mid-July , Spalatin responded on July . He assures his friend that the book has arrived safely. Though full of praise for the masterpiece (one of the magisters at Wittenberg, he says, is already planning to lecture on it), he is disappointed to hear that the Nobility is not yet finished. He exhorts Eobanus to send it as soon as he can and looks forward to his friend’s return to Wittenberg. For the letter, see Johann Christoph Coler, Oratio inauguralis de multiplici humaniorum literarum abusu (Jena, ), appendix, [pp. –].

introduction



wife.12 It was well and good to be famed as “king of poets.” But to fulfill his dream of a university lectorship, he had to keep proving his worth. It was time to complete On True Nobility. As he went about his task, he also updated the poem here and there, first by appealing to Maximilian to make good on his pledge of  February  to join the Holy League in a crusade against the Turks, and then — a classic career move! — by inserting a ringing praise of the University of Erfurt.13 For all this progress, Eobanus may still have entertained doubts about the poem’s viability and usefulness. Elegant of phrase, but clumsy of structure, it was a minor work, not the impressive follow-up to the Heroides that he needed right now. In a burst of fresh inspiration, therefore, Eobanus produced a Hymnus paschalis to serve as a lyric counterpart to the Victoria Christi ab inferis that he had written three years earlier in Cracow. The idea was to combine the two paschal poems, along with a small set of epigrams, into a single book, to be brought out at Easter that year (April ).14 Though this plan, as we have seen, did not prove feasible, Eobanus did have the satisfaction of seeing the Hymnus paschalis and epigrams through the press in April. A month or two later he brought out his inaugural lecture. It was only then that he felt ready to publish On True Nobility. By mid-July it was in print. On the th of the month, Mutianus Rufus advised his still very much unemployed friend to use the elegy to introduce himself to the court of Archbishop Albert of Mainz. “This,” he told Eobanus, “seems to me the best course of action, if you could send your noblemen, or rather, your noble-minded heroes” (“nobiles viros, vel potius generosos heroas tuos”) to the jurist Valentin von Sunthausen (–), the archbishop’s chancellor-in-waiting.15

12 Cf. Mutian. Ep.  ( September ): Katharina is pressing Eobanus to get a job to pay for the necessities of life. 13 Lines –, with their appeal to Maximilian to join the Holy League in a crusade against the Turks, closely parallel Hymn. –. Cf. the introduction to that poem, p.  above. The two passages must be roughly contemporary. At ll. – Eobanus inserts a praise of “our university.” 14 See introd. to Hymn., pp. – above. 15 See Mutian. Ep. ; cf. Krause, Beiträge, ; Krause, HEH, :. Not yet aware of Eobanus’ De vera nobilitate, Krause explains Mutianus’ allusion as referring to the Heroides Christianae. But Mutianus would have referred to that work as “reginas tuas” or “puellas tuas” (“your queens” or “maidens”), not “your noblemen.” See, for example, Ep.  and . In Ep. , Mutianus also urges Eobanus to write a poem applauding Archbishop Albert’s solemn entry into Erfurt. Their mutual friend Ulrich von Hutten had already taken a similar tack. To celebrate the archbishop’s solemn entry into his residence in



de vera nobilitate The Commonplace of True Nobility

When Eobanus and Spalatin settled on the theme of true nobility, they were, of course, quite familiar with the topic’s rich history.16 First discussed by Aristotle, the idea had been championed in particular by the Stoics. In Moral Epistles , for example, Seneca argues that a philosopher can have no regard for ancestry, for all people spring from the same source, the gods. Real nobility, he contends, is not a matter of birth, but of worth (virtus). Juvenal, too, trumpets the wisdom that “true nobility is nothing other than virtus” (.). Boethius makes the same point in The Consolation of Philosophy (.). After the collapse of the Roman Empire and its system of hereditary nobility, the topic lay fallow for many centuries. It was not until a new, feudal aristocracy emerged that the theme could enjoy a revival. The commonplace was debated with especial vigor among the Italian humanists of the fifteenth century. Of the many contributions produced in those years, three were widely diffused. They are Buonaccorso da Montemagno’s two fictional speeches De vera nobilitate (), reprinted at Leipzig in  and translated into German by Niklas von Wyle in ; Poggio Bracciolini’s dialogue De nobilitate (/), reprinted at Strasbourg in ; and the dialogue De vera nobilitate (ca. ) by Bartolomeo Sacchi, better known as Platina, which was reprinted at Erfurt in . As the reprints and translation show, the topic also resonated north of the Alps. When the University of Ingolstadt was formally opened in

Mainz, Hutten had published a Panegyricus in February . The poem was dedicated to the archbishop’s chancellor, Eitelwolf vom Stein, a great patron of the German humanists. Thereupon Hutten had been promptly received into the archbishop’s service. Eobanus is to follow Hutten’s example. Because Eitelwolf vom Stein died on  June , Mutianus counsels Eobanus to send the panegyric poem to his presumptive successor, Valentin von Sunthausen. It would be good policy, he suggests, if Eobanus would ingratiate himself with the new chancellor by sending him his just-published On True Nobility. In the end, Mutianus’ and Eobanus’ efforts were for naught, because the archbishop’s visit, expected first in the early autumn and then late in , never materialized. By late November, Eobanus was still working on a welcome for the archbishop, in the form of verses for a musical entertainment. See Epp. fam., , letter of  November  to Johann Drach: “Ego Musas in adventum eius coapto et compono ad concentum harmonicum. Si non contemnet, excipietur magnifice Musis nostris.” 16 My chief guide for the following discussion is Albert Rabil, Jr., Knowledge, Goodness, and Power: The Debate over Nobility among Quattrocento Italian Humanists (Binghamton, NY, ), –. Rabil’s book also offers the essential texts in English translation. See further: Curtius, ELLMA, –; Joachim Gruber, Kommentar zu Boethius, De consolatione Philosophiae, nd edition (Berlin, ), , note at Consol. ...

introduction

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, Dr. Martin Mair, chancellor to Duke Ludwig of Bavaria-Landshut, gave an oration in which he lauded those who raise themselves to the highest levels of society by dint of their learning and virtue and look down on those — even those of elite birth — who neglect these qualities.17 Konrad Celtis followed suit in his inaugural lecture at the same university in .18 Two years later, Sebastian Brant briefly addressed the theme in chapter  of his Ship of Fools (ll. –), a passage paraphrased and expanded in Jakob Locher’s Stultifera navis (). More recently, Hieronymus Schenck of Siemau had written a prose book on the theme: A Description of the most Honorable and ever Venerable Virgin Nobility and what Befits her Lover [Nuremberg, ].19 Dedicated to that shining exemplar, Duke Frederick of Saxony, the little book concludes with an exhortation to the nobles of Germany to embrace Virtue, the fountainhead of true nobility. Spalatin could well have read the tract in the ducal library. As for Eobanus, he had adduced the topos several times before, but never at any length. In the spring of  he addressed a panegyric elegy to the patrician brothers Herbord, Gerlach, and Wolf von der Marthen in which he praises them as noble, not only by birth but also by a moral goodness worthy of his Muse.20 At Nup. – he wrote: “But only virtue deserves titles and lustrous fame; only virtue can bestow that higher nobility that no length of time can efface.” And at Her. Chr. .–, Eobanus’ Saint Paula dismisses her noble ancestry as nothing when compared with the nobility of soul that Jerome has inspired in her. Analysis Eobanus’ elegy is framed by an opening and concluding section in praise of Georg Spalatin. The body of the poem itself is divided into two major parts. Both parts begin as satire, but end as panegyric.

17 See Jan-Dirk Müller, Gedechtnus: Literatur und Hofgesellschaft um Maximilian I. (Munich, ), . 18 See Joachim Gruber, ed., Conradi Celtis Protucii Panegyris ad duces Bavariae (Wiesbaden, ), – (text and translation), – (commentary); VLDH, :–. 19 Honestissime semperque venerande virginis Nobilitatis descriptio et quid eius amatorem deceat. On Hieronymus Schenck and his writings, see VL, :–. 20 See Epp. , sigs. Fv–Fr.



de vera nobilitate Prologue (ll. –)

Georg Spalatin is a man whose origins may be obscure — a gentle hint at his illegitimate birth — but whose nobility of soul has made him a favorite of princes and won him wealth and fame. It is thus fitting that he should ask Eobanus to write a poem on the commonplace of true nobility. The poet is eager to embark on this task. Argument, Part  (ll. –) The elegy proper starts off with an apostrophe to the landed aristocracy, the kings and princes of the realm. They must learn to curb their pride, for we all share a common humanity. Everyone of us has the same Creator and the same parents, Adam and Eve. That is why we all live the same life and must die the same death. The only true difference among us lies in the qualities of mind and soul. It is here that true nobility resides. But in their arrogance, our present-day nobles no longer value such nobility. Instead, they pursue the vices and worship wealth. Whoever is rich is deemed noble. How different were the heroes of Greek and Roman antiquity! The ancient Germans, too, lived the simple life of manly virtue and heroism. In our own time such old-school nobility has become rare. The invention of cannons has destroyed military valor. Nevertheless, even in this degenerate age of ours one may still encounter examples to inspire us, men who are noble not merely by birth but also by their greatness of soul: Emperor Maximilian, a figure of heroic grandeur as he imposes his will on the rebellious Venetians and plans a crusade against the Turks; and Duke Frederick of Saxony, who now is fostering a Golden Age of learning and piety in his territories. In constructing this argument, Eobanus closely follows Konrad Celtis’ Amores ., “To Elsula, falling away from the old-time and pure morality of Germany.”21 There Celtis paints a picture of the Germanic tribes who as yet are wholly unspoiled by Roman luxury and vices. The modern Germans, alas, have long since degenerated from this ideal and have adopted the ways of Italy. However, Celtis emphasizes, there have been notable exceptions. Just think of the medieval emperors Charlemagne, the later Carolingians, the Henrys and Conrads, the Ottos, Ludwigs, and Fredericks. Even nowadays we have one such hero to celebrate: “Maximus Aemilian,” Emperor Maximilian, whose very name recalls the

21

“Ad Elsulam a priscis et sanctis Germaniae moribus degenerantem.”

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great Roman generals Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator and P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus. Celtis concludes that these modern heroes all deserve to be immortalized by the Muse. Had Eobanus left off at this point, he would have produced a wellrounded, compact elegy that neatly balances a satiric attack on modern nobility in general with a praise of the old-time heroism and virtue that live on in two great princes of modern Germany — two exceptions that prove the rule. But he was too much the patriot to leave it at that. No sooner has he lamented that modern Germany possesses just one or two paragons of true nobility than he assures us that there are actually a great many more such examples. In fact, he goes on, in today’s Germany such heroes are as abundant as sands in the Libyan deserts or bees on Mount Hymettus. Eobanus will concede only that they do not possess “the antique simplicity” of bygone years, which he deems “morally superior, because overlaid with no affectation whatever.” Argument, Part  (ll. –) After thus undercutting his argument by having it both ways at once, Eobanus returns to his original theme, but with realigned focus: in modern Germany only the rich are deemed noble, only the wealthy attain to power, no matter how ignoble their origins and character. The argument reprises ll. – of the preceding section: our modern age is drowning in vices; wealth trumps worth. The arts and sciences go unrewarded. Humanistic erudition does not bring honor and prestige, but engenders envy and hatred. That is the price we still pay for medieval barbarism in the schools and universities! Only recently have we begun to emerge into the light of true culture, only now are we learning to speak good Latin. This is Eobanus’ cue to switch once more from satire to panegyric. Germany’s many universities, he boasts, now rival the best that Italy has to offer. The finest among them is “our” University of Erfurt (ll. –). These universities put students on the path to true nobility. Noblemen who are also noble-minded certainly deserve our applause. Even more praiseworthy are the commoners who are the first in their family to acquire the true nobility that is founded on moral worth and erudition. This kind of nobility will never perish. Epilogue (ll. –) Such is the nobility that Georg Spalatin has acquired for himself. It is also the nobility for which the poet himself hopes to be known someday.



de vera nobilitate Printing History

During his last two years as a student in Erfurt, Eobanus had had his books published with Johann Knappe the Elder. When he resumed publication at Erfurt in , he naturally went back to his old printer, first for the Hymnus paschalis in April, then for his Oratio and the edition of Plautus’ Amphitruo in May/June. With De vera nobilitate Eobanus inaugurates an association with Matthes Maler that would endure until . The switch in publishers tends to confirm a printing date in midJuly .22 The elegy was printed just once, without place, printer, or year. Cf. von Hase, no. . The title is enclosed within the same solid-block compartment that Maler would later use for Hutten’s and Eobanus’ Epistola Italiae, Responsio Maximiliani (Erfurt, ). Maler used this compartment in  and then from  to . See von Hase, –, s.v. “Mathes Maler,” TE . A () [Within a compartment cut from a single block; Fraktur:] Helii Eobani | Heſſi De Vera Nobili= | tate. et priſcis Germanor¯u moribus | Ad Georgi¯u Spalatinum Libellus | Carmine Elegiaco. | Libelli Dedicatio. | [roman:  hendecasyllables] | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

None o: A–B4, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av–Bv De vera nobilitate; Bv–Br Ad Ioannem Osthenium equitem, cur vocetur Helius; Bv blank Catchwords: None Running titles: None Copy text: Erfurt, Bibliothek des Evangelischen Ministeriums im Augustinerkloster Call number: U 

The copy first came to light in the library’s printed catalogue, Verzeichnis der in der Martinskammer im Martinsstift zu Erfurt aufbewahrten Urdrucke aus der Reformationszeit (Erfurt, ), , no. . Karl Krause reported the find and analyzed the elegy in “Eine neu aufgefundene Schrift des Eobanus Hessus,” Centralblatt für Bibliothekswesen  (), –. The copy is personally inscribed by the poet to Georg Spalatin: “Georgio Spalatino Eobanus .D D. Ex Amicicia”. In the margin

22

See p.  above.

introduction



of sig. Ar Eobanus supplies two verses omitted by the printer (ll. – ). The text of both lines has been trimmed at the right margin, so that only the opening letters of the last words remain: “. . . auget o|”; and in the next line: “. . . assuefactus an|”. The truncated words, which Krause correctly reconstructs as “opes” and “amori” (p. , n. ) are supplied more fully by a student’s hand in the Copenhagen copy. The Erfurt copy also shows some text underlinings throughout. On sig. Bv, for example, an unknown hand (not Eobanus’ or Spalatin’s) underlines ll.  and –. At l.  the same hand corrects the erroneous “am” to “Nam”; at ll. – it adds the marginal note “Fridericus noster.” I have also examined the copy in Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek (:, ). This copy contains numerous interlinear and marginal notes. To all appearances, they were written down by one of Eobanus’ students at Erfurt in /. On the blank final page (B4) a different hand has inserted two epigrams on the topic of true nobility. The first, headed “Jacobus Wymphelingius de vera nobilitate,” repeats the epigram, “Contra iactantiam ex divitiis stemmate nobilitate ac prole venientem,” as published in the second, expanded edition of Wimpfeling’s Adolescentia (Strasbourg, ), ed. Johannes Gallinarius, or in one of its reprints. This epigram is not by Wimpfeling, however, but is extracted from one by Enea Silvio Piccolomini.23 The second epigram, introduced by the heading “Beroaldus,” is a distich from Filippo Beroaldo’s verse translation of Boccaccio’s “Fabula Tancredi”: “Sola facit virtus generosum, sola beatum,/Sola potest mentes demeruisse probas.”24 The Copenhagen copy is bound with Suetonii Tranquilli Liber illustrium virorum (Leipzig, ) and with Eobanus’ De vitanda ebrietate (Erfurt, ). The latter booklet, lacking the first leaf, likewise contains numerous manuscript notes, in the same hand as those in De vera nobilitate. At the end of De vera nobilitate Eobanus adds an elegy explaining the name “Helius” that he had adopted a year and a half earlier. In thoroughly revised form,25 that poem was reprinted as Sylv. . in the Sylvarum libri of  and  (S and O). For a bibliographical description of these prints, see Poetic Works, :–.

23 See Wimpfeling, Adol., , no. .a; Aen. Silv. Epygr. , “In nobilem gloriosum.” Incipit: “Sis licet ingenuus clarisque parentibus ortus.” 24 Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v. 25 Note  at Nar. . (:–) herewith stands corrected.



de vera nobilitate Reception

In October  the Leipzig student Christoph Hegendorff (–) dedicated his edition of Ulrich von Hutten’s Art of Versification to “the eminent poet Eobanus Hessus.” Praising Eobanus’ work, he singles out the Heroides Christianae, the description of Prussia (Sylv. duae ), and De vera nobilitate. About the last-named poem he writes: “if someone picks up your elegy about the nobility (as you term it) of virtue, oh my goodness, how you utter nothing but graceful beauties and breathe that true Attic eloquence! How sternly you censure the ambition of the many people who measure life not by honorable deeds and a blameless life, but by chains of gold.”26 Despite such praise, Eobanus never reprinted his elegy, and with good reason. In a letter of  June  to Georg Spalatin he acknowledges that the poem did not live up to his friend’s expectations. Quite by chance, he explains, he has now rediscovered Spalatin’s outline that he had misplaced at Leipzig in . He is so exhilarated by this discovery that he is seriously thinking about rewriting the entire poem.27 Nothing came of these musings, however. Just a few weeks later a severe plague broke out in Erfurt. Faculty members and students fled in droves. Already in tumult because of the Lutheran Reformation, the university teetered on the brink of collapse. Eobanus’ elegy was forgotten. By midcentury, only Camerarius, it seems, still remembered the booklet — not so much for itself as for the concluding elegy explaining the name “Helius.”28

26 See Hutten, Opera, :–, no . In Hegendorff ’s edition the book is entitled Stichologia. 27 See Mutian. Ep., :, letter enclosed with no. : “Repperi nuper casu tabulam legum tuarum praescriptae nobilitatis, quam Lypsiae amiseram. Quo ita sum exhilaratus, ut sit deliberatum nunc primum tibi satisfacere, quod omisso ac perdito tuo praescripto tum non potui.” 28 See Camerarius, Nar. ..

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

Helii Eobani Hessi DE VERA NOBILITATE ET PRISCIS GERMANORUM MORIBUS Ad Georgium Spalatinum libellus carmine elegiaco

LIBELLI DEDICATIO Eya, suscipe et hunc prioribusque Adde, Erphurdia nobilis, libellum! Quem de nobilitate gloriaque Vera, vindice nominum bonorum,  Nequaquam tibi nobilem libellum, Sed tantum damus utilem libellum. Huic si quis malus invidere perget, Matrem te doceas piam fuisse.

Helius Eobanus Hessus ON TRUE NOBILITY AND THE OLD-TIME MORALITY OF THE GERMANS A little book addressed to Georg Spalatin in elegiac meter

DEDICATION OF THIS BOOKLET Hey there, pick up this little book and add it to my earlier ones, noble Erfurt!1 It deals with true nobility and glory, the vindicators of good repute. The booklet I’m offering you is by no means noble in itself. Still, you should at least find it a useful little book. If some envier keeps on carping at it, show yourself for the loving mother you are.

1 Eobanus emphasizes just how productive he has been. Besides the works he published during his student and journeyman years, he has just recently brought out Hymnus paschalis and Oratio, sive praelectio. The first liminary epigram of Hymnus paschalis opens with a similar boast.

Av

H. EOBANI HESSI DE VERA NOBILITATE AD GEORGIUM SPALATINUM CARMEN Nobilium, Spalatine, decus non sanguine avorum Sed qua nobilitas parte venire solet, Inclyta cum nostro marcescat tempore virtus Et vicium laudis nomina pene ferat,  Quis titulum verique decus mereatur honoris Et claros merito nobilis aequet avos, Precipis Aonio complectar carmine. Gratum est. Sarcina non humeris est gravis ista meis! Ire libet sacrosque iterum tentare liquores  Antraque Caesarea nobiliora domo, Inde salutari tumefactum pectora flatu Taliter ex alto vociferare loco:

Ar

Qui populos, qui regna, duces, qui sceptra tenetis, O quibus est aliqua mens ratione potens,  Terra quibus mater communis et ultima restat, Vita quibus vario vivitur una modo, Discite, mortales, menti dare fraena superbae Naturaque datis legibus esse pares. Non vos sceptra brevis moveant sublimia regni  Nec, quibus haec vobis sepe parantur, opes. Humanae subeat sortis meminisse, nec unquam Credite materiae vos melioris opus, Naturae siquidem mortalis turba parenti Omnes ex una condita fece sumus.  Unus, et hic Opifex rerum, Pater omnibus idem, Mortales unum foecit in orbe genus. Advena caelesti nobis pater unus ab horto Quondam terrenae pars quota molis erat,

 sortis scripsi: fortis A.

 nobis scripsi: vobis A.

ON TRUE NOBILITY. A POEM BY H. EOBANUS HESSUS ADDRESSED TO GEORG SPALATIN2 Spalatin, you pride and joy of noble ancestors whose nobility does not stem from blood but from its true source: in this age of ours, when glorious virtue is withering and vice is practically a badge of honor, you have called on me to write a Muse-inspired poem explaining what kind of person merits the distinction and prestige of genuine honor and deservedly measures up to his ancestors in fame and nobility. I am much obliged. That burden is not too heavy for my shoulders! I am eager to set out once more for the sacred springs and the Muses’ grottos, [] nobler than the imperial palace, and then, my lungs swelling with the wholesome air, to cry out as follows from on high: You princes who wield the scepter over peoples and kingdoms, O you whose mind possesses some powers of reason, you for whom the earth remains the common and ultimate mother and who, albeit in a different way, live the very same life: learn, mortals, to curb your prideful mind and recognize that according to the laws given by nature we are all equals. Do not let the exalted scepters of brief kingship impress you, [] nor the treasures with which you so often acquire that power. Be ever mindful of the human condition, and do not for a moment presume that you are made of better stuff. For the fact is that Mother Nature has formed each of us mortals from exactly the same dregs. All of us have one and the same Father, and he the Creator of the universe. It is he who made us mortals and put us on earth as one single race. The one forefather we have in common, an outcast from the heavenly Garden, was once a little clod of dirt. We likewise

2 On Eobanus’ friend Georg Spalatin, see n.  at Buc. . (:–). Also see the introd., pp. – above.



de vera nobilitate









 Av





Una parens etiam, vivae nova portio terrae, Unde homines una conditione sumus. Utque genus vitae est et originis omnibus unum, Sic omnes unum mortis adimus iter. Nemo genus referens fatalibus addidit annis. Impia non ullas Parca moratur opes. Illa pares dominis reddit post fata ministros Et matris natos unius esse docet. Aspicite ut coeant cineres ad busta relicti; Nec minus hic sordet, nec magis ille nitet. Mortiferis pallent generosi febribus artus, Nec metuit claram sordida lepra cutem. Si melior natura tibi est, sate sanguine claro, Cur tua sunt gravibus noxia membra malis? Cur in fata ruunt vulgo cum paupere reges? Cur ibi divitibus non famulantur opes? Cur non vestra, duces, Mors pallida regna veretur? Cur generi vestro non timet esse nocens? Exilii una via est huius qua carcer aditur; Qua reditum in patriam quaerimus una via est. Este igitur memores carnem vos vivere eandem, Qui colitis Stygiae proxima regna plagae, At non esse pares diversis mentibus omnes Atque anima quosdam nobiliore frui. Illa decus generi virtutibus aucta rependit. Pressa bonum viciis inquinat illa genus. Inde tot informes, populi discrimina, sectae, Inde tot hic rerum nomina ludus habet. Postquam etenim terras Astraea reliquit et inde Raro est in nostras visa redire domos, Tanta lues vacuum viciorum polluit orbem Ut Virtus clausas iam cubet ante fores. Illa quidem miseris pene exanimata querelis Clamat et assidua voce precatur opem. Deformi neglecta situ, lugubris amictu, Aurea sublimen monstrat ad astra viam.

3 Created from clay, Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise after they ate the forbidden fruit. 4 Mother Earth, as at l. .

on true nobility



have just one foremother, newly made from the living earth.3 [] That is the reason we human beings share the same lot. And just as all of us share the same kind of life and origin, so too all of us travel the same road of death. No one has ever added to his allotted years by pointing to his high birth. Inexorable Fate pays no heed to wealth. She makes lords and servants equals after death and so teaches us that we are the children of one Mother.4 Look how the ashes that are left on the pyre look exactly the same for everyone. Those from the one person are not any less sordid; those from the other are not somehow more lustrous. Highborn limbs grow pallid with death-dealing fevers, [] and foul leprosy does not shrink from blue-blooded skin. If you aristocrats are of superior nature, why is your body subject to grave diseases? Why do kings rush upon their fate just like ordinary paupers? Why do riches not serve the rich in that hour? Why, princes, does pale Death not fear your kingdoms? Why is he not afraid to harm your dynasty? There is but one path by which we enter this exile of ours, this prison; there is but one path by which we may seek to return to our fatherland. Be mindful, then, that all of you live the same life of the flesh, [] never more than a step or two distant from the Stygian realms, but that you are by no means all equal when it comes to the different gifts of mind — in fact, that some people possess a nobler spirit. A soul enriched with virtues lends luster to one’s ancestry. A soul burdened with vices is a stain on good birth. That is why there are so many amorphous classes and levels in society; that is why the world’s stage proffers so many different roles. For ever since Astraea left the earth and is only rarely seen returning to our dwellings,5 the plague of vices infecting the god-bereft world has become so overpowering [] that Moral Virtue is now forced to make her bed before closed doors. Indeed, half dead from her wretched laments, she never ceases to cry out and beg for help. Despised because of her unsightly squalor, clad in sackcloth though she is, she nevertheless shows us the way up to the golden stars on high. 5 At the end of the Golden Age, when all the other gods and goddesses had left the earth, only the goddess of justice, Astraea, remained. Finally she too returned to heaven. See Ov. Met. .–.



de vera nobilitate 





Ar 





Picta genas contra ruit indignata Voluptas Deque sinu totas ubere fundit opes. Hanc circum immensus longo fremit agmine miles. Illa capistratis alta triumphat equis. Circum picta nitent variis tentoria signis, Militiam dominae testificata suae. Proxima post dominam sceptro Regina superbo Ingreditur toto corpore nuda Venus. Quam penes Assyrio crinem madefactus amomo Immensam turbam Sardanapalus agit. Ut veteres taceam, quis non ibi temporis huius Nobilium videat nomina multa ducum? Omnibus his certas praescribit Inertia leges, Et quae desidiae Murcea nomen habet. His famulae subeunt formosae et ad omnia promptae Quae modo Virtuti displicuisse sciant — Luxus, Avaricies, Fastus, Gula, Livor, et Ira, Insidiae, Fraudes, Iurgia, Probra, Doli. Precipue latam fucata Superbia frontem Monstrorum secum milia multa trahit: Stupra, Latrocinium, Periuria, Furta, Rapinae, Spretus honorandae relligionis amor, Et quae preterea viciorum mille figurae Mollia degeneris castra sequuntur herae. His qui se claro memorant de sanguine natos Maxima pars monstris paret habetque duces, Quando alius, blanda pellectus imagine regni, Non timet infandis caedibus esse nocens, Impius hinc alius sacris non abstinet aris Signatamque sacro sanguine foedat humum.

 crinem scripsi: crinen A. 6 King Sardanapalus of Assyria was legendary for his debauchery and sensuality. See Häussler,  and ; Erasmus, Adag. ..; Eob. Gen. ebrios. . and .–. 7 Does Eobanus expressly allude to the notorious murder of the knight Hans von Hutten by his lord, Duke Ulrich of Württemberg, on  May ? That is the argument made in Krause, “Schrift,” –. However, ll. – speak only about the crimes that men commit to obtain kingship, not about crimes of passion. The duke’s intent, after

on true nobility



Sensual Pleasure, by contrast, rushes about disdainfully, her cheeks all painted, and from her ample bosom pours forth her whole stock of riches. Round about her clamors an immense army in long procession. She herself triumphs high on her horse-drawn chariot. All around, magnificent tents rise up, emblazoned with diverse coats of arms [] that demonstrate allegiance to their sovereign lady. Immediately behind her sovereign rides Queen Venus, wielding the proud scepter and naked in all her body. Sardanapalus,6 his hair steeped in the perfumes of Assyria, escorts her at the head of that immense multitude. To say nothing of the ancients: who can fail to see so many of our present-day noblemen in that company? For all of them Indolence lays down the law, as does the goddess of sloth, Murcea. A train of maidservants follows them, beautiful girls always on call to perform the very things [] they know that Moral Virtue detests — Extravagance, Greed, Arrogance, Gluttony, Envy, and Anger, Treachery, Fraud, Strife, Infamy, Guile. In this crowd, Haughty Pride stands out. Her broad face daubed with cosmetics, she brings along many thousands of monsters: Debauchery, Robbery, Perjury, Theft, Plunder, Scorn for Venerable Religion, and the myriad other vices that follow the wanton camp of their degenerate mistress. Of those who preen themselves on being born of noble blood [] the vast majority obeys those monsters and looks to them as their leaders. Consider: one man, seduced by the entrancing image of kingship, does not shrink from making himself guilty of unspeakable slaughter;7 another, godless thug that he is, does not draw back even from the sacred altars, but stains the consecrated ground with priestly blood. Then

all, was to rid himself of his mistress’ husband, not to gain or expand his power. We should remember, too, that it was not in Eobanus’ character or interest ever to criticize identifiable modern-day noblemen. His critique of the nobility is meant generically. It is only when he turns to panegyric later in the poem that he points to specific individuals. Besides, for all we know, the passage was already in the first draft of the poem, written in February, . Contemporaries who read the passage in the summer of  would, of course, have been free to associate it with the murder of Hans von Hutten in May of .



de vera nobilitate 



 Av









Alter inops vetitis viciorum alimenta rapinis Quaerit et iniustas caedibus auget opes. Alter adulterii miser assuefactus amori Legitimi servat foedera nulla thori. In stupra incestusque ruit discrimine nullo. Non vita vivit sordidiore pecus. Ille animum lucris sitientem addictus iniquis Deglubit miseras pastor avarus oves. Iura alius falsa trutinat mutilata statera, Versat et arbitrio fasque nefasque suo. Ille opibus pregnans et rerum prodigus usu Diviciis pascit crimina foeda suis Et nunquam sacras intrat nisi vanus in aedes Et pia vix aliquo lumine sacra videt. Haec quoque si non sint properata sine ordine rerum, Infaustas mystae sepe precatur aves. Sunt quoque contempta sic relligione profani, Ut sacra nec dici nomina ferre queant. Et miseri sacris nunquam pascuntur ab aris Seque nihil preter corpus habere putant. Ocia quin turpi sectentur inertia luxu Et miseri tantum gaudia ventris amant. Ebria pervigili convivia luce frequentant; Non aliquem inveniunt pocula longa modum. O quicunque vicem docuisti pocula primus, Quisquis es, inferno semper ab amne bibas! Sed quis inexhaustum viciorum cogat acervum, Quando haec vix aliquod tempora lumen habent? His bona nobilium (quales haec saecula norunt) Pars clarum viciis obruta nomen habet. Nec generi virtus ullum decus addit avito; Diviciae pondus nobilitatis habent. Diviciis emitur Virtus captiva, malisque Nunc etiam didicit moribus esse comes!

– Quaerit — amori om. A, restituit manus Eobani in margine exemplaris Erfurdensis; sic etiam legitur in margine exemplaris Hafniensis.  Quaerit scripsi: Querit manus Eobani in ex. Erfurdensi; sic etiam legitur in ex. Hafniensi; opes manus in ex. Hafniensi: o [?] manus Eobani (reliqua cum margine praecisa sunt).  amori Krause: an manus Eobani (reliqua praecisa sunt), amo manus in ex. Hafniensi (reliqua praecisa sunt).  habent scripsi: habens A.

on true nobility



there is the one of straitened means, who seeks to nourish his wickedness by vicious robbery and enriches himself through ruthless murder.8 Another wretch, addicted to adulterous love, cannot bring himself to keep the bonds of lawful marriage. Blindly he rushes into debauchery and incest. [] A beast does not live a more sordid life. Here is a man so avaricious at heart, so bent on ill-gotten gains, that he, greedy shepherd that he is, skins the poor sheep. Another man weighs mutilated laws on false scales and twists right and wrong as he pleases. That one, rolling in riches and spending money like water, uses his wealth to feed his monstrous crimes and never sets foot in church, except for show, and barely deigns to cast a glance at the holy sacrament. Then too, if the Mass is not read pell-mell, in headlong haste, [] he often wishes the priest would go to hell. There are also scoffers who take their contempt for religion so far that they cannot stand hearing the sacred names spoken. Moreover, those miscreants never receive nourishment from the holy altars and imagine they have nothing beyond the body. Indeed, the wretches pass their whole life in sluggish idleness and shameful luxury and only love the pleasures of the belly. Every waking hour is spent at drunken parties; the long carousing knows no end. Oh, whoever you are who first invented the drinking of rounds,9 [] may you forever quaff from the infernal stream! But who could possibly catalogue the whole inexhaustible heap of depravities, seeing that this age of ours is almost completely benighted? A good part of the nobles (at least the sort we meet with nowadays) are notorious for being drowned in vice. They possess no qualities that lend distinction to their family line. For them, the essence of nobility is wealth. With their riches they buy Moral Virtue and keep her captive. Nowadays she even learns to accommodate herself to

8 Robber barons were still very much a scourge in the German Empire during Eobanus’ lifetime. 9 On the peculiarly German practice of Zutrinken (the compulsory pledging of healths), see the introd. to Gen. ebrios., pp. – below.



de vera nobilitate



Ar 









 Av

Diviciae cui sunt, hic nobilis, ille beatus; Ille sedet magnos protinus ante duces. Hunc nova mirantis celebrant encomia vulgi, Sit licet hic alga vilior et paleis. Et licet exuperes virtutibus omnibus omnes, Omnibus, ut fueris re sine, peior eris. At non sic veteres longis heroes ab annis De nullo tantum pondere nomen habent. Non sic Maeonio vati cantatus Achilles, Non sic Mantoa notior ille tuba, Non sic Alcides, non sic facundus Ulysses, Non sic Graiorum caetera turba ducum. Sed neque sic foecit generosos Roma nepotes, Unde fluit primae nobilitatis honor. Condidit exiguam generosus Romulus urbem; Immensi virtus causa laboris erat. Aspice post illum totumque excurre per aevum Quod cum consulibus constitit et cecidit. Invenies quae te pigeat numerare, laborque Nomina Romanae nobilitatis erunt. Protinus, imperio se demittente per Alpes, Omnia Teutonici saecla revolve soli. Aspicies nullo cultam generosius orbe Virtutem, quae nos vivere sola facit. Nam neque deliciis haec gens elanguit unquam, Donec in has misere degeneravit opes. Non ita deformi periit Germania luxu Barbara dum Romae fortiter illa fuit. Tum neque purpureis radians in vestibus aurum, Nec stetit in nostris advena gemma ciphis. Sobria belligeri posuerunt prandia reges. Heu, quo luxuriae nostri abiere dies! Nulla maritantes novere cubilia moechos, Firma pudiciciae lex muliebris erat. Nulla nisi evectae, nisi robore firma iuventae Virgo, nec imbelli nupserat ulla viro.

 Alcides corr. manus in ex. Hafniensi: Acides A. 10

In the Iliad of Homer and the Aeneid of Vergil.

on true nobility



immorality! The man who has wealth, he is noble, he is blessed. [] He is immediately seated before great lords. Awestruck, the common people celebrate him in new songs of praise, even if he himself is more worthless than seaweed or straw. You may surpass everybody in every conceivable merit. But if you lack money, you will be held the lowest of the low. How different the ancient heroes of bygone years! Their brilliant reputation is not based on wealth. That is not the reason why the Maeonian bard sang of Achilles, or why Mantua’s trumpet extolled Aeneas.10 That is not why Hercules, why eloquent Ulysses, [] why the rest of the Greek leaders were praised to the skies, or why Rome ennobled her sons. The prestige of her earliest nobility flowed from a quite different source. The high-minded Romulus founded a small city. It was his manly spirit that impelled him to that immense labor. Look at his successors and survey the whole age that stood and fell with the consuls. You will find it wearisome to count them all up; and tallying the names of Rome’s nobility will be an endless task. Next, with imperial power being transferred across the Alps,11 [] think back on the whole of German history. Then you’ll observe that no people on earth has done more to cultivate that manly excellence that alone makes us immortal. For this race never did grow soft in the pursuit of pleasures, until it pitifully degenerated into present-day opulence. Barbarian Germany did not sink into degrading sumptuousness like that while she was stoutly standing up to Rome. In those days, there was no gold glistering on purple garments, nor did foreign gems encrust our goblets. Battle-hardened kings served up sober meals. [] Alas, into what self-indulgence has our modern age descended! Back then, the marriage bed did not know any adulterers; the law of womanly modesty still held firm. No maiden took a husband except in the bloom of her youth, in the prime of life, and none would ever marry a

11 According to the medieval theory of translatio imperii (“transfer of imperial power”), the Roman Empire devolved to the Germans when Charlemagne was crowned emperor at Rome in . Eobanus alludes to the doctrine also at Gen. ebrios. ..

 









Br 



de vera nobilitate Dos erat huic sonipes duris bellator in armis Et pecus et tristis iugera pauca soli. Scilicet arma etiam nostris placuisse puellis Testis es, at nostra clade superbe, Mari. His neque degeneri muliebris inertia luxu, Improba nec curae forma Venusve fuit. Mutuus in prolem commiscuit ardor habendam; Hanc quoque legitimam est esse petita fides. Namque infans, patrii fluitans in gurgite Reni, Si meruit, fluvio iudice salvus erat. Moribus ille piis patriis adolevit in armis, Cui scelus atque nefas molliter esse fuit. Taela puer dextro didicit vibrare lacerto Et laeva clypeum posse rotare manu. Iam bellator eques longa sudare sub hasta Et certo assuevit flectere frena modo, Nunc velut imbellis conversus ad ocia vitae Cum cane sylvestres sollicitare feras, Nunc patrium duris versare ligonibus agrum Invisamque rudi fruge levare famem. Non tunc firma cavae cingebant oppida fossae. Clausere urbanas maenia rara domos. Tempore non illo virtus ignava resedit, Tormentis, ut nunc, turpiter usa novis, Teutona nec firmas quatiebant fulmina turres. Murus erat virtus civibus ipsa suis. Ah, pereat quicunque globos torquere volantes Author Germano primus in orbe fuit! Ille suo o utinam periisset fulmine primus, Terribile hoc homines ut latuisset opus! Iam non militiae robur peteretur ab illo, Bellica non virtus iam iacuisset iners,

 iam scripsi: tam A. 12 The Roman general and statesman Gaius Marius (– bce) defeated the Ambrones, Cimbri, and Teutons in  bce as they were set to invade Italy. When the defeated Germans fled back into their camps, the women attacked their own men as traitors and then rushed at the Romans. A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy shows that Eobanus took his knowledge of these events from Florus, Epit. ., and Plutarch, Life of Marius –.

on true nobility



coward. Her dowry consisted of a mettlesome warhorse, some oxen, and a few acres of barren soil. It is clear that even our young women were only too glad to bear arms. You yourself are my witness, even as you glory in our defeat, Marius.12 Those women gave no thought to feminine indolence or ignoble luxury; [] they were not obsessed with good looks or shameless sex. Mutual love united the couples in their desire for offspring. They even went so far as to test the child’s legitimacy. For the infant was put out to float on the waters of their native Rhine. If he was deserving, the river’s judgment kept him safe.13 Raised with sound morals, he grew up among his father’s weapons, for he considered it a crime and an abomination to take his ease. As a boy he learned to brandish the spear with his right arm and whirl the shield with his left hand. Before long, he was a warrior on horseback, accustomed to sweating under the long spear [] and handling the reins with a sure touch. Sometimes he would apply himself, as it were, to the leisure activities of peacetime and stalk game in the forests with his hunting dog. At other times he would turn the soil with the hard mattock to relieve odious hunger with simple crops. Deep moats did not yet girdle fortified cities. Few if any walls enclosed the towns. In that day and age, courage had not flagged and turned coward, as it has now, when it shamefully makes use of the modern cannons. German thunderbolts were not yet battering stout towers. [] Bravery was the only wall that the townspeople required. Ah, perish the inventor, whoever he was, that German who was the first to hurl cannonballs through the air! Oh, how I wish he’d been the first to die by his own thunderbolt, so that this terrible weapon might have remained hidden from mankind! Then we would not have to depend on it for military prowess, nor would our martial courage now lie prostrate and

13 A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy states that the Germanic tribes along the Rhine used to put newborns on a shield and float them on the water. If the baby survived, it was accepted as legitimate. The authority quoted for this assertion is Claud. in Rufin. .: “Et quos nascentes explorat gurgite Rhenus” (“And those whom the Rhine had put to the test as infants”).









Bv







de vera nobilitate Nec modo tot nostras regnaret Turca per urbes, Contra nos nostro qui valet ingenio, Penderet antiquas per se Germania vires Et sibi concordi consona pace foret. Quam bene Romanum Caesar componeret orbem, Trux licet iratas Adria tollat aquas! Nobilitas nunc prisca iacet generosaque cessant Facta ducum. Regnant ocia, venter, opes. Virtutis veterum nobis vix umbra relicta est, Quis neget in paucis esse quod ante fuit? Quod prior in magnis conspexit Othonibus aetas, Quali Chunratos nomine fama beat, Quod tres Henrici, quod Carolus unus et alter, Quod Fridericorum stirps generosa trium, Quod fuit in reliquis (quis enim numeraverit omnes?) Imperio quorum gloria digna fuit. Qua virtute orbem nunc Maximus Aemilianus Possidet et rerum Caesar in arce sedet, Qui nunc culta diu Venetos in stagna rebelles Cogit et ablatas reddit et auget opes. Aude, armis reliquum victure potentibus orbem, Ad tua qui flexo poplite signa tremit. Iam tua vicinas terret victoria gentes. I modo, nec victos vincere posse nega. Pelle pharetratos alieno a limite Turcas. Quid manet adventus Graecia moesta tuos? Restitue Euxinae vicina Propontidis arva. Moenia Bizanti Turca superbus habet! Eya age, ne surdo videar cecinisse querelam. Propositi ratio non erat illa mei.

 Iam corr. manus in ex. Hafniensi: am A, Nam corr. manus in ex. Erfurdensi. 14 Emperor Maximilian would have had no trouble keeping the Venetians in check if his mercenaries still showed the steely courage of their ancient forebears. For Maximilian’s Italian wars, see the introd. to Max., pp. – below. 15 Eobanus refers to the long line of Holy Roman Emperors who preceded Maximilian I. 16 The humanists used this flattering name for Emperor Maximilian to link him with two of Rome’s greatest generals: Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator, who outlasted Hannibal

on true nobility



unmanned. The Turks, who use our own invention against us, would not now be ruling over so many cities of ours. Germany would still prize her ancient strengths for their own sake [] and live in harmonious concord, at peace with herself. What easy work our emperor would have had of it then, holding the Roman Empire together, no matter how high the fierce Adriatic might raise her wrathful waves!14 The nobility of yore lies prostrate now, and the noblespirited feats of our princes are no longer to be seen. Idleness, gluttony, opulence reign in their stead. Barely the shadow of our ancestors’ manliness is still left to us. And yet — who would deny that even now it can be found in a few men at least, just as it used to be? Yes, it is still among us: the heroic spirit that a former age saw in the great Ottos, the spirit that blessed the Conrads with illustrious fame, the spirit exemplified by the three Henrys, the first and the second Charles, [] the noble line of the three Fredericks,15 and all the others (for who could count them all up?) whose glory was worthy of empire. It is owing to the same dauntlessness that Emperor Maximus Aemilian16 is now master of the world and sits at the very summit of power. Right now he is forcing the Venetian rebels back into their ancestral swamps and is not only recapturing the territories lost, but adding to them.17 Be bold! With your mighty armies you are destined to conquer the rest of the world, for it trembles on bended knee before your banners. Already your victory terrifies the neighboring peoples. [] Go ahead, show them that the vanquished can vanquish in their turn! Drive the quiver-bearing Turks from foreign soil. Why is Greece still mournfully waiting for you to arrive? Reconquer the fields by the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. The proud Turk occupies the walls of Byzantium! Come now, do not let it seem as if I have sung this lament to the deaf. That is not what I hope to accomplish.

in the Second Punic War, and P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus, the hero of the Third Punic War. 17 Maximilian’s war of attrition against the Venetians in the late summer and early autumn of  was capped by the victory of the German and Spanish mercenaries at Vicenza on October . See n.  (p. ) above.







 Br









de vera nobilitate Sed neque sic nostris Virtus aufugit ab annis, Sic nec honor verae nobilitatis abest, Ut velut exemplo se vix testetur in uno Caesare mortali pene abiisse domo. Ille tuus toto Princeps Fridericus ab orbe Quanta ferat laudum nomina nemo rogat. Novit et hoc oriens et quas videt Hesperus orae, Auster et aeterno nobilis Ursa gelu. Qui nunc Saxonibus placidas moderatur habenas Aureaque infracta saecula pace fovet, Et pius in superos studiorumque unicus hospes, Templa locat superis, gymnasium studiis, Virtutesque suas patrium testatur ad Albim — O clarum meritis et probitate ducem! Sed quis erit modus historiae, quem carmina finem Sunt habitura, omnes si numerare velim? Si numerare omnes coner quos nostra tulerunt Et stupeant meritis saecula prisca viros, Credo equidem Lybicae numerum scrutabor arenae Aut quot Erichtonius pascat Hymettus apes. Prisca tamen melior generosi moribus aevi Simplicitas, nullo schemate tecta, fuit. Nostra fere viciis torpescunt obruta, nec sunt Nobilibus Musis tempora digna coli. Postquam luxus iners et amor successit habendi Divitiaeque aliquem non habuere modum, Venit et ambitio et rerum longaeva cupido, Et nisi possideas multa, valere nihil. Addit honoratum generi decus aurea rerum Messis, et illustres copia sola facit. Da mihi divitias, dederis genus. Omnia constant Ex animo, magnae cui famulantur opes. Sit licet extrema populi de fece quaterque Fugerit et laqueum terribilemque rotam,

18 Duke Frederick III (–), elector of Saxony since , proved to be so prudent and peace-loving a leader that he was lauded as “the Wise” already during his own lifetime. Well-educated himself, he became a great supporter of the humanities and patron of the arts. In  he founded the University of Wittenberg. Ten years later he

on true nobility



For all that, however, the spirit of manhood has not vanished so completely from our present day and age, the glory of true nobility is not so utterly lacking, that the single exception [] of the emperor proves that Virtue, as it were, has largely abandoned the home of us mortals. Just remember that Prince Frederick of yours.18 No one need ask how much praise and renown he garners throughout the world! The Orient knows this, as do the shores on which the evening star gazes down; so does the South Wind as well as the Big Bear, known for its eternal frost. He it is who now gently guides the reins in Saxony and there fosters a golden age in unbroken peace. A man of piety toward heaven and a peerless patron of learning, he builds churches for God, a university for scholarship, and thus plainly manifests his noble virtues on the banks of his native Elbe — [] O duke, renowned for your merits and integrity! But how can this story stay within bounds, how can this poem come to a conclusion, if I wanted to mention them all? If I attempted to count up all the heroes whom our own day has brought forth and at whose merits the ages past would marvel, I truly believe that I would be numbering the sands of Libya or the bees of Mount Hymettus outside Athens. Still, the antique simplicity of that noble-minded age was morally superior, because overlaid with no affectation whatever. Our indolent times are virtually drowning in vices. They are not [] worthy of being celebrated by the noble Muses. Ever since slothful luxury and love of possessions became predominant and wealth no longer knows bounds, ostentatiousness and inveterate greed arrived on the scene as well. And so, unless you have great possessions, you are held of no account. It is the golden harvest of affluence that lends birth its honor and luster; and money alone makes people illustrious. Give me riches, and you have conferred nobility. A man of large means has everything his heart desires. He may be from the lowest dregs of the people and [] have escaped the noose and the

decided to build up a humanistically oriented library, entrusting the task to his friend and advisor Georg Spalatin. He was, moreover, a deeply pious man. In  he even made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher. In later years he was Martin Luther’s chief protector.





Bv 









de vera nobilitate Censibus evaleat, iam liber abibit et alto Praeterea regum sanguine natus erit. Vidi ego cuius erat caupo pater, ipse subulcus, Regia sublimi sceptra tulisse manu. Vidi ego cui suras centum fregere catastae Nuper honorati principis ire loco. Vidi ego quem foedo mater tulit improba partu Illustres inter nomen habere duces. Tam iacet et, nullo cultu dignata, potentum Mendicat Virtus, proh pudor, ante domos! Nulla fere utilium studiorum praemia, nulla est Artibus ingenuis gloria, nullus honor. Hinc quoque si quis erit qui nobilis esse laboret, Protinus invidiae est causa fuisse pium. Tam male desinitur quod barbara combibit aetas Et quasi maternis traxit ab uberibus. Namque quis ante decem, vel eo plus tempore, lustra Germano studiis venit ab orbe nitor? Teutona Romulidas quis duxit in arva Camaenas? Hei mihi, quam numero res eget ista brevi! Grammata spurca rudes ludi docuere magistri, Quae melius pueris dedidicisse fuit. Incultis melior successit moribus aetas, Quo studiis maior tempore cura venit, Quando bonas nunc primum avidi complectimur artes Et tandem Latio discimus ore loqui. Testis erit nostris non una acadaemia terris, Quis nec habet plures Italia alma scholas. “Inclyta quas inter quantis Erphurdia surgat Laudibus?” Hoc aliquis qui roget esse potest. Qualis Apollineos Iovis armiger inter olores, Inter sydereas candida luna faces, Talem, quisquis eris non invidus, esse fer inter Germanas nostram, lector amice, scholas.

19 The formula “I have personally seen” is a rhetorical device designed to lend weight to the examples that follow. It should not to be construed literally, as if Eobanus were referring to contemporary scandals. A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy shows that Eobanus is, in fact, alluding to Plato’s fable about King Gyges. After finding a ring that made him invisible, the shepherd Gyges seduced the Queen of Lydia, murdered her

on true nobility

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terrible wheel four times; but if he is worth a fortune, he will soon go free and, moreover, pass for the highborn scion of kings. I have personally seen one whose father was a peddler, he himself a swineherd, wielding the royal scepter with exalted hand.19 I have personally seen one whose legs had been broken a hundred times on the rack, being looked up to recently as an honored prince. I have personally seen a man whose shameless mother had borne him out of wedlock, yet who nonetheless enjoys a name among illustrious dukes. That is how far Moral Virtue has fallen! Deemed unworthy of respect, [] she — oh, the shame of it! — is reduced to begging before the mansions of the high and mighty. Meanwhile the useful sciences go well-nigh unrewarded; the liberal arts enjoy no glory, no honor. If a man labors to ennoble himself in these studies, his good intentions immediately become a source of envy. This is how we still pay for the barbarism that the preceding age imbibed and, so to speak, sucked from the mother’s breasts. For what brilliance emanated from scholarly studies in Germany five decades or so ago? Who were the poets who led the Roman Muses into German fields? [] Ah me, how small was their number! Ignorant schoolmasters taught boys a corrupt Latin that they had done better to unlearn. This uncouth culture has been supplanted by a more enlightened age, in which the humanities are enjoying increased attention. Indeed, only now are we avidly embracing the liberal arts and — at long last! — learning to speak Latin. More than one university can testify to that in our country. Even genial Italy cannot boast more schools than we can. “With what grand merits does famed Erfurt rise up among them?” [] There may well be someone who will ask this question. As Jove’s armorbearer among the swans of Apollo,20 as the bright moon among the starry fires, that, friendly reader, is how you must ungrudgingly rank this university of ours

husband, and then had himself crowned king. See Plato, Republic  (–). Eobanus has a literary reference in mind in the next sentence too. See Hor. Epod. .–. At any rate, it is a commonplace to say that today’s king was yesterday’s peasant, and vice versa. See Sen. Ep. .; Petrarch, Rem. ... 20 The eagle carried Jupiter’s lightning bolts. Swans were sacred to Apollo.

  Br











Bv 



de vera nobilitate Nobilis hinc prodit magnorum turba sophorum, Hinc pubes multos vincere docta senes. His aeterna quidem rebus monumenta parantur; Hae titulos faciunt nobilitantque genus. Namque ubi cum studiis virtus inolevit honestis, Ipsa decus verae nobilitatis habet. Caetera sunt eadem mortalibus omnia tandem; Sola vetant animos inclyta facta mori. Adde quod a proavis, quamvis fortuna sequatur, Gloria degeneri nulla venire potest. Frustra crediderim se dicere regibus ortum Thersitem aut animi quisquis inertis erit. At mihi si quis erit, clarus dicetur, Achilles, Dedecori quamvis huic sit uterque parens. Qui namque egregium factis genus auxerit, illum Semideos inter Gloria ponet avos. Hic mihi signa domus numeraverit aurea et altis Maiorum ostentet pegmata fixa tholis. Hic gentiliciis pergat sibi plaudere signis, Invidia merito gloria vera caret. Dignior ille tamen stirpis qui primus avitae Illustrat meritis seque suumque genus. Quod neque strata dabunt celsis aulaea dietis Decolor aut variis regia imaginibus, Non Mythridatis possessa potentia, non si Accipias asini regna beata Mydae, Non Fortuna tuo velut assuefacta cubili, Virtutem preter denique quicquid erit. Illa potest quodcunque voles, illa una beatos Et vera insignes nobilitate facit. Illa homines etiam supra levat, inserit astris, Miscet cum superis, et facit esse deos. Haec tibi non auro, non gemma divitis Indi, Cum rectis studiis sponte venire solet. Hac quicunque volet generosus laude videri, Mansuras animi quaerere debet opes

21 King Midas of Phrygia asked Bacchus to have everything he touched be turned into gold. It was not until his food and drink changed into gold, that he recognized his

on true nobility



among the German schools. Thence proceeds a noble throng of great scholars, thence a crowd of young people who in erudition outstrip a great many graybeards. Assuredly it is these studies that produce eternal monuments; it is they that create titles and ennoble families. For when virtue takes root alongside honorable studies, [] it has the splendor of true nobility. To mortals, all else is ultimately immaterial; only brilliant achievements can save minds from oblivion. Add to this that while a degenerate son can inherit a fortune, he can claim none of his ancestors’ glory. It will not help a Thersites or some sluggardly soul, I should think, to insist he is descended from kings. But an Achilles, I assure you, will be hailed as illustrious, even if both parents disgraced him. Certainly, he whose achievements bring distinction to an already eminent family, [] him Glory will place among his demigod forebears. Such a man may count up for me the gilded busts of his ancestors and point out the family tree displayed in his soaring rotunda. He can continue to be proud of his family crest; and his genuine glory will be proof against malice. But even worthier is the man who, the first in his ancient line, makes himself and his family illustrious through his merits. No tapestries displayed in lofty halls, no palaces darkened with all manner of ancestral images, not Mithradates’ power (were you to possess it), not [] the blessed realms (could you obtain them) of Midas the ass,21 not Fortuna herself (were she, in a manner of speaking, to share your bed), in short, nothing whatsoever can grant you that kind of nobility except Virtue alone. She can grant you everything your heart desires; she alone makes you blessed and distinguished by true nobility. Indeed, she lifts up men to the skies, places them among the stars, joins them to the celestials, and makes them gods. You cannot acquire her with gold or the gems of wealthy India. But with the right studies, she will come to you of her own accord. Whoever wishes to be esteemed noble with this kind of glory [] must seek the folly. Later he was fool enough to prefer Pan’s pipes to Apollo’s lyre, whereupon Apollo punished him by giving him asses’ ears. See Ov. Met. .–; Eob. Vitanda ebriet. ..



de vera nobilitate Quas neque vana levis turbent commercia vulgi Nec digitis rapiat furibus unca manus, Quas nec edax ignis neque vis absumere belli Nec media possit naufraga puppis aqua.

Has tu nactus opes, has tu, Spalatine, sequtus, Nobile perpetuo tempore nomen habes. Hac obscura prius, quanta est cunque, inclyta fiet Vestra data per te nobilitate domus. Haec quoque principibus charum te fecit et auxit  Divitiis, quas te non sit habere pudor. Hac tot nobilium superat nunc fama virorum, Quos idem et stellas est numerare labor. Hac ego — et o utinam rata sint praesagia! — dicar Magna parte mei nobilis esse. Vale. 

on true nobility abiding treasures of the mind that neither the trivial dealings of the fickle crowd can disturb nor the clawed hand of thieves snatch away, that no consuming fire, no violence of war, no shipwreck on the high seas can ever destroy. Because you have acquired those treasures, because you, Spalatin, pursue them still, you possess a noble name that will endure forever. Hitherto obscure in all its branches, your family will become renowned through the nobility you have conferred on it. This highmindedness has also made you a favorite of princes and blessed you [] with riches, which you need have no shame to possess. Through this highmindedness the fame of so many noble men endures to the present day. Counting them is like numbering the stars. Through this highmindedness — oh, may the prediction come true! — I too will be called noble in a large part of my being. Farewell.





de vera nobilitate

[b 

B 1 EIUSDEM AD IOANNEM OSTHENIUM EQUITEM, CUR VOCETUR HELIUS

Br 









Helius unde meum veniat praenomen in usum, Indicio quaeris certior esse meo. Accipe, ne frustra quicquam petiisse queraris. Dispeream, possum si qua negare tibi! Helius Argivum sol est sermone Latino; Helius est quisquis numina Solis amat. Quid mage conveniens vati quam nomina Solis, Quem vocat et sentit Musica turba patrem? Nomine maiestas Solis non finit in uno. Conveniunt uni numina plura deo. Quippe idem Sol, Mercurius, Mars, Liber, Apollo Creditur et signis pluribus esse liquet. Ille regit vates, divinum inspirat amorem. Solis ab influxu spiritus iste venit. Et nisi divini fallant oracla Platonis, Esse nequit vates quem fugit ille deus. Quinetiam si nullus ero et sine numine vates, Helius est certe qua ratione vocer. Sol mihi nascenti primo praeluxit ab ortu, Et quae prima mihi, Phoebi erat illa dies. Grata deo Soli, Lyra tunc fulgebat in astris, Natali primum surgere visa meo. Illa nocte magi natum videre Tonantem, Ductor et in tenebris Lucifer ortus erat. Tunc quoque Sol ortus, lucis Dator ille beatae, Mortali primum visus in orbe fuit.

B 1. A. Cf. Sylv. . in SO. Tit. Eiusdem — equitem A: Ad amicum SO.  frustra quicquam A: quicquam frustra SO.  Conveniunt . . . numina A: Conveniant . . . nomina SO.  fallant A: fallunt SO.  quae A: quia SO. – Illa nocte — erit [˛erit A] A: Iam ter quinque ierant a nato saecula [secula O] Christo, / Annos deme tamen cum tribus inde decem./Non ego falsa loquor, vertentem consule mundum, / Sacra dies Iani Regibus illa fuit. / Has tibi de multis placuit conscribere caussas, / Quas veras certe nominis huius habes. / Quas ipsas aliquo tamen olim carmine dixi, / Cuius cum nequeas ultima, prima vides. / Haec siquidem superant, perierunt illa, quod olim / Sparserat incauta stulta iuventa manu SO. 22 Eobanus first used the name “Helius” in the Sylvae duae that he published at Leipzig in early January, . He now explains the name to his friend Johann von der Osten. A

on true nobility



B 1 BY THE SAME POET, TO THE KNIGHT JOHANN VON DER OSTEN, WHY HE IS CALLED “HELIUS”22 You asked me to explain why I’ve taken to using the forename “Helius.” Listen, so you won’t complain that you asked me for something to no avail. May I perish if I can deny you any request at all! In Greek, “Helius” means the same as our Latin word sol, or sun. “Helius” is anyone who loves the sun god’s power. What fits a poet better than the name “Sun,” seeing that the devotees of the Muses call him their father and recognize him as such? The Sun’s majesty is not circumscribed in one single name. [] In this one single god many divinities unite. As a matter of fact, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Bacchus, Apollo are thought to be one and the same deity who reveals himself in different aspects. He it is who guides the bards and inspires their hearts with divine love. It is from the Sun’s influence that this spirit comes. And if the oracles of divine Plato do not deceive me, you cannot be a poet if this god turns his back on you. But even if I were not a poet and could boast no inspiration at all, I would still have good reason to call myself Helius. When I was born, the sun lit my path from the beginning, [] for my first day fell on a Sunday. Dear to the sun god, the Lyre was then glittering among the stars, for it is first seen rising on my natal day. In that night the Magi saw the newborn Thunderer; a bright star had appeared in the darkness to guide them. Then too is when the risen Sun, that Giver of the blessed light, was first seen in this mortal world.23 When my birthday dawned, the

knight from Woldenburg in Pomerania, Johann was the elder brother of Alexander von der Osten. After matriculating at Frankfurt an der Oder in the autumn of , the two brothers studied law together with Hermann Trebelius. Ulrich von Hutten wrote his Art of Versification for them in the winter semester /. Eobanus befriended the brothers during his stay at Frankfurt an der Oder; he addresses two odes to Johann (Sylv. .; .). Johann matriculated at Rostock in May . In September  he joined his brother at the University of Wittenberg. Before long he became fast friends with Philip Melanchthon. He died on  January . 23 A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy explains: on that same day the three wise men recognized the newborn child as God; then too they first saw him, the Giver of eternal light [i.e., the Sun of salvation], in human flesh.



de vera nobilitate Hoc in diluculo est sol in Ganimede moratus. Sic nunquid nascens Helius esse potest? Aspice num recto praescribam lemmate Solis,  Quod mihi perpetuo tempore nomen erit.

[b 

on true nobility

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sun was lingering in Ganymede. Wasn’t that a perfect time for Helius to be born?24 Now you see that I have good reason to take my name from the Sun — [] a name that forever will be mine.

24 Eager to show that his weakness for wine was prefigured in the stars, Eobanus tells his friend — tongue-in-cheek — that he was born under the zodiacal sign of Ganymede, Jupiter’s cupbearer. He thus claims to be an Aquarius, for that sign had been identified with Ganymede ever since Hellenistic times. Eobanus’ joke is spoiled by the stubborn fact that he was a Capricorn, not an Aquarius. When he revised this poem several decades later as Sylv. ., a more mature (but no less tippling) Eobanus excised the fanciful reference to Ganymede and dismissed it as juvenile tomfoolery.

DE GENERIBUS EBRIOSORUM ET EBRIETATE VITANDA

THE SPECIES OF DRUNKARDS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS

Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ] Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle

Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda [Mainz: Johann Schöffer],  Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich

Illustration : Title page of De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda Nuremberg: Hieronymus Höltzel,  Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich

INTRODUCTION

At just about the same time that the Letters of Obscure Men was being published, another satire appeared that for centuries on end was destined to enjoy equal success: The Species of Drunkards and the Avoidance of Drunkenness.1 The book is a facetious debate question, said to have been “explicated at the conclusion of the Erfurt Quodlibet in the year of grace , around the autumnal equinox, in the scholastic manner.” Like the Letters of Obscure Men, the satire came out anonymously. That it originated with the Erfurt humanists, however, is plain from the introductory epigrams by Eobanus Hessus, Euricius Cordus, and other members of “the literary sodality in Erfurt,” as well as from the speaker’s closeness to Eobanus, to whom he alludes as “a certain friend, with whom I am on exceedingly intimate terms.”2 Both books are parodies aimed at the rearguard of medieval scholasticism. The Letters of Obscure Men of  is the lowbrow counterpart to the Letters of Illustrious Men of .3 In a series of fictitious letters it constructs a community of obscurantists united in their dubious Latinity and morality, their misplaced reverence for the Cologne Magister Ortwin Gratius, and their blind hatred of Johann Reuchlin and the upstart humanists. The Species of Drunkards, by contrast, presents itself as the concluding act of the disputation held at Erfurt in the late summer of  — the very same quodlibet that is caricatured in the Letters of Obscure Men as debating the “very subtle question” whether the foreskin of a converted Jew will grow back at the Last Judgment.4 In a similar vein, The Species of Drunkards explicates an absurdly convoluted

1 Cordula Kropik read this introduction in early  and offered some perceptive comments. See now her article, “Helius Eobanus Hessus, ‘De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda,’ ” in Christoph Fasbender, ed., Conradus Mutianus Rufus und der Humanismus in Erfurt: Katalog zur Ausstellung der Forschungsbibliothek Gotha auf Schloss Friedenstein, . August–. November  (Gotha, ), –. 2 Gen. ebrios. .: “amicus quidam mihi valde familiaris.” 3 For the background, see introd. to Hymn., pp. – above. The Epistolae obscurorum virorum was printed at Haguenau shortly before  October , without date and with false indication of place and printer. 4 EOV ..



de generibus ebriosorum

question on drunkenness. In attacking this theme, however, the humanistically trained speaker does not structure his argument in the rhetorical fashion we expect of him. After an elegant exordium, he slips into the scholastic method of argumentation so heartily detested by the younger generation. Hence the argument is drolly presented in three “conclusions,” each sprouting two or three “corollaries.” Just as the Letters of Obscure Men and The Species of Drunkards were joined at birth, so their subsequent fortunes remained entwined for well over  years. After several early reprints, both parodies faded away, only to be resurrected in the s as masterpieces of Renaissance wit. Bundled with other humanistic satires, the two wayfaring companions were thenceforth inseparable until the mid-eighteenth century. A tour de force, at home equally in the tavern and the lecture hall, The Species of Drunkards is, indeed, a worthy sidekick to the Letters of Obscure Men. Here a motley array of mock-legal citations, anecdotes, drinking songs and comic phrases in German, verses in pidgin Latin, macaronic glosses on the Bible and medieval school authors, all stand cheek-byjowl with excerpts from the ancient classics, from canon law, and from contemporary Italian and German humanists.5 There are parodies from start to finish. Right off, there is a parody of Vergil’s “Fama,” contributed by “our own Eobanus Hessus.” This is followed by parodies of Church hymns and Bible texts, medieval glosses and doctor’s prescriptions, even a parody of a tavern song that itself parodies the monastic Matins. Toward the end, a parodic sermon taunts the “perfidious Frenchmen.” Even the satire’s concluding sentence smacks of parody. For where Christ at the Last Judgment says to the goats placed at his left hand, “I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,” the speaker of the burlesque scolds the quodlibetarius, “you gave a man discoursing at such length about wine no wine to drink.” In a humanist satire like this, no one will be much surprised to run into scurrilous references to the Albertists and Scotists or to the medieval grammarian Alexander of Villedieu. One may well, however, be caught off-guard by the author’s familiarity with vernacular literature and folklore. Till Eulenspiegel, the magician Klingsor, the Parson of Kalenberg, the Ship of Fools, the Land of Cockaigne, Topsy-Turvy Land,

5 On the comic intermingling of Latin and German (barbarolexis), see Günter Hess, Deutsch-lateinische Narrenzunft: Studien zum Verhältnis von Volkssprache und Latinität in der satirischen Literatur des . Jahrhunderts (Munich, ).

introduction



all make an appearance here. Especially impressive is the catalogue of outlandish German beer names. Yet the unnamed speaker never forgets that his task is twofold: to regale his audience with jokes and stories, certainly; but also to propound the second half of the question: “the avoidance of drunkenness.” He thus keeps the ironic promise of his introduction: “You shall hear not only serious arguments intermingled with jests but also (or so I’d like to think) truth keeping pace with fictions, history with fables.” At its finest, irony is a shaft unfelt by the intended victims, but hilariously visible to their enemies. The Letters of Obscure Men produces the effect by letting the obscurantists speak familiarly among themselves, with all their barbarisms of thought and expression. The Species of Drunkards does so by presenting the speaker as an ingenuous adherent of the scholastic quodlibets, a young magister painfully aware of the toll that the superannuated institution takes on mind and body. He compliments his peers on “having in truth philosophized marvelously well and altogether delightfully.” He sympathizes with them on the mind-numbing ordeal they have endured for so many days already and vows to cure them of their quodlibetical hangover with his merry tales of drunkenness. “My first and foremost responsibility now,” he assures his listeners, “is to spout nonsense, seeing that all of you . . . have long since been looking forward to some refreshment, as it were, from that wearying severity, and to some jesting after those serious debates.” His aim is entirely wholesome: “to revive you with some jests, now that the past week or so has left you sick and tired of all that philosophical dourness.”6 Far from wishing to undermine the quodlibets, he will do his best to keep up “this laudable and sound tradition”: For as you well know, it is customary not only to intersperse a philosophical tournament of this type with some highly diverting amusements and enjoyable stories, but also to finish up with a merry, joke-filled entertainment through which minds, preoccupied for days on end with these dead-earnest exercises in philosophy and by now practically worn out with fatigue, may be revived and restored to themselves. Lest I seem to be the only one to go against this laudable and sound tradition by superimposing a new and disagreeable practice, come, gentlemen, listen with open mind and with respectful, tranquil ears to what I have to say on this topic today.7

6 7

Gen. ebrios. .. For this quotation, as well as the earlier ones, see Gen. ebrios. .–.



de generibus ebriosorum

And in the work’s concluding paragraph he reminds the audience: “I wanted — or rather, felt duty-bound — to maintain the custom at these debates, namely, that I should hold the silliest of speeches before the wisest of men and, as it were, act the fool for a little while.” The speaker’s insistence on tradition reminds us that his speech stands in a context that is no longer obvious to us. We will do well, therefore, to start off with a look at the quodlibets themselves and then at the mock speeches to which they gave rise. The Quodlibetical Comic Speech In the late Middle Ages, German universities typically conducted not just ordinary weekly disputations (disputationes ordinariae) but also the grand annual debates known as disputationes de quolibet (“disputations on any given topic”). The quodlibetical disputations marked a highlight of the academic calendar. At Erfurt, they always started on the first ferial after St. Bartholomew’s day (August ), right after the summer vacation. As if to underline their centrality to academic life, the Erfurt quodlibets were held in the main university building, the Collegium maius, in the presence of the rector, deans, faculty, guests, and students. The proceedings were conducted by the dominus quodlibetarius, a magister annually elected to that office on January . He it was who set the main debate question (quaestio principalis), proposed the definitive “determination” (determinatio), and defended it against all the magisters. A couple of weeks beforehand the presiding Master also assigned each of the magisters a problem tailored to his specialty. On pain of stiff fines, the magisters were required to argue one question at length, according to the methods of scholastic logic, with a maximum of three conclusions, each with up to three corollaries. The number of magisters taking part was often so great that the disputations could go on for days, sometimes even a week or two.8 Given the intensity and length of the debates, there was a real danger that participants and audience would grow weary long before the end. To

8 On the quodlibetical disputations, see Thorbecke, –, with the notes on pp. *– *; Kleineidam, :–; Bernardo C. Bazàn et al., Les questions disputées et les questions quodlibétiques dans les facultés de théologie, de droit et de médecine (Turnhout, ); Brian Lawn, The Rise and Decline of the Scholastic Quaestio disputata: With Special Emphasis on its Use in the Teaching of Medicine and Science (Leiden, ).

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keep spirits high, especially among the students, some universities prescribed a strong antidote to boredom, in the form of comic intermezzos or epilogues, delivered by the wittiest magisters. These mock speeches were, in effect, university-sanctioned parodies of the serious quodlibet. Here one could dispense with scholastic logic and authorities, with formal articles, conclusions, and corollaries. The technical name for such burlesques was quaestiones minus principales or accessoriae (“secondary” or “accessory questions”). Unlike the true quodlibetical questions, the mock topics were not proposed by the quodlibetarius. These venerable gentlemen had their hands full as it was. Besides, as often as not, they had no sense of humor to speak of. Instead, the comic questions welled up from the ranks of the baccalaureates and scholars. At Vienna and Cologne the university statutes explicitly decree: “The students [attending the quodlibets] must be induced to stay at school longer by means of some amusements. The serious debates have to be spiced up with good clean fun . . . . However, the problems or questions proposed may on no account offend the standards of morality.”9 In Heidelberg and Erfurt the statutes make no mention of comic relief. All the same, nine burlesques have come down to us from these two universities. Of the Heidelberg examples, three are preserved only in manuscript.10 Since they had no influence beyond the university, they need not detain us here. Four other Heidelberg speeches, however — all products of the budding humanist movement — were published in pairs in / and ca. . At Erfurt, two mock speeches appeared in print, the first one in , the second one in . The six published burlesques were first edited in the mid-nineteenth century by Friedrich Zarncke, the renowned philologist who, among other things, produced the still-standard edition of Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools.11

9

See Zarncke, Univ., . The earliest one dates from . See Gerhard Ritter, “Aus dem Kreise der Hofpoeten Pfalzgraf Friedrichs I.,” Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins, NF  (), –. The other two date from . See Kleinschmidt, –. 11 He introduced the topic in Zarncke, “Quaestiones.” He then edited the texts, with introductions and notes, in Zarncke, Univ., –, –. On the genre, see Kleinschmidt, –; J. Klaus Kipf, “Ludus philosophicus. Zum medialen Status der akademischen Scherzreden des . und . Jahrhunderts,” in Disputatio –: Form, Funktion und Wirkung eines Leitmediums universitärer Wissenskultur, ed. Marion Gindhart and Ursula Kundert (Berlin, ), –. 10



de generibus ebriosorum The Four Published Heidelberg Burlesques

Though the late medieval universities must have churned out many comic interludes and epilogues to spice up the quodlibets, none was ever intended for publication. The genre was always purely ephemeral. That changed in , when the conservative humanist and theologian Jakob Wimpfeling (–) urged the printer Peter Attendorn in Strasbourg to publish, among other works of moral and religious interest, two burlesque speeches held at the Heidelberg quodlibets in / and .12 Some ten years later he sent two more to the schoolmaster Kraft Hofmann, along with an explanatory letter addressed to his students past and present, whereupon Hofmann had them printed at Basel in ca. . Wimpfeling had good reason to encourage publication of these mock speeches. As quodlibetarius in  and again in , he was very much intent on maintaining the annual quodlibets at Heidelberg. As an educator and moralist, however, he also recognized that the four burlesques wrapped a strong moral message in a form calculated to appeal not just to students, but to a broader audience as well. Thus it was Wimpfeling who first brought the genre from oral performance into the realm of literature.13 The earliest of the published burlesques, written by Bartholomäus Grieb of Strasbourg, goes back to Wimpfeling’s tenure as quodlibetarius in –.14 Entitled The Corporation of Philosophers, in the Vernacular, “The Rogues’ Guild,”15 the work tackles the farcical question, “Why has the most excellent name of philosophy been transferred to a certain sect of slackers and devil-may-care fellows, in the vernacular, ‘the Rogues’ Guild’?” Grieb starts off by explaining the name and origin of this brotherhood. Its members, he tells the audience, can be found in all walks of life. Though they lay claim to philosophy and learning, these ne’er-do-wells are mere sluggards and drunkards. Parodying the monastic rules, Grieb records eight rules for this fraternity of wastrels, the chief and foremost being: “live without rule, drink one’s measure without

12 See Directorium statuum seu verius tribulatio seculi [Strasbourg, ], with a preface by Jakob Wimpfeling. 13 Cf. Kleinschmidt, . 14 For this date, see Thorbecke, *–* (n.  to p. ). On Bartholomäus Grieb, see VL, :–. 15 Monopolium philosophorum, vulgo, Die schelmezunfft.

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measure, eat to one’s limit without limit.” To these parodic rules he adjoins a bull issued by a suffragan bishop and devotee of Bacchus who rejoices in the name “Dromo Dromonis of Dromonia.” Addressed to those who, in all classes of society, are indissolubly joined in the love of wine, the mock bull extends an indulgence of thirty years to the faithful adherents of the brotherhood. Thereafter they will suffer all the evil consequences of their debauchment. Jodocus Gallus (Gallicus) takes a similar tack in the speech he gave on  October ,16 under the title The Corporation and Society of “The Windship,” in the Vernacular, “The Lighter.” 17 The “lighter” he has in mind is a ship so lightweight that it rises aloft and sails through the air. It carries passengers without number, all of them as flighty and windy as the windship itself: secular and spiritual princes, abbots and monks, alchemists, merchants, and baptized Jews, tradesmen and surgeons, poets, theologians, astrologers, and so on. Every one of these windbags, Grieb explains, has “by the grace of God” been relieved of such burdens as money, honor, cares, and work, and instead enjoys a life of drunkenness, idleness, parties, heedlessness, and sleeping. The speech continues with a list of comic “privileges” accorded to the mock brotherhood and ends by describing the hordes of students on board, none of whom will ever amount to anything. Two later Heidelberg speeches, held under the presidium of Johann Hilt in , offer further specimens of the quodlibetical burlesque.18 They are Jakob Hartlieb’s The Fidelity of Prostitutes to Their Lovers and Paul Olearius’ The Fidelity of Concubines to Priests.19 Hartlieb answers the question: “Why do the blind lovers of women worship, revere, and love them more than God, the best and the true?” With the help of jokes, anecdotes, parodies, macaronic glosses, and quotations from classical and humanistic poets he warns students against erotic love and proves that prostitutes are intent only on your money, not your love. Olearius employs similar techniques in his speech about priest’s concubines, who in his view are little more than whores. Clerics who let themselves be ruled by such women, he concludes, are fools who deserve asses’ ears.

16 For the dating, see Thorbecke, *–* (n.  to p. ). On Jodocus Gallus, see VLDH, :–. 17 Monopolium et societas, vulgo, Des liechtschiffs. 18 For the dating, see Thorbecke, * (n.  to p. ). 19 De fide meretricum in suos amatores and De fide concubinarum in sacerdotes.



de generibus ebriosorum

Unlike the earliest pair of Heidelberg burlesques, the speeches by Hartlieb and Olearius became bestsellers. By  they had been printed a dozen times already, either in separate or combined editions. Many more reprints were to follow in the latter half of the century, generally together with the Letters of Obscure Men and The Species of Drunkards. A Questio fabulosa Published at Erfurt in  By bringing an ephemeral genre into print and raising it to the level of literature, Jakob Wimpfeling implicitly challenged the magisters at Heidelberg and elsewhere to come up with quodlibetical burlesques that were as stylish and edifying as they were entertaining. In promoting the four exemplary models, however, he also threw the door open to a quite unintended use: the satiric prank. Five years after the first brace of Heidelberg burlesques appeared, a mock quodlibetical speech came out at Erfurt under the title: A Fabulous Question, Recited by Master Johann Schram of Dachau at the Celebrated University of Erfurt during the Quodlibet Disputation, the Venerable Master Johann Gans of Herbstein, Bachelor of Theology, then Presiding over the Quodlibetical Debate. .20

20 First published (without indication of place, printer, or date) by Heidericus and Marx Ayrer at Erfurt in . See ISTC, no. is. I have used the copy in Erfurt, UB (Dep. Erf. I. º ), formerly in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin. Zarncke uses this print as his copy text. His title transcription (p. ) is marred with error. For a more careful transcription, see Wilhelm Erman and Ewald Horn, Bibliographie der deutschen Universitäten: Systematisch geordnetes Verzeichnis der bis Ende  gedruckten Bücher und Aufsätze über das deutsche Universitätswesen, vol.  (Leipzig, ), , no. . In the Erfurt print, the opening quaestio, the concluding bulla, and the brief epilogue are set in larger type than the body of the speech, with more generous spacing between the lines. The name Erffordia is printed consistently with double “f.” The editio princeps was reprinted (without place, printer, or date) by Martin Landsberg at Leipzig, probably in /. A facsimile edition was published at Munich in . A digital facsimile can be consulted at http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de// bsb/images/. There is good evidence to show that the Leipzig version is a reprint of the Erfurt original: (a) The title woodcut in the Leipzig print is noticeably cruder than that in the Erfurt copy. (b) Unlike the Erfurt original, type in the Leipzig print does not vary in size. (c) In the Leipzig print, the name Erffordia is printed inconsistently, sometimes with single, sometimes with double “f.” (d) In the case of quotations from earlier books, the Leipzig print follows the Erfurt print rather than the source of the quotation. Thus, Grieb’s text at Zarncke, Univ., , l. , reads: “caput ad sompnum inclinare.” The Erfurt print of Questio fabulosa (Zarncke, Univ., , l. ) quotes that phrase in identical form, while the Leipzig print classicizes the spelling to: “caput ad somnum inclinare.” Grieb’s text at Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –, reads: “Uff einem vollen buch stet

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In contrast to the Heidelberg speeches, the booklet offers no guidance in the form of an editorial or authorial preface. All we have to go on is what we are told on the title page. But can that information be trusted? The sixteenth-century reader who owned the copy now in Erfurt was not so sure. Writing next to the title woodcut, he wonders if “this quodlibetical question [was] composed in earnest for public delivery, or should be seen as a satiric opusculum.”21 The editor Friedrich Zarncke had his doubts too — especially after he discovered that the burlesque is in large part a pastiche of earlier comic texts. Indeed: A Fabulous Question copies out a good chunk of Grieb’s The Rogues’ Guild. Onto that stock the author grafts several other texts, taken from equally well-known, but likewise unattributed sources: the preface to Poggio Bracciolini’s celebrated Facetiae, as reprinted at Leipzig in , and portions of Gallus’ The Windship.22 As far as Zarncke could tell, only the ludicrous story of Swynkuncius (“Swineherd”) is the author’s own contribution. Zarncke’s reaction to this collage was one of shock and disgust. Disgusted by what he regarded as blatant plagiarism, shocked at the gullibility of the Erfurt magisters who could not recognize the pirating of

ein frolich heupt.” The Erfurt print quotes that proverb (Zarncke, Univ., , l. ) as: “uff eynem vollen buche stedt eyn frolich heubet.” The Leipzig reprint then alters the phrasing to: “auff einem vollen bauche stedt ein frolich heubet.” Here the key words to watch are uff / auff and buch / buche / bauche. Similarly, Jodocus Gallus’ phrase “gnodeatis, gnodeatis” (Zarncke, Univ., , l. ) is adopted unchanged in the Erfurt print (Zarncke, Univ., , l. ). It then appears in the Leipzig reprint as “gnodiatis gnodiatis.” The Leipzig reprint served as copy text for the version published by Mathias Preunlein at Olmütz (Bohemia) in . For a digital facsimile, see http://dig.vkol.cz/dig// index.htm. The Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke posits a different scenario: M (Leipzig); M (Erfurt); M (Olmütz). This sequence is accepted in ISTC, nos. is (Leipzig); is (Erfurt); is (Olmütz). Nickel, , also assigns priority to the Leipzig print, largely on “psychological” grounds. In his view, Schram is a disgruntled magister who satirizes the University of Erfurt from the safety of Leipzig. Nickel argues, furthermore, that the reading Schoteworffel in the Erfurt print (cf. Zarncke, Univ., , l. ) is a misreading of Schotenworffel in the Leipzig print. However, since both forms recur in the later Middle Ages, the variant cannot by itself establish priority. If anything, Schoteworffel is the more authentic reading, because it suggests the plural form, die worffel (“the dice”), as direct object of schot (schütt, “shake”). Schotenworffel implies just a single die (den worffel). 21 The marginal note reads in full: “Quaestio haec quodlibetaria, sive serio conscripta sit publice proposita, sive satyricum existat opusculum, satis tamen manifestat genium, mores, et rem literariam istius temporis.” 22 Zarncke, “Quaestiones,” ; Zarncke, Univ., –.

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de generibus ebriosorum

texts that everyone else was reading in those days, he could scarcely force himself to accept the work as authentic. How could such a mishmash have been delivered before the worthies of Erfurt in ? If Zarncke finally did declare the work genuine, it is only because both magisters mentioned on the title page are historically verifiable members of the university in . Johann Schram had matriculated at Erfurt in /, graduating MA in early .23 As such, he would have continued lecturing for the required biennium.24 His teacher Johann Gans had matriculated at Erfurt in / and earned the MA there in . Later he received the additional degree of “Bachelor of Theology.” A respected colleague, he became dean of the philosophical faculty in the summer semester of . Ten years later he would be elected rector of the university. Still widely held, Zarncke’s view on A Fabulous Question is flawed to the core. Absent all context, how can we dismiss the work as blind plagiarism? After all, the collage is made up of passages that everyone at the university would have recognized instantly. Quilting them together in novel ways was obviously part of the fun. And how can one rely solely on historical names mentioned in the book’s title? By the same logic, the Letters of Obscure Men must be “authentic” too, a book of actual letters, just because the subtitle claims they were sent to “the venerable man, Master Ortwin Gratius of Deventer.” Let us stay with the title a bit longer. In Zarncke’s reading, the phrase “fabulous question” refers quite simply to a burlesque quaestio full of entertaining stories.25 Indeed, Zarncke thought the expression so apt that he went on to christen the whole genre quaestiones fabulosae. To this day the phrase remains enshrined in literary handbooks as the preferred term for the quaestiones minus principales. But the epithet fabulosa is multivalent. What stops us from taking it to mean “fictitious”?26

23 On Johann Schram, see VL, :–. Nickel, , misconstrues the abbreviation “med.” (“medium,” i.e., paying half the matriculation fee) in the university register and so turns him into a student of medicine. 24 For this requirement, see Poetic Works, :; introd. to Orat., p.  above. 25 Cf. Zarncke, Univ., . Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “dulcibus fabulis interspergi.” Erasmus’ colloquy Convivium fabulosum carries that title because it, too, is full of stories. 26 Nickel, –, makes the same point.

Illustration : Title page of Questio fabulosa recitata per Magistrum Iohannem Schram [Erfurt: Heidericus and Marx Ayrer, ] Universitätsbibliothek, Erfurt

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de generibus ebriosorum

Immediately after the slippery phrase “Questio fabulosa,” the title continues: recitata per Magistrum Iohannem Schram ex Dachaw inclito in Gymnasio Erffordensi sub disputatione quotlibetari, presidente pro tunc concertacioni quotlibetice venerabili Magistro Iohanne Gansz ex Herbsteyn theologie bacculario. 

The wording is not as guileless as it appears. For just as the title, Letters of Obscure Men to the Venerable Man, Master Ortwin Gratius of Deventer, Teacher of Fine Literature at Cologne, Sent from Various Places and at Various Times, would later use substitution and inversion to parody the title, Letters of Illustrious Men, Sent at Various Times to Johann Reuchlin of Pforzheim, LLD,27 so the title of the Erfurt burlesque emphatically mimics the phrasing used earlier to describe The Rogues’ Guild. In a jocular letter prefacing Grieb’s speech in the  edition, Hartmann Guot vows to uphold the brotherhood’s rules and ordinances, “as enumerated quite some time ago at the celebrated University of Heidelberg during the quodlibet disputation by Master Bartholomäus Grieb of Straßburg, Jakob Wimpfeling of Schlettstadt presiding over the quodlibetical debate”: que olim in inclyto Gymnasio Heydelbergensi sub disputatione quodlibetari . . . recensite sunt a magistro Bartolomeo Gribo Argentinensi, presidente concertationi quodlibetice Jacobo Wympfelingo Sletstatensi.28

There really can be no doubt: the subtitle of the Questio fabulosa is taken almost verbatim from Guot’s description of Grieb’s The Rogues’ Guild. All that has changed are the proper names, while the time element has been updated from “olim” to “.” We do notice, however, that the author has added two phrases highlighting the academic qualifications of Quodlibetarius Johann Gans, for that gentleman is lauded as “the venerable Master” and “Bachelor of Theology.” And here, with a sudden thrill, we find ourselves entering the world of parody. What, we ask ourselves, might the venerable Gans have to do with The Rogues’ Guild? The incongruity, implicit in the silent juxtaposition of texts, is made

27 The title Epistolae obscurorum virorum ad venerabilem virum Magistrum Ortvinum Gratium Daventriensem Coloniae Agrippinae bonas litteras docentem variis et locis et temporibus missae mirrors Clarorum virorum epistolae . . . variis temporibus missae ad Ioannem Reuchlin Phorcensem, LL doctorem, but in stylistically inferior fashion. 28 Directorium statuum seu verius tribulatio seculi, ed. Jakob Wimpfeling [Strasbourg, ], sig. ev; Zarncke, Univ., . A digital facsimile is available at http://diglib.hab.de/ inkunabeln/-quod-/start.htm.

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visible in the woodcut directly below the title. In sardonic contrast to the high-flown academic phrases and titles in the heading, the image depicts a sow with two piglets, the three of them grunting in swinish harmony from the same pages of an opened book. Thus prepared, the reader can now savor the mock question that prefaces the speech itself: How is it that a charitable Bavarian and a devout nun in Swabia, having put on the finery of the Rhenish, taken lodgings in Thuringia, been united by a faithful monk in Bohemia, and also celebrating a sober wedding in Saxony, desire to preserve their chastity in Austria, When nevertheless they themselves lack Westphalian honesty, abstain from both the gloss and the abstinence of the Jews in Meissen, though keeping in the vicinity of the Wetteravians, departing from this life with Franconian godliness and Italian fasting, and having been buried with Hessian piety, cannot joyfully make it into heaven, unless it is like an ox through a mouse hole: Correspondingly, whether the most excellent name of philosophy can be transferred to a certain sect of slackers and devil-may-care fellows, in the vernacular, “The Swine Guild”?29

What a bizarre question! It is a caricature — not of the brief jocular questions proposed at Heidelberg, but of the serious theological problems determined at the quodlibets. Indeed, as Zarncke recognized, the first two parts of the question are structured precisely like the final problem determined by Johann von Paltz at the Erfurt disputation of : “How is it that Enoch and Elijah are kept in the Earthly Paradise to preach to the people until the end of time, when nevertheless the commentators of Holy Scripture and the preachers of God’s Word appear to be multiplying?”30 Our impression of being confronted with a travesty of the quodlibetical problem soon turns into certainty. For early on in the speech proper we are told that this elaborate question did not (as at Heidelberg and elsewhere) originate with one of the BAs, but with the quodlibetarius himself: “I shall now launch into the wholly unbroached problem which that

29

Emphases added. Emphases added. In the original the text reads: “Cur Henoch et Elias in paradiso terrestri ad praedicandum populo in fine saeculorum reservantur, cum tamen quotidie sacrarum scripturarum elucidatores et verbi dei praedicatores multiplicari videantur.” See Johannes von Paltz, Werke, vol. : Opuscula, ed. Christoph Burger et al. (Berlin, ), ; cf. Zarncke, Univ., . 30



de generibus ebriosorum

admirable man, the Master Quodlibetarius, my distinguished teacher, set for me and asked me to solve.”31 But if “the venerable Master Johann Gans of Herbstein, Bachelor of Theology,” did indeed put together this “wholly unbroached” question, it follows that that distinguished theologian must also have immersed himself rather too deeply in the Heidelberg burlesques. For in the third part of the problem — introduced by the scholastic term correspondenter — he poses precisely the same jesting question as the one posed earlier to Bartholomäus Grieb, the only change being the pejorative substitution of “Swine Guild” for “Rogues’ Guild.” By now it hardly bears pointing out that Master Gans could not possibly have come up with a comic question so ridiculously expansive or, for that matter, have expected a young magister to respond to its subtleties. The mock problem put out under his name is fiction pure and simple. It is a table of contents, an outline for the mock speech to come. In brief, it was composed after the fact. And if that is so, the entire speech is a fiction too — a “fabulous question” indeed! The work’s author must forever remain anonymous. It cannot have been Johann Schram, however. That magister is adduced toward the end of the speech in the third person, dismissing the Erfurt students as slackers who someday will make excellent bathhouse keepers, bell-ringers, cooks, apostate monks, tax collectors, torturers, pimps, jesters, mimes, porters, correctors, booksellers, beer hawkers, and so forth.32 To be sure, the grim prognosis attributed to Schram (“si Iohanni Schram fides adhibenda est”) comes almost verbatim from Jodocus Gallus’ Windship, where it sneers at the students at Heidelberg. The Heidelberg magister, however, is careful to attribute the gibes to the (Jewish?) outsider Lazarus Herold (“si Lasaro Heraldo fides adhibenda est”).33 In the Erfurt parody, they are put into the mouth of an insider — the supposed author of this entertainment. Thus Johann Schram himself must be seen as the butt of satire. 31 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –: “ipsum . . . michi per spectabilem virum, dominum de quolibet, insignem meum praeceptorem, integerrimum probleuma propositum et solvendum accedo.” Fixated on what he regarded as Schram’s plagiarism, Zarncke fails to see the irony. The epithet “integerrimum” (with capitalized first letter in the Erfurt and Leipzig prints) belongs with “probleuma,” not the preceding “insignem meum praeceptorem,” as Zarncke punctuates the text. 32 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –. 33 In contemporary German usage, Herald can also mean “ruffian.” See Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Herold,” .

introduction

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As soon as we recognize A Fabulous Question for what it is, a satiric fiction, we can also begin to appreciate the work on its own terms. True, the mock speech does open with the preface to Poggio’s Facetiae and goes on to rifle the two earliest Heidelberg burlesques. But that does not mean it is the witless plagiarism that Zarncke makes it out to be.34 Indeed, a less jaundiced eye will see here, not plagiarism, but an ingenious collage of familiar texts, all woven together, adapted, parodied, and estranged for comic effect. The author’s own additions — they are far more numerous than Zarncke acknowledges — draw on a treasury of late medieval student humor. Take the farcical tale about the guild’s mythical founder, the Bavarian swineherd Swynkuncius. As he travels around the empire in the company of a Swabian nun named “Hymmelhuer” (“Heaven whore”), Master Swineherdius flits through a landscape consisting of ironically inverted stereotypes of German regional characteristics. Moreover, the work’s well-read author continually inserts quotations from a wide range of authors. The story about Swynkuncius, for example, borrows an anecdote from book  of the banqueting handbook Mensa philosophica, as printed at Heidelberg in ,35 and quotes Decretum C.  q.  c. , together with a gloss on the text.36 Elsewhere the author injects a passage from Boethius, De consolatione Philosophiae ..,37 another from chapter  of Richard de Bury’s Philobiblon (Cologne, ; Speyer, ),38 34 One need only compare the speech’s opening sentence with the start of Poggio’s preface, as printed in the Leipzig edition of  (my emphases): “Multos futuros esse arbitror qui has nostras confabulationes, tum ut res leves et viro gravi indignas reprehendant, tum in eis ornatiorem dicendi modum et maiorem eloquentiam requirant.” The anonymous author turns these words into something altogether different (my emphases): “Multos praesentes esse arbitror qui has nostras confabulationes, tum ut res leves et michi indignas reprehendere conantur, cum in eis ornatiorem dicendi modum et maiorem eloquentiam minime requirant.” When “Schram” skips a few lines of Poggio’s text at p. , l. , Zarncke explains the omission by claiming that the Leipzig edition of  is unreadable at this point. That may have been true for Zarncke’s copy; it certainly does not apply to the copy at the University of Göttingen that I have consulted. In truth, “Schram” omits the passage partly to keep the parody within limits, but mostly because it does not fit its new setting. 35 First noted by Franz Spina, Die alttschechische Schelmenzunft ‘Frantova Práva’ (; repr. Hildesheim, ), . 36 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –. 37 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –. 38 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –. See Riccardo da Bury, Philobiblon, ed. Antonio Altamura (Naples, ), : “Delectatio namque perficit operationem, sicut pulcritudo iuventutem, sicut Aristoteles verissime dogmatizat Xo Ethicorum. Idcirco prudentia veterum adinvenit remedium, quo lascivum humanum caperetur ingenium quodam modo pio dolo, dum sub voluptatis iconio delicata Minerva delitesceret.”



de generibus ebriosorum

not to mention quotations from such school grammars as Donatus’ Ars minor39 and the Laborintus of Eberhard of Bremen.40 The great majority of parodic quotations, however, come from the Doctrinale puerorum of Alexander of Villedieu, a medieval grammar that all Latin students were expected to have by heart, but which the humanists detested.41 Comically, most of the quotations are misattributed to such authorities as the Bible, Jerome, Aristotle, Vergil, Boethius, the Venerable Bede, Remigius of Auxerre, Albertus Magnus, and the Decretum. It is a quodlibetical world gone mad.42 How are we to interpret this parody of the quodlibets at Erfurt? With the rise of humanism at the German universities, the medieval disputations were increasingly coming under fire. The younger humanists rebelled against scholastic logic, with its arid articles, conclusions, and corollaries. By the s the institution was in headlong decline, propped up only by institutional inertia. More and more often it proved difficult, even impossible, to find a colleague still willing to take on the onerous duties of quodlibetarius. In January  the University of Erfurt had to

39 At Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –. The quotation comes from Donatus, Ars minor , as printed in the late fifteenth century. See Paul Schwenke, Die Donat- und KalenderType: Nachtrag und Übersicht (Mainz, ), , ll. –: “dicimus enim ‘doctissimus poetarum fuit Virgilius vel optimus plebis.’ ” The same wording appears in EOV . (p. , ll. –); Erasmus, Ep. , l. . 40 Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –, parodying Laborintus –: “Circuit et totum fricat Architrenius orbem. / Qualis sit vitii regio quaeque docet.” See Edmond Faral, ed., Les arts poétiques du XII e et du XIII e siècle: Recherches et documents sur la technique littéraire du moyen âge (; Paris, ), . 41 Cf. Wolfgang Maaz, “Zur Rezeption des Alexander von Villa Dei im . Jahrhundert,” Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch  (), –; Robert Black, Humanism and Education in Medieval and Renaissance Italy: Tradition and Innovation in Latin Schools from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century (Cambridge, ), –, –, –. 42 One example will suffice. In the second paragraph (Zarncke, Univ., , ll. –), the speaker vows to do his utmost to solve the problem set for him. In this he will be guided by “Vergil’s earnest desire in the third Bucolic, ‘In quantum potero, de nomine quolibet in quo / Ponatur genere,’ mihi cura est determinare.” The leonine hexameters do not come from Vergil, of course, but from the Doctrinale, ll. –: “In quantum potero, de nomine quolibet, in quo / ponatur genere, praesens est cura docere” (“In so far as I am able, my present concern is to teach the gender to which any given noun should be assigned”). See Alexander, Doctrinale, . The translation is by Philip J. Ford, “Alexandre de Villedieu’s Doctrinale puerorum: A Medieval Bestseller and Its Fortune in the Renaissance,” in Forms of the “Medieval” in the “Renaissance”: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of a Cultural Continuum, ed. George H. Tucker (Charlottesville, VA, ), . The comic element lies partly in the deliberate misattribution to Vergil, partly in the clever punning on quolibet (which did throw Zarncke off balance here), and partly in the substitution of the everyday verb “to teach” with the quodlibetical term “to determine.”

introduction

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elect eight magisters in a row, because all but the final candidate refused to accept the once-prestigious office and preferred to pay their fine of three florins each. In the winter semester of / the faculty council even had to resort to threats. Any magister not appearing at the ordinary disputations and exercises would lose his teaching privileges.43 Against this backdrop it appears probable that one of the young humanists took revenge by parodying the quodlibets and likening the scholastics to a guild of swine. De generibus ebriosorum Such, then, is the tradition to which the speaker of The Species of Drunkards alludes in his introduction. Of the four Heidelberg speeches, he was certainly familiar with the ones by Jakob Hartlieb and Paul Olearius. By the late summer of  these two satires had enjoyed numerous reprints. As for the earlier pair, any knowledge he had of them probably came at second hand. Grieb’s The Rogues’ Guild had been reprinted just once, in modified form and without the author’s name, as Secta Monopolii seu Congregationis bonorum sociorum (Speyer, ). A German translation came out at Strasbourg in  and .44 Gallus’ The Windship was never reprinted. Most likely, the author of The Species of Drunkards knew those early burlesques only through the passages excerpted in A Fabulous Question. As we have seen, this parody had been reprinted at Leipzig in / and at Olmütz in . By  it must still have enjoyed some notoriety among the magisters at Erfurt, some of whom, like Eobanus, had been at the university for over a decade already. At any rate, The Species of Drunkards takes important cues from A Fabulous Question. For one, it starts off with an absurdly convoluted question that is really just a table of contents for the mock speech. For another, it is the quodlibetarius who is said to have assigned the comical question.45 And like A Fabulous Question, the anonymous burlesque of  is a hoax. That The Species of Drunkards is a satiric fiction has been obscured by the long passage of time. Indeed, until quite recently the work was presumed to be an authentic burlesque, actually held (as a second title

43

Kleineidam, :; :–. The translation was entitled Der Bruder Orden in der Schelmenzunft. 45 In  the quodlibetarius was Eobanus’ good friend, the theologian Ludwig Platz of Melsungen. See Kleineidam, :. On Platz, see n.  at Hymn., ded. (p.  above). 44

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de generibus ebriosorum

to the work solemnly affirms) “at Erfurt in the year  of the Christian era before a densely packed audience of officers and members of the university.” To contemporary readers, however, the joke must have been hilariously obvious. Erfurt (for all we know) never had a homegrown custom of comic intermezzos and epilogues, as was the case at Cologne, Heidelberg, and Vienna. But even if such a tradition had existed there, the work’s anonymity would have been an immediate tip-off. What author would fail to put his name to a speech that he had just delivered “before a densely packed audience”? Would not everyone at the university have known who he was? Erfurt readers would also have chuckled at the fanciful date given for the mock speech. For as was common knowledge, the quodlibets at Erfurt always started on the first ferial after St. Bartholomew’s day (August ). The debates might go on for a week or two, at most. The book’s title page, however, has the speech delivered “around the autumnal equinox,” that is to say, several weeks after the quodlibets had concluded. As if to underline the fictitious dating, the anonymous speaker fires off a volley against the “perfidious Frenchmen” who really seem to believe they “can chase us Germans out.”46 No one reading this at Erfurt in the early autumn of  could have mistaken the allusion to the Battle of Marignano on September –. At that fateful encounter, King Francis I had defeated the Swiss Confederates and driven them out of the Duchy of Milan. And of course, the phrase “in the scholastic manner” at the end of the title is itself an invitation into the realm of parody. For why else would dry logic be applied to drunkenness except to parody the scholastic method itself? Thus, as Erich Kleineidam remarks, The Species of Drunkards represents an assault on the university’s bedrock institution: it “wittily applies the disputation method to a ridiculous topic and in so doing makes the method itself laughable.”47 Kleineidam adds that the parody would doubtless have aroused much mirth among the young humanists, but have given the older professors no little vexation. For just as they had done two decades earlier, the conservatives at Erfurt were once again raising the alarm at the decay of the quodlibets. On  August , just a few weeks before the start of the annual disputation, the faculty council had instructed the dean of arts to make sure that the junior magisters

46 47

Gen. ebrios. .. Kleineidam, :.

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took the debates seriously this time. They were to recite their arguments from memory, not just to rattle off some formulas and be done with it. Surely those young colleagues could still be counted on to possess “a tenacious and faithful memory”! But after the disputation was over, the dean sadly reported that few of the magisters had heeded his appeal.48 Even as the dean was making his report, the Letters of Obscure Men heaped more scorn on the quodlibet of . In one of the concluding letters, the theology student Lupoldus Federfusius relates that the recent disputation at Erfurt had ferociously debated the “very subtle question” whether a converted Jew will have his foreskin restored at the Last Judgment. The writer claims he cannot go into more detail, for the simple reason that “we at Erfurt are moderns, and the moderns like brevity, as you know.” For good measure he adds: “Also, my memory is bad, and I cannot learn by heart a great number of citations, as do the jurists.”49 The allusion to the faculty decree of early August is unmistakable — and devastating. Authorship Like the parody foisted on Master Schram, The Species of Drunkards came out anonymously. But there are many degrees of anonymity. At one extreme are writers so intent on concealing their identity that they insert false clues, including misattribution. At the other extreme are writers who see anonymity as just a cat-and-mouse game with the reader. If A Fabulous Question stands at the one end of this spectrum, The Species of Drunkards surely stands at the other. Here the author practically dares us to find him out. Clues to his identity are strewn about with abandon. The introductory epigrams, for instance, all come from the circle of humanists around Eobanus Hessus. The first two are by Eobanus himself. The speech itself kicks off with Eobanus’ parody of the description of Fama in Vergil’s Aeneid. These verses are known from this source alone. The same is true for an epigram by Eobanus in the middle of the book (Gen. ebrios. .). At Gen. ebrios. . and . we are told that the speaker’s informant and intimate friend — Eobanus himself — has traveled widely in Prussia and Livonia. Likewise,

48 49

See Kleineidam, :, n. . EOV .; Kleineidam, :–. The translation is from Rummel, Reuchlin, .

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de generibus ebriosorum

the catalogue of beer names focuses especially on cities like Erfurt, Leipzig, Danzig, and Frankfurt an der Oder, the very places where Eobanus had firsthand acquaintance with the local brews. The Species of Drunkards, then, must have been composed by someone very close to Eobanus at Erfurt. Might the speaker be a mask for Eobanus himself? Such in fact has long been the accepted view, as Friedrich Zarncke already remarked.50 In , F.W. Kampschulte attempted to add the weight of evidence to Eobanus’ presumed authorship by arguing that Euricius Cordus unambiguously attributes the work to his friend in the epigram, “In libellum Eobani de vitanda ebrietate” (“On Eobanus’ Little Book De vitanda ebrietate.”).51 But the “little book” to which Cordus alludes is not the anonymous forty-page book, De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda, but rather the eight-page booklet, De vitanda ebrietate elegia, that Eobanus published on  July . A companion epigram, “Ad Eobanum de eodem iocus,” confirms that Cordus was not thinking of the prose work on drunkenness, but rather of Eobanus’ epigrams (“carmina”) on the topic.52 More persuasive is the evidence uncovered by Carl Krause in .53 Krause notes that De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda and Eobanus’ De vitanda ebrietate elegia share the same title and woodcut and have many themes and motifs in common. Most particularly he draws attention to three close parallels: a list of the vices engendered by drunkenness (Gen. ebrios. ./Vitanda ebriet. .–); the idea that drunkenness is the greatest plague, the fiercest enemy now threatening Germany (Gen. ebrios. .–/ Vitanda ebriet. .–); and the notion that drunkenness is more pernicious than amatory love, the latter being actually a civilizing force, especially in young people (Gen. ebrios. .– /Vitanda ebriet. .–). All these indications notwithstanding, neither Zarncke nor Krause could bring himself to accept Eobanus’ authorship.54 To them, the speech is an authentic production, held by an unnamed magister at the conclusion of the quodlibet in . Since that magister repeatedly calls on his good friend Eobanus, they argue, the two cannot be identical. Zarncke

50

See Zarncke, “Quaestiones,” ; Zarncke, Univ. . Franz W. Kampschulte, Die Universität Erfurt in ihrem Verhältnisse zu dem Humanismus und der Reformation, vol.  (Trier, ), , n. . 52 For a text of the two epigrams, see introd. to Vitanda ebriet., pp. – below. 53 Krause, HEH, :–. 54 See Zarncke, Univ., ; Krause, HEH, :. 51

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and Krause do allow, however, that our humanist might well have taken a hand in shaping and expanding the speech for publication. Krause goes a step further than Zarncke by identifying the speaker as Eobanus’ closest friend at Erfurt, Petrejus Eberbach.55 Krause’s argument has gained a following. It was accepted, with varying degrees of caution, by such scholars as Gustav Bauch, Heinrich Grimm, and Erich Kleineidam.56 Originally I too saw no reason to challenge Krause’s conclusion. That changed when I began looking into the mock speech more closely, especially in relation to A Fabulous Question. If The Species of Drunkards were a satiric fiction like A Fabulous Question, then the speaker could very easily be a mask for Eobanus himself. Eobanus is the only Erfurt humanist who is repeatedly mentioned or alluded to in the mock speech itself. Euricius Cordus is quoted just once. Petrejus Eberbach is not mentioned at all, and with good reason: he was in Rome while the quodlibet was going on at Erfurt in . In point of fact, he did not return to Erfurt until mid-November that year. Hence he could not possibly have delivered the speech, or even have collaborated on it.57 After this realization sank in, my eyes opened to the wealth of evidence pointing to Eobanus’ authorship. Indeed, there was no one else in Erfurt with his learning and experience, his sense of fun and incongruity, to pull off a speech of this caliber. Then too, the speaker presents himself as a “poet” by profession. That is why he constantly quotes from the poets, including Eobanus himself. After several hints to that effect at Gen. ebrios. .– and ., he confides at Gen. ebrios. .– that he must chose his words carefully, lest he be branded a liar “by those who don’t

55 On Petrejus Eberbach (ca. –/), see Poetic Works, :–; VLDH, :–. 56 See Bauch, ; Heinrich Grimm, in NDB, :, s.v. “Aperbacchus, Petreius”; Kleineidam, :. 57 First noted as an argument against Eberbach’s authorship by Conrad Bursian, “Bericht über die vom September  bis Ende  erschienenen die Encyclopädie und Geschichte der classischen Alterthumswissenschaft betreffenden Schriften,” Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte der classischen Alterthumswissenschaften, ed. Conrad Bursian, vol. , . Jahrgang,  (Berlin, ), , reviewing Krause, HEH. Cf. Gerald Dörner in VLDH, :. That Eberbach did not return to Erfurt until mid-November  is clear from his letter to Michael Hummelberg, written at Erfurt on  November . See Adalbert Horawitz, “Zur Biographie und Correspondenz Johannes Reuchlin’s,” Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Classe  (), –, no. . See also Mutian. Ep. , dated  November , confirming that Petrejus Eberbach is back in Erfurt.

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de generibus ebriosorum

brook contradiction. For they would immediately say that I’m a poet (from which, however, I’ve always been at the furthest possible remove) and by that token a liar, because they are convinced that poets are born for nothing else than lies.” The irony is palpable. A born poet, the speaker denies being a poet, for fear of being branded a liar by the conservatives who hurl the word poeta at the humanists as a term of abuse. We are reminded of the inaugural lecture that Eobanus had given just a few months earlier. At Orat. ., he laments that by merely mentioning the word “poetry” he has already exposed himself to calumny. But that defensive reflex, so plainly ironic here, is the very one that Eobanus had exhibited in earnest in  when he pleaded with Johann Bonemilch to keep the bishop’s patronage: “I am not a poet and do not so much as seek that title.”58 As we have noted, the speaker claims to be on the closest terms with a man who has traveled to Prussia and Livonia and is thus an authority on the drinking customs there. That friend can only be Eobanus Hessus. Most interestingly, however, the speaker then lets it shine through that actually it is he himself who is acquainted with the culture of drunkenness in the north country. Speaking about the Baltic regions, he exclaims at Gen. ebrios. .: “But why am I telling you this? It hurts to remember the good times!” Here the mask drops for a moment and shows Eobanus himself, regretting the good old days in Prussia. The same holds true for the speaker’s statement that he is personally acquainted with the beers up North. For at Gen. ebrios. . he speaks of the cities and towns where “I sometimes heard such ridiculous names as . . . Calf ’s Tail [in Marienburg], Body Blow in Frankfurt an der Oder, . . . Knock the Man Down [in Braunsberg], . . . Toad [in Livonia].” But of all the arguments presented thus far, perhaps the most satisfying and consistent are the many verbal parallels to Eobanus’ other works. Since such parallels are to be found throughout the mock speech, they offer powerful evidence that the satire was written by Eobanus from start to finish.59 A select list follows. Excluded are the parallels already noted by Krause. Further examples can be found in the commentary.

58 See Epp. fam., : “quamvis ego poeta non sim, nec mihi tantum nomen ambiam.” Cf. Krause, HEH,:. 59 The only exceptions are the medieval tales that Eobanus inserts at Gen. ebrios.  and . These appear to have been drawn from some now obscure source.

introduction



Heading to the prefatory epigrams (sig. Av) testimonia Eobanus uses the same term at the end of his Bucolicon (), to introduce a set of epigrams from his friends at Erfurt: “Quorundam amicorum testimonia.” Heading to the burlesque speech (sig. Av) anno Christianae computationis M.D.XV The phrase is reminiscent of the equally unusual subtitle in Encomium nuptiale, “anno Christiani calculi M.D.XII.” in frequentissimo patrum et ordinum consessu Eobanus uses similar phrasing in the title of an academic speech held in September : Oratio de studiorum instauratione in inclyta schola Erphurdiensi, omnium ordinum consessu frequentissimo auditorio . . . habita (Erfurt, []). Question ingeniorum pestis The phrase returns in Orat. Bacc. (Epp. fam., ): “ingeniorum pestes acerrimae.” Mock speech . .

.

.

.

huiusce Eobanus favors this form in the opening sentence of his published speeches. See Orat. . (May ) and Orat. stud. (sig. Ar; September ). meae si quid est eruditionis (quod tamen sentio quam sit exiguum) tenuitate The modesty topos is based on Cic. Arch. : “Si quid est in me ingeni, . . . quod sentio quam sit exiguum.” Eobanus often applies the expression to himself. See Nup., ded. : “Quibus pleniter exequendis non hoc quod in me est ingenii (quod sentio quam sit exiguum), sed ne illustre quidem aliquod satis sufficere quis non videat?”; Orat. Sylv. : “omnem ingenii vim et potentiam, omnem (si qua esset) eruditionis”; Orat. .: “pro mei ingenii facultate (quae tamen sentio quam sit exigua).” si omnia quae de ebrietate scribuntur et adduci possunt in huius materiae vellem cogere angustiam Cf. Orat. .: “propositum mihi non fuit ut omnia in huiusce sermonis angustiam cogerem quae de moralis philosophiae laudibus dici potuissent.” peregregie . . . philosophati Cf. Eobanus’ letter to Mutianus Rufus (late ?), Mutian. Ep. : “Retulit mihi Cordus egregie te isthic philosophari.” Eobanus uses the adverb peregregie in similar context at Orat. .: “in Aristotelica philosophia cotidie peregregie erudimini.” quibusdam iucundissimarum rerum amoenitatibus Cf. Orat. Sylv. : “quibusdam . . . veterum nugamentorum amoenitatibus.” quo animi, dies iam aliquot severioribus philosophiae studiis occupati et quasi defessi, reficiantur et in semetipsis revirescant Cf. Laud., ded. : “dum ab ocio litterario severioris disciplinae recreandi



. .

. . . . . .

. . . .

. .

de generibus ebriosorum atque quasi Laethaeo flumine conspersi refovendi animuli mei gratia paulisper diverterem”; Ama., ded. : “Necessarium enim puto bonis quibusque literarum studiosis . . . ne semper in actu sint, sed interdum animum a morosis meditationibus . . . absolvant et per liberioris ocii oportunitatem quasi in seipsis revirescant.” incantamina Eobanus uses this Late Latin word also at Orat. .. Macrobius. See Macr. ... Eobanus alludes to that passage in early , in one of his Leipzig lectures on his Sylvae duae. See n. at Sylv. duae .. He draws on the Macrobius passage again at Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “Equidem homines rationem cum diis immortalibus participantes quibus duobus sensibus, gustu videlicet et tactu, in primis nos temperare oportuit. Ii sunt nobis maxime cum sue et asino communes peneque etiam nihil ab illis tam immoderate viventes discriminant, imo faciant bestialiores.” statim . . . subdit Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. da uns die gebraten tauben in die meuler flyegenn Cf. Orat. .: “nobis . . . velut in regione stultorum assae palumbes involitent.” istud terriculamentum Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January , in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. , referring to Reuchlin’s enemies as “ista terriculamenta.” inter voluptates muliebres Ama. .: “inter voluptates muliebres, inanes ac molles illecebras, impudicos meretricum amplexus.” bonarum litterarum amatores Eobanus uses the same phrase in a letter to Bishop Johann Bonemilch (): “amator . . . bonarum literarum sum.” See Epp. fam., . mussationem This rare word (synonymous with the more common mussitationem) is Late Latin. Mutianus Rufus uses it in a letter of  March  to Eobanus Hessus: “Finge nos esse auditores istarum mussationum.” See Mutian. Ep. . A qua iocosa urbanitate — hominem exuere Eobanus expresses precisely the same thought in Gen. ebrios. A  and at Vitanda ebriet. .–. id genus non parum multa Cf. Her. Chr., ded. .: “id genus alia multa.” fide . . . decocta Eobanus uses the phrase also in a contemporary letter to the reader (ca.  May ): “potatores et baiuli et qui rem et fidem decoxere.” See Cordus, Epigr., . ad eandem rem . . . facientia Precisely the same phrase occurs on the title page of Heus lector, hic habentur Campani de miseria poetarum sapphicum . . . et quaedam alia lectu digna ad eandem rem facientia [Erfurt, March ], a slender anthology edited by Eobanus. Sed iam michi tempero, ne, dum Cf. Praef., sig. Cr: “Sed tempero mihi, ne, dum nimis istam Camarinam moveo, spiritus inde noxius exhalet.” poetis et versificatoribus Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  March  to Joachim Vadian, in Vadian. Briefsammlung, no. : “non . . . poetarum, sed versificatorum albo.”

introduction . .

. . .

. . . . . . .



si hoc unum addidero The phrase (from Apul. Apol. ) is found also at Her. Chr., ded. .. effusis continentiae habenis modum . . . egreditur Cf. Ama. ., with virtually identical phrasing: “Hanc ubi effusis continentiae habenis supra humanae affectionis modum adamarem.” Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “supra modum continentiae”; .: “continentiae fines egressi.” Campanus, Italorum omnium ex recentioribus facile disertissimus Eobanus offers a similar appreciation of Giannantonio Campano at Orat. .: “Campanus, recentiorum omnium facile disertissimus.” adhuc idola colerent Sylv. duae .: “adhuc idola colebat.” ista septentrionali barbaria Eobanus calls Prussia “barbarous” as early as . See Sylv. duae . (Sylv. ..); letter of  April  to Georg Spalatin, in Mutian, Ep., :–: “hac barbaria”; “barbariam horum hominum.” He does so twice at Orat. .: “ex barbaris regionibus reversus”; “barbarissimas nationes.” effusissime ridens The unusual expression comes up in Eobanus’ letter of  August  to Mutianus Rufus. See Mutian. Ep. : “coepit . . . effusissime ridere.” alia consulto pretereo Cf. Her. Chr., ded. .: “Alios consulto praetereo.” Celtis Quoting Celtis, Am. ..–, where the poet decries modern sexual perversions. Eobanus had quoted the pentameter as early as Ama. .. molliter defluentes A rare phrase (Apul. Met. ., of luxuriantly flowing hair; Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob ., of leaves). Eobanus uses it figuratively also at Sylv. duae .. Istulam For Eobanus’ use of this relatively uncommon form of Vistula, see Nup., lim. , n. Dolor est meminisse Another rare phrase. Eobanus uses it also at Her. Chr. . and Orat. stud., sig. Ar. predominatur A medievalism that occurs also at Ama. . and Her. Chr. .. cerevisia — crassus ille et humano corpori noxius humor This uncommon view on the medical properties of beer derives from Dioscorides, De materia medica .. It appears also at Eob. Val. .–, with similar wording: Qui docuit crasso Cererem confundere succo, Huic iratus erat Bacchus et ipsa Ceres. Nam Pelusiaci qui laudat pocula zythi, Illi nec cerebrum nec caput esse potest. Renibus et nervis cerebroque hic noxius humor, Saepe etiam leprae semina foeda iacit.

. .

Preterea quis non novit Hod. : “Praeterea . . . quis iam non novit.” finem ineptiendi faciam Eobanus twice uses this unusual phrase in letters of . See his letter of  May  to Johann Feige (Epp.



de generibus ebriosorum

fam., ): “finem ineptiendi nunc facio”; letter of  June  to Johann Gröningen (Nar., sig. Tv): “finem ineptiendi faciam.” . Nos ad alia festinamus Cf. Orat. .: “alio nostra festinaret oratio”; .: “ad quod nostra festinat oratio”; Orat. stud., sig. Av: “ad alia nunc properantem.” . Iuventuti nihil est ebrietate perniciosius For the phrasing, cf. Ama. .: “Eo nihil est literarum studiosis perniciosius.” . defluere, emarcessere This unusual collocation is found also at Orat. .: “Stultus per inertiam et desidiam defluit et emarcessit.” . non . . . non . . . non . . . non . . . sed . . . sed Eobanus uses the same rare construction at Her. Chr., ded. .: “Heroidas . . . hasce non prophanas, non ethnicas, non impudicas, sed sacras, sed Christianas, sed castissimas.” He uses it, in abbreviated form, also at Orat. stud., sig. Br: “non in qualibet, sed in optima, sed in pulcherrima re, in sacrarum literarum studio.” . Nulla maior pestis Eobanus had just used precisely this phrase at Orat. .. He uses a variation on it, in similar context, at Vitanda ebriet. .–: “Durior hac nusquam pestis nec atrocior hostis/ Teutona victrici venit in arva manu.” . hanc curare luem nulla medela potest Here Eobanus slips a pentameter into his prose. He had praised the practice as “Ovidian” at Ama. .–. For another instance of the practice see his letter of  January , in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “Nunc ego non possum displicuisse mihi.” Eobanus reused the pentameter “hanc curare luem nulla medela potest” a decade later, but now undisguised. See Eleg. .. . hostem in nostris finibus . . . grassantem Cf. Hymn. –: “In tuis . . . furentem/Finibus hostem”; Vitanda ebriet. .: “Quem semel ut nostris pellamus finibus hostem.” .– Quid enim — amitterent The German invention of cannonry has destroyed the Germans’ heroic virtues. Eobanus notes the irony also at Nob. –, n. His source, as he acknowledges in a lecture on that poem, was Pol. Verg. Invent. ..–. Eobanus versifies the passage again at Nor. –. The notion that present-day Germans would rather wallow in luxury than engage in heroic warfare is expressed also at Max. –. .– Sed ne — factus est Amatory love acts as a civilizing force, as proven by the example of Boccaccio’s story about Cimon. Eobanus first proposes this argument in Orat. Sylv. –, n. He repeats it in Vitanda ebriet., epigram  (but minus the exemplum). . Quae ne cuncta diligentius quam meam professionem decet rimari videar, audite, quaeso, Tibullum poetam dicentem When he wrote this sentence, Eobanus still had Orat. . in his ear: “Quos ne temere nos coniungere aliquis possit criminari, audite Erasmum nostrum in libro Similium sic dicentem.” Cf. Orat. .: “Audite, quaeso, ne . . . male iudicare videamini”; Val. .: “Quae cuncta ingenio rimari.” . iuxta Platonis edictum A rare phrase, used also at Orat. ..

introduction



non solum corporis vires sed et ingenii vivacitas animique vigor omnis extinguatur Cf. Vitanda ebriet. .–; Val. .– (of drunkenness): “Corporis exhaurit succos animique vigorem/Opprimit, ingenium strangulat atque necat.” . Marsilius Ficinus inter quinque studiosorum hostes secundo loco . . . cibi satietatem enumerat Closely paralleled at Ama. .: “Marsilius Ficinus inter quinque studiosorum hostes monstri loco enumerat Venereum coitum.” . Quo fit ut capiti — pervidere non potest Eobanus uses the same passage at Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “aciemque mentis multis crassis vaporibus sic obtundimus, sic verberamus, ut nullis parum subtilioribus rebus possimus intendere, cum (ut Galenus inquit), ‘Animus adipe et sanguine suffocatus coeleste nihil pervidere possit.’ ” . in hac Erphurdiensi Academia litterarum . . . militiam Cf. Orat. .: “litterariam miliciam Erphurdiensem.” . De qua re cum sint pene infinita quae dici possent Cf. Orat. .: “cum . . . pene infinita sint quae ad Ciceronis laudem conferri possint.” . dum veritatem nimis simpliciter et absque fuco profitemur Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January  to Johann Reuchlin, in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. : “simpliciter absque fuco”; Orat. .: “Mihi satis est ipsam veritatem vobis absque fuco verborum ostendisse.” . a quo . . . semper longissime abfui Eobanus uses the same phrase in a letter of  May  to Johann Lang: “a quo semper abfui longissime.” See Epp. fam., . .– Bonos tamen hic et ubique semper excipio . . . . De malis loquor Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January  to Johann Reuchlin, in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “Haec autem de malis . . . dicta sint. Bonis bene sit”; Dial. , sig. Dr, referring to the evangelical preachers in Erfurt: “Quis enim ignorat plurimos esse ex isto hominum genere vehementer eruditos? Quos ut hic semper exceptos volo . . .”; and sig. Dv: “de pessimis semper loquor. Si qui boni sunt, laudo.” . coronidem . . . navi . . . imponamus Cf. Orat. .: “sermoni nostro coronidem imponemus.” , tit. parenesis Eobanus began using this ecclesiastical Grecism in the first half of , always in this form (rather than paraenesis). See Hymn. B , “De Gallis mystica parenesis”; Orat. .: “parenesis quaedam et ad rectissima studia amplectenda generalis adhortatio”; .: “parenesim quandam et velut hortamentum ad rectissima studia capessenda.” . litterarum scientia The phrase appears also in Hymn., ded., tit., and Orat. ., both written in . .– Agite igitur — bonis litteris bonam dabitis operam The exhortation is very much like the one that Eobanus gave five years later in Orat. Bacc. (Epp. fam., –). There too he exhorts his students not to waste the flower of their youth in dissipation, to avoid bad company, heed their teachers, and study good literature:

.



de generibus ebriosorum Date operam . . . ne, ut quidam, hoc primo vestrorum studiorum tyrocinio abutentes, alia deinceps atque his longe contraria studia sectemini, qualia sunt luxus, ocia plena degeneris inertiae, libidinum intemperantia, aliaeque iuvenum ac bonorum quorumvis ingeniorum pestes acerrimae. . . . Quot vidistis, vos appello, in hac nostra academia iuvenes optimarum indolum, qui in ipso adhuc pubescentis aetatis flore omnia pollicebantur quae de optimis quibusque expectari oporteat praeclara et magnifica, quos deinde corruperunt malorum consorcia atque adeo a coepto studiorum cursu retraxerunt, ut iam non ad literarum, sed quorumvis vitiorum studia nati viderentur. . . . Vestrum iam officium esse debet, optimi iuvenes, . . . ea demum vera bona existimare, quae cum in animum vestrum semel collocaveritis, “nec Iovis ira nec ignis/nec poterit ferrum nec aedax abolere vetustas” [Ov. Met. .–], luxum ac voluptatem omnem non secus ac studiorum et ingeniorum vestrorum Hydras longe fugere, ocia nulla admittere, nisi quae literatis fabulis et sapientiae studio plena sint, praeceptoribus vestris non secus ac parentibus . . . parere, . . . optimis studiis maximam dare operam.

But satis superque! There can now be no question whatever that Eobanus authored De generibus ebriosorum. Clues are scattered from one end of the book to the other. We have to wonder, therefore: why did Eobanus publish the work anonymously, yet allow his authorship to shine through so clearly? Eobanus could not, of course, openly claim credit for the mock speech. To have done so would have spoiled the satiric fiction. At the same time, our poet was not one to keep his light under a bushel. To Bishop Job von Dobeneck he confessed in : “I have always followed not so much the exhortations of my teachers as a certain youthful enthusiasm of mine and (to make a clean breast of it) a possibly immoderate craving for glory and renown.”60 With a mindset like this it must have cost him no little anguish to know that many readers, especially those outside of Erfurt, might not recognize him as the author. Consciously and unconsciously, therefore, he threw in copious hints to his identity. Still, the very fact that a man so keen on winning fame nevertheless declined to take a bow for so grand a parody tells us how serious he was about doing his part to subvert the quodlibets and advance the cause of humanism at Erfurt.

60

Her. Chr., ded. ..

introduction



Contexts Why, of all things, did Eobanus choose the topic of drunkenness for a mock quodlibetical speech? As everyone at the university knew, Eobanus was the resident expert on the topic. He had come by his knowledge partly through studying the ancient and modern authorities, but mostly from looking too deeply into his cups at drinking parties and banquets. The prowess he had displayed in Prussia had long since become the stuff of legend.61 It was a notoriety he seemed intent on keeping up, even as a married man in Erfurt. By May  matters had gotten so bad that Mutianus Rufus felt obliged to chide him for his drinking and begged him to give the lie to the gossip that was going around.62 The Species of Drunkenness was Eobanus’ answer. It was his way of showing the world that he was no common drunk. Indeed, after depicting drunkenness in all its varieties, Eobanus concludes by censuring its evils and exhorting his university audience to steer clear of intemperance. But, Eobanus being Eobanus, he was content to preach what he would not practice himself. In April the following year he became stone drunk at Mutianus’ house.63 And once again he brought out a booklet in self-defense: An Elegy on the Avoidance of Drunkenness, published on  July . Personal reasons aside, Eobanus was well aware that in choosing the topic of drunkenness he was stepping into a vast tradition of moral, philosophical, medical, and literary treatments of the theme. In the introduction to his mock speech he asks: “Is there anyone alive who does not know how much has been written and remarked on this topic by practically everybody, religious no less than secular, heathen no less than Christian, given that drunkenness is the sort of vice that not just the Christian, but also the pagan philosophers all detest and abhor with one and the same voice? I should have to produce an entire book, a foliosized volume, and not a discourse of an hour or two at most, if I wanted to squeeze everything that has been written and could be adduced about drunkenness into the narrow confines of this discussion.”64 The tradition made his job both easier and harder: easier, because everything that

61

See Camerarius, Nar.  (:–). Mutian. Ep. : “Huc addo, quod reticere non debeo, aleatorem te esse et ebriosum cum tuo malo maximo. Corrige sodes istam fabulam.” 63 Mutian. Ep. . 64 Gen. ebrios. .–. 62



de generibus ebriosorum

could be said about drinking had already been said; harder, because he could not simply repeat what he had read and heard. His solution was to pour all the received knowledge and all his own experience into a quodlibetical burlesque, a parody of the scholastic debates — not to sustain the old institution, as the Heidelberg speeches had still aimed to do, but, like A Fabulous Question, to help bring it down. Eobanus had another reason, too, for writing about drunkenness. By the late Middle Ages, Germany had developed a reputation throughout Europe as the land of drunkards. The Germans themselves recognized their addiction as a national vice, an intractable plague. Eobanus admits as much in De generibus ebriosorum .–: No greater plague has ever crept into this Germany of ours. Putting up with tyrants, massacres, pillages, that was easy. We were able to confront such horrors and, in time, to find remedies against them. This plague, however, no medicine can hope to cure. Vanquishing this enemy who rages so arrogantly within our borders, or at least keeping him at bay, that is quite beyond our powers.

He makes the same point in the “Elegy on the Avoidance of Drunkenness” (Vitanda ebriet. .–): It was not among the unwarlike peoples of India that [Drunkenness] established herself so much, . . . nor was it to the nomads of Africa that she advanced her banners. No, it was in the heart of Europe that she set up her base. In fact, it was the Germans, never yet conquered in battle, that her armies took on. For ever since her effeminate troops seized the most powerful empire on earth, she no longer fears a counterattack. And though she lords it over other nations too, nevertheless none worships her with more sedulous devotion than ours. This pestilence has so enslaved our country that it is she who conducts all public affairs, as she sees fit.

At the root of the epidemic, everyone agreed, was a peculiarly German form of the practice of pledging healths, known as Zutrinken.65 In Renaissance Germany, Zutrinken no longer had anything to do with health. It had long since become a means of compelling participants at a banquet to drink themselves into a stupor. Once a toast had been proposed, it could not be refused; and every toast called for another. Originally, the extravagant custom was confined to the nobility and the wealthy merchants. In his On True Nobility, Eobanus complains that the upper classes spend

65 See B. Ann Tlusty, Bacchus and Civic Order: The Culture of Drink in Early Modern Germany (Charlottesville, ), especially –.

Illustration : Title page of Hieronymus Emser, Dialogismus de origine propinandi Leipzig: Melchior Lotter,  Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich

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de generibus ebriosorum

“every waking hour . . . at drunken parties; the long carousing knows no end. Oh, whoever you are who first invented the drinking of rounds, may you forever quaff from the infernal stream!”66 By the late fifteenth century Zutrinken had spread from the elites to the lower classes. The trend alarmed the moralists as well as the state authorities. In  Sebastian Brant condemned the practice in his Ship of Fools.67 The following year, Zutrinken was officially proscribed by the Diet of Worms. Later Diets passed similar edicts, but to no avail. The public debates inspired scholarly discussion and moral satires. The first to treat the subject was the young magister Hieronymus Emser (–). After taking his MA at Basel in  and becoming a priest in , Emser studied at Erfurt in the summer semester of , then at Leipzig, where he earned a Bachelor of Theology degree in . In February of that year he published a dialogue on the origins of Zutrinken and its place in a well-ordered state: Dialogismus de origine propinandi, vulgo compotandi, et an sit toleranda compotatio in republica bene instituta necne (Leipzig, ).68 Introduced by a commendatory epigram by Hermann von dem Busche, the dialogue was reprinted at Leipzig that same year, at Frankfurt an der Oder in , and at Leipzig in . In the booklet, the tippler Sylenus argues in favor of Zutrinken. To his mind, it is a time-honored practice that originated with the wise Brahmans of India. His opponent, the temperate Sophronius, condemns the custom as currently practiced. He traces it back to the ancient Greeks, whose ideal of convivial drinking, he asserts, has been perverted in modern times. Unable to come to one mind, the speakers call on a learned neighbor to decide the question. The judge agrees with Sophronius that the practice started with the Greeks. Solomonically, he praises convivial drinking as civilized and humane, because tending to friendship and fellowship, but censures Zutrinken as beastly and barbaric, because tending to competition, compulsion, and vulgar drunkenness. Emser’s dialogue was a major inspiration for Eobanus. He directly quotes from the book and borrows from it repeatedly.69 Eobanus did not know, or certainly did not make use of, a more recent tract on the topic: Johann von Schwarzenberg’s German-language booklet on

66 67 68 69

Nob. –. Brant, NS .–. See VLDH, :–. See especially Gen. ebrios. .–; .–; ., with nn.

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Zutrinken. This witty satire is cast in the form of a letter from the Estates General of Hell. Alarmed at the edict against Zutrinken that had just been adopted by the Diet of Cologne in , the infernal estates command their earthly followers to flout the law and give detailed instructions on how to maintain the custom. First published at Oppenheim in /, the booklet was reprinted at Erfurt in ca.  and, lightly revised, at Augsburg in .70 Printing History The editio princeps was published anonymously, without indication of place, printer, or date [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ]. See von Hase, no. . The circumstance that Matthes Maler published the book is consistent with Eobanus’ authorship, for Eobanus had just begun publishing with Maler in July , with De vera nobilitate. Until then he had had his Erfurt books printed with Johann Knappe the Elder.71 A () [Fraktur:] De generib Ebrioſor./ et Ebrietate | Vitanda. | Qu˛eſtio facetiar¯u et Urbanitatis plena no minus quam pul= | cherrimis optimor¯u Scriptor¯u floſculis referta. Jn Conclu= | ſione Quodlibeti Erphurdienſis Anno Chriſti. M.D.xv. | Circa Aut¯unale Equinocti¯u Scholaſtico more explicata. | [Woodcut: A sheep, calf, sow, and ass carouse behind a rectangular table while a monkey, crouching on top of the table, knocks over a large wooden mug. The calf has a scarf around his neck and hay between his horns (to show he is vicious).72 The sow is clothed in a cowl; the ass wears an academic gown and beret. At the left end of the table is a dog wearing a collar and holding a large wooden mug. On a bench in front of the table sits a bear with spectacles on his nose and a book in his paws; a goose to his right holds up a torch for him. At the far right, next to a barrel with a spigot, stands a wolf with a satchel. Banners next to the beasts are left empty.] | 9

70 See Johann von Schwarzenberg, Das Büchlein vom Zutrinken, Neudrucke deutscher Litteraturwerke des XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderts, ed. Willy Scheel (Halle/Saale, ). See further Willy Scheel, Johann Freiherr zu Schwarzenberg (Berlin, ), especially –. 71 Cf. introd. to Nob., p.  above. 72 Cf. Erasmus, Adag. .., quoting Hor. S. ..; Eobanus, letter of ca.  June , in Euricii Cordi contra maledicum Thiloninum Philymnum defensio (Erfurt, ), sig. Av, in Cordus, Epigr., : “faenum in cornu.”



de generibus ebriosorum

Colophon: Collation: Contents:

None o: A6, [ signed], B–C4 D6, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av–Ar epigrams by Eobanus Hessus and friends; Av–Dr De generibus ebriosorum; Dv blank Catchwords: None Running titles: None Copy text: Wolfenbüttel, HAB Call number: A: . Quod. ()

I have checked this copy against the one in Halle, ULB (an Ink A /), and in London, BL (C.. c.), both kindly made available to me in photocopy. Sig. D in the Halle copy is damaged, with some loss of text. I have not seen the copy in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek. The copy at Leipzig, UB (Poet.lat.rec.-m), is reportedly missing. The text is set in Fraktur throughout. With the exception of the subtitle on the title page of B, this holds true also for B and C. Systematic alternation of roman type for the Latin text, Fraktur for the German text, first appears in the Worms prints of . De generibus ebriosorum was to become Eobanus’ first bestseller, reprinted well into the eighteenth century. The first reprint appeared in , without indication of place or printer [Mainz: Johann Schöffer]: B () [Fraktur:] De generib ebrio | ſorum et ebrietate | vitanda. | [roman] Qu˛eſtio facetiarum & vrbanitatis plena, q˜- pulcherrimis | optimorum ſcriptorum floſculis referta, in concluſione | Quodlibeti Erphurdienſis. Anno chriſti. M.D.XV. Cir | ca aut¯unale aequinocti¯u scolaſtico more explicata. | [Woodcut after the one in A, but cruder and now in mirror image. The banqueting table is round. The beasts in the top row are identified by names within banners, as is the goose. The monkey, wolf, and bear have names written on their body.] | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

Finis Adest. | M.ccccc.xvi. | o: A8, [ signed], B–C4, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av–Ar epigrams by Eobanus Hessus and friends; Av–Cr De generibus ebriosorum; Cv blank Catchwords: None Running titles: None Location: Wolfenbüttel, HAB Call number: H: A b.o Helmst./

The Wolfenbüttel copy has some damage and textual loss. I have checked it against the one at Munich, BSB (o L. eleg. m. /), in the digital facsimile available via VD , no. E ; also against a photocopy of the one at Oxford, Bodleian Library (TR.Luth. /). There are further

introduction



copies in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Berlin, SB Preußischer Kulturbesitz; New Haven, Yale University Library; Rastatt, Historische Bibliothek im Ludwig-Wilhelm-Gymnasium; Zürich, Zentralbibliothek; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek (with ms. marginalia by Stephan Roth as well as his extract from De vitanda ebrietate; see n. at Vitanda ebriet. .–). B was reprinted in  by Hieronymus Höltzel at Nuremberg. The Nuremberg reprint follows the readings of the Mainz print, while adding new errors of its own: C () [Fraktur:] De generibus Ebrioſorum | et ebrietate vitanda. | Queſtio facetiarum et vrbanitatis plena: q˜  pulcerrimis | optimorum ſcriptorum floſculis referta: in conclu= | ſione Quodlibeti Erphurdienſis. Anno | Chriſti. M.D.XV. Circa autumna= | le equinoctium Scolaſtico | more explicata. | [Woodcut after B.] | Jmpreſſum Nurnberge per Hieronymum Holczel | Anno dñi. Milleſimo quing¯eteſimo decimosexto | Collation: o: A4, [ signed], B4, [ signed], C6, [ signed],  leaves Contents: Ar title page; Av–Ar epigrams by Eobanus Hessus and friends; Ar–Cr De generibus ebriosorum; Cv blank Catchwords: None Running titles: None Location: Bloomington, Indiana University Library Call number: PA .D  Colophon:

I have also consulted the copy at Wolfenbüttel, HAB (A: . Quod./), and at Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A./), as well as a microfiche of the copy in Frankfurt am Main, Stadt- und UB (Bibliothek Gustav Freytag VI,; catalogue no. ), and the digital facsimile of the copy at Munich, BSB (o L.eleg.m.  n), available via VD , no. E . The Munich copy lacks sig. B; sig. C is missigned “C”. There are further copies at Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Bamberg, SB; Eichstätt, UB; Heidelberg, UB; Oxford, Bodleian Library; St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Wittenberg, Lutherhalle.73

73 In Hutten, Opera, Supplement .:, n. , Eduard Böcking erroneously cites an edition with the same colophon, but with the date : “Impreſſum Nurnberge per Hieronymum Holczel | Anno dñi. Milleſimo quing¯eteſimo decimoseptimo.”



de generibus ebriosorum Afterlife

After its flourish of success, the satire slid into a long period of neglect. The Latin and German drinking literature that sprouted up in the intervening years seems completely unaware of its existence.74 Neither Sebastian Franck, author of a vernacular treatise On the Horrible Vice of Drunkenness (Augsburg, ), nor Vincentius Obsopoeus, who published a long Latin poem On the Art of Drinking (Nuremberg, ), makes any use of Eobanus’ book. It was not until the middle of the century that Kaspar Scheidt (ca. /–) ushered in a revival. A schoolteacher in Worms, Scheidt was especially attracted to moral-satiric texts. In  he gained fame for his German translation of Friedrich Dedekind’s Grobianus (), a well-loved book of grotesque table manners. Interestingly, his appetite for such satire appears to have been whetted by Eobanus’ De generibus ebriosorum, as evidenced by two broadsides he published in the late s.75 The first is a Latin elegy, fifty-six lines strong, entitled De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda (Worms: Gregor Hofmann, n.d.). The poem borrows not just Eobanus’ title but also sixteen verses from the opening Testimonia. Additionally it incorporates four verses from Konrad Celtis’ Amores, as quoted at Gen. ebrios. .. A second pamphlet, written in German, has the title Die volle Br˚uderschaft (The Drunken Brotherhood). Like De generibus ebriosorum, it elaborates on a well-known legend of Jewish origin, according to which drunkards metamorphose into such diverse species as the sow, ass, bear, wolf, dog, lion, cat, monkey, goose, calf, sheep, and fox.76 Scheidt was so pleased with his rediscovery of De generibus ebriosorum that he had it reprinted by Gregor Hofmann at Worms.77 For good measure, he appended Jakob Hartlieb’s De fide meretricum, Paul Olea74 On German drinking literature, see Adolf Hauffen, “Die Trinklitteratur in Deutschland bis zum Ausgang des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts,” Vierteljahrschrift für Litteraturgeschichte  (), –. Pace Hauffen, , Eobanus’ admirer Christoph Hegendorff makes no use of Eobanus’ book in his own mock Praise of Drunkenness (Leipzig, ; expanded edition: Haguenau, ). 75 Both broadsides are edited in Philipp Strauch, “Zwei fliegende Blätter von Caspar Scheit,” Vierteljahrschrift für Litteraturgeschichte  (), –. Lines – of the Latin poem are taken from Aen. Silv. Epygr. , “In nobilem gloriosum”; for this epigram, see introd. to Nob., p.  above. 76 For this legend, see note at Gen. ebrios. . (pp. – below). 77 On this print, see Otto Clemen, “Der Wormser Druck der Scherzrede De generibus ebriosorum von c. ,” Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen  (), –. Clemen was the first to link Scheidt to the Worms print of .

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rius’ De fide concubinarum, and various poems on drunkenness. The book was entitled De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda, iocus quodlibeti Erphurdiensis lepidissimus. Cui adiecimus De meretricum in suos amatores et concubinarum in sacerdotes fide (Worms: Gregor Hofmann, []). A parallel edition, probably from the same year, adds a text by the polymath-physician Jodocus Willich, originally published as Problemata de ebriorum affectionibus et moribus (Frankfurt an der Oder, ). This second edition therefore bore the title De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda, iocus quodlibeti Erphurdiensis lepidissimus. Cui accessere De ebriorum affectionibus et moribus problemata. Item, De meretricum in suos amatores et concubinarum in sacerdotes fide (Worms: Gregor Hofmann, []). Both of the Worms editions follow the readings of C, sometimes introducing textual corrections, alterations, additions, and new errors. Scheidt’s first edition (the one without Willich’s Problemata) became the foundation of twelve reprints published in Frankfurt am Main: . De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. Cui adiecimus De meretricum in suos amatores et concubinarum in sacerdotes fide ([Frankfurt am Main], ). Bound with Duo volumina epistolarum obscurorum virorum. See Benzing, no. . . Reprint, [Frankfurt am Main], . See Benzing, no. . . Reprint, [Frankfurt am Main], . . Reprint, [Frankfurt am Main], . Bound with Duo volumina epistolarum obscurorum virorum. See Benzing, no. . . Reprint, Frankfurt am Main, . See Benzing, no. . . Reprint, Frankfurt am Main, . See Benzing, no. . . Reprint, Frankfurt am Main, . See Benzing, no. . . Bacchi et Veneris facetiae. Ubi agitur, I. De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. II. De meretricum in suos amatores; Et concubinarum in sacerdotes fide . . . ([Frankfurt am Main], ). . Reprint, [Frankfurt am Main], . . De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda. Cui adiecimus De meretricum in suos amatores et concubinarum in sacerdotes fide (Frankfurt am Main, ). Bound with Epistolarum obscurorum virorum . . . volumina duo. See Hutten, Opera, Supplement, .:, no. . . Together with Epistolae obscurorum virorum ad Dn. M. Ortvinum Gratium (Frankfurt am Main, ). See Hutten, Opera, Supplement, .:–, no. . . Together with Epistolarum obscurorum virorum ad Dom. M. Ortvinum Gratium (Frankfurt am Main, ). See Hutten, Opera, Supplement, .:–, no. .

The Worms editions of  and their brood of Frankfurt reprints had the effect of raising De generibus ebriosorum to the status of a classic in



de generibus ebriosorum

drunkenness literature. One gets a sense of the book’s popularity from the way it is used by Scheidt’s old student, Johann Fischart (ca. –). In  Fischart brought out a German adaptation of Rabelais’ Gargantua, entitled Geschichtklitterung. Expanded versions appeared in  and ; reprints continued until . Fischart did not so much translate Rabelais’ novel as rewrite it in his own satiric, linguistically brilliant way, liberally inserting and adapting bits and pieces from other authors along the way. Among the books he used was De generibus ebriosorum.78 In the fourth chapter, for example, Fischart draws heavily on the Erfurt burlesque for his catalogue of beer names. And in chapter , the famed “Drunkards’ Litany,” he incorporates numerous passages and fragments from Eobanus’ satire.79 The influence of De generibus ebriosorum is equally evident in De conviviis et compotationibus, a tract against gluttony and drunkenness by Aegidius Albertinus (–). First published in , the book went through many reprints. As in Fischart’s novel, Eobanus’ influence asserts itself in the form of excerpts and adaptations from the mock speech: a description of the Land of Cockaigne (Gen. ebrios. .–), an account of the ancient authorities on toasting (Gen. ebrios. .–), the bestial species of drunkards, and much verbal borrowing and close translation.80 The Present Edition A modern, but quite unsatisfactory edition was produced by Friedrich Zarncke in Die Deutschen Universitäten im Mittelalter: Beiträge zur Geschichte und Charakteristik derselben. Erster Beitrag (Leipzig, ), 78 Cf. Otto Clemen, “Der Wormser Druck der Scherzrede De generibus ebriosorum von c. ,” Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen  (), . Clemen suggests that Fischart may well have known the book in the  Worms edition that Scheidt would have presented to his favorite student. 79 The more striking quotations, paraphrases, and allusions in Fischart’s novel are noted in Adolf Hauffen, Caspar Scheidt, der Lehrer Fischarts (Strasbourg, ), – . See also his Neue Fischart-Studien (Leipzig, ), . Albert Leitzmann adds some further borrowings in Fischartiana: Mit einem Anhang: Kaspar Scheits “Reformation der Musica” (Jena, ), –. The borrowings are discussed by Ulrich Seelbach in his Ludus lectoris: Studien zum idealen Leser Johann Fischarts (Heidelberg, ), –, –. 80 See Aegidius Albertinus, De conviviis et compotationibus, Nachdrucke deutscher Literatur des . Jahrhunderts , ed. Herbert Walz (Bern, ). Walz briefly notes and discusses the borrowings in his introduction. See pp. –*, –*, –*, *, and *. Also see the commentary below. On Aegidius’ life and works, see VL , :–.

introduction



– (text), – (notes). The text is based on B, which Zarncke took to be the editio princeps. Following a practice introduced in the Worms reprints of ca. , Zarncke prints the Latin texts in roman font, the German texts in Fraktur. To help modern readers, I have adopted this practice in the present text and translation, but use a bold roman font rather than Fraktur to set the German off from the Latin. Two final editorial notes are in order. In editing the German texts, I use umlaut instead of superscript “e”. In the Latin texts, I standardize the case ending “e” to the prevailing form “ae” and expand the occasionally occurring form “que” (relative pronoun) to “quae.”

DE GENERIBUS EBRIOSORUM ET EBRIETATE VITANDA Quaestio facetiarum et urbanitatis plena non minus quam pulcherrimis optimorum scriptorum flosculis referta, in conclusione Quodlibeti Erphurdiensis anno Christi M.D.XV circa autumnale equinoctium scholastico more explicata

Woodcut: A dog, sheep, calf, sow, ass, and wolf carouse around a rectangular table, while a monkey, crouching on top of the table, knocks over a mug. In front, a goose holds a torch up to a bear with spectacles on his nose and a book in his paws.

non [no A] minus quam A: quam BC.

THE SPECIES OF DRUNKARDS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS A question as packed with facetiousness and wit as it is crammed full of the loveliest excerpts from the best writers, explicated at the conclusion of the Erfurt Quodlibet in the year of grace , around the autumnal equinox, in the scholastic manner

Woodcut: A dog, sheep, calf, sow, ass, and wolf carouse around a rectangular table, while a monkey, crouching on top of the table, knocks over a mug. In front, a goose holds a torch up to a bear with spectacles on his nose and a book in his paws.

Av

IN FACETOSAM DE EBRIETATE QUESTIONEM LITTERARIAE SODALITATIS ERPHURDIANAE TESTIMONIA

A 1 EOBANI HESSI Semina mandragorae nascenti consita Baccho Decoctum faciunt lenius esse merum. Sic, nisi rugosam genialis gratia frontem Temperet, est odium qua ratione trahat.  Sic iucunda gravi sophiae coniuncta poesis, Sic acidis gustum dulcia mista iuvant. Hic igitur salibus gravitas variata modestis Fulget ut Idaliis compta Minerva rosis. Quem non ista movet comitante libentia risu,  Hunc nihil humani cordis habere puto. A 2 EIUSDEM Risus, scommata, fabulas, iocosque, Vafre dicta, sales, facetiasque, Cum Musis Veneresque Gratiasque Uno, si placet, aspicis libello,  Humanissime et erudite lector. Nasum nil moror improbissimorum Qui nullum salibus locum relinquunt. Illos vita decet Timoniana. Nos caelo propiore foederati  Caelo teste iocamur innocenter.

A 1.  nihil BC: nilhil A.

TESTIMONIALS FROM THE LITERARY SODALITY IN ERFURT CONCERNING THE FACETIOUS QUESTION ABOUT DRUNKENNESS

A 1 BY EOBANUS HESSUS When planted next to grapevines, mandrake seeds make the fermented wine mellower. In the same way, the furrowed brow must be tempered with charming geniality; otherwise the consequence may well be hatred. Similarly, a blend of delightful verse and grave wisdom or a mix of sweet and sour are a joy to the taste. In the following, therefore, seriousness is so leavened with seemly witticisms that it sparkles like a Minerva decked out with the roses of Venus. Anyone not moved to laughter by such merriments [] has no heart at all, I think — definitely not a human one. A 2 BY THE SAME Laughs, gibes, stories, and jokes, clever sayings, witticisms, and merry anecdotes, along with the Muses and the Charms and the Graces — all this, if you please, you’ll see brought together in one little book, cultured and erudite reader. I pay no attention to the scorn of those most churlish of men, the ones who leave no room for jests. Let them live like Timon, for all I care.1 [] As heaven is our witness, we more convivial folks are just having innocent fun.2

1 Timon of Athens was a proverbial misanthrope who lived the life of a recluse. Eobanus also rails at such spoilsports at Gen. ebrios. .. 2 Though he speaks in the plural “we,” Eobanus makes a point of letting his authorship of the mock speech shine through.



de generibus ebriosorum

[a 

A 3 IOANNIS FOEMILII

Ar

Noscere de Baccho si vis loedoria mille Ridiculo breviter connumerata ioco, Hic lege, quae pascunt curis suppressa malignis Pectora. Comperies scommata plena iocis.  Quod facias, quoniam non semper fronte severa Crassum tam tetricum ferre decere puto. A 4 BARTHOLOMEI GOTII THREISENSIS Quam noceat tenerae ebrietas viciosa iuventae, Hic agitur vivis, lector, imaginibus. Hanc simul ut pestem declinet cum rude doctus: Hereat hic scriptis, ille parerga notet. A 5 EURICII CORDI Convivas vitulos, hircos, asinosque, suesque Prensa vides bruto stringere vina pede. Quid mirare? Tuos hic aspicis, heluo, fratres, Qui, quoties potas, talis es ipse pecus,  Quandoquidem pressis rationem sensibus aufert Aemula Circaeis artibus Ebrietas.

A 3.  loedoria AB: leodaria C. 3 Johann Femel of Erfurt matriculated in the winter semester of /, taking the BA in , the MA in . He was good friends with Euricius Cordus, whom he supported in his feud with Tilmann Conradi (see pp. – above). After being named a fellow of the Collegium maius in , Femel became an influential member of the Erfurt faculty, frequently holding important posts in the university administration. He was rector when he died in . Very much an Erasmian, he voted in  to make Justus Jonas rector of the university and initially supported Luther. His Erasmianism, however, also made him recoil from the tumult and violence that developed in the early s. He remained in the old church and vigorously opposed the Reformation in Erfurt. 4 Like Eobanus, Bartholomew Götz of Treisa in Hesse matriculated at Erfurt in the winter semester of /. After earning his BA in  and his MA in , he followed Eobanus to Riesenburg in Prussia. Eobanus addresses a verse letter to him from Leipzig

the species of drunkards



A 3 BY JOHANN FEMEL3 If you want to know the myriad abuses that could be hurled at Bacchus, all briefly enumerated in fun and jest, then read this book. It’s guaranteed to gladden hearts that are dispirited by malign cares. Here indeed you’ll find gibes and jokes aplenty! You had best adopt my advice, because I don’t think I need to put up with a surly, strait-laced grouch like you day in and day out. A 4 BY BARTHOLOMEW GÖTZ OF TREISA4 How harmful the vice of drunkenness is to young people, that, reader, is brought out here in lifelike images.5 So that unlettered and educated alike may keep clear of this plague, let the latter stick to the text, let the former pay heed to the woodcut. A 5 BY EURICIUS CORDUS6 You see how these revelers — calves, goats, asses, and pigs — are clasping the wine vats with brutish paw. What is so amazing about that? It’s your own brothers you’re staring at here, you tosspot! When you go tippling, you yourself are a beast, just like them. For the fact is that Drunkenness can match

(Sylv. .). Götz returned to Erfurt in the winter of /, probably at the request of Bishop Job von Dobeneck, who would have wanted him to study law. A year or two later, by now “Master of Laws,” he went back to Riesenburg to serve as the bishop’s chancellor. After the bishop died on  May , Götz moved to Königsberg. There he continued to serve the Teutonic Order for several years as legal advisor to Grand Master Albert of Prussia. In November  Eobanus dedicated In poetam Sarmatam invectiva to him, asking him to commend the booklet to his prince. From  until his death in , Götz served the city of Königsberg in various posts, first as alderman, from  as councilman, and from  as mayor. See further Wilhelm Meyer, “Bartholomäus Götz,” Altpreussische Forschungen  (), –. 5 The species of drunkards, as depicted in the woodcut on the book’s title page. 6 On Euricius Cordus, see Camerarius, Nar. .–, with n.  (:–). Like the preceding epigram, Cordus’ poem offers a commentary on the book’s woodcut.



de generibus ebriosorum

[a 

Quam si bellipotens Germania tolleret hostem, Clarior hac nusquam natio gente foret. A 6 CHRISTOPHORI MANCINI “Candide, pace tua, si verum, Corde, fatendum est, Dispare cum brutis helluo fauce bibit.” Talia dicentem prompta accipit ebrius aure, Forte putans partes velle iuvare suas.  Fallitur. Est bruto foedus magis. Hoc sibi quantum Sufficit, ille dato gurgitat absque modo. A 7 BERTERI DAMI Quanta sit ebrietas et quam foedissima pestis, Una potest vero causa probare modo. Nam cum multa fluunt titubantes vina per artus, Omnia scire putans nescius ipse sui est.

7 The enchantress Circe gave visitors a drink that turned them into swine, wolves, lions, bears, and other beasts. See Homer, Od. .–; Verg. A. .–; Ov. Met. . –. The story became a favorite among moralists, who interpreted it as an allegory for the bestializing effects of the vices and passions. See, for example, Hor. Ep. ..–; Serv. A. .. Eobanus applies the story to drunkenness at Gen. ebrios. . and at Vitanda ebriet. .; .–. 8 Christoph Mancinus is a pen name for Christoph Hack (Hacke) of Großenehrich in Thuringia. He uses the same name in his Odae, sive Psalmi poenitentiales [Erfurt, summer ]. See pp. xv–xvi above.

the species of drunkards



Circe’s witchcraft any day.7 She overpowers your senses and robs you of reason. If Germany, so mighty in war, could drive that enemy out, no nation on earth would be more illustrious than she. A 6 BY CHRISTOPH MANCINUS8 “With all due respect to you, my dear Cordus: if truth be told, tosspots don’t drink like the brutes at all.” Quickly pricking up his ears, a drunk overheard me saying these words, apparently under the impression that I meant to take his side. Wrong! Actually he is far more disgusting than a beast. A brute drinks only as much as he needs. A tosspot guzzles with no restraint. A 7 BY BERTRAM VON DAMM9 How great a vice and how beastly a plague drunkenness is, that is proven beyond a doubt by one simple fact: when too much wine sloshes through the staggering limbs, the know-itall drunk doesn’t even know who he is.

9 Bertram von Damm of Brunswick matriculated at Erfurt in the summer semester of  and earned his BA there in the autumn of . Like Christoph Hack (for whose Odae, sive Psalmi poenitentiales [Erfurt, ], he wrote a complimentary epigram), he joined Eobanus’ circle in . A committed follower of Luther, Damm took up studies at Wittenberg in early . From  he was a physician in Brunswick. That same year Eobanus wrote him a letter (not extant), to which Damm responds with fond memories of his old friend and teacher; see Epp. fam., –. Damm died in .

Av

PRO CONCLUSIONE DISPUTATIONIS DE QUOLIBET ERPHURDIAE ANNO CHRISTIANAE COMPUTATIONIS M.D.XV CELEBRATAE IN FREQUENTISSIMO PATRUM ET ORDINUM CONSESSU QUAEREBATUR An ebrietas, viciorum fomes, virtutum enervatrix, ingeniorum pestis, vitae teredo, omnium denique aetatum clades et excidium, Quae Germanis fere omnibus non minus vere quam contumeliose ab Italis exprobratur, Sit avaricia peius vicium et in puero bene instituendo quam res Venerea detestabilior, magistratus et res gerentibus pernitiosa, in sacerdotibus turpis, litterarum vero studiosis omnibus tanquam memoriae mors fugienda censeatur. 1  Vellem profecto, humanissime Domine Quodlibetarie, ad huiusce tam grandis tamque diffusae quaestionis sententiam explicandam alium Vestra prestabilis Humanitas ad id operae subeundum magis idoneum delegisset.  Quantum enim mei iuvenilis ingenii capacitate possum consequi, tantae difficultatis et copiae est iamdudum ad me data quaestio, ut non solum meae si quid est eruditionis (quod tamen sentio quam sit exiguum) tenuitate non possit explicari, sed docti cuiusdam et multarum lectionum expertissimi ingenium et eloquentiam requirere videatur.  Est enim, nisi fallar, summa tituli quaestionis “de ebrietate vitanda.”  De qua re quam multa passim apud omnes ferme, tam sacros quam prophanos, tam aethnicos quam Christianos, scripta et adnotata sint, quis nescit, cum huiusmodi vicium sit ebrietas quod non solum Christiani sed et gentiles omnes philosophi uno eodemque consensu detestentur et abhorreant?  Librum integrum et iustum volumen, non unius aut duarum horarum questionem efficerem, si omnia quae de Tit. quaerebatur Scheidt: querebatur ABC. Quaestio magistratus ABC: magistratibus Zarncke. . Christiani BC: Christiane A; detestentur et abhorreant Scheidt: detestentur abhorreant ABC.

BY WAY OF CONCLUSION TO THE QUODLIBET DISPUTATION HELD AT ERFURT IN THE YEAR 1515 OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA BEFORE A DENSELY PACKED AUDIENCE OF OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY, THE QUESTION WAS ASKED Whether drunkenness, that tinderbox of the vices, emasculatrix of the virtues, plague of intellects, shipworm of existence, and, in sum, scourge and destroyer of all seasons of life, The reproach that the Italians bring up with no less truth than contumely against virtually all Germans, Is a vice worse than avarice and, for a young man seeking a good education, more detestable than sexual intercourse, and should be deemed ruinous to those holding the magistracy and public office, disgraceful for priests, but absolutely to be shunned by all men of learning as the very death of memory. 1 I should certainly have wished, most gracious Master Quodlibetarius, that for explicating the meaning of so large and so expansive a question Your preeminent Humanity had chosen someone more suited to undertake this task. For even though I fully intend to push my youthful mind to the limit, the question you assigned me some time ago is of such enormous difficulty and scope that it not only cannot be explicated by the slenderness of such erudition as I possess (though I am quite aware how small it is), but also would seem to require the intellect and eloquence of some scholar who has made himself an expert through much reading. For if I am not mistaken, the gist of the proposed question is “the avoidance of drunkenness.” Is there anyone alive who does not know how much has been written and remarked on this topic by practically everybody, religious no less than secular, heathen no less than Christian, given that drunkenness is the sort of vice that not just the Christian, but also the pagan philosophers all detest and abhor with one and the same voice? I should have to produce an entire book, a folio-sized volume, and not a discourse of an hour or two at most, if I wanted to squeeze



Ar

de generibus ebriosorum

[

ebrietate scribuntur et adduci possunt in huius materiae vellem cogere angustiam.  Sed non est animus ita hanc rem exequi ut maxime omnium philosophari videar, qui nunc maxime ineptire debeo, cum peregregie quidem et perquambelle omnes vos philosophati, iamdudum velut istius molestae severitatis exhilarationem et iocos post seria | expectetis.  Consuevit enim huiusmodi ludus philosophicus cum quibusdam iucundissimarum rerum amoenitatibus et dulcibus fabulis interspergi, tum in quandam festivam et ioci plenam facetiam desinere, quo animi, dies iam aliquot severioribus philosophiae studiis occupati et quasi defessi, reficiantur et in semetipsis revirescant.  Cui tam laudatae et bonae consuetudini ne solus contraire novumque et inamabilem morem superinducere videar, agite, humanissimi viri, aequis animis piisque et ociosis auribus quae in hanc rem hodierna die dicturus sum accipite.  Audietis enim et seria mixta iocis et veritatem cum mendaciis, hystoriam cum fabulis aequis, ut opinor, passibus incedentem.  Est igitur, ut ad rem veniamus, primo loco animadvertendum hanc esse Ebrietatis velut descriptionem, quam Eobanus Hessus noster nuper rogatu quorundam amicorum ex Famae Virgilianae descriptione, immutatis nonnihil verbis, sic expressit:  Ebrietas, commune malum crimenque iuventae, Ebrietas, vicium cladesque aeterna senectae, Ebrietas, vitaeque ferox animique tirannus, Turpe malum, quo non aliud damnosius ullum,  Debilitate manet viresque extirpat eundo. Parva metu primo, mox sese attollit in artus Ingrediturque caput sensusque obnubilat omnes. Hanc peperit mater Luxu patre blanda Voluptas Extremam, ut perhibent, Veneri Morphique sororem,

. perquambelle A: perque belle BC. . novumque AB: nonnunquam C; aequis Scheidt: equis ABC. . Hessus Scheidt, Zarncke: Hessius ABC. .. Veneri ABC: Veneris Zarncke.

the species of drunkards



everything that has been written and could be adduced about drunkenness into the narrow confines of this discussion. However, it is not my intention to carry out this task in such a way that I seem above all to be philosophizing, when actually my first and foremost responsibility now is to spout nonsense, seeing that all of you, having in truth philosophized marvelously well and altogether delightfully, have long since been looking forward to some refreshment, as it were, from that wearying severity, and to some jesting after those serious debates. For as you well know, it is customary not only to intersperse a philosophical tournament of this type with some highly diverting amusements and enjoyable stories, but also to finish up with a merry, joke-filled entertainment through which minds, preoccupied for days on end with these dead-earnest exercises in philosophy and by now virtually worn out with fatigue, may be revived and restored to themselves. Lest I seem to be the only one to go against this laudable and sound tradition by superimposing a new and disagreeable practice, come, gentlemen, listen with open mind and with respectful, tranquil ears to what I have to say on this subject today. For you shall hear not only serious arguments intermingled with jests but also (or so I’d like to think) truth keeping pace with fictions, history with fables. Well then, to get to the point: you are herewith forewarned that I’m going to start off with something like a description of Drunkenness. Our own Eobanus Hessus wrote it just recently at the request of some friends. In it he parodies Vergil’s description of Rumor by altering a good number of words.10 Here it is: Drunkenness, the evil and disgrace habitual in the young, Drunkenness, the vice and chronic downfall of the old, Drunkenness, the ferocious tyrant of our life and mind, Of all shameful ills the one most detrimental,  Lingers in debility and roots out strengths as she goes. Small and timid at first, she soon mounts into the limbs And enters the head and beclouds all our senses. Her mother, enchanting Pleasure, bore her to Father Indulgence As a last sister, they say, for Venus and Morpheus,

10 See Verg. Aen. .–. In Vergil’s epic, Rumor (Fama) is a horrific winged monster, the last produced by Mother Earth. Small at first, she swiftly grows in size and strength as she flies about, by night and by day, spreading both falsehoods and truths.



de generibus ebriosorum

[

Infirmam pedibus plumbumque imitantibus alis, Monstrum horrendum, ingens, cui, quot sunt corpore [plumae, Tot putres papulae subter (mirabile dictu), Tot somni species, tot sunt sine nomine mendae. Nocte furit siccoque diem nunquam ore salutat;  Luce serit rixas et magnas commovet urbes, Tam iuris rectique tenax quam nescia veri: Ebrietas, commune malum crimenque iuventae.



 Sed ne prius ineptire incipiam quam bonam huius questionis partem absolvero, hanc primam pono conclusionem:

Av

2 BESTIALEM ESSE VOLUPTATEM EBRIETATIS. CONCLUSIO I.  Vicium ebrietatis et asotiae, quod multos homines peius etiam quam Circes incantamina in bestias vertere consuevit, Multorum viciorum fomes et incitamentum cum sit, omnem veteris disciplinae sanctimoniam pervertit, sicubi supra modum continentiae inolevit.  Ad huius conclusionis probationem tanta est utriusque generis scriptorum copia, ut a quo primum ordiendum esset pene dubius substitissem, nisi reliquis constantius acclamasset Macrobius libro Saturnaliorum ii., sic inquiens: “Voluptates duas gustus et tactus solas videmus hominibus communes esse cum beluis, et iccirco in pecudum ferorumque animalium numero habetur quisquis est his ferarum voluptatibus occupatus.”  An non satis clarum hoc est, quod dicit, eos qui voluptate gustus, hoc est ebrietate et crapula, non abstinuerint in bestiarum et belluarum numero contineri?  Nam, ut Aristotiles quoque noster docet, cum quinque sint sensus hominis, quibus voluptas vel animo vel corpori quaeritur, tactus .. corpore Scheidt: corpora ABC. Zarncke. . inolevit BC: molevit A. quaeritur Scheidt: queritur ABC.

, tit. ebrietatis C: ebri. AB, ebrietatem . Saturnaliorum scripsi: Sat. ABC. .

the species of drunkards



Unsteady on her feet and with wings that are all but leaden, A huge and frightful monster, upon whose body every feather (Weird to relate!) has underneath it purulent pustules And all sorts of dreams and faults beyond naming. By night she rages, never greeting the morning with lips unmoistened;  By day she sows quarrels and shakes up great cities, As insistent on her rights and views as she’s blind to the truth: Drunkenness, the evil and disgrace habitual in the young. 

But lest I start spouting nonsense before making at least some headway into this question, I herewith posit the first conclusion: 2 THAT THE PLEASURE OF DRUNKENNESS IS BESTIAL. FIRST CONCLUSION Since the vice of drunkenness and debauchery, which even worse than Circe’s spells habitually turns multitudes of people into beasts,11 Is the tinder and incitement for many vices, it subverts all the sanctity of old-established discipline wherever it grows beyond the bounds of self-control. In support of this conclusion there is such a plethora of writers in both poetry and prose that I might well have been at a complete loss where to start, had not Macrobius, more resolutely than the others, exclaimed in book  of his Saturnalia: “The two pleasures of taste and touch are the only ones we see people having in common with brutes. For this reason anyone engrossed by these animal pleasures is reckoned among the cattle and wild beasts.” Isn’t it clear enough what he says here, that those who don’t refrain from the pleasure of taste, that is to say, from drunkenness and gluttony, are to be counted among the beasts and brutes? For, as our Aristotle reminds us also, people have five senses through which pleasure is sought for either the mind or the body, namely touch, taste,

11

Cf. Gen. ebrios. A ., with n.  (p.  above).



de generibus ebriosorum

[

scilicet, gustus, odoratus, visus, auditus, ex illis omnibus voluptas quae immodice capitur, ea turpis atque improba est.  Sed enim quae nimia ex gustu atque tactu est, ea gemina voluptas, sicut sapientes viri censuerunt, omnium rerum foedissima est; ceterae vero ex tribus aliis sensibus proficiscentes hominum tantum propriae sunt.  Post Aristotilis verba explicata statim postea subdit Macrobius: “Quis igitur, habens aliquid humani pudoris, voluptatibus istis duabus, comedendi atque coeundi, quae homini cum sue et asino communes sunt, gratuletur?”  Mavult enim sapiens quisque Socratem, illum omnis continenciae exemplum, imitari, dicentem multos quidem propterea velle vivere ut ederent et biberent, se vero edere et bibere ut viveret, quam Sardanapalum, voluptariorum omnium antesignanum et ducem, qui dixit: “Ede, bibe, lude,” et: Cum te mortalem noris, presentibus exple Deliciis animum. Post mortem nulla voluptas.  Eya sane pulcherrima clarissimi helluonis sententia! Eya, wie ein gute meynung ist es, wo man stetes guter ding ist!  Secundum Senecam, “Vivite laeti, dum fata sinunt,” lat uns schlemmen die weil wirs mogen und haben; “cras forte non licebit.”  Et ut Horatius inquit, Dona presentis cape laetus horae, Linque severa. Ar

Et alio | loco, “Quid sit futurum cras fuge quaerere”; et item: Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero Pulsanda tellus, etc.  Szo gehen myr, secundum Psalmographum, “de virtute in virtutem,” von eyner zech in die andern, ut scribitur in

. tactu est A: tactu BC; tribus aliis A: aliis tribus BC. . dicentem BC: dicetem A; Sardanapalum BC: Sardanapulum A. . ein gute AC: ein gutte B, ein gutt Zarncke. . lat uns A: laßt uns B, last uns C; wirs AB: mirs C. . myr A: wir BC.

the species of drunkards



smell, sight, and hearing. Immoderate enjoyment of any of them is vile and shameful. But the gratification that is too heavily drawn from the twin pleasure of taste and touch is, from a philosophical point of view, undoubtedly the most disgusting of all. The delights that derive from the other three senses are at least peculiar to human beings alone. After explaining Aristotle’s words, Macrobius immediately adds: “How then can anyone with a modicum of human decency take delight in eating and sexual intercourse, those two pleasures that people have in common with the pig and the ass?” After all, any wise man would prefer to imitate Socrates, that paragon of all self-restraint, when he says that many people do indeed wish to live in order to eat and drink, but that he himself wanted to eat and drink in order to live, rather than follow the example of Sardanapalus,12 the protagonist and leader of all voluptuaries, who said: “Eat, drink, play,” and: Since you know you are mortal, satisfy your mind With the pleasures at hand. After death, no delight. Well, well, that certainly is a most glorious maxim from the most notorious of gluttons! Well, well, what a splendid idea, always living high on the hog! According to Seneca, “Live happy, while the fates permit,” let’s gorge ourselves while we still can and may. “Tomorrow it might be too late.” And as Horace says, Gladly accept what the present hour gives you; Put serious things aside. And somewhere else, “Don’t seek to know what the morrow will bring”; and in the same vein: Now is the time for drinking, for stomping the dance floor With untrammeled foot, etc. That’s how we go, to quote the Psalmist, “from strength to strength,” from one drinking bout to the next, as is written in The Peasants’ Tavernaculs,

12 King Sardanapalus of Assyria was proverbial for his luxury and effeminacy. See Häussler,  and ; Erasmus, Adag. ..; Eob. Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. ., with n.  (p.  below).



de generibus ebriosorum

[

Taberna culis rusticorum, Im land zu Sachßen, ca., Ubique, in antiquo pariete, cum albis carbonibus: Sauff dich vol und leg dich nyeder. Stehe fru auff und vol dich wieder. Szo vertreybt eyn füld die ander, Das schreybt der güte frumme priester Allexander.  “Ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare fratres in unum,” wan die bruder zu sammen thun und werffen den abt zum fenster auß, quia “tunc repletum est gaudio os nostrum,” ßo wollen mir unßern schnabel in weyn waschenn, “et lingua nostra in exultatione,” unnd wollen mit freuden syngen:  Keyn besser freud auff erden ist, Dan gutes leben han. Mir wirt nit mehr zu dyßer frist Dan schlemmen umb und an,  Dar zu ein guter mut. Ich reyß nit ser noch guth, Als mancher reicher burger Noch großem wucher thut.  Hec enim, socii, hec, inquam, est illa magna navis, das große schyff der breyten gselschafft, die do schyffen und sigeln mit halben wind versus Narrogoniam, in Schluraffen land, do die heußer mit wursten gezeunet und mit honig bekleybt und mit fladen gedeckt seyn.  De qua foelici

.. füld A: füll B, full C; ander B: andern A, annder C. .. der güte frumme priester Allexander A: der gutt [gut C] frumm priester Arß [Ars C] lex ander BC. . mir A: wir BC. . wursten A: bratwürsten B, bratwursten C. 13 A mock legal reference. Lawyers often cited laws by quoting the opening words of the relevant collection, section, and paragraph. Such mock citations are a standard form of medieval student humor. The Latin, “in Taberna culis rusticorum,” literally means, “in the Tavern for Peasants’ Butts.” It is a comic deformation of the phrase, “in Tabernaculis rusticorum” (“in the Peasants’ Tabernacles”) — itself a parody of the biblical phrase “in tabernaculis peccatorum” (“in the tabernacles of sinners”). See Vulg. Psa. .. Saxony was stereotypically the land of drunkards. See Walther, “Scherz,”  (no. ),  (no. .),  (no. .). Cf. p.  above.

the species of drunkards



“In the land of Saxony,” chapter, “Everywhere,”13 on an ancient wall, with white coals:14 Booze yourself full and lay yourself down. Get up early and fill up again. That way one fill-up will drive out another, So writes the good pious priest Alexander.15 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity,” when the brethren pull together and heave the abbot out of the window, because “then our mouth is filled with gladness,” then we’ll wash our beaks out in wine, “and our tongue with exultation,” and will sing for joy:16 No greater joy on earth there is Than living like a lord. My highest aim in life right now Is reveling day and night And spending time in merriment. I don’t much care for wealth Like all those well-heeled burghers That hunt for fat returns. For here, comrades, here, I say, is that big ship, the great ship of the broad masses who set sail at half wind to Foolagonia, in the Land of Cockaigne, where the houses are walled with bratwursts and plastered with honey and roofed with pancakes.17 About this blessed land it is

14

That is, with charcoal on a latrine wall. The “good pious priest Alexander” is a swipe at Alexander of Villedieu (/– /), a French priest, grammarian, and mathematician. His versified grammar, Doctrinale puerorum (), was a standard schoolbook that all Latin students in the late Middle Ages had to learn by heart. Its scholastic methodology and “barbarous” verses made it a bête noire to the Renaissance humanists. See p.  above; cf. Gen. ebrios. ., with n.  (pp. – below). 16 Eobanus quotes Psalms . and ., adding mock glosses in German. 17 The “great ship of the broad masses” is the ship of fools. The image was popularized by Sebastian Brant in his bestselling Narrenschiff (). In that book Brant also coined the word Narragonien (“Foolagonia”; in Latin, Narragonia or Narrogonia) as a term for the Fools’ Paradise, or Land of Cockaigne. The word combines the German “Narr” (“fool”) with “Aragonia” (“Aragon,” in northeastern Spain). 15



Av

de generibus ebriosorum

[

patria dictum est, “Dabo vobis terram fluentem lac et mel,” da uns die gebraten tauben in die meuler flyegenn.  In hac navi nostro quidem tempore multi sunt principes et antesignani, qui in vexillo quidem pro signo habent imaginem Sardanapali, in puppi vero Philoxeni effigiem cum gruis collo depictam — illius scilicet qui, ut Aristoteles scribit, collum gruis dari sibi optabat quo diutius edendi bibendique voluptate frueretur.  Quantum, Deus bone, monstrum, quam risu dignum spectaculum, si homo quispiam gruis collo conspiceretur!  Et tamen hoc istud terriculamentum a natura abhorrens optabat tantus voluptatis belluinae adsertor.  Gruem igitur eum, non philosophum fuisse quis sapiens non diiudicet, qui propter pauxillam voluptatem et rem adeo momentaneam homini gruem pretulit?  Sardanapalus vero inter voluptates muliebres ipse mulier, non rex, turpiter consenescens, opulentissimum Assiriorum regnum perdidit seque ipsum ignominiosa morte confecit, | qui erat eius vitae condignus sane exitus.  Erat enim et ipse unus “Epicuri de grege porcus.”  De quibus antequam latius quicquam dicam, prius istiusmodi subinfero corollarium primum: 3 VARIIS BESTIIS ASSIMULARI EBRIOS. COROLLARIUM I.  In pecudum igitur et bestiarum numero habendus censetur, Quisquis huiusmodi ebriosae crapulationis vicio detinetur.  An et vos non vidistis aliquando in hac urbe nostra (ne muros civitatis transiliam) multas huiusmodi pecudes, multas bestias, multos asinos, multos sues, dum, sese homines esse obliti, quadrupedes reptant, in scaeno lutoque volutantes sese?  Quod ut magis credatis et velut ex re presenti cognoscere

. antesignani C: ante signabi A, ante signavi B; qui, ut Aristoteles A: ut Aristoteles BC. . Deus bone A: bone Deus BC; quam Zarncke: qua ABC, quo Scheidt. , tit. Corollarium Zarncke: c. AB, Capitulum C. . volutantes BC: voluntantes A.

the species of drunkards



said, “I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey,” where the roast pigeons fly into our mouths. In this ship there are definitely many princes and leaders of our own time, who actually fly the image of Sardanapalus as their emblem,18 but who at the poop display the likeness of Philoxenus, depicted with the neck of a crane — I mean the Philoxenus who, as Aristotle tells us, wished he’d been given a throat as long as a crane’s, the longer to enjoy the pleasure of eating and drinking.19 What a monstrosity, good Lord, what a laughable spectacle, if some fellow were to show up with a crane’s neck! And yet it’s precisely this freakish bugbear that our great champion of bestial pleasures wished for. What wise man, then, wouldn’t judge him to have been a crane rather than a philosopher, seeing that on account of a little pleasure, and a momentary one at that, he preferred a crane to a man? As for Sardanapalus, shamefully growing old amidst womanish pleasures, himself a woman, not a king, he lost the fabulously rich kingdom of Assyria and ignominiously committed suicide, an end that certainly befitted his life. For he too was one of the “swine from Epicurus’ herd.” Before I talk about them at greater length, I herewith subjoin the first corollary: 3 THAT DRUNKARDS CAN BE LIKENED TO VARIOUS BEASTS. FIRST COROLLARY Whoever is enslaved by the vice of such drunken carousing, therefore, Deserves to be reckoned in the number of brutes and beasts. Haven’t you yourselves observed at some time or other in this city of ours (so as not to leap beyond the walls of our community) many brutes of this sort, many beasts, many asses, many pigs, who, oblivious to the fact that they’re humans, crawl about on all fours and wallow in filth and muck? To make believers out of you and put you, as it were, in the 18 King Sardanapalus of Assyria was a figure of legend, the paragon of a life lived purely for pleasure. See Gen. ebrios. ., with n.  (p.  above). When he was finally overthrown, so the story goes, he made an enormous pyre on which he burned his treasures, his harem, and himself. 19 Philoxenus, son of Eryxis, wished he had a crane’s gullet, so that he might enjoy his food that much longer. See Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics .a. This legendary gourmand, Eobanus says, must not be confused with the dithyrambic poet Philoxenus of Cythera (/–/). On him, cf. Erasmus, Adag. ...



de generibus ebriosorum

[

possitis, videte, precor, et cognoscite mores singulorum qui se vino quottidie zithoque, quod nos cerevisiam vocamus, habunde proluunt atque adeo ingurgitant ut consistere nisi iacentes vel incedere nisi quadrupedes nullo modo possint.  Quorum meminit iureconsultus C. De bestiis, c. Asini, ¶ Ipsi sunt, et ff. De potatoribus, l. Nulla, c. Sauffs gar auß, et ¶ Bos et iumentum, ubi dicit Glosa et notat, “Bald auß,” et “Barth hol crauß,” in decretis colonicis, distinctione aequali, et sunt verba domini Halt lex ander, in capitulo, “Plenus, inops,” ubi dicitur quod aliqui fiunt ebrii ut asini. 4 DE HIS QUI DICUNTUR HABERE ASININAM EBRIETATEM  Et illi dicuntur habere ebrietatem asininam, vulgo, esell voll ader truncken, quoniam non secus ac asini se gerunt erga suos sympotes.  Tunc enim vera est illa propositio, “homo est asinus,” ßo seyn sie recht esel, scilicet rudes, ignari, infaceti, incompositi, impudici, immorati quales aliquando videmus nonnullos, qui etiam mediocriter poti neque preceptores suos neque natu maiorem quempiam, imo ne matronarum quidem aut virginum pudiciciam verentur, quo minus turpia dictu proferant, sese malorum facinorum perpetratione iactant et iuxta Ovidianum illud: Corpore cum nequeant, quod possunt nomine tangunt, Et nulli non se concubuisse ferunt. |

. c. Asini AB: c. Asinns C; Barth AB: Bartho. C; crauß A: krauß B, kranß C; ebrii BC: ebri A. .. cum nequeant AB: cum queant C. 20 At the end of these mock legal citations Eobanus puns on the names of two famous Italian jurists: Bartolo da Sassoferrato (/–) and his pupil Baldo degli Ubaldi (?–). In the German, Baldus becomes “Bald aus” (“Quickly downed”), while Bartolus turns into “Barth hol kraus” (“Bart grab the beerstein”). 21 Another humorous deformation, here for “canonical decrees.” 22 Ridiculing Alexander of Villedieu, author of the scholastic verse grammar, Doctrinale puerorum (); see n.  (p. ) above. To show his contempt, Eobanus turns the

the species of drunkards



position of an eyewitness, please observe and get to know the habits of the individuals who, day in and day out, liberally soak themselves in wine and zythus (which we call “beer”) and in fact guzzle so much that they’re quite incapable of walking, except horizontally, or of moving about, except on all fours. They are mentioned by the jurisconsult in the Justinian Code, “Concerning beasts,” chapter, “Asses,” paragraph, “They themselves are”; and in the Digest of Roman Law, “Concerning tipplers,” law, “None,” chapter, “Swill it all down,” and paragraph, “Ox and ass,” where the Gloss states and notes, “Baldass boozer”; and “Bart hold the mug,”20 in the colonical decrees,21 in a similar distinction, these being the words of Master Halt lix ander,22 in chapter, “Full, poor,” where it is stated that some people become drunk as asses.23 4 THOSE WHO ARE SAID TO BE DRUNK AS AN ASS To be more precise, those people are said to be drunk as an ass — in the vernacular, full as an ass, or ass drunk — because they act like jackasses toward their drinking companions. Then indeed does that proposition, “man is an ass,” ring absolutely true, then they truly make asses of themselves, that is to say, boorish, ignorant, witless, oafish, foulmouthed, stubborn louts. They’re the sort of people we run into quite often, the ones who, after a few drinks, show no respect for their teachers or their elders, in fact not even for the modesty of matrons and girls, but instead utter obscenities and start boasting about the bad things they’ve done, in conformity with that well-known Ovidian distich: If they can’t fondle the body, at least they can slander the women’s Reputation and brag that they have slept with them all.

first syllable of his name into “Halt,” the second syllable into the verb “lex” (“lick”), followed by “ander” (“other,” “another”). He does so also at Gen. ebrios. .. At Gen. ebrios. ., the medieval school author is dismissed as “by the patience of God king of the province of barbarians.” 23 Eobanus quotes the start of Alexander, Doctrinale . Alexander goes on to explain that the adjectives “full” and “poor” govern either the genitive or the dative case. He then helpfully adds two examples that contain the phrases “full of wine” and “will want (for) wine.”

 Ar

de generibus ebriosorum

5 DE HIS QUI DICUNTUR HABERE EBRIETATEM CANINAM  Item aliqui assimulant caninam ebrietatem, vulgariter, ettlich werden hunds voll; hoc est, wen sie gezecht sein, ßo stecken sie voll hunds flygen und morren und beyssen umb sich.  Cave ab illis, hüt dich vor den selbigen beyssenden hunden, quoniam “cor eorum vanum est” et iniquitate plenum est guttur eorum.  Egregie tamen in sobrietate vicia sua isti canes dissimulant.  Sie bytenn dir guten morgen, ore scilicet, sed corde wunschen sie dir all ungluck.  Cave ab illis, hüt dich vor den “qui veniunt ad te in vestimentis ovium, intrinsecus autem sunt lupi rapaces.”  Cave ab illis, hüt dich vor den katzen die vorn lecken unnd hynden kratzen.  Hii sunt qui ob nativam et genuinam maliciam invidiam quam vel erga bonarum litterarum amatores vel quoscunque virtute praestare cognoverint gerunt nullo nisi ebrietatis tempore non dissimulant.  Tunc enim “ex abundantia cordis os loquitur,” ßo gehet des hertzen boßheytt zum maull auß, quia verum est illud, quod vulgari adagio dicitur: Affen, frawen, kynder und truncken man Keyn ding lang heymlich halten kan.  Hii canes non solum in aedibus, sed et in publico aliquando latrant et quoscunque mordicus arripiunt, und mengen stetes hundes hor eyn.  De quibus dictum est illud Psalmographi: “Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum, venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum.”  Sed de illis nihil ad propositum, cum nobis dumtaxat de ebriis bestiis sermo sit institutus. 6 ALIQUI FIUNT EBRII UT OVES.  Sunt deinde alii, qui fiunt, vulgo, schaffstruncken, quales sunt simplices quidam idiotae, muliebria corda habentes, qui de superis et inferis nullo unquam tempore religiosius cogitant

. cognoverint C: cognoverit AB.

[

the species of drunkards



5 THOSE WHO ARE SAID TO BE DRUNK AS A DOG Likewise some people get drunk as a dog, or in the vernacular, some become dog drunk; that is to say, when they’re liquored up, they get chock-full of dog flies and growl and snap at everything in sight. Beware of them, watch out for those vicious dogs, “because their heart is vain” and their throat is full of iniquity. However, as long as they’re sober, those dogs cover up their vices admirably well. They bid you good morning — with their lips, that is; but in their heart they wish you nothing but bad luck. Beware of them, watch out for those “who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Watch out for them, beware of the cats that lick you when in front and scratch you when behind. These are the people who, because of inborn and ingrained malice, bear a grudge against the devotees of good literature or against all those they recognize as morally superior, but who effectively conceal their animosity, except when drunk. For then “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” then the heart’s wickedness proceeds from their mouth, because it’s true what the German proverb says: Monkeys, women, children, and drunken men Can’t long keep a secret from anyone. These dogs bark not only at home but sometimes also in public and maul anyone they can sink their teeth into and are always mixing dog hair in with the wool.24 It is at them that the Psalmist’s words are aimed: “Their throat is an open sepulcher; the poison of asps is under their lips.” But those people are beyond my scope, given that I set out to speak only about drunken beasts. 6 SOME BECOME DRUNK AS SHEEP. Next there are others who, in the vernacular phrase, become sheep drunk. Such people are what you might call simpleminded, womanhearted halfwits. They never think more devoutly about heaven and hell

24 Unscrupulous merchants sometimes adulterated expensive wool with dog hair. Like them, the dog drunks cannot be trusted for a minute.



de generibus ebriosorum

[

quam cum sunt ebrii, ita ut nonnunquam flere etiam superstitiosa quadam pietate videantur, et tum maxime larvas lemuresque inferorum expavescere, cum omnium minime est opus.  Neque illud animadvertunt: O genus attonitum gelidae formidine mortis! Quid Styga, quid tenebras et nomina vana timetis, Materiam vatum, falsique pericula mundi? | Av

quoniam hii “in simplicitate cordis” sui ambulant neque cuiquam nisi sibi ipsis nocent.  Want warumb? Ipsi sunt de via Albertistarum et subtilitates Scotizantium non intelligunt, das sein die albern schoff, weych hertzige, weibliche, müterliche, kyndische, forchtsame lappen, leffelmeuler, sewleffel, genßleffel, leffelganß, leußmichel, Heyntz lungen esser, mutehu, schudip.

7 QUIDAM INEBRIATI FIUNT VITULI ET SIMIAE.  Multi quoque fiunt ebrii alß die kelber unnd affen, qui paulo largius poti stare loco nesciunt, sed saltant, saliunt, surgunt, gestiunt, rident, cantant, ineptiunt, garriunt, denique merae simiae sunt et vituli.  De quibus est illud Psalmographi: “Circumderunt me vituli multi, et thauri pingues obsederunt me”; et illud multitudine pedum memorabile:  Mille boves pascunt, vitulorum milia centum. Musca super vitulum quemlibet una sedet.

. inferorum ABC: inferiorum Zarncke; omnium A: om. BC. .. gelidae in edd. Ovidii: falsae ABC. .. nomina A: nomine BC. . hii AB: hii qui C. . forchtsame BC: forthsame A. . stare loco ABC: loco stare Zarncke. . Circumderunt A: Circumdederunt BC. 25 The Albertists are the followers of Albert the Great (ca. –). The Scotists are the followers of Duns Scotus (/–), who bore the title “the Subtle Doctor.” Both camps belonged to the Via antiqua, or Old Way, of scholastic philosophy. The

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than when they’re drunk, so much so that they can sometimes even be seen shedding tears out of some religious superstition and taking fright at the ghosts and specters of the dead, especially when there’s no need for that whatsoever. They also don’t heed that celebrated passage: O human race, paralyzed by icy death and its terrors! Why do you fear the Styx, why those shadows and mythical [phantoms — The stuff of poets — and the threats of that fictional region? For the fact is that these people walk “in the innocence of their heart” and don’t harm anybody but themselves. And why? Because they belong to the Way of the Albertists and cannot fathom the subtleties of the Scotists25 — those are the silly sheep, soft-hearted, womanish, motherly, childish, fearful ninnies, addlebrains, pigbrains, birdbrains, goosebrains, Simple Simons, Tom Fools, blockheads, dunces.

7 WHEN INEBRIATED, SOME TURN INTO CALVES AND MONKEYS. Many also become as drunk as the calves and monkeys. After getting a bit too soused, they can’t stand still anymore, but dance, leap, get up, gesticulate, laugh, sing, jabber, talk nonsense, and in short are nothing but monkeys and calves. It’s about them that the Psalmist wrote the verse, “Many calves have surrounded me, and fat bulls have besieged me.” Also to the point is this distich, memorable for the huge number of feet: A thousand cows are grazing, a hundred thousand calves. One single fly can sit on any calf that he likes.26

Old Way, which remained especially entrenched in Cologne, was vigorously opposed by the followers of the Via moderna, or Modern Way, who looked to William of Ockham’s philosophy. At Erfurt it was the modernists who ruled. That is why Eobanus can safely make fun of the Albertists and Scotists. 26 The couplet is an old joke on the number of “feet” that you can fit into a single verse. The first line — a hexameter, with six metrical feet — contains , animal feet. The second line — a pentameter, with five metrical feet — then tops the first by adding six more insect feet.



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 Et iterum, ubi scriptura dicit, “Bock, zege, lam, ferckeln, kü, kalb, lauß, eylff tausent affen”; et paulopost, nit weyt von der hynder thör, “Kust ku kelbertate leckt schmanth ym huner hauß,” super quo verbo dicit Halt lex ander, “Hoc epulum comede.” 8 DE QUIBUSDAM QUI SUES FIUNT EX HOMINIBUS PER EBRIETATEM

Ar

 Sed omnium maxime ridendi sunt illi, qui sues fiunt ex hominibus, quotiescunque largius quodam modo vino aut cerevisiae, vel potius Cerberivisiae, indulserunt.  Videre enim est quosdam adeo huic bestiali voluptati deditos et misere occupatos ut non solum dies sed et noctes continuas insomnes ducant, dum quasi in acie congressi mutuis sese compotationibus conficiunt, perdunt, et exhauriunt, und werden alßo schweynß vol, sew vol, ut seipsos nonnunquam sues appellitent: Sew clauß, Schwein kuntz, Varghans, Peter ferckel, veyst wie ein saw.  Gaudent enim huiusmodi probrosis cognomentis sues isti Epicurei, porci voluptarii, scrophae Scothophagae, cohortantes interim mutuo sese, incitamenta quasi cessantibus et deficientibus addunt, donec adhuc lingua suum officium potest peragere.  Multa enim huiusmodi audiuntur: “Sauff auß!” “Mir zu, alß eyner kw!” “Ich warth seyn als eyn schweyn.” | “Halb, als ein kalb.” “Ist gut byr. Es gylt dir, liebes thyr, ein stubgen ader vier.”  Ridentur haec a sapientibus, ut certe sunt plus etiam quam ridicula, foelicitatis tamen partem non modicam istiusmodi ineptiis accedere sibi putant.  Quoque magis excidunt, eo sibi magis blandiuntur, cantilantes interim, vel potius suo more grunientes, “Myr wollen schlemmen unnd demmen” (habent enim et ipsi fratres sua vocabula) “byß an den morgen frw,” et multa huiusmodi

. tausent A: taussent B, tansent C; hynder thör A: hynder thür B, hynndern thur C; Kust ku kelbertate A: Küßk˚ukelbertate B, Kußkukelbertate C; schmanth Zarncke: schmauth ABC; Hoc AB: om. C; comede AC: comode B. . fiunt A: om. BC. . acie BC: acire A; mutuis AB: mutis C; Varghans AB: Varhanns C. . sese ABC: se Zarncke. . Myr A: Mir B, Wir C.

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And again, where scripture says, “Ram, goat, lamb, piglets, cow, calf, louse, eleven thousand monkeys”; and a bit lower down, not far from the rear door, “Kiss Assity licks crap in the chicken coop,” about which statement Halt lix ander advises: “Feast on this banquet.”27 8 THOSE WHO CHANGE FROM MEN INTO SWINE AFTER THEY GET DRUNK But the most laughable people of all are those who change from men into swine whenever they indulge themselves somewhat too generously in wine or beer — or rather, Cerbeerus.28 For it’s not uncommon to see some of your drinkers so given to this beastly pleasure and so wretchedly preoccupied with it, that they spend not just days but even nights on end without any sleep whatsoever while they assault, destroy, and dispatch each other in drinking bouts, just as though they were meeting on a battlefield, and in the process become so swine drunk, so sow drunk, that they generally take to calling themselves “pigs”: “Sow Claus,” “Swine Cunz,” “Hog Hans,” “Peter Porker,” fat as a sow. The fact is that those Epicurean hogs — those pleasure-loving porkers, those Scotophagous29 sows — rejoice in disgraceful bynames of this sort. Meanwhile they egg each other on, they prick the laggards and slackers with goads, so to speak, for as long as their tongue can still perform its office. Then indeed you’ll hear plenty of exhortations like: “Swill it down!” “Drink to me now, like a cow!” “I’ll take a swig, like a pig!” “Half, like a calf!” “It’s good beer. So here, dear steer, four bumpers of cheer!” Such tomfoolery is an object of mirth for the wise, for these things are certainly more than ridiculous; but the drunks themselves feel that stupidities of this kind add no small measure of happiness to their lives. The more they let themselves go, the more they flatter themselves. Every so often they’ll break into song, or rather (to stay in character) they’ll grunt, “We want to sowse and bowze” (for these brethren have a vocabulary all their own) “until 27 Another dig at the medieval grammarian Alexander of Villedieu. See nn.  and  (pp.  and –) above. The quotation is from his verse grammar, Doctrinale puerorum .. Taken out of context, the phrase became a standard academic joke: “Eat this crap.” 28 The Latin has “Cerberivisiae,” which wittily combines “Cerberus” (the infernal guard dog) with “cerevisia” (“beer”). 29 That is, “Scotus-eating,” with a play on “scatophagous” (“dung-eating”). Duns Scotus (/–) was a scholastic theologian, whom the humanists derided for his subtleties. Cf. n.  (pp. –) above.

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tam contemnenda quam omnibus nota.  Sed ridiculum non minus et hoc est, quod postquam bene inebriati — poti dicere volebam — ibi tum operaeprecium est videre, quantum sues sint.  Dicere pudet, sed verum tamen est et ego me videre aliquando memini, plerumque ipsa pocula ori admota, suborta inter bibendum, eructatione et vomitu rursus adimpleta, tum eodem ore iterum exhausta, quod ne sues quidem faciunt, quamvis immundi sua tamen excrementa non perinde devorantes ac aliena, quod foedissimi isti lurcones plerumque factitant.  Tum quidam in faciem mensae et apposita nonnunquam edulia magnas portiones et fumantes furfures evomunt, iuxta legem, Haec de compositis, ¶ Eructavit, et in Psalmo, “Cantate canticum novum,” syngt uns das new liedt, das die noten auff die erden fallen.  Respondet aliquis in eodem choro, “Sonet vox tua in auribus meis, vox enim tua dulcis.”  Quod spectaculi reliquis interim sociis, den andern guten Sewklaußen, summae voluptati est et tantam affert laeticiam ut, quasi gloriose mortuo inferias celebraturi, unus et alter, imo quotquot sunt, canere statim incipiant:  Venite, lieben gesellen, mit sorgen, Der kerll wiel uns erworgen Und lebt noch heute morgen In convivio nostro. 

Darumb, gesellen, helfft mir yn klagen Und zu dem kirchoff tragen, Auff das myr nicht verzagen In potatione.

. quidam ABC: quidem Zarncke. .. myr A: wir BC. 30

.. gesellen A: ir gesellen BC; mir A: om. BC.

Another mock legal citation. The comic gloss on Psalm . (.; .; .) alludes to the proverbial “drunken matins.” Such “matins” are “sung” by drunken “brethren” after a night of heavy tippling, when they vomit out their “long notes.” As they “sing out their notes,” they attract a congregation of sows and dogs who lap up the vomit from the ground; see Gen. ebrios. .–. A popular sixteenth-century drinking song describes the proceedings at 31

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the break of day,” and many other such verses that are as contemptible as they are familiar to all. But no less ridiculous is this fact too, that after these people are well inebriated — tippled, I meant to say — that’s when you’ll find it worth your while to see what swine they really are. I’m ashamed to tell you, but it’s true all the same, for I recall witnessing it myself on occasion: the frequent raising of the goblets to their lips, throwing up even while they’re drinking, filling their goblets right back up with belch and vomit, then draining them all over again at one draft — something that not even pigs will do, for, filthy beasts though they are, they still don’t devour their own excrement and even that of others, which is what those disgusting gluttons make a habit of doing. Then, too, some of them will vomit up huge portions of steaming bran mash all over the table and sometimes over the plates of food, in accordance with the law, “This much concerning compounds,” paragraph, “He belched out,”30 and in the Psalm, “Sing a new canticle,” sing us the new song till the notes fall to the ground.31 Hereupon someone in the same chorus responds, “Let thy voice sound in my ears, for thy voice is sweet.”32 This spectacle, meanwhile, seems highly entertaining to the other companions, the other good Sow Clauses. In fact, it arouses so much hilarity that one or two of them, or rather, every last one of them, instantly breaks out in song, just as if they’re about to celebrate the funeral rites for a gloriously deceased: Come, dear comrades. I’m warning! The man, he’s out to strangle us And is still going strong this morning At our drinking party. Well then, comrades, help me mourn him And to the churchyard bear him, So we won’t start slacking off In our compotation.

length. See Williams, Liederpoesie, –, no. . See further Alison G. Stewart, Before Bruegel: Sebald Beham and the Origins of Peasant Festival Imagery (Aldershot, ), – , with many illustrations. 32 Another biblical quotation, this one (appropriately enough) from the book of Canticles, or Song of Songs, ..

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Wyl uns der pferrer nit bey bestan, Szo wollen myrn alßo liegen lan, Illudemus ei.

 Post quam mussationem chorus reliquorum mirabilium fratrum concorditer respondet: Glam glam gloriam, Die saw die hat eyn pantzer an.

Av

 Postea vero ipsi, ne scilicet cum larvis luctantes suum morem interim negligant, ad pocula redeunt, cum interim sus aut canis aliquis, quasi ad culinam suorum affinium accedens, ut habetur in Arbore consanguinitatis pecudum et ebriorum rusticorum, linea equi- | noctiali, in ultimo gradu zodiaci, non procul a centro terrae, iii meyl hynder dem pfingst montag, do die nacktenn frawen lauffen, und haben new peltz an und seyn mit schweynß spissen gegorth, yn der mit, bey dem fawl loch, l. Narraverunt, ¶ Maximas portiones. Do brant die bach, do buln die bawern, do lieffen die hund mit spyssen zu, do rafften die nackten die büßem voll steyne, do lachten die toden, do sahen die blynden zu, do schrigen die stummen mit lauter stim: “Wer, Elß, wer! Huge, Ursel, huge!”  Authores sunt Ulenspigel, Klyngßoer, Pfarrer vom Kalenberg, etc.  Sed hinc a proposito digredior: cum interim (ut dixi) sus aut canis aliquis accedens, dulcissimum scilicet odorem sequens, os ori iacentis ebrii applicans, und fryßt die schweynß federn, wan der sewclauß gespeygt hat, atque ita in suo se sterquilinio involvit.  “Das eytel dreck yß,” ut scribit

.. bey bestan AB: beystan C. .. myrn A: wirn B, wir in C. . mussationem ABC: mussitationem Zarncke. . new A: newe BC; yn der mit A: in der mitte BC; mit spyssen zu A: mit spißen BC; rafften die nackten AB: raufften die nacketen C; schrigen AB: schryren C; Wer, Elß, wer A: Were, Elß, wer B, Were, Elß, were C. . fryßt scripsi: fryß ABC, frißt Scheidt, Zarncke; sewclauß gespeygt A: Sew kuntz gespeyet BC; in suo se AB: in suo C; sterquilinio A: sterquilino BC. 33 A fictitious book describing the degrees of blood relationships and determining who could legally marry whom.

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If the priest won’t come around, We’ll just leave him on the ground, Hold him in derision. After these mutterings, a chorus from the rest of the wondrous brethren responds in harmony: Bing bang gloriam, The sow, she’s put the armor on. Right after that, however — obviously so as not to give their custom short shrift with all this ghost wrestling — they turn right back to their goblets. In the meantime some pig or dog sneaks up, as it were, into their kinfolk’s kitchen, as is stated in The Tree of Consanguinity of Beasts and Drunken Peasants,33 on the equinoctial line, in the last degree of the zodiac, not far from the center of the earth,34 three miles beyond Whitmonday, where the women run around naked and have new pelts on and are girded with swine spits, in the middle, next to the dung hole, law, “They have described,” paragraph, “The largest portions.” There the brook is on fire, there the peasants bark, there the dogs ran up with spears, there the naked filled their bosoms with stones, there the dead laughed out loud, there the blind looked on, there the mutes cried out in a loud voice: “Beware, Elsa, beware! Ho, Ursel, ho!” The authorities are Eulenspiegel, Klingsor, the Parson of Kalenberg, and the like.35 But I stray from my topic. As I was saying: meanwhile some pig or dog sneaks up, evidently attracted by that most delicious of odors. Applying his mouth to the mouth of the drunkard sprawled on the ground, he devours the swine muck that the Sow Claus has puked up, and so rolls around on his own dunghill. “Eat the pure shit,” as Fullhard

34 These geographical phrases indicate that we are about to enter Topsy-Turvy Land. Like the Land of Cockaigne (n. , p. , above; p.  below), to which it is closely related, the upside-down world of popular folklore is situated close to the Earthly Paradise, that is to say, on the equator, in the far East (or far West), at the center of the world. Eobanus humorously equates this world with a drunkards’ paradise. 35 As authorities for the Topsy-Turvy Land he has just described, Eobanus cites three figures of popular German literature, all of them notorious for standing the conventional world on its head: Till Eulenspiegel, whose merry pranks were first recounted by Hermann Bote in /; the wizard Klingsor, who played a role in the singers’ tournament known as the “War of Wartburg”; and the Parson of Kalenberg, a prankster about whom Philip Frankfurter published a well-loved collection of anecdotes in .

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Volhardus Byrschlauch, De vinaria, libro toto, folio uno, ca. Mihi non placet, ich yß nit heüte; et in libro De monasillabis: “Hans speck, beck, geck, leck, dreck,” et sic de aliis.  Video enim iamdudum illud vobiscum vos mussitantes: “Quorsum haec tam putida tendunt?”  Eo profecto, ut iamdudum severitatis istius philosophicae pertesos vos iocis quibusdam reficiam.  Solent enim et sapientes principesque libenter huiusmodi non acria scommata et minime mordacem facetiam sermonis cum in conviviis tum in ludis publicis admittere.  A qua iocosa urbanitate qui abhorrent, hii Timones amusi, hoc est inhumani et ab omni gratia alieni, vocantur; nec immerito, quandoquidem adeo severum esse ut nunquam ne rideas quidem, id denique est bestiam agere non minus quam hominem exuere.  Sed ita faciendum censent sapientes et eruditi, ut cum Heraclito Democritum misceamus iocisque et seriis sua tempora accomodemus.  Sed iamdudum tempus et ratio instituti admonent, ut relictis istis pecoribus et bestiis, de quibus dicebam, ad reliqua sermonem convertamus.  Satis enim vos ex hucusque dictis perspicere opinor, bestias esse et belluas quicunque bestiali consuetudine inebriandi usque adeo sunt occupati ut reliqua omnia facilius negligant.  Bibere vero et exhilarari in amicorum symposiis nemo sanae mentis culpaverit.  De quo in sequentibus dicere pauca quaedam constituo.  Hiis igitur omissis corollarium secundum conclusionis primae pono: |

. monasillabis B: monasilabis A, monasyllabis C; Hans speck, beck sic interpunxit Zarncke: Hans speck beck A: Hans speck / beck B, Hans speck: beck C. . ab omni gratia A: omni gratia BC. . Heraclito A: Heraclio BC. . instituti A: institui BC. . et belluas A: belluas BC. 36 “Hans” was a standard name for a simpleton. It was often combined with derogatory words like Aff (“ape”), Arsch (“arse”), Geck (“fool”), Wurst (“sausage”). For a long list of such combinations, see Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Hans,” .

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Beerfunnel writes in All about Wine, entire book, page , chapter, “It is not to my taste,” I am not dining today; and in the book On Monosyllables, “Hans Brat, Wurst, Ass, Lick, Shit”36 — and so on about the rest of them. For I notice you’ve been muttering that famous question to yourselves for quite some time already: “What’s the point of all this hogwash?” The point, surely, is to revive you with some jests, now that the past week or so has left you sick and tired of all that philosophical dourness. As you well know, philosophers and princes happily admit gibes and witticisms of this sort, not only at banquets but also in public entertainments, provided they are not spoken in bitterness or with malice. Those who shrink with horror from this merry urbanity can be dismissed as uncultured Timons,37 that is to say, as philistines lacking all grace, and with good reason too, because to be so serious that you never even laugh, that ultimately is to play the beast and is tantamount to shedding our humanity. But philosophers and scholars recommend that we combine Democritus with Heraclitus38 and make time for both merriment and seriousness, as the season requires. Considerations of time and proportion, however, have been admonishing me for some time now to turn my back on those animals and beasts that I have been talking about and to direct my attention to the rest. For I imagine you recognize from everything I’ve said thus far that those people are beasts and brutes, considering they are so engrossed in the beastly habit of getting drunk that they readily put everything else out of mind. Drinking and having a good time with one’s friends at parties, however, is not something that anyone of sound mind ought to object to. In the following, I am resolved to have a word or two about this. Changing the subject, therefore, I herewith posit the second corollary to the first conclusion:

37 Timon of Athens is the archetypal misanthrope. Eobanus rails at spoilsports like him also in Gen. ebrios. A .. 38 Democritus of Abdera (ca.  bce) could not help laughing at everything. Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.  bce) could only weep at the human condition. For the legend of these two philosophers, see Seneca, Dial. ..; ...

 Br

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9 VINUM MODERATE SUMPTUM PRODEST. COROLLARIUM II.  Quemadmodum ebrietas multorum viciorum fomes et causa esse recte asseritur, Ita vinum modice et continenter potum ingenia et virtutes excitare dinoscitur.  Primam huius corrollarii partem confirmat divus Hieronimus, ad Eustochium de virginitate servanda sic scribens: “Sponsa Christi vinum fugiat pro veneno. Haec adversus adolescentiam prima arma sunt demonum. Non sic avaricia quatit, inflat superbia, delectat ambitio. Facile aliis caremus viciis; sed hic hostis nobis inclusus est.” Hactenus ille.  Quod apud veteres illos Rhomanos meliori tum saeculo adeo sancte observatum testatur Valerius Maximus, ut vini potione matronis prorsus non liceret uti essetque capitali sententia interdictum, quoniam “proximus a Libero patre incontinentiae gradus ad inconcessam Venerem esse consuevit.”  Vinum enim, ut idem Hieronimus testatur, “voluptatis incendium” est.  Et “venter mero aestuans,” ut est in decretis canonicis, “cito despumat in libidinem. Ubi ebrietas, ibi libido dominatur et furor.”  Et ibidem, distinctione ., statim postea, ex Concilio Agathensi: “Ante omnia clericis vetetur ebrietas, quae omnium viciorum fomes est ac nutrix.”  “Omnium,” dicit, non “multorum,” viciorum fomitem esse ebrietatem.  Multa vero huiusmodi testimonia scriptorum hoc in loco citare possem, nisi satis esse ducerem summatim ostendisse fomitem et causam esse multorum viciorum ebrietatem; non enim luxuria solum et libidinatio, sed mille alia vicia ebrietatem tanquam ducem consequuntur.  Quis enim nescit? Quis non videat tot passim inter ebriosos emergentia homicidia, parricidia, sacrilegia, furta, stupra, adulteria, incestus, raptus, iurgia, fraudes, periuria, denique in Deum et reliquos celites blasphemias, superstitiones, hereses, contemptus

. esse A: est BC; continenter Scheidt, Zarncke: continen˜t AC, continentur B. . adolescentiam AB: adolescentia C; sed hic scripsi: si hic ABC. . Hieronimus BC: Heronimus A. . vetetur A: vitetur BC.

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9 WINE CONSUMED IN MODERATION IS BENEFICIAL. SECOND COROLLARY While drunkenness is rightly asserted to be the tinder and cause of many vices, It should also be acknowledged that wine, when imbibed in moderation and with self-restraint, fires the intellect and the abilities. In his letter to Eustochium concerning the preservation of virginity, Saint Jerome strongly endorses the first half of this corollary. Here is what he writes: “The bride of Christ must shun wine as she would poison. This is the principal weapon that demons use against young people. Greed does not shake, nor pride puff up, nor ambition entrance us as much as wine. The other vices we can easily avoid; but this enemy is shut up within us.” Thus far Jerome. The above-mentioned precept, as Valerius Maximus avers, was religiously observed among the ancient Romans who lived in the city’s golden age of morality, so much so, in fact, that matrons were absolutely forbidden to drink wine, on pain of death, because “after Father Liber39 the next step in self-indulgence, more often than not, is illicit sex.” For as Jerome declares in the same letter, wine “kindles the fire of sensuality.” And as we read in the canonical decrees: “A belly seething with wine soon foams up into lust. Wherever drunkenness is, there lust and madness hold sway.” And immediately after this, in the same place, distinction , from the Council of Agde: “Above all, drunkenness is forbidden to clergymen, for it is the tinder and nurse of all the vices.” Drunkenness, it says, is the tinder “of all vices,” not “of many.” But I could go on citing many more corroborating statements of this kind from the literature, had I not deemed it sufficient to show you summarily that drunkenness is the tinder and cause of many vices; for it is not just licentiousness and lustfulness, but a thousand other vices that, so to speak, follow the lead of drunkenness. For who doesn’t know, who doesn’t see how many crimes arise among drunkards all over the world: the homicides, parricides, sacrileges, thefts, the debaucheries, adulteries, incestuous unions, rapes, the quarrels, frauds, perjuries, indeed, the blasphemies against God and the other heaven-dwellers, the superstitions and heresies, the slurs against one’s superiors, the mutinies,

39 Liber (“Liberator”) was an Italian deity identified with Bacchus, the god of wine. By metonymy, he stands for wine.

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superiorum, rebelliones, iniurias, et contumacias, animi preterea desperationem, pusillanimitatem, ignaviam, desidiam, ignorantiam, stuporem, expavescentiam, et id genus non parum multa?  Quis enim omnia enarraverit?  Videte, precor, boni viri, et cognoscite filium illum perdictionis, das verlorne schoff dz mit den sewen die treber fraß, | qui absumpto et dilapidato patrimonio quod ex relicta hereditate satis amplum possidebat, fide preterea omni decocta, cum non haberet amplius unde viveret, fodere non valeret et mendicare erubesceret, in desperationem versus, latrocinia cum reliquis eiusdem farinae coepit exercere.  In quo vitae genere cum multa mala perpetrasset, captus a quodam prefecto, cum ad supplicium duceretur, magna se iniuria affici clamabat, quod nemo eorum quibuscum olim familiariter vixisset multasque pecunias pro ipsis expendisset tot iucundis symposiis praesto sibi nunc ultima passuro adesset unicoque aquae haustu solaretur, cum unus e multitudine, “Atqui,” inquit, “nescis, miser, fortunae flatum amicos istos sequi consuevisse, et plures esse foelicium amicos, miserorum prorsus nullos?  Ipsi vero pecuniam, non te, tantopere venerabantur, quod ea te uti non posse animadverterant. Valebis igitur, ut meritus.”  Quam vocem quorundam excepit risus, quorundam vero sequebatur commiseratio: digna tamen quae daretur prodigo nebuloni responsio; quoniam “homo, cum esset in honore, non” intellexisset, “comparatus est iumentis et similis factus est eis.”  Qualis servitus, tale praemium; qualis vita, talis mors, iuxta proverbium: “sicut vixit, ita morixit”; “post sussum surum”; “köppern gelt, köppern selmeß.”  Wan myr das gelt verprassen, so zyhen wyr auff den bettlerß hagen und lauffen cum sacco per civitatem, ut habetur in Speculo peregrinorum, titulo De mendicantibus, ca. Ego pauper ludo, ¶ Panem propter Deum, et in sacris litteris: “Sicientes, venite ad aquam,” der weynn ist hewer nit wol geraten.

. perdictionis scripsi: per dictionis A, perditionis BC; verlorne A: verlorn BC; treber AB: trebern C; coepit Scheidt: cepit ABC. . ultima correxi: ultimo ABC; unicoque A: unico BC; solaretur A: solaret BC; sequi A: consequi BC. . prodigo AB: prodige C; intellexisset A: intellexit BC. . myr A: wir BC; titulo BC: ticulo A; wol geraten AC: volgeraten B.

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insults, and contumacies, not to mention despair of mind, pusillanimity, idleness, sloth, ignorance, stupidity, fearfulness, and a great many other such failings? For who could possibly recount them all? Look closely, I beseech you, gentlemen, and get to know that son of perdition, the lost sheep that fed on the husks alongside the swine, the wastrel who squandered the rather sizable patrimony he had inherited and finally lost whatever credit he still possessed.40 With nothing to live on anymore, too weak to dig and too proud to beg, reduced to desperation, he fell in with others of the same ilk and became a highwayman. After committing many crimes in this mode of life, he was captured by some sheriff or other. As he was being to led to execution, he cried out that he had been gravely wronged, because not one of the comrades with whom he used to live on familiar terms and on whom he had lavished great sums of money in so many delightful drinking parties came forward now to stand by him in his hour of death and console him with a single drink of water. Hereupon somebody in the crowd exclaimed: “But don’t you know, miscreant, that friends of that sort habitually tack with fortune’s breeze, or that the prosperous have many friends, the wretched none at all? What those comrades of yours adored so much was in fact your money, not you yourself, because they noticed you were incapable of using it wisely. Begone with you, therefore, as you deserve.” Some greeted this outburst with laughter; in others, however, it aroused pity; all in all, however, a fitting response to that prodigal scoundrel, because “man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to beasts of burden and became like them.” “Like work, like wage”; “like life, like death,” in accordance with the proverb: “as he lived, so he died”; “after sweetum, sourum”; “copper money, copper requiem.” After we blow our money on drink, we’ll go to the beggar’s hedge41 and run with our scrip all through the town, as is stated in The Mirror for Pilgrims, section, “Concerning beggars,” chapter, “Though poor, I make merry,” paragraph, “Bread for the love of God!” And in Holy Scripture: “All you that thirst, come to the waters,” the vintage turned out poorly this season.

40 Eobanus links the New Testament parable of the lost sheep with the parable of the prodigal son. Both are told in Luke . 41 By custom, beggars going from door to door in the late Middle Ages were not given alms inside the home, but over the fence or hedge.

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 Cum vero esset mortuus ille bonus tanti patrimonii absumptor, tale eius tumulo fuit inscriptum epithaphium, quod dicitur composuisse quidam Occultus, poeta de Elferßkehofe, pago non procul ab Erphurdia.  Erat autem scriptum in muro luteo, “cum carbonibus desolatoriis,” in hunc modum:

Br

Hic iacet ille qui fuit unus inter mille, Semper mane et sera cum sua plenissima pera. In Pynterßleben natus, Hans Raumtasche fuit vocatus. Omnibus fuit gratis, quia bipsit in charitatis.  Postea pauper factus est ad patibulum tractus. Hoc facit michi valde ve, quia nullum dedit michi vale, Nec michi hoc dixit sua mater, quando ipse morixit. Qui transis apud, memento flectere caput, Dicentes humiliter tria lingnea Pater noster.  Plura dicerem fieremque magis etiam ineptus, nisi planum iam esse putarem, ebrietatem omnium viciorum esse fomitem.  Igitur secundam corollarii partem aggredior.  Dum ebrietatis vituperationem recenseo, vini usum non abiicio.  Fatendum namque et verum est, vinum bibere adeo non obesse, si esset (ut par est) “modus in rebus” et temperantiam, pulcherrimam virtutem, in re valde periculosa adhiberemus.  Etenim vinum malorum quae ex ebrietate consequuntur causa non est, sed excessus hominum.  Cum enim, ut est apud Lucianum in Dialogis deorum, Iuno Iovi exprobrasset quod filium haberet effoeminatum et mollem, Bacchum scilicet significans, qui tamen suo invento multorum malorum esset author, respondit Iuppiter in hunc modum: “Nihil hoc est quod ais. Non enim vinum haec neque Dyonisius facit, sed excessus mensurae potationis citra decorum se habentis, satiando se puro vino. Qui vero modice biberit, hylarior quidem et iucundior fit.” Hactenus ille.  Pulchrum

. Elferßkehofe A: Elferßkehoffe BC, Elferßkehoff Zarncke. .. sera Böcking: sero ABC. .. Raumtasche A: Raumthasch BC. .. ipse AB: om. C. .. lingnea A: lignea BC. 42 The “Occultus” (“Anonymous”) is Nikolaus of Bibra, the otherwise-unknown author of a long, occasionally satiric poem on Erfurt life, written in the years –.

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But after that brilliant squanderer of so fine a fortune was dead, the following epitaph was inscribed on his grave. It’s said to have been composed by a certain Occultus, a poet from Ilversgehofen, a village outside of Erfurt.42 Moreover, it was written on a mud wall, “with the coals of desolation,”43 in this manner: Here lies the man who was one in a thousand, With his scrip always crammed tight, morning and night. Born in Bindersleben,44 he went by the name of Hans Pickpurse. To all he was dear, because he drunk in charity. After falling down and out, he was drug to the gallows. This pains me real bad, cause he didn’t give me good-bye. Also his mom did not say me this, when the man done died. You who pass by here, remember to bow yer heads, Humbly telling three wooden Patter Noster beads. I could go on in this vein and make an even greater fool of myself, had I not thought it obvious by now that drunkenness is the tinder of all vices. Accordingly I proceed to the second part of the corollary. Even as I rehearse the reasons for censuring drunkenness, I am not rejecting the enjoyment of wine. For it must be acknowledged as fact that winedrinking is not that harmful per se, provided (as is only right) we keep “a measure in all things” and exercise moderation, that loveliest of virtues, in a matter as hazardous as this. And indeed, it is not wine that causes the evils attending on drunkenness, but rather human excess. For as we read in Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods, when Juno reproached Jove for having an effeminate and weak son (obviously meaning Bacchus) who, because of his discovery, was nonetheless responsible for many evils, Jupiter responded in this fashion: “You don’t know what you’re talking about. For it’s neither the wine nor Dionysus that is to blame for that, but rather intemperate carousing without regard for decency, when people gorge themselves with straight wine. But those who drink in moderation become more jovial and fun to be with.” Thus far Lucian.

To the Erfurt humanists he seemed the very type of a barbaric poet. In January , Tilmann Conradi even jeered at his enemies Euricius Cordus and Johann Femel by saying that the Occultus was one of their favorite poets. See Conradi, Chol., bk. , sigs. Gv–Hr; Bauch, . On Tilmann Conradi, see pp. – above. 43 That is, it was written with charcoal by a latrine poet. 44 A village north of Erfurt, now a suburb.

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sane testimonium et sufficiens, nisi plura passim occurrerent ad eandem rem non modice facientia apud Macrobium libro Saturnaliorum .: “Evangelus, ‘Agite,’ ” inquit, “ ‘antequam surgendum nobis sit, vino indulgeamus, quod decreti Platonici authoritate faciemus, qui existimavit fomitem esse quendam et incitabulum ingenii virtutisque, si mens et corpus hominis vino flagret.’ ”  Quod et sensisse videtur, quisquis ille fuit, qui dixit, “Vinum modice sumptum intellectui videtur afferre acumen.”  Verum est et illud Ovidii nostri: Vina parant animos faciuntque coloribus aptos: Cura fugit multo diluiturque mero. Tunc veniunt risus, tunc pauper cornua sumit, Tunc dolor et curae rugaque frontis abit;  Tunc aperit mentes aevo rarissima nostro Simplicitas, artes excutiente deo. Illic sepe animos iuvenum rapuere puellae, Et Venus in vinis, ignis in igne fuit. | Bv

 Qua enim re maxime quis afficitur, eam leniter et temperate potus continuo obvolvit animo consideratque multo tum diligentius, quomodo vel rem cupitam possit consequi vel in sua professione excellere.  Id animadvertere licet in puellarum amatoribus, vulgariter, an den metzen knechten, nacht raben, plaster tretern, krantz narren, tantz kompen, winckel tauben, gruntzern, quales sunt plerique nostrorum studentum, qui semper vadunt in plateis spatiatum de mane et de sero, super Montem et super Longum pontem, in Foro raparum et in Foro piscium, et etiam aliquando, cum sunt ebrii, ad Octo lapides, bey den zuryssen frawen, do die eer auff gleßern steltzen gehet.  Ibi enim sunt valde pulchrum socius et secant se cum stadknechtibus, quod diabolus extra saltat.  De quibus scriptum est per prophetam dicentem,

. Saturnaliorum scripsi: Sat. ABC; fomitem esse in edd. Macrobii: fomitem ABC. . obvolvit BC: obvolint A; tum A: tu BC. . plaster tretern ABC: pflastertretern Zarncke; gruntzern AB: grunczer C; die eer AB: die ere C; gehet AB: geht C. 45 The students cruise the entire city, from the university area west to the Petersberg and from the Lange Brücke north to the market areas.

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Truly a splendid proof, and a sufficient one too, did not several other quite relevant testimonies crop up throughout book  of Macrobius’ Saturnalia: “‘Come,’ said Evangelus, ‘before we must rise from dinner, let us all enjoy a glass of wine. We will do so on Plato’s authority. After all, he considered it a kind of tinder and stimulus for the intellect and powers if a man’s mind and body are fired with wine.’ ” That also seems to have been the view of him — whoever he was — who said, “Wine consumed in moderation appears to sharpen the intellect.” Equally true is that celebrated passage in our Ovid: Wine gives confidence and makes you feel upbeat and sunny. When you drink lots of wine, care flies and washes away. Then the laughter begins, then the poor man screws up his courage, Then the pain, the cares, the knitted brow disappear. Then that rarest of virtues (at least in our generation), Candor, opens all hearts, as the god sweeps aside guile. That, too, is often the time when girls turn the heads of young fellows. But with Venus in wine, there you have fire inside fire. Of course, anyone acutely involved in such a situation immediately goes over the matter in his own mind, with the help of a few more leisurely drinks. Thereafter he will deliberate much more carefully by what means he can either pursue the desired object or excel as a professional tippler. This process may be observed in the ladies’ men, or, to use the vernacular, in the girl crazies, night ravens, pavement strollers, skirt chasers, dance fiends, rakehells, grunters, which is what most of our students are, cruising the streets all the time, from morning to night, over the Mountain and over the Long Bridge, in the Turnipmarket and the Fishmarket,45 and even sometimes, when they’re drunk, to “The Eight Stones,” with the women of ill repute, where morality walks on glass stilts.46 For there they have a rollicking good time and brawl with the landsknechts, while the devil dances a jig outside. Of them it is written by

46 In Eobanus’ day there was probably just one public house of prostitution in Erfurt. It was located in the Frauengasse (later, Halbmondsgasse), near what is now the Domplatz (Cathedral Square). After the Frauenhaus burned down in , the city immediately had it rebuilt at the old location. See W.J.A. von Tettau, “Beiträge zu einer vergleichenden Topographie und Statistik von Erfurt,” Mittheilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte und Alterthumskunde von Erfurt  (), . The name, “The Eight Stones,” does not appear elsewhere in the records.

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“Reges eos in virga ferrea,” man wirt sie mit eyßern fleyschgabeln heym iagen, “et tanquam vas figuli confringes eos,” und mit alten kraut topffen noch yn werfen.  Sed iam michi tempero, ne, dum sacram scripturam nimis diligenter expono, malum theologum me esse ostendam.  Eundem tamen animi impetum in poetis et versificatoribus quibusdam malis, quibus non est aliud inter bibendum loquacius aut ex philosophis molestius hominum genus, maxime cum aliqualiter potis de vocabulo aliquo exoleto aut mensura unius syllabae contentio suborta fuerit.  Ibi tum protinus declamant “medio sermone diserti,” et “sua vesanus scripta poeta” legit.  Quod et Martialis exprimit, dicens: Possum nil ego sobrius; bibenti Succurrunt mihi quindecim poetae.  Et Horatius noster: “Foecundi calices quem non fecere disertum?”  Etenim ut senarius proverbialis testatur: “Non est dythirambus, aquam si potitet.”  Haud adest hilaritas, cum deest vinum; languet poetarum ingenium, ni vino concalescat.  Quod et Horatius libro i. Epistolarum fusius quidem expressit, hiis verbis:

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Nulla placere diu nec vivere carmina possunt Quae scribuntur aquae potoribus. Ut male sanos Adscripsit Liber Satyris Faunisque poetas, Vina fere dulces oluerunt mane Camenae.  Laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus; Ennius ipse pater nunquam nisi potus ad arma Prosiluit dicenda. “Forum putealque Libonis Mandabo siccis, adimam cantare severis”: Hoc simul edixit, nec cessavere poetae  Nocturno certare mero, putere diurno.  Denique, ut arctius vela contraham, non solum poetarum sed omnium denique hominum, quicunque ratione . kraut topffen AB: krauthafen C. . aliqualiter potis ABC: aliqualiter poetis Zarncke. . ni in textu Erasmi: in ABC. .. edixit A: eduxit BC. .. mero AB: meo C.

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the prophet, saying, “Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron,” people will chase them home with iron meathooks, “and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” and hurl old cabbage crocks out after them. But here I deliberately rein myself in, lest, by interpreting Holy Scripture with too much diligence, I show myself to be a bad theologian. However, you’ll find the very same compulsive behavior in some of your bad poets and versifiers too. When they’re tippling, there is no class of people quite so loquacious or, for that matter, quite so insufferable, at least from among the philosophers — especially after they get a bit drunk and start a quarrel about some obsolete word or the metrical quantity of one single syllable. Right there and then they violate the rule, that “brilliant talkers must not break into a conversation with a high-flown speech, or mad poets read from their own writings.” Martial expresses the same sentiment when he says: Sober, I’m helpless. When I drink, Fifteen poets run up to help me. Likewise our Horace: “To whom has the uncorked bottle not given the gift of gab?” Indeed, as a proverbial senarius testifies: “It is no dithyramb if one drinks water.”47 Joy can’t be present when wine is absent. The poets’ genius dims unless it’s heated with wine. Horace too expresses the thought, definitely more fully, in book  of his Epistles, using these words: No poems can delight for long or become immortal If they are penned by water drinkers. Ever since Liber48 Reckoned the frenzied poets among his satyrs and fauns, The sweet Muses, as a rule, smell of wine the next morning. With his praises of wine Homer unmasks himself as a bibber. Father Ennius too never leaped forth to sing of battles Until he was good and drunk. “The Forum and Libo’s Well I’ll assign to the sober; the dour I’ll prohibit from song.” Ever since he issued that edict, poets have not left off Vying in wine by night and reeking of it by day. Finally, so as to shorten my sails: when imbibed in moderation, wine rouses, exalts, and sharpens the mind not just of poets, but of all people of 47 48

Dithyrambs are choral hymns in honor of the wine god Dionysus (Bacchus). Another name for Bacchus.

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intellectuque vigent, ingenia vinum moderate bibitum erigit, attollit, exacuit.  Quamobrem etiam Persae (ut testatur Strabo libro Geographiae xv.) de rebus maximis inter vinum consultare olim consueverunt, quas ipsi firmiores putabant quam quae in sobrietate fuerint deliberatae.  “Et hoc est,” ut scribit Macrobius, “quod in primo et secundo De legibus Plato non inutile viris esse decernit. Nam et modicis honestisque inter bibendum remissionibus refici integrarique animos ad instauranda sobrietatis officia extimavit.”  Atque haec quidem ad explanationem secundi corrollarii sufficere puto.  Reliquum est ut tertium hic subiungam: 10 QUOMODO ET QUATENUS CUM AMICIS BIBENDUM SIT. CORROLLARIUM TERTIUM  Symposia igitur et iucundas amicorum compotationes stultum est criminari, Cum id etiam vetustissimis ac sapientissimis viris factitatum pulchrum sit imitari.  Quae Graeci symposia, nos compotationes vocamus.  Quarum originem adeo vetustam esse constat, ut quasi cum nascentis origine mundi emersisse videri possit.  Quis enim nescit Loth istius vetustissimi cum filiabus, ut habetur Genesis xix., incestum concubitum non alia ex causa quam vini compotatione commissum?  Noa pater, quem Lactantius libro ii. Divinarum institutionum vini usum invenisse dicit, inebriatus est iacuitque nudus (Gen. vi.).  Verum magis introductam combibendi consuetudinem sunt qui ab Indis ad Graecos commigrasse et defluxisse tradant.  Quinetiam apud alias quoque nationes viguisse legitur.  Nam et ait Plynius libro .: “Gloriam hac virtute Parthi quaerunt, famam apud Graecos Alcibiades meruit.”  Lege autem apud Lacedemonios et

. vinum AB: vina C. . deliberatae A: de libertate BC. . scribit AB: om. C; non inutile AB: non utile C; extimavit AB: existimavit C, Zarncke. . hic AB: his C. . vetustissimis AC: vetustissimus B. . symposia A: symposita BC. . origine AB: origini C. . Noa AB: Noe C; Divinarum BC: Divinarium A. . combibendi AB: concubendi C.

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vigorous reason and intellect. It was for this reason too that the Persians of old (as Strabo asserts in book  of his Geography) habitually debated matters of the greatest moment while drinking wine, for they considered those matters to be more settled than the ones deliberated when they were sober. “This,” as Macrobius writes, “is also what Plato, in the first and second book of his Laws, declares is not without its value for men. For it was his belief that moderate and decorous periods of relaxation spent drinking reinvigorate and energize the mind for resuming the duties of a sober life.” But that, I think, will more than suffice to explain the second corollary. It remains for me to subjoin the third: 10 HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT WE SHOULD DRINK WITH FRIENDS. THIRD COROLLARY Consequently, it is foolish to denounce symposia and the delightful compotations of friends, When this custom, practiced by the most ancient and wisest of men, is in fact glorious to imitate. What the Greeks termed “symposia,” we call compotations. The origin of this custom is evidently so ancient that one can see it emerging practically with the creation of the world. For who doesn’t know the story told in Genesis , that the incest which the early patriarch Lot committed with his daughters arose from no other cause than the compotation of wine? Father Noah, whom Lactantius in book  of the Divine Institutions identifies as the discoverer of wine drinking, became inebriated and lay down naked (Genesis ). Other authorities, however, state that the custom of holding drinking parties originated in India and thence migrated and spread to Greece. Moreover, one reads that it thrived among other nations as well. For, among others, Pliny states in book : “It is in this kind of prowess that the Parthians stake their claim to fame and Alcibiades won his reputation among the Greeks.” The Spartans and

 Bv

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Athe- | nienses cautum erat, ne invicem ad ebrietatem usque compotarent, qua lege non interdicebatur vini usus aut simplex et sobria compotatio, sed tantum viciorum mater, ebrietas.  Verum ne ego in presentia in his elaborare maxime videar quae maxime nostro disconveniunt proposito (quippe nihil ad nos in presenti tractatu, quis primus vel potandi vel compotandi usum introduxerit, quandoquidem nos non in rei inventione, sed in re ipsa per quemcunque inventa laboramus): itaque symposia celebrare, cum amicis convenire et compotare, interdum et iucundis quibusdam fabulis oblectare convivium, id non est contra sapientis viri professionem, cum et animum reficiat, corpus excitet, ingenium acuat, amicicias contrahat, favores conciliet, gratiam et benivolentiam sepe multorum nobis comparet.  Nam et Plato loco prealligato scriptum reliquit, non diffugiendas esse huiusmodi exercitationes adversus propulsandam vini violentiam, neque illum unquam continentem prorsus aut temperantem satis fideliter visum esse, cui vita non inter ipsa errorum pericula in mediis voluptatum illecebris explorata sit. Nam cui libentiae gratiaeque omnes conviviorum incognitae sint quique illorum omnino expers sit, si eum fortasse ad participiandum huiusmodi voluptates aut voluntas tulerit aut casus induxerit aut necessitas impulerit, mox deliniri et capi neque mentem eius atque animum consistere. Congrediendum igitur et tanquam in acie quadam cum voluptariis rebus cumque ista vini licentia cominus decernendum, ut adversus eas non solum fuga et absentia simus tuti, sed a vigore et constanti presentia moderatoque usu temperantiam continentiamque tueamur et calefacto simulque refoto animo, si quid in eo vel frigidae tristiciae vel torpentis verecundiae fuerit, deluamus. Hactenus Plato. . simplex et ABC: simplex aut Zarncke. . tractatu BC: tractu A; symposia C: symposya AB; convenire et conieci: conveniet ABC. . prealligato AC: preallegato B; errorum BC: errorem A; participiandum AB: participandum C; ista AB: ita C; ut adversus AB: et adversus C; calefacto AB: calefacta C.

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Athenians, furthermore, had a law that forbade the exchanging of toasts to the point of drunkenness, by which law neither the consumption of wine nor straightforward and temperate compotations were prohibited, but only the mother of vices, drunkenness. But lest I seem right now to be spending the most time on precisely those topics that have least to do with my theme (it is, after all, no concern to us in the present discussion who was the first to introduce the custom either of drinking or of compotation, inasmuch as we’re not investigating the custom’s invention but rather the custom itself, regardless of who invented it): well then, holding symposia, getting together with one’s friends and tippling convivially, even regaling the company every so often with some charming stories, that is by no means contrary to the profession of a wise man, seeing that it also refreshes the mind, invigorates the body, sharpens the intellect, establishes friendships, creates goodwill, and frequently wins us the esteem and favor of many people. For in the abovementioned passage Plato also gives it as his opinion that we ought not to shy away from opportunities of this kind to train ourselves to ward off the wanton fury of wine; and that, furthermore, no man has ever — at least not with tolerable fidelity — been portrayed as a model of self-restraint and temperance unless he has actually tested himself against the very real perils of going astray in the midst of sensual allurements. For imagine a man to whom all the pleasures and attractions of a banquet are unknown and who has absolutely no experience with those feasts. If such a man were now to participate in entertainments of this type, whether he was led there perhaps on his own accord or brought there by chance or driven there by necessity, he would soon find himself bewitched by their charms, and all his willpower and good intentions would desert him. Hence it is essential to come to grips and do battle, so to speak, with the sensual pleasures and to fight hand-to-hand with the licentiousness that wine provokes, in order to safeguard ourselves against them not merely through flight and avoidance, but rather through vigorous engagement and steadfast assurance, and to guard our sobriety and self-restraint through the practice of moderation, and simultaneously, by warming and refreshing the soul, to wash away whatever of chilling melancholy or paralyzing bashfulness it may harbor. Thus far Plato.

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 Videtis autem, boni viri, quam sit amica tanti philosophi persuasio quamque veritati consona sententia.  Ad quam ferme alludit Plutarchus in libello De tuenda bona valetudine, dicens,

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maxime cavendam ingurgitationem, ebrietatem, immodicumque deliciarum usum hiis qui solenne epulum sint celebraturi aut qui amicos apparant convivio accipere aut futurum est, ut a divite quopiam aut principe convivio splendido adhibeantur, expectentque commune bibendi certamen quod recusare non liceat, quo nimirum iam tum in tranquillitate corpus expeditum ac leve reddant velut adversus imminentem vento- | rum ac undarum tempestatem. Siquidem perdifficile fuerit in coetu hominum et inter invitatiunculas illorum teipsum intra mediocritatem solitamque temperantiam continere, ut non omnibus vehementer gravis ac molestus et onerosus esse videaris.  Suadet igitur idem Plutarchus ut exemplo Phillippi regis Macedonum semper quasi futurae ebrietati locum relinquamus.  Et profecto: “Vino eadem a nobis dicenda sunt quae Veneri dixit Euripides, ‘Contingat michi copia tui, sed contingat moderata, nec unquam michi desis,’ siquidem vinum et potus est utilissimus et pharmacum suavissimum et opsonium quamminime noxium.”  Et vinum, ut Plato scribit, a natura quasi remedium adversus senectutis incommoda datum est, ut et reviviscere videantur et tristiciae eos capiat oblivio.  Quid autem hoc in loco attinet dicere omnia quae ad iucundam istam temperanter combibendi consuetudinem pertinent?  Et quiescam sane, si hoc unum addidero:

. immodicumque C: imodicumque AB; coetu Scheidt: cetu ABC. . idem AB: om. C; exemplo Scheidt: exempli ABC. . quae Veneri AB: qua venerit C; desis AB: desit C, Zarncke. . eos AB: eas C.

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You see, gentlemen, how favorable the great philosopher’s opinion is and how closely his view accords with reality. That is why, to all intents and purposes, Plutarch alludes to Plato’s doctrine when he says in his essay “On Keeping in Good Health”: We must avoid gluttony, drunkenness, and excessive indulgence in pleasures. This rule is especially incumbent on those who are planning to attend a ceremonial banquet or who are preparing to welcome friends to a party or who are invited to a magnificent feast by some wealthy magnate or prince and expect a general drinking bout that they dare not turn down. Under those circumstances they should make very sure that their body is unencumbered and light, as if in preparation for a gathering storm of winds and waves. For amidst a large company of people, where you are repeatedly called on to eat and drink, it is very hard to steer a middle course and remain within your customary limits, and yet not seem excessively serious and obnoxious and insufferable. In other words, this same Plutarch is recommending (just as he does later with the example of King Philip of Macedonia) that we must always, so to speak, save room for the inevitable spree. And for a certainty, “we must say to wine what Euripides said to Venus, ‘Let me enjoy you, but let that enjoyment be moderate, and may you never be wanting’; for wine is not only a most beneficial drink, but also a most agreeable medicine and an anything but harmful collation.” Furthermore, as Plato writes, wine has been bestowed on us by nature as a kind of remedy against the troubles of old age, so that the elderly might feel rejuvenated and forget their despondency. But what good does it do at this point to touch on everything that pertains to that delightful practice of temperately drinking with friends? And I’ll definitely hold my peace, once I’ve added this final point:

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11 VETERES NON SOLUM AD MENSURAM SED ETIAM AD NUMERUM BIBERE CONSUEVERUNT.  Veteres non solum ad mensuram sed etiam ad numerum litterarum nominum eorum quos amabant bibere consuevisse accepimus.  Tot enim exhauriebant pocula quot cuiusque amatae nomen litterarum elementa continebat.  Quod testatur Martialis festivo epigrammate: Naevia sex ciathis, septem Iustina bibatur, Quinque Lydas, Lyde quattuor, Ida tribus. Omnis ab infuso numeretur amica Phalerno; Et quia nulla venit, tu mihi, Somne, veni.  Preterea ad numerum Musarum novem scyphos propinare solebant, vel Gratiarum amore tres dumtaxat.  Unde in proverbium consuetudo abiit: “Aut ter bibendum aut nonies.”  Quod Ausonius sic expressit: Ter bibe vel tocies ternos, sic mystica lex est Vel tria potanti vel ter tria multiplicanti.  Atque ut maior esset compotandi licentia, deorum etiam indignationem sobrie viventibus minitabantur.  Nam Tibullus de Libero patre ait: Iam venit iratus nimium nimiumque severus; Qui timet irati numina magna, bibat. Quales hiis paenas deus hic quantasque minetur, Cadmeae matris preda cruenta docet. |  “Igitur,” ut ex neothericis quidam non indoctus scribit, “hec propinandi vetus consuetudo, qua tam absentes quam

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. ad mensuram AB: a mensuram C. . festivo BC: festino A; epigrammate Scheidt: epigramate ABC. .. Naevia AB: Naevi C. .. quia AB: qui C. . nonies AC (C in ex. Guelpherbytano, Francofurdiensi, et Monachensi): novies BC (C in ex. Bloomingtonensi et Dresdensi). . Tibullus AB: Tibullius C. 49

The wine god Bacchus.

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11 THE ANCIENTS MADE IT A PRACTICE TO DRINK NOT ONLY BY MEASURE BUT ALSO BY NUMBER. The ancients, we are told, made it a practice to drink not only by measure but also by the number of letters in their lovers’ names. For example, they would drain as many cups as each of their mistresses’ names contained letters of the alphabet. Martial testifies to this custom in a witty epigram: Let me toast Naevia in six measures, Justina in seven, Lydas in five, Lyde in four, and Ida in three. Let each girlfriend be numbered by the poured-out Falernian. But since none of them comes, you, Sleep, must come in their stead. They also used to pledge nine goblets to match the number of Muses, or just three for love of the Graces. Eventually the custom became proverbial: “Propose either three toasts or nine.” Ausonius puts it like this: Pledge either three healths or nine: such is the mystical law for Those who pledge thrice or who multiply three drinks by three. Furthermore, in order to promote greater abandon at drinking parties, those who led sober lives were even threatened with the wrath of the gods. For Tibullus says about Father Liber:49 He comes at you in a terrible rage and with horrible vengeance. If you fear the god’s wrath, then you had better drink up. The gory prey of the Cadmean mother should teach you the dreadful Punishments that this god inflicts on those who abstain.50 “Therefore,” as a certain not unlearned modern has written,51 “this ancient custom of pledging healths, by which we nudge those who are 50 King Pentheus of Thebes was the son of Cadmus’ daughter Agave. When Dionysus (Bacchus) brought his ecstatic cult to Thebes and attracted a large following among the women, Pentheus was so alarmed that he tried to stop them from celebrating the frenzied rites. The offended god punished him by driving his mother and the other Bacchantes mad. They then tore Pentheus to pieces, in the belief that he was a wild beast. 51 The humanist priest Hieronymus Emser (–). While studying theology at Leipzig in the winter semester /, he wrote a dialogue on the origin and practice of Zutrinken (the pledging of healths): Dialogismus de origine propinandi (Leipzig, ). See pp. – above.

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presentes ex mera amicicia et benivolentia ad bibendum, quantum sapiat et voluntarium sit, subinvitamus, non solum non abolenda, verum etiam tanquam humanitatis et officii plena a quibuscunque etiam colenda et imitanda, et pro hoste inimicoque censendus, qui sic bibere inter amicos contempserit.”  Neque damnandus et ille fuerit qui modum aliquando, sed raro, in bibendo excesserit, quandoquidem et medicorum consilium est, quemque bis in mense debere inebriari.  Itaque, quantum ad presens sufficit, clarum est et hoc corollarium.  Nunc ad secundam conclusionem transeo, quae talis est: 12 GERMANIS EBRIETAS AB ITALIS OBIICITUR. CONCLUSIO SECUNDA  Ebrietas quae effusis continentiae habenis modum omnem et regulam temperantiae egreditur Germanis fere omnibus non minus vere quam contumeliose ab Italis obiicitur.  Huius conclusionis prima pars nihil habet quo ulteriori elucidatione egeat, cum omnia quae circa eam considerari possint in superioribus satis superque sint explicata.  Quocirca ad quaesiti (ut vocant) partem convertendum sermonem censui.  Ioannes Antonius Campanus, Italorum omnium ex recentioribus facile disertissimus, libro Epistolarum ., ad Gentilem suum scribens, Germanorum luxum et gulam inter alia sic increpat: Nos miseri extremos pipere incroceavimus ungues. Iam me si videas, psitacon esse putes.

. transeo C: transio AB. , tit. obiicitur A (in ex. Guelpherbytano) C: obicitur A (in ex. Hallensi et Londonensi) B. . habenis AB: habens C; egreditur AC: egredetur B, egrediatur Zarncke. 52

The quaesitum is the part that still has to be proved.

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absent as well as those who are present to drink with us out of pure friendship and goodwill — provided it is done tastefully, with no compulsion — should not only not be proscribed, but ought in fact to be observed and imitated by everybody as a civilized and courteous practice; and anyone who disdains to drink in this fashion among friends can only be regarded as an ill-wisher and foe.” By the same token we ought not to condemn the man who occasionally, but rarely, exceeds his limit in drinking, inasmuch as it is also standard medical advice that everyone should get inebriated twice a month. Consequently, for our present purposes at least, this corollary too is clear. I now proceed to the second conclusion, which runs as follows: 12 THE ITALIANS TAUNT THE GERMANS FOR THEIR DRUNKENNESS. SECOND CONCLUSION Unbridled drunkenness, overstepping all bounds and the rule of moderation, That is the taunt that the Italians throw at virtually all Germans no less correctly than insultingly. In the first part of this conclusion there is nothing that needs further elucidation, seeing that everything that can be considered on this head has been more than sufficiently explicated in the preceding. In consequence, I think we can concentrate on the quaesitum, to use the technical term.52 Addressing his friend Gentile in book  of his Correspondence, Giannantonio Campano,53 easily the most eloquent among the modern Italian writers, reproaches the Germans, among other things, for their debauchery and gluttony. This is how he puts it: With all that pepper, we wretches have turned our fingernails yellow. If you could see me now, you’d think me a parrot for sure.

53 A renowned humanist, Campano (–) was Bishop of Crotone from  to  and Bishop of Teramo from . As part of the papal delegation at the Diet of Regensburg in , he delivered a rousing oration urging Emperor Frederick III to a crusade against the Turks. Eobanus had earlier praised Campano’s elegant style in Oratio .. Campano was close friends with Gentile de’ Becchi of Urbino, the humanist Bishop of Arezzo from  to .

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 Et subdit: “Est quoque illud grave uno prandio per fercula in caenam decurrere Et solem lunae longa coniungere mensa Et nocti ad caenam continuare diem.”  Et iterum: Quid de Patricio sentis? Qua nare madentes Inter Germanos vivere posse putas?  Sed ut tandem veniam quo volebam: paulopost, ubi ad Cardinalem Papiensem de moribus Germanorum scribit, sic inter alia:

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Tu sortem miserere meam! Fugere repulsae Pierides. Istrum Flora Venusque bibunt. Arce sedet Bacchus. Cessit neglectus Apollo. Nil est hic aliud vivere quam bibere.  Et gravissimus author Cornelius Tacitus, libro undecimo Hystoriae Augustae de Italo rege Cheruscorum scribens, sic loquitur: Erat “primo letus Germanis adventus atque eo magis quod nullis discordiis imbutus pari in omnes studio ageret celebrari, coli, modo comitatem et temperantiam nulli invisam, sepius vinolentiam ac libidines, grata barbaris, usurpans.” Hec ille.  Ex quo cognoscere licet, bibendi vini aviditatem non noviter neque nuper Germanis nostris influxisse, sed fuisse etiam pervetustis temporibus.  Quippe cum adhuc idola colerent, Bacchum quoque inter reliqua gentilitatis numina venerati sunt.  Cuius rei aliquot adderem testimonia, nisi aliud meum esset propositum quam Germanicas antiquitates recensere.  Conradus Celtis, poeta licet

. ut tandem A: tamen BC; moribus AB: more C. .. Fugere ABC: Fugare Scheidt, Zarncke. . libidines in edd. Taciti: libidinem ABC. . venerati BC: venerari A. . aliquot ABC (C in ex. Bloomingtonensi): aliqua C (in ex. Francofurdiensi, Guelpherbytano, et Dresdensi).

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He then adds: “This too is a burden, when a single luncheon runs on, course after course, into supper And the sun is joined to the moon in one marathon banquet And the day drags on into the dinner at night.” And again: What do you think of Patrizi?54 How do you suppose he survives Among these German sots? Only by curling his nose. But to finally come to the point that I wanted to make: shortly afterwards, where he writes to the Cardinal of Pavia55 about the customs in Germany, he laments, inter alia: Feel sorry for my lot! The Muses have fled in disgust. It’s From the Danube that Flora and Venus must drink. Bacchus thrones over all. Neglected, Apollo has faded. Here, to be alive means nothing else than imbibe. And the highly respected author Cornelius Tacitus, writing about Italus, king of the Cherusci, in book  of the History of the Emperors, has this to say: “At first the Germans welcomed his arrival. They thronged to him, they paid him court, all the more so as he, wholly uninfected with partisanship, acted with equal zeal on behalf of all, sometimes practicing the graciousness and the temperance that is odious to none, but more often the wine-bibbing and lechery so dear to barbarians.” Thus far Tacitus. From this passage we may infer that the penchant for drinking wine is not something newly or recently instilled into us Germans, but has existed since time immemorial. As a matter of fact, when they were still idol-worshipers, they also venerated Bacchus, along with the other deities of heathendom. To back this contention up I could go on to cite several authorities, had I not set another goal for myself than reviewing Germanic antiquities. Thus Konrad Celtis,56 though a German

54 The papal master of ceremonies, Agostino Patrizi Piccolomini (ca. –/). At the Diet of Regensburg in  he served as secretary to the papal legate, Cardinal and Archbishop of Siena, Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini. 55 Jacopo Ammannati Piccolomini, Cardinal of Pavia from  to . 56 The “archhumanist” Konrad Celtis (–), Eobanus’ favorite German poet.

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Germanus, graviter tamen ubique in vicia invehens, sic Barbaram suam alloquitur: Ebria, Germano vicio suffusa, laboras, Nam titubant gressu lingua pedesque suo. Quid iuvat insano pectus limphare veneno Et male composito gutture verba loqui?  Quoniam in septentrionalibus partibus mulieres non minus quam viri inebriantur nec admodum vicio ipsis vertitur ad mensuram plerumque cum viris perpotare, retulit mihi nuper Hessus noster, qui aliquamdiu vixit in ista septentrionali barbaria, vidisse se non semel adeo potas et temulentas foeminas ut nihil turpitudinis non admitterent iacuisseque sepe numero turpiter et ignominiose diobolares bestias, plerumque etiam primarias mulierculas.  De quibus Ovidium scripsisse puto: Turpe iacens mulier multo madefacta Lyaeo: Digna est concubitus quoslibet illa pati.  Quod ut magis credatis, narrabo vobis veram hystoriam. 13 DE ADULTERIO DUORUM EBRIORUM VERA HYSTORIA

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 Contigit semel ut ex nocturno symposio domum abeuntes uxor cuiusdam fabri ferrarii ebria valde cum quodam ex ordine litteratorum | ex pacto congressa, cum maritus perseveraret interim in compotationibus, in eo lecto, quo ad perpetrandum adulterium convenerant, re turpi et multa crapula deliniti ambo iacentes, inopinato edormiscerent, iuxta Sermones dormi secure, schweyg styll unnd leg dich, erwegk das kynd nicht.  Erat enim iuxta lectum puer natus in . ubique Zarncke: ubi ABC; Barbaram A: barbariam BC. .. insano C: in sano AB. . inebriantur BC: inebrietatur A; vidisse se AB: vidisse C; potas AB: potus C; turpiter et AB: turpiter C; diobolares AB: diabolares C, Zarncke. . Sermones ABC: sermonem Zarncke.

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poet himself, nevertheless takes every opportunity to inveigh vehemently against our vices. Here he addresses his mistress Barbara: Drunken, soaked in the German vice, you’re under the weather, For your tongue and feet stagger along in their course. What is the use of crazing the heart with that maddening poison And mumbling your words with inarticulate throat? Given that the women in the north country get inebriated no less than the men and it is definitely not considered a vice for them to keep on tippling measure for measure, generally alongside the men, our Hessus, who spent considerable time in those barbaric regions up north, mentioned to me not long ago that he himself (and not just once either) had seen women so drunken and besotted that they would perform the most disgraceful acts — two-penny sluts, who very often would shamefully and ignominiously roll around on the floor, generally even girls from the upper classes. It is such women, I think, that Ovid had in mind when he wrote: If a girl is so shamefully drunk that she’s under the table, She deserves to get laid by the first fellow who tries. To make believers out of you, I am going to tell you a true story. 13 A TRUE STORY ABOUT THE ADULTERY OF TWO DRUNKS It happened one day that a blacksmith’s wife, badly drunk after a latenight party, went home, as agreed, with somebody or other from the order of scholars. Her husband meanwhile persevered in his compotations. But as the two of them were lying in the bed where they had cuddled up to commit adultery, their disgraceful activity and heavy drinking relaxed them so much that they unexpectedly fell asleep, in accordance with the “Sleep Soundly Sermons,”57 shut up and lie down, don’t wake up the baby. Next to the bed, in fact, there was a child born in 57 A collection of model sermons for the entire year, written by the Franciscan Johann of Werden (d. ). The book was frequently reprinted in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The phrase dormi secure (“sleep soundly”) assured preachers that they would not have to stay up all night preparing their sermon.

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Bettelßheym.  Cum interim maritus, et ipse ebrius, accensa candela, ad lectum accedens, ambos dormientes conspicatus, adulterum scilicet cum uxore pudica, den guten gesellen mit der boßen huren, magna voce exclamavit: “Welcher teufel hat dir das bevolhen? Was hastu hie zu schaffen?”  Cui ille, “Hei,” inquit, “per Deum vivum, bey dem flygen gott, wie ist mir gescheen? Lieber meyster Affen schwantz — id enim erat huic fatuo cognomentum — ich hab warlich nit anders gewust dan ich wer do heym bey meynen gesellen gelegen; sed ecce quid video?  Welcher teuffel hat sich nw zu mir gelegt? Pfuh der schande, das sich eyner also foll seufft! Wolauff zum teufel, was ist das?”  Ad quae verba bonus ille Affenschwantz effusissime ridens et verbis adulteri fidem habens, “Ja,” sagt er, “ich meyn, ich kan euch zu bett iagen. Nihil damni est, eß schadt nicht. Sed ‘nemini dixeritis visionem hanc,’ sagt nit dz ir seyt hie gewesen.”  Hiis ille laetus et securus abiit.  Uxor vero postera die rem egregie dissimulabat, virum ultro etiam obiurgans, qui se de crimine nunquam ne cogitato quidem auderet insimulare.  Egressa etiam foras “flevit amare,” sie weynet heyße zehern, sicut “glacies, nix, grando, et spiritus procellarum,” volens eo, velut peculiari mulieribus armario, innocentiam suam confirmare.  Meyster Affenschwantz vero non didicit illud: Neve puellarum lachrimis moveare, caveto: Ut flerent, oculos erudiere suos.  Concordat vulgare nostrum: Hund hincken, frawen weynen, kremer schweren, Do sal sich keyn klug man an keren.

. Cui Zarncke: Cum ABC; Deum vivum scripsi: Deum vinum ABC; ich hab AB: ich hab eß C; do heym A: do heim B, do hayme C. . schande AB: schand C; also AB: ˜ B, enim C; zehern AB: zeher C; glacies A: om. BC. .. so C. . etiam A: em klug A: weyß BC.

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Bedlam.58 The husband meanwhile, drunk as a fiddler himself, had lighted a candle and was approaching the bed, when he saw the two of them sleeping, I mean the adulterer with the chaste wife, the honest chap with the filthy whore. In a loud voice he cried: “What devil told you to do that? What the hell are you doing here?” To which the other responded: “Hey, by the living God, by the god of flies, how did this happen to me? My dear Master Monkeytail — for that was the simpleton’s name — I truly had no idea I was anywhere but at home, lying in bed with my comrade. But, oh my God! What’s this I see? What devil has lain down next to me? For shame! To think a person can get so lit to the gills! What the deuce has happened?” At these words good old Monkeytail burst out into a huge guffaw. Swallowing everything that the adulterer told him, he says: “Sure, I mean, I can chase you back to your own bed. No harm done, nobody got hurt. But ‘tell this vision to no one,’ don’t go around blabbing that you’ve been here.” At this, the adulterer departed, gleeful and unscathed. The wife, for her part, covered her tracks admirably well the next day, actually going so far as to scold her husband for daring to accuse her of an offense that had never even crossed her mind. She even “went out and wept bitterly,” she wept hot tears — hot as “ice, snow, hail, and stormy winds” — aiming to establish her innocence by reaching, so to speak, into this peculiarly feminine arsenal. As for Master Monkeytail, he evidently had never heard of that well-known saying: Also make sure you don’t let a crying girl get the better Of you. They have trained their eyes to shed tears at will. Our own German proverb agrees: Dogs limp, women weep, shopkeepers swear. About things like that no wise man should care.

58 Literally, “a child born in Beggarshome,” that is, in the poorhouse. The phrase parodies the traditional Christmas carol, “Puer natus in Bethlehem” (“A child is born in Bethlehem”). To maintain the punning, I translate Bettelßheym as “Bedlam.” The London madhouse by that name was originally called “Saint Mary of Bethlehem.”

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14 ALIA HYSTORIA DE DUOBUS STUDENTIBUS QUI HOSPITEM CUM UXORE ET FILIA INEBRIARUNT

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 Non multum dissimile huic hystoriae est illud.  Fuerunt Erphordiae duo studentes qui cum in oppido quodam, quod erat in partibus Franconiae, ad hospitem, non publicum sed privatum eis notum, noctu divertissent, | haberetque idem hospes uxorem et filiam formosas, alter ad alterum conversus, “Utinam,” inquit, “tibi uxorem, michi vero filiam istius hac nocte contrectare liceret!”  Cui callidus sodalis respondens, “Inebriemus,” inquit, “eas vino. Quis scit, si convertantur et admittant?”  Quod cum hactenus pro voluntate eis cessisset, iamque hospes cum uxore et filia et ipsi duo studentes madidi in eodem cubiculo, in quo tres dumtaxat erant lecti, reciperentur (apparebant enim ingenui et morati iuvenes; compleverunt namque undecim libros Aethicorum Erphurdiae apud Sanctum Gothardum auff dem Schiltgen, et Posteriorum apud Scotos, Phisicorum auff dem Sperlingßberge), noctu igitur surgens alter, qui iuvenculam amabat, leniter eius lectulum (sola namque iacebat) accedens eamque consolari volens, nullo discrimine facile est admissus.  Interim, nescio quid strepitus in domo audiens, uxor ebria ab ebrio marito consurgens, cupiebat videre quid esset, cum interim ille alter, qui adhuc solus dormiebat, invento dolo, cunas, in quibus infans apud maritalem thalamum erat repositus, ad suum lectum trahens, ipsa redeunte coepit movere cunas infantis; quod ipsa audiens strepitum cunarum secuta lectum adulteri sponte conscendit, putans illic suum esse maritum ubi cunas invenisset.  Ille vero dissimulans dedolavit uxorem alienam egregie et multis vicibus.  Illa insolitam viri potentiam admirata inquit, “Eya, mein lieber man, wie seyt ir heynt

. quodam AB: quoddam C; filiam formosas AB: filias formosas C; ad alterum AB: ad altertum C, ad adulterum Scheidt. . compleverunt A: inpleverunt B, impleverunt C; apud Scotos, Phisicorum AB: Scotos, et Phisicorum C; Sperlingßberge A: Sperlings bergk BC. . ille alter AB: alter C; coepit Scheidt: cepit ABC; suum esse A: esse suum BC. . Illa A: Illam BC; seyt A: seit B, seind C. 59 These Erfurt students are evidently more adept at chasing women than studying their Aristotle. They have diligently worked their way through eleven of the ten books

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14 ANOTHER STORY, ABOUT TWO STUDENTS WHO INEBRIATED THEIR HOST ALONG WITH HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER Not all that different from this story is the following one. In Erfurt there were two students who put up for the night in a town somewhere in Franconia. Their host — he was not an innkeeper, but a personal acquaintance of theirs — had a beautiful wife and daughter. Turning to his companion, the one student whispered, “How I wish we could give ’em the squeeze tonight, you the wife, I the daughter!” His crafty comrade answered him by saying: “Let’s get the two of them drunk with wine. Who knows if they’ll come around and let us enjoy them?” All went according to plan. The host, along with his wife and daughter, and the two students themselves, by now quite sodden, all retired to the same bedroom. There were just three beds there; but the youths appeared to be well-bred gentlemen, given that in Erfurt they had finished eleven books of the Ethics at Saint Gotthard’s on the Schildchen, the Posteriors at the Scottish Monastery, and the Physical Studies in the Sperlingsberg Square.59 Well then, the one who was smitten with the young girl got up in the night and quietly stole to her bed (for she was sleeping by herself). Signaling that he was there to solace her, he was welcomed with open arms, no questions asked. While this was transpiring, the drunken wife heard some kind of noise in the house and got up from beside her drunken husband to find out what was going on. The other student meanwhile, who was still sleeping by himself, devised a way to trick her. He pulled the cradle, in which the infant had been laid, away from the marital bed and drew it to his own bed. As the mother returned, he began to rock it. Hearing this, she followed the creaky noise and got into the adulterer’s bed, assuming her husband would be in the spot where she found the cradle. The student, however, did not let on who he was and gave the other man’s wife a first-rate cudgeling, and not just once, but many times over. Astonished at her husband’s unwonted virility, she exclaimed, “Well, well, my

in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics! In pursuing their extra-ethical studies, they have also spent much time on the “posteriors” — obviously not Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics — and on “physical studies” rather than Aristotle’s Physics. It is not in the university libraries that they have come by their knowledge, but while cruising the city: in the Schildchen area by St. Gotthard’s Church; at the Scottish Monastery, across the Gera from the university; and in the Sperlingsberg Square, a small square where the Faustgäßchen runs into the Borngasse.

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so geyl wurden?”  Ille nihil praeter “Tace” respondens, ne vocis indicio proderetur, sepius a principio rem repetiit.  Luce vero appropinquante, surgens ille qui filiam stupraverat ad lectum mariti pervenit, quoniam socius eius cunas, quarum indicio ipse maritalem lectum cognoverat, ad sese traxerat.  Cum vero hospitem suum socium esse credens gloriatur cum hospitis filia se concubuisse, hospes iam sobrius factus, dolum sentiens, uxorem vocat, quae itidem se apud adulterum esse cognoscens errorem confessa filiam de stupro non increpavit maritoque persuasit ne domesticam maculam propalaret; eius enim id omne culpa accidisse clamitabat.  Ita fit nonnunquam, ut, quod sobrii ne cogitamus quidem, ebrii facile admittamus.  Multa sunt alia multorum authorum huius rei testimonia.  Sed paucis recensitis contentos vos esse credo, quod non solum ineptias audire, sed modum rebus addere didiceritis.  Iccirco pono primum corollarium: |

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15 GERMANI REBUS BELLICIS ET OMNI VIRTUTUM GENERE ITALIS SUNT NOBILIORES. COROLLARIUM I.  Licet Itali singulari quodam continentiae titulo sese iactitent, Germanis tamen nullius virtutis gloria praefulgent.  Deridentur ab Italis Germani, ut audio, si quando apud eos existentes paulo intemperantius poti fuerint — tanquam monstrum sit videre hominem vini potentia vel deceptum vel abusum! — cum ipsi pro monstris non habeant gravissima quaeque et enormia vicia, quorum ne nomina quidem ad nos vel certe ad maiores nostros pervenerunt, teste Quintiliano, qui in Declamationibus, “Nihil,” inquit, “tale novere Germani, et sanctius vivitur ad Oceanum.”  De quibus autem viciis

. repetiit A: petiit BC. . socius Zarncke: sonus ABC. . itidem ABC: ibidem Zarncke. . primum corollarium A: corollarium primum BC. , tit. Corollarium i. AB: Corrolarium secundum C. . sese A: se BC.

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dear husband, what’s made you so lustful tonight?” Offering nothing in response except a “Sh!” for fear of betraying himself with his voice, he went at it again and again. But as morning dawned, the one who had seduced the daughter got up and went over to the husband’s bed, because his comrade had pulled the cradle, by which he could tell where the marital bed was, toward himself. But when he, assuming that the host was his comrade, began to boast about sleeping with the host’s daughter, the host suddenly sobered up. Perceiving he had been gulled, he summoned his wife, who now realized that she had likewise been sleeping with an adulterer. Though she confessed her own error, she did not berate the daughter for her licentiousness. Instead she persuaded her husband not to air the dirty linen in public; in fact, she kept bawling that it had been all his fault. Thus it can happen on occasion that deeds we would never even think of doing when sober, we readily commit when drunk. In support of this moral I could tell you a good many other stories by numerous authors. However, I suspect you’ll be content with the few I’ve recounted, inasmuch as you’ve been trained not only to listen to absurdities but also to set strict limits. Hence I now submit the first corollary: 15 IN WARFARE AND EVERY KIND OF MANLY VIRTUE THE GERMANS ARE MORE RENOWNED THAN THE ITALIANS. FIRST COROLLARY Although the Italians keep boasting of some special prowess in selfrestraint, They nevertheless do not outshine the Germans in the glory of any manly virtue whatsoever. The Italians (so I hear) make fun of the Germans living in their midst if ever these people happen to have drunk a bit too intemperately — you’d almost think it a monstrous thing to see a man either beguiled or overwhelmed by the power of wine! — as if they themselves don’t have their own monstrosities to contend with, namely all the most grievous and enormous vices imaginable, not even the terms for which have ever reached us, and certainly not our ancient forebears, as Quintilian attests in his Declamations. “Of such vices,” he says, “the Germans know nothing; and people live a more innocent life by the ocean.” Now as to which

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loquatur, omitto dicere.  Natura comparatum esse testatur Herodotus libro nono ut e mollibus regionibus molles viri existant neve ex eadem terra admirandae fruges et egregii bello viri gignantur.  Strabo libro . Geographiae sic ait: “Id quod est in foelici regione, pacificum omne est, et quod in tristi, pugnax ac virile.”  Caesar in Commentariis, “Suevorum,” inquit, “est gens longe maxima et bellicosissima Germanorum omnium.”  Constat vero Suevos et Hessos et Suiceros steriles habitare terras et ob id bellatores esse acerrimos.  Cornelius Tacitus, De situ moribusque Germanorum, scribit: “Litterarum secreta viri pariter et foeminae ignorant.”  Atqui nostra aetate vel pueri ac simplices puellae doctius legunt et canunt tum sacra tum prophana quam prima aetas Italorum — adeo commutati sunt mores antiqui!  Atque utinam cum litteratura ab Italis non acceperint nostrates populi luxum Saxonicum, Bavaricam intemperantiam, Francorum insolentiam, Hessorum ferocitatem, Thuringorum ignaviam et inhospitalitatem, Mysnensium superbiam, Pomeranorum et Silesitarum inurbanitatem, Boemorum, Vestphalorum, Phrysonum, et Pruthenorum mobilitatem et perfidiam, Rheni et Danubii quaestuarias artes et vafricias, atque id genus praestigiarum offuciarumque tedia!  Sed alia consulto pretereo.  De quorum aliquo exclamat Celtis, poeta natus in media Germania: Cr

Quam vereor serpat nostras hic morbus in oras, Quandoquidem luxus nos tenet Italicus.  Et in alio carmine sic idem poeta:

. utinam cum AB: utinam C; ab Italis non AB: non ab Italis non C; Francorum ABC: Franconum Zarncke; Silesitarum AB: Slesitarum C; offuciarumque A: officiarumque BC. .. nostras in textu Conradi Celtis: nostros ABC. 60 The vice discussed in Pseudo-Quintilian, Declamations ., is sodomy — specifically, the attempted rape of a soldier by his commanding officer. In painting the Italians as sodomites, Eobanus taps into a German stereotype of the contemporary Italian male. Cf. Hutten, Italia –. The Italians, in return, saw the Germans as chronic drunkards. See Peter Amelung, Das Bild des Deutschen in der Literatur der italienischen Renaissance (–) (Munich, ), –; Ingrid D. Rowland, “Revenge of the Regensburg Humanists, ,” Sixteenth Century Journal  (), –; Helmut

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vices he is talking about, that I refrain from mentioning.60 It is a law of nature, Herodotus testifies in book , that soft regions produce soft men and that the same soil cannot produce remarkable crops and also firstrate warriors. Strabo in book  of his Geography has this to say: “Those who live in fertile country are all apt to be peaceable, and those in rugged country, warlike and manly.” Caesar states in his Commentaries: “Of all the Germans, the tribe of the Suebi is by far the largest and most bellicose.” Now it is plain that the Suabians and Hessians and Swiss inhabit barren lands and for that reason are the fiercest warriors. Cornelius Tacitus, The Topography and Customs of Germany, tells us: “Men and women alike are unacquainted with the mysteries of writing.”61 In our own day, by contrast, even boys and naive girls can read and sing sacred and secular texts more expertly than the Italians in the springtime of life — so completely have the tables been turned since antiquity! But how I wish that along with Italian erudition our fellow Germans had not also adopted Saxonian extravagance, Bavarian licentiousness, the Franconians’ insolence, the Hessians’ ferocity, the Thuringians’ slothfulness and inhospitality, the Meisseners’ arrogance, the boorishness of the Pomeranians and Silesians, the fickleness and faithlessness of the Bohemians, Westphalians, Frisians, and Prussians, the money-grubbing frauds and tricks of the Rhine and Danube, and other similarly disgusting deceits and delusions. But I had best pass over the other vices. Referring to some of them specifically, Celtis, a poet born in the heart of Germany, cries out: How I fear this disease is creeping into our country, Seeing that Italian rakishness holds us in thrall.62 And in another song the same poet laments:

Puff, Sodomy in Reformation Germany and Switzerland, – (Chicago, ), –; Christopher B. Krebs, Negotiatio Germaniae: Tacitus’ Germania und Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Giannantonio Campano, Conrad Celtis und Heinrich Bebel (Göttingen, ), –. 61 See Tac. Ger. .. Following a then standard interpretation, Eobanus takes Tacitus to mean that the ancient Germans could neither read nor write. See Peter Schäffer, “Beatus Rhenanus als Tacitus-Rezipient,” Annuaire des amis de la Bibliothèque Humaniste de Sélestat  (), –. Modern scholars understand Tacitus’ phrase to refer to letters secretly exchanged between lovers. 62 At Am. ..–, Konrad Celtis decries modern sexual perversions. Eobanus had earlier quoted the pentameter at Ama. ..

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de generibus ebriosorum Non solum nostros Germanos, Bacche, fatigas: Hyspanos, Gallos, Italicosque tenes. Utque stetit quondam Latia ille Triconchius aula, Sic hodie Italicis ebria turba plagis,  Quamvis nos turpi Germanos scommate laedant Ebria Teutonico pectora habere solo.  Taceo mille fraudum inposturarumque genera, “mille nocendi artes,” mille libidinum plus quam bestialium artificia.  Atque hiis sese nobis preferunt et digniores putant ipsi, qui etiam sobrii non verentur facere quae Germani ne ebrii quidem ulla necessitate admittimus.  Rebus vero bellicis quanto clarior sit nostra Germania, id multis eorum cladibus probatum est et argumento esse potest quod nos imperium, quod ipsi molliter defluentes retinere non poterant, abstulimus iamque ad septingentos annos potenter et gloriose retinemus.  De fide et integritate quid, precor, attinet dicere, cum probatum etiam Romanorum scriptorum testimoniis nullam gentem fide Germanis antecellere?  Et tamen ipsi nobis ebrietatem obiiciunt, merito quidem, si non et ipsi maioribus implicarentur viciorum sentinis.  Sed iam ista negligo, secundum scilicet corollarium deducturus, quod est huiusmodi:

16 DE SEPTENTRIONALIBUS GERMANIS, QUI CEREVISIA MAXIME UTUNTUR. COROLLARIUM II.  Magis tamen detestanda est eorum consuetudo qui versus septentrionalem plagam Germaniae fines inhabitant: Non vino, quo nisi importato carent, sed pernicioso potu, quem cerevisiam vocant, absque ullo temperamento sese ingurgitant.

.. solo AB: sola C.

. ebrii C: ebri AB.

. quid A: quia BC.

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You, Bacchus, don’t afflict us Germans only: you also Take the Spaniards and French and the Italians in hand. And as in Roman times, when Tricongius ruled in the palace,63 So now the drunken mob lords it on Italy’s soil. But that doesn’t stop them from reviling us Germans With the disparaging gibe that we’re all drunkards up here. I say nothing of the myriad kinds of double-dealings and deceptions they practice, the “myriad arts of corrupting,” the myriad perversions that are worse than beastly. But that doesn’t stop those very same people from exalting themselves over us and fancying themselves superior — people who, even when sober, don’t scruple to perform acts that we Germans wouldn’t commit under any circumstances, even when drunk. Moreover, how much more illustrious our Germany is in warfare, that is proven by the many defeats that they have suffered at our hands. It is equally telling that it is we who seized control of the empire, which they in their soft degeneracy were incapable of retaining, whereas we have retained it, invincibly and gloriously, for a good seven hundred years now. As for loyalty and integrity, why, pray tell, should I bother to bring up those virtues, seeing that the testimonials of Roman authors also prove that no people on earth surpasses the Germans in loyalty? But the Italians keep taunting us for drunkenness all the same — with good reason, to be sure, if only they themselves were not mired in the dregs of even greater vices. However, I don’t intend to delve into those matters right now, since I’m about to introduce the second corollary, which runs as follows: 16 CONCERNING THE NORTH GERMANS, WHO MOSTLY CONSUME BEER. SECOND COROLLARY More detestable, however, is the custom of those who inhabit the northernmost regions of Germany: Without any restraint whatsoever they souse themselves, not in wine (which they lack, except when imported), but in the pernicious drink they call beer. 63 During the reign of Emperor Tiberius, Torquatus Novellius of Milan earned the surname Tricongius for tossing off three congii (nearly ten liters) of wine at one sitting. Tiberius was so impressed that he named him proconsul. The story is told in Plin. Nat. ..

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 Germaniam olim fuisse tam agris quam urbibus incultam et desertam Cornelius Tacitus est author.  Quod si idem scriptor, ab Elisio parumper revocatus, Alpes transgressus ab Athesi fluvio | per Oenum, Danubium, et utramque Rheni ripam usque ad Albim progrederetur, diceret profecto longe esse aliam quam ipse olim descripserit.  Non enim modo urbibus, arcibus, villis, et pagis ornatissimam, sed etiam frugum omnis generis, tum metallorum et optimi vini feracissimam offenderet in eo quem dixi progressu.  Quod si Albim quoque superans ad Istulam usque (cuius utramque ripam Germani quoque longe lateque possidemus) ad Rigam usque, potentissimam opulentissimamque Livoniae urbem (quae et tota nostrae est ditionis) procederet, fateretur eam quidem littoralem Germaniae oram clarissimarum urbium aspectu longe magis illustrem et admirandam, licet vini non adeo propter celi inclementiam feracem.  Igitur tota ista maritima Germaniae pars, longe lateque Oceani Germanici littoribus et immensis in sinum flexibus excurrens, vino prorsus caret, nisi a negociatoribus importetur.  Id autem dumtaxat in civitatibus maritimis magnoque constat precio.  Mos est igitur earum regionum cerevisiam (quod genus potionis Diodorus zithum appellat) coquere, qua passim multo etiam peius quam superiores Germani vino inebriantur.  Quam, ut omnibus vobis notum est, ex hordeo, tritico, aut etiam siligine, adiuncto semper lupulo, et aqua concoquunt.  Portentosum sane potionis genus, tanquam non ad alium usum natura parens humano generi fruges dedisse videatur!  Exclamat Plynius libro decimoquarto, capitulo ultimo: “Heu mira viciorum solertia! Inventum est, quemadmodum aqua quoque inebriaret.”  Fit autem hic potus modis pluribus nominibusque item et item aliis, ratione tamen eadem ubique.  Retulit michi nuper amicus quidam mihi valde familiaris quique et bonam istius maritimae Germaniae partem perlustraverit, morem esse in Livonia ut quoties preter quottidianum conviviorum usum curiales isti aulici, leves et perversi homines (quorum ibi . diceret A: dicere BC. . in sinum flexibus BC: sinum inflexibus A. Portentosum Zarncke: Protentosum ABC. . Heu AB: Hei C. conviviorum A: convivorum BC.

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In ancient times (as we know on the authority of Cornelius Tacitus) Germany boasted neither cultivated fields nor bustling cities. But if that same writer, recalled for a brief spell from Elysium, could cross the Alps and proceed from the Adige River over the Inn, the Danube, and both banks of the Rhine all the way to the Elbe, he would undoubtedly say that our modern-day country is far different from the one he himself described so long ago. For on this journey that I was imagining he would come across a Germany not only richly adorned with cities, castles, villages, and countrysides, but also wonderfully productive in all types of crops as well as in metals and the choicest wine. But if he were also to cross the Elbe and travel all the way to the Vistula (both of whose banks we Germans likewise possess in their entire length and breadth) right up to Riga, the most powerful and opulent city in Livonia (which is wholly in our possession too), he would confess that this littoral region of Germany, with its vista of world-famous cities, is now certainly far more distinguished and admirable, even though, owing to the inclemency of the weather, it is not so productive of wine. As a matter of fact, that entire maritime part of Germany, which runs all along the shores of the Baltic Sea and juts out in immense curves to form a gulf, would be wholly lacking in wine, were it not imported by traders. Even then it is available only in the coastal cities and at a steep price. Consequently it is the practice in those regions to brew beer (the kind of potation that Diodorus calls “zythus”), on which they get drunk everywhere, much worse even than the High Germans do on wine. This drink, as all of you know, is brewed from barley, wheat, or even rye (always with an admixture of hops) and water. Truly a portentous kind of potation — as if Mother Nature had apparently not given humankind cereal crops to some other end! In book , last chapter, Pliny exclaims: “Ah, the wondrous ingenuity of the vices! Somehow or other it was discovered that water, too, can make you drunk!” Now this beverage is produced by many different methods and under all sorts of names, yet everywhere for the same reason. A certain friend, with whom I am on exceedingly intimate terms and who had ranged over a good part of that maritime region of Germany, recently told me about the custom in Livonia. Whenever the courtiers, shallow and depraved men (of whom there are great numbers there because of the Teutonic

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propter Teutonicam militiam magna copia), cum aliis quoque et quocunque loco conveniant, ibi tum considere longo ordine per sedilia quasi in hemiciclo afferrique mox poculum unum ingentis magnitudinis.  Idque cerevisia plenum in manu tenens, qui in consessu primus est, ad sequentem conversus, inquit, “Et gylt, myn leve stalbroer.”  Respondet ille: “Sup, myn leve stalbroer. Ick wylt gerne hefen.”  Quod si ita re- | spondens postea tergiversari voluerit, ab illo eodem mox stricto pugione (quos in eum usum gerunt), plerumque etiam impune, confoditur.  Tanta est viciorum apud eos homines reverentia, ut fidem in re turpi violatam morte puniant!  Itaque, ut ad propositum redeam, eum ordinem usque ad ultimum continuantes, a primo iterum atque iterum, tum sepe repetito ordine, incipiunt, fierique eo modo aiunt, ut plerique, fidem fallere non volentes, plus etiam quam eorum natura sufferre queat haurientes, animam inter pocula evomant, efferrique sepe mortuos, reliquos vero non minus suum ordinem usque ad unum continuare gloriarique super mortui cadavere, non secus ac si egregium aliquod facinus peregerint.  Ex Livonia digressis in Prussiam occurrit mitior quidem et multo humanior populus, ad conviviorum tamen luxum et poculorum vicissitudinem multo quam decere possit propensior.  Apud eum populum Dantiscum, civitas maritima, dives emporium, populorum multitudine, externarum rerum importatione, negociatorum frequentia, urbis et loci amoenitate, situque et civium mira humanitate preter alias eius regionis civitates maxime commendatur.  Sed unum oblitus sum: neque enim ego urbem commendare volui, sed

. considere AB: consedere C. . Respondet AB: Respondit C; gerne hefen A: gern hefen B, gern heben C. . morte A: om. BC. . evomant AB: evoment C; aliquod AC: aliquot B; facinus BC: facimus A. . Livonia A: Livonis BC; Prussiam BC: Prussia A; conviviorum A: convivorum BC; luxum et AB: luxum ei C. 64 Cf. Camerarius, Nar. . (:–), describing a wooden drinking vessel the size of a bucket. Several such vats are depicted in the title woodcut to De generibus ebriosorum. See p.  above. 65 The phrase mein lieber Stallbruder was a standard form of address among convivial drinkers throughout the German-speaking regions. Cf. Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , ll. –: “myn leve stalbroderken.” It is common in the drinking songs of the age. See Williams, Liederpoesie, , no. : “Paule lieber stallbruder mein”; no. : “Holla

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Order), when those fellows have done their daily round of banquets, they like to get together, also with outsiders, in some locale or other. Once they’re all seated in a long row, on chairs arranged in something like a semicircle, they have a single mug of gigantic proportions brought in and filled up with beer.64 Hereupon, grasping this vessel in his hand, the man seated at the head of the line turns to the next and cries, “To your health, my dear stall brother!”65 To which the latter responds: “Booze up, my dear stall brother. I’m happy to raise it!” But if the fellow who responds like this were then to try to weasel out of his pledge, his comrade has no compunction about stabbing him with his drawn dagger (which they carry for that very purpose), often actually with impunity. So deep-seated among those men is the reverence for the vices, that they punish the violation of their perverted code of honor with death!66 Well then, to return to my topic: going down the line until they reach the last man, they start all over again with the first, and then in oft-repeated succession. In this way it happens, or so I’m told, that a great many of them, not wishing to violate the code of honor and hence imbibing even more than their body can tolerate, vomit out their life amidst the carousing. But even as the dead are repeatedly being carried out, the survivors keep on drinking in their turn, right down to the last man, and uttering boasts over the dead man’s corpse, just as if they were performing some brilliant feat. When you travel from Livonia into Prussia you come upon a people that is unmistakably gentler and much more civilized, but also much more partial to extravagant carousals and the drinking of rounds than can be deemed proper. Among this people, the coastal city and wealthy emporium of Danzig is commended above all the other communities up there for the size of her population, the importation of goods from abroad, the great swarms of traders, the beauty of the city and landscape, her location, and the marvelous gentility of her citizens. But there is one thing I forgot: I really didn’t set out to commend the city, but rather the mein lieber Stallbruder”; Das Ambraser Liederbuch vom Jahre , ed. Joseph Bergmann (Stuttgart, ), , no. : “Ach du lieber stalbruder mein,/krauseminte.” 66 Friedrich Amelung places these customs at the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Reval (now Tallinn). The guards and servants there were known as Stallbrüder (“Comrades”). See his article in Revalsche Zeitung, , no. . The argument reappears in Friedrich Amelung and Georges Wrangell, Geschichte der Revaler Schwarzenhäupter (Reval, ), , n. , and in Paul Johansen, Balthasar Rüssow als Humanist und Geschichtsschreiber, ed. Heinz von zur Mühlen (Cologne, ), –. Amelung’s argument is an overinterpretation, triggered by the conventional drinker’s phrase “my dear Stallbruder” (see preceding note). Eobanus is describing a drinking bout at one of the taverns in Livonia, probably in Riga, the northernmost city that he mentions in the preceding paragraph.

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cerevisiam quae ibi coquitur, optima totius, ut aiunt, Germaniae.  Mos est, non solum eius civitatis, sed totius istius maritimi tractus ad Lubecum usque et Hamburgum (ubi non minus optima fit cerevisia, sed ex tritico, non ut apud Dantiscum ex hordeo) convivia subterraneis criptis celebrare ac diu noctuque poculis sese invicem urgere, non solum viris sed et foeminis etiam.  Sed quid hec referam? Dolor est meminisse bonorum!  Sed pro me melius vobis Celtis noster satisfaciet, qui interfuit tantis deliciis.  Sic enim inquit:

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Est mos, Arctoo quo se Germania claudit Aequore, quo rigidum temperat aura gelu: Sub terra effossis facimus convivia cellis, Quis laridum crudum farsaque cruda damus  Cum strumulo ceso butyroque in pixide salso Et Bacchum et Cereris pocula aquosa damus. Phoebaeus rigidas globus ut se condit in undas Noxque suos oculos protulit ignivomos, Cumque processerunt stellati sydera mundi  Effulsitque suo iam Cynosura polo, Mox noctem ludis, Baccho, Cererisque liquore Ducimus, aequali et pocula lance volant.  Et paulo post: Iamque fuit ventum sub subterranea castra, Quae Ceres et Bacchus, Cypris et alma tenent. Elysiis positum campis me forte putabam Atque locis quibus in turba sepulta sedet:  Tam varios video lusus et ludicra verba, Oscula et amplexus, quicquid et audet amans. Iamque ego non noctes tenebrosas ire putabam Sed qui vernali ridet in axe dies. Gaudet Amor tenebris, volat et sub nocte Cupido,  Noxque placet Veneri, Baccheque blande, tibi. . cerevisia A: cerevisa B, cerevisiam C; diu AB: die C. .. laridum AB: lardum C, Zarncke. .. Phoebaeus AB: Phebus C, Phoebus Zarncke; rigidas in textu Conradi Celtis: rogidas ABC, Rogidas Scheidt, Zarncke. .. ignivomos AB: ignivomus C. .. stellati A: stellata BC.

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beer that is brewed there, the very best, so they say, in all Germany. It is the custom, not only in this community, but in the whole of that maritime region, all the way to Lübeck and Hamburg (where they produce an equally excellent beer, but from wheat, not from barley, as in Danzig), to hold parties in underground cellars and to spur each other on in drinking day and night — not just the men but even the women too. But why am I telling you this? It hurts to remember the good times! But our Celtis, who shared in those wonderful delights, will satisfy you better than I can. For here is what he says: This is the custom up here, where Germany stops at the northern Sea, where the gentle breeze tempers the stiffening cold: In rooms built underground we hold dinner parties, to which we Take smoked bacon strips, also some smoked sausage links, Along with stockfish filets and a small tub of well-salted butter, Also bottles of wine and Ceres’ watery drink.67 When the sun’s orb disappears into the fast-frozen ocean And night puts on a show with her fire-vomiting eyes, When the constellations appear in the star-studded heavens And Ursa Minor now blazes forth at the north pole, Then we spend the night in games, drinking wine and Ceres’ liquor, While the cups fly about, carried on well-balanced trays. And shortly after this: Before long we came to the subterranean stronghold Where Ceres and Bacchus and bountiful Venus hold sway. I thought, perhaps, I’d arrived in the Elysian Fields or that place of Bliss where the dead go after the funeral rites: So much amorous sport and frolicking banter I witnessed, Kissing and hugging galore, all that a lover will dare. Now I no longer thought I was going into the gloom of Night, but into a day smiling from heaven in spring. Amor takes joy in the darkness, and Cupid takes wing in the nighttime. Venus, too, loves the night. So, cheering Bacchus, do you.

67 In Roman mythology, Ceres is the goddess of such grain crops as barley, wheat, and rye. The “watery drink,” of course, is beer.

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17 SUPER HOC QUAEDAM FACETIAE

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 Moris autem est ut cucullati in istas cavernas tam foeminae quam viri ingrediantur, ne passim et a plebaea multitudine agnoscantur.  Ingressi vero omne velamentum abiiciunt, ibi tum in mediis voluptatibus nepotantes, iure scilicet naturali, nach der alten weyße, secundum legem, “Tu quoque fac simile,” et secundum medicos, ut dicit Harpocrates, De commixione complexionum: “Recipe: piperis longi manipulum unum, uncias duas pillularum cochiarum, ungekocht fleddermeuß, ripß rapß, stobenrauch, hymmelblo ii, donner x grillorum; adde huc semel, senff, merretich, guty ex eodem, schornsteyn fegen, diagridion, diatesseron, ein hinder viertel von der viemeydt ym grossen spytal; misce simul et contere in mortario; repetatur mane et sero, media nocte et in omni tempore”; et in sacris litteris: “Osculetur me osculo oris sui,” Canticorum i.; “Laeva eius sub capite meo, et dextera eius amplexabitur me.”  Textus intelligendus est ut verba sonant, secundum Lolhardum Rubschnytzel de Fyltzenhaußen | in sua Authentica, ca. Non sic formantur, ¶ Grossitudo ubi fyltzitasti; et secundum logicos, “plura predicata predicantur de eodem subiecto, alternatim et subalternatim, secundum sub et supra, in recta linea predicamentali, in suppositione personali et in materia mixta.”  Alexander vero, Dei patientia rex provinciae barbarorum, sic dicit in suis Constitutionibus: “Est communis homo pariter cum virgine latro,” ubi dicit Glosa

. cucullati A: cucullate BC, cucullatae Scheidt, Zarncke. . weyße A: weyß BC; donner x grillorum conieci: donner ex grillorum ABC; adde huc conieci: adhuc ABC. . Fyltzenhaußen A: Filtzbach B, Filczbach C; predicata A: predicta BC. 68 Harpocrates is the god of silence. He obviously would not be saying anything. We may be sure, therefore, that Eobanus uses the name here as a jocular distortion for the celebrated Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. –ca.  bce). In the medical parlance of the day, the “complexions” were the four temperaments, which in turn arose from the four humors. The book Commingling of the Complexions is a comic fiction. 69 Cochia pills were a strong purgative. 70 Another purgative (diagrydium). 71 An electuary containing four ingredients, including birthwort root. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance it was used, among other things, to induce menstruation or labor. See Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women: Materia Medica Woman (New York, ), –.

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17 SOME JOKES ABOUT THIS It is the custom up there, moreover, that when they enter these cellars, women as well as men wrap themselves in hoods to avoid being recognized at every turn, and by the common people at that. Once inside, however, they throw all disguise aside and let themselves go in every kind of extravagant pleasures — obviously in tune with natural law, in the oldfashioned way, in conformity with the rule, “Do likewise yourself,” and following doctors’ orders, as Harpocrates says in The Commingling of the Complexions:69 “Rx: Take  handful of long pepper,  ounces of cochia pills,70 uncooked bat meat, riff raff, parlor smoke,  [ounces] sky blue,  cricket thunder; add to this white flour, mustard, horseradish, gunk from the same, chimney soot, scammony,71 diatessaron,72 one hindquarter of the milkmaid in the big hospital; mix together and pound in a mortar; repeat mornings and evenings, at midnight and at all times”; and in Holy Scripture: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,” Canticles ; “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.” This text must be understood in the literal sense, according to the Lollard73 Beetschnitzel of Felthousen in his Authentica,74 chapter, “They are not formed thusly,” paragraph, “The swollenness where you feltzitated”; and in accordance with the logicians: “many predicates are predicated of the same subject, alternately and subalternately, according to below and above, in a direct predicamental line, in personal supposition and in mixed matter.”75 Alexander, moreover, by the patience of God king of the province of barbarians, states in his Constitutions:76 “These are common gender: ‘person,’ ‘thief,’ alongside with ‘virgin.’ ”77 On this text the

73 The Lollards were followers of the English reformer John Wycliffe (d. ). In Eobanus’ day they were often satirized for their heretical beliefs and deviant behavior. 74 The name is a take-off on Authenticum or Liber authenticorum — an authoritative collection of Roman laws based on the Novellae. 75 This text is made up of a series of technical phrases used in scholastic treatises, whimsically strung together, but with distinctly sexual overtones. 76 Alexander of Villedieu was the author of a versified grammar, Doctrinale puerorum (). This medieval schoolbook, which students were expected to learn by heart, was derided by the Renaissance humanists as hopelessly barbaric. See p.  above; cf. Gen. ebrios. ., with n.  (pp. – above). The Doctrinale forms the Constitutions on which Alexander’s “barbaric” empire is built. The title Constitutions recalls the Clementine Constitutions, a set of decrees issued by Pope Clement V. 77 Alexander, Doctrinale . The verse lists three words ending in “o” that are of common gender (communis), namely homo, virgo, and latro.

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notabilis: “Sciendum quod hic author ponit unum pulchrum notabile de communitate personarum. Et haec est sententia recte teutonizata: latro, der pfaffen knecht; cum virgine, mit der köchyn; est communis homo, ist eyn recht par zusammen; pariter, an allen orten; et supple, i. intellige implicite, in stabulo, in cellario, in coquina, in camera, quando scilicet lectum faciunt.”  Sed iam tempus est tertium huic conclusioni addere corollarium: 18 DE DIVERSIS CEREVISIAE NOMINIBUS. COROLLARIUM .  Cum igitur versus septentrionem maior sit cerevisiae quam vini affluentia, Diversa eadem res sortitur nomina, secundum diversitatem qualitatum sibi congruentia.  Probatum est superiori corollario maiorem esse cerevisiae quam vini copiam apud septentrionales populos, hoc est partim in Sarmatia, cuius partes sunt Polonia, Russia, Lituania, Livonia, Mazovia, Prussia, partim in Ulteriori Citeriorique Saxonia, cuius partes sunt Pomerania, Rugia, Ducatus Stetinensis, Marchia Superior et Inferior, et vera illa nobilissimorum ducum et imperatorum parens, Antiqua Saxonia, quae longe lateque patens maximam orae maritimae partem occupat.  In quibus regionibus, ut dixi, vinum non nascitur; bibitur autem nihilominus importatum optimum, sed predominatur cerevisia — crassus ille et humano corpori noxius humor, quem (ut credere par est) daemon aliquis malus excogitavit in hominum perniciem, ut eo non secus ac veneno quodam pestifero pleraque clarissima ingenia extinguerentur, non tamen perinde atque omnino improbanda res, si modus (quod et de vino dixi) adhiberetur; sed optima illa virtus, . supple, i. intellige conieci: supple intellige A, .s. intellige BC, scilicet intellige Zarncke. . addere Scheidt, Zarncke: adde AC, adde. B. . nobilissimorum BC: nobilissimorumque A; orae AB: oram C. . cerevisia BC: cerivisia A. 78

The Glosa notabilis by Gerard Zerbolt van Zutphen (–). The book is

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Notable Gloss78 says: “It must be understood that here the author places one fine notable note concerning the communality of persons. And this sentence is correctly Germanized: thief, the priest’s servant; with virgin, with the kitchenmaid; are common gender person, are quite a pair together; alongside, all over the place. And here you must supply, i.e., understand implicitly: in the stable, in the cellar, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, that is, any time they make the bed.” But it is now time to add the third corollary to this conclusion: 18 THE VARIOUS NAMES FOR BEER. THIRD COROLLARY Now because in the north country there is a greater flow of beer than of wine, The result has been a wide variety of names that correspond to the wide variety of beer types. In the preceding corollary it was proven that there is a greater abundance of beer than of wine among the northern peoples, that is to say, the peoples who dwell partly in Sarmatia, consisting of Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Livonia, Mazovia, and Prussia, and partly in Lower and Upper Saxony, consisting of Pomerania, Rügen, the Duchy of Stettin, the Upper and Lower Marches,79 as well as that true mother of the most glorious dukes and emperors, Old Saxony,80 which, extending far and wide, occupies the largest swath of the coastline. In those regions, as I remarked, there is no viniculture. Nevertheless, they do consume excellent imported wines there. The predominant beverage, however, is beer — that thick liquid so noxious to the human body, the brew that some evil demon, it is fair to assume, thought up for the ruination of the human race, with the express goal of using it like some pestiferous venom to snuff out a great many of the brightest intellects. This is not to say that beer is utterly detestable in and of itself, provided (as I asserted also with regard to wine) that one stays within one’s limits. But then that best of virtues, moderation,

a commentary on the Doctrinale puerorum of Alexander of Villedieu, and hence (to Eobanus and his fellow humanists) twice as barbaric. Of course, Zerbolt is innocent of the comic glosses that Eobanus assigns to him here. 79 Upper and Lower Lusatia (Lausitz). 80 Old Saxony (the medieval Duchy of Saxony) gave rise to a dynasty of emperors, who reigned from  to : Henry I, the three Ottos, and Henry II.

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temperantia, quam et in brutis plerumque agnoscimus, ad nos non venit.  Etenim, ut recte dixit Celtis noster, quem hiisce de rebus libenter sepe allego:

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Taurus habet certas potandi tempore leges, Sic equus et liquidus quem vehit aer avis: Sed nos, divina qui cum ratione vigemus, Cur Venus et Bacchus nocte dieque tenent?  Nos vero, non contenti rebus ipsis turpiter abuti, nominibus quoque luxuriamus, tanquam parum sit rem turpem agere, nisi nomen quoque turpitudinis adiiciatur.  Quamvis fortasse turpe non sit rem suo vocabulo exprimere, alienas tamen ab re ipsa voces fingimus, ut scilicet semper quidem cerevisiam bibentes, videamur tamen diversa velut genera diversis nominibus explicare.  Quamvis ridicula potius illa quam censoria nota digna, quod Erphurdienses (ut a nobis incipiam) suam illam pinguem et crassam cerevisiam peculiari vocabulo Schluntz appellitant, nomine scilicet plane barbaro et horrido, quod ne barbari quidem intelligunt, puto eo mysterio, quod eandem avidius potantes fiunt omnino non intelligibiles, insensati, ne dicam irrationales atque indeclinabiles, in quamcunque partem moveas.  Qua in re quid opus est testimonio?  Res notior est quam ut oporteat testes producere.  De cerevisia Erphurdiensi tale extat epigramma: Ah pereat, crassam praestat quicunque sodali Schluntz Kydegern! Nunquam vina meraca bibat!  Lypsensium vero cerevisiam studentes vocant Rastrum, metaphora puto sumpta ab agricolis, quod, quemadmodum hii rastris et sarculis et ligonibus omnem agri duriciam vertunt et emolliunt, ita Lypsensis cerevisia velut rastrum intestina omnia sua acetositate ledit, movet, et corrumpit.  Est autem

. hiisce scripsi: hysce A, hisce BC. . ab re A: a re BC. . potius illa AB: potius C; fiunt AB: om. C. . Erphurdiensi AB: Erphurdensi C. .. praestat A: prestet BC. .. Kydegern AB: Rdyegern C, Rydegern Zarncke. . vertunt BC: verrunt A; Lypsensis A: Lypsensium BC; movet AB: movit C.

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which we generally discern even in the brute animals, never did reach us. Indeed, as our Celtis, whom I love to adduce on these matters, has rightly pointed out: The bull knows by instinct when it is time to be drinking. So does the horse and the bird soaring up high in the air. But we humans take pride in our godlike reason. So why do Venus and Bacchus keep us, night and day, firm in their grasp? In fact, not content with shamelessly abusing the things themselves, we actually revel in the names, as though it weren’t enough just to engage in a disgraceful practice without also giving the disgrace its very own name. While it may not be reprehensible to designate something with a word of its own, the fact remains, nonetheless, that we dream up names that have nothing to do with the thing itself. Or, to state it baldly: we are, of course, always drinking “beer”; nevertheless we seem to make a fetish of distinguishing the various subtypes, so to speak, with all kinds of different names. Still, those labels are really too ludicrous to deserve censure. Thus the Erfurters (to start with ourselves) have taken to calling their stout, thick beer by the peculiar word Schluntz, a name so obviously barbarous and uncouth that not even the barbarians understand it, no doubt because of the mystery that those who imbibe it too exuberantly become altogether unintelligible, senseless, not to say irrational and muleheaded, no matter where you push them. Why bother with testimony on this matter? The facts are too well known for me to have to produce witnesses. About Erfurt beer there is an epigram that runs as follows: Ah, to hell with the man who offers his comrade the heavy Schluntz Gabalot! May he never drink straight wine again! In Leipzig, by contrast, the students call the local beer “Rastrum,” or “Rake.” The metaphor is evidently taken from agriculture, because, just as the peasants turn and loosen all the hard soil with rakes and hoes and mattocks, so Leipzig beer vexes, moves, and corrupts all the intestines with its bitterness. I should add that it comes in three varieties, about

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triplex, de quo talis est versus: “Eyn topff scherpentum, zwen Rastrum, danque caventum.”  Nihilominus tamen in tam nobili oppido externae quoque habentur cerevisiae, ut sunt Eynbeccensis, quae apud nos est optima, Numbergensis, quae oculos laedit, Turgaviensis, Belgeranensis, de qua proverbium est, “Belgerana est omnibus sana,” Vorcellensis, Friburgensis, et reliquae id genus.  Preterea quis non novit Saxonicas quoque cerevisias diversis appellari nominibus, Fyltz scilicet Madeburgensem, Mommom sive Momum Brunswigensem, Gauße Goslariensem.  Sed prestat alia preterire silentio, ne de re nihili aliquid facere velle videar, cum sint tot pene cerevisiarum quot civitatum et oppidorum nomina, in quibus et talia quandoque audivi ridicula: Quytscharth, Küschwantz, Kelberzagel, Buffel apud Francophurdianos ad ripam Oderae, Stafeling, Beyderwan, Schlipschlap, Fytscherling, Stampff yn die aschen, Stortz den kerl, Batzman, Hotenbach, Gulckelßhan, Sperpype, Horlemotsche, Stroheyntzgen, Bastart, Rupetop, Hel- | schepoff, Lorch, Itax, Salat, Streckepertzel, Fertzer, Rolings byer, Raßeman, Alde Klauß, Koervinck, Kreßem, Mortbotner, Reyßekopff, Fidelia, Loetenaße, Hartenacke, Breypott, Muckensenff, et multa talia, quae quis enumerabit? — nomina, per deum muscarum, quamvis plane ridicula, tamen bibonibus, imo bironibus et birolatronibus istis adeo amabilia, adeo auditu iucunda, ut, quoties talium quidpiam nominetur, meras Syrenas sese audire putent et iam tum ad ipsas voces sitiant.  Verum ut aliquando finem ineptiendi faciam, conclusionem tertiam et ultimam huius quaestionis responsivam sic pono:

. danque conieci: spanque A, dat spanque BC. . tamen A (t¯n in ex. Hallensi et Londonensi) BC: t˜u A (in ex. Guelpherbytano); Numbergensis A: Numburgensis BC; Vorcellensis AB: Wurtzellensis C. . Madeburgensem A: Madeburgeñ B, Magdeburgeñ. C, Magdeburgensis Zarncke; Brunswigensem A: Brunswigeñ BC, Brunswigensis Zarncke; Goslariensem A: Goßlarieñ. BC, Gosslariensis Zarncke. . Gulckelßhan A: Glückelßhan B, Gluckelßhan C; Horlemotsche AB: Horlemotsch C; Rupetop A: Rutetop BC; Alde Klauß A: Ald Clauß B, Alt Clauß C; Kreßem A: Kre߯e BC, Kressen Scheidt, Kreßen Zarncke; enumerabit A: numerabit BC; muscarum A: emuscarum BC; imo bironibus A: om. BC; putent AB: putant C.

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which there is the following verse: “One pot scherpentum, two Rastrum, and then a conventum.”81 But of course, in a world-class city like Leipzig you can also drink your fill of such out-of-town brews as Einbeck beer, which enjoys the highest reputation among us; Naumburg beer, which harms the eyes; Torgau beer; Belgern beer, about which there is the proverb, “Belgern beer keeps you healthy all year”; Wurzen beer; Freiburg beer; and all the other ones of that caliber. Besides, who doesn’t know that the Saxon beers go by diverse names too? For example: Magdeburg “Felt,” Brunswick “Mumme” or “Mum,” Goslar “Gose.” But it’s best to skip over the rest in silence, lest I give the appearance of wanting to make something out of nothing. For the fact is that there are almost as many names for beers as there are for cities and towns — in which, incidentally, I sometimes heard such ridiculous names as “Squeaker,” “Cow’s Tail,” “Calf ’s Tail,” “Body Blow” in Frankfurt an der Oder, “Staffeling,” “Double Delusion,” “Slip-slop,” “Butterfly,” “Stomp in the Ashes,” “Knock the Man Down,” “Batzman,” “Hotenbrook,” “Glug glug Tap,” “Tap Pipe,” “Horsefly,” “Scarecrow,” “Bastard,” “Caterpillar,” “Halle Wallop,” “Toad,” “Itax,” “Salad,” “Stretch Butt,” “Farter,” “Croaker Beer,” “Raving Man,” “Old Claus,” “Choir Finch,” “Cress,” “Killcooper,” “Rip Head,” “Fidelia,” “Soldering Fluid,” “Hardneck,” “Mash Pot,” “Mosquito Mustard,” and many others like them — who could count them all up? — names, by the god of the flies, which, ridiculous though they may be, nevertheless offer those beer bibbers, or rather, beer barons and beer bandits, such a shudder of joy, such a delight to the ear, that whenever one of those names is so much as mentioned, they fancy that they’re hearing nothing short of the Sirens and instantly develop a thirst for those very names. But to bring my blabbering to a close at long last, I herewith offer the third and final conclusion in response to the question assigned to me:

81 “Scherpent” is a weak beer which is put on draft right after it is brewed. “Conventum” (“convent beer”) is a small beer (very watered down).

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19 EBRIETATEM OMNIBUS STATIBUS ESSE FUGIENDAM. CONCLUSIO .  Ebrietas avaricia peius vicium, iuventuti perniciosa, senectuti exicialis, sacerdotibus turpissima censenda, Ut rempublicam gubernantibus prorsus evitanda, ita litterarum studiosis tanquam ingenii pestis et memoriae mors est fugienda.  Non putabam necessarium ut omnia quae in capite quaestionis posita sunt in hac ultima conclusione repeterem, quandoquidem de hiis in superioribus conclusionibus et corollariis satis dictum est et hic velut epilogo quodam dicetur, quod in praecedentibus non ubique ad verbum est expressum.  Itaque ad probandam primam huius conclusionis partem resumo verba divi Hieronimi superius etiam corollario . primae conclusionis a me posita, illa scilicet: “Sponsa Christi vinum fugiat pro veneno. Haec adversus adolescentiam prima arma sunt daemonum. Non sic avaricia quatit, inflat superbia,” et quae sequuntur.  “Non sic inflat superbia,” dicit, quemadmodum scilicet vinum immodice sumptum pervertit omnem vitae ordinem et instruit ad alia vicia viamque turpidini aperit.  In quam sententiam multa quidem loco praememorato decreta hic repetantur.  Nos ad alia festinamus. 20 IUVENTUTI PERNICIOSAM ET MAGIS QUAM REM VENEREAM OBESSE EBRIETATEM  Iuventuti nihil est ebrietate perniciosius, quandoquidem ipsa, se sola non contenta, semper ad peiora declinat et trahit occupatum vino et illecebris captum animum.  Videmus multos aetate florentes, formosos, et amabilissimi coloris existentes, mox, ubi continentiae fines egressi viciisque parumper

, tit. Conclusio Scheidt, Zarncke: c. A, Corr. B, Corrolarium C. . Ut AB: Et C; mors A: moris BC. . ad verbum est ABC: est ad verbum Zarncke. . Christi BC: Cristi A. . turpidini A: turpitudini BC. . decreta scripsi: dct¯a A, dicta BC. , tit. quam A: qua BC. . ebrietate AB: ebrietati C. . egressi C: egessi AB.

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19 THAT DRUNKENNESS MUST BE SHUNNED BY ALL ESTATES. THIRD CONCLUSION Drunkenness must be deemed a vice worse than avarice, pernicious to the young, deadly to the old, especially disgraceful in priests, Not only to be avoided at all costs by public officials but also to be shunned by scholars as the ruination of the intellect and the death of memory. I did not think it necessary in this the final conclusion to recapitulate all the points brought forward at the head of our question, because enough has been said about them in the previous conclusions and corollaries and also because here, by way of epilogue, if you will, I plan to touch on matters that have not been stated expressly somewhere in the preceding. Accordingly, to prove the first part of this conclusion I go back to the words of Saint Jerome that I have already cited above, in the second corollary of the first conclusion, to wit: “The bride of Christ must shun wine as she would poison. This is the principal weapon that demons use against young people. Greed does not shake, nor pride puff up . . . as much,” and so forth. “Pride does not puff up as much,” he says — that is, not as much as the immoderate consumption of wine perverts the entire course of life and clears the way to other vices and opens the road to turpitude. Regarding this maxim, many decrees in the abovementioned passage could well be repeated here. We now hasten to other things. 20 THAT DRUNKENNESS IS PERNICIOUS IN YOUNG PEOPLE AND MORE HARMFUL THAN SEXUAL INTERCOURSE For young people, nothing is more pernicious than drunkenness, inasmuch as this vice, not sufficient unto itself, is forever seducing the winesodden, pleasure-craving mind and luring it down the primrose path to evil. We have all seen plenty of people bursting with youth, handsome, and in the pink of health. But once they’ve crossed the bounds of



Dv

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[

assuefacti ebrietatis consuetudinem induunt, defluere, emarcessere, elanguere florem illum aetatis, et animi virorem amittere. |  “Quid adhuc egemus testibus?”  Considerate, si vultis, quosdam in hoc auditorio, non annis graves, non temporum serie rugosos, non inedia pallidos, non febre macilentos, sed vino, sed cerevisia supra modum pota senes languidos, tremulos.  Nulla maior pestis erepsit unquam in nostram Germaniam.  Facile erat tolerare tyrannos, cedes, latrocinia.  Istis occurrere et remedia cum tempore invenire potuimus; hanc curare luem nulla medela potest.  Hunc hostem in nostris finibus adeo superbe grassantem vincere aut prohibere nullo modo possumus.  Quomodo elanguit robur et virtus omnis miliciae? Quomodo conversa est in luxum frugalitas nostra? Quomodo degeneramus a patribus nostris?  Maiores nostri sanguine et sudore suo pepererunt nobis princeps terrarum imperium.  Quomodo nos laborem patrum nostrorum non defendimus? Quomodo diripi permittimus?  “Aquilae ad gruem redierunt,” dixit Campanus, cum vidisset magis in compotationibus et ebrietatibus quam consilio et sapientia versari dietas Germanorum, quarum ipse maximae, Ratisponnensi scilicet, interfuit.  Hannibal apud Capuam, cum vincere Rhomanos et imperium Europae in Aphricam transferre potuisset, luxuria et deliciis defluens, victus et fugatus est.  Alexander Magnus non solum nobilissimam Persarum regiam in ebrietate incendit, sed et Clitum et multos alios amicorum interfecit omnemque partarum victoriarum gloriam ebrietatis vicio, velut nebula quadam solem clarissimum, obfuscavit.  Tiberius Nero, Heliogabalus, Commodus, Domicianus, et plerique alii Rhomanorum imperatores perditissimis vitae exemplis rempublicam sepe afflixerunt.  Nos, quod ex tanto imperio relictum et maiorum nostrorum virtute ad nos delatum est, etiam egre non retinemus, ad vicia magis quam ad virtutes ingeniosi.  Quid enim isto novitio

. consuetudinem Scheidt, Zarncke: consuetudine ABC; virorem ABC: vigorem Zarncke. . egemus BC: egenus A. . potuimus BC: potumus A. . princeps AB: principes C. . non defendimus A: defendimus BC, defoedimus Zarncke. . scilicet AB: om. C. . apud A: ad BC. . ebrietate Scheidt, Zarncke: ebrietatem ABC; quadam ABC: quaedam Zarncke; clarissimum A: clarissimam BC. . Tiberius Nero ABC: post Tiberius commate interpungunt Scheidt et Zarncke.

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

self-control and, by and by, grown accustomed to the vices, once they’ve slipped into the habit of drunkenness, then that flower of their youth droops, withers, wilts, and they lose their verdancy of mind. “What further need have we of witnesses?” Take a look, if you don’t mind, at some of the men in this very auditorium. They’re not stooped from old age, not wrinkled from the passage of time, not pallid from fasting, not gaunt from fever. No, it is because they’ve bibbed wine and beer to excess. That is what turned them into frail, trembly old gaffers! No greater plague has ever crept into this Germany of ours. Putting up with tyrants, massacres, pillages, that was easy. We were able to confront such horrors and, in time, to find remedies against them. This plague, however, no medicine can hope to cure. Vanquishing this enemy who rages so arrogantly within our borders, or at least keeping him at bay, that is quite beyond our powers. How is it that the whole might and valor of our soldiery has slackened? How is it that our simple way of life has turned into self-indulgence? How is it that we have degenerated from our forefathers? With their blood and sweat our ancestors created an empire for us that is mistress of the world. How is it that we don’t defend all that our fathers worked for? How is it that we let it be torn to shreds? “The eagles are reduced to a crane,” said Campano when he saw that the German Diets (the biggest of which, namely the one at Regensburg, he himself attended) were more concerned with compotations and drunken revels than with deliberation and prudence.82 When Hannibal, wintering at Capua, had it within his grasp to defeat the Romans and transfer control of Europe to Africa, he dissipated himself in luxury and pleasures. In consequence he was defeated and put to flight. Alexander the Great not only burned down the world-renowned palace of the Persian kings while in a drunken fit, he also killed Clitus and many other friends of his. And thus all the glory that he had won through his victories he darkened by the vice of drunkenness, as the brightest sun by some cloud. Tiberius Nero, Heliogabalus, Commodus, Domitian, and most of the other Roman emperors frequently brought the state to its knees with their shockingly depraved lifestyles. As for us, we can just barely hang on to what remains of the enormous empire bequeathed to us by our ancestors’ valor, for we are far more adept at the vices than at the manly virtues. What, for instance, 82 The eagles represent the German Empire. The once powerful birds of prey have degenerated into long-necked cranes — gourmands like Philoxenus, who think only about eating and drinking. Cf. n.  (p. ) above; Krause, HEH, :, n. . For Campano and the Diet of Regensburg, see n.  (p. ) above.

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nostro invento, tormenti scilicet illius, quod bombardam vocamus, excogitari potuit vel ingeniosius vel perniciosius?  Quo velut viciorum propugnaculo utimur, dum in urbibus muro et aggeribus cinctis eo hostem arcemus, ne voluptariam et quietam vitam impediat, ad hostes vero egressi eo viam per agmina et muros facimus, ut liceat sine conflictu quam maxima nonnunquam bella conficere, ne scilicet corpora ad voluptatem et delicias nata temere periculis obiiciamus.  At non sic maiores nostri, qui etiam (ut est apud Tacitum) civitates munitas aliquando dicuntur aperuisse murosque deiecisse, ne essent sine metu hostium | et murorum potius quam suae fortitudini confidentes bellicam virtutem amitterent.  Sed ne declamare videar, hinc ex transcursu revertor ad propositum.  Rem Veneream, tametsi omni aetati turpis est et perniciosissima, non tamen perinde ac ebrietatem in adulescente damnaverim.  Ea enim plerumque se sola contenta, reliqua excludit vicia, adeoque secum occupata, semper suis ludibriis ita est intenta ut de reliquis nihil cogitet.  Amor enim ille, qui nonnunquam iuveniles animos invadere etiam incautos solet, non adeo precipitat aetatem et vitae regulam, sed potius instruit, informat, mores docet.  Componit sese ad benivolentiam qui amat, ut fiat amabilis.  Videte Cimonem Boccacii, qui ex fatuo sapiens, ex rudi doctus, ex rustico urbanus, ex agresti civilis solo amoris beneficio factus est.  Non placet autem circa hanc rem laudandam consistere, quod suapte natura iuvenum ingenia ad eam ferantur. 21 TURPISSIMAM ESSE IN SACERDOTE EBRIETATEM  Quam turpis sacerdotibus sit ebrietas divus Hieronimus aperte docet, ut habetur in decretis canonicis, distinctione xxxv., hiis verbis:

. tormenti scilicet A: scilicet tormenti BC. adulescente A: adolescente B, adolescenti C.

. utimur BC: vitimur A.

.

83 See Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, fifth day, first story. There the highborn but uncouth Cimon remakes himself into a polished, gallant gentleman after falling in love with the beautiful Iphigenia. Cf. Eob. Orat. Sylv. – (:, , with n. ).

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could be devised either more ingenious or more pernicious than that recent invention of ours, namely the artillery weapon we call the “bombard”? To us it has become, as it were, a bulwark of the vices. When ensconced in cities girdled with a wall and ramparts, we use such cannons to keep the enemy from approaching, lest our life of pleasure and indolence be disrupted. When, on the other hand, we take to the field against our enemies, we use cannons to clear the way through battle lines and walls, so that it is now possible sometimes to wage the greatest wars imaginable without hand-to-hand combat, lest we recklessly expose our bodies, born for pleasure and delights, to actual danger. But not so our forefathers! In fact (as we learn in Tacitus), they’re even said to have occasionally opened the gates to their fortified communities and torn down their walls, lest they live without fear of the enemy and, by putting more trust in fortifications than fortitude, lose their prowess in war. But to avoid the impression that I’m declaiming, I’ll stop this excursus right now and return to my topic. While it is true that sexual intercourse is shameful and highly pernicious in any season of life, I would nevertheless not condemn it as much as drunkenness in young people. Lovemaking, after all, is generally speaking sufficient unto itself. It blocks out the other vices and is so deeply absorbed in itself, always so intent on its own fooleries, that it takes no thought for anything else. Indeed, such amatory passion as sometimes invades the hearts of even those youths who are blindsided by it is by no means so ruinous to their youth and pattern of life as you might think. On the contrary, it builds, molds, and teaches character. Those who fall in love adapt their mind to kindliness, so as to become worthy of love. Observe the example of Boccaccio’s Cimon.83 He was changed from a fool into a philosopher, from an ignoramus into a scholar, from a rustic into a man of the world, from a boor into a gentleman, thanks wholly to love. However, I’m not inclined to go on lauding this matter, because young people’s minds are naturally drawn to it as it is. 21 THAT DRUNKENNESS IS ESPECIALLY DISGRACEFUL IN A PRIEST With brutal frankness Saint Jerome tells us how disgraceful it is for priests to get drunk, as we can read in the canonical decrees, distinction , in these words:

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Ecclesiae principes qui deliciis affluunt et inter epulas atque lascivias pudiciciam servare se credunt propheticus sermo describit, quod eiiciendi sunt de spatiosis domibus lautisque conviviis et multo labore epulis conquisitis. Et si vis scire quo eiiciendi sint propter malas cogitationes et opera sua, Evangelium lege, “in tenebras” scilicet “exteriores, ubi erit fletus et stridor dentium.” An non confusio et ignominia est Iesum crucifixum, pauperem, et esurientem falsis predicare corporibus et ieiuniorum doctrinam rubentes buccas tumentiaque ora proferre?  Vinolentiam sacerdotum apostolus ad Corinthios scribens damnat capitulo ., hiis verbis: “Nolite,” inquit, “inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria, sed implemini Spiritu sancto, loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis.”  Hinc Dominus in Veteri instrumento, ut habetur Levitici x., ad Aaron loquutus in hunc modum: “Vinum et omne quod inebriare potest non bibetis tu et filii tui, quando intrabitis in tabernaculum testimonii, ne moriamini,” et Numeri . capitulo habetur eadem sententia.  Multis aliis in locis sacrarum litterarum tum etiam multo plura in sacris canonibus, distinctione xliiii. per totum.  Quae ne cuncta diligentius quam meam professionem decet rimari videar, audite, quaeso, Tibullum poetam dicentem: Dv

Casta placent superis: pura cum veste venite Et manibus puris sumite fontis aquam. Vos quoque abesse procul iubeo et discedere ab aris, Quis tulit hesterna gaudia nocte Venus.  Communicavit mihi nuper quoque Eobanus Hessus noster versus, quos in eandem sententiam lusisse se aiebat hiis verbis: Ah scelus est, satianda cibo potuque Deorum Immodice poto polluere ora mero.

. proferre ABC: praeferre Zarncke. . ad Aaron AB: Aaron C; ne AC: te B; capitulo habetur eadem AB: habetur capitulo hec C. . audite A: auide BC, avide Zarncke. .. discedere A: discere BC. .. poto AB: potu C.

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Princes of the Church who surround themselves with pleasures and believe that they are preserving a sense of shame amidst sumptuous meals and lascivious shows are singled out by the word of the prophet: they are to be driven away from their spacious mansions and their lavish banquets and their delicacies hunted up with much labor. And if you want to know where it is that they are to be cast out because of their evil thoughts and deeds, then read the Gospel. They are to be cast “into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Is it not an embarrassment and a disgrace to preach the crucified, poor, and hungry Jesus with bodies that give the lie to this teaching? or that ruddy cheeks and plump faces expound the doctrine of fasting? Writing to the Corinthians, chapter , the apostle condemns the winebibbing of priests in these words: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury; but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms.” Hence in the Old Testament, as we read in Leviticus , the Lord spoke to Aaron as follows: “You shall not drink wine nor anything that may make drunk, thou nor thy sons, when you enter into the tabernacle of the testimony, lest you die.” The same injunction is found in the book of Numbers, chapter , as well as in numerous other passages of Holy Scripture. Much more is also brought together in canon law, distinction , throughout the section. But lest I appear to delve into all these matters more diligently than befits my profession,84 please listen to what the poet Tibullus has to say: Purity pleases the gods. Come, therefore, wearing clean clothing, And be sure that the hands drawing the water are clean. You I command to stand back and not get close to the altar, All of you to whom Venus brought pleasure last night. Not long ago, too, our Eobanus Hessus communicated to me some verses in the same vein that he had tossed off, so he told me, for his amusement: Ah, it’s a crime when lips that should be sated with God’s own Flesh and blood are defiled with uncurbed drinking of wine.

84

That is, as a poet. Cf. the introduction, pp. – above.

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Ebria Christophagi vitent convivia mystae. Sancta prophanatas non amat ara manus.  Sit procul omne nefas venerandi a limine templi. Pollutum sacras lex iacit ante fores. Pura Deo castus persolvat liba sacerdos, Cui neque sit Bacchus nec mala nota Venus.  De huiusmodi quoque ebriosis sacerdotibus non ineleganter scripsisse mihi videtur Euricius Cordus in bucolico ludicro sic: Non ego qui sancta se relligione gubernant Denigro, sed pravam quorundam mordeo vitam, Qui veteris potius famuli esse videntur Iacchi, Qui, tanquam sicca fuerint a dypsade morsi,  Omnigena in vastam demergunt vina Charibdim Continuaque iacent madidi ebrietate Sileni.  Huc etiam pertinet illud quod Esaiae v. capitulo scribitur: “Ve qui consurgitis mane ad ebrietatem sectandam et potandum usque ad vesperam, ut vino aestuetis. Cythara et lyra et tympanum et tybia et vinum in conviviis vestris, et opus Domini non respicitis nec opera manuum eius consideratis.”  Et statim subdit: “Ve qui potentes estis ad bibendum vinum et viri fortes ad miscendam ebrietatem.”  Sed nescio an et illud nostri Celtis in hanc rem conveniat.  Sed convenit. Addam igitur: Nulla sacerdotum luxu nunc casta puella est, Causaque criminibus sunt sacra templa malis. Nam plures totum non congrederentur in annum, Illis colloquium dat modo sacra domus.  Hac tractant foedas turpi cum murmure merces, Ceu solet in medio turba prophana foro. Et quae sequuntur. |

.. iacit ante fores AB: iacet ante foras C. .. liba A: libra BC. . illud quod AB: illud C; ut vino AB: et vino C. .. totum non AB: totum non totum C. .. murmure AB: munere C. .. solet AB: solent C.

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Christophagous priests should keep clear of drunken carousals. The holy altar detests hands desecrated by vice. Let all sin stay far from the door of the venerable temple. The law casts the unclean out of the sanctified church. Only a blameless priest ought to sacrifice the pure host to God, a priest unsoiled either by wine or by sex. Euricius Cordus too, it seems to me, wrote not inelegantly about such drunken priests in one of his bucolic trifles: I’m not defaming those who steer themselves by our holy Faith, but I do attack the depraved life of certain Priests who seem instead to be servants of ancient Iacchus, Priests who, as if bitten by a thirst-causing viper, Plunge all manner of wines into their yawning Charybdis And like drunken Sileni loll in perpetual stupor. Relevant here too is the well-known passage in the fifth chapter of Isaiah: “Woe to you who rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness and to drink until the evening, in order to be inflamed with wine! The harp and the lyre and the timbrel and the flute and wine are at your feasts; but the work of the Lord you regard not, nor do you consider the works of his hands.” And right after this he adds: “Woe to you who are mighty at drinking wine and valiant men at drunkenness!” However, I’m not sure whether that celebrated passage by our own Celtis also fits into this discussion. But it does. So I’ll add it: No girl today is untouched by the wantonness of the clergy, And the temples of God give rise to scandalous crimes. For throughout the year most of them would not get together, Were it not that the church brings them together to talk. There, in indecent whispers, they strike their nauseous bargains, Just as the profane crowd does at the marketplace stalls. And what follows.

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 Sed “quod nunc instat agamus,” ne veritatis patrocinio invidiam mihi comparem eorum quibus est veritate nihil magis invisum.  Hinc igitur ex templis ad forum venio. 22 CAVENDAM EBRIETATEM GERENTIBUS REMPUBLICAM  Rempublicam administrantibus ebrietas praecipue fugienda est, non secus ac rerum gerendarum impedimentum presentissimum.  Non enim admittendi sunt iuxta Platonis edictum in reipublicae administrationem quicunque eluvioni et voluptatibus deditam vitam agunt, quod hii tum ad consulendum tum ad res gerendas sunt maxime inepti; vinum enim immodice sumptum gravat et obruit omnes vires ingenii et, ut Campanus inquit in libro De regendo magistratu, corpus enervat: “fluctuat animus voluptatum cupiditatibus incensus explendarumque libidinum, quarum origo est omnis a ventre et est pestifera civitati. Dignitate enim abiecta et contempta, respublica unius principis intemperantia tota in licentiam luxumque dissolvitur.”  Preclare igitur et Solon Atheniensis legem tulit, quae iubebat temulentum principem morte esse multandum, cum satius sit unum hominem in republica perire quam in uno viro foedari rempublicam.  Et ne dicere nimis multa in eam sententiam videar, vela contraham atque de hiis dicam quae magis ad nostrum institutum pertinent. 23 LITTERARUM STUDIOSIS EBRIETATEM TANQUAM HOSTEM PRECIPUUM ESSE FUGIENDAM  Litterarum studiosi passim hoc tempore communi ebrietatis vicio laborant, quo malo equidem non video quid bonis ingeniis sit periculosius, cum eo non solum corporis vires sed et ingenii vivacitas animique vigor omnis extinguatur et non secus ac cicuta contactus animus infrigescat fiatque multo

. rerum A: verum BC. Campani: republica ABC.

. et est pestifera A: et pestifera BC; respublica in textu , tit. fugiendam A: fugiendum BC.

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But “let us get on with the task in hand,” lest, by championing the truth, I draw down on myself the malice of those to whom nothing is more odious than the truth. For this reason, therefore, I now move from the churches to the public arena. 22 THAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS MUST KEEP AWAY FROM DRUNKENNESS It is especially incumbent on public administrators to shun drunkenness as the formidable obstacle to good government that it is. Indeed, according to Plato’s injunction anyone who leads a life given over to debauchery and pleasures must be barred from holding public office, because such men are very much unsuited not only to careful deliberation but also to decisive action. For the truth is that immoderate consumption of wine oppresses and overmasters all the powers of the intellect and, as Campano says in his book On Holding the Magistracy, enervates the body as well: “The mind cannot reach settled conclusions when inflamed with the lust for pleasures and with the craving to satisfy appetites, the origin of which lies wholly in the belly and is a plague on the commonwealth. For when the state debases and discredits its dignity through the intemperance of a single prince, it dissolves wholly into licentiousness and debauchery.” Hence Solon of Athens showed excellent wisdom, too, by enacting a law which decreed, in the case of an archon, that drunkenness be punishable by death, inasmuch as it is better that one man should die in the state than that the state should be dishonored in one man. But so as not to come across as dwelling too long on this point, I shall shorten sail and instead talk about those matters that are more pertinent to our discussion. 23 THAT MEN OF LEARNING MUST SHUN DRUNKENNESS AS THEIR PARAMOUNT ENEMY Everywhere in this day and age, men of learning are afflicted with the common vice of drunkenness. Personally speaking, I know of no disease more dangerous to sound minds than this one, seeing that it completely destroys not just physical strength but also intellectual energy and mental vigor. Drunkenness, in fact, chills the intellect as if with poison

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de generibus ebriosorum

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quam natura fuerat remissior.  Marsilius Ficinus inter quinque studiosorum hostes secundo loco non solum vini sed et cibi satietatem enumerat, hiis quidem usus verbis: 

Dv

Quippe si vinum vel nimium vel nimis calidum vehemensque fuerit, caput ipsum humoribus pessimisque fumis implebit. Mitto quod insanos facit ebrietas. Cibus vero nimius primo quidem ad stomachum in ipso coquendo omnem naturae vim revocat. Quo fit ut capiti simul speculationique intendere nequeat. Deinde inepte co- | ctus multis et crassis vaporibus humoribusque mentis aciem obtundit. Quinetiam si satis coquatur, tamen (ut Galenus ait) “animus adipe et sanguine suffocatus celeste aliquid pervidere non potest.”  Quae cum ita sint, ut certe sunt, fugiendam cuilibet studioso non solum vini sed et cibi intemperantiam quis non videt?  Probandaque est laudabilis illa maiorum nostrorum institutio, quae iuxta rectam continentiae regulam sanxisse videtur, ut simplici potu et cibo viverent quicunque in hac Erphurdiensi Academia litterarum agere militiam constituissent.  De qua re cum sint pene infinita quae dici possent, sponte mihi tempero ad finemque descendo, si prius hoc velut corollarium adiecero: 24 PEIOREM ESSE IN SACERDOTE EBRIETATE AVARITIAM. COROLLARIUM I.  In sacerdote vero tametsi frequens ebrietas res est turpissima, Avaritia tamen quo ad aeternam beatitudinem consequendam est longe pessima.

. Ficinus AB: vicinus C; satietatem A: sacietatem BC, societatem Zarncke. . revocat AC: refocat B; tamen in textu Ficini: tum ABC; Galenus AB: Galienus C; pervidere ABC: providere Zarncke. . fugiendam Scheidt, Zarncke: fugienda ABC. . videtur, ut A: videtur, ac BC; Erphurdiensi AB: Erphurdensi C. . finemque A: finem BC. , tit. ebrietate avaritiam Zarncke: ebri. ava. AB, ebrie. avaricia C. . consequendam C: consequ¯e AB.

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hemlock and makes it unnaturally sluggish. Among the five enemies that scholars have to contend with, Marsilio Ficino enumerates in the second place satiety, not only of wine, but also of food. This is how he phrases it: For if the wine has been either too much or too fiery and strong, it will fill the head itself with humors and the most harmful fumes. I need not mention that drunkenness makes people insane. Too much food, however, draws all the power of nature, initially at least, back to the stomach for digestion. The upshot is that it cannot benefit the head and, at the same time, reflection. Then too, since it is apt to be poorly digested, it dulls the mind’s edge with many thick vapors and humors. But even if it were adequately digested, nevertheless (as Galen says), “a mind choking on fat and blood is incapable of discerning anything divine.” Since this is how the facts stand, as they certainly do, who does not recognize that every scholar must shun immoderate indulgence not only in wine but also in food? Indeed, we ought to commend that laudable custom instituted by our forebears, which, in accordance with the triedand-true principle of self-control, appears to ordain that all who are resolved to enlist in the militia of humane letters here at the University of Erfurt should live on simple drink and food. There being almost no end of things that one could say on this topic, I deliberately restrain myself and come to the end of my speech, if I may first add this statement as a corollary: 24 THAT IN A PRIEST AVARICE IS WORSE THAN DRUNKENNESS. FIRST COROLLARY Even though habitual drunkenness in a priest is unquestionably a most disgraceful thing, Nevertheless, with respect to the attainment of eternal bliss, avarice is worse by far.

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 Dixi ebrietatem cum omni statui tum maxime in sacris ordinibus constitutis fugiendam.  Restant dicenda pauca quaedam de insaciabili quorundam avaricia, quo vicio passim hoc tempore multos in omni vitae genere admodum infoeliciter videmus occupari.  Maxime tamen in illis qui sacris altaribus ministrant id vicii detestandum videtur, cum eo magis a peccatis ipsi abesse debeant, quo sunt virtutibus et religioni per sacerdotalis vitae professionem proximiores.  Quod cum a non parum multis negligi videamus atque adeo paucis observari id quod in sacris canonibus scribitur, . q. i., “Cito,” inquit divus Ambrosius, “turpem sequitur lepra mercedem, et pecunia male quaesita corpus animamque commaculat.”  Non placet mihi circa hunc locum consistere, ne solus mederi velle videar huic morbo qui tot saeculis etiam contra sanctorum Patrum constitutiones et edicta invaluit.  Etenim cavendum nobis est, ne, dum veritatem nimis simpliciter et absque fuco profitemur, ab hiis, quibus contradicere nefas est, mendacii arguamur.  Dicerent enim statim poetam me esse (a quo tamen semper longissime abfui) atque ideo mentiri, quoniam persuasum habent ad mendacia dumtaxat natos poetas frequenterque illud obiiciunt: “Multa mentiuntur poetae,” et praeterea malos Christianos vocant, sed non solos poetas.  Habent enim hoc Germanicum semper in promptu quod obiiciant: Roller, zoller, fergen, schergen, Ertzt, poeten und juristen, Das seyn syben bößer Christen. | Dr

 Egregium sane dicterium, quod non solum poetas, sed et medicos et iureconsultos in rationario prophanorum adscribit!  Sed et non minus illud verum egregium sane dictum Keyserßbergii, nobilissimi istius Argentinensis con-

. fugiendam AB: fugienda C. . Quod AC: Quot B; a non parum AB: non parum a C. . persuasum A: persuasim BC; Christianos C: Cristianos AB; solos AC: solas B. .. Ertzt, poeten ABC (sine commate): Erzpoeten Zarncke.

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Earlier I made the point that drunkenness must be shunned not only by all estates but particularly by those admitted into holy orders. It remains to say a few words regarding the insatiable avarice of some people. Everywhere we look nowadays we see many individuals in all walks of life obsessed by that vice, with quite tragic consequences. Still, this type of vice appears particularly detestable in those who serve at the sacred altars, inasmuch as they ought to be the more removed from sins, the closer they are to the virtues and religion through their profession of a priestly life. Given that this ideal is obviously flouted by a fair number of priests and, indeed, that the injunctions in canon law, C.  q. , are observed by very few, Saint Ambrose declares: “Leprosy quickly follows the disgraceful transaction,85 and the ill-gotten money defiles body and soul.” I don’t want to belabor this subject, for fear I’ll come across as singlehandedly trying to remedy this disease, which has prevailed for so many centuries, even despite the regulations and decrees of the holy Fathers.86 Indeed, we have to take care lest, in proclaiming the truth too candidly and without varnish, we be branded as liars by those who don’t brook contradiction. For they would immediately say that I’m a poet (from which, however, I’ve always been at the furthest possible remove) and by that token a liar, because they are convinced that poets are born for nothing else than lies and frequently cite that old saw, “Poets tell many lies,” and, for good measure, call them bad Christians, and not just the poets either. In fact, they constantly trot out this German proverb as a taunt: Carters, tollmen, ferrymen, bailiffs, Physicians, poets, and jurists: Those are seven bad Christians. Certainly a splendid saying, which consigns not just poets, but also physicians and jurists to the catalogue of reprobates! But certainly no less on the mark, too, is that splendid dictum by Kaysersberg, the renowned

85 Alluding to the story told in  Kings :–. After the prophet Elisha had cured Naaman of leprosy, he would take no reward. His servant Gehazi, however, secretly asked Naaman for money. In consequence he and his descendants were cursed with leprosy. 86 Avarice among the clergy, particularly the vice of simony, provoked passionate denunciations in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. See, for instance, Jakob Wimpfeling, Apologia pro republica Christiana (Pforzheim, ), sigs. fr–gr, chap. .

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cionatoris: “Vor zeyten waren guldenn priester und holtzen kelch. Nw seyn die priester holtzen und die kelch gulden.”  Bonos tamen hic et ubique semper excipio, illis siquidem debetur honor et reverentia.  De malis loquor, qui suae dignitatis obliti recte vivendi regulam negligunt et nullo non sunt helluone ignaviores.  De quibus hoc praeclare dictum puto, quod scriptum inveni in Institutionibus pravis, De abusione clericorum, ca., Secreto, ¶ Post parietem, do der sew zynße fallen.  Sed tamen extra iocum, doctissimus vir Bebelius adnotavit hanc faceciam in hunc modum: Audi quid spectat ad hos qui bonum vult esse sacerdos: Alta prece lege, cum vadis per civitate. Curre per ecclesie, lachrymare, percute pecte, Et genua flecte, longissima missa lege.  Habe belle trice, si vis implere burse. Esto pontifices, papa, sacerdos, et omnes. Expede mille statim. Fac cito redire. Murmure non cure. Mitto vade, quomodo vade. Fer manice burse, pome, coclear, quoque pire.  Da puere parve; tunc mater dat tibi magne. Et reliqua.  Omelia beani Ioannis Monasterii de eadem lectione:

. seyn A: sein B, seint C. . zynße A: zinß BC; fallen AB: fallen ist C. belle trice scripsi (cf. bella trice in codice Vinariensi): pelle trite ABC.

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87 Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (–), the most famous German preacher of the late Middle Ages. After serving as professor and rector at the University of Freiburg, he preached in the Cathedral of Strasbourg from  until his death. The quotation credited to him here is actually a medieval proverb that Walahfrid Strabo (d. ) attributes to St. Boniface. See pp. – below. 88 Eobanus mistakenly attributes the mock barbaric poem to the German humanist Heinrich Bebel (–), author of the celebrated Facetiae (two books in ; a third book added in ). See VLDH, :–. The drollery in fact derives from the second edition of Johann Adelphus Muling, Margarita facetiarum Alfonsi Aragonum Regis vafredicta (Strasbourg, ), sig. Qr (last page). There it stands under the heading, “Doctrina pro hipocritis qui cito cupiunt ditari per phas et nephas” (“Instruction for hypocrites who wish to get rich quick, by hook and by crook”).

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Straßburg preacher:87 “In olden days, the priests were of gold and the chalices wooden. Now the priests are of wood and the chalices golden.” Of course, here and everywhere else I am always excepting the good priests, since they deserve our honor and reverence. I am speaking of the bad ones who, unmindful of their dignity, neglect the rule of right living and are more slothful than any glutton. I think it’s magnificent what I found written about such men in the Perverse Institutions, “Concerning the vice of clerics,” chapter, “In privy,” paragraph, “Behind the wall,” where the sows’ tributes drop. But never mind. Joking aside, the eminent scholar Bebel88 wrote down the following drollery, in this manner: Listen to what it takes for folks as wants to be a good priest: Read in deep prayer when you walks about town. Run about in the church. Weep, beat yer breast, And bend yer knees. Say a real long Mass. Keep yer hair combed if you wants the wallet filled. Be you bishops, pope, priest, and what have you. Do a thousand things on the spot, then git right back. Don’t mind the mutterin. Just let things go as they go. Have yer wallet in hand, apples, a spoon, sum pears too. Give a little sumpun to the tyke; then the mom will give you big. And what follows. A homily by the plastered John of Münster on the same lesson:89

89 These transitional words, beginning with “And what follows” and ending with “on the same lesson,” parody a standard formula in the breviary. Here is an example: After the reading of Matthew .–, the breviary for the first day of Advent has: “Et reliqua. Omelia beati Johannis episcopi de eadem lectione” (“And what follows. A homily by the blessed John the bishop on the same lesson”). See Breviarium ad usum insignis Ecclesie Eboracensis, vol. , ed. Stephen W. Lawley (Durham, ), col. . Eobanus furthermore parodies “beati Ioannis” (“of the blessed John”) by altering it to “beani Ioannis” (literally, “of the raw freshman John”). Until initiated by the rites of university-sanctioned hazing, a student entering a medieval-Renaissance university was considered a beanus, a word synonymous with beastlike ignorance. With its pidgin Latin and comic glosses in German, the mock sermon that our beanus delivers here is thoroughly in character. It may be that the name John of Münster (or John Minster) held some special comic significance at the time; if so, it is now very much obscured.

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Fratres avarissimi! Deus ebriorum, malorum rusticorum, avarorum presbiterorum, monachorum, abbatorum, priorum, fratrorum, et aliorum quorumcunque statorum, seculariorum, spiritualiorum, regorum, ducorum, principorum, civiorum, civitatorum, villorum, castrorum, provinciorum, dominorum amicorum nostrorum dilectissimissimorum, et ceterorum, solutam in domum sempiternum. Fratres leccatissimi! Scriptum est, quod hodiernum dierum leximus in prohemio templi ad matutinas quae leguntur in secundis nuptiis: Viri Galilei, ir ungetrewen Frantzosen, quid admiramini, was lat ir euch beduncken, aspicientes in caelum, meint ir, das ir uns Teutsche veriagen wöllet? Alleluia, Got geb euch sanct Urbans plag, ut ambuletis per vias rectas, das ir all myt der naßen yn dreck must vallen. Tu autem, schossel korb, leffelbreth, lieber here. |

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25 MAGISTRATIBUS FUGIENDAM AVARICIAM  Quid vero de magistratuum avaritia attinet dicere, cum ea plerumque clarissimas res affligat et pessumdet?  “Rerum autem omnium,” inquit Campanus, “nescio an turpissima sit avaricia in magistratu, quae et odium parit et maximas solet importare calamitates et detrimenta gignit et perversam opinionem integritatis.”  Cicero Officiorum . sic dicit: “Caput est in omni procuratione negocii et muneris publici, ut avaritiae pellatur etiam minima suspicio.”  Et post pauca, “Nullum,” inquit, “vicium tetrius quam avaricia, presertim in principibus et rempublicam gubernantibus. Habere enim quaestui rempublicam non modo turpe est sed sceleratum etiam et nefarium. Itaque, quod Apollo Pythius oraculo edidit,

. dilectissimissimorum A: dilectissimorum BC; uns Teutsche AB: uns Teutschen C. 90 A familiar German curse. The patron saint of vintners, St. Urban punishes drunkards with hangovers, gout, and all the other evils of chronic alcoholism. 91 The parodic sermon concludes by taking aim at the “perfidious French,” via some mock glosses on the Mass for Ascension Day (text based on Acts .). On September  and , a few weeks before this passage was written, the French under King Francis I had defeated a Swiss army in the Battle of Marignano and made themselves masters of

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Beloved brethren in greed! The god of drunks, of wicked rustics, greedy priests, monks, abbots, priors, brethren, and all and sundry estates, of laymen, clerics, kings, dukes, princes, townsmen, of cities, villages, castles, provinces, of milords his most beerly beloved friends, and so on and so forth, offers you dissolute into the eternal home. Dearly besotted brethren! It is written, as we have readed on this here day, in the preamble of the temple, at the Matins that are read at second nuptials: Ye men of Galilee, you perfidious Frenchmen, why stand you in amazement, what has gotten into your heads, looking up to heaven, do you really think you can chase us Germans out? Hallelujah, may God give you Saint Urban’s plague,90 that you may walk through the right ways, that you will all tumble nose first into the muck.91 But thou — dunderhead, nincompoop, dear Lord!92 25 THAT MAGISTRATES MUST SHUN AVARICE But why bother talking about the avarice of magistrates, seeing that this vice so commonly weakens and destroys the most illustrious states? “Of all things, however,” Campano remarks, “avarice in the magistracy is probably the most disgusting, for it engenders hatred, tends to bring on the most grievous calamities, and gives rise to losses and a perverted notion of integrity.” In book  of On Duties Cicero says: “In all government affairs and public service it is of capital importance to preclude even the slightest suspicion of being on the take.” And a little later he maintains: “No vice is more monstrous than avarice, especially in chief magistrates and government officials. For to enrich oneself at public expense is not just shameful, but also a crime and an abomination. And so, what the Pythian Apollo pronounced as an oracle, namely that Sparta would

Milan and all Lombardy. See p.  below. In the mock glosses, “men of Galilee” becomes “Frenchmen,” through an implied pun on the Latin Galli (“Frenchmen”). “Heaven” is reserved for the German eagles, not for the French whose lilies are earthbound (cf. Hutten, Italia B , with note.) 92 In Eobanus’ time the phrase “Tu autem” (“But thou”) was in common use to mark the end of lections. See Friedrich Ohly, “Zum Dichtungsschluß Tu autem, domine, miserere nobis,” Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift  (), –. The expression is abbreviated from the prayer with which preachers concluded their sermons (cf. Vulg. Psa. .): “Tu autem, Domine, miserere nostri” (“But thou, o Lord, have mercy upon us”).

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Spartam nulla re alia nisi avaricia esse perituram, id videtur non solum Lacedaemoniis sed et omnibus opulentis populis predixisse.”  Verum enimvero iamdudum instituti ratio postulare videtur, ut coronidem velut navi ex longa navigatione defessae imponamus.  Quod profecto faciemus, postquam unum id postremo loco adiecerimus: 26 PREDICTORUM PARENESIS. COROLLARIUM II. ET ULTIMUM  Discant igitur boni et ingenui iuvenes qui ex litterarum scientia quaerunt gloriam Vitare ebrietatem, quae ingenium, corpus, et fortunas male solet afficere, nedum memoriam.  Addam hoc postremo loco verba Plynii ex Naturali hystoria, libro ., capitulo ultimo: “Ita,” inquit, vina ex libidine hauriuntur, atque etiam praemio invitatur ebrietas atque, si diis placet, emitur. Alius, ut vel quantum biberit, tantum edat, et precium vinolentiae lege accipit, alius quantum alea quaesierit, tantum bibit. Tunc avidi matronam oculi licentur, tunc gravi produntur marito, tunc animi secreta proferuntur. Alii testamenta sua nuncupant, alii mortifera loquuntur rediturasque per iugulum voces non continent — quam multis ita interemptis! — vulgoque veritas iam attributa vino est. Interea, ut optime cadat, solem orientem non vident ac minus diu vivunt. Hinc pallor et genae pendulae, oculorum ulcera, tremulae manus, effundentes plena vasa, et — quae sit paena presens — furiales somni et inquies nocturna praemiumque summum ebrietatis libido portentosa ac iucundum

. instituti A: institui BC. , tit. ultimum A: ult. B, vult. C. . quaerunt Scheidt: querunt AB, q˜ runt C. . vinolentiae in edd. Plinii, Scheidt: violentiae ABC; quaesierit Scheidt: quesierit ABC; matronam ABC: matronarum Zarncke; interemptis A: intemperatis BC; vulgoque veritas in edd. Plinii, Scheidt: vulgo veritas ABC; attributa vino A: attributo vino B, vino attributo vino C.

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be ruined by avarice, and nothing else, that evidently offers a warning not only to the Lacedaemonians but to all affluent peoples.” But truly, the plan of this speech has long since seemed to require that, just as sailors garland a ship wearied after a long voyage, I too should crown this speech with a fitting conclusion. That I shall certainly do, as soon as I have added this one final point: 26 A PARENESIS DRAWN FROM THE AFORESAID. SECOND AND FINAL COROLLARY Good and upright young men, therefore, who seek distinction as scholars in the liberal arts must learn To shun drunkenness, which is apt to wreak harm on mind, body, and fortunes, let alone memory. In this final section I am going to insert Pliny’s words from his Natural History, book , last chapter: “In this way,” he remarks, wine drinking is incited by lust. But drunkenness is even encouraged with prizes and — would you believe it? — bought with money. One man wins a prize for wine bibbing, in accordance with the law that he must eat as much as he has drunk; another drinks as many cups as the throw of the dice require him to. Then it is that lustful eyes make a bid for the wife, then it is that they betray themselves to the tippling husband, then it is that the heart’s secrets spill out. Some men reveal the terms of their will; others say deadly things and do not hold back the words that will return to them through their throats. How many have been killed like that already! A popular proverb has long credited wine with truth. Meanwhile, even if all turns out for the best, they do not see the sun rising, or live as long. Hence the pallor and baggy cheeks, the ulcerated eyes, the trembling hands that spill wine from goblets filled to the rim, and — let that be their instant punishment — the dreams haunted by the Furies, the restless nights, and, as the ultimate price of drunkenness, the unnatural lust and

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nefas. Postera | die ex ore halitus fetidi ac fere rerum omnium oblivio morsque memoriae. Hec Plynius.  Sed et illud considerandum non minus est, quod Virgilio quidam attribuunt; sapienter autem dictum, cuiuscunque illud sit: Nec Veneris nec tu vini capiaris amore; Uno namque modo vina Venusque nocent. Perdidit horrendo Troiam Venus improba bello Et Lapithas bello perdis, Iacche, gravi.  Agite igitur, optimi litterarum candidati, hec et talia multa considerantes renunciate illorum sodalitati qui per tabernas circumquaque pervagantes iuventutis suae florem adeo venalem habent ut nulli non pessimis crapulationibus absumendum prostituant.  Capiat vos bonorum familiaritas, quae cum utilitati tum etiam honori vobis esse possit.  Cum illis conversamini quorum consuetudine doctiores melioresque fieri poteritis, illud Psalmographi semper in ore habentes: “Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum perverso perverteris,” et illud poeticum quod citat divus Paulus: “Corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia prava.”  Seductores iuventutis vestrae non secus ac pestem quandam mortiferam fugite.  Bonos duces amplectimini.  Quod profecto facietis si, preceptoribus vestris obedientes, bonis litteris bonam dabitis operam et ebrietatem omnemque nimium luxum et asociam vitae aversabimini, ut vita innocentes per virtutum operationem Finem illum bonorum omnium perfectissimum, quem in hoc sollicito labilis vitae cursu quaerimus, foeliciter tandem attingatis.  Cui est honor et gloria. Dixi.

. ac fere A: ac BC. . cuiuscunque illud sit AB: cuiuscunque illud fit C, cuiuscunque sit Zarncke. .. improba Scheidt, Zarncke: improbo ABC. . venalem Scheidt, Zarncke: venenalem ABC. . perverso BC: perverse A; Corrumpunt Scheidt, Zarncke: Corrumpant ABC. . quaerimus Scheidt: querimus ABC.

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reveling in vice. The next day, reeking breath and near-total oblivion and the death of memory. Thus Pliny. But equally worth considering is the following epigram, which some attribute to Vergil. The verses certainly demonstrate real insight, whoever it was who wrote them: Don’t be taken with love for either Venus or Bacchus, Seeing that wine and sex harm you in much the same way. Shameless Venus brought Troy to ruin in horrible warfare;93 And, Bacchus, in vicious war you brought the Lapiths to grief.94 Come then, most excellent candidates in the liberal arts, heed these admonitions and many others like them! Stop consorting with those who drift from tavern to tavern. Such good-for-nothings hold the flower of their life so cheap that every one of them ends up sullying and squandering his youth in horrendous drinking bouts. Instead, associate with decent people, for such connections can be of profit to you and at the same time redound to your credit. Keep company with those by whose friendship you can grow wiser and better. Always have on your lips that verse of the Psalmist: “With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted,” also that bit of poetry quoted by Saint Paul: “Bad company ruins good morals.” As for the impostors who would lead young people like you astray, keep clear of them, just as you would some deadly plague. Attach yourselves to good guides. That is something you will certainly do, provided that you, hearkening to your teachers, put your best effort into the best literature and turn your back on drunkenness and all excessive indulgence and dissipation of life, so that you, blameless through the working of the virtues, may at length happily attain to the most perfect end of all goods — that End for which we strive in this anxious voyage of fleeting life. His is the honor and the glory. I am done.

93 At Venus’ prompting, Paris fell in love with Menelaus’ wife Helen and abducted her to Troy. With that he brought about the Trojan War. 94 At the wedding feast of their king Pirithous, the Lapiths had to fight a ferocious battle with the Centaurs who had gotten drunk on wine (“Bacchus”) and tried to rape the bride and the other women. For the story, see Ovid, Met. .–.

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de generibus ebriosorum

[

27 CONCLUSIO  Haec sunt, humanissime Domine Quodlibetarie, quae ex Vestrae Excellentiae mandato ad quaestionis mihi assignatae enodationem afferre potui.  In quibus si quaedam minus ornata minusque ad omnium aures facientia a me prolata sunt, velim vobiscum consideretis et breve fuisse tempus quo ad id muneris subeundum profectus sum et voluisse — imo oportuisse — me huius actus consuetudini inservire, ut scilicet apud maxime sapientes maxime delyrarem et quasi temporaneum fatuum agerem.  Quem si non egregie representavi, in causa fuisse putabitis vestram negligentiam et inhumanitatem, qui tam multa dicenti de vino vinum bibere non dedistis.

. minusque ad Zarncke: minus˜q ad AB, minus˜q C; profectus Scheidt, Zarncke: perfectus ABC.

the species of drunkards



27 CONCLUSION These are the thoughts, most kindly Master Quodlibetarius, that I, at Your Excellency’s behest, have been able to put forward in elucidation of the question assigned to me. If I have brought some of them before you with less than adequate adornment and to less than universal satisfaction, I should like you to bear in mind that I had but a short time to prepare for this task and, moreover, that I wanted — or rather, felt duty-bound — to maintain the custom at these debates, namely that I should hold the silliest of speeches before the wisest of men and, as it were, act the fool for a little while. If I have not played my role to the hilt, the blame lies with your own negligence and cruelty, seeing that you gave a man discoursing at such length about wine no wine to drink.

DE VITANDA EBRIETATE ELEGIA

AN ELEGY ON THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS

Illustration : Title page of De vitanda ebrietate elegia Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  Universitätsbibliothek, Münster

INTRODUCTION

Nine months after De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda appeared anonymously at Erfurt, Eobanus published a little sequel, in the form of six poems on the avoidance of drunkenness. Far from keeping his name off the title page, as he had done earlier, he now had it printed in capital letters. This booklet, at least, would not be setting off to posterity without his name emblazoned on the mainsail! As if to underline the connection, Eobanus reused the subtitle of his mock speech. Even more strikingly, he also reused the woodcut on the title page. The reused woodcut is not mere cross-reference. It is the point of departure for the first four epigrams, which comment directly on the carousing beasts in the image. All four poems, we may surmise, were originally intended as front matter for De generibus ebriosorum, but became redundant when Eobanus’ friends came up with epigrams of their own. The concluding two elegies (nos.  and ) are likewise closely associated with the  speech and may hence be contemporaneous with it. They certainly expound some of the same themes: passionate love as socially more acceptable than drunkenness (poem ); drunkenness as the mother of all evils and vices, and moderate social drinking as the ideal course between chronic drunkenness and complete abstinence (poem ). Printing History De vitanda ebrietate elegia was printed just once, by Matthes Maler at Erfurt on  July : A () HELII. EOBANI. HESSI. DE VITANDA | Ebrietate Elegia. Additis ſuper eadem re | aliquot Epigrammatis | [Woodcut as in the editio princeps of De generibus ebriosorum (Erfurt, ). Text within the banners identify each of the nine beasts. Beneath the woodcut are two elegiac distichs. Another distich appears to the right and left of the woodcut, the hexameter to the right, the pentameter to the left.] | Colophon: Collation:

Expreſſit Mattheus Maler Erphurdie | ad Nonas Caprotinas. M D XVI | o:  unsigned leaves

 Contents: Catchwords: Running titles: Copy text:

de vitanda ebrietate elegia r title page; v–v epigrams; v colophon None None Münster, Universitätsbibliothek Call number: Coll. Erh. 

The Münster copy contains numerous interlinear glosses and marginal notes throughout, as well as several handwritten textual corrections. The notes and corrections were evidently made by a student during Eobanus’ lectures on the booklet in . Similar glosses are found in the copy at Munich, UB (o P. Lat. rec. /), but in far less detail and only up to fol. r. In this copy, leaves  and  are bound in reverse order. A third copy is in the Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen (:, ). The copy lacks the title page and verso. The remaining pages are filled with student’s notes. Because of its truncated state, the Copenhagen copy remains unidentified in the library’s catalogue. It can be located by searching for one of the two books with which it is bound: Suetonii Tranquilli Liber illustrium virorum (Leipzig: Valentin Schumann, ); and Eobanus Hessus, De vera nobilitate [Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ca. mid-July ], on which see above, p. . Reissues of Individual Epigrams Though De vitanda ebrietate elegia was never reprinted in its entirety, Eobanus did include three of the epigrams in later collections, albeit with slightly different text. Nos.  and  are reprinted in Eobanus’ edition of Ulrich von Hutten’s De arte versificandi and Nemo (Nuremberg, ), sigs. br–br: DE ARTE VERSIFICANDI | carmen Heroicum, per Hulderichum | Huttenum. | Item | ΟΥΤΙΣ. NEMO. | Item | EXEGORIA IN EBRIETATEM | per Eobanum Heʃʃum. | Norimbergæ apud Ioan. Petreium. | Anno | M.D. XXXI. | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

Catchwords:

None o: a–b8, [ signed],  leaves ar title page; av blank; ar–br Hulderichi Hutteni De arte versificatoria; bv C.M.R. [i.e., Conradi Mutiani Rufi] ad Crotum Rubianum epig. de Nemine Hutteniano; br–br Ulrichi de Hutten Equitis Germani Nemo; br Hel. Eob. Hessus De ebrietate; bv–br In ebrietatem exegoria per H. Eobanum Hessum; bv blank Used on rectos and versos; lacking on sigs. av, br, bv, br; miscatching “Dropacis” on sig. ar as “Dropra-”; “Naec quoniam” on sig. av as “Contu-”.

introduction



Running titles: For Hutten’s poems the running titles are “DE ARTE | VERSIFICANDI” and “ULRICHI HUTTENI | NEMO.” There are no running headers for Eobanus’ two epigrams. Location: Dresden, SLUB Call number: Ling.Lat./

I have also consulted the copy at Wolfenbüttel, HAB (A: . Poet./). There are further copies in Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek; Gießen, UB; Mainz, UB; Marburg, UB; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Wittenberg, Evangelisches Predigerseminar; Zürich, Zentralbibliothek; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek. In the critical apparatus this edition is represented with the siglum a. The book was reprinted at Nuremberg in  and . For the three editions, see Benzing, nos. , , and . Nos. , , and  are included in the Sylvarum libri VI of  and the Sylvarum libri IX of , as Sylv. ., ., and .. Sylv. . reprints the  version, not the one published in . For a bibliographical description of the  and  prints (SO) see Poetic Works, :– . No.  was reprinted from O (or one of its reprints) in Collegii Posthi Melissaei votum, hoc est, Ebrietatis detestatio, atque potationis saltationisque eiuratio. Amethystus princeps sobrietatis, ed. Johannes Posthius and Paulus Melissus Schede (Frankfurt am Main, ), sig. Gr; and thence in In crapulam pro sobrietate, seu votum Posthi-Melissaeum de vitanda et fugienda ebrietate, redintegratum, auctum, et ex diversis authoribus decem epigrammatum centuriis celebratum, ed. Sebastian Hornmold (Basel, ), – (centuria .). In centuriae –, Hornmold adds some memorable distichs from Vitanda ebriet.  and , always from O or one of its reprints. Reception After reading his friend’s latest booklet on drunkenness, Euricius Cordus reacted with two characteristically mordant epigrams, published in book  of his Epigrammatum libri duo (Erfurt: Matthes Maler, ):1 1 They are epigrams . and .. See Cordus, Epigr.,  and XLIII. “In libellum Eobani” was reprinted in Cordus’ Epigrammatum libri III (Erfurt, ) as Epigr. . and



de vitanda ebrietate elegia IN LIBELLUM EOBANI DE VITANDA EBRIETATE

Legit ut Ebrietas huius maledicta libelli, “O quoties,” dixit, “talia mane tuli! Scilicet insanum tunc est et triste cerebrum, Et nimio impatiens ira dolore furit.  Haec mihi qui sero sub vespere crimina dicat, Credite, Germano rarus in orbe vir est.” AD EOBANUM DE EODEM IOCUS Audiit Ebrietas in se nova carmina cudi Et, “Quis,” ait, “tanti criminis auctor erat?” “Hessus,” ei dicunt. “Quis?” ait. “Meus ille poeta, Qui me plus aliis nocte dieque colit?”  Nec donec titulum legisset credidit, ut quae Tam dilecta illi semper amica fuit. Tunc manifesta fides. Nihil amplius inde locuta est Quam, “Sic damnavit Crassus avaritiam.” REGARDING EOBANUS’ BOOKLET ON THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS As Drunkenness read the maledictions in this booklet, she exclaimed: “Oh, how often have I put up with this sort of thing in the morning! Of course, that is when the brain is crazed and depressed, when anger boils up at the unbearable hangover. In the German Empire, believe me, it is a rare man indeed who hurls such curses at me late at night.” TO EOBANUS, A JOKE ON THE SAME TOPIC Hearing that some new poems were being hammered out against her, Drunkenness asked, “Who is the author of that bad slander?” “Hessus,” they told her. “Who?” she replied. “Not that poet of mine who, more than anybody, worships me night and day?” It was not until she had read the title for herself that she could believe what she’d heard, given that she had always been such a dear friend to him. Then the truth became clear. All she could do was mutter, “This is like Crassus2 denouncing avarice.”

thence in Epigrammatum libri IX (Marburg, ) and Opera poetica omnia (Frankfurt am Main, ). “Ad Eobanum de eodem iocus” was not included in the Epigrammata of  and its reprints. 2 The fabulously rich and avaricious triumvir, M. Licinius Crassus Dives (– bce).

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

Helii Eobani Hessi DE VITANDA EBRIETATE ELEGIA additis super eadem re aliquot epigrammatis

Woodcut: A dog, sheep, calf, sow, ass, and wolf carouse around a rectangular table, while a monkey, crouching on top of the table, knocks over a mug. In front, a goose holds a torch up to a bear with spectacles on his nose and a book in his paws.

Aspice diversas asino sub principe formas Teque sub harum aliqua, si libet, esse puta. Nec dubita pecus esse hominem, nam tempore nostro Pythagorae non est vana palyngenesis.

To the right and left of the woodcut: Forsitan hac laesum qui se putat esse figura Ex illis aliquod se sciat esse pecus.

Epigr. –. A.

. Nec corr. manus in ex. Monasteriensi: Hec A.

Helius Eobanus Hessus AN ELEGY ON THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS with several additional epigrams on the same topic

Woodcut: A dog, sheep, calf, sow, ass, and wolf carouse around a rectangular table, while a monkey, crouching on top of the table, knocks over a mug. In front, a goose holds a torch up to a bear with spectacles on his nose and a book in his paws.

Take a good look at the various figures here, all taking their cue from the ass. Then picture yourself, if you will, as being one of them. Don’t doubt for a minute that these beasts are human. After all, in our day and age, Pythagoras’ palingenesis is not farfetched anymore.1

To the right and left of the woodcut: If anyone happens to take offense at this picture, it’s because he has recognized himself in one of these beasts.

1 The philosopher Pythagoras of Samos (sixth century bce) taught the doctrine of reincarnation.

v

1 AD LECTOREM E. H. Quid nova miraris variarum monstra ferarum Et risu dignum te reperisse putas? Desine. Nulla tibi haec foecit spectacula Circe, Non aliquem claudunt haec simulachra Iovem.  Longe alia est ratio, maior dea. Vultibus istis Te quoque, ni caveas, induet Ebrietas. 2 DE EODEM Qui legis humanos pecudum sub imagine vultus Et brutis non vis credere, crede tibi. Nunquid enim monstrum est asinos audire loquentes? Ergo puta ex illo te tua verba loqui. 3 DE EODEM ALIUD Non melius Venerem Cous depinxit Apelles, Non maius precium vaela Timantis habent, Non ita Protogenes Hyalision, haud Agrigenti Talis erat Iuno Zeusidis aut Helene,  Huius ut Ebrietas expressa in fronte libelli. Mentitum fuco non habet archetypon.

Epigr. –. A.

Epigr. . Tit. lectorem scripsi: lectoren A.

2 The enchantress Circe gave visitors a drink that turned them into swine, wolves, lions, bears, and other beasts. See Gen. ebrios. A ., with n.  (p.  above); Vitanda ebriet. .–. Jupiter had a habit of changing himself into various animal shapes, the better to pursue his amours. 3 Apelles of Colophon (fourth century bce) was the most celebrated of the Greek painters. He is sometimes called “Apelles of Cos” because of his famed portrait of Aphrodite Anadyomene on the island of Cos. Eobanus’ chief source of information on Apelles and the other Greek painters was Plin. Nat. .–.

1 EOBANUS HESSUS TO THE READER Why are you staring in amazement at all the weird beasts in this picture and think they’re good for a laugh? Hold it right there! It wasn’t some Circe who put this entertainment on for you, nor do these figures conceal some Jupiter or other.2 The reason is far different, the goddess far greater. If you don’t take care, you too will get faces like these, courtesy of Drunkenness. 2 ON THE SAME SUBJECT If you can see that these animals, despite their looks, are actually human, but won’t pay attention to them because they’re brutes, then at least pay attention to yourself. Don’t you think it’s portentous to hear asses talking? Well then! Just imagine that the ass who is talking is . . . you. 3 ANOTHER ON THE SAME SUBJECT Apelles of Cos produced a marvelous painting of Venus.3 Timanthes’ veils had great expressive power.4 Protogenes’ portrait of Ialysus was stunning.5 So were the Juno and the Helen that Zeuxis painted for Agrigento.6 But none of those portraits was as true to life as the image of Drunkenness that you see depicted on the title page of this book. It reveals her true face, without any make-up at all.

4 The painter Timanthes of Cythnos (late fifth century bce) veiled Agamemnon’s head at the sacrifice of Iphigenia because the father’s sorrow could not be portrayed with a brush. Cf. Her. Chr., ded. ., with n.  (:). 5 Protogenes of Caunus (late fourth century bce) spent seven years creating a picture of Ialysus, the mythical grandson of Helios and eponymous founder of a town on the island of Rhodes. 6 Zeuxis of Heraclea worked in the late fifth century bce.



de vitanda ebrietate elegia

[

4 ALIUD DE EODEM

r

Auriculas asini Phrygio mens stulta tyranno, Torva Iovi tauro cornua fecit amor. In porcos Ithaci comites pecuina voluptas Exuit, et balat rex maris inter oves.  Decolor ira canem Cisseida foecit. Olympo Invidiae labes Arcton utramque dedit. Induit ora lupi ferus impietate Lycaon. Cercopibus precium simia perfidiae est. Atque alias aliae pestes foecere figuras  Singulaque artifices monstra habuere suos. Has tamen una potest omneis effingere formas Omnibus in vicium doctior Ebrietas. 5 AMOREM ESSE TOLERABILIOREM EBRIETATE Si te forte iuvat tentare Cupidinis arcus Et Veneri longam solvere militiem, Illuvies Bacchi nimias ad Bactra relega. Multa fugant Venerem pocula, rara iuvant.  Nam tolerabilior Venus est hoc blanda Sileno, Quod minus ingeniis corporibusque nocet. Ipsa dat ingenuos mores, pervertit Iacchus. Hec animi vires instruit, ille necat. Epigr. . AaSO. Tit. Aliud de eodem A: Hel. Eob. Hessus de ebrietate a, De ebrietate SO.  ferus aSO: feras A (corr. manus in ex. Hafniensi et Monasteriensi).  Cercopibus SO: Cecropibus A (corr. manus in ex. Hafniensi et Monasteriensi) a. Subscriptio Finis add. a. Epigr. . ASO. Tit. Amorem — ebrietate A: Comparatio Veneris et Bacchi SO.  arcus A: arteis SO; militiem A: militiam SO.  Sileno A: Lyeo SO.  pervertit A: corrumpit SO. 7 King Midas of Phrygia preferred Pan’s pipes to Apollo’s lyre, for which folly Apollo punished him by giving him asses’ ears. Jupiter assumed the form of a bull in order to ravish Europa. 8 The enchantress Circe gave Ulysses’ men to drink from a cup (Homer, Od. ), whereupon they were turned into swine and other beasts. The story became a great favorite with moralists who saw it as an allegory of drunkenness. Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. A ., with n.  (p.  above); Vitanda ebriet. .. The sea king Neptune (Poseidon) turned his lover Theophane into a ewe and himself into a ram. See Ov. Met. .–.

an elegy on the avoidance of drunkenness



4 ANOTHER ON THE SAME SUBJECT It was stupidity that caused the king of Phrygia to grow asses’ ears; it was lust that gave Jupiter redoubtable horns when he changed into a bull.7 Beastly cravings turned Ulysses’ comrades into swine and made the sea king bleat among the sheep.8 Vicious rage changed Hecuba into a dog.9 Sordid jealousy put both Bears into the sky.10 Because he showed no reverence for the gods, the savage Lycaon got the muzzle of a wolf.11 The Cercopians’ reward for treachery was to be turned into monkeys.12 And so each pestilence brought about a different metamorphosis, [] each monstrosity had its own special creator. But only one, more expert in vice than all the others put together, is able to fashion all those shapes entirely by herself: Drunkenness. 5 THAT IT IS EASIER TO PUT UP WITH LOVE THAN WITH DRUNKENNESS If perhaps you’re eager to try Cupid’s bow and enlist for a long stint in Venus’ army, then relegate drunken bacchanals to faraway Bactra.13 Hitting the bottle scares Venus off; the occasional glass delights her. As you know, seductive Venus is easier to take than Silenus,14 in that she doesn’t harm the mind and the body as much. In fact, she teaches you genteel manners; Bacchus corrupts them. She provides you with strength of mind; he destroys it.

9 After the fall of Troy, King Priam’s widow Hecuba became a slave. Embittered by the tragic deaths of her children, she changed into a dog. See Ov. Met. .–. 10 The jealous Juno turned the nymph Callisto into a bear because she had borne Jupiter a son, Arcas. When Arcas, now a young man, was about to kill that very bear with his javelin, Jupiter changed the two of them into the constellations Ursa Major and Arctophylax (Bear Keeper). See Ov. Met. .–; Fast. .–. 11 A savage Arcadian king, Lycaon planned to kill his guest Jupiter in his sleep and offered him the flesh of a murdered man to eat. Jupiter turned him into a wolf. See Ov. Met. ., –. 12 The Cercopians were a treacherous people who lived on the little island of Pithecusae (now Ischia). Disgusted with them, Jupiter turned them into monkeys. See Ov. Met. .–. 13 An ancient city in Parthia (now Balkh in northern Afghanistan). 14 Silenus was Bacchus’ tutor and chronically drunken companion. A student’s note in the Münster copy of the book aptly quotes Vergil’s description of him in Ecl. .–.



de vitanda ebrietate elegia



v

[

Munditiem custodit amor, temulentia sordes Iniicit. Haec formam destruit, ille facit. Verum si quis erit qui spernere possit utrunque, Hunc caelo dignum pectus habere puta.

6 H. EOBANI HESSI DE EBRIETATE VITANDA EXTEMPORALIS ELEGIA









r 

Nuper ut humanos Arethe respexit ad usus, Iussa loco vitiis cedere, liquit humum. Quae simul ut terris supera attigit alta relictis, Irrepsit scelerum pestis et omne genus. Et ne forte iterum mortalibus influat, omnis Ad terram reditus qua sit adempta via est. Namque ducem contra fortem rex misit Averni. Illa est, si nomen quaeritis, Ebrietas. Castra loco posuit quo non habitatior alter; Olim virtuti caelitibusque fuit. Sed neque degeneres adeo consedit ad Indos, Extulit ad Numidas nec sua signa vagos. In medio Europae sedem stabilivit, et armis Teutonas invictos illius arma premunt. Orbis enim postquam fortissima mollibus armis Occupat, hostiles non timet inde minas. Et quamvis aliis quoque gentibus imperet, illam Nulla tamen studio seduliore colit. Illa adeo nostrum pestis sibi subdidit orbem, Ut gerat arbitrio publica quaeque suo. Quandoquidem heu nimium non est opus indice et istis Temporibus constet notius esse nihil, Quinetiam accessit vicioso gloria mori Peccatoque boni nomine venit honor, Venit honor vicio, virtus iacet, otia regnant Mollia, dum ventri vivimus atque gulae.

 Iniicit A: Invehit SO. Epigr. . AaSO. Tit. H. Eobani — elegia A: In ebrietatem exegoria per H. Eobanum Hessum a, In ebrietatem SO.  cedere aSO: c˛eder˛e A.  Quae aSO: Que A; ut A: ac aSO; terris aSO: vitiis A.  qua aSO: quae A.  quaeritis aSO: queritis A.  Numidas aSO: Humidas A (corr. manus in ex. Hafniensi, Monachensi, et Monasteriensi).  minas A: manus aSO.  quaeque aSO: queque A.

an elegy on the avoidance of drunkenness



Love keeps you looking your best; drunkenness [] casts you into the gutter. The latter mars a handsome appearance; the former creates one. But if a man has the strength to spurn both, judge him to have the heart of a saint. 6 AN EXTEMPORANEOUS ELEGY BY H. EOBANUS HESSUS ON THE AVOIDANCE OF DRUNKENNESS Not so long ago, when Arete took a hard look at the way people used each other, she felt compelled to give place to the vices and leave the earth.15 No sooner had she forsaken the world and reached the heights of heaven than all manner of pestilential crimes began to creep in. But just in case she were somehow to slip back into human affairs, every path by which she might return to earth was sealed off. For the king of hell dispatched a mighty general to oppose her. That general, if you want to know her name, is Drunkenness. She pitched her camp in the most populous region on earth, [] a country formerly devoted to manly virtue and the inhabitants of heaven. It was not among the unwarlike peoples of India that she established herself so much, however, nor was it to the nomads of Africa that she advanced her banners. No, it was in the heart of Europe that she set up her base. In fact, it was the Germans, never yet conquered in battle, that her armies took on. For ever since her effeminate troops seized the most powerful empire on earth, she no longer fears a counterattack. And though she lords it over other nations too, nevertheless none worships her with more sedulous devotion than ours. This pestilence has so enslaved our country [] that it is she who conducts all public affairs, as she sees fit. But alas, all this is too self-evident to need pointing out. In our day and age nothing could be more obvious. As a matter of fact, scandalous behavior is now considered something to brag about, and depravity makes you a hero. Vice receives all the applause, true merit is scoffed at, soft loafing is the rule, while we ourselves live for the belly and the palate. But as we indulge in extravagant 15 Arete is a personification of Moral Virtue. Eobanus associates her with Astraea, the ancient Greek goddess of justice and last deity to leave the earth at the end of the Golden Age. See Nob. –, with n.  (p.  above).



de vitanda ebrietate elegia







 v







[

Improba dum nimio facimus convivia luxu Inque malos mores prodiga turba sumus, Languit omnis honor studiorum militiai, Armaque dura prius mollia facta iacent. Durior hac nusquam pestis nec atrocior hostis Teutona victrici venit in arva manu. Non adeo nostras Romana potentia vires Fregit, mille licet miserit illa duces. Quod non mille duces plures potuere per annos, Continuis perdit cladibus ista lues. Ut taceam famae qualem denigret honorem, Hei mihi, quantum animis corporibusque nocet! Ingenii exhaurit vires animique vigorem, Sique quid est clari luminis, omne rapit. Corporis enervat robur succumque iuventae Exprimit, ut vites humida praela novas. Omne decus formae perimit sugitque colores; Larvarum similes vultibus esse facit. Inde tot erumnae malesani corporis, inde Tot ledunt stomachum, tot nocumenta caput; Inde manus tremulae, pallor, timor, anxia mentis Conditio, et nunquam tuta animi requies. Hinc matutinas exhalant ora mephytes, Deformat putres pendula bucca genas; Hinc semper gravibus stillantia lumina guttis, Hinc ruga et scabie semper arata cutis; Hinc male consistens titubantis inertia linguae Verbaque inaudaci semiloquta sono. Nocturna infestant furiales tempora somni Et lemurum miscent Eumenidumque choris. Adde quod illa animos ita conficit improba pestis, Ut nihil egregium precipuumque petant. Sed velut Asphalti mens tacta bitumine stagni Langueat et miseris defluat aegra modis.

 militiai A: miliciei a, militiei SO.  Durior . . . nusquam A: Saevior . . . nunquam aSO.  famae aSO: fame A.  formae aSO: forme A.  Eumenidumque aSO: Eumemdumque A. – Adde — pavor A: hi versus inseruntur post v.  in aSO, hoc ordine: –, –, –.

an elegy on the avoidance of drunkenness revelries and let ourselves go in dissipation, the soldiering life of scholarship has lost all its prestige. [] Its troops, once so battlehardened, have grown soft and indolent. Never has a more ruthless pestilence or a more savage enemy invaded Germany — and emerged victorious. That is more than Rome was able to achieve. Despite all her might, she never could shatter our fighting strength, even though she dispatched a thousand generals. But what a thousand generals were unable to accomplish over many centuries, that fate the scourge of drunkenness has inflicted on us in a relentless string of disasters. To say nothing of the way she has blackened the honor of our name: alas, what a terrible toll she exacts on mind and body! She drains the powers of the intellect and our vigor of mind [] and robs us of whatever clear-sightedness we possess. She undermines the body’s strength and squeezes out the juices of youth, much as a dripping wine press crushes the fresh-picked grapes. She utterly destroys good looks and sucks all the color out of you; frankly, she makes you white as a ghost. Hence the myriad troubles of ill health; hence the myriad ailments that afflict the stomach and head; hence the trembling hands, the pallor, the dread, the anxiousness, the perpetual uneasiness of mind. Hence the stinking breath in the morning, [] the baggy cheeks that disfigure the cadaverous face; hence the eyes constantly welling with heavy drops; hence the ever-wrinkled, scabies-furrowed skin; hence the fuddled mumblings of the stammering tongue and the words muttered in a timorous voice. Frightful dreams disturb the nighttime slumbers and fill them with hordes of specters and furies. Even worse, that monstrous plague debilitates our faculties so thoroughly that we no longer strive for anything first-class and outstanding. Quite the contrary! For once tarred, if you will, with Dead Sea pitch, the mind [] withers away and pitifully slips





de vitanda ebrietate elegia



 r









[

Flamma, velut nebulis fumi compressa, residit; Ebria mens, proprio munere cassa, iacet. Tum carpit stupidos demens vecordia sensus, Tum spes destituunt et ferit ossa pavor. Horrida sepe illi comes est Epilepsia monstro, Quaeque cito in mortem membra Apoplexis agit. Vidi ego non paucos maniam traxisse molestam Ex tam deformi luctificaque lue. Atque aliae innumerae, quis enim comprehendere possit Quot moveat pestes tam Camarina nocens? Quid referam quantis animam post fata ruinis Quamque gravet paenis intolerabilibus? Tot viciorum etenim genitrix, tot causa malorum Toxica pestifera saeminat atra manu. Iurgia, furta, doli, fraudes, iniuria, caedes, Incestus, stuprum, raptus, adulterium, Fastus, avaricies, luxus, gula, livor, et ira, Pigricies: illa sunt sata iacta manu. Bella, nefas, rixas, periuria, probra, rapinas, Saemina, si nescis, illius esse scias. At potuit Veneris tolerari blanda voluptas, Illius et forsan cura futura fuit. Triste malum hoc postquam radices altius egit, Quo magis evulsum est, hoc magis heret humo. Non opus aeratas armare in bella cohortes: Victa iacet vicio Teutonis ora suo. En nostras communis Asotia possidet urbes Et miseros cogit iura superba pati. Quem semel ut nostris pellamus finibus hostem, Sit pudor in tantum degenerasse nefas. Omnibus invictos nostri vicere parentes, At vicia hec nobis vincere nostra grave est. Orbis victorem populum discordia vicit. Nos nisi vicisset, vicimus, Ebrietas.

 nebulis A: nebula aSO.  illi . . . monstro A: etiam huic . . . morbo aSO.  Quaeque aSO: Queque A.  Ex A: E aSO.  moveat AO: movet aS; Camarina Aa: Camerina SO.  illa A: ista aSO.  Bella, . . . periuria, probra A: Probra, . . . discordia, bella aSO.  potuit A: poterat aSO.  nostras communis A: victrix nostras ut aSO.  invictos Aa: invictas SO.  At A: Nunc aSO.

an elegy on the avoidance of drunkenness into its dotage. When a flame, so to speak, is choked by clouds of smoke, it dies down; when the mind is inebriated and unable to perform its office, it lies overthrown. Then a demented frenzy tears at the dulled senses; then hopes fail and terror strikes the bones. Dread Epilepsy is a frequent companion to that monster; so is Apoplexy, which swiftly kills the body. I myself have seen not a few who became raving mad because of that degrading and baleful affliction. And there are other consequences besides, too many to number. Who indeed could possibly determine [] how many pestilences arise from so noxious a swamp? Need I mention how deeply she plunges the soul into hell after death and overwhelms it with unbearable torments? For the fact is that Drunkenness, the mother of countless vices, the source of countless evils, sows her black poisons with pestiferous hand. Quarreling, theft, swindling, fraud, assault, murder, incest, fornication, rape, adultery, pride, greed, lust, gluttony, envy, anger, and sloth: those are the seeds that she scatters abroad. War, crime, brawls, perjury, insults, robbery: [] those, if you want to know, are her offspring. The alluring pleasure of passionate love is a different case altogether: you can put up with that quite easily; you might even want to devote yourself to it sometime. But once the grim evil of drunkenness has thrust its roots far down, the harder you try to tear it out, the tighter it clings to the soil. It is too late to mobilize our heavy divisions for war: Germany already lies prostrate, defeated by her own vice. Look around you! Debauchery is everywhere. She has taken control of our cities and compels the wretched citizens to put up with her insolent decrees. If we are ever to drive this enemy from our domains, [] we ought to feel shame at having let ourselves sink into such heinous depravity. Our forefathers defeated the Romans, who until then had always proved invincible. We, by contrast, find it impossible to conquer this vice of ours. A people that conquered the world, we have been defeated by the enemy within. Had Drunkenness not vanquished us, we would still be unvanquished.



 v

de vitanda ebrietate elegia

[

O quibus est igitur iuvenili in corpore robur Et solidae vires ingeniumque viget, Spernite degeneri convivia perdita luxu. Sit medium et constans inter utrunque modus. Nam semper sapere et nunquam indulgere iocosis  Moribus, id pecus est vivere, non hominem. 

– nunquam — pecus est A: mensas odisse iocosas,/Id pecus est brutum aSO. Subscriptio Finis add. a.

an elegy on the avoidance of drunkenness O you, therefore, whose youthful body is still bursting with strength, whose powers are intact and whose mind is unimpaired: steer clear of parties that degenerate into drinking bouts! Resolutely set a middle course between the two extremes. For to be always sensible and never indulge in laughter [] and fun, that is to live a brute’s life, not a man’s.



EPISTOLA ITALIAE Ulricho Hutteno equite Germano autore RESPONSIO MAXIMILIANI AUGUSTI Helio Eobano Hesso autore Hutteni DE EADEM RE EPIGRAMMATA ALIQUOT

LETTER FROM ITALIA by the German knight Ulrich von Hutten RESPONSE FROM HIS MAJESTY MAXIMILIAN by Helius Eobanus Hessus SOME EPIGRAMS ON THE SAME TOPIC by Hutten

Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten, Epistola ad Maximilianum Caesarem Italiae fictitia [Strasbourg: Matthias Schürer, ] Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg

Illustration : Title page of Epistola Italiae and Responsio Maximiliani Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  Universitätsbibliothek, Münster

Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems Augsburg: Johann Miller,  Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg

Illustration : Title page of Ulrich von Hutten, Opera poetica [Frankfurt am Main: Christian Egenolff],  Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg

INTRODUCTION

Throughout his long reign, Maximilian I never stopped pursuing the medieval dream of universal monarchy and hegemony over Rome. Having become King of the Romans in  and sole ruler of Germany at the death of his father, Emperor Frederick III, in , he set about expanding and securing his possessions in Italy, first by marrying Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan and then by waging a series of wars with Venice, the Papal States, and France. After several decades of diplomatic maneuvers and military expeditions, however, Maximilian had few triumphs to show. The latest round of wars began in . Intent on being crowned emperor, Maximilian had set out for Rome at the head of a strong force, only to learn that Venice refused to give him free passage through her territories. In frustration, he took the title of Roman Emperor Elect in the Cathedral of Trent on February , a title quickly confirmed by Pope Julius II. In ever-shifting alliances, lacking financial support from the estates and hence chronically short of funds and troops, the emperor did what he could to safeguard his interests in Italy, but without durable success. His attacks on Venice in  came to nothing. In  he failed to capture Padua. He had better luck in , when his Swiss drove the French out of Lombardy. But in the late summer of  the tide turned again. With the assistance of Venetian troops, the new King of France, Francis I, defeated the Swiss near Marignano on September – and made himself master of Milan and all Lombardy. The coup de main was deeply embarrassing to Maximilian. Preoccupied with other business, however, and without money as usual, the emperor had no choice but to bide his time over the winter. It was not until early March , with funds provided by King Henry VIII, that he felt ready to strike back. Leaving Trent with , landsknechts and cavalry and a great train of equipment and weaponry, he crossed the Mincio River and made for the Adige, which he reached on March . The next day, under cover of artillery fire, he constructed a bridge over the river. But with darkness falling, he lost the advantage of surprise. The French and Venetians retreated in good order to Milan, set fire to the outskirts, and ensconced themselves within the city walls. When , Swiss mercenaries arrived shortly afterward to reinforce the garrison and his own Swiss troops mutinied for lack of pay, Maximilian could do



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

little other than decamp. An object of mockery to his enemies and erstwhile friends, the old man turned his back on the Italian plain, never to return.1 The debacle may have shattered Maximilian’s dream of hegemony over Italy, but did nothing to discourage the German humanists who were cheering him on. While they obviously could not ignore the recent calamities, they consoled themselves in the knowledge that Fortune’s wheel never stops and would soon turn once more in Maximilian’s favor. Among the starry-eyed patriots was Eobanus himself. Throughout his career, from the Bucolicon of  to his De vera nobilitate of , he had gloried in the emperor’s triumphs and proclaimed his faith in ultimate victory.2 Even in De generibus ebriosorum, written at the very time that Francis I was thumbing his nose at Maximilian in Milan, Eobanus had inserted a parodic homily cursing the “perfidious Frenchmen” and prophesying their defeat.3 Eobanus’ friend Ulrich von Hutten (–) nursed much the same hopes.4 In late  Hutten had written a long elegy exhorting the emperor to subdue Venice once and for all.5 During his first stay in Italy from  to  he had even served in Maximilian’s army and taken part in the siege of Padua in August . During these years he composed a series of epigrams, addressed to Maximilian, about the political situation in Italy. A good many of them originated in  and ; many others were added between  and .6 The collection circulated in manuscript long before it was finally printed, in expanded

1 The most thorough account of Maximilian’s life and work is Hermann Wiesflecker, Kaiser Maximilian I.: Das Reich, Österreich und Europa an der Wende zur Neuzeit,  vols. (Munich, –), abridged in his Maximilian I.: Die Fundamente des habsburgischen Weltreiches (Munich, ). 2 See Buc. .–, B , B ; Her. Chr. .–; Hymn. –; Nob. –. 3 Gen. ebrios. .. 4 For Hutten’s life and works, see Poetic Works, :–, n. ; VLDH, :–. For his political views, see Helmut Scheuer, “Ulrich von Hutten: Kaisertum und deutsche Nation,” Daphnis  (), –. 5 Ad Divum Maximilianum Caesa. Aug. F.P. bello in Venetos euntem exhortatio (Vienna, ). 6 See Benzing, , no. XX, B. In dating the epigrams, Benzing relies on Eduard Böcking’s historical placements, which upon closer examination, however, often turn out to be wide of the mark. Cf. Wulfert, –; headnotes to Hutten’s epigrams, pp. – below. On the historical, biographical, and literary context of the epigrams, see Lewis Jillings, “The Eagle and the Frog: Hutten’s Polemic against Venice,” Renaissance Studies  (), –.

introduction



and revised form, in early January of .7 After a stay in Germany from February  to the autumn of , Hutten returned to Italy to complete his legal studies. He was in Bologna in December , when Pope Leo X and King Francis I were there to sign a Concordat, and then lived in Rome until illness forced him in April  to seek a cure at the baths in Viterbo. In July he got into a tavern fight with five Frenchmen. By his own telling, he defended himself valiantly, killing one of the Frenchmen and severely wounding the others. He himself suffered only a cut on the left cheek. In numerous letters and poems Hutten stylized the fracas into an act of unalloyed patriotism. He had stood up to the arrogant French, who, he said, had been insulting the emperor.8 The Frenchmen, meanwhile, took a more jaundiced view. As they plotted revenge, Hutten fled to Bologna. It was there that he spent several days in late July distilling his passions into a heroic epistle, very much in the manner of Eobanus’ Heroides of . In Hutten’s elegy, the personified Italia writes to her lord, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. She has learned of his most recent movements, reacting first with exultant joy at his appearance before Milan in March , then with horror and grief at his abrupt departure. Now she exhorts Maximilian to liberate her from the tyrannical powers who are dismembering her: the French, the Venetians, the Spaniards, the pope. He must follow the example of Charlemagne and the Ottos and make himself master of Rome. Only then will she be restored to happiness.9

7 Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber unus, in Hutten, Opera, :– . A manuscript circulated among Hutten’s friends as early as . See Hutten’s dedicatory letter to the epigrams, in Opera, : (letter ). In ca. October , Hutten sent Eobanus an updated manuscript, or at least, a supplement with a large number of the most recent epigrams, probably with a request to have them published in Erfurt. From this collection Eobanus selected nine for inclusion with the heroic letters from Italy and Maximilian. Petrejus Eberbach added four more, while Eobanus added two. 8 See Hutten, Opera, :–, no. , dedicatory letter to Nikolaus Gerbel prefacing the heroic letter, “Italia to Emperor Maximilian.” Hutten mentions the fight also in his letter to Joachim Vadian (Opera, :, no. ) and in a letter to Richard Croke (Opera, :–, no. ). In De statu Romano, he devotes a series of epigrams to the matter: see Opera, :–, nos. –. After Hutten’s death Eobanus recalled the incident at Epic. ., . 9 On the genre of the heroic epistle, see Heinrich Dörrie, Der heroische Brief: Bestandsaufnahme, Geschichte, Kritik einer humanistisch-barocken Literaturgattung (Berlin, ), with a discussion of Hutten’s and Eobanus’ poems on pp. –. Unaware of the true background, Dörrie speculates that Eobanus wrote at the emperor’s request, or certainly with his consent, to offer Italia his excuses. This suggestion has no basis in fact. See Frank Hieronymus, “Huttenica: Die Epistola ecclesiae ad Christum, Lorenzo Vallas De



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

Illustration : Italia writes to Emperor Maximilian, as Venetian and French armies dismember her country. Woodcut in Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems (Augsburg, ), sig. Pr. Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg

By  July  the poem was ready. Hutten dedicated it to Nikolaus Gerbel of Pforzheim (ca. –), who had received his doctorate in canon law at Bologna in  and was now making his living as a church lawyer in Strasbourg. In his free time, however, Gerbel indulged his

donatione Constantini, die Oratio ad Christum Optimum Maximum pro Iulio Secundo,” Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins  (), . Hutten may have taken the central idea — the shattered Italia pleads to be rescued by her lord Maximilian — from an anonymous playlet staged at Verona in September . See the headnote to Hutten’s Italia, p.  below.

introduction

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Illustration : Fortuna turns her wheel in the Italian Wars. The Papal Tiara and Keys are on top for now, but the Imperial Eagle is rising fast. The Gallic Cock is falling. The Lion of Venice is at the bottom. Woodcut in Ulrich von Hutten’s selected poems (Augsburg, ), sig. Hv Collection and photo Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Strasbourg

passion for humanistic literature by working as an editor and corrector for the Strasbourg presses, initially for Matthias Schürer, later also for other publishers. Gerbel and Hutten had become good friends at Strasbourg in . When Hutten left for Italy, Gerbel had asked him to send him something or other.10

10 For the dedicatory letter, see Hutten, Opera, :, no. . On Nikolaus Gerbel, see VLDH, :–.

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epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

Hutten’s Fictitious Letter from Italia to Emperor Maximilian was published without place, printer, or date [Strasbourg: Matthias Schürer, late summer ].11 The dedicatee Nikolaus Gerbel saw it through the press.12 a () [Within a compartment consisting of four ornamental blocks:] EPI | STOLA AD | MAXIMILI= | anum Cæſarem | Itali˛e fictitia. | Hulde= | richo | de Hutten equ. Authore. | ‘,‘ | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

None o: A8, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av blank; Ar–v dedicatory letter; Ar–Av Italia Maximiliano Caesari; A blank Running titles: None Catchwords: None Location: Strasbourg, BNU Call number: R..

I have also examined the copy at Basel, UB (DB VI :), at Leipzig, UB (Poet.lat.rec.), and at Wolfenbüttel, HAB (A:  Quod./). There are further copies in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Basel, UB (a second copy); Berlin, SB; Cologne, Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek; Eichstätt, UB; Freiburg/Breisgau, UB; Fulda, Hochschul- und LB; Göttingen, Niedersächsische SUB; Ithaca, Cornell University Library; Jena, Thüringer ULB; London, BL; Munich, BSB; Munich, UB; Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève; Stuttgart, Württembergische LB; Trier, Stadtbibliothek ( copies); Wittenberg, Evangelisches Predigerseminar; Wittenberg, Lutherhalle; Würzburg, UB; Zürich, Zentralbibliothek; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek. Eobanus’ Response Hutten wrote his Letter from Italia in hopes that one of the German poets would rise to his challenge by responding in Maximilian’s name. On August , well before the poem was in print, he told Richard Croke,

11 12

See Benzing, , no. . VLDH, :, section A, no. .

introduction



professor of Latin and Greek at the University of Leipzig: “Just recently I wrote a letter in elegiac verse, in which Italy addresses herself to Emperor Maximilian. A friend of mine has sent a copy of it to Phacchus in Wittenberg. Be sure to look at it, to see if it has what it takes to stir your emotions. If you have time, do write a response to it in Maximilian’s name; for that is something I leave for others.”13 When Croke did not answer, Hutten sent a lightly revised copy of the poem to Eobanus, perhaps in late September, and asked him to publish it for him in Erfurt. The printer was to send him a thousand copies. Profusely praising his friend, Hutten acknowledged that he had been inspired by reading the Christian Heroides. Hutten’s letter to Eobanus is no longer extant. However, we know about it from two other sources. In a letter to Mutianus Rufus, probably written in the autumn of , Eobanus brags about the praises that Hutten showered on him not so long ago — praises that Petrus Mosellanus in Leipzig has just seconded.14 He revels in Hutten’s compliments also in a hitherto unnoticed letter to the readers, evidently written to introduce his planned edition of Hutten’s Italia. As he had done earlier for a possible reprint of his Christian Heroides,15 Eobanus dictated the preface to his students at the start of his lectures on Hutten’s poem in the winter semester of /. A full text has been preserved in the Münster copy of A (sig. Ar). The copy of A in the Newberry Library, Chicago, gives a truncated version (sig. Ar). Here the letter stops abruptly in the first paragraph, immediately after “Italie, nunc multis malis.” The draft preface runs as follows:

13 See Hutten, Opera, :, no. , par. : “Nuper epistolam lusi elegiaco carmine ad Caesarem Maximilianum Italiae; eam mei studiosus quidam Wittenpurgum Faccho mittit. Cura videas num quid habeat quod te afficiat. Si tempus est, pro Maximiliano responde: nam hoc aliis reliqui.” Richard Croke of London (ca. –) taught Greek at Leipzig from  to . See Camerarius, Nar. ., with n.  (:–). The Wittenberg professor Balthasar Phacchus (d. ) was a good friend of Hutten’s. Hutten had spent the winter of / at his house in Wittenberg and kept in contact ever since. See Martin Treu, “Balthasar Fabritius Phacchus — Wittenberger Humanist und Freund Ulrichs von Huttens,” Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte  (), – . 14 Mutian. Ep. ; cf. Krause, HEH, :. On Petrus Mosellanus, see Camerarius, Nar. ., with n.  (:–). 15 See Poetic Works, :–.



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani Eobanus Hessus huius epistole lectoribus salutem dicit.16 Ulricus Huthenus,17 et studiis et genere nobilis, superioribus diebus transmisit ad me ex18 Italia figmentum quoddam19 suum, quod coram cernitis, candidi lectores. Ea est epistola scribentis ad Maximilianum Cesarem Italie, ex his temporum motibus bellorumque procellis capto argumento,20 summa ingenii21 felicitate, miro22 candore, beatissima facilitate scripta, cuius argumentum summatim in se continet Italie, nunc multis malis23 afflicte, deplorationem et iustam querimoniam. Qua in re nostrorum temporum etiam mores passim taxantur multaque inseruntur quae ad intelligendas veterum historias sunt conducibilia. Imitacio autem, ut noveritis, mearum Heroidum, est quod ipse Huttenus ad me scribens confitetur, iubetque ut in mille exempla transscriptum libellum24 Italiam quoque mittam. Cum morem gerens ego, vobis quoque gratificatum iri cupiens, opus edidi, non perinde magnum ac varium et erigens.25 Quod ut legatur hortor, simul admonens nihil esse nunc viventium poetarum lectu dignius. Valete. Eobanus Hessus to the readers of this letter, greetings. Ulrich von Hutten, a man noble by erudition as well as birth, recently sent me from Italy a kind of fiction of his, which you now see before you, kind readers. This is a letter written by Italy to Emperor Maximilian. Its theme is drawn from the present-day upheavals and storms of wars. You will find it written with brilliant felicity of mind, marvelous lucidity, magnificent fluency. Within its brief scope, the work sums up the complaints and well-founded laments of Italy, now shattered by many calamities. In this context, the poet also repeatedly censures the morals of our times and introduces a good many topics that help us understand ancient history. Now the imitation of my Heroides, just so you know, is something that Hutten himself acknowledged when he wrote to me. He furthermore

16

The Newberry copy reads “huius epistole s d.” The Newberry copy reads “Ulricus Hutenus Germanus”. 18 In the Münster copy “ex” is written above the line. The text itself has the reading “ad” (not crossed out), perhaps intended as “ab”. The Newberry copy reads “ex”. 19 The Newberry copy reads “quodam”. 20 Cf. the subtitle of A: “sumpto ex his temporum motibus argumento.” 21 The Newberry copy reads “ingenia”. 22 The Newberry copy reads “mira”. 23 The text in the Newberry copy stops with “multis malis.” For the phrase “motibus bellorumque procellis,” see Ambros. Ep. ..: “barbaricis motibus et bellorum procellis.” 24 A reminiscence of Plin. Ep. ..: “librum . . . in exemplaria mille transcriptum.” 25 The Münster copy reads “erigans”. 17

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instructed me to send the booklet to Italy in a thousand printed copies. Because I wanted to do him that favor and am also eager to gratify you, I have published the work, which, while not particularly large, is nevertheless wide-ranging and exciting. I urge you to read it. At the same time I remind you that, of the now living poets, nothing is more worthy of reading. Farewell.

The preface must have been composed shortly after Eobanus received Hutten’s letter from Bologna, perhaps in late September. The draft makes mention neither of the response that Eobanus eventually wrote in Maximilian’s name nor of the epigrams by Hutten and Eberbach that are attached in the book as published in November. Conceivably Hutten followed up his initial request to Eobanus with a second letter imploring his friend to respond for Maximilian. Along with this second letter Hutten might also have sent him a manuscript of his more recent epigrams, from which Eobanus then selected a set that seemed especially apropos.26 Be that as it may, Eobanus soon set to work composing a response to Hutten’s heroic epistle. In the fictional letter, the emperor lauds Italia’s loyalty and love, sympathizes with her plight, and promises that he will come to her aid shortly. Blaming all setbacks on the maliciousness of Fortune, he points to a very recent success as an earnest of his pledge. He has sent a strong force of sappers to Verona. With their help the city beat back fierce assaults by Franco-Venetian troops in mid-September . He vows to enter Rome in triumph. But first he intends to drive the Venetians back into their swamps, crush the arrogant French, and expel the Turks from Europe. Already he is mustering an army from all over Europe. But even without these troops he is strong enough to take on his enemies. He therefore bids Italia be of good cheer. The heroic letter was published by Matthes Maler at Erfurt in November , in a booklet that opens with Hutten’s “Letter from Italia” and concludes with some epigrams by Hutten, Petrejus Eberbach, and Eobanus himself.

26 See Max. B . The epigrams that Eobanus selected all appear to have been written at Rome in the first few months of .



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani A ()

[Within a compartment cut from a single block (see p.  above), partly colorized in this copy:] QVAE IN HOC LIBELLO NOVA | HABENTVR | Epl’a Itali˛e ad Diu¯u Maximilian¯u Cæſ. | Aug. Vlricho Hutteno Equite Germano | Autore | Reſponſio Maximiliani Aug. Helio Eo= | bano Heſſo Autore | Addita ſunt Hutteni de ead¯e re Epigram | mata aliquot nu-p ex vrbe Roma miſſa: | S¯upto ex his tempor/ motib9 Argum¯eto | LECTORIBVS | [ scazons] | E.H. | Colophon:

Matheus Maler Imprimebat Erphurdie | in Doringis Anno. M.D.XVI. | Menſe Nouembri. | [printer’s mark, partly colorized in this copy] | Collation: o: A6, [A signed], B4 C6, [ signed],  leaves Contents: Ar title page; Av blank; Ar–Av Italia Maximiliano Caes. Aug.; Br–Cv Maximilianus Augustus Italiae; Cv–Cr epigrams by Ulrich von Hutten, Petrejus Eberbach, and Eobanus Hessus; Cr colophon; Cv blank Running titles: None Catchwords: None Copy text: Münster, Universitätsbibliothek Call number: Coll. Erh. 

The copy contains many manuscript notes, but only to Hutten’s heroic epistle (sigs. Ar–Av). The glosses and marginalia derive from a course that Eobanus taught in the winter semester /. The copy in the Newberry Library, Chicago (Wing ZP  .M), contains similar notes on sigs. Ar–Ar. I have also examined the copy at Strasbourg, BNU (R..) and at Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A..k,). The Dresden copy is bound together with several other books by Eobanus Hessus: Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ); Victoria Christi (Erfurt, ); Hymnus paschalis (Erfurt, ); and Sylvae duae (Leipzig, ). The Sammelband was originally owned by Johann Heß (– ).27 There are further copies in Fulda, Hochschul- und LB; Stuttgart, Württembergische LB; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Wittenberg, Lutherhalle; Würzburg, UB. Later Editions Hutten revised his heroic epistle in the autumn of , while he was recuperating in Augsburg from another syphilitic attack. As his base text he used A, not a. The revised poem was printed, together with 27

See “Corrigenda and Addenda to Volume ,” pp. xix–xx above.

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Eobanus’ response, by Johann Miller at Augsburg on  January , in a beautifully illustrated selection of Hutten’s poetic works, many of them on the Italian Wars. Of the Epigrams to Maximilian, all but one of the epigrams that Eobanus selected in  reappear in the new collection, several in thoroughly revised form. B () [Within a single-block compartment, dated , designed by the Petrarch Master:]28 Hoc in volumine hæc continentur. | VLR➤ DE HVT | TEN EQ➤ | Ad Cæſarem Maximil. vt bellum in Venetos | cœptum proſequatur. Exhortatorium. | Eiuſdem ad Cæſ. Maximil. Epigram. liber I. | De piſcatura Venetorum Heroic¯u eiuſdem. | Eiuſdem Marcus Heroicum. | De non degeneri German. ſtatu Heroic. eiuſ. | Eodem autore ad Maximil. Cæſ. Epl’a Italiæ. | Autore Helio Eobano Heſſo Maximiliani | ad Italiam reſponſoria. | Item varia Hutteni epigram. & eius apud Ha | drian¯u Card. pro Capnione interceſſio. | ¶ Iucunda omnibus ineſt nouitas, | lege, & cognoſces. | Cum Priuilegio | Imperiali. | In officina excuſoria Ioannis Miller | IIII. nonas Ianuarias. Anno | ſalutifero. M.D.xix. | [vine leaf ] | Collation: o: A–T, [ (P missigned P) signed],  leaves. Contents: Ar title page; Av–Dv Ad Maximilianum Ro. imperatorem, ut bellum in Venetos coeptum prosequatur, exhortatorium; Er–Nr Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber unus; Nv– Or De piscatura Venetorum; Ov–Ov Marcus; Ov–Pv Quod ab illa antiquitus Germanorum claritudine nondum degeneraverint nostrates; Pr–Qv Epistola Italiae ad Maximilianum Caesarem; Qv–Sr Responsoria ad Italiam Maximiliani Caesaris, autore Helio Eobano Hesso Germano; Sv Hel. Eobanus Hessus ad poetas sui temporis; Sv–Sv Pro ara Coritiana epigrammata; Sv–Tr Ad Crotum Rubianum de statu Romano epigrammata; Tr–Tv Ad Cardinalem Hadrianum pro Capnione intercessio; Tr Privilegium imperiale; colophon; Tv blank. Illustrations: Twelve woodcuts by the Petrarch Master (Hans Weiditz?). See Musper, Holzschnitte, L . They are found on sigs. Av, Ev, Fr, Gr, Hv, Iv, Iv, Lr, Mv, Nv, Or, Pr. Ornamental initials at the start of major sections. Running titles: None Catchwords: None Location: Strasbourg, BNU Call number: R.. Colophon:

28

See Musper, Holzschnitte, L .



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

I have also consulted the copy at Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A.). There are further copies in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Berlin, SB Preußischer Kulturbesitz; Bonn, ULB; Budapest, National Library; Cambridge, Harvard University Library; Dresden, SLUB (a second copy); Fulda, Hochschul- und LB; Heidelberg, UB; Klosterneuburg, Stiftsbibliothek; London, BL; Munich, UB; Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum (lacking the last leaf); Paris, BN; Sélestat, Bibliothèque Humaniste; Strasbourg, BNU ( further copies,  incomplete); Stuttgart, Württembergische LB; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Vienna, ÖNB; Washington (DC), Library of Congress; Würzburg, UB; Zürich, Zentralbibliothek. The two heroic letters were reprinted from B in the posthumous edition of Hutten’s poetic works that appeared in , without indication of place or printer [Frankfurt am Main: Christian Egenolff]:29 C () VLRICHI | HVTTENI EQVITIS | GERMANI OPERA POETICA, EX | diuerſis illius monumentis in | unum collecta, quorum | elenchum ſequens | pagina ha- | bet. | AD LECTOREM. | [ distichs] | Colophon: Collation: Contents:

Anno. M.D. XXXVIII. o: A–S, [ (M missigned M) signed], T, [ signed],  leaves Ar title page; Av Elenchus; Ar–Er Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber; Er–Ev Pro ara Coritiana epigrammata; Ev–Er Ad Crotum Rubianum de statu Romano epigrammata; Er–Er In tempora Iulii satyra; Er–Gr Ad Maximilianum Ro. Imperatorem, ut bellum in Venetos coeptum prosequatur, exhortatorium; Gr–Hv De piscatura Venetorum, heroicum; Hv–Hr Marcus, heroicum; Hr–Hv Quod ab illa antiquitus Germanorum claritudine nondum degenerarint nostrates, heroicum; Hv–Ir Epistola Italiae ad Maximilianum Caesarem; Ir–Kv Responsoria ad Italiam Maximiliani Caes., autore Helio Eobano Hesso Germano; Kv–Kr Ad Cardinalem Hadrianum pro Capnione intercessio; Kv–Nr In triumphum Ioannis Reuchlin encomium; Nr–Qr In laudem Alberti Archepiscopi Moguntini panegyricus; Qv–Qv In sceleratissimam Ioannis Pepericorni vitam exclamatio; Qv–Rv ΟÓτισ, Nemo;

29 See Hutten, Opera, :*–*, no. L.; VD , no. H  (corrected update). Benzing, , no. , assigns the print to Kraft Müller in Strasbourg.

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Sr–Sr Vir bonus; Sr–Tv De arte versificatoria carmen heroicum; Tv colophon; T blank Illustration: Woodcut on sig. Sr Running titles: Each work has its own running title — a complete or abbreviated form of the work’s heading. The epigrams on sigs. Ar– Er all have the running title “EPIGRAMMATA HUTTENICA.” Sig. Ev has “EPIGRAMMATA” rather than “EXHORTAT.”; sig. Hr has “VENETORUM” rather than “HUTTENI”; sig. Hr has “HUTTENI” rather than “GERMANIA”; sigs. Ir and Kr have “ITALIAE” rather than “MAXIMILIANI”; sigs. Lr, Lr, Mr, and Mr have “PRO CAPNIONE” rather than “CAPNIONIS.” Catchwords: On versos of each gathering; lacking on sigs. Kv, Nv, Nv, Rv; also found on rectos on folios , , and  of each gathering; miscatching “Dumque” on Gr as “Haec”. Location: Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Call number: L.r.r.o. /

I have also examined the copy in Bloomington, Indiana University Library (PA  ), and at Basel, UB (Frey-Gryn N VII :). The copy at Munich, BSB (Res/Exeg.  i Beibd. ), is available in digital facsimile via VD , no. H . In this copy, the signature “B” did not print. The copy in Stuttgart, Würtembergische LB (HB ), is available in digital facsimile at http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camena/ hutten/te.html. There are further copies in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Berlin, SB Preußischer Kulturbesitz ( copies); Bern, UB; Cambridge, Harvard University Library; Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College; Coburg, LB; Cologne, Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek (incomplete); Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek; Dresden, SLUB; Dublin, Trinity College Library; Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland; Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale; Freiburg/Breisgau, UB; Fulda, Hochschul- und LB; Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek; Göttingen, Niedersächsische SUB; Halle, ULB Sachsen-Anhalt; Hamburg, SUB; Helsinki, University Library; Ithaca, Cornell University Library; Jena, Thüringer ULB; Karlsruhe, Badische LB; Leipzig, UB ( copies); London, BL ( copies); Manchester, University Library; Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Library; Montreal, McGill University; Munich, UB; New Haven, Yale University Library; New York, Library of the Leo Baeck Institute; Oxford, Bodleian Library; Paderborn, Erzbischöfliche Akademische Bibliothek; Paris, BN ( copies,  incomplete); Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève; Perugia, Biblioteca comunale Augusta; Princeton, University Library; Rome, Biblioteca nazionale centrale; San Marino, Huntington Library; Stockholm, National Library; Strasbourg, BNU;



epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

Stuttgart, Württembergische LB (another copy); Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Vienna, ÖNB; Vienna, UB; Washington (DC), Library of Congress; Wittenberg, Lutherhalle; Wolfenbüttel, HAB ( copies); Zürich, Zentralbibliothek; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek. Who Edited Hutten’s Opera poetica of ? For nearly two centuries the only published collection of Hutten’s Latin verse, the Opera poetica of  offers no hint as to its editor. The book has neither preface nor dedicatory letter. All we have to go on is the unsigned epigram “To the Reader” on the title page. In the absence of specifics, editorship has traditionally been assigned to Eobanus Hessus. Already in , Christian J. Wagenseil mentions this attribution as received knowledge. David F. Strauß echoes the belief in his influential biography of . The following year, Hutten’s editor Eduard Böcking accepts it as highly probable. A century later, the well-known bibliographer Josef Benzing presents it as unquestioned fact.30 There is method to this tradition. Eobanus was one of the few who remained loyal to Hutten to the end and then did all he could to keep his friend’s memory alive. He was heartbroken at the news of Hutten’s death.31 It is true that he did not follow Hutten’s last request in  to publish his booklet In tyrannos anonymously; but he had good reason not to bring out the incendiary manuscript, given his own precarious position at Erfurt.32 In  Joachim Camerarius and he eagerly published the manuscript of Hutten’s Arminius that Moritz von Hutten had unearthed. To that edition Eobanus contributed a substantial liminary epigram in praise of Hutten. In  he reprinted Hutten’s Ars versificatoria and Nemo, along with two of his own epigrams, for the use of his students in Nuremberg. That same year he published

30 See Christian Jakob Wagenseil, Ulrich von Hutten nach seinem Leben, seinem Charakter und seinen Schriften (Nuremberg, ), ; David F. Strauß, Ulrich von Hutten (Leipzig, ), :–; Hutten, Opera, :*; :, , ; Benzing, , no. . Benzing is followed, for example, by Wilhelm Kreutz, Die Deutschen und Ulrich von Hutten: Rezeption von Autor und Werk seit dem . Jahrhundert (Munich, ), . Somewhat more cautious is Herbert Jaumann, in VLDH, :: “vermutlich Eobanus Hessus.” 31 See Hutten, Opera, :, no. , letter to Johann Drach. 32 On this manuscript (no longer extant), see VLDH, :–.

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an epicedion for his old friend, a dialogue between Death and the unquenchable spirit of Hutten.33 All these circumstances show that Eobanus might have edited the Opera poetica in  — not that he actually did so. As Eduard Böcking and Carl Krause remind us, there is not a shred of evidence in the extant letters to show that our humanist was in the least involved with the publication.34 He had his hands full as it was, revising his Psalm paraphrases, translating the Iliad into Latin verse, and putting together his own collected works. We must note too that the book’s liminary poem bears no indication of authorship, an omission so out of character that it alone should rule out Eobanus.35 Why, indeed, would he not have put his name to the liminary poem, if he were the author? The liminary epigram to Hutten’s Opera poetica of  runs as follows: AD LECTOREM Qui legis atque oculis hauris sitientibus ista Quae nova iam toties tempus inane parit, Haec quoque non pridem nostris ita visa sub oris Pellege et his longas fallere quaere moras.  Forsan et hic aliquid quod prosit scire videbis, Curve horas libeat perdere forte duas. TO THE READER You, who with thirsting eyes drink in all those new books that leisure time keeps bringing forth, peruse these poems too, published in this country of ours not all that long ago, and let them help keep boredom at bay. You might actually see something here that is useful to know, or perhaps find it worth your while to lose an hour or two.

Verbal analysis yields no links at all to Eobanus’ oeuvre. What does show up is a surprisingly large number of close parallels to the works of Eobanus’ old student and good friend Jakob Micyllus (–), who in / was rector of the Latin school at Frankfurt am Main. The opening verse closely resembles the first line of an epigram to the reader that Micyllus contributed to Peter Apian’s Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis (Ingolstadt, ), sig. Bbr: “Qui legis antiquos oculis

33 34 35

See Epic. . See Hutten, Opera, :*; Krause, HEH, :, n. . Cf. introd. to Gen. ebrios., p.  above.

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epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

mirantibus asses.”36 Also compare the opening distich of Micyllus’ epitaph for the Heidelberg court preacher and canon Jakob Rösch, who died sometime in the s: “Qui legis haec oculis circum spectantibus hospes,/Aspice qua nati conditione sumus.”37 Line  has its counterpart in an epithalamium first published in : “Quae tibi iam precibus toties votisque petita.”38 For ll. –, compare the opening verses of an epitaph for Count Palatine Philip (–): “Caetera qui circum lustras monumenta, viator,/ Haec quoque, non longa est, perlege pauca, morae.”39 Micyllus was fond of the pattern. At the start of an epitaph for Wilhelm Reiffenstein, who died in early May , he writes: “Caetera qui spectas oculis lustrantibus, hospes,/Haec quoque, non longum est, carmina pauca lege.”40 An epitaph for Johann Reuter of Bretten (d. ) similarly begins with the words: “Caetera qui circum perlustras singula visu,/ Haec quoque, non longa est, aspice pauca, mora.”41 Line  of our liminary epigram is matched in an epithalamium written in  for the lawyer Adam Werner of Themar: “Sola sedens tenui pulsabat pectine telam,/ Falleret ut longas hac ratione moras.”42 The first hemistich of l.  is repeated in l.  of Micyllus’ elegy “In mortem simii Heidelbergensis,” probably dating from : “Forsan et hic aliquid venturo parturit aevo/Casus.”43 Several other parallels carry less weight because they are taken from ancient poets. They are nevertheless of interest to us, because Micyllus uses them elsewhere too. Thus the opening phrase

36

Cf. Sil. .: “. . . oculis mirantibus haurit.” Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . Jakob Rösch was court preacher and canon in Heidelberg in the s. He is last documented there in . See Alfons Schäfer, Geschichte der Stadt Bretten von den Anfängen bis zur Zerstörung im Jahre  (Karlsruhe, ), –. 38 Farrago aliquot epigrammatum Philippi Melanchthonis et aliorum quorundam eruditorum (Haguenau, ), sig. Lv; Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . 39 Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . 40 Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . 41 Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . 42 Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . This Adam Werner of Themar is probably a nephew of the more famous jurist of that name. See Karl Hartfelder, “Adam Werner von Themar,” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte, NF  (), –; repr. in Karl Hartfelder, Studien zum Pfälzischen Humanismus, ed. Wilhelm Kühlmann and Hermann Wiegand (Heidelberg, ), –. 43 Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . For a reprint and discussion of the poem, see Arthur Henkel, “In Mortem Simii Heidelbergensis: Zu einem Epikedium des Jacobus Micyllus,” in From Wolfram and Petrarch to Goethe and Grass: Studies in Literature in Honour of Leonard Forster, ed. D.H. Green, L.P. Johnson, and Dieter Wuttke (Baden-Baden, ), –. Henkel places the elegy in , because of an allusion to the comet visible in Heidelberg that year. 37

introduction

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“Qui legis . . . ista,” first found in Mart. .. and .., occurs again in one of the poet’s epitaphs for the printer Christian Egenolff, who died in .44 And the expression “tempus inane” in l. , taken from Verg. A. ., crops up not only in a verse letter to Philip Melanchthon written in /,45 but also in the famed poem on the conflagration of Heidelberg Castle (spring ).46 The sheer number and quality of these parallels make a powerful case for Micyllus’ authorship of the liminary epigram to Hutten’s Opera poetica of . He must henceforth be regarded as the book’s editor. Born at Strasbourg in , Jakob Micyllus matriculated at the University of Erfurt in . There he attended the lectures of Eobanus Hessus and became close friends with his fellow student Joachim Camerarius — two of Hutten’s most ardent supporters. Micyllus continued his education at Wittenberg in / with another admirer of Hutten’s, Philip Melanchthon. From  to  Micyllus was rector of the Latin school in Frankfurt am Main. He was appointed professor of Greek at the University of Heidelberg in , but only after declaring that he was no Lutheran bent on sectarian strife. However, the anti-Lutheran climate and the low salary at Heidelberg left him no choice but to take his wife and family back to Frankfurt in  and resume his old post as rector. From  until his death in  he was again professor of Greek in Heidelberg. Besides numerous textbooks, editions of the classics, commentaries, and translations into Latin and German, Micyllus produced much excellent verse, including a brilliant epicedium for Eobanus. Most of his poetry was gathered up posthumously by his son Julius in Sylvarum libri quinque (). Why would Micyllus edit Hutten’s poetic works, yet not sign his name to it? There can be no doubt that Micyllus admired Hutten’s humanistic genius. In a funeral poem for Petrus Mosellanus, who died in , he even places the German knight in the company of Ermolao Barbaro, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Angelo Poliziano, and Johann Reuchlin.47 By the s, however, times had changed. Hutten’s name had turned into 44

See Micyllus, Sylv. , p. . See Micyllus, Sylv. , p. ; Kühlmann, Lyrik, , l.  (with n. on p. ): “. . . eventus tempus inane sequar?” 46 See Micyllus, Sylv. , p. ; Parnassus Palatinus: Humanistische Dichtung in Heidelberg und der alten Kurpfalz. Lateinisch — Deutsch, ed. Wilhelm Kühlmann and Hermann Wiegand (Heidelberg, ), , l. : “Non est, cur . . . / . . . frustra tempus inane teram.” 47 See Micyllus, Sylv. , p. ; Hutten, Opera, :. 45

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epistola italiae and responsio maximiliani

a rallying cry for the Protestants. He was being hailed as a forerunner of Luther and the Reformation, as an ardent patriot who had fought to liberate Germany from papal tyranny. By the same token, he was anathema to the Catholics.48 Thus, by publishing a big collection of Hutten’s Latin poems, Micyllus ran the very real risk of getting caught up in the sectarian passions and controversies of his age. It was a fate he worked hard to avoid. For much as he sympathized with Luther’s cause, he was and remained an Erasmian at heart. That, we may be sure, is why he declined to link his name to Hutten’s in the edition of . Posthumous Editions Eobanus did not include Responsio Maximiliani in the Operum farragines duae in , partly, perhaps, because his good friend Micyllus had just published it, and partly, too, because it could not stand on its own without Hutten’s Epistola Italiae. The pair of heroic epistles was first reprinted, via C, in Delitiae, :– . The text in Münch, :–, is likewise taken from C. Eduard Böcking was the first to prepare a critical edition; see Hutten, Opera, :–. For Hutten’s elegy Böcking uses a as his base text, occasionally inserting the readings of BC. The pattern holds also for his edition of Eobanus’ heroic letter. There too he arbitrarily contaminates his base text (A) with readings from B and C.49 Some corrigenda and addenda are printed in Hutten, Opera, :; :. To his edition of Eobanus’ elegy, Böcking subjoins the epigram, “Ad poetas sui temporis” (B ); see Hutten, Opera, :. Eobanus’ liminary epigram and epigrams B  and B  are reprinted in Hutten, Opera, :, in the introduction to Ad Caesarem Maximilianum Epigrammatum liber unus. Petrejus Eberbach’s epigrams (B –) are reprinted at Opera, :, . Böcking later regretted having printed the two elegies among Hutten’s correspondence in vol. , rather than among the Latin poems in vol. . The heroic epistles, he realized, would have fitted much better with Hutten’s other poems on Maximilian’s Italian campaigns. See Hutten, Opera, :–.

48 See Wilhelm Kreutz, Die Deutschen und Ulrich von Hutten: Rezeption von Autor und Werk seit dem . Jahrhundert (Munich, ), –. 49 The substitutions are not always recorded in the apparatus criticus. Böcking seems to have begun with C (or Münch’s edition) and then revised his text to match A.

introduction

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Hutten’s Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber unus was first printed in B and was thence reprinted in C. A sampling of the epigrams in C appears in Delitiae, :–. Münch uses C as copy text for the epigrams in :–. Böcking bases his edition on B; see Hutten, Opera, :–.

QUAE IN HOC LIBELLO NOVA HABENTUR: Epistola Italiae ad divum Maximilianum Caesarem Augustum, Ulricho Hutteno equite Germano autore Responsio Maximiliani Augusti, Helio Eobano Hesso autore Addita sunt Hutteni de eadem re epigrammata aliquot nuper ex urbe Roma missa, sumpto ex his temporum motibus argumento.

LECTORIBUS Et quae videtis ante visa sunt nusquam, Et quae legetis ante lecta sunt nusquam. Quicumque perlegetis ista, lectores, Brevi libello scripta quae damus passim  Legenda vulgo, perdar et misere vivam Si lecta non amabitis. Satis dictum est! E. H.

Epigr. A: om. BC.

WHAT IS NEW IN THIS LITTLE BOOK: Letter from Italia to His Majesty, the godlike Emperor Maximilian, by the German knight Ulrich von Hutten Response from His Majesty Maximilian, by Helius Eobanus Hessus Appended are some epigrams by Hutten on the same topic. Sent just recently from the city of Rome, they take their material from our present-day tumults.

TO THE READERS What you’re about to see has not been seen anywhere before, and what you’re about to read has not been read anywhere before. Whoever you are, readers (now that you’re set to peruse the poems we offer in this slender booklet for people to read all over the world): may I be ruined and live in misery if you’re not thrilled after reading them. Enough said! E. H.

ITALIA MAXIMILIANO CAESARI AUGUSTO

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Qua, si quando dabis, gaudebit et ipsa, salutem Accipis afflicta, Caesar, ab Italia. Fama erat antiquo tua castra movere Tridento Et iuga Rhetorum milite plena tuo. Exilui, molita novos de more triumphos, Iamque adeo mecum hoc dulce sonabat “Io,” Cum quidam extemplo quiddam mihi tristius affert, Te modo suspensis ausibus ire retro. Turbavi mutata comas posuique nitorem, Ex male sperato moesta repente bono. Deposui digitis, abieci a vestibus aurum, Et gemui, et lachrymis inmaduere genae. Forma tibi colitur, tibi nostra placere laborat. Nunc latet, accepto te redit ille nitor. Ante pater superum Stygiis me admoverit umbris Fulmine turritum concutiatque caput, Quam nisi te quisquam videat gaudere recepto. Squalor in adventus hic manet usque tuos. Spes sedet. Hanc per te cunctando restitui rem, Quae nunc Fortuna concutiente labat. Solor et ipsa meas deserta utcumque ruinas, Excusare tuas ingeniosa moras. Et quoties sumptis quisquam me invaderet armis, “Sub domino,” dixi, “vindice causa mea est.” Nec, quod victa premor, ultro victam esse putabis; Omne reluctanti quod fero venit onus. Donec abes, donec sinor indefensa, tenebit Invitam quisquis possidet Italiam. Nec, quid aget, blando qui me tibi detrahit ore, Pollicitis partes allicit inque suas,

Epistola Italiae. aABC. Tit. Italia — Augusto [Caes. Aug. A] A: Italia Maximiliano Caesari a, Epistola Italiae ad Maximilianum Caesarem Ulricho de [ab C] Hutten Eq. Germ. autore. Italia Maximiliano Principi BC, Epistola ad Maximilianum Caesarem, Italiae ficticia Huldericho de Hutten Equite authore. Italia Maximiliano Caesari Böcking.  posuique ABC: posuitque a (corr. manus in ex. Basiliensi, Lipsensi, et — per rasuram — Guelpherbytani).  utcumque aA: utrimque BC.

ITALIA TO HIS MAJESTY EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN This wish for the health that she too will enjoy, if ever you should grant it, comes to you, Emperor, from the shattered Italia. It was rumored that your armies had broken camp in the ancient city of Trent and that the Alpine passes were swarming with your troops. I jumped for joy, I organized triumphal processions with customary magnificence, and already the sweet “Hurrah!” was singing within me, when a messenger rushed up with the woeful news: you had halted your bold advance and were in full retreat. I changed color, disheveled my hair, and threw my finery aside, [] heartbroken as I was by the sudden disappointment. I took the gold from my fingers, I tore it off my garments; and as I groaned, tears poured down my cheeks. My beauty is something that I cultivate for your sake only, to try to please you. Now stored away, that finery will not reappear until I have welcomed you back. The father of the gods will first have to cast me down to the Stygian shades, he will first have to strike my turret-crowned head with his thunderbolt, before anyone will see me rejoice again, except at your return. I will wear mourning until the day you come back to me. My hope sinks. For your sake I have resorted to delaying tactics to help restore this country [] that now totters under the blows of Fortune. Left to fend for myself, I do what I can to console myself on my collapse and keep coming up with new excuses for your slowness. And whenever some military adventurer invades me, I say, “My lord will rise up to protect me.” Though I am crushed in defeat, you must not assume that I am also defeated in spirit. Far from it! I put up a struggle against every burden I bear. As long as you are absent, as long as I am left defenseless, all who occupy Italy will hold me against my will. He labors in vain who tries to draw me away from you with fair words, [] who entices me to his side

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epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Qui mihi grande decus, mihi qui promisit honorem. Unus honos, unum est Caesaris esse decus. Me res pollicitis Venetorum ingentibus urget; Tentavit nostram Gallia blanda fidem; In medioque mei quidam exhortatur, ut ausim Quam dare tu possis uberiora sequi. Averti tenuique manum pactumque refugi Donaque contempsi non habuique fidem. In te solus amor, in te mea sola voluntas. Aut nunquam aut per te libera terra mea est. Tu dominus, tua iussa sequar, te principe tollam, Ut quondam, domitis gentibus acre caput. Per te priscus honor, prisca ornamenta redibunt, Aut ego perpetua squalida sorde ferar. At tua lenta mora est, cessasque in vota tuorum, Qui spe, qui dubio consenuere metu. Interea nullis ego non obnoxia fatis Cuilibet audenti praeda relicta petor. Ah, sinis Italiam nullo tutore relinqui, Regnorum caput hoc imperiique domum? Ah, sinis, unde tibi constat nomenque decusque, Quemlibet iniecta contemerare manu? In mea foedifragi grassantur viscera Galli, Me lacerat Venetus persequiturque latro. Venit ab occiduo qui me convellat Ibero, Et partem de me carpit adustus Afer. Intrantur Danais nostrae praedonibus urbes, Appetor Illyriis Helvetioque fero. Nemo quaerit opes quem non mea premia pascant, Nec sapit hic qui non Itala regna petit. Quid dicam eversas collapsis moenibus urbes? Quid memorem ferro plurima et igne peti? Aut neglecta situ veterum decora alta parentum? Dissimilis primum nunc ego facta mei. Thuscus honoratam tenet usurarius Urbem; Tota Fluentino est prodita Roma dolo.

 gentibus aA: regibus BC.  At aAB: Aut C. – Ah, sinis — domum? aAB: om. C.  foedifragi aA: raptores BC.  Et partem — Afer aA: Nec pars Hesperiae [Hisperiae C] est sub duce parva mei BC.  Thuscus — Urbem aA: Thuscus opum vacua mercator regnat in Urbe BC.

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten

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with promises, or who guarantees me boundless glory and honor. My sole honor, my sole glory is to be the emperor’s liege. The Republic of Venice has been plying me with immense promises; France has put my loyalty to the test with flatteries; and right here, in my midst, there is someone1 who exhorts me to dare reach out for something richer than what you can offer. I have turned my back on them and refused my hand; I have shunned their treaties, despised their gifts, and remained on my guard. All my love, all my will rests in you alone. [] My country will be free either through you or not at all. You are my lord; your word is my command. With you as my prince, I shall raise my head proudly above the subjugated peoples, just as in the days of yore. Through you my ancient dignity, my ancient splendor will return. If not, I shall remain in abject mourning forever. But you tarry too long. You are slow to heed the prayers of your followers, who have grown old between hope and uncertain fear. Meanwhile I myself am at the mercy of all sorts of misfortune and am left as prey for every hotspur who desires me. Ah, are you leaving Italia in the lurch, without a protector, [] she, the head of kingdoms and the seat of empire? Ah, are you allowing every comer to lay hands on her and violate the land on which your imperial title rests? The treaty-breaking French rage against my flesh and blood. Venetian mercenaries ravage and harass me. The Spaniards have come westerly from the Ebro River to dismember me. The dark-skinned Africans are tearing off one of my limbs.2 Greek brigands are invading my cities. I am being assailed by the Dalmatians and the cruel Swiss. Whoever wants to get rich helps himself to my treasures; [] and whoever fails to make for Italy’s realms is an arrant fool. Why mention the sacked cities and their ruined walls? Why recount how many have been attacked with steel and fire? Or how the splendid monuments of our ancient forebears are crumbling to dust? Now for the first time I hardly recognize myself anymore. The Tuscan usurer holds the venerable City firmly in his grasp; all of Rome has been handed over to the Florentine’s treachery.3 1

Leo X, pope from  to . A bit of rhetorical overkill, removed in the  edition. 3 The “Tuscan usurer” is Pope Leo X. He was born in Florence, Tuscany, as the second son of the banker Lorenzo de’ Medici. 2

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epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Da veniam si liberius quid dixero de te: Quaerere debueras ista, tenere negas. Si tamen instat adhuc istis digna ultio factis Nec me perpetuo spernis opemque feres Et si vel sero agnosces studioque moraris, Sit leve vel tanta moesta tulisse mora. Ne contemne modo; tulerim differre tot annos Te rapere indigno regna Latina iugo. Quae veniunt lente, veniunt tamen. Omne rependet Tristiciae tempus laetior una dies. Sed nolis causam producere longius istam. Desperat quisquis sperat habere diu. Tu toties victos in te consurgere Gallos, Tu sinis haec Venetos surripuisse tibi? Nec gentis virtute tuae famaque moveris Quam memini Latios pertimuisse patres? Quam pro me ne sit Germania fortior in me! Haec venit auspiciis fama tuenda tuis. In me terribiles fecere ingentia Cymbri; Sentio Teutonicae nunc quoque facta manus. Me ferus Arminius sumptis afflixit in armis Invictoque meas pectore fregit opes. At tu bella move pro libertate meorum! Et potes et debes hoc removere iugum. Ducat in exemplum preclaris Carolus actis; Infestum a nobis ille removit onus. Ducat in exemplum geminorum splendor Othonum; Reddidit in melius tempus uterque suum. Seu cupias laudem seu premia digna laborum, Cum mihi subvenias, illud et illud habes.

 Quaerere aBC: Querere A.  Te rapere aA: Subtrahere BC, Böcking.  rependet ABC: rependit a.  causam — istam aA: opus hinc differre in longius istud BC.  Desperat a: Dispereat ABC; sperat habere aA: speret avetque BC, sperat avetque Böcking. – Sentio — opes. aA: Romula Teutonicus perculit arma furor./Tum ferus Arminius caesis legionibus illis, / Qua clade Ausonium terruit imperium? BC.  Arminius aBC: Arminus A.  meorum aA: tuorum BC.  splendor ABC: splendore a.  subvenias . . . habes aA: subvenies . . . erit BC. 4 The Cimbri were a Germanic tribe that inflicted severe defeats on the Romans in the second century bce. They were finally routed by C. Marius and Q. Lutatius Catulus as they invaded northern Italy in . Cf. ll. – below.

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten

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Forgive me if I tell you this too bluntly: you ought to be reclaiming what is yours, not giving it up. However, if you still intend a suitable revenge for those indignities, [] if, instead of constantly spurning me, you still plan on coming to my aid, or if, however belatedly, you recognize my plight but have good reason to hold off for now, then indeed it would be easy for me to bear my distress, no matter how long the delay. Just do not despise me! Then I could accept that, for so many years, you have put off liberating the Latin realms from their shameful yoke. Good things may be slow to come, but they come all the same. That one day of joy will make up for this whole time of grief. But do not draw out this cause any further. Deferred too long, hope yields to despair. Are you allowing the French to rise up against you, after you have defeated them time and again? [] Are you letting the Venetians steal these territories from you? Are you not moved by your people’s reputation for valor — the same heroism of which Rome’s Fathers, I recall, were so very afraid? May Germany defend me as boldly now as she attacked me then! It is incumbent on you to maintain that reputation. Against me the terrible Cimbri carried out prodigious feats of arms.4 To this day I feel the mighty deeds those Teutonic hands accomplished. The fierce Arminius humiliated me in battle and broke my sense of invincibility.5 But you, you ought to be waging war to liberate my people! [] You have not only the power, but also the duty to rid me of this yoke. Take an example from the glorious exploits of Charlemagne: he rid me of an imminent danger.6 Take an example from the brilliance of the two Ottos: each of them restored his age to better fortune.7 Whether you crave renown or the fitting reward for hardships endured, when you come to my aid, you will obtain the one no less than the other.

5 In the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ( ce) the German chieftain Arminius destroyed three Roman legions, led by P. Quinctilius Varus. Hutten later wrote the dialogue Arminius, celebrating him as the archetypal German patriot fighting off the Roman yoke. Joachim Camerarius and Eobanus Hessus published the work in . 6 After Desiderius, King of Lombardy, seized some of the papal territories, Pope Hadrian I appealed to Charlemagne for help. Charlemagne invaded Italy, took Desiderius prisoner at Pavia, and had himself proclaimed king of the Lombards in . 7 The Holy Roman Emperors Otto I (r. –) and Otto III (r. –) both asserted themselves forcefully in Italy.

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Av



epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Ah, quoties timui, cum res Germana placeret, Errares patriae ne quid amore tuae! Illius armorum virtus, locupletior hec est, Diviciae fortes hae decuere viros. Si quid ab antiquo repetis tamen, omnia quondam Devici indomitos supposuique iugo. Ulla nec Italica victoria longius ivit; Gens tua nunc, olim maxima Roma fuit. Me Lybici sensere duces, ego Punica vici Regna, per Aethiopas arma tulique truces. Quantum Arabum, quantum est Aegipti Marte subegi, Effera Parthorum me timuitque domus. Pugnaces domui Thracas fudique feroces Pannoniae populos horribilesque Gethas. Pugnavit quoties, toties mihi Gallia victa est; Signa per Hispanos per Siculosque tuli. Ausa Calydonios etiam superare Britannos, Inieci occiduo claustra metumque mari. Dalmata succubuit, mihi succubuere rebelles Illyrii, Moesos edomuique feros. Audaces cessere Syri, quique eminus arcu Non modicos Persae distribuere metus. Vici acres Macedum turmas, vici Attica regna; Servivit Romae Graecia tota meae. Me domitae novere Asiae, tot regna, tot urbes Sensere, et quem nunc omnia Turca timent. Impressi tibi, Ponte, iugum Colchosque cecidi. Pertulit incursus Caspia porta meos. Per Solymae grassata urbem mea gloria gentis, Nec mihi se rigidi non tribuere Scythae. Fregi acres Cymbrorum acies et Teutonas armis, Excidi et, quorum te pudet, Helvecios. Nullus in orbe locus qui me non noverit omni; Novit in immenso est insula si qua mari.

 hae aBC: haec A (corr. manus in ex. Chicagiensi et Monasteriensi); decuere BC: docuere aA.  pugnavit aBC: pugnatit A (corr. manus in ex. Chicagiensi).  Attica aA: Actica BC.  tota aA: victa BC.  incursus aA: impulsus BC.  Excidi — Helvecios A: Excidi, quorum te pudet, Helvetios a, Vis mea bellaces contudit Helvetios BC.  in immenso . . . mari aA: inaccessi . . . maris BC.

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten



Ah, how often I feared, when you were so intent on German affairs, that you might, in some measure, be distracted by love for your homeland! Germany is indeed valiant in war, but Italy offers greater wealth. [] Such riches are certainly a prize fit for the bold of heart. Still, if you look back on history, you will find that it was I who in bygone ages subdued the whole world and laid a yoke on the unconquered. No victory was as far-reaching as Italy’s. As your people is now, so Rome was preeminent in her day. The generals of North Africa experienced my might. It was I who defeated Carthage and marched on the savage Ethiopians. With my legions I subjugated all of Arabia, all of Egypt. Even the cruel Parthians stood in fear of me. I tamed the warlike Thracians and routed the ferocious [] peoples of Pannonia and the horrible Getes. Each time Gaul attacked me, I was able to bring her to heel. I carried my ensigns throughout Spain and Sicily. Having ventured to overcome the Caledonian Britons, I imposed limits and fear on the western sea. Dalmatia succumbed to me; so did the rebellious Illyrians. I vanquished the barbarous Moesi. Audacious though they were, the Syrians submitted to me, as did the Persians, who used to inspire no little dread with their long-range bows. I defeated the gallant squadrons of Macedonians; I defeated the realms of Attica. [] In fact, the whole of Greece was subject to my Rome. Asia Minor and Major became acquainted with my rule; her realms and cities all experienced my power — even the Turks, who now inspire fear throughout the world. I forced the yoke on the Black Sea and cut the Colchians to pieces. The Caspian Gates endured my onslaught. My passion for glory ran riot in the city of Jerusalem. The rugged Scythians, too, had no choice but to throw themselves on my mercy. I broke the relentless battle lines of the Cimbri8 and with my legions destroyed the Teutons and Helvetians — yes, the same Swiss who now fill you with shame.9 In all the world there was not one place that did not know me; [] every island knew me in the

8

Cf. ll. –, with n.  (p.  above). Unlike ancient Rome, Maximilian proved unable to keep the Swiss Alps under his control. In  the Swiss defeated the imperial army and won independence. Maximilian alludes to these events in his response. See Max. –. In the  revision, Hutten removed all mention of shame on Maximilian’s part, not only in his own poem, but also in Eobanus’. For a similar pattern of changes, but with reference to Pope Leo X, see headnote to Italia B , pp. – below. 9











 Ar





epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Una caput mundi meruit mea Roma vocari. Non tuus hoc Rhenus ipse negare potest. Et sinis haec, unde est tibi gloria tanta, perire? Quin agis et tua sunt — siqua tenenda putas. Non ego vel magni precium tibi vile laboris, Non ego ero Marti causa pudenda tuo. An quis mille rates pro coniuge ducit in armis, Tu bello pulchram non petis Italiam? Si quaerenda forem, poteras aliunde morari; Nunc tibi, cum tua sim, prima tenenda fui. Tu caput es Romae. Mundi caput illa vocatur. Ah, age, qui rerum es, omnia vince, caput. Aut hoc si nimis est, saltem illud vince tuendo, Quo nihil uberius maximus orbis habet. Causa gravis belli, victori maxima laus est Praedones Latio pellere ab imperio, Romanum formare statum, vicisse superbos, Et tandem Romam restituisse sibi. Huc ades et modico cape praemia summa labore. Dicam omnes uno te meruisse minus. Ausoniae lacerantur opes; decus omne Latini Nominis externo succubat opprobrio. Pulsa omnis Latio virtus, fex ima resedit. Mente abiit quisquis liberiore fuit. Nuda viris mecum pueros alo, quaeque supersunt Intactas Galli non voluere nurus. Infertur teneris vis cottidiana puellis; Non mihi matronas nunc licet esse probas. Non sexus, non est cui saeva pepercerit aetas Gallia; non ipsis abstinet illa deis. Obiice te rabido virtute ultrice furori. Nil reliqui victor iam facit iste mihi. Foemineum miserare genus puerosque deosque Eripe. Quod perdam nil super ista manet. Serva aliquid dum non perierunt omnia, ne cum Servari cupias plurima, nulla queant.

 quaerenda aBC: querenda A.  nimis aA: nimium BC, Böcking. aAC: vix B.  te aABC: de Böcking.  cupias aA: cupies BC.

 vis

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten



boundless sea. Only Rome — my Rome — deserved the title “Head of the World.” That is something even your Rhine cannot deny. Well then, will you allow this country, from which so much of your glory derives, to go to rack and ruin? No? Then act now, and she is yours — assuming you deem her worth holding. I shall be no mean prize for your prodigious exertion, no shameful cause for your martial prowess. If one man could launch a thousand ships to regain his wife by force of arms,10 will you not do battle to win the beautiful Italia? If you still had to quest after me, your procrastination would be pardonable. [] But since I am yours already, your first duty now must be to hold and defend me. You are the head of Rome. She has the title “Head of the World.” Ah! Since you are thus head of the world, go forth and conquer all! Or if that is too much to ask, at least start by protecting the richest country in the whole wide world. The reason for war is weighty. The victor will win the highest renown by driving the brigands out of Italy, transforming the institutions of Rome, humbling the proud, and at long last restoring Rome to her true self. Come here and at modest cost win the grandest prize of all! [] Let me say to you that, of all her masters, none deserves her but you. Italy’s riches are being torn to shreds; the whole glory of our Latin name lies prostrate under the shame of foreign occupation. All manhood has been driven out of Latium; the lowest dregs remain. Of the more free-spirited, everyone has departed. Bereft of men, I have only boys to feed. As for the women who have stayed behind, there is not one who has not been violated by the French. Young girls are being assaulted here every day. My matrons find it impossible to retain their virtue. There is no sex, no age that France will spare in her savagery. [] She does not hold back even from the gods.11 Rise up in vengeance against her raging fury! That conqueror has now stripped me of everything I have. Take pity on the female sex! Rescue the boys and the gods! Outside of them I have nothing left to lose. Save at least something, before all is destroyed. While you lay plans to save as much as possible, it may already be too

10 King Menelaus of Sparta launched a thousand ships to win back his wife Helen, whom Paris had carried off to Troy. 11 Not even the priests, monks, and nuns are safe from the French occupiers.







 Av









epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Maturasset opus casu Friderichus in isto; Cuncta repentina praecipitasset ope. Dum tamen ille studet vitiantes tollere morbos, Quam volui, medicae plus abiere manus. Rumpe moras! Venere dies cunctarier ultra Qui prohibent salva laude fideque tua. Arma cape intrepidoque tuas motu assere laudes. Quid vorat Ausonias Gallicus hostis opes? Omnia victoris mirantur pectora Galli. Hoc tu materiam laudis ab hoste pete. Moesta precor genibusque tuis presentia tendo Brachia. Depuduit supplicis esse loco. Res tua cuncta perit, summis se admiscuit ima, Vergit in occasum si qua suprema fuit. Non modus est. Non est, qui debuit, ordo tuorum. Turbantur mixto fasque nefasque loco. Dilanior, patriis obnoxia facta tyrannis, Ut taceam externo quicquid ab hoste fero. Pastor eris, servabis oves, purgabis ovile, Lustrabis quae nunc illita sorde iacent. Ipsa pusillanimes Romae ius dicere scribas Cum video et nullo pectore vulgus iners Quique sacerdotes titulo tenus ocia ducunt Quique bibunt semper plurima quique vorant Molliculosque homines et inerti corde supinos Quique ibi sunt quorum facta referre pudet, Et pudet et dicam, pathicos regnare cynedos Cum video, Romam tunc pudet esse meam. Dii melius, quam tu desperes ista iuvari! Sic cecidi ut possim surgere, lapsa tamen. Grande quidem vulnus, sed adhuc medicabile nostrum est, Nec levis est nec adhuc plaga recusat opem. Me nisi tu redimas, nisi te duce libera restem, Tot venient reges qui facile illud agent.

 intrepidoque aA: indomitoque BC.  victoris aBC: victores A.  tendo BC, Böcking: tendam aA.  fero aA: tuli BC.  quae aBC: que A.  ocia aAB: omnia C.  pathicos BC: paticos aA.  iuvari aA: iuvare BC, Böcking.  possim aAB: possem C.  Me aA: Iam BC.

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten



late. Under such circumstances, Frederick would have wasted no time.12 He would have dropped all else and hurried to my aid. To be fair, while he worked hard to rid me of vitiating diseases, [] he withheld his healing hands more than I wished. Enough of delay! The time has come when further temporizing will damage your reputation and honor. Take up arms and defend your good name with an intrepid assault. Why does the Gallic enemy devour Italy’s wealth? People here admire all the courage that the victorious French display. Look to this enemy as an occasion to win fame! With heavy heart I beg you. As you can see, I am stretching out my arms to your knees. I am not ashamed to be a supplicant. Your whole position here is crumbling. The lowest has risen to the top; [] what once was supreme is now in full decline. All the limits are breached. No longer are your allies in control, as they ought to be. Right and wrong are hopelessly confounded. I myself am being torn to pieces, utterly at the mercy of home-grown tyrants — not to mention everything that I suffer at the hands of foreign foes. You, you will be my shepherd!13 You will watch over the sheep, cleanse the sheepfold, and rid our country of the filth with which it is now besmirched. When I see how pusillanimous clerks administer justice in Rome, when I see the unmanly, dispirited rabble and those who are priests in name, but live a life of idleness, [] when I see those who constantly gorge themselves with food and drink, when I see effeminate men and indolent loafers and those whose doings I am embarrassed to mention — I’m embarrassed, but I shall tell you all the same — when I see pathic catamites holding sway, then I feel shame that Rome is mine. God forbid that you should despair of making me whole again! Though collapsed, I have fallen in such a way that I am able to rise again. My wound is deep, to be sure, but still treatable. While hardly superficial, the gash can still be healed. Unless you rescue me, unless I remain free under your guidance, [] many other kings will 12 Frederick I Barbarossa (r. –), whom Maximilian admired above all other German emperors, made six expeditions into Italy, starting in . Cf. Eob. Max. – . The Italian wars were celebrated in Gunther’s Latin epic Ligurinus, completed in /. The poem was rediscovered by Konrad Celtis and published by him in . 13 The emperor must act as shepherd to Italy, because Pope Leo has abandoned that role and has joined the wolves tearing Italy into pieces. Maximilian picks up this theme at Max. –.





Ar 









Av 

epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Ne sine te vinci, ne, quae tua propria laus est, Hanc aliquem media preripuisse mora! Nec tibi Trinacrio sulcandos littore fluctus Propono aut dubias findere classe vias. Ut mihi me reddas, ut te in tua iura reducas, Quod facies, tua per regna tenebis iter. Omnis ab opposita tibi se manus adiicit Alpe; Maiorem vim, quo longius ibis, habes. Nec tantum adversae minuent tua robora pugnae, Quantum acies subitis crescet ab auxiliis, Qui Venetas fugere manus, quos Gallia vicit, Et grave Thuscorum qui renuere iugum, Et fidei servata tuae quae se agmina nondum Hostis in adversas explicuere manus. Qua non esse putas, effundent se arma virique. Excutiet latebras ira sepulta suas, Ut, si nulla tuos Germania roboret ausus, Haec tamen Ausonio milite bella geras. Omnis ab exulibus gravior vindicta; negabis Irasci Venetis te potuisse magis. Asperat offensas illata iniuria mentes, Cogitat ulcisci quisquis acerba tulit. Laude tua facies alieno bella periclo. Quid dubitas spacio corripere arma brevi? Ut taceam quantum est lucri certamine ab illo, Tam claro poteras Marte vovere mori. Te quisquam imbellem quoties de plebe vocabat, Ne caderem rupto pectore cura fuit. Multa quoque ulciscor quae tu convicia nescis, Et quoties pro te quid licet arma gero. Sed ruit in nostras obversa potentia vires, Saepeque, cum nolim, est ira premenda mihi. Despiciunt Veneti cives, te Gallia temnit. Vix aliquid sperat quisquis amicus adest. Finguntur mediis in te omnia turpia scaenis, Contemptuque carent nulla theatra tui.

 sulcandos ABC: remigandos a.  Propono aA: Praepono BC.  opposita aA: apposita BC, Böcking.  nostras obversa aA: modicas adversa BC, Böcking.

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten



come who will accomplish that with ease. Do not allow yourself to be defeated! Do not allow someone else to snatch away the fame that is yours by rights, all because you wavered too long! I do not propose that you furrow the waves off Sicily or cleave a winding path by ship. To give me back to myself and restore your authority here, make your way through your own realms, as you have been doing already. On your march through the Alps every band of soldiers will join you; the further you advance, the stronger your armies will grow. The losses you will suffer at the front [] will be more than made up by the troops that will quickly flock to your standards — the mercenaries who have fled before the forces of Venice, those whom France has defeated, and those who refuse the heavy yoke of the Tuscans, as well as the columns that have remained loyal to you, but have not yet been deployed against the enemy units. Where you least expect them, arms and men will stream forth. Suppressed rage will drive them out of hiding, so that, even if Germany fails to back your exploits, you can still wage this war with Italian troops. Retribution exacted by exiles is always much harsher. You yourself can attest [] that you could not possibly be more enraged by the Venetians. Victims of injustice are roused to much greater vehemence; anyone who has suffered bitter wrongs meditates revenge. In making war you will win glory, but at no risk to yourself. Why do you shrink from taking up arms for a brief span of time? To say nothing about the enormous advantage you will gain from this struggle, you could easily vow to die in so glorious a battle as this. Whenever some commoner calls you a poltroon, I have to steel myself, if I am not to collapse of a broken heart. I even take revenge for the many insults of which you know nothing; [] and whenever I have the chance I take up the cudgels for you. But the enemy overpowers our forces, and often, if unwillingly, I have to restrain my wrath. The citizens of Venice look down their noses at you; France holds you in derision. Your remaining friends have all but given up hope. On the stage, front and center, people are putting on all sorts of scandalous squibs to mock you; there is not a theater here











epistola italiae, ulricho hutteno autore Audivi, et puduit, recitari carmina de te, Et qui te ridet, ingeniosus is est. Atque aliquis medio iam sol ubi lucet Olympo Accenso quaerit lumine, “Caesar ubi est?” Quam fuit indignum tibi non parere iubenti, Tam tua Maiestas laesa tuenda venit. Per genus egregium clarisque insignia factis Sceptra, per Austriacae stemmata clara domus, Per decus imperii maiestatemque verendam, Per qui te his rebus praeposuere deos, Perque tui, iaceant quae molliter, ossa parentis, Per quae te insomnem cura nepotis agit, Rumpe moras, oro. Fer opem rebusque caducis Auxilium presta suppetiisque leva. Sic tibi quam sera est, tam non elangueat aetas, Sic superet clari Carolus acta patris. Quae iam plane omnem amisi vocemque coloremque, Absimilis non est cuius imago neci, Quam casus minuere graves, quae mortua credor, Exurgam adventu prosiliamque tuo. Bononiae

 quaerit aBC: querit A. B, om. C.

Subscriptio Bononiae A: τ¢λοσ Bononiae a, Finis. Bononiae

letter from italia, by ulrich von hutten



but is full of contempt for you. To my mortification, I have heard them reciting epigrams about you. Indeed, anyone who makes fun of you, passes for a wit. And when the sun is already shining bright in the noontime sky, somebody or other [] will light a torch and ask, “Where is the emperor?” The flouting of your authority is so flagrant that it cries out to be punished as lèse-majesté. By your eminent family and the scepters that dazzle with splendid feats, by the brilliant lineage of the house of Austria,14 by the glory and venerable majesty of your empire, by the gods who have placed you at the head of this state, by the bones — may they rest in peace! — of your father,15 by the solicitude for your grandson16 that keeps you awake by night, I beg you: do not temporize any longer. Bring relief, [] shore up the tottering commonwealth, and brace it with your assistance. So may your old age, however advanced, not grow weary; so may Charles17 surpass the deeds of his illustrious grandfather! And I, who have now plainly lost all voice and color, who look the very image of death, I, whom the heavy strokes of fate have brought low, I, who am believed dead, will rise up at your arrival and jump for joy. At Bologna

14

The Habsburg dynasty and the territories over which it ruled. Maximilian’s father, Emperor Frederick III (r. –), the last to be crowned emperor in Rome. 16 Charles of Burgundy (–), the future Emperor Charles V. He had just been proclaimed King of Spain on  March . 17 Another allusion to Maximilian’s grandson Charles of Burgundy. 15

MAXIMILIANUS AUGUSTUS ITALIAE

Br









 Bv



Legimus afflictae lachrymas et verba precantis Auxilium, nostrae sed tamen, Italiae. Legimus et turbasse comas, posuisse nitorem, Nec gemma digitos amplius esse graves. In nos causaris neglectae crimina formae Et nimium lenta scribis abesse mora. Scribis ut his curis vix possis aegra levari Et desperata pene salute mori. Si qua fuit quam nos velles misisse salutem, Despice: nunc primum est illa ferenda tibi. Nam tua sic animum permovit epistola nostrum, Ut placeant avido quam stilus arma magis. Et tibi non eadem ratio est, nec velle videris, Quisquis ut afflictam liberet Italiam. Nos regem, ut decet, agnoscis dominumque fateris; Dulce tui nomen Caesaris illud amas. Hoc vetus, hoc supplex Augustum numen adoras Atque Aquilas repetis, libera signa, tuas. Commemoras veterum Mavortia facta parentum, Restitui per nos et petis ipsa tibi. Parce queri servaque fidem et spes concipe magnas. Iam tibi, ne dubita, noster anhelat equus. Quantulacumque nocet cupidis mora. Nostra sub armis Est igitur variis littera fracta locis. Scribimus, et dictant iratae verba Camaenae: Terribiles referunt singula verba tubas. Nunc mihi Teutonicas videor spectare phalanges, Ex una quoties scripta tabella plaga est, Nunc longas brevibus certare dolonibus hastas, Cum stetit hic versus longior, ille brevis.

Responsio Maximiliani. ABC. Tit. Maximilianus — Italiae A: Responsoria ad Italiam Maximiliani Caesaris autore Helio Eobano Hesso Germano. Maximilianus Caesar Italiae BC, Responsio Maximiliani Augusti Helio Eobano Hesso autore. Maximilianus Augustus Italiae Böcking.  numen A: nomen BC, Böcking.

HIS MAJESTY MAXIMILIAN TO ITALIA We have read the tears and the words of an Italia shattered and pleading for help, to be sure, but ours nevertheless. We have read also that you have disheveled your hair and put your finery away and that a signet no longer burdens your fingers. You blame the neglect of your beauty on us and accuse us of tarrying too long away from you. You write that you are so sick at heart that you can hardly rid yourself of these cares and, despairing of recovery, are close to death. If ever it was possible to send the health you asked us for, [] look down at this page! It is an earnest of our pledge to heal you. Indeed, your letter moved us so deeply that our ardent soul is cheered more by arms than the pen. To you too, as you made clear, it matters a great deal who it is who liberates the shattered Italia. You properly acknowledge us as king and confess us as lord; you love that sweet name of emperor. You humbly adore this ancient, this divine Majesty, and reclaim your Eagles, the emblems of liberty.18 You enumerate the martial deeds of your ancient forebears [] and entreat us to restore you to yourself. Cease your laments, keep the faith, conceive great hopes. Even as we write — do not doubt it! — our war-horse is charging toward you. Short though it may be, all delay hurts the longing heart. That is why our letter, while feeble in itself, is already under arms in several respects.19 As the wrathful Muses dictate the words that we set down, each single word represents a terrible trumpet blast. Now I imagine that I am watching German columns advance, each time I finish a page at a stroke. Then I fancy that the long lances are dueling with the short pikes, [] seeing that my verses are alternately long

18 The ancient Roman legions used an image of the eagle in their standards. The practice was resumed in the Holy Roman Empire. 19 As he writes his verse letter, the emperor imagines that each of his words is a clarion call to arms. In his mind’s eye, the columns of verse resemble columns of soldiers. The elegiac couplets, with their alternating longer and shorter lines, look to him like a pitched battle between lances and pikes.









 Br





responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Scilicet ex ista promissam parte salutem Ut missam posses dicere cura fuit. Ergo ad te brevior tanto ibit epistola, quanto Pro te suscipiet longior arma manus. Namque quid Alpinas fuerit movisse sub arces, Afflictam cum non ipsa querare minus? Mene Tridenti urbem superasse Athesimque fragosum Ludibrium famae despicientis erit? Illa quidem non vana tuas pervenit ad aures, Atque aliquid maius quam loqueretur erat. Sed quod, ut assueta est, praeclaris derogat actis, Ex ista nobis parte maligna fuit. Expulit imbelles Aquilae presentia Gallos — Tantus in Augusto nomine terror erat! — Et neque sustinuit metantem castra videre, Quem poterat dici non timuisse prius. Quodque minus potuit sumptis bellator in armis, Tentatum precibus pene peregit opus. Sed retro cessisse doles quererisque fuisse Non satis irata fulmina iacta manu. Hoc tibi, quicquid erat, fugiente pepercimus ipso, Cuius eras nobis crimine pene nocens. In tua nos patria grassari viscera dextra Finge age, et hoc aliquis cui placuisset erat. At potui et volui caedentem longius ipsum Infestis Aquilis in sua regna sequi. Quo minus id possem, commissum est fraude meorum. Heu, etiam nostris nunc male sancta fides! Prisca fidem coluit sanctam Germania, nec gens Clarior hac nobis, testis es ipsa, fuit. Nunc sua perfidiae passim sunt praemia, passim Perfida sacrilega pro stipe castra merent. Quantum tu cuperes, si posses, vera negare, Apula non aliquo prodita regna dolo!

 Tridenti AB: Tridentini C, Böcking (sed corr. in erratis).  imbelles A: audaces BC.  ipso A: illo BC, isto Böcking.  sacrilega BC: sacrilego A, Böcking. 20 The eagles (Maximilian’s forces) terrorize the barnyard cocks (galli, with a pun on Galli, “Frenchmen”).

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus



and short. My point is this: I want you to admit that, in this respect at least, the promised deliverance is already on the way. Accordingly, the letter I am sending you will be the shorter, the longer my hand will take up arms for you. For what good did it do for me to march deep into the Alpine mountains, when you complain of being no less disheartened than before? And will the fact that I advanced beyond the city of Trent and crossed the roaring Adige make me the laughingstock of public opinion? To be sure, there is some truth in the report that reached your ears; [] but there is more to it than people give me credit for. However, because rumor, as always, disparages brilliant achievements, it has been unkind to me, especially in one respect. It was the mere presence of the Eagles that made the cowardly Cocks retreat20 — so great was their terror at the word “emperor”! — and frightened them off from watching me pitch camp, though supposedly they had no fear of me earlier. Thus the objective that my soldiers could not attain in pitched battle, was very nearly reached by parley. But you are distressed by my retreat. You also lament [] that I did not hurl my thunderbolts with sufficiently furious hand. However that may be, I did so to spare you when the enemy fled — yes, the very enemy through whose fault you became practically stained with a crime against me. Just imagine if I had raged against your flesh and blood with a father’s hand! And yet there were some who would have been delighted to see this.21 However, I did have the means and the will to deploy my Eagles to pursue the retreating enemy all the way back into his realms. That I was unable to follow through was caused by the perfidy of my own countrymen.22 Alas, even among my own people loyalty is no longer sacrosanct! Ancient Germany held loyalty sacred. No other nation [] — you yourself are my witness — was more celebrated on that account than we. But in our own day perfidy has its rewards everywhere; mercenary armies everywhere will hire themselves out only for their unholy pay. How dearly you yourself would wish, if it were possible, to deny the truth, to assert that Apulia was not betrayed by some 21 The emperor explains that he could have wreaked havoc in the Italian countryside when the French and Venetians retreated to Milan on / March . Pope Leo X, he insinuates, would have been only too happy to see his enemies weakened by such devastation. 22 As Maximilian was encamped outside Milan, his Swiss mercenaries mutinied for lack of pay. See pp. – above.

 





Bv 





responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Quam male dissimulat sub proditione nefanda Cepisse anguigerum Gallica crista ducem! Nos quoque, dii facerent, non amplius ista petisset Solaque de nobis perfida, Brugi, fores! Iam neque plus nimio tardantes questa fuisses Inque sinu poteras nos habuisse tuo. Quod neque fracta meis poterat, nunc mitior, armis Adria nec pugnax impediisse Lygur. An pacem toties Venetum petiisse rebellem Nescis et pondus non habuisse preces? Quam fuit antiquam satius coluisse paludem Iratos terra quam tolerare deos! Aspice et ipsa tuos te contemplare per artus: Non macula est Veneti sanguinis una tibi. Illa quidem nostris nunquam foeliciter armis Restitit in patrio gens animosa mari. Perdita deflet adhuc amisso castra Roberto Pluraque in Austriaca signa videnda domo. Respice teque retro bis quinis collige ab annis: Invenies faustum constituisse nihil. Exiguo quoties numerosas milite turmas Fudimus et parva maxima castra manu, Scit Padus et propior Mantoae Myncius urbi Atque Antenorei tecta superba laris. Testis et aequoreae clades lachrymosa Ravennae — Heu, tellus quantum sanguinis illa bibit!

 ista A: illa BC.  neque fracta A: non ille BC. faustum A: faustum hanc BC, Böcking.

 nec A: non BC, Böcking.



23 Apulia, in southeastern Italy, here stands for the Kingdom of Naples. In , Federigo of Naples was betrayed by his kinsman King Ferdinand of Aragon, who had secretly allied himself with King Louis XII of France. 24 The “viper-escutcheoned duke” is Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan from  to . The family emblem was a crowned viper devouring a flayed Turk. In  Ludovico was driven from power by King Louis XII of France (the “Gallic cockscomb,” with a pun on Gallus, “Frenchman,” “cock”). He was soon reinstated by his Swiss mercenaries, however. But when those same mercenaries refused to fight their countrymen on the other side, he was captured by the French on  April . He died in French captivity in .

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus



treachery!23 How hard it is for the Gallic cockscomb to gloss over the fact that it captured the viper-escutcheoned duke through abominable betrayal!24 Would to God that the French were no longer maneuvering against me too and that Bruges were the only one to have broken faith with me!25 Then you would not be complaining that I tarry too long, [] then you would now be able to hold me in your embrace. Then neither the Adriatic — more placid now that I have tamed her with armed might — nor the bellicose Ligurian would have been able to obstruct my progress.26 Or have you forgotten how often rebellious Venice sued for peace, only to find that her entreaties carried no weight? How much better it would have been for her, had she remained in her ancient swamp rather than endure the gods’ wrath on land! Consider carefully and examine yourself in all your members: you are stained by more than one drop of Venetian blood. That people, [] undaunted on her native sea, has never yet successfully held her ground against my armies. Even today she mourns the army lost by the drowned Roberto27 and the many banners that are now on display in the house of Austria. If you look back and survey your history during the past ten years, you will discover that she has undertaken nothing auspicious. How often I routed great armies with just a small force and overran the largest camps with a handful of troops! The Po and Mincio Rivers near the city of Mantua can tell you all about it at first hand; so can Padua, proud of being Antenor’s home.28 Witness to this is also the lamentable carnage in coastal Ravenna — [] alas, how much blood did that

25 In , when he was Regent of the Netherlands and King of the Romans, Maximilian was imprisoned for several months by the citizens of Bruges. Cf. l.  below; Sylv. ..–. 26 The “Adriatic” means Venice; cf. Buc. B ., n. The “bellicose Ligurian” is the warrior-pope Julius II (r. –), who was a native of Liguria. Cf. l.  below. 27 The famed Venetian condottiere Roberto da Sanseverino (–) drowned in the Adige River after losing the Battle of Calliano to an Austrian army in . Cf. Hutten, Epigr. , a mock epitaph for the Venetian general; Panegyricus –. 28 On his way to Milan in March , Maximilian learned that a Franco-Venetian force was blocking him at the Mincio River, north of Mantua; but when he arrived there on March , the enemy retreated behind the Oglio River. Maximilian also obtained Padua without a battle in the spring of . According to legend, the city was founded by the Trojan prince Antenor. Cf. Sylv. ..–.







Br 





responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Scit Verona suis per nos animosior armis, Nec toties vinci Brixia docta negat Maenia nec miserae quondam, nunc capta, Cremonae Nec Vicentinus nec Mutinensis ager. Ipsa paludosi dominatrix lenta profundi Ante suas legit fulmina nostra domos. Linigeri medio trepidarunt aequore nautae, Linquentes pavida retia lapsa manu. Nunc erat utendum parta tot pace per annos Nostraque foelici Roma adeunda pede. Ecce, timet sacra positus Leogallus in arce Fors Capitolinum surgere posse Iovem. Ecce, timet Gallumque vocat dubitatque manere Sub domino Romam Caesare posse suam. Heu, Leo, caelestis collator provide regni, Debueras nobis haec sinere, ista sequi. Et cum credaris superorum ianitor aulae, Cur aliena, precor, claudere regna voles? Nos te Romanae dominum ditionis et urbis Foecimus, in capite est nostra corona tuo. Utere pace bona nobiscum, rebus inemptis Contra nos nobis debita stare veta. Nam qui promissi claves commisit Olympi, Martia pro regnis non dedit arma tibi. Pro populis baculum cepisti, pastor ut esses, Non ut cum populis bella cruenta geras. Nos tibi quam iustum est, quam nos debere fatemur, Non volumus sanctam non soluisse fidem.

 vinci . . . docta A: victam . . . pulchra BC.  Vicentinus BC: Vicetinus A.  domos A: domus BC, Böcking.  sacra — Leogallus A: Latia clausus speculator BC.  posse BC: posce A.  Leo A: tibi BC.  commisit AB: promisit C. 29 At the Battle of Ravenna on  April , French and German troops routed the Spanish and papal forces. 30 With Maximilian’s assistance, Verona had held out against a determined siege by Venetian troops in September , not long before this poem was written. See ll. –  below. 31 In the spring of , French and imperial troops sacked Brescia and massacred many of its citizens. 32 Cremona was “wretched in days long past” because of the ruthless land confis-

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus



land soak up!29 Verona knows that, now that I have emboldened her in battle.30 Brescia, having tasted defeat so often already, cannot deny this fact;31 neither can the walls of Cremona, wretched in days long past and now captured,32 or the fields of Vicenza and Modena.33 Even that tenacious mistress of the swampy deep has collected my thunderbolts at her front door.34 On the high sea her seine-hauling sailors trembled and abandoned the nets that had slipped from their terror-struck hands. Now, now is the time I ought to be enjoying the peace won after so many years [] and joyfully setting foot in my Rome. But lo and behold, there is Leo, standing like a cock on his sacred citadel, frightened that Capitoline Jove might rise up again. Look, he is frightened and calls in the French and wonders whether Rome can remain his, if it came under imperial rule.35 Alas, Leo! As prudent steward of the kingdom of heaven, you ought to have left that business to us and minded your own. And since you are believed to be the gatekeeper of heaven, why, I ask, do you want to turn the key on a kingdom not your own? It is we who made you master of Rome and her dominions; [] it is our crown that rests upon your head. Enjoy genuine peace with us. Do not allow what we freely bestowed on you to take sides against us. For he, who entrusted the keys of promised Heaven to you,36 did not also give you the weapons of war to conquer earthly realms. You took up the crosier to be a shepherd unto the peoples, not to wage bloody war with the peoples.37 The sacred trust that we confess we owe you by rights, we cations that were carried out there in Vergil’s day: cf. Verg. Ecl. .. It was captured by the French, Maximilian’s allies at the time, after the Battle of Agnadello ( May ). 33 On  October , imperial and Spanish troops decisively defeated the Venetians near Vicenza. Pope Julius II, who had captured Modena in , returned the city to Maximilian in . 34 The reference is to Venice, which Maximilian attacked directly in  and again in . 35 Rome’s oldest and most sumptuous temple was that of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill, the heart and center of the Roman Empire in its glory days. If Maximilian ever reached Rome, if ever he were crowned emperor there, he would revive the Empire and rule the world. That is why Pope Leo X has blocked Maximilian’s path and allied himself with King Francis I in the Concordat of Bologna, negotiated in December  and promulgated on  August . This Concordat is the subject of most of Hutten’s epigrams printed at the end of the booklet. 36 Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter (Matthew .). In Catholic belief, Peter went on to become the first bishop of Rome. 37 Cf. Italia –.



responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore





Bv











Tu modo ne nimium nobis insurge nec unquam Externos dominos in mea iura voca. Tu quoque ne dubita! Regni pars optima nostri, Utilis ex multa parte querela tua est. Indignos regnare doles et Romula scribis Nescio quo misere prodita regna dolo. Venit ab occiduo qui te convellat Ibero, Hinc Venetus partes abripit, inde Lygur. Quodque magis miror, praedatrix Graecia tutam Non sinit; hinc gravis est Illyris ora tibi. Aspicis eversas quasdam et sine maenibus urbes Squalidaque informi signa vetusta situ. Et nunc, materia quod erat potiore dolendum, In gremio claudis Gallica castra tuo. Fer, confide Deo, spera bene. Lubrica nunquam Fortuna in summo cardine stare potest. Semper et a prima surgentis origine Romae Fortunae facies non fuit una tibi. Europae atque Asiae domuisti et Punica regna. An, rogo, quod pudeat dicere passa nihil? Aspice foedantes incensam Senonas Urbem Patricioque putres sanguine stare vias. Quid memorem lectas sepe amisisse cohortes? Quale tibi imposuit Samnis aquosa iugum? Quam cito de Siculis pepulisti finibus Aphros, Dissimules victam sepius esse licet. Arma bis octenos Poeni tolerasse per annos Clade tua testis proxima es ipsa tibi. Quam funesta tibi fuerint Thrasimenia tempe Scit Trebia et Ticino proxima rura tuo. Quid lachrymabilius Cannarum nomine Romae Tot simul amissis milibus esse potest?

 iura A: regna BC. 38 39

 quo A: cui BC.

 octenos A: octonos BC, Böcking.

The Ligurian is Pope Julius II, as at l.  above. A Gallic tribe, the Senones sacked Rome in  bce.

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus



have no intention of ever breaking. You, for you part, should not rise up against us so violently and never [] invite foreign masters into my domains. You too, take heart! Finest part of my realm, your lament is useful in many respects. You complain that your rulers are unworthy and write that the land of Romulus has been pitifully betrayed by I know not what treachery. The Spaniards have come westerly from the Ebro to dismember you. Venice is tearing off limbs from one side, the Ligurian on the other.38 But what surprises me more: marauding Greece does not leave you unscathed. For that reason the Illyrian coast has proved troublesome to you. You see some of your cities sacked, their walls razed, [] and the ancient monuments defiled with grime and neglect. And now — something far more deplorable — you harbor a French army in your midst. Bear up, trust in God, hope for the best. Never yet has slippery Fortune managed to stand still atop her wheel. Throughout your history, from the very beginning of Rome’s rise, Lady Luck has always shown you many different faces. Yes, you conquered the realms of Europe and Asia and Carthage. But, I ask you, did you never suffer anything shameful to relate? Look how the Senones plundered the capital city and set her ablaze [] and how the streets were fouled with the blood of her patricians.39 Why should I remind you how often you lost elite cohorts? What about the yoke that water-rich Samnium imposed on you?40 However swiftly you expelled the Africans from Sicily, there is no hiding the fact that they often defeated you too.41 For nineteen years you endured the armed might of Carthage, a calamity for which you are your own best witness. How disastrous the vale of Trasimene was for you, that is something the Trebbia and the fields along your Ticino know only too well. What can be more mournful to Rome than the name Cannae, [] given that she lost so many thousands there in a

40 Samnium in central Italy fought three wars with Rome from  to  bce before it was finally vanquished. 41 The Punic Wars lasted from  to  bce. In the First Punic War (–) Rome wrested control of Sicily from Carthage.



 Br









 Bv

responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Anne pharetratos Parthos impune lacessis? Auxerat Eufratem sanguinis unda tui. Europae domitum signis victricibus orbem Asserere innumera non sine clade potes. Ut taceam Gallos, quoniam pudet, aspice quanti Vincere pugnacem constitit Illyriam! Ut taceam quoscumque mihi est numerare molestum, Te quibus ipsa doces imposuisse iugum: Nostra tuo quoties Germania milite tacta est, Incoepti poteras poenituisse tui. Nec tentata tibi gens infoelicius ulla est, Cum servam velles quae tibi nunc domina est. Nec Fortuna dedit cursum tibi semper eundem, Nec similis visa es perpetuo ipsa tui. Nunc oppressa malis, rebus nunc aucta secundis, Nunc ver arrisit, nunc tibi saevit hyems. Spirat inaequali semper dea lubrica flatu; Aequatas rerum non amat illa vices. Cuius ut exemplum videas, te respice: dices Ludere Fortunam non potuisse magis. Nos quoque per varios eadem sors ipsa labores Multiplici rerum lubricitate tulit. Nobiscum nata est et in ipso flore iuventae Tota fere armorum gloria nostra fuit. Vidit et invidit quae corripit omnia secum Et signum in nobis se dedit esse deam. Quodque fuit nulla nobis ratione timendum In propria carcer gente paratus erat. Sepe rebellantes toties vicisse Sycambros Est iterum atque iterum causa fuisse pium. Quis fudisse acies Gallorum sepe superbas Nescit et ingenti strage dedisse neci?

 poteras A: poterat BC, Böcking.  Nec — ulla est A: Nec tibi tentatum genus infoelicius ullum BC.  perpetuo A: perpetua BC. 42 In the Second Punic War (– bce), the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the Alps into Italy and inflicted a series of disastrous defeats on the Romans: the Battle

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus



single day?42 Or did you ever assail the quiver-bearing Parthians with impunity? Streams of your blood swelled the Euphrates. With your victorious standards you were able to subjugate the European continent, but not without innumerable reverses. To pass over the Gauls in silence, because I am ashamed of their descendants: look how much it cost you to vanquish the warlike Illyrians!43 If I may omit all those names that I find tiresome to enumerate (all the more so, as you yourself list the ones on whom you imposed the yoke): each time your troops invaded our Germany, [] you had cause to regret your undertaking. There is no other people whom you attacked with less success, seeing that the one you wanted as slave is now your ruler. Fortuna has not always given you a smooth path, and you yourself have evidently not remained unchanged over the years. Sometimes you were overwhelmed with disasters, sometimes blessed with good fortune; now spring smiled, now winter blustered in your face. The slippery goddess always blows this way and that; she is not one to love a steady course. To see an example of that, look back on your own history. You will agree [] that Fortune could not possibly have been more capricious. That same destiny has also taken me through all kinds of hardships, with freakishly changing outcomes. From the day I was born and throughout the flower of my youth practically all military glory was mine. She, who sweeps away everything before her, took notice. She resented my good luck and set me up as an example of her divine power. And so — something I had no reason at all to fear — I found myself imprisoned among my own countrymen.44 Defeating the Gelderlanders each time they rebelled [] gave me reason, over and over again, to show myself merciful.45 Who does not know that I often discomfited the proud armies of France and sent them to their death with

of Ticino in , the Battle of Lake Trasimene in , and the Battle of Cannae in . Hannibal remained in Italy until , when he was recalled to defend Carthage against Roman attack. 43 The Illyrians, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, fought two wars with Rome in – and  bce. 44 As Regent of the Netherlands and King of the Romans, Maximilian was imprisoned for several months in  by the citizens of Bruges. 45 The Duchy of Gelderland fought a long series of wars against Maximilian. The first wave of revolts, actively supported by France, lasted from  to . The war flared up again in  and continued intermittently long into the reign of Charles V.













Cr 



responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Ad mea Pannoniae tremuit domus arma, fuitque Consultae facies omnibus una fugae. Et nisi tot variata modis Fortuna fuisset, Contudimus, quorum nos pudet, Helvetios. Hec tumidos gladio fudit victore Bohemos Dextra, Palatinas cum sequerentur opes. Infidos pepuli patrio de limite Turcas — O et adhuc aliqua gens adeunda manu! Cuncta referre piget, nec enim brevis omnia chartae Servatura modum pagina ferre potest. Nunc quoque quanta tuis tot retro abeuntibus annis Aediderim campis funera nemo rogat. Quid mirum si Fortunae cessisse parumper, Differre et tantum si videamur opus? Tu quereris causasque times quaesisse morandi Et spacium iusto maius abesse doles Et velut admoneas imitari exempla parentum Segniciem exprobras desidiamque notas. Desine ab exemplis metiri facta nec istis Conferre antiquis tempora nostra velis. Quos tu commemoras, geminorum splendor Othonum, Longe alia tantus conditione fuit. Tum neque tot dominos habuit Germania reges, Necdum contemptus Caesaris iste fuit. Paruit Augustis patrii concordia regni, Constituit proprium nemo sibi imperium. Si quando expediit legiones ducere et usquam Martia in hostili ponere castra loco, Militiam nemo tum detrectavit honestam, Gloriaque in castris Caesaris esse fuit. Nunc confisi opibus nobis blandimur, et inter Summa voluptates vivere militia est. Et nos, quando adeo Caesar sibi quisque videtur, Accipimus preter nomen inane nihil.

 Contudimus — Helvetios A: Vis mea bellaces contudit Helvetios BC.  exprobras BC: exprobas A.  tu AB: tum C.  Tum A: Tunc BC, Böcking.  detrectavit A: detrectabat BC, Böcking.

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus

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enormous slaughter? The house of Hungary trembled before my arms; and all were well-advised to seek their safety in flight.46 And if Fortune had not taken so many turns, I would also have crushed the Swiss, who fill me with shame.47 Wielding the sword of victory, my right hand routed the swaggering Bohemians, when they fought for the Palatinate.48 I drove the infidel Turks from the borders of my homeland49 — [] oh, a people that even now deserves to be attacked in force! To chronicle all my battles is irksome. If this brief letter is to keep within bounds, it cannot include everything. Even now no one need ask how much killing I have visited upon your own fields for these many, many years. Is it a wonder that I appear to be yielding to Fortune for a short while and postponing so grand an achievement? You lament and fear that I am looking for excuses to put off action and grieve that I have been absent longer than is right. And, as if admonishing me to imitate the example of my forefathers, [] you accuse me of sloth and censure my indolence. Stop judging my accomplishments by past examples and do not try to compare our own age with those earlier times. The brilliance of the two Ottos whom you mention was possible only under entirely different circumstances. In those days, Germany did not have so many sovereign princes, nor had that villainous contempt for the emperor cropped up as yet. The fatherland obeyed the emperors harmoniously; no one carved out a personal state for himself. If ever it proved necessary to lead armies into the field and [] pitch a camp of war somewhere in enemy territory, no one in that era shirked honorable service. In fact, it was considered glorious to serve in the emperor’s army. Nowadays we put all our reliance on wealth, with which we flatter ourselves, and to live amidst pleasures is our highest service. And because everybody fancies himself an emperor, I myself retain nothing but the empty 46 Maximilian invaded Hungary in  to assert the Habsburg claim of succession in the event that King Wladislaw died without an heir. 47 The Swiss defeated Maximilian’s forces in  and won independence from the empire. Hutten alludes to the same event in Italia . 48 In the War of the Landshut Succession, Maximilian defeated the Palatinate’s Bohemian mercenaries at the Wenzenberg near Regensburg on  September . 49 In  Maximilian led an army against the Turks who had invaded Lower Carinthia and Styria. By the time he arrived, the Turks had already retreated.

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responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Sepe quidem mandata damus regnique senatum Cogimus auspicio deserimusque bono. Semper at hoc iterum faciendum iterumque, nec unquam Consilii finem lubricus orbis habet. Donec inutilibus terimus conventibus aevum, Hostibus infidis quid nisi praeda sumus? Ah, pudet imperii, quoties illa inclyta mentem Euxini subiit luxque decusque maris! At nisi nos fallant promissi oracula fati, Pro tali poenas crimine, Turca, dabis. Ante coegerimus Venetum in sua stagna rebellem, Fregerimus cristam, perfide Galle, tuam. Tunc dabitur nostrae iam lapsa palatia Romae Visere et augusto Tybridis amne vehi. Quoque minus dubites, iam non promissa, sed ipsam Aspice non ficto pondere stare fidem. Dum nos Vindelici princeps Augusta Suevi Detinet et populis Martia iura damus, Dum tibi Teutonicae, fortissima pectora, gentes Tot coniuratis milibus arma parant, Interea Venetis sociatum viribus agmen Quadraginta hominum milia Gallus agit. Iam tuto populatus agros, populatus et urbes, Abstulit irato fulmina pene Iovi. Ha scelus, et nunquam violentia tuta pericli. Galle, diu ludus non stetit iste tibi. Inclyta deerat adhuc tantis Verona triumphis. Spes nata est Venetis hanc quoque posse capi. Ter frustra oppugnant. Magna ter caede repulsi, Quod nequeunt armis, hoc voluere minis. Dira quidem nostris ducibus datur optio, vellent Sive urbem triduo tradere sive mori.

 Consilii A: Concilii BC.  perfide Galle A: Galle superbe BC.  princeps A: praeceps BC.  Interea — agmen A: Interea Venetum sociatis milibus agmen BC.  oppugnant BC: oppungnant A. 50 The city of Constantinople (Istanbul), which fell to the Turks in . Cf. Hymn. – and Nob. –. 51 The cockscomb is a proverbial emblem of arrogance. “Cock” puns on the meanings of Gallus (“barnyard cock” and “Frenchman”).

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus

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name. To be sure, I frequently issue edicts. I convoke and dismiss the Imperial Diet with fair hopes. But I am compelled to do this over and over again, because [] the slippery circle of consultations never ends. In the meantime, while we waste our time in useless assemblies, what are we to our treacherous enemies except an easy prey? Ah, I feel ashamed of the empire each time that brilliant ornament and jewel of the Black Sea comes to mind!50 But if the prophecies of a bright future do not deceive me, the Turks will suffer due punishment for so heinous a crime! First, I intend to drive the rebellious Venetians back into their swamps and break your cockscomb, you perfidious Frenchman.51 Thereafter it will be granted me to visit the now-ruined palace of my Rome [] and to sail the venerable stream of the Tiber. To dispel whatever doubts you may still have, notice that I am no longer offering a promise, but its fulfillment, corroborated by events.52 While I was being detained in Augsburg,53 the capital of Bavarian Swabia, and was administering Roman law to the nations, the Germans, stoutest of heroes, banded together by the thousands to take up arms for you. The French meanwhile had joined forces with Venice and put an army of forty thousand men in the field. Already they had ravaged the countryside and devastated the cities with impunity. [] Almost it seemed as if they had stolen the thunderbolts of furious Jove. Oh, the crime! But never has violence been a safeguard from danger. Frenchmen, that game of yours did not last for long! Only famed Verona remained to crown those magnificent triumphs. Among the Venetians the hope was born that they might be able to capture that city too. Three times they stormed it in vain. Repulsed three times with great slaughter, they sought to achieve with threats what they could not attain by force of arms. Our commanders were given a truly dreadful choice: either surrender the city within three days or die. Ruthless Frenchmen, do

52 Maximilian had just recently sent a strong contingent of sappers to Verona, his last remaining foothold in Italy. With their help the city was able to fend off a fierce assault by Franco-Venetian troops in September . The sorely tried Maximilian set great store by this victory and hoped it would mark a turning point in his Italian wars. 53 Maximilian convoked the nobility to a council at Augsburg in September–October .

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responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Improbe, tune minis gentem terrere prophanis, Quam nequeas armis vincere, Galle, voles? Venit et aereas iam tertia depulit umbras, Propitia nostris luce revecta, dies. Ecce, adsunt et prima alacres ad maenia Galli Tormenta adiiciunt excidiumque parant. Porta fuit positis modice firmata cathenis, Pervia tormentis sponte relicta ducum. Qua licet irrumpunt duris cataphrattus in armis. Pars peditum nostrae maxima gentis erat. Iamque videbantur toto sibi vincere Marte, Iamque fere illuvies tota recepta fuit. Rupit ab insidiis quod in istum iussimus usum Talibus hospitibus tale dare hospitium. Hanc te ferre stipem, miles Germane, decebat, Haec erat officio gratia digna tuo! Quid referam quantam aediderint tormenta ruinam? Horret adhuc animus et meminisse grave est. Pelluntur Veneti imbelles Gallique minaces, Plura sed illorum milia caesa manent. Noster at interea victrici exercitus urbi Advenit et spolium relliquiasque legit. Quem nunc ecce tuis victorem cernis in oris Pro te, pro patria Martia castra sequi. Spem nunc interea tibi nos praemittimus, ut sit Quod maius multo polliceare tibi. Ut taceam quantas pro se Germania vires, Quot queat invictos mittere sola duces, Ungarus accedit pugnax, acerque Bohemus, Et qui vasta ferox rura Polonus arat. Ducet ab occiduo turmas Hyspanus Ibero, Fida suam nobis Anglia mittet opem. Finge age non aliquae vires, non ulla sequantur Auxilia, Augustae destituantur opes. Sola potest Venetos timidumque repellere Gallum, Sueta diu tales vincere, nostra domus.

 relliquiasque BC: rellinquiasque A. Böcking.  diu tales A: utrunque diu BC.

 timidumque A: tumidumque BC,

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus

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you think your diabolic threats will terrify a people [] whom you are unable to defeat in battle? The third day arrived and was already scattering the darkness from the sky — a day that dawned for our men with propitious light. Look, the French drew near, vigorously bombarded the outer walls, and caused much destruction. One of the gates was only lightly reinforced with chains. Our commanders had done this on purpose, so that the cannons could blast it open. Into this breach they now stormed, clad in mail and heavy armor. The vast majority of the infantrymen were of my own people. And already they fancied themselves the victors in this whole battle; [] already nearly all of that scum had been allowed to pour in. At that moment we rolled out the welcome mat that we had ordered concealed for just this purpose, to offer guests like them the hospitality they deserved. Those are the wages you had coming to you, German mercenaries! That is the gratitude we owe for your service! Why should I mention what a terrible bloodbath our cannons brought about? Even now my mind shudders, and I agonize at the memory. The unwarlike Venetians and the menacing French were repulsed, but many thousands of their fallen comrades were left behind. But meanwhile my army has reached the victorious city [] and collected the spoils and booty. Look, there is the victor! You can see him in your territory right now, waging war for you and your homeland. I am sending you this earnest for the time being, so that you can promise yourself much greater things to come. To say nothing about how large an army Germany, for her part, can contribute or how many invincible generals she can send you on her own: the warlike Hungarians and the brave Bohemians will join us, as will the fierce Poles, who plow the desolate fields of home. The Spaniards will lead their squadrons from the Ebro in the west; [] faithful England will send us her help. Imagine, however, that I received no troops, no support from anywhere, and that the imperial army deserted me. My own house54 can singlehandedly repulse the Venetians and the craven French, for she has long been accustomed to defeat enemies

54 The “house of Austria,” a term for the Habsburg dynasty and the lands over which it ruled.

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responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore

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Et mea non uno contenta est Austria regno Mater et innumeris regibus illa fuit. Illius aspicias populis florentibus urbes, Gallorum vires dixeris esse nihil. Qua sola Venetum virtute potentia fracta est, Hanc tibi, si nescis, Austria sola dedit. Renus ab Ausoniis quantum fugit Alpibus et quod Haec inter spacium claudit utrumque mare, Tam late patrium regnum exercemus, et illud Vix etiam Odrysiis terminat Ister aquis. Unde nec imbelles Indos mollesve Sabaeos Nec Persas medias ducimus inter opes, Sed genus acre virum ferroque horrentia late Agmina, non aliquo sueta labore premi. Gentem animo infracto patientem frigus et aestum Tamque sitim doctam quam tolerare famem. His ego tot populis Gallum prohibere minacem Deque tuo potui pellere, ut ante, sinu. Fortunae sed erat caedendum temporis huius, Quam sepe invitam detinuisse nocet. Nunc eadem eventum meliorem spondet et audet Dicere se facti poenituisse sui. Fata datas aeque rerum moderentur habenas! Certum est sive tibi vincere sive mori. Viribus imperii sociata resumimus arma, Ducturi in fines protinus illa tuos — Arma nec antiquum tantum visura Tridentum, Arma per Alpinas longe abitura nives. Tum neque foedifragi vecors insania Galli Euganei obsistet nec domina illa maris. Non aliquem dices Fridericum animosius isse, Europam atque Asiam fregerit ille licet. Tum mihi retrogrados Florentia pingere cancros Audeat et claro sub Iove ferre faces! Tum mediis faxo recitent nova carmina scaenis! Contemptu careant nulla theatra mei!

 sola A: toties BC.  quod BC: quot A.  Persas A: Persam BC, Böcking.  doctam AB: docta C, Böcking.  foedifragi A: raptoris BC. 55

The Mediterranean and the North Sea.

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus

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like that. This Austria of mine is not content with just one country to rule over. She has been mother to innumerable kings. If you could see her cities with their flourishing populations, you would say that the resources of France are nothing by comparison. The valor that broke Venice’s spirit [] was provided to you (in case you did not know) by Austria alone. As far as the Rhine rushes away from the Italian Alps and as much territory as each of the two seas55 encloses between them, so wide is the ancestral realm over which I rule — a realm that even the lower Danube with its Thracian floods can scarcely bound. It is a country in which we do not raise unwarlike Indians or soft Arabs or Persians wallowing in wealth, but a vigorous race of men and warriors everywhere bristling with steel, a nation that does not let any hardship get the better of it, a people of indomitable spirit, inured to frost and heat, [] and trained to shrug off thirst no less than hunger. With these myriad men I would have been able to keep the menacing French in check and drive them from your bosom, as before. However, I have had no choice but to bend with the times. Trying to thwart Fortune too often is asking for trouble. This time around she promises a better outcome and ventures to admit that she regrets her deed. May the Fates exercise their god-given power with fairness! You, certainly, are determined either to prevail or to die. Supported by imperial forces I am taking up arms again [] and plan to lead them forthwith into your territories — arms that will not only see ancient Trent, but advance far beyond the Alpine snows. Then neither the mad frenzy of the treaty-breaking French nor that mistress of the Adriatic Sea will stand in my way. You will no longer assert that some Frederick marched with greater boldness, even if he did vanquish Europe and Asia.56 Then let Florence dare to caricature me with backward crawling crabs and hold up torches in broad daylight!57 Then let them recite the latest squibs at center stage! [] Then let all their theaters express contempt for me! 56 Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (r. –) undertook six expeditions into Italy, revived German imperial power, and died on the Third Crusade, having already defeated a Turkish army at Iconium. Cf. Hutten, Italia –. 57 The Florentines mocked Maximilian’s ignominious retreat in March  by depicting him as sitting on a backward crawling crab. See epigrams B  and B  below. In their theaters they held up torches in broad daylight to search for the missing emperor. See Italia’s letter, ll. – above; epigram B .– below.

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responsio maximiliani, eobano hesso autore Non tamen illa movent quantum tua damna precesque Udaque de lachrymis littera facta tuis. Qua libet interea, quoniam licet, improba iactent Consilia ingrati pessima turba animi. Poena scelus sua quodque manet. Sine crimine laesa Invenit ultores gloria vera deos. At tu passa graves motus, iam pene coloris Indiga, iam morbis pallida, iamque senex, Quae iam fracta malis poteras et mortua credi, Cui vitam adventus spes fovet una mei, Ecce, novum spondet rerum Fortuna tenorem. Iam cita desaevit, iam revoluta rota est. Adde novas animo vires priscumque resume Ornatum, nec te iam periisse puta. Nostra mane, nec caede malis, teque inclyta serva. Exiguum est, quod nos tempus abesse feres. Ante quidem quam tu vel quisquam credere possit, Polliciti cernes pondera plena mei. Caetera quae cuperes tibi nos responsa feremus. Armorum potuit littera ferre nihil. Erfurdiae

Subscriptio Erfurdiae scripsi: Erfurdie A, Finis. Erdfurdiae B, om. C.

response from maximilian, by eobanus hessus

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But none of this moves me as deeply as your ordeals and prayers and that tear-soaked letter of yours. In the meantime, while it still can, let that ungrateful riffraff brag as much as it wants about its impudent schemes. Punishment lies in store for each and every crime. True glory, baselessly slandered, will find gods to wreak vengeance. Now then, though you have suffered grave tribulation, though right now you are practically drained of color, pallid with disease, and weakened by old age, though you appear right now crushed with woes and as good as dead, [] though only the hope in my arrival gives you the strength to live, mark my words: Fortune promises to take a turn for the better. Her swift wheel has already stopped raging, it is already coming around. Be of good cheer once more, put your old finery back on, and do not give yourself up for dead. I want you to stay mine. Do not yield to despair, but take good care of yourself, renowned lady! You will not have to endure my absence much longer. Indeed, before you, or anyone else for that matter, can believe it possible, you will see the full weight of my promise. As for your other wishes, I shall bring you the response in person. [] After all, a letter cannot bear arms. At Erfurt

B 1 Addidimus hoc loco, candide lector, quaedam Hutteni epigrammata ad eam rem de qua nunc scripsimus pertinentia, ut simul appareret quantum et vir ille Germano nomini (in quo natus est) tribuat et nostrum in consequenda tua gratia studium, si istarum rerum te, quas longe selectissimas habemus, participem faceremus. B 2 HUTTENUS AD PASQUILLUM Anxia lustrato postquam gens Itala mundo Consuluit vates consuluitque deos, Quod male respondent vates, Pasquille, deique, Te rogat amisso Caesare: “Caesar ubi est?”  Certa nec accessi referunt oracula Delphi Nec Dodonaei sylva canora Iovis. Omnia templa silent. Nullus canit abdita vates. Ipse tacet Lybico corniger orbe deus. Ut tandem inveniat, miro Florentia motu  Visa est iam claro sole tulisse faces. At Leo, desperans ne sit sine Caesare mundus, Elegit Gallum Caesaris esse loco.

B 1–14. A. Epigr. B , B , et B – exstant etiam in Hutteni ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum libro (BC). B 2. ABC. Tit. Huttenus ad Pasquillum A: Pro Pasquillo Romae BC.  At Leo, desperans A: Atque aliquis, metuens BC. 58 The epigrams that Eobanus appends here are part of a large collection of epigrams that Hutten began writing in /. An early version had been circulating in manuscript since . See Hutten, Opera, : (letter ), where Hutten complains that it was full of mistakes. All the epigrams selected by Eobanus are of recent vintage (the first half of ). Cf. Wulfert, –. 59 Pasquillo (or Pasquino) was a mutilated Greek statue set up in front of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa’s palace at Rome in . It was named (or so the story went) for the satirically-minded shoemaker Pasquino, near whose house it had been unearthed. Before long, scholars started posting verses on it, especially on St. Mark’s Day, April . Generally scurrilous and satirical, such verses eventually became known as pasquils or pasquinades.

B 1 At this point, kind reader, I have added some epigrams of Hutten’s that pertain to the same topic we wrote about here, partly to make clear how much that man sets store by the German nation (in which he was born) and partly to demonstrate how eager I am to win your goodwill, by sharing with you at least this very small selection from them.58 B 2 HUTTEN TO PASQUILLO59 After anxiously scouring the world to consult the seers and to consult the gods, the Italian people did not receive a clear answer from either the seers or the gods. Now they turn to you, Pasquillo, to ask about the emperor who has gone missing: “Where on earth is the emperor?” When approached, neither Delphi nor Jove’s resounding grove in Dodona has offered a clear oracle.60 All the temples are silent. There is not one seer who can reveal the secret. Even the horned god in the Libyan desert has nothing to say.61 To finally find him, the people of Florence [] have been known to put on a weird spectacle, brandishing torches in broad sunlight.62 Meanwhile Leo was in despair. For fear that the world might go without an emperor, he chose a Frenchman to fill the

See Anne Reynolds, “Cardinal Oliviero Carafa and the Early Cinquecento Tradition of the Feast of Pasquino,” Humanistica Lovaniensia  (), –. Hutten must have written this and the next epigram in March/April , but before April . 60 Apollo had a famous oracle in Delphi. Jupiter had an equally celebrated oracle in an oak grove at Dodona in Epirus. When the wind blew there, the leaves produced a rustling sound that the priests interpreted as oracles. In a later interpretation, the grove resounded because it was encircled by bronze cauldrons. These were placed so closely together that when one was touched, all of them resonated in turn. Even the wind could set off an endless moaning in the cauldrons. The sounds were then translated into oracles. 61 Jupiter Ammon, represented with a ram’s head, had a much consulted oracle in Libya. 62 The Florentines mocked Maximilian when he retreated from Lombardy in late March  by staging burlesques in which actors walked around with torches in broad daylight. When asked why, they would answer: we are looking for the emperor, who has gone missing. See Hutten, Italia –; Eob. Max. –.

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de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

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Maxima res; nec te, Pasquille, peritior alter. Dic tandem, vates optime: “Caesar ubi est?” B 3 PASQUILLUS ROMANIS Cr

Pone metum, Romane, tuo de Caesare. Vivit. Ulla fides ex me si tibi, vivit adhuc. Vis ultra sperare aliud? Venit. Hoc ego vates Quo ratius loquitur Delphica fama nihil.  Quid gemitis, Veneti? Quid ad haec, levis Adria, palles? Haec ego non dixi sepe futura prius? B 4 DE CONVENTU GALLI ET LEONIS Gallus in Italia est. Genitor, miserere, deorum! Grande sibi adscivit terra Latina malum. Prodita libertas Italorum. Ipse abstulit omnem Principibus mentem Iuppiter Ausoniis.  Hoc ubi consilio pacem turbabat amicam, Quamque alias semper, tunc Leo caecus erat. B 5 DE EODEM Aurea saecla iterum redeunt, Saturnia regna! Nunc Cumaea tibi est facta Sybilla fides.

 nec A: neque BC. B 3. ABC. Tit. Pasquillus Romanis A: Pasquillus BC.  aliud A: aliquid BC. Post  add. BC: Pugnaces revolant Aquilae. Vidi ipse volantes/Et tota horribiles spargere ab Alpe minas.  Quid gemitis — palles? A: Quid gemitis, Veneti, tandem? Quid, Galle, tremiscis? BC. B 4. A: om. BC. B 5. ABC. Tit. De eodem A: De Gallorum et Venetorum amicitia BC. 63 After King Francis I defeated Maximilian’s Swiss mercenaries and made himself master of Milan and all Lombardy in September , he and Pope Leo X negotiated the Concordat of Bologna in mid-December. Since the discussions remained secret, there was no lack of rumors. According to one such rumor, Leo promised to do everything in his power to make Francis emperor after Maximilian’s death. See Kenneth M. Setton, The Papacy and the Levant (–), vol.  (Philadelphia, ), .

some epigrams on the same topic

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void.63 A weighty matter, Pasquillo! But then, on such matters no one is more expert than you. So I must ask you, best of seers, do tell us: “Where on earth is the emperor?” B 3 PASQUILLO TO THE ROMANS Have no fear for your emperor, Romans. He is alive and well! If I have any credit with you: he is still alive and well. Would you like something else to look forward to? He is coming. The Delphic oracle does not prophesy more truly than I just did. What are you groaning for, Venetians? What is making you grow pale at these words, fickle Adriatic? Haven’t I told you over and over that this would all come to pass? B 4 THE CONCORDAT BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND LEO64 The French are in Italy. Father of the gods, take pity on us! Italy has brought down a huge calamity on herself. Her liberty has been betrayed. It was Jupiter himself who robbed the Italian princes of all good sense. When he disturbed amicable peace with this plan, Leo — as he has done consistently elsewhere — once again proved to be blind. B 5 ON THE SAME TOPIC65 The Golden Age — Saturn’s reign — is coming back again! Now, Cumaean Sibyl, your prophecy is being fulfilled. The timid deer will

64 King Francis I and Pope Leo X have negotiated the Concordat of Bologna (midDecember ). Cf. epigram B .–, above, with n. . 65 According to an oracle of the Cumaean Sibyl, elaborated in Vergil’s fourth (“messianic”) eclogue, the Iron Age will be replaced by a new Golden Age, just like the one over which Saturn presided. In this new Golden Age, natural enemies will live peacefully together. Cattle will not fear the lions (Verg. Ecl. .); wolves and lambs will feed together (cf. Isaiah .). Hutten ironically sees this marvelous age arriving, now that the Gallic Cock (Francis I) and the “gentle” Lion (Leo X) have negotiated the Concordat of Bologna in December .

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de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

Cum canibus timidae venient ad pocula damae. Intra se hostiles pascet ovile lupos.  Inter se coeunt inimica. Per omnia pax est, Cum placido Gallus pacta Leone ferit. B 6 DE EODEM AD ITALOS

Cv

Quid te adeo, genus acre virum, quid te, Itale pugnax, Hi passim plausus istaque pompa movent? Non quorum aspirat primo Fortuna labori Continuo invicti roboris esse puta.  Fregerit Helvetias Germano milite vires Gallus, ab imperio Sfortia deciderit; Ast ego venturi vates ero. Credite vati: Cum veniet Caesar, omnia CAESAR erunt. B 7 AD BONONIENSES ALIUD Tu nunc, Sequanicos mirata Bononia Francos, Omnibus adclamas pompa obeunte viis. Plaude quidem pompamque nova victoribus istis Et dominos Gallos fer dominosque voca.  Verum alios Francos alio Germania plausu Heu vereor ne te non cupiente dabit.

 timidae A: timidi BC.  pascet A: claudet BC.  Inter se A: Nimirum BC.  ferit BC: fecit A. B 6. ABC. Tit. De — Italos A: De conventu Bononiensi ad Italos BC.  movent A: iuvant BC. B 7. ABC. Tit. aliud A: om. BC. 66 In the Augsburg collection of , Hutten gives this epigram the title, “To the Italians, about the Concordat of Bologna.” On – September , King Francis I used his German mercenaries to rout the Swiss troops of Massimiliano Sforza, Duke of Milan, in the Battle of Marignano. With that

some epigrams on the same topic



drink alongside the hounds. Putting their enmity aside, the wolves will feed inside the sheepfold. Natural enemies are banding together. Peace breaks out everywhere, now that the Cock has struck a pact with the gentle Lion. B 6 ON THE SAME TOPIC, TO THE ITALIANS66 What is it, you warlike Italians, you valiant breed of men, that is getting you so excited — cheering and parading like this everywhere? Those whom Fortuna favors at the outset are not necessarily the ones who end up on top. Yes, with help from their German mercenaries the French did succeed in crushing the Swiss troops; Sforza did fall from power. But let me stick my neck out to prophesy the future anyway. Pay heed to the prophet! When the emperor comes back, it will be the EMPEROR who is all in all. B 7 ANOTHER, TO THE BOLOGNESE67 Bologna, you are now such a great admirer of the Franks who live by the Seine68 that you cheer them along all the parade routes in town. Applaud them all you want! Start up another parade for those victors and put up with the French as overlords and hail them as masters. But alas, I fear that Germany will give you another kind of Franks to deal with — to another kind of applause that won’t be as much to your liking.

he made himself master of Milan and Lombardy. In mid-December he negotiated the Concordat of Bologna with Pope Leo X. 67 Another epigram on the Concordat of Bologna. Here Hutten addresses the Bolognese who line King Francis’ parade route on December . 68 The western Franks (the French), as opposed to the eastern Franks (the Germans).



de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

B 8 IN VENETOS Nondum omnes contemptae Aquilae! Ne, Rana, superbi, Neu tibi sub Marco semileone place, Fregeris Insubres Gallo licet auspice turmas, Pugnando Helvetias contuderisque manus.  Sepe suus victis rediit deus. Aut ego fallor Aut tibi Teutonica restat ab Alpe malum! B 9 DE GALLIS EXPULSIS Ver erat. Extulerat pugnax sua lilia Gallus. Florida bissenis mensibus illa tulit. Ver iterum. Gelida movit se ventus ab Arcto Nescio quis. Subito lilia flacca iacent.  Et miramur adhuc quae tam breve lilia frondent? Quin sinimus dubiis rebus habere fidem.

Cr

B 10 ALIUD AD CAESAREM DE CANCRO Nuper retrogrado quidam te insidere cancro Pinxerat hoc titulo: “Tendimus in Latium.” Nil erat hoc aliud nisi quod cum vincere velles Non possis et quod caeperis ire retro.

B 8. ABC.  Nondum A: Haud dum BC. – Fregeris . . . Pugnando . . . contuderisque A: Videris . . . Confringi . . . interimique BC. B 9. ABC. Tit. De Gallis expulsis A: De eadem [sc. imbecillitate Galli] BC.  frondent A: florent BC. B 10. ABC. Tit. Aliud — cancro A: In picturam de Caesare BC.  insidere AC: in sidere B. – Nil erat — retro. A: Hoc quid erat, nisi quod cupias nec vincere possis, / Et quoties aliquid coeperis, ire retro? BC. 69 Hutten warns the Venetians not to brag too soon. They and their French allies may have crushed the Swiss troops and captured Milan in the Battle of Marignano on –  September ; but Emperor Maximilian will soon come back over the Alps to wreak vengeance.

some epigrams on the same topic



B 8 AGAINST THE VENETIANS69 The time has not yet come when you can treat all Eagles with contempt! Don’t start bragging, Frog, or get complacent in the shadow of the half-lion Mark,70 even if you did smash the Milanese forces with help from the French, even if you did crush the Swiss troops in battle. It often happens that the vanquished return to the good graces of their god. Either I am badly mistaken or a disaster is headed your way from across the German Alps! B 9 ON THE EXPULSION OF THE FRENCH71 It was springtime. Spoiling for a fight, the French brought out their fleurs-de-lis. They kept them blooming for twelve months straight. Spring again. Some ill wind blew down from the frosty North. In a trice, the lilies drooped and wilted. And are we still surprised that lilies are so short-lived? We had best stop putting our faith in ephemeral things. B 10 ANOTHER, TO THE EMPEROR CONCERNING THE CRAB72 Recently somebody painted a picture of you sitting on a backward crawling crab, with this title: “We are headed for Italy.”73 This was clearly meant to say that you were eager to conquer, but were unable to do so, and were in full retreat. However, that was just a painting.

70 In contemporary German cartoons, the lagoon-dwelling Venetians are often depicted as frogs. Venice’s emblem was the Winged Lion of Saint Mark. Far from being lionhearted, however, the Venetians are just “half lions.” 71 Hutten predicts that the French conquest of Milan and Lombardy in  will end in the spring of , when Emperor Maximilian will storm back over the Alps to drive them out of Italy once and for all. The fleurs-de-lis are the stylized lilies that form the French royal emblem. 72 The Florentines mocked Maximilian’s ignominious retreat from Lombardy in March  by depicting him as sitting on a backward crawling crab. Cf. Max. –; epigram B  below. As in the previous epigrams, Hutten predicts that the emperor will soon be returning in force. 73 A quotation from Verg. A. .. There the words are spoken by the Trojan hero Aeneas.

 

de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

At pictura fuit. Contra res vera sequta est. Pro cancris tellus Itala cernit equos. Cernit equos cernitque viros. Nos te auspice, Caesar, Iam non retrogradi tendimus in Latium.

B 11 PETREIUS APERBACHUS ERPHURDIENSIS, DE GALLO ET LEONE Vicisse divos dixerat superbiens Gallus Leonis foedere. Contra sed ales taela quae gerit Iovis: “Deosne vinces, improbe?  An rara nescis esse lubricissima, Durare nec longos dies?” B 12 ALIUD Magna deum Mater fertur petiisse Tonantem Armigeros Gallos nunquid habere velit. At deus audito stomachatus nomine Galli, “Nil Aquila invisa fulmen ea una ferat!” B 13 ALIUD AD GALLUM Galle, quid exultas? Aquilas quid, perfide, temnis? Solis ut aspicies lampada, caecus eris.

 At A: Sed BC.  cancris A: cancro BC; cernit A: vidit BC.  Cernit . . . cernitque A: Vidit . . . viditque BC.  Iam non A: Non iam BC. B 11. A: om. BC. B 12. A: om. BC.  petiisse Böcking: petisse A. B 13. A: om. BC. 74 On Hutten’s and Eobanus’ friend Petrejus Eberbach, see the introd. to De amantium infoelicitate (:–). See now also: VLDH, :–. Eberbach lived in Rome from the late summer of  to the autumn of . By mid-November that year he was back in Erfurt, busily writing epigrams with Eobanus. His four epigrams on the Italian wars were probably written in the early autumn of .

some epigrams on the same topic



The real-life picture turned out to be quite different. Instead of crabs, Italy saw horses. She saw horses and she saw men. Under your leadership, emperor, we are not crawling back anymore. “We are headed for Italy!” B 11 PETREJUS EBERBACH OF ERFURT,74 CONCERNING THE COCK AND THE LION The Cock had bragged of vanquishing the gods through a concordat with the Lion.75 But the bird that carries Jove’s thunderbolts76 put him back in his place: “So, you’re going to vanquish the gods, are you? Miscreant! Don’t you know that the rare exception is a most elusive thing and cannot last very long?” B 12 ANOTHER The Great Mother of the Gods is said to have approached the Thunderer to ask whether he would not like to have the Galli as his armorbearers.77 But incensed at hearing the name Galli pronounced, the god replied, “Like it or not, none but the eagle will carry my thunderbolt.” B 13 ANOTHER, TO THE COCK Cock, what are you crowing about? Why, scoundrel, do you scoff at the eagles? If you stared at the sun’s lamp, you would go blind.78

75 As in Hutten’s epigrams, the Gallic Cock is King Francis I; the Lion is Pope Leo X. After Francis’ conquest of Milan and Lombardy in September , the two men negotiated the Concordat of Bologna in December . 76 Jove’s armorbearer is the eagle, emblematic of the Holy Roman Empire. 77 Cybele was revered as the “Great Mother of the Gods.” Her emasculated priests were called “Galli.” Because Galli can also mean “barnyard cocks” and “Frenchmen,” the German humanists enjoyed punning on the various meanings. Eobanus does so in Hymn. B . 78 The eagle (Emperor Maximilian) is the king of birds — of all birds the only one that can stare directly into the sun. If the Cock (King Francis I) tried to do that, he would go blind. He had better show the emperor some respect.



de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

B 14 ALIUD DE CANCRO A FLORENTINIS PICTO Cv

Laetalem obiecit quamvis Saturnia cancrum, Lernaeo Alcides victor ab angue redit. Sic tu mille licet pingas, Florentia, cancros, Italicus tandem Caesaris orbis erit. B 15 EOBANI HESSI APPENDIX. AD POETAS SUI TEMPORIS Ludite, materiam nacti causamque, poetae, O qui Castalias cumque bibistis aquas. Materiam Caesar, causam dedit Adria belli. Utraque res magna est, utraque digna cani.  At satis est Caesar solus, sola Adria. Verum Haec det Odyssean, ille agat Iliada. B 16 IN BARBARUM DETRACTOREM

Cr

Iam nunc, barbare, si libet, Clames ad populum licet, “Nugas en iterum novas, Insulsas et inutiles!”  Heus tu! Non prius aspicis Quam sis prorsus inutilis, Quam damnes ea, quae tibi Non quisquam nitido pedo Inculcaverit Hercules.  Sed, quem nos celebravimus, Caesar tam prior omnibus Est et fortibus et bonis Quam tu peior es omnibus Et vecordibus et malis.

B 14. A: om. BC. B 15. AB: om. C. Tit. Eobani — temporis A: Hel. Eobanus Hessus ad poetas sui temporis B.  sola A: satis B.  Haec A: Hic B; agat B: aget A. B 16. A: om. BC.

some epigrams on the same topic



B 14 ANOTHER, ABOUT THE CRAB PAINTED BY THE FLORENTINES Even though Juno had sent a deadly crab to attack him, Hercules returned victorious from the Lernaean snake.79 Likewise, Florence, even if you were to paint a thousand crabs, the emperor will still emerge as master of Italy. B 15 EPILOGUE BY EOBANUS HESSUS. TO THE POETS OF HIS TIME Sing, poets, now that you have found a theme and a cause, every one of you who drink from the Castalian spring. The emperor has provided the theme, the Adriatic the cause of war. Both subjects are grand, both are worthy to be celebrated in verse. But the emperor is enough by himself, and so is the Adriatic. Indeed, the latter would furnish an Odyssey, the former would yield an Iliad.80 B 16 AGAINST A BARBAROUS DISPARAGER This is the time you’ve been waiting for, barbarian, when you can finally call out to the public, “Look here, some more witless, useless new trifles!” Hey there! You still don’t get it, do you? — how utterly useless you are, how quick you are to condemn whatever some Hercules hasn’t beaten into you with his gleaming rod.81 [] But the emperor we celebrate rises above all the valiant and good in the same measure as you sink beneath all the demented and bad.

79 As Hercules was setting about his second labor, destroying the seven-headed serpent Hydra in the marshes of Lerna, he was attacked by a giant crab that Juno had sent. Hercules clubbed the crab to death and then finished off the great snake. The epigram takes up the same subject as epigram B  above, where see note. 80 Maximilian’s exploits against the Venetian Republic will match those of Achilles in the Iliad. When the Venetians are expelled from their Adriatic stronghold, their wanderings will yield plenty of material for a new Odyssey. 81 That is, whatever learning some ignorant schoolmaster has beaten into you.

VICTORIA CHRISTI AB INFERIS

CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER THE UNDERWORLD

Illustration : Title page of Victoria Christi ab inferis Erfurt: Matthes Maler,  Universitätsbibliothek, Münster

Illustration : Title page of Hymnus paschalis Christi resurgentis Marburg: Christian Egenolff,  Staatsbibliothek, Bamberg

INTRODUCTION

Of all Eobanus’ writings, Christ’s Victory over the Underworld is surely the most puzzling and enigmatic.1 Published at Easter in , the short epic is dedicated to the dean of the medical faculty, Dr. Heinrich Eberbach. Eberbach certainly deserved the honor, for it was he who had most kindly taken his old friend in for a month or two after his return to Erfurt in late July .2 But why did Eobanus wait three years to thank his host? Why does he go out of his way to tell Eberbach that he did not write the epyllion expressly for him, but retrieved it from his old papers?3 Then too, why is the dedicatory letter not all of a piece, a single integrated unit? Its concluding portion — the only section specifically addressed to Eberbach — has all the look of an afterthought, grafted onto a much longer section that describes how the Easter poem originated. Having seen divine love manifest in the vernal rebirth of nature, having witnessed how all creation applauds the Resurrection, Eobanus had apparently become so “disgusted with the degenerate elegy, those frivolous trifles,” that he resolved to compose a sacred poem, worthy of the victor over hell. Well and good. But what are we to make of the veiled allusion to the love elegies he had been writing? The work’s later publication history is just as baffling. Eobanus did not include the poem in the Operum farragines duae, which came out at Easter . Yet when he stumbled on an old manuscript of his poem around the same time, he happily arranged to have that version published in a separate edition. What was going through his mind? And why did he go back to the manuscript, rather than simply reissue the  print? The posthumous edition — it did not appear until early  — contains not only an updated dedicatory poem but also a previously unpublished epigram to the reader explaining how Christ’s Victory came into being.4

1 Krause, HEH, :, was so perplexed by the poem that, contrary to his normal practice, he offers no analysis at all and is content to call it “ein Jugendwerk” (“a youthful work”); cf. HEH, :–. At the time Krause knew only the  version, not the  printed edition. 2 See introd. to Hymn., p.  above. 3 See ded. –. 4 For these two poems, see Vict., app.  and , pp. – below.



victoria christi ab inferis

Strolling along a brook one lovely spring morning, feeling very much moved to write amatory trifles, the young poet is suddenly confronted by the heavenly Muse Urania. After hearing her scold him for wasting his youth on bagatelles, he resolves to write a heroic poem on Christ’s triumph over hell. Here too we have to ask: why does Eobanus insist on his youthfulness and his love poetry? The last time he had done so was at Cracow in February , in the self-presentation that opens his Nuptial Encomium. As for the epyllion itself, it takes up a theme that Eobanus had treated twice already, if more briefly and in different genres and meters: first in the heroic letter “Mary Magdalene to Jesus Christ” (Her. Chr. ), written in , and then again in his Easter Hymn of . Why has he returned to the theme? And why in the poem’s opening verses does he follow up the invocation to Christ by emphasizing that he has “always despised the absurdities of the ancient gods”? The only time he had ever written anything like this was in the opening verses of his Nuptial Encomium of February . Is Christ’s Victory somehow linked to the Nuptial Encomium? Strangest of all is the work’s connection to another poem on the same topic, Triumphus Christi heroicus (The Heroic Triumph of Christ). While much shorter than Eobanus’ epyllion, this poem shares with it the same meter, development, and much of its language. Attached to the Juvencus editions published at Basel in , , and /, Triumphus Christi heroicus has been regularly reprinted as a Juvencan or anonymous early Christian work. But where and how could Eobanus have gained access to the poem before its first publication? Did he make a lucky find in some library or private collection and then feel free to plagiarize the then-obscure text? Could that be the reason why he did not include his Victoria Christi in the Farragines duae of ? But if this were true, why was he so eager to put out a new edition of the poem? We will now try to solve the riddle from the scattered clues that remain. Pieced together, they permit us to trace the work’s origins and publication history, at least in broad outline. A part of this story surfaced in the preceding volume, where we saw Eobanus stirring up a hornets’ nest with his Encomium nuptiale. Another portion came out at the start of the present book, in the introduction to Hymnus paschalis.

introduction



Origins Our story begins in early February . Eobanus had come to Cracow with Bishop Job von Dobeneck to attend the wedding of King Sigismund and Barbara Zápolyai. A few days after the ceremony on February , he set out to commemorate the occasion in an Encomium nuptiale. The work took him four days to complete, as he tells the king in the dedicatory letter, dated February . By then, however, its opening lines had kicked up a row among the humanists in Cracow. For at the start of his epithalamium, Eobanus makes a point of invoking, not Phoebus or the Muses, but Christ himself. Of course, seeking inspiration from God, Christ, or some other celestial had been standard practice since the days of Juvencus and Prudentius. Well over a century after Eobanus’ death, John Milton could still invoke the “heavenly Muse” Urania and the Spirit of God. But such invocations were thought appropriate only for sacred works, not a secular wedding poem. Thus, even though Eobanus quickly excuses himself for calling on the Deity “in matters of small moment,” his invocation was bound to raise hackles. And when our poet, not content with invoking Christ in an epithalamium, thereupon also insists on rejecting the “false god” Phoebus and spurning the heathen Muses, he was really asking for trouble — especially since his Polish rivals, as he well knew, were following epithalamic convention by calling on Apollo or the Muse Erato. The holier-than-thou invocation caused an immediate outcry. Even as Eobanus was finishing his Nuptial Encomium, one of the Poles anonymously circulated an epigram ridiculing the German’s pretensions and calling on Apollo to flay this “second Marsyas.” Eobanus fired back with a scornful elegy, “Against a certain poet who wrote that in verse we should invoke Phoebus rather than Christ” (Sylv. .). The poem begins by sketching out the background. Eobanus recalls how he opened his epithalamium by rejecting “the frivolous power of the mendacious god Phoebus” and calling on Christ instead. But then some “enemy of God” had dismissed the poet as unworthy of that name, because only Phoebus can inspire immortal verse. With the background roughed in, Eobanus goes on the attack. When he wrote the epithalamium, his soul had been enkindled by Christ. The anonymous assailant, by contrast, seems to have been inspired by the infernal god Pluto. Christian poets may indeed bring in the names of pagan deities, but only as a poetic conceit. Alluding to Macrobius, Eobanus adds: “Muses, Mercury, Phoebus, Pan, Bacchus, Apollo — these are all names that may be properly assigned to the One



victoria christi ab inferis

God.”5 But a Christian ought not to worship these pagan names (nomina) as if they were true divinities (numina). Having thus insinuated that his opponent is a pagan at heart, Eobanus goes on to revile him as a scoundrel, a poetaster, a coward who dares not reveal his name. He ends the elegy by challenging his unknown rival to come forward and fight a poetic duel with him before the scholars of Cracow. “You,” he concludes, “will celebrate Apollo’s tripods, I the cross of Christ; and the glory that results will serve as the victor’s reward.”6 The glove thus thrown down was taken up promptly. The mocker identified himself as the king’s secretary, Johannes Dantiscus (– ).7 Immediately the two combatants set themselves to outdo each other in an impressive poem. Before the month was out, they had not only exchanged poems but — most surprisingly — also agreed that they had fought to a draw and were now fast friends. We know this from a second verse letter to Dantiscus, later published as Sylv. .. Our poet, we learn, had finished his own contribution and given a copy to Dantiscus. He has just now received his rival’s reply. Dantiscus’ packet contained not just the expected composition, but also an unexpectedly gracious letter extolling the beauty of Eobanus’ verse and freely conceding the victory to him. To top off this gesture, the royal secretary had offered his hand in friendship and invited our poet to a dinner party. Now it was Eobanus’ turn to be noble. Returning the compliments, he congratulates Dantiscus on the exquisite poem he has produced, yields the palm to his rival, and gratefully accepts the invitation — provided there will be no lack of good cheer and wine. His new friend, Eobanus insists, must have been writing in a divine frenzy. Anyone who can write such gorgeous, lively, and learned verses on the spur of the moment must be a bard without equal. Eobanus himself can lay no claim to such inspiration. His own

5 See Sylv. ..–: “Musae, Mercurius, Phoebus, Pan, Liber, Apollo/Nomina sunt uni contribuenda Deo”; Macr. .–. Cf. Eob. Nob. B .–, n. 6 Sylv. ..–: “Tu Phoebi tripodas, nos Christi signa feremus,/Partaque victori gloria munus erit.” Eobanus alludes to the elegy as a whole at Nup. –: “Phoebus did not move me then to write in an exalted strain, nor did the majesty of epic verse lift me up to the sky. Still, the small charm that those tender elegiacs exhibit may perhaps suffice to commend him who wove them.” He points to the fight with Dantiscus also at the end of his dedicatory letter (dated Feb. ) and in the postscript. By this point he either suspects or already knows that his anonymous challenger is the royal secretary, Johannes Dantiscus, for he brings the matter up with the king himself. 7 See Poetic Works, :.

introduction



poem is the result of laborious effort (Sylv. ..–): “I myself sing triumphal jubilations to Christ the Lord, in the way that a soaked wine press squeezes the new grapes.” Our eye is immediately drawn to the verse, “I myself sing triumphal jubilations to Christ the Lord” (“Nos canimus magno victricia iubila Christo”). Combined with Eobanus’ earlier promise to celebrate “the cross of Christ,” the wording suggests a poem on the Harrowing of Hell. The inference gathers strength when we recall that Eobanus introduces the Hymnus paschalis of  with the parallel phrasing, “I sing jubilations that bear witness to the victory of God” (“Iubila divinam canimus testantia palmam”). It hardens into near-certainty with the last distich of Eobanus’ epigram to the reader (Vict., app. ), first published in the  edition of Victoria Christi but obviously written several decades earlier. There Eobanus states that his poem will offer “paschal jubilations to the risen Christ” (“resurgenti paschalia iubila Christo”).8 Now Eobanus, as is well known, had a deep-seated distaste for all but the most casual rewriting and polishing. As he confesses in the dedicatory letter to his Heroides (): “The fact is, I am not endowed with that felicity of mind that would let me create verses the way the Roman Homer did — by licking them into shape like a she-bear — but prefer to let them stand exactly as I first wrote them down, be they ever so infelicitous or unsatisfactory otherwise, without regard to their quality; and only rarely do I find myself pounding down on some shapeless and disorderly mass, as if in a mortar.”9 Hence the question arises whether the “triumphal jubilations to Christ the Lord” of late February  might be identical to the “paschal jubilations to the risen Christ” that Eobanus first brought out at Easter  and then republished from his old manuscript a quarter of a century later. Because the original manuscripts have not come down to us, we have only indirect, circumstantial evidence to go on. Nevertheless, that evidence admits no doubt that the two “jubilations” are one and the same work. Let us begin with the opening verses of the Encomium nuptiale of February : Inspire me as I sing the solemn procession of the royal wedding and the nuptial torches and the crowning of the bride in fulfillment of the marriage compact. Come hither — no, not you, Phoebus, but you, Christ, if perhaps

8 9

For the two quotations, see Hymn., lim. .; Vict., app. .. Her. Chr., ded. ..



victoria christi ab inferis I may be allowed to invoke your divine power in matters of small moment. For a long time now and in countless poems I have exalted you above the false gods.

It was this showy invocation to Christ and rejection of the pagan gods that had provoked the poetic confrontation in Cracow. When Dantiscus accepted the challenge, Eobanus could not back down from the position he had staked out. After all, he had insisted that Christians have a right, or rather, a duty to invoke Christ instead of Phoebus and had then vowed to celebrate the cross of Christ. At the same time, he was only too keenly aware that he could not afford further ridicule. The opening lines of Victoria Christi, closely paralleling those of Encomium nuptiale, handily meet both challenges: How the hosts of hell were vanquished and the realms of black Jove plundered, how the shades were delivered from their foul dungeon, of this I venture to sing in a strain loftier than is my wont. Christ, triumphant Conqueror of the Styx, inspire the poet and (if I truly revere your sacred Divinity, if under your guidance I have despised the absurdities of the ancient gods) do not disdain to be invoked in so slender a work.

As in the Encomium nuptiale, Eobanus appeals to Christ, even as he excuses himself for invoking so great a Deity in so slender a work. Just as significantly, he again places a — for him — unusual emphasis on despising the false gods of antiquity. But where his epithalamium breaches convention by calling on Christ in a secular work, Victoria Christi keeps safely within bounds by invoking the Savior in a sacred poem, the hero of which is Christ himself. The invocation to Victoria Christi still shows Eobanus in full combat mode: he stands his ground while keeping his flanks covered. By contrast, the epigram to the reader in the  edition (Vict., app. ) betrays no hint of the rancor that had sparked the poetic duel. Here the obviously still youthful poet presents himself at a crossroads in his life. Strolling by a brook in the loveliness of early spring, he feels inspired to write some erotic bagatelle. Of a sudden, he is confronted with an overwhelming sense of the sacred, as embodied in Urania. Through her he comes to realize that springtime, the season of love and rebirth in nature, is also the season when Christ’s love becomes manifest through the Resurrection. Hereupon he resolves to write an epic poem on Christ’s victory over hell. The epigram, part of the old manuscript that Eobanus rediscovered among his papers before Easter , is clearly an early piece. But how early? As we have noted, the poem lacks any allusion to the acrimonious circumstances in which the epyllion actually arose, and instead puts

introduction



forward a high-minded motive. Besides, the short epic was written in mid-February, while the “Epigram to the Reader” is set in early spring. If our argument thus far is correct, the epigram must have been written sometime after Eobanus had become friends with Johannes Dantiscus. Still, not much time can have elapsed, for the epigram still breathes the air of carefree, lusty youth. It could not have been written in , and certainly not in , when our humanist had been married for over two years already and, still aspiring to a lectorship at Erfurt, had weightier things on his mind than writing amatory trifles. Then too, the phrase “springtime of your life” (aetas tua prima) can hardly refer to his season of life in . By then Eobanus was already twenty-nine, or rather (as he then assumed) thirty years of age.10 In point of fact, the last time we ever find him referring to himself as a young man in love was in the Encomium nuptiale of February .11 Introducing himself to his Cracow readers, he had spoken there of his youthful age and of the love poetry he had been writing: “Here I am not about to sing of Flavia again in amatory verse. . . . Whatever it is that my adolescence (prima aetas) in its youthful exuberance has ventured to produce and that I, still in tender years, have not yet laid aside, let it take a bow for the nonce and gradually leave center stage.” Thus the old prefatory epigram — and with it Victoria Christi itself — must go back to the waning days of Eobanus’ youth, shortly before Easter .12 Printing History But why did Eobanus wait five years to publish the heroic poem on the Harrowing of Hell? The delay seems especially curious when we remember how much pride he took in his accomplishment at Cracow. His “triumphal jubilations to Christ” had been impressive enough that even so

10

See Camerarius, Nar. ., with n.  (:); p.  above. In the liminary epigram to his Heroides Christianae () he also speaks of mea iuventa. But that epigram refers back to the preceding three or four years: he wrote the book while still a young man. And of course, there is no mention there of amatory poetry, whether for Flavia or some other girlfriend. 12 Several close verbal parallels also suggest a tight temporal connection between Encomium nuptiale and Victoria Christi: “arcem regalem” occurs not only at Nup. –  and –, but also at Vict. ; “cum subito ecce” starts the line at both Nup.  and Vict. ; “ante alios primus” appears at both Nup.  and Vict. ; “chordas tangebat” is found at both Nup.  and Vict. . 11



victoria christi ab inferis

formidable an opponent as Johannes Dantiscus had conceded the palm to him and offered him his undying friendship. The victory was complete when the University of Cracow had thereupon offered him a lectorship.13 Though Eobanus turned the position down — he told Georg Spalatin he could no longer bear living among the “barbarians” up North — he would savor his triumph for many years to come. In the dedicatory letter to the Christian Heroides, he reminds Bishop Job von Dobeneck: “I call on you to bear witness how resolutely I stood in the breach for Christ. It was you after all who directed and engineered my glorious victory; it was you who crushed the frenzied host of my adversaries — and with only one soldier, and a lightly armed one at that!”14 And in , after Dantiscus (again anonymously) had taunted the Germans for retreating from Danzig in November , Eobanus reminded his erstwhile rival: “You conceded defeat once before, when you were struck by these thunderbolts of mine.”15 With such a splendid poem in hand, Eobanus was naturally eager to have it published at the first opportunity. Unfortunately, his peripatetic life at the time made it hard for him to bring his writings to press. He was able to publish Encomium nuptiale at Cracow only because Bishop Job von Dobeneck stayed there for a month after the wedding to negotiate on behalf of the Teutonic Order. As luck would have it, however, the bishop then sent him on a diplomatic mission to Leipzig.16 With Easter coming up on April , Eobanus seized the opportunity to prepare Victoria Christi for publication. He had only to write a couple of epigrams to introduce it and then find a good publisher. The two prefatory epigrams written in mid-March are variations on the same theme. Each starts by evoking a springtime scene in the country. Winter, with its cold and snow, has fled away at last. The spring is bringing forth a riot of greenery and beauty. At the sight of nature’s loveliness and renewal, the poet is filled with a sense of religious awe. Dismissing the empty bagatelles of amatory love, he feels moved by the heavenly Muse to write “paschal jubilations to the risen Christ” — a paean to the victor of hell. With the two introductory epigrams completed, the manuscript was ready for the printer. But at that very time Eobanus’ right leg became

13 14 15 16

See Mutian. Ep., :, letter of  April  to Georg Spalatin. Her. Chr., ded. .. Sarmat. –. See also Poetic Works, :. See Mutian. Ep., :, letter of  April .

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so badly infected that he was hardly able to move about. Then, just as the leg was starting to improve, the infection spread to both his ears. As he later recalled to Georg Spalatin, “it was as if either all the Furies or the Graces themselves had conspired against me.” Along with medicines, the physicians prescribed bed rest. He was on no account to engage in intellectual activity, for fear of filling his head with harmful humors. Unable to walk about or work, he could not so much as write his friends, let alone arrange to have his Easter poem published.17 He had no choice but to put the manuscript back among his papers. It was not until the early spring of  that another opportunity presented itself. Needing a quick publication at Erfurt, Eobanus put together a substantial book for Easter. The manuscript started off with Victoria Christi, continued with the newly composed Hymnus paschalis, and concluded with a set of diverse epigrams, also of recent vintage. The two epigrams he had written at Leipzig in March  introduced the new volume. Onto the first epigram he now grafted a passage in which he praises Heinrich Eberbach and thanks him for everything he had done for him. In this way the old introductory epigram became the new dedicatory letter. The second epigram, addressed to the reader, was left unchanged.18 The collection as a whole was entitled Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi (An Easter Hymn on Christ’s Victory over the Underworld and Resurrection from the Dead).19 The tripartite volume was never published as a single unit. In the end, Eobanus split the manuscript into two sections. Part two came out first, in April . The booklet comprised the Hymnus paschalis and the small collection of epigrams, along with two new liminary epigrams and a prose letter of dedication to Ludwig Platz of Melsungen. It was not until Easter  that part one of the original manuscript was published. This booklet consisted of the dedication to Heinrich Eberbach and the heroic poem on Christ’s triumph over hell. Having already used the title Hymnus paschalis for the Sapphic hymn of , Eobanus gave his short epic the abbreviated title Victoria Christi ab inferis. He retained the dedicatory letter to Heinrich Eberbach, as written in , but discarded the liminary epigram “To the Reader” that he had composed in . With its allusions to love poetry and the springtime season of life, it

17 18 19

See Mutian. Ep., :, letter of  April . See Vict., app. . See introd. to Hymn., pp. – above.



victoria christi ab inferis

had become badly dated by . But though not published in , the epigram stayed in the manuscript that Eobanus had revised for Easter . It was not until early , well over a year after the poet’s death on  October , that it finally emerged. Originally composed in , lightly revised in  and again in early ,20 Victoria Christi was first published at Erfurt by Matthes Maler for Easter : A () [Fraktur, red:] Victoria Chriſti ab | Jnferis. | [roman, black:] Carmine Heroico Helio | Eobano Heſſo Authore | [woodcut (colorized in this copy): angel and the three Marys at the empty sepulcher; in the background, Christ carrying a cross banner] | Impreſſum Erphordie per Mattheum | Maler anno domini. ... | [printer’s mark, colorized in this copy] | Collation: o: A–B6, [ signed],  leaves Contents: Ar title page; Av Clarissimo viro Henrico Aperbaccho . . . Eobanus Hessus S. D.; Ar–Br Victoria Christi ab inferis; Br colophon; Bv blank Running titles: None Catchwords: None Copy text: Münster, UB Call number: Coll. Erh.  Colophon:

The copy contains numerous marginal and interlinear notes, evidently copied down by a student during Eobanus’ lectures in . The notes and glosses begin at the dedicatory poem (sig. Av) and run to the very end of Victoria Christi. Similar notes occur in the copy at Berlin, SB Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Libri impr. cum notis mss. oct. , seen in photocopy); at Chicago, Newberry Library (Wing ZP  .M); and at Munich, BSB (Res/ A. lat. a /, seen in the digital facsimile available via VD , no. E ). The Berlin copy is annotated from beginning to end. The Newberry copy is annotated from sig. Ar (the start of Victoria Christi) to the bottom of sig. Ar. In the Munich copy the glosses start at the top of sig. Av and stop at the bottom of sig. Av; some more appear on sig. Bv and Br. The copy at Dresden, SLUB (Lit.Lat.rec.A..k,), is not annotated. I have not seen the copy at Stuttgart, Württembergische LB.

20

For some late revisions or additions, see the notes at ll. , , , and .

introduction

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A second edition of the epyllion, initiated by Eobanus himself and printed by Christian Egenolff at Marburg, came out posthumously in early : B () HYMNVS | PASCHALIS CHRI= | ſti reſurgentis, H. Eobano Heſſo au | tore, nuper inuentus, & æditus | in Schola Marpurgenſi. | EPISTOLA DE VE= | RA NOBILITATE AD REVE. | & illuſt. Philippum Abbatem Fuldenſem. | SYLVA SACRARVM ELE | giarum uniuerſam Chriſti uitam | complexa. Nicol. Aſclepio | Barbato autore. | ODAE DAVIDICI PSALTE= | rij tres, paſſionem Chriſti & uicto= | riam continentis. | Excuſum Martispurgi. | MARPVRGI, IN OFFICINA | Chriſtiani Egenolphi. | ANNO M.D. XLII. | Collation: o: A–H8, [ signed],  leaves Contents: Ar title page; Av blank; Ar–Av Reverendo et illustri principi D. Philippo Schencken ex Sweynsburg Nic. Asclepius Barbatus S. P. D. (= “Epistola de vera nobilitate”); Br–Fv Sacrarum elegiarum sylva, universam Christi vitam complexa, N. Ascl. Barbato autore; Fv–Gr Davidicae lyrae Psalmi tres Christi passionem et victoriam continentes, N.A. Barbato autore; Gv–Gr Ioanni Megabaccho Hel. Eoba. Hessus. S. D.; Gv Eobanus lectori S.; Gr–Hv Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi, ab Helio Eobano Hesso iuvene olim scriptus, nuper inventus, et aeditus in Schola Marpurgensi M.D.XL. Mense Aprili; Hv colophon; H blank Running titles: The running title for Asclepius’ dedicatory letter to Philip Schwenk zu Schweinsberg is “EPISTOLA DE | VERA NOBILITATE” (misprinted on sigs. Av–Ar as “EPISTOLA | VERA NOBILITATE”). In Barbatus’ “Sacrarum elegiarum sylva” each section has its own running title: “PROAEMIUM”; “NATALIS CHRISTI | PRAECONIUM”; “COENA | DOMINI” or “DOMINI | COENA” (misprinted on sigs. Cv–Cr as “DOMINI | DOMINI”); “PETRUS | LAVANS”; “TRIUMPHUS | CHRISTI” (misprinted on sigs. Ev–Er as “TRIUMPHUS | TRIUMPHUS”); “ODE XVII. | DAVID. [or DAVIDICAE] LYRAE”; “ODE XXI. | DAVIDICAE LYRAE”; for Eobanus’ dedicatory letter “EPISTOLA”; for his epyllion “HYMNUS | PASCHALIS”, misprinted on sigs. Gv and Hv–Hr as “HMYNUS | PASCHALIS”, on Hv–Hr as “HYMNUS | PASHALIS”, on Hv–Hr as “HYMNUS | PASCHLIS”, on Hv–Hr as “HYNNUS | PASCHALIS.” Catchwords: On rectos and versos; miscatching “Componunt” on sig. Dv as “ponunt” Location: Strasbourg, BNU Call number: R.. Colophon:



victoria christi ab inferis

This copy served as copy text for Appendices  and . I have also examined the copy in Bamberg, SB (L.r.r.o. /), and in Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek (:,  ). There are further copies in Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek; Fulda, Hochschul- und LB; Hannover, Niedersächsische LB (lacking sig. A); Marburg, UB; Tübingen, UB; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Vienna, ÖNB; Wrocław, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka; Zwickau, Ratsschulbibliothek. Eobanus explains the re-edition in the dedicatory poem to his old friend Johann Meckbach, a former student of his and now personal physician to Philip of Hesse.21 The text, he makes clear, is not a reprint of the edition published at Erfurt in , but derives from a manuscript that he had written long ago, when he was still a young man: Someday, when you are free of responsibilities and have the leisure that your medical practice hardly ever gives you, you will also have time to read the poem that I sang in my youth. You might even have read it as a young man yourself. For I wrote it when I was not as good at handling this genre as, perhaps, I am now. The work you see before you is not something I expressly looked for. I just happened to come across it among my papers.22

The passage shows that Eobanus had by no means forgotten about the editio princeps of , for he reminds Meckbach that he might well have read the poem while a student at Erfurt (he matriculated in the winter semester / and became BA in , MA in ). We can now also understand why Eobanus did not include the heroic poem in the Operum farragines duae. As he was assembling his books for the collected works, he had been unable to locate a copy of the (by then extremely scarce)  print. He also could not find the original manuscript anymore. When he finally did run across it — probably by February  — the Operum farragines was on the verge of being published that Easter.23 There was nothing for it now but to reissue the epyllion in a separate edition, with an updated dedicatory letter. However, with several other projects in hand, most especially the Iliad translation, that would have to wait a while longer. It is not until the late spring of  that we catch a first glimpse of

21

On Johann Meckbach, see Vict., app. , n.  (pp. – below). Vict., app. .–. 23 When Eobanus wrote Ad optimum virum M. Philippum Nidanum, in morte Barbarae uxoris consolatio in early March , he seems to have been rereading his Victoria Christi ab inferis, for the elegy contains some substantial verbal parallels to the epyllion. See notes at Vict.  and . 22

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Eobanus’ plans regarding the manuscript; for on June  he tells Meckback that he is planning to write something expressly for him as soon as he can find the time.24 If this inference is correct, the re-dedicated book could have been ready for the printer as early as July or August . The gap between August , when the work was presumably ready for publication, and April , when it first appears into view,25 can only be filled speculatively. On  September  Eobanus traveled to the book fair at Frankfurt am Main to secure a suitable publisher for his Iliad translation.26 When the distinguished Basel printer Johannes Oporinus thereupon agreed to take it on,27 Eobanus might conceivably have given him a manuscript of the Victoria Christi too. However, when the two men met again at Frankfurt around  March the next year,28 Oporinus told him that he would be unable to publish the heroic poem any time soon. When he finally did print it in the late summer of , Oporinus took his text from the Marburg edition of early , not from Eobanus’ manuscript. With Oporinus bowing out as publisher for the re-dedicated Victoria Christi, Eobanus looked closer to home. In April  he offered the manuscript to Andreas Kolbe, who ran Christian Egenolff ’s printing shop in Marburg. But like Oporinus, the Marburg printer had his hands full for the next half year at least. After the poet’s death on  October , the manuscript was left orphaned in the printing shop. That might have been the end of the story, had it not been for a fortuitous coincidence. Returning from Frankfurt in late , Kolbe saw that the typesetters were working on a poem entitled “The Triumph of Christ” — part of a book by the Marburg poetry professor Nicolaus Asclepius Barbatus.29 The title jogged his memory and reminded him of the manuscript that Eobanus had entrusted to him the previous year.

24 See Epp. fam., : “Verum in hunc modum paulo post cum vacabit magis ad te ludemus, constitui enim multa deinceps et ad te et tecum et de te.” 25 The epyllion’s subtitle in the  Marburg print, sig. Gr, indicates that Eobanus rediscovered the poem not all that long ago and then brought it out in April . 26 See Epp. fam. –, letter of  September  to Johann Meckbach. 27 See Nar., sig. Nv, letter to Joachim Camerarius, written at the Frankfurt book fair in September . 28 See Epp. fam., , letter of  March  to Jakob Micyllus. 29 Asclepius of Kassel (d. ) was professor of moral philosophy and poetry at Marburg. On him, see Franz Gundlach, Catalogus professorum Academiae Marburgensis – (Marburg, ), , no. .



victoria christi ab inferis

Seeing an opportunity to make amends (and increase his potential sales), he attached it to Asclepius’ work, revised the title page to give Eobanus top billing, and asked the book’s author to offer an explanation. Asclepius, who had been good friends with Eobanus since , gladly obliged. In a lengthy paragraph, awkwardly inserted near the end of his dedicatory letter, he briefly sketches the background and lauds Eobanus’ poetic genius, as manifested not only in the attached work, but also in his Heroides, his Psalm paraphrases, and his translation of the Iliad.30 The combined book must have been published early in . At the very end of the dedicatory letter, evidently in another last-minute addition, Asclepius indicates that he now writes during the rectorate of Johann Oldendorp, which fell in the second half of . He then promises to send the dedicatee a book by Johannes Ferrarius (Eisermann) which he says is currently in press: Commentarius . . . de appellationibus et earum vera ratione . . . (Marburg, ). The preface to that book is dated  November .31 With some minor changes and corrections, Eobanus’ poem was reprinted from B in an anthology of Christian poetry published at Basel, without mention of printer or date: Christianae poeseos opuscula aliquot ob singularem eruditionem ac pietatem lectu dignissima, nempe De Christi Servatoris vita, morte, ac resurrectione. De D. Pauli apostoli, item D. Ioannis Baptistae vita, reb. gestis, ac morte. De divina Trinitate. The dedicatory letter is by Johannes Oporinus and bears the date  August . Eobanus’ epyllion is announced in the table of contents (title page, verso) as “Eobani Hessi, poetae doctiss., Hymnus paschalis, ab eodem

30 See sigs. Ar–Ar: “Nondum erant excusa haec, cum rediens typographus Andreas Kolbius Francofordia et titulum Christiani triumphi animadvertens, memor depositi, promit Triumphum resurgentis Christi ab Eobano Hesso poetarum nostri temporis et quotquot mille retro et quingentis vixerunt annis principe descriptum, sed iuvene — sed ita iuvene, ut senior possit non iniuria tam pium, tam eruditum, tam elegantem Triumphum a se descriptum gloriari.” After praising Eobanus’ poetic genius at some length, Asclepius concludes: “Ut igitur ad nos Triumphus ab illo heroica dignitate conscriptus pervenit, ornatissimo prudentissimoque viro Ioanni Megebacho Hessorum principis Machaoni fidissimo nuncupatus, ita typographo visum est huic nostro, propter argumenti similitudinem adiungere, id passus sum eo libentius, quod commentarii nostri in Fines Ciceronianos partim ante aliquot annos illi, partim aliis ornatissimis viris promissi hactenus debentur.” The promised commentaries on Cicero’s De finibus seem not to have been published. 31 See A. von Dommer, Die ältesten Drucke aus Marburg in Hessen, – (Marburg, ), , no. .

introduction



iuvene olim scriptus, ac nuper inventus.” The work, with the two prefatory poems, is printed on pp. – (sigs. Ev–Fr). As in B, the epyllion is not announced by a title in capital letters, but comes abruptly on the reader with the dedicatory letter to Meckbach on pp. –: “Clariss. viro, D. Ioanni Megabaccho, illustriss. Philippi Hessorum principis archiatro, amico chariss. suo, Hel. Eob. Hessus S. D.” The epigram “Eobanus lectori S.” follows on pp. –. Only then does the main title appear, somewhat abbreviated from B: “Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi, Helio Eobano Hesso iuveni olim scriptus, ac nuper inventus.” The epyllion follows on pp. –. Reception of Victoria Christi ab inferis in  As soon as Victoria Christi came out in the spring of , Eobanus presented a personally inscribed copy to the dedicatee Heinrich Eberbach and to such close friends as Mutianus Rufus and Euricius Cordus. He also sent a copy to Johann Lang (?–), who after a stay in Wittenberg had returned to Erfurt in May  to become prior of the Augustinian monastery. Almost at once the poem stimulated a lively discussion between the mutual friends Lang and Mutianus. A keen student of theology — he became licentiate of theology in August  and doctor of theology in early  — Lang had been taken aback by Eobanus’ boldness in treating a theme that, to a scholastically trained mind, seemed too subtle and abstract to be dealt with in a Vergilian-style poem, chockfull of heroic imagery and pagan myth. Mutianus, for his part, stoutly defends the poem’s validity. He goes on to laud Eobanus’ vivid imagination, his power of language, his gift of turning bloodless theology into such heroic drama that it will strengthen the faith, not undermine it, as Lang had feared, and singles out ll. – for special praise.32 At about the same time as Mutianus and Lang were exchanging views on the epyllion, Euricius Cordus penned his own reaction in an epigram that he published in the late spring of .33 Addressing Eobanus

32 See Mutianus, Ep. , letter of  April  (where “sonituque” should be corrected to “sonitumque”). In quoting the verses, Mutianus substitutes “magnamque” for “ingentemque.” Oddly enough, Spangenberg, Triumph. , makes the same substitution. 33 See Cordus, Epigr. ., as published at Erfurt in the late spring of . The epigram was reprinted in  under the heading, “Ad Caunum.” There the opening verse reads: “. . . scandentem sidera Christum.”

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directly, Cordus contrasts his friend’s lofty poem with the muckraking epigrams that he himself is in the habit of writing. But what people say and do, he concludes, are often very much at odds: AD EOBANUM Dum tu forte canis vincentem Tartara Christum Mantoaeque studes aemulus esse tubae, Ipse meae infelix quaerens lenimina curae Nescio quae fragili carmina ludo pede  Et levibus nugis mundam deperdo papyrum, Ut tunicas habeant tura crocique suas.34 Atque utinam hoc ea quis non dedignetur honore Nec ferat in loculos, foeda cloaca, tuos! Si videas, dices, “Quis in haec te ludicra vertit?”  Nec genii credes ista profana mei. Crede: suae multi scribunt non consona vitae. Quis tua quae pangis relligiosa putet? TO EOBANUS While you perhaps sing of Christ’s victory over Tartarus and strive to emulate Vergil’s epic style, I, poor wretch, try to alleviate my cares by scribbling who knows what sort of epigrams in feeble meter. All I accomplish is to ruin clean paper with petty nothings, good only for wrapping up incense and saffron. If only people gave them that honor at least, and didn’t take them along to the stalls in the foul latrine! If you saw them, you’d say, “Who ever put your name on those gibes?” [] and wouldn’t believe me capable of such scurrilities. Trust me: lots of people write one thing and practice another. Who could imagine that the poem you’re composing is religious?

Touché! Cordus was too well acquainted with his friend’s Bohemian ways to suspect him of religious fervor. Two earlier epigrams of his had made a similar point about Eobanus’ De vitanda ebrietate.35 But Cordus was no doubt also acquainted with the true story of Victoria Christi: how the sacred poem originated, not in the spirit of Christian devotion, but in bitter rivalry. By  the poem’s genesis must have been common knowledge in Eobanus’ circle. Many years afterward, Joachim Camerarius could still allude to it in his Narratio: “Between [Eobanus and Johannes Dantiscus] there arose a noble rivalry in talent and erudition, as each challenged the other to poetic works, initially at

34 35

Cf. Hor. Ep. ..–. See pp. – above.

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least, as I have heard, in a rather too hotheaded manner. But being a sensible man, Dantiscanus quickly realized how far Eobanus outstripped him in this arena and frankly conceded Eobanus’ superiority.”36 With Victoria Christi now finally published, Eobanus began a course of lectures on the book. Of the few copies that are still extant, most are profusely annotated with students’ notes. Given the popularity of Eobanus’ lectures, nearly all the copies printed in  must have ended up in students’ hands. In consequence, the work had little circulation outside Erfurt, at least during Eobanus’ lifetime.37 By the late s, the editio princeps had become so scarce that even the poet himself was unable to round up a copy to reprint in the Operum farragines. Few knew of its existence until , when Karl Gillert discovered a copy in Berlin.38 Only in the posthumous editions printed at Marburg and Basel in  did the epyllion experience a brief revival. And yet, for all that, Eobanus’ Victoria Christi did not die with its author. It lived on in a contemporary epitome that, mistaken for a work by Juvencus, continues to this day to be printed as an early Christian poem. Sources, Models, and Afterlife The legend of Christ’s descent into hell and triumph over Satan goes back to part two of the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, an early Christian work that proved enormously popular in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.39 The story runs as follows. Karinus and Leucius, the lately

36

See Camerarius, Nar. .– (:–). Paul Merker, Simon Lemnius: Ein Humanistenleben (Strasbourg, ), , says that Lemnius’ poem “De pascate” (Epigr. .), published in , is curiously reminiscent of Eobanus’ Victoria Christi in its use of pagan mythology. See also Lothar Mundt, Lemnius und Luther: Studien und Texte zur Geschichte und Nachwirkung ihres Konflikts (/) (Bern, ), : (commentary), : (text). However, the ancient mythology used in both poems is a standard feature of Neo-Latin poems on the descensus, beginning with Macario Muzio’s De triumpho Christi (Venice, ). In l. , Lemnius may have borrowed the phrase “victor ab Orco” from Eob. Hymn. . I detect no borrowings from Victoria Christi. 38 See Gillert’s edition of Mutianus’ correspondence, Ep.  (:, n. ). 39 The apocryphal gospel circulated in several distinct versions, with many subvariants. For an English translation of the two main Latin versions, see The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation based on M.R. James, ed. James K. Elliott (Oxford, ), –. For an account of these 37

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deceased sons of Simeon, each independently recount how Christ has liberated them and the other saints from hell. Awaiting the Savior in the infernal darkness, they suddenly behold a brilliant light. The patriarchs and prophets, from Adam to John the Baptist, rejoice to see that the old prophecies of the Redeemer-Messiah are being fulfilled. Satan exults too, and tells Hell to receive the Christ, whom he has caused to be crucified. Knowing that this same Christ has already raised Lazarus from the dead, Hell begs Satan not to allow Christ to enter, lest he rescue all the souls from their prison. As Satan and Hell wrangle, Christ calls on them in the words of the Psalmist David: “Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.”40 Hell, however, orders his followers to bar the entrance and fight off the intruder. Amid the exultation of the saints and general panic among the inhabitants of hell, Christ breaks down the gates. Planting his foot on Death, he seizes Satan, binds him with fetters, and thrusts him into hell, where he must remain for all eternity. This done, Christ takes Adam by the hand, makes the sign of the cross over him and the other saints, and leads them in a grand procession to Paradise. Karinus, Leucius, and many others are resurrected to life. Vivid and dramatic, the Harrowing of Hell was told and retold throughout the later Middle Ages in a vast stream of Latin and vernacular treatments. The best-known and most influential of the retellings were the ones by Vincent of Beauvais and Jacobus a Voragine.41 The heroic tale was just as popular among the Renaissance humanists, starting with the short epic, De triumpho Christi, by the Italian knight Macario Muzio of Camerino (–?). Published at Venice on Good Friday in  and again in , Muzio’s epyllion was especially well received in Northern Europe. There were reprints, for example, at Strasbourg in  and , at Münster in , at Wittenberg in  and , at Deventer in ca. , at Cologne in . Matthes Maler brought

versions and their influence on European literature, see Zbigniew Izydorczyk, ed., The Medieval Gospel of Nicodemus: Texts, Intertexts, and Contexts in Western Europe (Tempe, ). For the tradition, see J.A. MacCulloch, The Harrowing of Hell: A Comparative Study of an Early Christian Doctrine (Edinburgh, ); Karl Tamburr, The Harrowing of Hell in Medieval England (Cambridge, ). 40 Psalm  (), verses  and . I quote the Douay-Rheims version here. 41 See Speculum historiale .–, in Vincentius Bellovacensis Speculum quadruplex (; Graz, –), :–; Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ed. Giovanni Paolo Maggioni (nd ed., Tavarnuzze, ), :–, chap. .

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out an undated reprint at Erfurt in ca. .42 Muzio’s success spawned imitation. Already in the summer of , Erasmus of Rotterdam (– ) composed a short epic on the descensus, which, however, he never did publish himself.43 Eobanus continued the tradition with a passage in the heroic letter “Mary Magdalene to Jesus Christ” (Her. Chr. .– ), written in Prussia in , and Victoria Christi, written at Cracow in February . He, in turn, was followed by the Polish humanist Paulus Crosnensis, whose narrative poem in Sapphics came out at Cracow the next year. Mathias Funck then published a Triumphus Christianus at Frankfurt an der Oder in , while Tilmann Conradi brought out a Triumphus Christi at Wittenberg in , both in heroic verse. Muzio’s De triumpho Christi,  hexameters long, is centered squarely on the Harrowing of Hell. After the requisite propositio and invocatio (here addressed to pia Musa, “the holy Muse”), Muzio plunges directly in medias res. As Christ descends to the shades in a blaze of light and breaks down the gates of hell, Erebus trembles in fear and horror. The hellhound Cerberus, the Furies, the Lord of the Underworld himself, and all his followers flee headlong into the depths of Tartarus. The infernal rivers Styx and Cocytus cease their flow. Christ preaches to the saints and offers them words of comfort. Seeing their Deliverer face to face, the souls of the righteous greet him in gratitude and exultation. But now, with Easter day dawning in the world above, it is time for Christ to liberate them from hell. He returns to earth, rises from the grave, comforts his mother, admonishes the disciples, and ascends into heaven. Never did the sun shine more brilliantly than at the Resurrection. At this climactic moment, the poet appeals to his Muse — the Victor over Hell — to help him describe the triumphal procession. The second

42 For this date, see von Hase, no. . The book’s title enclosure is first documented in . The title page verso has the same woodcut vignette as the one on the title page of Eobanus’ Victoria Christi ab inferis (Erfurt, ). Next to the vignette in the Munich copy, a student’s note uses the wording in the title of Eobanus’ epyllion (my italics): “Autor hic noster gloriosum Christi victoriam ab inferis triumphum inscribit.” Set up as a lecture text, the book was indeed used in the classroom, as the students’ notes in the London and Munich copies attest. The text was probably not edited by Eobanus, since he would typically have supplied the reprint with either a liminary epigram or some prefatory statement. A digital facsimile of the Munich copy of Muzio’s book can be viewed via VD , no. M . For Eobanus’ knowledge of Muzio’s entire book, including its two programmatic prefaces, see Her. Chr., ded. . (:–). 43 Carm. , “Carmen heroicum de solemnitate paschali atque de tryumphali Christi resurgentis pompa et descensu eius ad inferos.”

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invocation produces a long roll call of the saints, starting with Adam and concluding with John the Baptist and the repentant thief who had been crucified along with Jesus. Those heroes of faith are followed by the Innocents of Bethlehem and such heroines as Eve, Sara, Esther, Mary’s mother Anna, and her kinswoman Elizabeth. Behind them comes a great host of mothers and daughters, graybeards and youths, in particular the prophets of Old Testament fame, all singing and making music on a variety of instruments as they approach the precincts of Olympus. The poet concludes by praying that he too may be among the elect on Judgment Day.44 If Eobanus’ epyllion is a third longer than Muzio’s, it is because our humanist, unlike his Italian model, embeds the Harrowing of Hell within the larger history of salvation, beginning with the Creation and the Fall and concluding with an account of the Resurrection and Ascension. In thus composing his own epyllion on the descensus, Eobanus assimilates essential features from both the Gospel of Nicodemus and Macario Muzio. From the apocryphal Gospel he takes the dramatic elements, with its dialogues and speeches, as well as such heroic motifs as the planned defense of hell, the shattering of the brazen gates, and the fettering of Satan. From Muzio he borrows the propositio and invocatio, adapting them to fit his requirements in Cracow. From him Eobanus also adopts the pagan-style hell, with its infernal rivers and monsters and overlord,45 the horror and panic at Christ’s entry into their abodes, and especially the long catalogue of saints ascending to Paradise. Compelling as these parallels are, they pale beside those to the enigmatic poem entitled Triumphus Christi heroicus (The Heroic Triumph of

44 On the poet and his poem, see Carl P.E. Springer, “Macarius Mutius’s De Triumpho Christi: Christian Epic Theory and Practice in the Late Quattrocento,” in Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Torontonensis, ed. Alexander Dalzell, Charles Fantazzi, and Richard J. Schoeck (Binghamton, ), –. 45 Following earlier scholars, Carl P.E. Springer claims that Muzio “avoids allusions to figures from classical mythology such as Cerberus or Charon, whom Virgil had immortalized as denizens of the underworld.” See his The Gospel as Epic in late Antiquity (Leiden, ), . Cf. also his abovementioned article, p. . But Muzio does, in fact, populate his hell with Cerberus, Dis, and the Furies. He just does so more discreetly than others. See ll. –: “Christus ut immensa descendit luce sub umbras/Horrentes mortisque domos et regna silentum / Invasitque Erebo clausos trepidante recessus,/Horruit immanis perculsi ianitor Orci [Cerberus], / Impulsaeque procul disiecto cardine Ditis/Procubuere fores. Timuit pallentis Averni / Regia, nigrarumque cohors turbata sororum [the Furies] / Occuluit pavidis horrentia monstra cerastis.”

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Christ).46 Of its  hexameters, a great many are either identical or certainly very similar to those in Eobanus’ epyllion. The work has traditionally been attached to the metrical Gospel harmony of Juvencus, starting with the Basel editions brought out by Johann Gast in  and  and by Theodor Poelman in /.47 The practice was resumed in 

46

See Harry Vredeveld, “The Unsuspected Source of Eobanus Hessus’s Victoria Christi ab Inferis,” Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Sanctandreani, ed. I.D. McFarlane (Binghamton, ), –. For an intermediate update, see: “A Case of Plagiarism Revisited: Eobanus Hessus’ Victoria Christi ab inferis and Ps. Juvencus, Triumphus Christi heroicus,” Syntagmatia: Essays on Neo-Latin Literature in Honour of Monique MundDopchie and Gilbert Tournoy, ed. Dirk Sacré and Jan Papy (Louvain, ), –. The parallels to Eobanus’ Iliad that I allude to in that article are too weak to support the conclusion that I attach to it there. Besides, the Iliad translation was not published in the spring of , but in September. For further updates, see the argument below. 47 On Johann Gast (ca. –), see Paul Burckhardt, “Die schriftstellerische Tätigkeit des Johannes Gast,” Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde  (), –; Das Tagebuch des Johannes Gast: Ein Beitrag zur schweizerischen Reformationsgeschichte, ed. Paul Burckhardt (Basel, ); Stephan Füssel, in Killy, Literaturlexikon: Autoren und Werke des deutschsprachigen Kulturraumes, second edition, ed. Wilhelm Kühlmann,  vols. (Berlin, –), :–. Gast’s first Juvencus edition was published, without indication of editorship, by Bartholomew Westheimer, under the title: Coelii Sedulii Presbyteri . . . Paschale opus, seu mirabilium divinorum libri quinque, cum enarrationibus luculentissimis Aelii Antonii Nebrissensis. Adiunximus etiam Iuvenci Hispani presbyteri Evangelicam historiam eiusdem argumenti, additis et in eandem commentariis (Basel, ). The book was reissued under the title Opera poetarum Christianorum quorundam utilissima ac adolescentibus in religione vera educatis accommodatissima (Basel, ), but now with a dedicatory letter by Johann Gast, dated  March , in which he claims responsibility for the edition (sig. av): “Accipe . . . hunc meum laborem, quem in emendandis tam carminibus quam commentariolis istis insumpsi.” Otherwise the book is a simple reissue of the  edition, with exactly the same paging. Even the colophon is unchanged; it still bears the date “XLI.” Theodor Poelman (?–?) was a prolific editor of classical and early Christian authors. His Juvencus edition was published under the title: Iuvenci Hispani Evangelicae historiae libri IIII. Caelii Sedulii mirabilium divinorum, sive Paschalis carminis, lib. IIII. una cum hymnis aliquot. Aratoris in Acta Apostolica libri duo, Venantii Honorii Fortunati Hymni duo, per G. Cassandrum integritati suae restituti. Omnia per Theodorum Poelmannum Cranenburgensem recognita (Basel: [Oporinus?, /]). For this publication date, cf. Arévalo, –, prolegomena, nos.  and  (assuming “,” but suggesting “” as a plausible alternative); Steven Surdèl, “Pulmannus, éditions,” in La bibliothèque numérique d’ Europa Humanistica, published in  at http://www.europahumanistica.org/spip.php?article (giving the date as “x”). VD , no. J , like most major libraries, mistakenly gives the date of Poelman’s edition as . While Poelman’s undated Juvencus edition does open with a dedicatory letter of  July , that letter is not by Poelman himself. It is merely reprinted from Reinhard Lorich’s edition, published at Cologne in .

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when the great Jesuit patrologist Faustino Arévalo followed Poelman’s example by appending the Triumphus Christi heroicus to his Juvencus edition.48 Arévalo’s edition was twice reprinted in the nineteenth century, first in an anthology of early Christian poets (Cambrai, ) and then in vol.  of J.-P. Migne’s Patrologia Latina, published in .49 Since then the poem has been edited twice more, in both instances via Migne’s text. Hermann Mengwasser published an annotated text for use in schools in the early s. And in , Aniello Salzano included the poem in his anthology of anonymous early Christian poetry from the fourth and fifth centuries.50 Several scholars, however, have questioned or denied the association with Juvencus or some contemporary of his. Already Arévalo wondered whether the poem might not have been written by some fourteenth-century forger who wanted to append it to Juvencus’ work.51 John M. Neale places the work “as late as the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries,” partly because of “the very nature of the idea,” partly because of “the singular use of Agnifer, as applied to John the Baptist, which appears taken from mediaeval pictures.” Max Manitius and Josef Martin call the poem a humanistic piece of work, but offer no argument to back up their claim.52 Because Eobanus’ Victoria Christi and the Triumphus Christi heroicus are so deeply intertwined, it is crucially important for us to determine, 48

Arévalo, –, app. , under the heading, “Iuvenci sive auctoris incerti carmen.” See Q.S. Florentis Tertulliani, Cypriani, M. Victoris, Juvenci, Hilarii, Victorini, Typherni, Damasi . . . opera (Cambrai, ), –. Here the poem is straightforwardly attributed to Juvencus. Migne subjoins the poem to Juvencus’ epic in PL , cols. –, without explicitly addressing the question of authorship; a footnote refers the reader to Arévalo’s introduction. First published in , PL  has often been reprinted. 50 C. Vettii Aquilini Juvenci Hispani presbyteri Triumphus Christi heroicus, in usum scholarum, libera interpretatione et adnotationibus adornatus, ed. Hermann Mengwasser (Atchison, [ca. ]); Aniello Salzano, Agli inizi della poesia cristiana latina: Autori anonimi dei secc. IV–V (Salerno, ), –. 51 Arévalo, , prolegomena, no. : “subvereor, ne opus recentioris alicuius sit, qui seculo XIV. vixerit, et hanc appendicem Historiae evangelicae Iuvenci subnectere voluerit. Non enim satis mihi liquet de antiquitate codicis, ex quo huiusmodi carmen cum Iuvenco extractum est.” 52 See John M. Neale, “The Ecclesiastical Latin Poetry of the Middle Ages,” in History of Roman Literature; with an Introductory Dissertation on the Sources and Formation of the Latin Language, ed. Henry Thompson (nd edition, London, ), , n. ; Max Manitius, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie bis zur Mitte des . Jahrhunderts (Stuttgart, ),  (correction to p. ); and Josef Martin, “Ein frühchristliches Kreuzigungsbild?” in Würzburger Festgabe, Heinrich Bulle dargebracht (Stuttgart, ), , n. . The poem is not included in the Juvencus editions by Karl Marold (Leipzig, ) and Johann Huemer (Vienna, ). 49

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once and for all, which one served as the model for the other. For if Triumphus Christi antedates Victoria Christi, then Eobanus was a plagiarist who, having unearthed the poem in some obscure manuscript, thereupon felt free to use it to gain an unfair advantage over Johannes Dantiscus in their poetic duel at Cracow. In that case, we not only have to ponder the implications for Eobanus’ character, but must also try to find out how and where he might have found the otherwise wholly unknown poem. If, on the other hand, Triumphus Christi is a humanistic piece that postdates Victoria Christi, we have to ask how such an epitome of Eobanus’ work might have come into being and then have gotten attached to the Juvencan corpus. The only way to advance beyond the current stalemate is to analyze the poem itself. What does its language reveal about its ancestry and composition date? As Hermann Mengwasser notes in his school edition of the poem,53 there is hardly an ancient poet that Pseudo-Juvencus has not imitated. Vergil, Ovid, and Claudian are, of course, well represented. But as a Christian poet, Pseudo-Juvencus also adopts a good many ecclesiastical expressions. Thus he uses Faber astrorum for God (l. ), vitae Reparator for Christ (l. ), Sanctum Flamen for the Holy Spirit (l. ), tingo for baptize (l. ). Such terms are too common in medieval literature to help in dating the poem. The phrase ignivomi solis (l. ) is different. It first appears in the celebrated hymn “De Pascha” by the sixth-century poet Venantius Fortunatus. Other phrases in Triumphus Christi draw on much later hymns. The words “sese vitae Reparator amicis / Discipulisque suis redivivum praebuit” (ll. –) adapt a line from Notker Balbulus’ well-known sequence “In ascensione Domini”: “Et redivivum iam suis se praebuit servis et amicis.” The title “Destructor scelerum” (l. ) occurs in a Kyrie for Pope Clement VI and the late medieval hymn “De sancto Elisaeo.” And “nos duc ad regna polorum” (l. ) concludes a well-known hymn for St. Francis of Assisi. Unless it is supposed that Triumphus Christi heroicus was familiar to the medieval hymn writers, we have no choice but to date it to at least the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Even more revealing are two epithets thought to have been coined by Pseudo-Juvencus: agnifer and sordifluus (ll.  and ). Both coinages, however, also appear in two widely read humanistic texts: sordifluus in

53

See his headnote, p. .

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Jakob Locher’s Stultifera navis of ; iuvenis agnifer in the opening line of Baptista Mantuanus’ poem to John the Baptist, originally published in .54 Now, which came first? Did Locher and Mantuanus take the two unusual words from Pseudo-Juvencus? Or was it the other way around? In the first scenario, we are forced to assume that Pseudo-Juvencus had a far wider circulation than realized. For if both a German and an Italian poet could borrow from him within a few years of each other, there must have been manuscripts or printed versions of the poem all over Renaissance Europe. But that is not at all the case. Indeed, no manuscript of it has ever turned up. We have no choice, therefore, but to conclude that Pseudo-Juvencus was a sixteenth-century humanist. The inference is supported by several further strong parallels to Mantuanus’ works. But what really clinches the case is a borrowing at the start of Triumphus Christi that is unmistakably based on the opening of Hrotsvitha’s legend of St. Dionysius. Here are the texts side by side: Pseudo-Juvencus Cum Faber astrorum mortis pateretur acerbum In cruce supplicium

Hrotsvitha Dum Factor summae, mediae, rationis et imae In cruce supplicium mortis pateretur amarum

It should be remembered that the tenth-century nun Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim was virtually unknown until Konrad Celtis unearthed a manuscript of her works in ca.  and published it in . Because PseudoJuvencus imitates her, he must have been a sixteenth-century humanist. It follows too that Eobanus, writing in , cannot have plagiarized him. Quite the contrary: it is Pseudo-Juvencus who plunders Eobanus. We must now ask: is it possible to identify Pseudo-Juvencus? And how might a poem of his have ended up in the Juvencus editions printed at Basel in , , and /? Some hints suggest themselves almost immediately. Pseudo-Juvencus was a humanist who flourished between , when Victoria Christi ab inferis was published at Erfurt, and , when Triumphus Christi heroicus comes into view at Basel. Because he imitates Hrotsvitha, he was most likely a German who took pride in his nation’s past. An admirer of

54 For the references in this paragraph, see the commentary notes to Vict., app. , at the lines indicated.

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Eobanus Hessus, he was also familiar with the Carmelite poet Baptista Mantuanus and the hymns of the Church. He might even have been a churchman himself. With tracks like these, Pseudo-Juvencus proves an easy quarry. He is the Lutheran preacher Johann Spangenberg, an old friend of Eobanus’. Born in , Spangenberg attended the grammar schools in Göttingen and Eimbeck and then taught school himself in Gandersheim — the very place, as his earliest biographer Hieronymus Mencel points out, Hrotsvitha was born.55 He matriculated at Erfurt in the winter semester /. There he continued his studies, despite the riots and destruction of –, and earned the BA in . He did not, however, go on to earn the MA degree, as modern biographers assert,56 but made his living as a private teacher, perhaps also working at a local school. When Eobanus returned from Prussia in the summer of , Spangenberg — like all the local humanists — was inevitably drawn into his orbit. In  he left Erfurt to become rector of the Latin school in Stolberg, but stayed in touch with Eobanus through occasional letters. From  to  he served as evangelical preacher in Hardegsen, before moving to Nordhausen as pastor at the Church of St. Blasius. Here too he taught privately. Later he also supervised the municipal school. In  he went to Eisleben at Luther’s recommendation to serve as superintendent of the churches in Mansfeld County. He died at Eisleben in .

55 See Hieronymus Mencel, epicedion for Spangenberg, first published in Reverendo viro D. Iohanni Spangenbergo . . . epicedion (Wittenberg, ), reprinted at the end of Johann Spangenberg’s Explicationes Evangeliorum et Epistolarum (Basel, ), . On Spangenberg’s life, see: Georg Heinrich Klippel, Deutsche Lebens- und Charakterbilder aus den drei letzten Jahrhunderten (Bremen, ), –; Paul Tschackert, “Spangenberg, Johann,” in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol.  (Leipzig, ), – ; Dieter Fauth, “Spangenberg, Johannes,” in Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, vol.  (Nordhausen, ), cols. –; Thomas Kaufmann, “Spangenberg, Johann,” in Neue Deutsche Biographie, vol.  (Berlin, ), –. 56 The claim goes back to a misinterpretation of a statement in Hieronymus Mencel’s epicedion (see preceding note), , where Mencel says, “Prima magisterii signa decusque tulit,” adding that Spangenberg did so not long after the “Mad Year” in Erfurt (– ). Mencels’ phrase “prima magisterii signa” refers to the BA, however, not the MA. In humanistic parlance, the BA was known as prima laurea or gradus primae laureae. See Rainer C. Schwinges and Klaus Wriedt, Das Bakkalarenregister der Artistenfakultät der Universität Erfurt – (Jena, ), xxix; and, for example, p.  (at Spangenberg’s graduation): “adolescentes prima laurea dignos . . . iudicavit.” At this point, the BAs could teach at the university, but only at the lower levels. The Master’s degree, correspondingly, was called “laurea secunda.” See, for example, Kleineidam, :: “Lauream quam secundam vocant Magisterii titulo insignitam.”

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In the last two decades of his life, Spangenberg published many sermons, hymns, and theological and spiritual works in German and Latin, as well as a catechism, and a Psalter in Latin elegiacs. He also brought out a series of textbooks for the Lutheran Latin schools. Among them is a collection of sacred verse, entitled Evangelia Dominicalia in versiculos extemporaliter versa (The Sunday Gospels, Extemporaneously Turned into Verses). Published at Wittenberg in April , the book is dedicated to Justus Jonas, Jr. (–), the teenaged son of Spangenberg’s (and Eobanus’) good friend Justus Jonas. The dedicatory letter is dated at Nordhausen,  November .57 Readers of this book are in for a surprise. Immediately after the versified Sunday Gospels there are two additional sections that are not announced on the title page: a set of versified Sunday prayers (Collects)58 and then, filling up some otherwise empty pages (sigs. Er–Er), a poem entitled Triumphus Christi heroicus — the very poem that for so many centuries has led a double life as a Juvencan or Pseudo-Juvencan work. Spangenberg’s schoolbook, eighty pages long, was a resounding success. Well before his death in  it had already been reprinted half a dozen times: at Breslau in , at Wittenberg in , at Nuremberg in , at Leipzig in , at Ingolstadt in , and (without place or printer) in . The collection was also incorporated into Epistolae, per totum annum dominicis diebus in ecclesia legi solitae, per quaestiones explicatae (Frankfurt am Main, ) and Postilla. Evangelia et epistolae, quae in ecclesia, toto anno, dominicis et festis diebus proponuntur, per quaestiones explicata (Frankfurt am Main, ). In the latter two books, Triumphus Christi heroicus is prominently highlighted on the title page. Two more reprints of the Triumphus appeared in , the year of Spangenberg’s death: the first together with Martin Luther’s Catechismus et institutio Christianae religionis and Spangenberg’s Precationes ecclesiasticae ad Deum (Frankfurt am Main, ); the second in Epitaphia reverendi viri, D. Stephani Agricolae . . . anno Salutis, M.D.XLVII, feriis

57 I have used the copy at Wolfenbüttel, HAB (H: A .o Helmst.). A digital facsimile, published by BSB Munich, can be viewed via VD , no. E . There are further copies at Göttingen, UB; Jena, Thüringer ULB; Mainz, Stadtbibliothek; Stockholm, Kungliga biblioteket; Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek. 58 The Collects are reprinted from Spangenberg’s now extremely rare booklet, Orationes quibus iam utitur ecclesia dieb. dominicis carmine redditae (Leipzig, ).

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Paschalibus defuncti. De lapsu et reconciliatione hominis carmen. Triumphus Christi heroicus. Autoribus D. Ioanne Spangbergo et Hieronymo Mencelio Schuidnicense Sylesio (Erfurt, ). The editio princeps of Spangenberg’s versified Sunday Gospels quickly drew the attention of the Basel deacon and humanist editor Johann Gast (ca. –), who was just then in the process of gathering up materials for a commonplace book on the same topic: In evangelia Dominicalia per totius anni circulum, loci communes (Basel: Westheimer, ).59 As the book was being printed in the autumn of , it so happened that several pages were left blank at the end of the book. These he proceeded to fill by reprinting as much of Spangenberg’s poem as would fit.60 However, Gast neglected to supply the author’s name. He followed the same pattern in , when (as we have seen) he edited the early Christian poets Sedulius and Juvencus. Once again he appended the Triumphus Christi heroicus; but with more space available this time around, he was able to print the full text. And once more Gast failed to attribute the poem to Johann Spangenberg. The lack of an explicit statement of authorship confused later readers of his Juvencus edition. Might Triumphus Christi heroicus be a hitherto unknown poem by Juvencus that Gast had discovered in some manuscript or other? After all, his title page insists that all the edited texts in the book have been collated and corrected against the oldest manuscripts.61 The confusion was only deepened when Gast reissued the edition in . When Theodor Poelman saw the poem in the Basel editions, he naturally assumed that Gast must have had good reason for appending it. But quite uncertain of this, he warns his readers about the lack of attribution: “In exemplari autoris nomen non erat adscriptum” (“In my copy the author’s name was not indicated”).62 Several centuries later, Faustino Arévalo, believing that Poelman’s undated edition of the Triumphus Christi heroicus was the poem’s editio princeps, compounded

59 On Johann Gast, see n.  above (p. ). Gast published the book under the pseudonym Ioannes Philoponus. He also anthologizes Spangenberg’s versified Sunday Gospels and Collects in In Testamenti Novi maiorem partem, hoc est, in Evangelia et Epistolas Pauli omnes poemata (Basel: [Westheimer, ]). Here he excludes Triumphus Christi heroicus. 60 See pp. – of Gast’s book. The poem ends at l. . It is immediately followed by the colophon. 61 “Omnia ad vetustissima exemplaria collata et castigata.” 62 On Theodor Poelman, see p.  above, with n. .

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the error by assuming that Poelman’s caveat referred to some now-lost manuscript.63 It is on this slender thread of false assumptions that the legend of Pseudo-Juvencus has hung for so long. We have one last question to answer. When did Spangenberg write his Triumphus Christi heroicus? Is it the product of his Erfurt years? Or did he compose it much later, in Nordhausen? To ascertain the poem’s composition date we can once more rely on textual analysis. As a fervent admirer of Eobanus Hessus, Spangenberg does not epitomize just the Victoria Christi. He also absorbs bits and pieces from other works by his old friend. Thus the unusual phrase “dilaniata modis miseris” (l. ) is lifted straight out of Eobanus’ De tumultibus horum temporum querela (). There is a similar borrowing from Eobanus’ description of Nuremberg (), for Spangenberg’s “aeternos mansura sub annos” (l. ) is clearly modeled on Nor. : “Aeternos . . . durare sub annos.” We thus infer that Spangenberg wrote Triumphus Christi heroicus at Nordhausen in the s. That his versified Sunday Gospels neither announces the poem on the title page nor so much as mentions it in the dedicatory letter suggests, furthermore, that Spangenberg attached the heroic poem at the last moment, that is, in March or early April  — just a month or two after Eobanus rediscovered his old manuscript of Victoria Christi.64 The coincidence of dates can hardly

63 In Renaissance usage, exemplar often means “copy of a printed book.” See, for example, Eobanus’ letter of  March  to Jakob Micyllus, in Epp. fam., , about his just published Epicedia: “non enim nunc habebam, quod tibi mitterem exemplar.” Poelman has a similar marginal note on p. , next to the epigram, “De quatuor evangelistis,” which he ascribes to Sedulius rather than Juvencus: “Autoris nomen non erat additum in exemplari.” Poelman took his Sedulius and Juvencus texts from earlier printed editions, to which he then supplied emendations. For Arévalo’s comments, see C. Vetti Aquilini Iuvenci presbyteri Hispani Historiae evangelicae libri IV, ed. Faustino Arévalo (Rome, ), –, prolegomena, no. : “In editione Basileensi Iuvenci, Sedulii, et Aratoris per Theod. Poelmannum statim post Iuvencum additur aliud poemation inscriptum: Triumphus Christi heroicus; ad cuius marginem haec est nota: In exemplari auctoris nomen non erat ascriptum. Idem carmen eodem titulo reperitur post Iuvencum in editione Basileensi Sedulii, et Iuvenci per Bartholomaeum Westhemerum anno . Videntur ergo hi versus in veteri aliquo exemplari eadem forma, ac Iuvencus, exarati: qui tamen in collectione poetarum Christianorum Fabriciana, aliisque praetermissi sunt. Ratio metri, ac Latinitatis non male constat in hoc carmine: sed subvereor, ne opus recentioris alicuius sit, qui seculo xiv. vixerit, et hanc appendicem Historiae evangelicae Iuvenci subnectere voluerit. Non enim satis mihi liquet de antiquitate codicis, ex quo huiusmodi carmen cum Iuvenco extractum est.” 64 See p.  above.

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be fortuitous. We are almost forced to conclude that Spangenberg — directly or through a mutual friend, like Justus Jonas — obtained a copy of Eobanus’ manuscript or, at least, had his memory jogged sufficiently to take the  book off his shelf. Widely read and reprinted in the s and early s, Johann Spangenberg’s Triumphus Christi heroicus has since been virtually forgotten. In histories of Neo-Latin literature, only Georg Ellinger mentions it, and then only in the most cursory terms.65 But under Juvencus’ name, his poem — and through it, Eobanus’ Victoria Christi — has lived a charmed life right up to the present day.

65 See Georg Ellinger, Geschichte der neulateinischen Literatur Deutschlands im sechzehnten Jahrhundert, vol.  (; Berlin, ),  and . Later references to Spangenberg’s Triumphus Christi heroicus come via Ellinger. See, for example, Cornelis Reedijk, ed., The Poems of Desiderius Erasmus (Leiden, ), .

VICTORIA CHRISTI AB INFERIS carmine heroico Helio Eobano Hesso authore

CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER THE UNDERWORLD in heroic verse by Helius Eobanus Hessus

CLARISSIMO VIRO HENRICO APERBACCHO, GEORGII FILIO, MEDICO INSIGNI, EOBANUS HESSUS S. D.

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Fugit hyems, abiere nives. Nova gaudia rerum Alma sinu pandit luxuriante Venus. Indole nativa redeuntem Gratia mundum Imbuit et vultu candidiore venit. Nunc propiore deo genitivae munera terrae Sponte sua virides explicuere comas. Vernat humus, frondent sylvae. Iucundior aer Spirat. Amabilior temperat aura fretum. Omnia vere novo nova sunt, totumque per orbem Pube nova ridens omnia vestit Amor. Nos quoque, degeneres elegos, levia ista, perosi, En damus auspicio carmina facta novo, Qualia credidimus Victori Acheruntidos orae Quamlibet audaci pectine digna cani. Quandoquidem reduci nova plaudunt omnia Christo, Non decuit moestam nos habuisse chelim. Quando novo alludunt avium tot milia veri, Pieridum cannas quis tacuisse probet? — Illo precipue Phoebo ductante choream, Quem peperit nullo Pieris usa viro, Illo precipue et tanto Pythone perempto, Vincere quem potuit non nisi tanta manus.

Dedicatio. A. Huic substituitur ep. dedicatoria ad Ioannem Megabacchum in B (vide app. ). 1 Heinrich Eberbach matriculated at Erfurt in the winter semester /, during the rectorate of his father, the physician and professor of medicine Georg Eberbach, and earned the BA in , the MA in . After his father’s death on  June , Heinrich became a fellow at the Collegium maius. In  he earned his doctorate in medicine at Siena. Elected rector at Erfurt for the summer semester the following year, he served as dean of the medical faculty continuously from  to ; but after a bitter dispute with the university he was removed from that office in . From the summer semester of  to the winter semester / he was again rector. He died on  December . Eobanus, who had been good friends with the Eberbachs since his student days, enjoyed Heinrich’s hospitality for a month or two after his return to Erfurt in late July . This

TO THE RENOWNED MAN, HEINRICH EBERBACH, SON OF GEORG AND DISTINGUISHED PHYSICIAN, EOBANUS HESSUS SENDS GREETINGS.1 Winter has fled; the snows have departed. Everywhere, lifegiving Venus is pouring out fresh delights from her luxuriant bosom.2 Beaming with gladness, Charm imbues the renascent world with natural beauty. Now that the sun god is nearer again, the gifts of Mother Earth need no prompting to spread out their verdant tresses. Spring flowers carpet the meadows; the woods are in leaf. The air wafts more pleasantly. A gentler breeze calms the sea. In the new spring all things are renewed; and throughout the whole world [] smiling Love clothes all creation in new growth. Disgusted with the degenerate elegy, those frivolous trifles, I too — lo and behold! — am bringing out a poem composed under new auspices, a poem worthy (or so I’d like to think) of being sung to the Conqueror of Hell, no matter how bold its rhythms.3 Since all revivified nature is applauding the risen Christ, it hardly seemed right for me to be singing songs of sadness. And when so many myriads of birds are greeting the new spring, who could approve if the Muses’ reeds kept silent? — all the more, as their choir is led by that Phoebus [] who was born of a Virgin Muse;4 all the more, too, because that great Python is slain, the serpent that only a hand as mighty

dedication is Eobanus’ way of thanking him for his abiding friendship. In late  or early  Eobanus wrote an epicedion on the death of Heinrich’s baby son Cosmas, which was later published as Sylv. .. Fittingly, he also dedicated book  of the Sylvae to Heinrich. 2 As in the opening verses of Lucretius’ De rerum natura, Venus represents Mother Nature in all her creativity. 3 Unlike the heroic hexameter, which is well suited to expressing grand themes, elegiacs were typically reserved for the tender emotions. Hence they were used especially in love poetry and laments. Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Since Eobanus appears to have written these lines at Leipzig in the early spring of , the phrase “disgusted with the degenerate elegy, those frivolous trifles” must refer to his love poetry for Flavia. There is a similar allusion at the start of Encomium nuptiale. See pp. – above. 4 In a favorite phrase of Eobanus’, Phoebus is the “Christus Apollo” who was born of the “Virgin Muse” Mary. See Laud. – and Buc. .–, with notes.

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victoria christi ab inferis Leticiae nunc ergo novae paeana canentes Fas erat assueto tangere maius ebur.  Quae tibi, Aperbacchi laus prima Henrice decusque Nominis, exiguo de lare prompta damus, Sed quae non aliter quam nos quoque et omnia nostra, Quam mea se debet Calliopea tibi. Quod si pro meritis cupias tibi digna remitti,  Sperare ingentes iam potes Iliadas. Accipe parva tamen quo sunt data pectore et ista Adsere qua vatem dexteritate soles. Sic neque degeneris metuent mala nomina famae, Sic neque qui noceat Zoilus ullus erit.

[ded.

christ’s victory over the underworld

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as his was able to vanquish.5 That is why my Muses were right to sing paeans of new joy and to strike the ivory lyre more grandly than usual. Heinrich, foremost glory and ornament of the Eberbach family, it is to you that I present these verses of triumph. Though I went back to their little storeroom to retrieve them,6 I nonetheless owe them to you, just as I do my whole being and everything of mine — yes, even my Muse. But then, if you wanted a reward equal to your merits, [] you would have a right to expect vast Iliads from me! Accept this small token, nonetheless, in the spirit in which it is offered and defend it with the same skill as you do its poet. Then indeed it will not fear the malicious words of slander, nor will there be a Zoilus who could harm it.7

5 Christ, the risen Sun who vanquished the ancient Serpent in hell, is associated here with the sun god Phoebus, who slew the great dragon Python. See Ov. Met. .–. For the association of Satan and the dragon, see Revelations .; and, for example, Eob. Vict. –. 6 Eobanus did not write the poem expressly for the dedicatee, but retrieved it from his papers. 7 The sophist Zoilus made fun of Homer’s mistakes. See n.  at Rec. B . (:).

VICTORIA CHRISTI AB INFERIS PER EOBANUM HESSUM

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Av 

Infernae victa arma domus populataque nigri Regna Iovis tetroque ereptos carcere manes Dicere conanti solito maiore Camoena, Christe, triumphatae Domitor Stygis, influe vati Inque opus exiguum (si non tua sancta perosus Numina, si veterum delyramenta deorum Te duce contempsi) non dedignare vocari. Cum tener esset adhuc et adhuc pubesceret orbis Vixque recens nato penderet in aere necdum Firma satis iuveni staret concordia mundo, Naturae statuit Pater omnia nexibus aequis, Ut certas elementa vices et sydera rebus Influerent, ut foecundo gravis ubere tellus Vitam animis viresque daret productaque nuper Sponte sua vegetis animalia pasceret herbis, Aera aves liquidum, tranarent flumina pisces, Deque caho veteri species nova prodita nusquam Perderet agnati coeuntia foedera regni. Non tamen artifici visum satis esse Monarchae Imperium fundasse ingens sine semine mentis Aethereae vacuumque novis cultoribus orbem Frustrari magnae pregnantia viscera matris. Condidit ergo animal princeps dominumque vocavit Imperiumque in cuncta dedit viventia nedum, Verum etiam quaecumque videt sol magnus ab alto Quaeque illo propior lunaris obambulat orbis. Hic mihi nec Pyrrhae iactus priscumque referri

Tit. Victoria — Hessum A: Hymnus paschalis in victoriam ab inferis et a morte resurrectionem Christi, ab Helio Eobano Hesso iuvene olim scriptus, nuper inventus, et aeditus in Schola Marpurgensi M.D.XL, mense Aprili B.  Infernae . . . domus A: Inferne . . . damus B.  propior A: proprior B.

CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER THE UNDERWORLD BY EOBANUS HESSUS How the hosts of hell were vanquished and the realms of black Jove plundered, how the shades were delivered from their foul dungeon, of this I venture to sing in a strain loftier than is my wont. Christ, triumphant Conqueror of the Styx, inspire the poet and (if I truly revere your sacred Divinity, if under your guidance I have despised the absurdities of the ancient gods) do not disdain to be invoked in so slender a work. When the world was still of tender age and still pubescent, when it first hung poised in the newborn air [] and concord was not yet firmly established in the youthful world, the Father of Nature ordained that all things be bound together in harmony, intending that the elements and the stars should permeate the universe with cyclic regularity, that the richly fecund soil should give life and strength to animate beings and with invigorating herbs nourish the animals she had just produced of her own accord, that the birds should cleave the limpid air, the fish the rivers, and that the splendor newly sprung from ancient Chaos should never breach the laws that bind his familial realm together. Nevertheless, the CraftsmanMonarch was not content [] that he had founded a vast empire lacking the spark of the celestial mind, or that the earth, as yet devoid of cultivators, was frustrating the swelling womb of the great mother. Accordingly, he created a superior being and called him lord and gave him dominion not only over all living things, but also over everything that the mighty sun sees from heaven and that the lunar orb traverses nearerby. Here you may spare me the stories of Pyrrha’s



victoria christi ab inferis





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 Ar

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

Deucaleona velim, non usum fomite virga Vitaleis caelo rapuisse Promethea flammas. Hoc igitur divinae animal rationis ab illo Temporis agnata coeptum est homo voce vocari, E terra genitum, informis quota portio terrae, Quam Pater (ut memorant) agri de parte Damasci Abstulit inque suis posuit viridantibus hortis Aere perpetuo veris flatuque Favoni Caelestis. Sed pulchra novis data regna colonis Improbus invidit serpens vetitique suasit Nondum gustato vesci de germine ligni. Hinc nos prima mali labes, hinc prima ruinae Decipula involvit, miserum genus. Inde per amplum Iactati pelagus curarum dulcibus arvis Exuimur nudique foras expellimur. Hinc nos Exilium durusque manet labor, anxia vitae Conditio et semper miseris obnoxia curis, Clausaque caelestis remoratur ianua regni Patribus annorum tot milibus invia nostris. Quam neque cognato caelo superumve hominumve Effregere animae, donec miseratus iniquum Humani generis, quod condidit ipse, laborem Rex hominum divumque Parens, ille unicus orbis Conditor, intactae castam per Virginis aurem Ingrediens nostrae venit regionis in oram Tectus et humanae lutea testudine carnis Natus homo est matrisque Deum non exuit alvo. Nunc age Creteae pudeat te, Iuppiter, Idae Uberaque Oleniae simula nescire capellae!

 agri — Damasci A: raptam de virgine terra B. manus in ex. Chicagiensi et Monachensi).

 Tectus B: Tactus A (sed corr.

8 After the great flood that Jupiter had sent to punish humanity, only Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were saved. Too old to have children, they regenerated the human race by casting stones behind their backs. See Ov. Met. .–; Serv. Ecl. .. Deucalion’s father was Prometheus. According to his myth, he fashioned human beings from rainwater and clay. When Jupiter denied them fire, Prometheus stole it and brought it down to earth inside a reed. See Hesiod, Erg. –; Th. –; Ov. Met. .–. The two stories were often connected, such that Prometheus used the fire to animate the

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stone-throwing and old Deucalion, or how Prometheus used a kindling reed to steal life-giving fire from heaven!8 [] This living being, then, endowed with divine reason, was thenceforth called by the significant name “human,” for he was born of the soil9 — a little clod of formless humus that the Father (we are told) took from the plain of Damascus and placed in his Garden, perpetually blooming in the spring-like air, in the waft of heavenly zephyrs. But envious of the beautiful realm given to the new inhabitants, the wicked serpent persuaded them to eat of the hitherto untasted fruit of the forbidden tree. This is how we first fell into sin, this is how death’s [] snare first entrapped us, wretched race. From that day forward, tossed about on a broad sea of cares, we have been stripped of those delightful fields and driven forth naked into the world. Ever since then, exile and hard labor have awaited us, a life of anxiety forever burdened with grievous cares, while the gate to the kingdom of heaven stayed locked and impenetrable to our forefathers for so many thousands of years. No souls in the kindred sky, be they of angels or of men, were able to wrest that door open, until, taking pity on the crushing misery of the human race that he himself had created, [] the King of men and Father of gods, the sole Creator of the universe, came down to us through the chaste ear of an untouched Virgin10 and entered this world of ours. Concealed in the clayey shell of human flesh, he was born a man, but without shedding his divinity in the mother’s womb. Come now, Jupiter, be ashamed of Mount Ida in Crete and pretend you know nothing about the teats of the Olenian goat!11 Those

lifeless clay. See, for example, Claud. IV. Cons. Hon. –; Mant. Calam. .– (p. ); Erasmus, Enchiridion, LB , col.  BC. 9 The name Adam is associated with the Hebrew word for “soil.” See Genesis .; Lact. Inst. ..; Hier. Liber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum, CCSL : (Lagarde, p. , ll. –); Isid. Orig. ..; ... 10 The Virgin conceived the Word through her ear. For this traditional belief, see Her. Chr. ., n.  (:); Hymn. –. 11 In Greek myth, the she-goat Amalthea suckled the infant Jupiter on Crete. She was later placed among the stars as Capella (“She-Goat”), often with the somewhat puzzling epithet “Olenian.”

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victoria christi ab inferis Ille fidem nugis mendacibus abstulit omnem, Per quem recta fides erranti est reddita mundo.



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 Av

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Iam miserae annorum post milia quinque iacebant In tenebris animae et coecae caligine noctis, Lucem expectantes, requiem finemque laborum, Cum Deus humanae defunctus munere vitae Fatalis moriens regnaret ab arbore ligni. Sanguineo vultum Sol obscuravit amictu Tam dirum non ferre potens, tam triste perosus Supplicium. Quid enim ille sui non mortuus esset Morte Creatoris? Tum, cui rubuisse nefandum est, Luna oblita sui cursus stetit ore cruento — Non quali memorant ad Lathmia saxa rubore Confusam petiisse nefas et dulcia furta. Continuo invasit terram nox atra trementem Confusumque cahos et iam non cognita rerum Tempestas, procul et montes et rupibus altis Culmina conciderant duris horrentia saxis, Totaque naturae facies miserabilis atro Tabuerat luctu et casu moerebat amaro. Desinite, ah fatuae mentes, per carmina quemquam Credere posse vices naturae invertere et ipsam Ducere de caelo lunam magicisque susurris Concutere immotae solidissima pondera terrae. Viderat ista procul Dyonisius Attide terra Atque ait: “Aut mundus finem casumque minatur Aut mala naturae patitur Deus ultima, nam nec Sponte sua tantos cogit natura labores.” O divinum animi lumen mentemque beatam, Quae potuit causam insoliti cognoscere motus!

 post milia quinque A: bis milia bina B.  Confusam A: Confusum B. tam B.  naturae A: maturae B.  ipsam A: ipsum B.

 iam A:

12 The “wretched souls” are the righteous men and women from Old Testament times who have been held in the limbus patrum (limbo) ever since the fall from Paradise. According to tradition, Christ’s crucifixion and descent into hell occurred in the year  after the Creation. Cf. Her. Chr. .–, with n.  (:); .–, with n.  (:); Hymn. –.

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frivolous myths lost all credibility through him who restored the true faith to the erring world. For five thousand years already the wretched souls had languished [] in the gloom and murk of blind night, waiting for the light of day and for repose and for an end to their hardships, when God, laying down his life as a man, reigned dying on the wood of the fateful tree.12 The Sun veiled his face in a blood-red mantle, unable to bear so dreadful a torment and loathing so grievous a punishment. For how could he not but die at the death of his Maker? Luna too, whose reddening portends disaster, forgot about her course and stood still, her face crimson — not the deep blush with which they say [] she was suffused while pursuing the furtive joys of forbidden love in that cave on Mount Latmus.13 At once, black night fell upon the trembling earth: a disordered chaos, a violent upheaval never before experienced in the universe. Far in the distance, rugged mountaintops and jagged peaks came crashing down from on high, and the whole face of pitiable nature wasted away in black sorrow and mourned over his bitter death. Ah, foolish minds! Do not believe those who claim they can overturn the natural order with incantations and draw down the moon from heaven or use magic spells [] to shake the utterly solid mass of the immovable earth. Dionysius observed those events in far-away Athens14 and exclaimed: “Either the world is being threatened with final catastrophe, or the God of nature is suffering the ultimate evil. For it cannot be of her own accord that nature is undergoing such a massive upheaval.” Oh the divine light of your spirit, oh the blessed mind that was able to fathom the cause of that unwonted turmoil! 13 In Greek mythology, the moon goddess Selene used to make love to the handsome youth Endymion while he slumbered in a grotto on Mount Latmus in Caria. 14 Dionysius the Areopagite was an Athenian philosopher converted by St. Paul; see Acts .. According to his legend, he was in Athens (or Egypt) when he suddenly saw the sun grow dark for three hours at midday. Unable to understand the event, he exclaimed, “Either the God of nature is suffering or the mechanism of the universe is breaking down.” It was not until later that he learned the true reason: the heavens darkened when Jesus was being crucified.

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victoria christi ab inferis

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Ar

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

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Av 

Nox erat, et medio firmata silentia cursu Prepetibus ducebat equis soror aurea Phoebi. Regna Acherontei tenebris horrenda profundi Intremuere procul, gemituque immugiit omnis Umbrarum domus, et vastae sine luce cavernae Dant sonitum. Fugit ipse intus limenque relinquit Incustoditum tria Cerberus ora cohercens; Quaeque fluenta umbrae circum Laethaea volabant Spem capiunt memoresque iterum lucisque suarumque Intentae expectant, quae tanta potentia sedes Conquatere infernas magnumque lacessere Ditem Audeat. Ipse cava specula caput extulit atrum Regnator Stygis et magna prospexit ab aula, Cum procul ecce autem signis pallaque rubentem Ad sua (novit enim) tendentem limina Christum Aspicit infestis ruiturum Tartara signis. Consiliique et mentis inops, “Ergo ibimus,” inquit, “O socii, regnumque hosti linquemus inulto Exiliumque vagis nullaque in sede quietis Inculti pars orbis erit, quaecumque sub Arcton Indurata gelu mortalibus invia marcet Excluditque animas in nostrum nomen ituras? Non licuit patrio quondam considere regno Concessoque frui imperio. Quin protinus alto Deturbati omnes caelo regna ista subimus, Tam longo a superis spacio intercepta, nec ulla est Unde via ad caelum redeundi, nulla facultas. Has quoque non prodest sedes coluisse tot annis Invisas caelo et caligine semper opaca Fumantes scaevoque calentia sulphure regna. Pellimur his etiam. Potuit frigere relictae Dulcis amor patriae. Iam consuetudo malignum Leniit exilium longoque induruit usu Sarcina curarum. Nunc ille Haebraeus Apella, Perfusus sanie pectusque manusque pedesque,

 limenque A: lumenque B. saevoque B. 15

The moon goddess Phoebe.

 Regnator B: Raegnator A.

 scaevoque A:

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It was night, and guiding her swift steeds in midcourse, Phoebus’ golden sister15 was ushering in deep silence. Far below, the dreadful realms of the underworld [] shuddered. The whole house of the dead groaned and bellowed, and the vast lightless caverns resounded. Keeping his three muzzles from barking, Cerberus fled inside and left the gateway unguarded. But the shades that hovered about Lethe’s stream took heart and, once more remembering life and their loved ones, waited intently to see what awesome power could dare shake the infernal abodes to their foundations and challenge mighty Dis. He himself, Ruler of the Styx, raised his dusky head high out of the cavernous watchtower and surveyed the approaches to his great palace. [] But look! Far off in the distance he espied Christ (for he knew him well), the cross staff and raiment reddened with blood, striding toward his threshold to harrow hell with that formidable ensign. Perplexed and distraught he burst out: “O my comrades, are we then to slink away and abandon our kingdom to the enemy without a fight? Are we to live in exile, always wandering about, without a homeland to call our own, and to inhabit a desolate corner of the world — some frozen wasteland in the far North, where no mortals can set foot and no soul mates can ever join us? Once before already we were barred from settling down in our fatherland [] and exercising our legitimate power. In fact, we were all immediately cast down from the heights of heaven. That is how we ended up in these realms that are cut off from the upper world by such a huge distance that there is no way, no possibility for a return to heaven. It is of no help to us either that we have lived for so many years in these dwellings loathsome to heaven, these realms always shrouded in dense fumes and glowing with sinister sulfur. We are now to be driven from this place too. We are to leave and let the sweet love of our homeland grow chill. Just when habituation has made our malignant exile bearable, just when [] the burden of cares has hardened us through long practice, here comes that Hebrew Apella,16 his chest and hands 16 Apella is the credulous Jew mentioned in Hor. S. ... Christian writers often used the name as a derogative term for Jews in general. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., with n.  (:); Hymn. .







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Ar 

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victoria christi ab inferis Eheu quam timeo ne fortior Hercule nostras Destructurus opes veniat nec vincula tantum Rupturus Stygioque canem tracturus ab antro, Sed magis insignem ducturus ad aurea praedam Sidera. Ne qua igitur teneat mora! Si qua salutis Monstret iter fortuna et si non ultima venit Ista dies tentemus!” ait. “Vos proxima raptim Scandite tecta alacres primoque a limine portae Arcete obiectis conantem irrumpere taelis. Sed neque flammivomi quemquam truculentia vultus Terreat. His armis quondam nos vicit et istas Depulit in latebras, putri loca foeta mephiti. Regalem interea nos hinc tutabimur arcem, Ne qua nocens propior vis ingruat. Ite, per omnes Insidias aptate vias et fallite furtim. Nulla magis vos arma decent.” Sic fatus inermem Dimisit numerum sociorum. Illi agmine facto Ad summa evadunt tectorum et moenia complent Lurida letiferis herbis atroque veneno. Tum vero audisses tristes mugire cavernas Mortifero gemitu Cyclopaeoque ululatu. Sicut ubi impastos per brumam indagine sepsit Hercinia sub rupe lupos venator et omnes Obsedit custode aditus; illi omnia circum Vesana suadente fame retinacula tentant Totumque horrificis ululatibus aera complent: Haud secus inferni fratres dum moenia servant Pro patria vastis feriunt clamoribus auras. Ecce autem insolita clarescere visa repente Omnia luce intus totumque admittere solem Squallida perpetuae noctis loca cassaque nuper Lumine sidereo. Totis nova monstra sub umbris Terruerant animas, quae tanta incendia lucem

 propior A: proprior B. laetiferis AB.

 numerum B: nunerum A.

 letiferis scripsi:

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and feet drenched with gore! Alas, how I fear that he, a hero mightier than Hercules, has come to destroy our dominion and not merely to break the bonds of Death and drag the dog from his Stygian cavern, but to escort a more glorious prize up to the golden stars.17 Therefore, let there be no delay! Let us put it to the test,” he roared, “whether Fortune will not show us the way to safety, or whether this day will not turn out to be our last! You there, climb as fast as you can onto the nearest roofs. [] And if he tries to force his way in, hold him back from the gate by hurling your missiles at him. But don’t be terrified by the ferocity of his fire-spewing face! He conquered us once before with those weapons of his and thrust us down into this pit, this place reeking of sulfurous vapors. While you do that, I will stay here to defend the royal citadel, in case his ruinous onslaught should succeed in penetrating this far. Go, lay traps for him on all the roads and outwit him with your cunning! No kind of warfare suits you better!” With these words he dismissed the unarmed mob of his comrades. In squadrons they rushed to the rooftops and thronged the walls [] ghastly with death-dealing herbs and black venom. Then, indeed, you might have heard the mournful caverns bellow with deathly groaning and Cyclopean shrieks. As when a huntsman in wintertime surrounds the hungry wolves with nets beneath some Hercynian cliff and with a guard blocks all routes of escape; but they, urged on by maddening hunger, essay the nets all around them and fill the whole sky with horrific howls: just so the infernal brethren guarding the walls for their fatherland made the air ring with their monstrous clamors. [] But look! Suddenly, everything inside was illuminated with an unaccustomed brilliance, and the squalid regions of eternal darkness, devoid of sunlight just a moment before, seemed to let in all the brightness of day. Throughout the underworld the spirits were terrified at the strange portents, at the tremendous conflagration capable of producing such 17 In one of his twelve labors, Hercules went down to Hades and dragged the threeheaded guard dog Cerberus into the upper world. Patristic writers interpreted this exploit as a prefiguration of Christ’s Harrowing of Hell. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .–.

 

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 Av

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victoria christi ab inferis Ferre novam possint. Posito stupefacta flagello Constitit Alecto sociasque ad limina Diras Evocat. Excussa stupet improba nocte Megera. Indignata etiam talem lucere per aulam, Tisiphone non sponte comantes aspicit angues. Tum primum (ut memorant) perculsae luce molesta Tetrica lanificae ponebant fila Sorores. Verbera non illo quatiebant tempore Dirae Ultrices. Tormenta iacent; gemitusque dolentum Nusquam exauditi, tristes siluere querelae. Ipse Charon prima puppim stupefactus in alga Sustulit, oppositam non ausus tangere ripam. Linquebat vacuum contempto iure tribunal Aeacus, et nullas Radamanthus iudicat umbras, Nec solita Minos sortes ducebat ab urna. Conticet omne forum. Silet omnis curia sontum. Quinetiam aeterna penarum lege notati Iussa etiam Fatis nolentibus intermittunt. Tantalus immaduit iam non fugientibus undis Pomaque non iterum tactum fugientia prehendit. Tum nec utrimque minax Ixiona terruit anguis, Quo minus eripiat sese immotusque resistat. Tu quoque non tollis revolutum, Sysiphe, saxum Spemque capis veniae. Tristi de rupe Prometheus Extulit evinctas invito vulture palmas. Multaque preterea fatui ludibria saecli, Credita non frustra, placidam cepisse quietem Credibile est isto quo tempore venit ad umbras, Quem superi terraeque tremunt manesque profundi. Stabat opaca, ingens, ferali tecta cupressu, Porta sub aereum quae proxima pertinet orbem, Quam ferrugineo fortes adamante columnae Obiicibus cohibent crebris vectesque cohercent

 Tetrica B: Territa A. 18

 exauditi A: exaudiri B.

 prehendit A: prendit B.

The Parcae, the goddesses of fate who spin the thread of mortal life. The Dirae (“Dreadful Ones”) are avenging deities, also known as the Furies. 20 For the “holiday in hell” during the night before Easter, see Hymn. –, with n.  (p.  above). 19

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extraordinary radiance. Laying down her scourge in stupefaction, Allecto stopped in her tracks and called her fellow Furies out to the threshold. Wicked Megaera was aghast at the expulsion of darkness. Tisiphone too was in shock. Indignant that daylight had entered such a hall as this, she unexpectedly caught sight of her snaky locks. [] The wool-spinning Sisters,18 we are told, were so dismayed by the bewildering dazzle that, for the first time ever, they laid their fateful threads aside. At that same moment the avenging Dirae stopped cracking their whips.19 All torments ceased. The groans of the afflicted were nowhere to be heard; the sorrowful laments fell silent. Even Charon, stunned with amazement, pulled his boat into the nearest reeds, for he did not dare cross to the opposite bank. With no one paying heed to his judgments, Aeacus left the empty tribunal. Rhadamanthus too gave up judging the shades, and Minos no longer drew the lots from his urn, as he normally did. [] The whole court grew still. All the assembled sinners fell silent. Indeed, those who had been condemned to eternal punishment took a holiday from their sentence, even in defiance of the Fates. Tantalus drank of the water that, for once, did not recede, and grasped the fruit that, this time, did not elude him. The serpents threatening Ixion from both sides did not terrify him now. Instead he tore himself loose and stood stock still. You too, Sisyphus, left off rolling the stone and entertained a hope of pardon. To the vulture’s chagrin, Prometheus lifted his fettered hands off the gloomy rock.20 [] Of the other mythical figures in which antiquity believed foolishly (but not wholly without reason),21 we may well imagine that many obtained some peace and quiet at that time when he came to the underworld — he, before whom the heavens and the earth and the shades of hell tremble. There stood a dark enormous gate, overshadowed by a funereal cypress. It guarded the road leading down from the upper air. Strong columns of somber adamant, fitted with numerous crossbars, serve to block it up, while stout, iron-clad

21 Belief in the punishment of hell is not vain, even if the examples given here come from pagan mythology.

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 Ar

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





Av





victoria christi ab inferis Ferrati trabibus duris, ubi postulat usus. Verum ubi nulla potens superum vis urget, aperto Limine semper hiat Ditique patescit avaro. Haec tum multiplici stabat compage serarum Tempore non ullo, non ipsa ab origine mundi, Clausa magis, non cum superum fortissimus orbem Deseruit victum Alcides maioraque famae Praemia devicto peteret Phlegetonte perhennis, Non etiam cum Pyrithoo comitatus amico Impiger Aegides dominam deducere Ditis Aggressus thalamo studio defecit inani, Non cum Troiugenam Aenean Cumaea Sybilla Duceret ad manes auro frondente beatum. Ergo ubi discussa durae caligine noctis Adstitit et clara omnipotens in luce refulsit, Victor ad obstantes sic fatus dicitur umbras: “Ergone Victori Regique haec limina vestro Clauditis et contra audetis capere arma Tonantem? Quin agite, umbrarum proceres, attollite duras Portarum vectes. Frustra est obsistere Divis.” Haec ubi dicta, animis pavor incidit. Ocyus omnes Qua via cuique ruunt totisque sine ordine castris Turmatim effugiunt. Non plures aere guttae Deciderant cum saevit hyems pluvialis ab alto; Non tot ad Hesperium littus volvuntur arenae, Cum Notus incubuit gravior verritque procellas; Non tam precipiti lapsu cecidere solutis Arboribus glandes Borea populante decorem Sideris autumni iuga per Dodonia late Sive per Hercinios saltus Alpesque nivosas Seu magis Obnobiis querceta virentia saxis. Nec mora, cardinibus postes cecidere solutis Cum sonitu, ingentemque dedit prolapsa ruinam Ianua, non aliter quam si Iovis igne repente Tacta cadat sonitumque trahat super aequora rupes.

 Aenean scripsi: Aene¯a A, Aeneam B.  limina B: lumina A (sed corr. manus in ex. Monachensi et Monasteriensi).  totisque B: totusque A.  aere A: aera B.  trahat A: trahas B.

christ’s victory over the underworld



beams barricade it, whenever the need arises. But when no formidable assault is expected from the world above, [] it always gapes wide open and gives access to ravenous Dis. Never before, no, not since the very beginning of the world, had this gate stood bolted with a more elaborate framework of bars than now — not when the strongest of men Hercules left the upper world, which he had already subdued, and sought the greater prize of eternal renown by conquering the River of Fire; also not when relentless Theseus, accompanied by his friend Pirithous, tried to abduct Dis’ queen from her chamber, but failed in the attempt; not when the Cumaean Sibyl [] led Trojan-born Aeneas, blessed with the golden bough, to the abode of the dead.22 Accordingly, when the omnipotent Conqueror had dispelled the fog of oppressive darkness and shone refulgent in dazzling light, he stood still and (so we are told) spoke the following words to the spirits obstructing his path: “Well, are you blocking this threshold to your Conqueror and King and presuming to take up arms against the Thunderer? Come now, you princes of darkness, lift up the stout bolts from the gates. It is futile to withstand God.” At these words, panic fear fell upon the spirits. In an instant they dashed away, everyone of them, by whatever path they could, and pell-mell fled their camps [] in hordes. Not more numerous are the drops that fall from the sky when a rainstorm rages; not so many are the grains of sand that tumble on the Hesperian shore, when the South Wind bears down hard and sweeps the tempests before it; not so precipitously do acorns fall from uprooted trees, when the North strips away the charms of autumn far and wide on the slopes of Dodona, or in the Hercynian Forest or the snowy Alps, or rather in the verdant oak woods of the Obnobian Mountains. Without delay, the doors were dislodged from their hinges [] and fell down with a crash. The gate collapsed into an enormous ruin, just as if some crag, suddenly hit by Jove’s fiery bolt, topples over and sends a long-drawn-out roar over the waters. 22 After breaking off a golden bough sacred to Proserpine, queen of the dead, the Trojan hero Aeneas gives it to the Sibyl of Cumae. Thus prepared, they enter the underworld to visit Aeneas’ father. See Verg. A. .–.









Br 







victoria christi ab inferis Est locus, Elysium veteres dixisse poetas Crediderim, vel si qua fides est verior illis Vestibulum ante domos caecas Acheruntis avari, Antrum immane, patens, longo incomplebile tractu. Nulla dies, nullae aurae intus, crassissimus aer Occupat et densis nebulis penetralia opacat. Ille locus sanctas animas manesque piorum Continuit residi per tot iam saecula Christo. Quo simul ut venit, tremere omnia lumine circum Visa novo totoque aperiri Tartara caelo. Primus ibi ante alios viridis pater incola regni Adfuit Adamus palmasque ad sidera laetus (Sidera sunt ubicumque Deus) sic voce precatus Extulit: “O tandem longis optate querelis, Expectatus ades miseris! Invicte Redemptor, Da requiem finemque malis. Fer ad astra receptos!” Talia dicentem patres clamore sequuntur Laeticiam testante novam. Quos maximus inter Progreditur gaudens Habraam Dominumque salutat. Pone subit puer Isaac, quem iusserat olim Ense patris sacram mactari Numen ad aram. Filius hunc sequitur generosa prole beatus. Hic Iacobus erat. Iuxta formosus Ioseph, Quem custos ovium tulit ex Labanide nympha, Regia magnanimum quem victa libidine coniux Flectere cum nequeat regi sub crimine falso Detulit et nimium paena multavit acerba. Quid memorem antiquum Mosen, qui duxit in arva Promissae genus Israel foelicia terrae, Quae niveo cum lacte fluunt flaventia mella? Quid Iosue invictum magnumve morabor Aaron? Quidve alios referam, ducibus quibus inclyta semper Israelitici permansit gloria sceptri? Non procul his aberat Machabaeus origine Iudas, Magnanimus patriae vindex, vir maximus armis, Inde alii, quos tam datur enumerare facultas Quam quot in Ionio putrescant littore conchae.

 Detulit Oporinus: Daetulit AB.

 Israelitici A: Israeliaci B.

christ’s victory over the underworld There is a place — Elysium (or so I like to think) is what the ancient poets called it — or rather (to follow a more authentic tradition) an entrance hall that lies before the dark abodes of greedy Acheron, a vast cave that stretches out so wide and far in every direction that it can never be filled. No daylight, no glimmer of sky inside. Oppressively thick air occupies its depths and beglooms them with dense mists. That was the place that held the holy spirits, the shades of the pious, [] in confinement for so many ages as they awaited the coming of Christ. As soon as he drew near, all Tartarus seemed to tremble in the preternatural light and open up completely to the sky. At the head of all the others stood our first parent Adam, who once dwelled in the Garden. Joyfully he raised his palms to the stars (wherever God is, there are stars) and offered up this prayer: “O you, for whom we have prayed so long in sorrowful laments, you have come down to us wretched souls, just as we expected! Invincible Redeemer, grant us rest, an end to our woes. Take us back with you to the stars!” As he spoke these words, the fathers seconded him with a loud cheer, [] in token of their new-found happiness. The greatest among them, Abraham, stepped forward in gladness and greeted the Lord. Right behind him walked his son Isaac, whom the Deity had once commanded to be slain by his father’s sword as a sacrifice at the holy altar. He was followed by the son who was blessed with noble offspring. That man was Jacob. Next to him walked the handsome Joseph, whom he, while still a shepherd, had fathered by Laban’s daughter. It was the same great-hearted Joseph whom the Pharaoh’s wife, overpowered by lust, had proved unable to bend to her will and hence had falsely accused to the king and punished with far too harsh a penalty. [] Need I mention Moses of old, who led the people of Israel to the blessed fields of the Promised Land flowing with snow-white milk and golden honey? Why dwell on the invincible Joshua and the great Aaron? Or why bring up all the other leaders through whom the glory of Israel’s scepter has forever remained celebrated? Not far from them was Judas Maccabee, the noble-spirited defender of his fatherland, a man mighty in battle. He in turn was followed by others so numerous, that one might sooner count them than the sea shells moldering on the Ionian shore.



 

Bv 







 Br





victoria christi ab inferis Ecce autem sacros, quondam fortissima, vates, Pectora, tam pulchro quis non miretur euntes Agmine ad ignivomum velut aurea sidera solem? Foelices animae, quibus alti praescia fati Mens data ad aethereos potuit penetrare recessus Sublimesque habitare domos non vincta cathenis Corporis infirmi, non obruta mole laborum, Quo minus humana regnans in carne deorum Concilio frueretur et omni libera nexu Ultima transiret magni confinia mundi! O animae, decora umbrarum, decora aetheris alti, Quis vestras poterit laudes aequare canendo? Carmina qui poterint vobis cecinisse poetae Digna satis? Non, si arguto magnum Orphea plectro, Non, si Maeoniden superet Musamque Maronis. Vobis ille quidem divinam in carmina mentem Influxit magni lustrator Spiritus orbis, Enthea sanctorum quem spirant pectora vatum — Non qui furta canunt Veneris turpesque deorum Concubitus tenerique insana Cupidinis arma, Sed qui de superis non impia, qualia vobis Carmina caelestes inspiravere Camoenae. “Foelices animae ter et amplius, ite potentem Victoris dextram contingite dictaque nobis Commendate pio votiva precamina Regi.” Haec aliquis vel plura etiam, cum candidus ille Progreditur chorus et magnum reverenter adorat Victorem Stygis et Domitorem noctis opacae, Regius ante alios ruris quem laeta paterni Pascua servantem pecudumque armenta sequentem Cinxit honorati Samuel diademate regni Sceptraque habere dedit post victum regia Saulem. Versibus hic clarus lyricis, vocalis eburno Psalterii resonas tangebat pectine chordas Stirpis Iessaeae David notissima proles. Qui simul ut magni stetit ora ante inclyta Christi Talia magnanimo de pectore verba profudit:

 vestras B: vostras A (sed corr. manus in ex. Monasteriensi). B.  nobis A: vobis B.  resonas A: resonans B.

 superet A: superent

christ’s victory over the underworld [] But look, who can help admiring the holy prophets, those brave heroes from days long past, as they approach in such a lovely throng, like golden stars toward the firespewing sun? Happy souls! To you was given a mind that foreknew the mysteries of fate and could penetrate the recesses of heaven and dwell in the mansions on high, not fettered by the shackles of the fragile body, not overwhelmed by the burden of hardships. Reigning supreme in human flesh, their spirit enjoyed the council of the gods and, free from all bonds, passed beyond the last confines of the macrocosm. [] O souls, you glory of the shades, glory of heaven on high! Who could match your achievements in his verse? Who among the poets could sing a hymn sufficiently worthy of you? Not one, no, not even if he outdid great Orpheus on the melodious lyre, not if he surpassed Homer himself or Vergil’s Muse. For he who poured the mind of God into your songs is the Holy Spirit, that Enlightener of the universe whom the inspired breasts of the holy singers breathe — not those who sing of furtive amours and the shameful liaisons of the gods and the madding darts of tender Cupid, [] but those who extol the celestials in devout songs of the same kind that the heavenly Muses breathed into you. “Ah spirits, thrice blessed and more, go touch the powerful hand of the Victor and commend our votive prayers to the benevolent King.” Someone cried out these words and more besides, when that white-robed throng came forward and reverently adored the great Conqueror of the Styx, the Subduer of pitch-black night. The most regal personage among them was the man [] whom Samuel had crowned with the diadem of honorable kingship, while he was still watching over his father’s rich pastures and following the herds of cattle, and into whose hands he had given the scepter after Saul’s defeat. Renowned for his lyric verses, he struck the resounding strings of his tuneful psaltery with ivory plectrum: David, the best-known scion of Jesse’s stem. As soon as he stood before the glorious face of Christ the Lord, he poured out the following words from his generous heart:









 Bv









victoria christi ab inferis “Nec me adeo caeca clauserunt nocte tenebrae Nec datus a superis tam spiritus ille fefellit, Ut mihi non animo semper spes certa sederet Te, Pater, afflictae tandem post plurima plebi Saecula venturum auxilio. Sic namque canebam Praevidique olim praesaga mente futurum. Nunc etiam cum me nigris in vallibus Orci Innocui audirent referentem talia manes, Obstupuere aliqui et spem concepere salutis. Verum alii numerare annos et tempora frustra Arguere oraclisque erratum credere priscis. At nunc certa fides postquam mea dicta sequta est, Ad tua credentes animae mortisque levatae Imperio genua advolvunt et qualia possunt Vota precesque ferunt, non quae decuisse triumphum, Victor magne, tuum possint. Nunc ergo beatis Da, Pater, oramus, patria gaudere recepta.” Talia dicentem ad sese Davida recepit Omnipotens dictisque animum solatur amicis. Tum chorus ad numeros una omnes voce precati Dulce melos tali resonabant carmine vates: “Tandem laeta dies totque expectata per annos Venit et oppressos tenebris et nocte profunda Illustrat candore novo! Nunc cernere coram, Christe, tuos illosque licet cognoscere vultus, Tartara quos inferna tremunt Stygiaeque paludes, In quibus est omnis dulcedo et summa beatis Leticiae terrorque malis, ad funera quorum Tota stupescentum concussa est machina rerum. Salve, magne Erebi Victor! Salve, inclyte Mortis Infernae Domitor! Vitae o fortissime Vindex Amissae, tua nos nunc tandem iusta precantes Ad genua admittas nosque illos esse memento Quos tua, quae magni domuit nunc infima mundi, Dextra potens propriae foecit de semine mentis Desertam patriam atque illam complere ruinam

 et nocte A: e nocte B.

christ’s victory over the underworld “Darkness has not enveloped me so deeply in blind night, the God-given spirit has not misled me so greatly that my soul has ever abandoned the sure hope [] that you, Father, would arrive at length, after so many ages, to succor your afflicted people. For I foresaw this long ago and prophesied that it would come to pass. Just now, when the righteous shades listened to these prophecies of mine in the black valleys of Orcus, not a few of them were filled with wonder and conceived a hope of salvation. However, others declared it futile to count up the years and the ages and thought it a mistake to believe the oracles of old. But now that my words have been fulfilled beyond a doubt, the souls of these believers, freed from death’s [] dominion, lie prostrate before your knees and offer you such vows and prayers as they are able to give, not as could befit your triumph, great Conqueror. Now therefore, Father, we pray, grant the blessed souls the joy of returning to their fatherland.” As David finished speaking, the Almighty took him into his arms and comforted his spirit with words of love. Thereupon the choir of prophets, all praying with one accord, burst out in sweet melody and sang the following song: “The day of gladness that we have awaited for so many years has come at last and illumines us, long buried in darkness and deepest night, [] with new radiance! Now it is granted us to see you, Christ, face to face and to get to know that countenance of yours, before which the depths of Tartarus and the Stygian pools tremble, the countenance in which the blessed find their whole delight, the sum of all happiness, but which is a terror to the wicked, and at whose death the entire framework of the stunned universe was shaken. Hail, great Conqueror of Erebus! Hail, glorious Subduer of infernal Death! O mightiest Champion of the life that was lost, permit us now, at long last, to fall before your knees and offer you our righteous prayers. Remember we are the people [] that your all-powerful hand — the hand which just now conquered the underworld — made from a spark of your own mind. For you created us to replenish your fatherland, all desolate and





Br











Bv 

victoria christi ab inferis Quam dedit aetheream linquens ille improbus arcem Spiritus infernique accepit sceptra regendi.” Talia festivo resonantes carmina plausu Agnifer anteibat iuvenis, qui nuper ad umbras Venerat et dixit rapidum se ad Iordanis amnem Vincula qui passos redimat lavisse futurum. Tum sic Omnipotens manes affatur amicos: “Omnia complexum quo tempore fecimus orbem Multiplicisque nova compage volumina caeli Iunximus et rerum genitalia corpora vitae Influa naturaeque vices, tum, ne qua maneret Pars deserta poli, paradisia regna creato Incolere et proprios homini concessimus hortos, Foelix ut totum regnis vitalibus aevum Degeret, haud morti nec fato obnoxius ulli. Verum quod dedimus iussum transgressus et angui Plus fidens, proprio poenas pro crimine pendens Pulsus ad incultas rediit novus incola terras. Tempore ab hoc caeli mortalibus invia semper Porta stetit nullique datum transire per alta Sidera; sed magnae dedimus loca proxima abysso Exilium patrio vetitis consistere regno. Nec tamen interea volventibus omnia nobis Excidit ille ardor, quo vos ab origine rerum Fovimus humanum genus. Hinc ergo ultima passi Insidiasque ulti serpentis et impia facta Venimus et tandem miserati indigna ferentes En et opem ferimus rursusque a morte redemptis Ad vitam reseramus iter.” Vix ista loqutum Haud mora confuso circumstrepere ordine manes Laeticiamque novam plaudentibus aedere dextris.

 ulli B: ullo A (sed corr. manus in ex. Monasteriensi).  iussum B: iustum A (sed corr. manus in ex. Monasteriensi).  humanum — ergo A: humanumque genus. Hinc B. 23 After Satan and his followers fell from heaven, God created humankind to replenish the ranks of heaven. The doctrine is patristic. See Her. Chr. .–, n.; ll. – below. 24 The “lamb-bearing youth” is John the Baptist. Seeing Jesus coming toward him as he was baptizing in the Jordan River, John exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” See John .. Late medieval artists, accordingly, often

christ’s victory over the underworld



shattered after that evil spirit left the citadel of heaven and accepted the scepter of kingship over hell.”23 As they intoned this hymn amidst festive applause, they were preceded by the lamb-bearing youth who just recently had come down to the shades and reported how at the Jordan’s swift stream he had baptized him who would redeem them from their bonds.24 Thereupon the Almighty addressed his friends the shades in the following words: [] “After we had made the allencompassing firmament and bound the revolving spheres of the manifold heavens in a new structure, after we had joined the elements that give rise to all living things and imposed cyclic regularity on nature, then, so that no portion of the heavens should remain deserted, we created man and allowed him to dwell in Paradise, in a garden of his very own, for we intended that he should live happily forevermore in that quickening realm where he would be subject neither to death nor to any fate whatsoever. But when he transgressed the command that we had given him and instead placed more trust in the serpent, he had to pay the penalty for his own crime. [] Driven into exile, he returned to the untilled soil25 and began life over again. From that time forward the gate to heaven has stood inaccessible to mortals, for no one was permitted to pass beyond the stars on high. However, we did provide this region at the very brim of the great abyss to serve as a place of exile for those who were forbidden to dwell in the Father’s kingdom. But meanwhile, as we revolved all things in their courses, we did not forget the ardent love with which we nurtured you human beings from the beginning of creation. That is why we suffered the ultimate and avenged the serpent’s snares and impious deeds. And now, at length taking pity on those who bear a punishment undeserved, [] behold, we have come to bring help, to redeem you from death and once more unbar the road to life.” No sooner had he spoken these words than the shades milled round about him, giving vent to their new-found joy by cheering and clapping their hands. portray him as carrying a lamb. John was executed by Herod Antipas, not long before Jesus’ death. 25 He went back to the soil from which he came.











Br 





victoria christi ab inferis Tum Pater effractis portarum molibus intro Vi subit et penitus nigri squallentia Ditis Limina perrumpit latebrisque immanibus ipsum Elapsum et vacua cupientem in sede latere Necquicquam aspiciunt comites. Quem protinus inde Extractum totasque ululantem triste per umbras Implicat et vinclis et carcere frenat opaco. Horrendum ille sonans religatos palpitat artus Immordetque seras indignaturque teneri. Sicut ubi incautum deserta per arva draconem Agricolae fallente Lybes clausere catasta; Deceptum ille dolens sese, penetrabile virus Colligit, acre micans oculis caudaque reflexa Contrahit ingentes spiras et naribus ignem Evomit ac nebulis mortalibus inficit auras: Haud secus humani generis latro et improbus osor Legibus arceri invisis vinctumque teneri Indoluit, contra necquicquam vincla renitens. Victa igitur rabies elanguit illa maligni Insidiatoris, qui nunc quoque vinctus in ista Illuvie imperium spoliata exercet in aula Excubiasque agit aeternas fraudumque ministris Non minus ex toto repetit spolia eruta mundo. Sic igitur domito dextra victrice profundo Legeque prescripta Stygias habitantibus oras Ad superas iterum terras Acheronte relicto Extulit Omnipotens victricia signa suoque Restituit regno et considere iussit avito. Est locus Aurorae primo venientis ab ortu Nobilis, a nostro tractu maris orbe remotus, Immenso altivagam contingens vertice lunam, Purus ab aereis nebulis, ubi maxima caeli Porta patet, veterum si vera est pagina vatum. Chrysolitis rutilant plenis et iaspide multa Topasioque graves inter fulgente pyropos

 opaco B: opaca A (sed corr. manus in ex. Monasteriensi).  ac A: et B.  prescripta A: perscripta B.

 virus A: virtus B.

christ’s victory over the underworld



Hereupon the Father strode through the ruins of the massive gate. Entering with might, he forced his way into the foul palace of pitch-black Dis. That tyrant had slipped out of his immense coverts and sought to hide in an unoccupied dwelling. In vain did his comrades look for him. But Christ immediately dragged him away as he howled wretchedly throughout the underworld, [] clapped him in chains, and locked him up in a dark dungeon. Raising a horrifying din, he shook his fettered limbs and bit into the bars and raged at his confinement. Just as when Libyan farmers on their desert fields capture an unwary dragon in a hidden trap; but he, grieved at being caught, gathers up all his penetrating venom; eyes flashing with rage, the tail whipping back, he coils himself in enormous spirals and spews out fire from his nostrils and darkens the sky with deadly vapors: just so that plunderer and arrant hater of the human race [] grieved at being hemmed in and fettered by the detested constraints and vainly struggled against his bonds. But as time passed, that mad wrath of his settled down and subsided. Even now the spiteful waylayer, locked up in that hellish filth, wields power in his despoiled palace and keeps unending watch and with his minions of deceit continues to bring back the spoils carried off from all over the world. And thus, after the Almighty had subdued the abyss with victorious hand and imposed his will on the denizens of the Stygian shores, he left the Acheron behind, [] brought his victorious cohorts back to the upper world, restored them to his ancestral kingdom, and bade them live there for all eternity. There is a famed land in the East, where the dawn first breaks.26 Separated from our part of the world by an expanse of sea, untroubled by clouds in the air, it touches the highwandering moon with its immense peak. There the grand doorway of heaven stands open, if the writings of the ancient poets speak true. The sparkling walls are aglow with an abundance of chrysolites and a profusion of jasper, with topaz 26 The Earthly Paradise was traditionally believed to be located on a lofty mountain in the East, close to the lunar sphere and high above the earth’s contagion. For a history of the doctrine, see Alessandro Scafi, Mapping Paradise: A History of Heaven on Earth (London, ). Cf. Eob. Buc. .–, n.; Her. Chr. .–, with notes.





 Bv









 Br



victoria christi ab inferis Vivaces muri, semperque virentia pulchro Maenia praetextu, portarum splendida tecta. Caelestes habitant animae. Tenuissimus aer Spirat et aeternos florum conservat honores. Sunt et perpetui soles. Est perpetuum ver. Vivida perpetuo nemoris viret umbra beati. Illic mille avium voces. Caelestia credas Nectare labentes circumstrepere organa rivos. Summa voluptatum locus ille et deliciarum. Ex re nomen habet: toto Paradisus in orbe Cognitus et culpa matris clarissimus Evae. Quo postquam ereptos Stygio de carcere patres Undique caelestum coetu applaudente reduxit, Aeris ipse cito rediit per inania lapsu Ad Solimas arces, ubi miles pervigil ipsum Sarcophago clausum cura servabat inani. Hortus erat viridi palmarum uberrimus umbra Montis in ascensu primo declivis in Eurum. Illic excisa positum sub rupe tenebant Armati iuvenes necquicquam morte peremptum. Iamque propinquabat croceis Aurora quadrigis Oceanoque diem ducebat Lucifer almum, Nondum vicinae totum caligine noctis Exutum, quo prima novi per gramina rores Tempore sparguntur caelumque albescere tractim Incipit et dubiam vix est agnoscere lucem, Cum subito ecce novo circum tremere omnia motu Terribilesque horrere aurae, mugire reclusis Terra adytis, magnoque malum terrore minari. Nec mora dant gemitum et tumuli collapsa residunt Claustra dehiscentique patescit ianua rima. Iamque novo circum perfusus lumine Christus Quem Iudea neci nuper demisit acerbae Demissumque loco clausit, qua passus, eadem Carne resurgebat tumulo. Iam tertius ibat Lucifer infandae postquam per vulnera morti Traditus occluso latuit, non omnis, in antro.

christ’s victory over the underworld



gleaming amidst heavy rubies. [] The ramparts are beautifully arrayed in everlasting green; the gates are roofed with splendor. This is the home of the celestial spirits. A delicate breeze wafts about and preserves the unfading beauty of the flowers. The sun, too, shines always. It is forever spring. In the blessed groves the invigorating shade is always verdant. There birds sing by the thousands. You might well think that celestial organs overspread the nectar-flowing brooks with music. This place is the sum of pleasures and delights. It is aptly named: all over the world it is familiar as Paradise, the site best known for the sin of mother Eve. [] Having rescued the fathers from their Stygian prison and conducted them back to Paradise amidst the applause of the heavenly host, he himself glided swiftly through the empty air and returned to Jerusalem, where ever-vigilant soldiers guarded his tomb with futile care. Not far up the eastern slopes of a mountain there lay a garden, densely shaded by verdant palms. It was here, in a sepulcher hewn out of the rock, that he had been buried. Armed youths vainly kept watch over his dead body. But now Dawn was approaching in her saffron chariot; [] and from the Ocean the morning star ushered in the revivifying day, not yet wholly released from the darkness of fading night. It was the time when fresh droplets first bedew the grass and the sky is gradually starting to brighten and one can just barely discern the twilight. But then, lo! suddenly the whole region was shaken by an unnatural tremor. The air shuddered horribly. The earth bellowed in its innermost recesses. A terrible disaster seemed to be impending. Suddenly the barriers of the tomb groaned and collapsed to the ground; the door yawned wide open. [] And now, bathed in a halo of wondrous light, the same Christ whom Judea had just recently sent to a bitter death and entombed in this place, he rose again from the grave in the very flesh in which he had suffered. Already it was the third day since he, monstrously condemned to die of his wounds, had lain buried (but not all of him)27 in the sealed cavern. Now he stepped forth, his body 27 Students’ notes in the Berlin and Münster copies of the poem point to the theological debate whether Christ’s divinity was buried together with his body.









Bv









28

victoria christi ab inferis Ibat purpurea vestitus corpora palla, Corpora funestae iam non obnoxia morti Vulneraque illa gerens quae nuper maxima quinque Accepit moriens sola et superesse volebat Funeris indicia et mortis monumenta nefandae. Salve, festa dies, victricis conscia palmae, Palmae quae terras caelo coniunxit et uno Labentem penitus fulcivit stipite mundum! Salve iterum, nunquam meliori lucifer ortu Vise prius, non cum primo, iam natus, Olympo Currebas iter insuetum. Quo frigida primum Tempore (da veniam) parvi incunabula Christi Vidisti non tantus eras, nec laetior unquam Collegam erepta pepulisti luce sororem. Stabat anhelanti similis similisque trementi Sol novus a tumulo Christum miratus euntem, Quaeque ipso nuper doluit natura perempto In faciem conversa novam se laeta resumpsit Atque adeo viresque suas geniumque profudit Tanquam oblita modum, tanquam se fortior ipsa Luxuria cupidum tentaret pellice mundum. Interea armatos timor occupat, altaque pulsat Corda pavor. Cecidere animi. Vox aegra palatum Deserit. Attonitos tremor ambit frigidus artus. Nec minor eripuit mentem stupor, ut neque dictis Auderent contra aut sumptis insurgere taelis, Quin potius stupefacta iacentes corpora, tanti Mirati victoris opus. Iam denique fassi Non hominem attonitam testes venere per urbem Surrexisse illum, tristi quem funere mersum Servandum ad tumulum populus mandasset Iesum. Altera iamque dies atque altera fluxit, ut illum Discipulos etiam et Marias vidisse sorores Rumor iit, famamque auxit spes credula vulgi. Illum etiam multi Galilaea in rura profecti Viderunt, testes iam vivere carne resumpta.

The sun. In medieval legend, the three Marys are the daughters of Anna, by three different husbands. See Her. Chr. .–, with n.  (:). 29

christ’s victory over the underworld clad in a purple robe, a body no longer subject to dreadful death, but still bearing those five grievous wounds that he had received not long ago when he was dying and that he wished to keep as the sole [] marks of his crucifixion and as the tokens of his abominable death. Hail to you, festive day! For you were conscious of the victor’s palm, a palm that joined earth to heaven and with its single trunk kept the world from utterly collapsing. Hail to you too, lightbringer!28 Never before has anyone seen you rise more gloriously, no, not even when you, newly born, first ran your unfamiliar course through the heavens. No, not even then (forgive me!), when you first gazed on the cold crib where the Christ child lay, did you look so resplendent. Never before were you so glad to rob your sister-colleague of her light and push her back. [] Like one who is out of breath and all atremble, the new sun halted awestruck as he saw Christ rise from the sepulcher. And Nature, which just now had been grieving at his death, threw off her mourning and was restored to happiness. Indeed, so lavishly did she pour forth her powers and gifts that it appeared as though she had forgotten all restraint — as if she, outdoing herself, were tempting the wanton world with seductive luxuriance. Meanwhile the soldiers were seized with alarm, and their hearts raced with deep fear. Their spirits fell. The voices quavered and died on the palate. Cold tremors ran through the paralyzed limbs. [] No less great was the stupor that robbed them of their wits, so that they dared not confront him, either with words or by force of arms, but fell down stupefied, amazed at the deed of so mighty a victor. Now, finally confessing that he had not been a man, they arrived in the astonished city and testified everywhere that he had risen, the Jesus who had died a grievous death and whom the people had consigned to be buried in the tomb. And now, as one day succeeded the next, rumors went abroad that the disciples and the sister Marys29 had likewise seen him, and the fond hopes of the people swelled these reports. [] Many persons set out for Galilee and saw him too. They witnessed for themselves that he was now alive, clothed in flesh once more.





Br

victoria christi ab inferis

Sola fuit rabies recutitae incredula gentis, Necdum exuta nefas, nostrosque hoc usque sub annos Permanet infidum Christo genus exiliumque  Aeternum patitur nec certas incolit usquam Terrarum sedes, sed finibus omnibus errat Invisum caelo ac terris, pulcherrima postquam Amisit sceptra imperii regnoque paterno Expulsum toto sine sede vagatur in orbe.  Ille potens igitur mundi Faber, ille redemptae Vitae Author Domitorque necis, post multa resumpti Aedita signa hominis reducisque in corpora vitae, Post vitae erumnas duraeque pericula mortis Sublimi tandem per nubila regna volatu  Aethereos abiit populo spectante recessus, Unde datas mundo leges et fata potenti Cuncta manu regit et parentibus imperat astris.

 Permanet B: Permanat A.

Subscriptio Finis add. B.

christ’s victory over the underworld



Only the mad frenzy of the circumcised people has remained incredulous and unrepentant. Even down to our own times this race persists in its unbelief in Christ. That is why it suffers eternal exile and cannot find a permanent home anywhere. Odious to heaven and earth, this people has been roaming from country to country ever since it lost the splendid scepter of government; and expelled from the land of its forefathers, it wanders over all the world without a dwelling place of its own.30 [] That mighty Creator of the world, therefore, that Redeemer of life and Conqueror of death, after offering many signs that he had put on human flesh again and returned to life in the body, after enduring the afflictions of life and the perils of harsh death, at length, as the people watched, ascended through the realm of clouds to the recesses of heaven, from where he gives laws to the world and governs all fate with mighty hand and commands the obedient stars.

30 After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in  ce and dispersed the Jews, Christians interpreted these events as God’s punishment for the Crucifixion. Cf. Prud. Apoth. – ; Eob. Nor. –; Psalt. , arg. –.

APPENDIX 1 Dedicatory letter in the posthumous edition of Victoria Christi ab inferis (Marburg, ) Gv

CLARISSIMO VIRO, DOMINO IOANNI MEGABACCHO, ILLUSTRISSIMI PHILIPPI HESSORUM ETC. PRINCIPIS ARCHIATRO, PATRONO ET AMICO CHARISSIMO SUO, HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS S. D. Fugit hyems, abiere nives. Nova gaudia rerum Alma sinu pandit luxuriante Venus. Indole nativa redeuntem Gratia mundum Imbuit et vultu candidiore venit.  Nunc propiore deo genitivae munera terrae Sponte sua virides explicuere comas. Vernat humus, frondent sylvae. Iucundior aer Spirat. Amabilior temperat unda fretum. Omnia vere novo nova sunt, totumque per orbem  Pube nova ridens omnia vestit Amor. Nos quoque, degeneres elegos, levia ista, perosi, En damus auspicio carmina facta novo, Qualia credidimus Victori Acherontidos orae Quamlibet audaci pectine digna cani.  Quandoquidem reduci nova plaudunt omnia Christo, Non decuit moestam nos habuisse chelim. Quando novo alludunt avium tot milia veri, Pieridum cannas quis tacuisse probet? —

Appendix . B. Cf. ep. dedicatoriam in A. 31 Johann Meckbach of Spangenberg (–) studied at Leipzig (–) and Erfurt (–), becoming BA in  and MA in . With financial support from Philip of Hesse, he studied medicine at Padua from  to . In  he became personal physician to the landgrave in Kassel. Named professor of medicine at Marburg in  and elected rector of the university in , he soon found it impossible to fulfill his obligations to both the university and the landgrave. Already in  he returned to Kassel as Philip’s personal physician. See further: Carl Knetsch, “Landgraf Philipps

APPENDIX 1 Dedicatory letter in the posthumous edition of Victoria Christi ab inferis (Marburg, ) TO THE RENOWNED MAN, JOHANN MECKBACH, PHYSICIAN TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE PHILIP OF HESSE, ETC., HIS PATRON AND DEAREST FRIEND, HELIUS EOBANUS HESSUS SENDS GREETINGS.31 Winter has fled; the snows have departed. Everywhere, lifegiving Venus is pouring out fresh delights from her luxuriant bosom.32 Beaming with gladness, Charm imbues the renascent world with natural beauty. Now that the sun god is nearer again, the gifts of Mother Earth need no prompting to spread out their verdant tresses. Spring flowers carpet the meadows; the woods are in leaf. The air wafts more pleasantly. A gentler wave tempers the sea. In the new spring all things are renewed, and throughout the whole world [] smiling Love clothes all creation in new growth. Disgusted with the degenerate elegy, those frivolous trifles, I too — lo and behold! — am bringing out a poem composed under new auspices, a poem worthy (or so I’d like to think) of being sung to the Conqueror of Hell, no matter how bold its rhythms.33 Since all revivified nature is applauding the risen Christ, it hardly seemed right for me to be singing songs of sadness. And when so many myriads of birds are greeting the new spring, who could approve if the Muses’ reeds kept

Leibarzt Dr. Johann Meckbach und seine Sippe,” Zeitschrift des Vereins für hessische Geschichte und Landeskunde  (), –. 32 As in the opening verses of Lucretius’ De rerum natura, Venus represents Mother Nature in all her creativity. 33 Unlike the heroic hexameter, which is well suited to expressing grand themes, elegiacs were typically reserved for the tender emotions. Hence they were used especially in love poetry and laments. See Her. Chr. ., n. Since Eobanus appears to have written these lines at Leipzig in the early spring of , the phrase “disgusted with the degenerate elegy, those frivolous trifles” must refer to his love poetry for Flavia. There is a similar allusion at the start of his Encomium nuptiale. See pp. – above.



victoria christi ab inferis

 Gr









Illo praecipue Phoebo ductante choream, Quem peperit nullo Pieris usa viro, Illo praecipue et tanto Pythone perempto, Vincere quem potuit non nisi tanta manus. Laeticiae nunc ergo novae paeana canentes Fas erat assueto tangere maius ebur. Ergo velut reduci paschalia iubila Christo Non levis in Christum scribere iussit amor. Quae tibi nunc annos post tot, Megabacche, dicamus, Et velut antiquo de lare prompta damus. Nunc ubi contigerint cessantibus ocia curis, Quae tibi tot medicus vix sinit esse labor, Haec quoque conspicies iuvenilibus aedita plectris, Forte etiam iuveni carmina lecta tibi, Lusimus haec siquidem nondum bene talibus apti, Qualibus haec aetas forsitan esse queat. Quae mihi non studio quaesita, sed auspice casu Inter opisthographos scripta reperta vides. Haec nunc qualiacunque tuo debentur honori, Debentur meritis, vir memorande, tuis, Quandoquidem studiis non sis alienus ab istis, Queis exacta tibi prima iuventa fuit. Accipe parva igitur, quo sunt data pectore, et isthaec Adsere qua vatem dexteritate soles. Sic neque degeneris metuent mala nomina famae, Sic neque qui noceat Zoilus ullus erit.

[app. 

christ’s victory over the underworld



silent? — all the more, as their choir is led by that Phoebus [] who was born of a Virgin Muse;34 all the more, too, because that great Python is slain, the serpent that only a hand as mighty as his was able to vanquish.35 That is why my Muses were right to sing paeans of new joy and to strike the ivory lyre more grandly than usual. That too is why fervent love for Christ bade me write, as it were, paschal jubilations to the risen Christ. I am now dedicating these verses of triumph to you, Meckbach. Many years have passed since I wrote them, for I retrieved them, so to speak, from their musty old storeroom in order to present them to you.36 Someday, when you are free of responsibilities and have the leisure [] that your medical practice hardly ever gives you, you will also have time to read the poem that I sang in my youth. You might even have read it as a young man yourself.37 For I wrote it when I was not as good at handling this genre as, perhaps, I am now. The work you see before you is not something I expressly looked for. I just happened to come across it among my papers. Whatever its worth, I now feel bound to present it to you as a token of my respect and to dedicate it, celebrated man, to your achievements, seeing that you are not averse to these literary pursuits [] in which you yourself spent your younger days. Accept this small token, therefore, in the spirit in which it is offered and defend it with the same skill as you do its poet. Then indeed it will not fear the malicious words of slander, nor will there be a Zoilus who could harm it.38

34 In a favorite phrase of Eobanus’, Phoebus is the “Christus Apollo” who was born of the “Virgin Muse” Mary. See Laud. – and Buc. .–, with notes. 35 Christ, the risen Sun who vanquished the ancient Serpent in hell, is associated here with the sun god Phoebus, who slew the great dragon Python. See Ov. Met. .–. For the association of Satan and the dragon, see Revelations .; and, for example, Eob. Vict. –. 36 Eobanus had written the work many years earlier and has now retrieved it from his papers. 37 Meckback was studying toward the BA degree at Erfurt when the book was first published in . 38 The sophist Zoilus made fun of Homer’s mistakes. See n.  at Rec. B . (:).

APPENDIX 2 Epigram to the reader in the posthumous edition of Victoria Christi ab inferis (Marburg, ) EOBANUS LECTORI S.

Gv









Nuper Hyperboream bruma fugiente sub Arcton, Venit ab australi mollior aura plaga. Propter aquam, sed adhuc humili spaciabar in herba; Multa regliscenti pubuit umbra coma. Iamque novus curru sol ascendebat Eoo; Pura repercussum reddidit unda iubar. Allusere novo formosa silentia veri, Una novi veris forma Venusque fuit. Explicui fluxamque togam lentumque sedile, Aptabam resides ad nova scripta manus. Iamque levis sumpta spirabat arundine Musa, Nescio quid tenerum molliculumque sonans. Advenit Uranie, divarum prima Sororum Quas pius aethereo nectare pascit Amor. Ut prope constiterat, “Quid,” ait, “mea signa relinquens, Scribis in Idalio fornice digna legi? Et mihi, si nescis, aetas tua prima dicata est. Vis quod te deceat scribere, scribe mihi.” Dixit et in tenues fugiens evanuit auras. Territa mi subitus fluxit in ossa calor. Protinus ista mihi ludibria vana peroso Heroam placuit sollicitare tubam. Ergo resurgenti paschalia iubila Christo, Teste dea, vatum vindice, carmen erant.

Appendix . B.

 Uranie Oporinus: Uraniae B.

APPENDIX 2 Epigram to the reader in the posthumous edition of Victoria Christi ab inferis (Marburg, ) EOBANUS TO THE READER, GREETINGS Recently, as winter fled to the hyperborean Arctic, a gentler breeze arrived from the South. I was taking a walk in the still-short grass along the water’s edge; the growing foliage provided much shade. And now the morning sun was rising in his eastern chariot; the limpid water shimmered with the reflected light. Lovely silence sported with the new spring. The loveliness of the new spring was one with Venus. I spread out my billowing coat on the ground, made a comfortable seat for myself, [] and set my idle hands to write something new. As soon as I took up the pen, the light Muse inspired me with some tender amorous trifles. But then Urania appeared, chief of the divine Sisters whom pious Love nourishes with heavenly nectar.39 When she stood next to me she said: “Why are you deserting my standards to scribble verses fit for a brothel of Venus? The springtime of your life, in case you’ve forgotten, is dedicated to me as well. If you want to write what truly suits you, then write for me.” With these words, she vanished swiftly into the thin air. [] Overawed, I felt a sudden ardor stream into my bones. And as those empty bagatelles began to fill me with disgust, I resolved forthwith to rouse the heroic trump. The divine protectress of bards will witness for me: this is how my paschal jubilations to the risen Christ became verse.

39

Urania (“the Heavenly One”) is the Muse of Christian poets.

APPENDIX 3 Johann Spangenberg’s adaptation of Eobanus Hessus’ Victoria Christi ab inferis, first published as a school text at the end of his versified Evangelia Dominicalia (Wittenberg, ) Er

TRIUMPHUS CHRISTI HEROICUS

Ev

Cum Faber astrorum mortis pateretur acerbum In cruce supplicium, sese non posse dolores Ferre Creatoris mundus clamabat, et astra. Ignivomi solis lumen nox abstulit atra. Contremuit tellus, scopuli rupesque dehiscunt. Et quid opus multis? Lugebant cuncta creata. Rex coeli ut Christus Phlegetontis regna subivit, Princeps regali Pluto prospexit ab aula. Ad sua dum sensit concurrere limina Christum, “O socii,” exclamat, “iam tempus sumere tela, Quandoquidem hic, sanie perfusus membra, propinquat, Praedaturus opes nostras umbrasque animasque. Scandite tecta alacres hostemque a limine telis Arcete obiectis multa et compage serarum. Regalem interea nos hic tutabimur armis, Obicibus crebris, et duris vectibus aulam.” Agmine facto illi summa ad fastigia currunt, Vocibus horrisonis et tecta et moenia complent. Ecce autem Christus per taetra silentia rupit Lumine sidereo claraque in luce refulsit. “Heus agite, umbrarum proceres, attollite portas Portarumque seras et magnos demite vectes. Quid, miseri, audetis contra capere arma Tonantem? Hic ego Rex vester! Frustra est obsistere Regi.”









 dehiscunt Gast (): dehistunt .  sanie Gast (): saniae .  limine : limite Arévalo.  Portarumque seras Arévalo (metri gratia): Portarum seras .

APPENDIX 3 Johann Spangenberg’s adaptation of Eobanus Hessus’ Victoria Christi ab inferis, first published as a school text at the end of his versified Evangelia Dominicalia (Wittenberg, ) THE HEROIC TRIUMPH OF CHRIST When the Maker of the stars suffered the bitter punishment of death on the cross, earth and heaven cried out that they could not bear the Creator’s agonies. A black murk robbed the firespewing sun of its light. The ground quaked; cliffs and crags split asunder. But why go on and on? All creation mourned. As Christ, the King of Heaven, was approaching the realms of Phlegethon, Prince Pluto looked out from his royal palace. Sensing that Christ was rushing toward his threshold, he exclaimed: [] “O my comrades, now is the time to take up your weapons, seeing that this man, his limbs all drenched with gore, is coming here to despoil us of our treasures: the shades and souls. Climb onto the roofs as fast as you can and hold him back from the gate by hurling your missiles and putting up heavy barricades. While you do that, I will stay here to safeguard the royal hall with weaponry, numerous crossbars, and stout bolts.” In squadrons the demons ran up to the pinnacles, filling the roofs and walls with their horrific voices. But behold! Christ pierced the foul silence [] with sun-like splendor and shone forth in dazzling light. “Ho there, princes of darkness, lift up your gates! Take down the bars of your gates, remove the great bolts! Why do you wretches presume to take up arms against the Thunderer? Here I am, your King! It is futile to withstand the King.”



victoria christi ab inferis 









Er





Haec ubi dixisset, subitus pavor occupat omnes. Turmatim effugiunt. Ululatibus aera complent. Nec mora, cum sonitu postes cecidere solutis Cardinibus, magnamque dedit collapsa ruinam Ianua, et admittunt concussa palatia Christum. Obstupuit prior ipse Charon seque abdit in ulva, Et canis obstupuit claudens tria Cerberus ora. Gorgones Harpiaeque tremunt, pavet ipsa Megera, Tisiphone, Alecto, perculsae luce molesta, Ultrices Dirae, Furiae, Parcaeque sorores. Et quid multa? Silent gemitus, tormenta, dolores. Quo simul ingreditur Christus, tremere omnia circum. Sed gaudent animae sanctae manesque piorum. Primus Adam ante alios palmas ad sidera laetus Extulit et Dominum devota est voce precatus: “Expectate venis miseris, o sancte Redemptor! Da requiem finemque malis. Fer ad astra redemptos!” Sic pater Habramus, puer Isacus, atque Iacobus Procedunt alacres, iuxta formosus Ioseph Et Moses sanctus et vitta insignis Aaron, Et Iosue invictus, reliqui regesque ducesque, Et patriae vindex Machabeus origine Iudas, Inde alii patres, fama super ethera noti. Candidus ille chorus Christum reverenter adorat. Regius ante alios vates, notissima proles Stirpis Iesseae, cytharam tangebat eburno Pectine et ad numeros una omnes voce precati Dulce melos pangunt concordi carmine vates. Ante alios iuvenis, qui Christum nuper ad undas Tinxerat, hic letis concentibus agnifer ibat: “Salve, Herebi Victor! Domitor salve inclite Mortis, Destructor scelerum! Salve, o fortissime Vindex

 Ultrices Dirae Poelman: Ultrices, dirae . . 40 41

[app. 

 vitta Spangenberg (): vita

Moses’ brother Aaron was the first high priest of the Israelites. The psalmist King David, son of Jesse.

christ’s victory over the underworld



When he had spoken these words, a sudden terror struck them all. They fled in hordes, filling the skies with their howls. Without delay, the doors were dislodged from their hinges and fell down with a crash. The gate collapsed into a great ruin; and, shaken to its foundations, the palace gave Christ free entry. [] The first to react was Charon himself. Stunned with amazement he concealed himself in the reeds. The guard dog Cerberus was so stunned that he shut his three muzzles. The Gorgons and Harpies trembled. Even Megaera, Tisiphone, and Allecto were unnerved by the bewildering dazzle and fell into a panic, as did the avenging Dirae, the Furies, and the Parcae sisters. But why go on? The groans, the torments, the sufferings fell silent. As soon as Christ entered, all the surroundings trembled. But the holy spirits, the shades of the pious, were gladdened. At the head of all the others, Adam joyfully raised his palms to the stars and in a devout voice he offered this prayer to the Lord: [] “Long expected, you have come down to us wretched souls, O holy Redeemer! Grant us rest, an end to our woes. Take the redeemed to heaven!” Likewise, father Abraham, his son Isaac, and Jacob eagerly stepped forward, along with the handsome Joseph and holy Moses and Aaron, distinguished by his priestly headband,40 also the invincible Joshua and the other kings and leaders, also the defender of his fatherland, Judas Maccabee, and other fathers too, whose fame extends beyond the skies. That white-robed throng reverently adored Christ. The most regal of poets, the best-known scion [] of Jesse’s stem, struck his psaltery with ivory plectrum.41 And as he played, all the prophets, praying with one voice, made a sweet melody in perfect harmony. At their head walked the lambbearing youth, the one who had recently baptized Christ in the river,42 and sang this joyful song: “Hail, Conqueror of Erebus! Hail, glorious Subduer of Death, Destroyer of sins! Hail, O

42 The “lamb-bearing youth” is John the Baptist. Seeing Jesus coming toward him as he was baptizing in the Jordan River, John exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” See John .. Late medieval artists, accordingly, often portray him as carrying a lamb. John was executed by Herod Antipas, not long before Jesus’ death.



victoria christi ab inferis







 Ev



[app. 

Amissae vitae! Salve, o Spes una salutis! Aspice plasma tuum, sancte et venerande Creator, Et post tot gemitus nos duc ad regna polorum.” Tum Christus verbis animas adfatur amicis: “Ponite corde metum, tristes secludite curas. Ipse, ubi tempus erit, vos ad mea regna reducam.” Haec dicens, fractis portarum molibus intrat Horrendi Ditis regnum. Quem protinus inde Extractum vinclis et carcere frenat opaco. Horrendum ille tonans nequicquam palpitat artus Inmordetque seras indignaturque teneri. At Deus, ille Stigis Domitor, Phlegetonte relicto, Intulit Elisio raptos de carcere patres. Hinc redit a tumulo redivivus, pervigil ipsum Miles ubi clausum studio servabat inani. Quos tremor attonitos sic fecerat, ut neque dictis Auderent contra aut sumptis insurgere telis. Sed Solimam ingressi magnis terroribus urbem, Surrexisse aiunt magno cum robore Christum. Interea sese vitae Reparator amicis Discipulisque suis redivivum praebuit et post Quadraginta dies coelestia regna revisit. Quem mox venturum rursum expectamus ab alto, Arbiter ut iusta cunctis det praemia lance.

Tropheum Christi Rex ergo noster Christus super omnia regnat. Et veluti quondam belli statuere trophaea Magnanimi Graium proceres regesque Latini, Sic Christus statuit celebris victricia pugnae  Signa suae, signa aeternos mansura sub annos.

43

Paradise. The “trophy” imagined here is the ancient tropaeum. After routing an enemy, victorious generals would hang the spoils of battle — arms, shields, and the like — on the lopped trunk of a suitably impressive tree. For a famous description of such a trophy, see Verg. A. .–. While Vergil’s description was Spangenberg’s literary model, he was also inspired by the Gospel of Nicodemus, Latin version B, ().. There the liberated saints ask Christ to set up the cross in the midst of Hades to serve as an eternal sign 44

christ’s victory over the underworld



mightiest Champion of the life that was lost! Hail, O sole hope for salvation! Look upon your creation, holy and venerable Creator, and after so many lamentations lead us to the kingdom of heaven.” [] Thereupon Christ addressed the souls in kindly words: “Do not be afraid, put away the cares that sadden your hearts. When the time comes, I myself will lead you back to my kingdom.” As he spoke, he strode through the ruins of the massive gate and entered the kingdom of horrid Dis. Immediately dragging him away, he clapped him in chains and locked him up in a dark dungeon. Raising a horrifying din, he vainly shook his limbs and bit into the bars and raged at his confinement. But God, that Subduer of the Styx, left Phlegethon behind and brought the patriarchs whom he had rescued from their prison into Elysium.43 [] Thence he rose alive from the grave, where ever-vigilant soldiers guarded his entombed body with futile care. So paralyzed were they with fright that they dared not confront him, either with words or by force of arms. But entering the city of Jerusalem in great terror they told how Christ had risen with mighty strength. Meanwhile the Restorer of life showed himself alive again to his friends and disciples and after forty days returned to his celestial kingdom. We trust that he will soon come again as Judge from heaven, [] to weigh all people on just scales and give them their reward. The Trophy set up by Christ44 Our King Christ, accordingly, reigns over all things. And just as in days of old the great-hearted princes and kings of Greece and Rome set up trophies of war, so Christ set up the victorious emblems of his celebrated battle, emblems destined to endure to the end of time.

of his victory. See J.K. Elliott, The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation (Oxford, ), . Cf. further R.H. Storch, “The Trophy and the Cross: Pagan and Christian Symbolism in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries,” Byzantion  (),–.



victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

Crux Arboris ipse crucem posuit venerabile lignum, De cuius ramis, fractis cervicibus, huius Vincti dependent oculis turgentibus hostes. Pluto Ante alios Stigius Pluto de stipite pendet,  Arcubus attritis, taelis, laqueis, pedicisque. Mors Hinc alia Mortis de stipite pendet imago, Pallida, caeca, ferox, elinguis, frigore torpens, Dentibus excussis, et truncis naribus ora Horrida commonstrans et hyantia guttura late.



Infernus Fronde alia Inferni dirupti ianua pendet, Postibus attritis, cum cardinibusque serisque. Mala conscientia. Ira Dei Fronde alia Ira Dei et sibi Mens male conscia pendent, Omnia quae Christi roseo sunt tersa cruore.

Er

Chyrographum Fronde alia patris primaevi syngrapha pendet,  Dilaniata modis miseris extinctaque prorsus. Mundus Tandem sordifluus valido de stipite Mundus, Plenus dissidiis et multo crimine, pendet, Et variae pompae et crudelia facta tyrannum.

 pendet Poelman: pendent . 45

Satan, the prince of hell. See Colossians .– (Revised Standard Version): “And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us 46

christ’s victory over the underworld



The Cross He himself planted the cross, the venerable wood of the tree. From its branches hang his fettered enemies, their necks broken, their eyes bulging out. Pluto Front and center on the trunk hangs Stygian Pluto,45 [] along with his trampled bows, arrows, snares, and traps. Death Elsewhere on the trunk hangs the image of Death, pallid, blind, ferocious, tongueless, stiff with cold, teeth knocked out and nose lopped off, showing a horrid face and a throat gaping wide. Hell On one branch hangs the gate of shattered hell, its jambs splintered, together with its hinges and crossbars. Bad Conscience. The Wrath Of God On another branch hang the Wrath of God and Consciousness of Sin, which are all cleansed by the rosy blood of Christ. The Bill of Indebtedness On another branch hangs the bond of indebtedness incurred by our first parent, [] a bond now torn into miserable shreds and completely canceled.46 The World Finally, from that sturdy trunk hangs the filth-dripping World, full of dissensions and deep sinfulness, along with motley pomps and the cruel deeds of tyrants.

with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” For the exegesis of this text, see Eugene C. Best, An Historical Study of the Exegesis of Colossians , (Rome, ). For the legends it inspired, see Michael E. Stone, Adam’s Contract with Satan: The Legend of the Cheirograph of Adam (Bloomington, ), especially –, –.



victoria christi ab inferis

Victoria Christi Hos hominum Christus saevos absorbuit hostes,  Ut neque iam possint ultra damnare fideles. His equidem tentare datum, sed vincere nostrum est. Id quoque per Christum, cuius victoria nostra est, Cum Patre, qui aeternum Sancto cum Flamine regnat. Amen

 equidem Gast (): aequidem .

[app. 

christ’s victory over the underworld The Victory of Christ These are the savage enemies of humankind that Christ absorbed, so that they can no longer condemn the faithful. To them, indeed, it is given to tempt us; but it is ours to triumph. That, too, has been granted us through Christ, whose victory is ours, together with the Father who reigns forever with the Holy Breath. Amen



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

notes to HYMNUS PASCHALIS

Liminary Epigrams  Meter: Elegiac distich. – 







Qui legis — pauca vide Cf. Dial., lim. .–: “Tot nova cum passim videas, male forsan et horas/Vis posuisse bonas, haec quoque nostra vide”; Nor., lim. –. Qui legis — Musae Imitated by Eobanus’ student Hans Pregel in Hypocr., lim. : “Cuius habes Hessi iam tot nova carmina, lector.” Cf. Mart. ..: “Qui legis . . . mea carmina.” Qui legis = Ov. Tr. ..; .; Eob. Vitanda ebriet. .. Hessiacae . . . carmina Musae Cf. Buc., ded. : “Hessiacae debent mea carmina terrae.” tot . . . nova carmina Venus .; cf. Verg. Ecl. .; Eob. Max. , n. carmina Musae = Nemes. Ecl. .; Eob. Buc. .. Haec — pauca vide Eobanus imitates Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Haec facilis placido lumine pauca lege.” Cf. Hor. Carm. ..: “nascentem placido lumine videris”; Eob. Sylv. duae .: “haec, quae pauca videtis.” Iubila . . . testantia = Psalt. .: “Iubila laetantes animos testantia.” Iubila . . . canimus Andrel. Ecl. .: “Iubila cum canerem nostris incognita silvis”; Eob. Sylv. .., alluding to the poem that Eobanus wrote in his poetic duel with Johannes Dantiscus in : “Nos canimus magno victricia iubila Christo”; Idyl. .: “toto canerent resonantia iubila coelo”; Psalt. .: “Dulcia multiplici iubila voce canunt.” Cf. Vict., app. .; app. .. testantia palmam Poliziano, Silv. .: “cantu palmam testatur.” Res animo = Her. Chr. .: “Res animo . . . ponderat.” copia nulla = Ov. Pont. ...

 Meter: Elegiac distich. –

Detrahit — precor The epigram alludes to — and ironizes — Prop. ..–. Cf. also Ov. Am. ..–; Trist. ..–; Eob. Epic.



–

 

 

notes to hymnus paschalis

[lim. 

.–; .–. In the margin of the Vienna copy a student’s note says that Eobanus primarily alludes to Mant. Epigr. .– (fol. r): “Invidiae morbo praesens male iudicat aetas./Iudicium melius posteritatis erit.” The note goes on to quote the passage from Ovid’s Amores and the one from Propertius, cited above, and concludes with Mart. ..–. Detrahit — placet Cf. Sylv. ..–, where Eobanus praises Herbord von der Marthen’s wide travels and then comments: “Detrahit optati praesentia semper honori,/Perpetuoque domi nemo placere potest.” optati presentia . . . honori A student’s hand in the Vienna copy glosses these words: “[optati] rei copia . . . reverentie.” patrio — placet Cf. Vulg. Luc. . (quoted in an interlinear gloss in the Vienna copy); also cf. Vulg. Matt. .; Marc. .; Joan. .. For the proverb, see TPMA, s.v. “Prophet,” nos. –. patrio . . . orbe = Her. Chr. .. nullus in orbe = Ov. Fast. .. carmina nemo probabit Epic. .; cf. Mart. ..: “Non scribit, cuius carmina nemo legit.” Displiceant . . . carmina nostra = Sylv. ..: “Non metus est ne . . ./Displiceant animo carmina nostra tuo.” For carmina nostra at this metrical position, see, for example, Ov. Ars .; Fast. .; Trist. ...

Dedicatory Letter tit. 



 

Litterarum scientia praestanti Gel. ..: “Sulpicium Apollinarem, virum praestanti litterarum scientia”; cf. Cic. Brutus ; de Orat. .; Eob. Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. ingratitudinis vitium A late medieval phrase, used, for example, in Aen. Silv. Germania . and in the heading to Locher, Stult. , fol. r. Eobanus uses the expression also at Laud., ded. . quid faciundum censes Ter. Eu. ; cf. Pl. Am. . Christi dormitione For this expression, see, for example, Haymo of Halberstadt, Homiliae de tempore , PL , col.  C: “Dormitio Christi mortem significat.” anteliminari pagina Cf. Her. Chr. B .: “Tu prior occurres illi stomachumque movebis/Praeliminari pagina.” bonis . . . avibus Erasmus, Adag. ..; Eob. Laud. , n. Ad paschale iusticium The unusual phrase occurs again in the book’s colophon; see p.  above. Euricius Cordus adopts it at the end of his dedicatory letter to bk.  of Epigrammata (Erfurt, ). See Cordus, Epigr., introd., xxxv.

notes to hymnus paschalis



Hymnus paschalis Meter: Sapphic strophe. Sapphics have been commonly used in the Latin hymns since Gregory the Great, most famously in the hymn, “Ut queant laxis resonare fibris,” attributed to Paulus Diaconus (AH :– , no. ). The tradition continues with such Renaissance poets as Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Sebastian Brant, and Erasmus of Rotterdam. Eobanus’ immediate model, however, was Paulus Crosnensis’ “Hymnus in diem paschalem, continens verni temporis descriptionem” (Carm. ), a Sapphic hymn published at Cracow after  March  (repr. ). See pp. – above. 

–  – –

 –

–  –   – – 

Ite . . . elegi Ov. Pont. ..; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Ite alio, miserorum, elegi, solatia amorum.” lugubres . . . Camoenas Andrel. Livia ..: “Ad fera lugubres concurrite fata Camaenae.” Camoenas . . . prohibete Ruf. : “Ver breve, quid longas non vis prohibere Camoenas?” triumphali . . . pompa Oros. .: “triumphales pompas”; and, for example, Mant. Georg., fol. v: “triumphalem duces ad sydera pompam”; Eob. Venus .. placidum . . . Carmen Bocc. Ecl. .; .; Strozzi, Eroticon ... victo Victor ab Orco Cf. Mant. Georg., fol. v: “utque/Ipse suis victo surgens se ostenderit Orco,/Victor ut aethereos demum conscenderit orbes”; Sabell. In natal.  (sig. bv): “Obvius . . . matri Stygio sit victor ab Orco”; l.  below. For the play on the root of vincere, cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  below. Luce . . . nitida Mart. .. and Anthol. Lat. . (at dawn). croceum . . . Diva pudorem Epith. : “Eoos quando conspecta iugales/Diva pudori color croceo velabit amictu.” The epithet croceus is conventionally associated with Aurora. See, for example, Verg. G. .; A. .; Ov. Am. ..; Met. .; Eob. Vict. . O dies — Lucifer anno Cf. Vict. –, nn. Line  alludes to Ven. Fort. Carm. .. (also used in the famous Easter hymn): “Salve, festa dies, toto venerabilis aevo,/Qua Deus infernum vicit et astra tenet.” multum veneranda Stat. Silv. ... pubescens — Mundus Cf. Vict. . Genitore rerum Juvenc., Praef. ; Sedul. .. Fine quievit = Verg. A. .. Vidit — mortis See Vulg. Gen. –; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .–; Vict. –. Vidit — Nec tulit Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. humani generis tyrannus The phrase reappears at Tum. .. In liturgical language, the devil is often called hostis humani generis. See Gerard M. Lukken, Original Sin in the Roman Liturgy: Research into the Theology of Original Sin in the Roman Sacramentaria and the Early



 –  –  –

–

  –

  – –   – – – 

notes to hymnus paschalis Baptismal Liturgy (Leiden, ), –, with n. . Cf. Eob. Vict. . humani generis = AH :, no. ., in a well-known Sapphic hymn to the Archangel Michael: “Christe, sanctorum decus angelorum,/Rector humani generis et auctor”; Paul. Cros. Carm. ..: “Summus humani generis redemptor.” dolo captum Ov. Ep. .; Sen. Med. . paterno . . . horto ≈ ll. – below. terra genitrice Theoduli Ecloga : “viri terra genitrice creati”; Eob. Salom. .: “Quem Genitor terra de genitrice tulit.” adaperta . . . Ianua mortis Cf. Sil. .–. durae . . . mortis Her. Chr. ., n.; Vict. , n. annorum seriem Hor. Carm. ..; Ov. Pont. ... magni Conditor anni Cf. Her. Chr. .; Psalt. .: “Conditor omnipotens, magni Deus arbiter aevi”; .: “Conditor omnipotens, omnis Deus arbiter aevi.” For conditor anni, see Ov. Fast. . (in a different sense). Virginis — Induit artus As at Vict. –, Eobanus paraphrases the Procession Responsory of the Christmas Mass, as adopted in many churches: “Descendit de caelis missus ab arce Patris, introivit per aurem Virginis in regionem nostram indutus stola(m) purpurea(m).” Cf. St. Agobard, De antiphonario , in CCCM :. teneram per aurem Her. Chr. ., n. Induit artus = Stat. Ach. .; Tifernate, “Hymnus in Trinitatem,” in Carm., sig. Ar: “hominum concretos induit artus.” The expression recurs in Christian Latin poetry. antiquos — manes Cf. Her. Chr. .; Vict. , . profundo Carcere ≈ Raffaele Zovenzoni, “Ad Christum” (a prayer for the destruction of the Turks), ll. –: “Christe . . ./. . ./Qui regis coelos, regis et profundi/Carceris umbras.” Originally published in ca. , the poem was reprinted, for example, in [Poetae Christiani veteres], vol. , ed. Aldo Manuzio (Venice, ), sig. hhv. For a modern text, see Baccio Ziliotto, Raffaele Zovenzoni: La vita, i carmi (Trieste, ), –. Noctis . . . umbram Verg. Ecl. .; G. .; A. ., . rabiem draconis [Sen.] Her. O.  (as printed in the early eds.). paternum . . . hortum ll. – above. Fugit — Sysiphus Cf. Vict. –, nn. dominus profundi Sen. Med. . Anguis Ixion Cf. Verg. G. .. Iove natus Hymn. B ., n. Scilicet — saecli Cf. Her. Chr. .–, nn. manifesta — nocti Cf. Lact. Inst. .., quoting a fragment from Ovid: “clara pruinosae iussit dare lumina nocti”; Man. .: “nigrae praebentem lumina nocti.” Interim — cruentus Cf. Vict. –, nn. Sol novus Vict. , n.

notes to hymnus paschalis



lugentes Mariae Her. Chr. .. palla . . . nivali Sylv. duae .. Voce salutat = Juvenc. .; cf. Mart. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. laqueo . . . Mortis Hor. Carm. ..; Vulg. . Reg. .; Psa. .; Prov. .. – humanam reparavit . . . vitam Cf. the Easter Preface of the Mass: “Agnus . . . qui mortem nostram moriendo destruxit, et vitam resurgendo reparavit.” Cf. note at ll. – below. ira Vindice AH :, no. .: “Flectamus iram vindicem”; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Vindice . . . ira . . . Tonantis”; Psalt. ., arg. . – resumpta Carne Vict. , n.  Carne videndum Her. Chr. ., n. – Illa — nubes Cf. Her. Chr. .–, n. – proprio . . . Corpore Christum Juvenc. .. – Regnat — terrae Cf. Mant. Dionys. . (fol. r): “Dite triumphato, Christus regnabat in Orco./Regnabat pelago et terris, regnabat Olympo.”  victo dominatur Orco Cf. ll. –, n., above. – Ipse surgentem — in umbra Eobanus models this section on Paul. Cros. Carm. , “Hymnus in diem paschalem, continens verni temporis descriptionem.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .–, n.; Vict., ded. –. For the evocation of spring, cf. also Buc. .–, n. – Ipse — adorat Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. melior renascens Mundus Cf. [Sen.] Oct. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  Tota naturae facies Vict. , n.  Vis — terrae Cf. Vict., ded. , n.; Theoc. . (Sylv. ..): “genitivi gaudia veris.” – nova . . . Gaudia mundo AH :, no. ., to the Virgin: “nova gaudia mundo/Concipies utero.” Cf. Mant. . Parthen. ., at Jesus’ birth: “nova gaudia mundus/accipit”; Eob. Buc. ., n.  Molle . . . aurum Aus. Epigr. .. Phryxaeae — aurum Cf. Buc. .–, nn.  Cornua Tauri = Ov. Met. . (constellation); .; Fast. ..  glacie rigentem Andrel. Livia ..: “glacie bruma rigente.”  humum laxant Zephyri Cf. Verg. G. .–; Ov. Ep. .; Stat. Theb. .–.  Arva . . . reparanda For the image, cf. Ov. Am. ..; Met. .; .; Fast. .; Trist. ..; [Tib.] ... – iunctis Vertere bobus Cf. Her. Chr. .–.  Flabra . . . Boreae Prop. ...  Aura — Favoni Cf. Catul. .. vitalis . . . Favoni Psalt. .: “tepido vitalis ab orbe Favoni.”  Spirat honorem = Stat. Theb. .. – Montium — manant Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Met. ..  religant capillos ≈ Celtis, Od. ..: “fulvos religet capillos.”  faciles Napaeae Verg. G. ..    –



notes to hymnus paschalis

– pulchro . . . Flore comantes Theoc. .: “pulchro narcissi in flore comantes.” Cf. Verg. A. .–.  sui — amictus Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–.  praetextu viridi Tifernate, “Hymnus in Trinitatem,” in Carm., sig. Av: “Pars iuga praetextu viridi montana coronat.” – odoratas . . . herbas Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Magno . . . Christo Buc. ., n. – omne . . . Quicquid est usquam Prud. Perist. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  Clauditur orbis = Verg. A. . (in a different sense).  Factori sua dona reddit Cf. Juv. ..  Dominum fatetur Max. , n.  Astra testantur rediisse Paul. Cros. Carm. .–: “Iam creatorem rediisse claris/Astra testantur radiis perennem.” – caelo Consonat aer Cf. Sylv. ..: “aviumque dulci/Percussus aer murmure consonet.” – Blanda — lascivit Cf. Hor. Carm. ... – gelida . . . in umbra Buc. ., n. – adolere — aras Cf. Verg. G. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .; .. Also cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  below.  Ignibus aras = Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; .; ..  apium labores Boeth. Consol. .m.. – Igne — nexu Imitating Paul. Cros. Carm. .–: “Pace concordant elementa firma,/Ignis extrema regione fulgens/Aerem claudit tepidum, sed undas/Terra coercet.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  Igne — arae Cf. ll. –, n., above. – Concordi — nexu Cf. Celtis, Am., ded. : “[Ovidius] caelum, terram et omnia universitatis membra in chao confusa discreta et concordi foedere et nexu vinculoque amoris sociata et ligata cecinit.” Also cf. Jakob Locher, Spectaculum de regibus et proceribus Christianis [Augsburg, ], Act , sig. bv: “Ut nos concordi iungamus foedera nexu.” See Dietl, , l. .  Foedera nexu = Vegio, Aen. .  pia vota Prop. ..; Ov. Am. ..; Rem. ; Met. .; Fast. ..  precibus . . . iustis Her. Chr. ., n. – solennes . . . aras Verg. A. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. – Christe — Vincis Paraphrasing the Easter Preface of the Mass: “Agnus . . . qui mortem nostram moriendo destruxit, et vitam resurgendo reparavit.” Cf. note at ll. – above.  Vincis . . . victor For the wordplay, cf. ll. –, n., above. patrias . . . arces Her. Chr. ., n. – clemens . . . Respice An ecclesiastical phrase. See, for example, AH :, no. ., to the Blessed Virgin: “Nos tibi noctis tempore/Psallentes clemens respice.” – victrici . . . Dextera Vict. , n. – clypeum . . . salutis Vulg. . Reg. ..

notes to hymnus paschalis



 fidei beatae Her. Chr. ., n. – toties petitam . . . pacem Max. .  Fera bella sopi Cf. Lucr. .–. For fera bella, see, for example, Ov. Am. ..; Ep. .; .; Eob. Pug. , n.  Corporis artus = Hor. Saec. ; Ov. Met. .; Ciris . The traditional metaphor of the “body politic” goes back to Plato, Rep. .c– d.  instantem . . . tyrannum Hor. Carm. ... – In tuis — hostem Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “hostem in nostris finibus adeo superbe grassantem”  late . . . furentem Verg. A. ..  Finibus hostem = Verg. A. .. – Pelle — urbem Cf. Nob. – (probably added in midwinter ). There the plea is addressed to Emperor Maximilian. Cf. also Max. –.  crudelis . . . Turcae Accl. ., . – qua . . . Bosphorus urbem Cf. Claud. in Rufin. .: “celsa qua Bosporos urbe/splendet”; in Eutr. .: “in geminas nutavit Bosporos urbes.” – sinus . . . Arcuat For the image, applied to a body of water, see Verg. A. .; Ov. Ep. .; Met. .; ..  Error expiret Cf. Her. ..: “Error adhuc . . . Dryudarum spirat.”  sectae In patristic usage, secta has no negative connotations, but retains its originally neutral sense of “doctrine, school of thought.” See, for example, Tertullian, Apol. , and Ambros. De fide .: “Christianae sectae.” It was not until the later Middle Ages that the word acquired the negative sense of “heretical sect” that remains the dominant one today. Undeterred by this medieval development, the Renaissance humanists happily went back to classical-patristic usage. Thus Erasmus speaks of “Christianam sectam” at Enchiridion, LB , col.  F. Johann Reuchlin likewise calls Christianity a “sect” in his Augenspiegel of . See Johannes Reuchlin, Sämtliche Werke, vol. ., ed. Widu-Wolfgang Ehlers et al. (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, ), , l. ; , l. ; , ll. –. Mutianus Rufus defends Reuchlin’s usage in a private letter to Heinrich Urbanus (Ep. , p. ). On  November , he himself refers to All Souls’ Day as “Die larvarum Christiane secte” (Ep. ). See also introd., pp. – above.  Rhomanae — aulae Cf. Sen. Thy. –: “aetheriae potens/dominator aulae”; Claud. IV. Cons. Hon. : “Romanae . . . rectoribus aulae.” In medieval-Renaissance times, Romana aula typically refers to the Curia.  adversum . . . hostem Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; Stat. Silv. ... – Maximus . . . Aemilianus Nup. , n.  terris pelagoque = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; cf. Stat. Ach. . (in the early printed eds.): “quos gemitus terris pelagoque daturus.”  Nec — imbres Cf. Ov. Fast. .. – plenae . . . messes Buc. ., n.



notes to hymnus paschalis

 Horrea messes = Verg. G. .; Ov. Met. .. – Hoc fave — Flatus The hymn concludes with a variation on the traditional doxology. Cf., for example, AH :, no. .–: “Pater praestet hoc et natus,/Sacer utriusque flatus,/Trinus unus.”  Hoc fave For faveo used as a transitive verb, see Her. Chr. ., n. – triumphales . . . Laureas Cf. Ov. Am. ...

B Meter: Elegiac distich.    

Ite procul = Prop. ..; Tib. ..; .., ; Ov. Met. .; Eob. Buc. .. Nil iuvat — mori Cf. Tum. .; also cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Nil iuvat = Prop. ... patitur dolor = Ov. Ep. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .. mortua . . . iacet = Tum. .; Epic. .. mortua Vita = Erasmus, Carm. .. The paradoxical phrase refers to Christ, the Life that has died on the cross. Cf. the first antiphon at the Lauds for the Exaltation of the Cross (September ) in the Roman Breviary: “O magnum pietatis opus: mortua tunc est, quando in ligno mortua vita fuit”; AH :, no. .: “mors . . ./In qua nostra semel mortua vita fuit”; :, no. .: “Mortua vita mortis regnum diripit.”

B Meter: Elegiac distich.    

Ne propera = Stat. Theb. .. lachrymas iterum = Verg. A. .. Quid dubitas . . . posse loqui = Sylv. duae ., n. etiam — loqui For the thought, cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; for the phrasing, cf. Poliziano, Epigr. .: “Et tua te vetuit marmora, Roma, loqui.” Clausus in hoc tumulo A standard phrase in epitaphs. Cf. Rec. ; Her. Chr. ., n. Mors iacet Prud. Tit. hist. , in an epigram on Christ’s sepulcher: “Mors illi devicta iacet”; AH :, no. .: “Mors iacet exstincta”; Eob. Her. Chr. .: “Mors victa iacet.”

b ]

notes to hymnus paschalis



B Meter: Elegiac distich. 

humano . . . in corpore = Sedul. .: “humano . . . in corpore Christum.”

B Meter: Elegiac distich. 

Solus . . . sapit Erasmus, Adag. ... Eobanus applies the adage also in his letter to Reuchlin of  January : “ipsi . . . soli sapere videantur.” See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –.

B Meter: Elegiac distich.  

post funera = Ov. Pont. ..; Luc. .; .. esse velim = Prop. ..; [Tib.] ..; Ov. Am. ..; et al.

B Meter: Elegiac distich. 

putat esse Deos = Her. Chr. ., n.

B Meter: Elegiac distich. –  

Quod — manus Cf. Walther : “Quem nemo vidit, nemo illum pingere novit:/Desine non visum pingere velle Deum!” mens hominum = Verg. A. .. pingere docta manus = Strozzi, “De imagine Lucretiae,” in Epigr., fol. v: “Quae Venerem facie, quae Pallada moribus aequat,/Conata est dominam pingere docta manus./Artificis laudatur opus, divina sed omne/Mortale exuperat forma magisterium.” Just as Strozzi’s epigram inspired Eobanus here, so it inspired him also in an epigraph for Lukas Cranach’s portrait of Martin Luther (): “Omnibus expressit rationibus ora Lutheri,/Vitam non potuit pingere docta manus.” See Epp. fam., . When Cranach used Philip



notes to hymnus paschalis

[b 

Melanchthon’s epigraph instead, Eobanus brilliantly adapted the Luther epigram for Albrecht Dürer’s portrait of Philip Melanchthon (): “Viventis potuit Durerius ora Philippi,/Mentem non potuit pingere docta manus.” Cf. Hans Rupprich, ed., Dürer: Schriftlicher Nachlaß, vol.  (Berlin, ), , no. , n. . Eobanus reuses “pingere docta manus” in an epigram for Dürer’s De symmetria partium in rectis formis humanorum corporum, trans. Joachim Camerarius (Nuremberg, ). See Hans Rupprich, ed., Dürer: Schriftlicher Nachlaß, vol.  (Berlin, ), , no.  d, l. : “Düreri potuit pingere docta manus.” He uses the phrase again at Sylv. .., on a picture of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg: “Nil praeter vultus pingere docta manus.”

B Meter: Elegiac distich. B  and B  The two poems are variations on a mock epitaph by Erasmus of Rotterdam, first printed at the end of Concio de puero Iesu [Paris, ?], edited in ASD .:, no. . Cf. Vredeveld, “Traces,” –. Erasmus’ epigram runs as follows: EPITAPHIUM SCURRULAE TEMULENTI Scazon Pax sit, viator, tacitus hos legas versus, Ut sacra verba mussitant sacerdotes, Ne mihi suavem strepitus auferat somnum Repetatque vigiles ilico sitis fauces.  Nam scurrula hocce sterto conditus saxo, Quondam ille magni clarus Euii mystes, Ut qui bis octo lustra perbibi tota. Oculis profundus deinde somnus obrepsit, Ut fit, benigno membra cum madent Baccho.  Atque ita peractis suaviter bonis annis Idem bibendi finis atque vivendi Fuit. Sed etiam me aliquis ebrium credat Aut somniare, qui ista dormiens dicam. Vale, viator. Iam silenter abscede.

b ]

notes to hymnus paschalis



B Meter: Scazon, also known as choliambic (“limping iambic”). The meter “limps” because its last foot is not, as expected, a sprightly iamb but rather a spondee or a trochee. Scazons were originally used in lampoons; later they were often employed in comic or satiric verse. –

 

  

Procul — saxi Cf. Erasmus, Carm. .–. As in Erasmus’ mock epitaph, the deceased’s requests are followed first by nam in l.  and then by a series of reasons. Procul, viator . . . Ne Mart. ..–; cf. Poliziano, Epigr. .: “procul hinc, quaeso, viator, abi.” dives . . . avarus Ov. Am. ..; Juv. .. avarus et tamen pauper Cf. the medieval proverb: “Quis dives? qui nil cupit. Et quis pauper? avarus.” See TPMA, s.v. “Reich,” no. . Scaeno . . . olente Cf. Psalt. .: “Eruit e coeno grave olenti et stercore foedo.” The late medieval form scaenum for caenum came about because of the habit of pronouncing a “c” before “e” as “s.” Eobanus spells the word with initial “sc” also at Gen. ebrios. .: “scaeno lutoque”; Nor. : “scenosa . . ./Pabula”; Psalt. .: “Immersus iaceo scoeni sub mole profundi.” excidit nomen Ov. Tr. ..; Mart. ... aureos montes A proverbial phrase. See Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto ; TPMA, s.v. “Berg,” nos. –. abditos . . . thesauros Phaedr. ..; Erasmus, Enchiridion, LB , col.  C: “abditos thesauros aeternae sapientiae.”

B  Meter: Phalaecean hendecasyllables. 

   

Heus tu — Adsta With a small change, this verse reappears in Epigraphia .. Cf. Hymn. B .; Epic. c..: “Quid properas? subsiste, parum lecture viator.” Cordus imitates Eobanus in Epigr. ..: “Heus tu, quo properas adeo, festine viator?” The phrasing is standard in Latin epitaphs of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, where “heus tu” and “quo properas?” typically exhort the passerby to read the inscription. somno . . . et mero sepulti Cf. Ov. Met. .: “mero somnoque gravis”; Sil. .; also cf. Verg. A. .: “somno vinoque sepultam.” auri . . . talenta Verg. A. .; .; .; .; Ov. Ep. .. Sexcentos — Phalerni The model is Hor. S. ..–. Praecavisse — futuram Cf. Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. –: “num post resurrectionem edere aut bibere fas sit futurum, iam nunc famem sitimque praecaventes”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “futurae ebrietati locum relinquamus.”

  

notes to hymnus paschalis

[b 

Suspenso . . . pede Eleg. Maec. .; Phaed. ... Vicinam . . . tabernam Hor. Ep. ...

B  Along with several other epigrams, this poem was originally included in one of the two now-lost letters that Eobanus sent to Johann Reuchlin in the late summer of , probably the second one (ca. September). Mutianus Rufus quotes it from that source in an undated letter to Heinrich Urbanus, written in mid-September, . See Mutian. Ep. ; cf. introd., pp.  and – above. After quoting the epigram, Mutianus comments: “Nihil, mi Urbane, concinnius, sonantius, festivius fingi potest.” Meter: Elegiac distich. tit. 

  

Capnione The name goes back to Ermolao Barbaro, who in the early s grecized Reuchlin (“a little smoke”) to “Capnion.” Monstrorum domitor . . . orbe ≈ Urceo, “Ad Herculem Ferrariae Ducem,” in Opera, part , sig. Hv: “Monstrorum domitor pacem donaverat orbi”; cf. Hutten, Triumph. –, lauding Reuchlin as a second Hercules: “hic est ille ferorum/Intrepidus domitor monstrorum invictaque mastix,/Qui temere Fratres ausos temereque Sophistas,/Laudis opus plenum et memorandum in secula factum/Contudit.” Cf. also Triumph. –. For monstrorum domitor, as applied to Hercules, see Eob. Sylv. ..: “Ille monstrorum domitor”; Theoc. . and Ilias .: “Monstrorum domitor”; Epic. .–. toto . . . ab orbe = Luc. .; cf. Eob. Nob. , n.; Vict. , n. Iove natus = Ov. Met. ., ; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Hymn. . Nobile . . . nomen habet = Andrel. Livia ..; cf. Eob. Nob. ; Sylv. ..; ... For the tag nomen habet, see also Sylv. duae ., n. nisi forsitan = Ov. Tr. .. bardocuculle Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January  to Johann Reuchlin, in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. , with explicit reference to the Dominican inquisitor Jakob van Hoogstraten: “Quid tibi cum doctis, bardo signate cucullo/Hostrate?”

B  The epigram was originally included in Eobanus’ letter of  January  to Johann Reuchlin, printed in Illustrium virorum epistolae (Haguenau, ), sigs. yr–yr. See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. ; introd., pp. – and – above. Here is the epigram, in the context of the letter:

b ]

notes to hymnus paschalis



Tu vinces. Nos triumphabimus. Id enim futurum nobis polliceris. Sed et tu triumphabis. Latinae civitatis senatus iam tibi triumphum decrevit. Quid vero Gallorum rex? Cogitne exercitum, tanquam bonae literae sint armorum impetus effugiturae? Non sic, impii, non sic! Sed potius, “Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea linguae!” [Cic. Off. .] Quid autem, si Gotos iterum revocent in Italiam, ut perdant omnem literariam supellectilem et ipsi cum suis lituris et uncinis mercatoriis soli sapere videantur? Nos organa nostra suspendimus sedentesque super flumina Babylonis flebimus, dum recordabimur Sion [cf. Vulg. Psa. .]. Postquam vero converterit Dominus captivitatem Sion, rursus consolabimur et venientes portabimus manipulos et signa nostra cum exultatione [cf. Vulg. Psa. ., , ]. Quorsum vero haec? [cf. Hor. S. ..] Ut scilicet ipsis peculiari poemate eorum vanissimos conatus deriderem. Quid vero emasculatis Gallis cum viris fortibus? Nihil, nisi ut temere fortasse semel atque iterum insultent, tandem vero succumbant et cristati esse desinant. Cum haec scriberem, humanissime Reuchlin, ita sum ad metaphoram delectatus, ut statim adderem: Semivir insultet Gallus licet, armiger illum Arripit et superi fert Iovis ante pedes. “Iupiter omnipotens, Gallum prosterne volentem In tua sacrilego scandere regna pede.  At tu si dubitas Cybelen violare sacratam, Pro Gallis Dryudas in tua templa refer.” Non tamen hi Magnae Matris sacerdotes Galli sunt tanquam exectis testibus ad religionem coacti, sed sua sponte personam induti sub pietatis praetextu latent, ut ipsi in voluptatibus et delitiis habitantes miseram et facile istis astutiis credentem plebeculam decipiant et velut creditas sibi oves ipsi fures et lupi rapaces, immo insatiabiles deglubant.

Meter: Elegiac distich.     

armiger Buc. B ., n. Iovis ante pedes = Pontano, Urania .; cf. Claud. VI. Cons. Hon., praef. . Iuppiter omnipotens = Catul. .; Verg. A. .; .; .; .. magnam . . . Cybelen Cybele was revered at Rome as “Mater Magna.” Dryudas That is, “genuine priests,” the sort of priests that have become all too rare in modern Germany. The representation of the Druids as philosopher-priests, “men of oak,” was the work of Konrad Celtis. In his Norimberga  (pp. –), Celtis reported finding a Druid monastery, complete with statues. In his telling, the Druids had been driven from Gaul by Emperor Tiberius. They became Christian priests in the reigns of Emperors Charlemagne and the three Ottos. It was they who introduced culture to the Germans and taught



notes to hymnus paschalis

[b 

them true religion. Unlike the modern priests, who follow the Italians by reveling in the wealth and luxury of palaces and cities, those druidical priests lived in monasteries hidden deep in the Hercynian Forest. Celtis draws the same contrast in Od. . and Am. .. See further Noel L. Brann, “Conrad Celtis and the ‘Druid’ Abbot Trithemius: An Inquiry into Patriotic Humanism,” Renaissance and Reformation  (), –; Müller, Germania, –; Christopher S. Wood, Forgery, Replica, Fiction: Temporalities of German Renaissance Art (Chicago, ), –. The form Dryudas is not a misprint for Druidas, as is often supposed, for it also appears in the epigram as printed in Illustrium virorum epistolae (Haguenau, ). Cf. Cic. Div. .; Luc. .; Suet. Claud. . (in the mss. and early printed eds.); Mela ., as edited by Ermolao Barbaro (ca. ; repr. Vienna, ), fol. v: “magistrosque sapientiae Dryudas.” The spelling is a standard one in Renaissance authors. See, for example, Johannes Despauterius, Commentarii Grammatici (Paris, ), : “Dryudae vel Druydes.” For a variant, see Jakob Locher, Historia de Rege Frantie, Act , l.  (Dietl, ): “dryidas”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.: “Dryidarum.” Each of these variants assumes a connection to dryas, “oak tree.” For this etymology, see Plin. Nat. .; Celtis, Norimberga  (p. ).

B  Eobanus expresses the same thought in Ama. B . and Sylv. ..–. Meter: Elegiac distich. 

 





Vivida . . . laureta Cf. Psalt. .: “Floret ut in pingui vivida laurus humo.” mortiferae . . . cupressi Cf. Buc. B ., n. Cypresses were traditionally associated with death and funerals. in sylvis . . . hortis = Verg. Ecl. ., . varias . . . opes = Mart. ... gratia maior = Ov. Pont. ..; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Cum redit atque aestas vernantes explicat herbas,/Non aliquam pingit gratia maior humum”; Val. .; .; Psalt., ded. : “quibus in versu gratia maior inest.” Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. tanquam ficta parerga Sylv. ..: “Hos tibi non aliquo deduximus ordine versus,/Sed tanquam variis ficta parerga locis.” Cf. Sylv. ..–, where Eobanus alludes to the present set of epigrams as concluding his combined Victoria Christi and Hymnus paschalis: “Praeterea adiectis quaedam variata parergis/Ut tibi diversum gratius esset opus.” See introd., p.  above. brevi . . . libello Mart. ..; ..; Eob. Max., lim. .

b ]

notes to hymnus paschalis



B  Meter: Elegiac distich. 



Invide, si mordes For the image of envy as a biting, snarling dog, cf. Pug. B .–, n. nostra est victoria = Walter, Alex. .: “nostra est victoria, nostra est”; cf. Eob. Vict., app. ., n. Si mea . . . laudas carmina Sylv. ..: “Si quoties laudas mea carmina, dulcis Iona.”

notes to ORATIO, SIVE PRAELECTIO

Title Page tit.

M. Accii Plauti A variant for “Titus Maccius Plautus.” This form is commonly found in older editions of Plautus’ comedies, from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century.

Liminary Epigram Meter: Elegiac distich.      



vitrea Fortune is as brittle as glass. See Pub. Sent. F : “Fortuna vitrea est: tum cum splendet frangitur”; TPMA, s.v. “Glück,” nos. –. Nunc age, responde = Sylv. ..; Eleg. .; cf. Pl. Am. ; Pers. .. Plena . . . gloria Her. Chr. ., n. nostros . . . libellos = Ov. Pont. ..; Mart. ..; .. (imitated at Eob. Ama. B .); ..; and elsewhere. ubicumque libellos = Mart. ..; Eob. Sylv. duae .. Hoc — habe Cf. Sylv. duae ., n. clausum pectore . . . habe ≈ Ov. Fast. .. Thuringae For “Thurignae” in the original text (more obviously misprinted here), see Laud., lim. , n.; Epp. fam., , letter of  July  to Johann Lang: “Thurignae simplicitatis.” surgit domus = Orat. ... The term domus (“house of learning”) reappears at Orat. .. as well as in several of the epigraphs for the Collegium maius. See pp. – above. maior . . . accumulatur honos Cf. Ov. Fast. ..

Praelectio .

Si ullo unquam — candidi iuvenes Cf. the opening of Eobanus’ academic speech of September , Oratio de studiorum instauratione (Erfurt, ), sig. Ar. Like Orat., that speech discusses the restoration of the humanities to their rightful place in the academy: Si ullo unquam alio tempore, hodierna potissimum die summo gaudio summaque animi laeticia in conspectum vestrum prodii,



notes to oratio, sive praelectio viri bonis rebus omnibus ornatissimi, non temere nec de qualibet re, sed de longe omnium plausibilissima gratissimaque bonis auribus animisque, rectissimorum studiorum ac totius huiusce literariae reipublicae, tot retro annis, ne dicam etiam saeculis, ubique fere gentium eiectae afflictataeque, instauratione restitutioneque verba facturus, non quidem ea tam splendida quam vera, nec magis ad ostentationem comparata quam ingenue simpliciterque pietati ac vestris in primis meritis laudibus patrocinantia.

.

.

.

.

..

.. .. .. ..

superiora tempora cum presentibus conferre Cf. Lucr. .–; Eob. Orat. .. Fortunam accusemus Liv. ..; ..; ..; Sen. Dial. ..; ..; Eob. Ama. .: “Noli . . . Fortunam longius accusare”; Sylv. ..: “Accusare igitur Fortunam parce.” Quis enim est qui nesciat Vulg. Act. .. grassantis fortunae . . . iniuriae Cf. Aus. Parent. .: “grassantis . . . fortunae tela.” preterita cum presentibus conferens Cf. Lucr. .–; Eob. Orat. .. For “conferens,” a ms. sidenote in the Basel copy points to Ter. Ad. –. conventum hunc — miliciam Erphurdiensem Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “quicunque in hac Erphurdiensi Academia litterarum agere militiam constituissent.” The image is continued at Orat. .– below. By Eobanus’ time, the litteraria milicia had long since become an academic cliché. See, for example, Bebel, Facetiae .: “in militia litteraria desudaverat”; Jakob Locher, inaugural lecture at Ingolstadt, quoted in Hartl, .:, “miliciae litterariae munus perficite”; Erasmus, Ep. , l. : “literariae militiae tyronibus.” Eobanus himself had used the metaphor in a letter of  May  (Mutian. Ep., :): “liberalitate principis mei hic sub iuridicae miliciaei imperatoribus mereor accepturus Deo favente biennio probatae miliciaei pulcherrimam mercedem: rubram tiaram.” See also, for example, Vitanda ebriet. .; Hod. ; Orat. stud., concluding paragraph (sig. Br). aestimationem dignitatis V. Max. ... Erphurdiense — concessit Cf. Laud., t.p.: “incliti atque tocius Germaniae celebratissimi Gymnasii litteratorii apud Erphordiam.” Caesareo . . . Amphytheatro = Mart. Sp. ., referring to what later became known as the Colosseum. surgit domus = Orat., lim. . ingenuas . . . per artes = Ov. Ars .; cf. Eob. Rec. , n. magnificae . . . domus Plin. Nat. .; Eob. Nor. ; Psalt. .. gloria prima = Mart. ..; .. (in older eds.). dubiis . . . rebus = Her. Chr. ., n. frigida saxa = Prop. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. saxa lyra Ov. Ars ..

notes to oratio, sive praelectio .

. .

. . .

.

. . . .



Quod si — occupabimur Cf. Beroaldo, Panegyricus ad illustrissimum principem Ludovicum Sphortiam, in Opuscula, fol. v: “propria utilitate neglecta publicam utilitatem fovet atque tutatur.” studiosorum ordine A standing academic phrase. See, for example, Bebel, Triumph. Ven. ., sidenote; Justus Jonas, title of his Praefatio in epistolas divi Pauli Apostoli ad Corynthios Erphurdiae ad Christianae philosophiae studiosorum ordinem habita (Erfurt, ); Eob. Orat. stud., sig. Br. Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “ordine litteratorum.” nulla maior pestis Gen. ebrios. .. multa ad hanc rem pertinentia Cf. Quint. Inst. ..: “multa ad eandem rem pertinentia”; Eob. Max. B , n. alio nostra festinaret oratio Cf. Cic. Phil. .; Aug. De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et . . . Manichaeorum . (PL , col. ): “alio festinat oratio”; Eob. Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. ., n. Sum — oportuit Cf. Lact. Inst. ..: “evagatus sum longius quam volebam.” tumultuario sermone Hier. Ep. .; .; .; In Isa. , praef. augendae dignitatis Cic. Fam. ..: “Ut primum potestas data est augendae dignitatis tuae, nihil praetermisi in te ornando quod positum esset aut in praemio virtutis aut in honore verborum.” quod . . . de me . . . possum . . . prestare Cic. Fam. ..: “quod de te sperare, de me praestare possum.” et polliceri possum et prestare Cf. Nep. Att. .: “polliceri quod praestare non posset”; Suet. Tit. .: “plura polliceretur quam praestare posset.” Cicero, Latinae eloquentiae vindex Cf. Quint. Inst. .., referring to Cicero: “Latinae eloquentiae princeps”; ..: “Romanae eloquentiae principem.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .: “Ciceronem eloquentiae et virtutum omnium communem patronum”; Orat. ., n. iuxta Platonis edictum Gen. ebrios. .. semper quaesitae gloriae Cf. Her. Chr., ded. ., n. pro mei ingenii — quam sit exigua Cf. Nup., ded. , n. boni commilitones Eobanus similarly addresses his academic audience in the opening sentence of Praef. as “commilitones optimi.” For the military metaphor, cf. Orat. ., n. ad hoc Erphurdiense stadium Eobanus reuses the image in a letter of  June  to Johann Lang (Epp. fam., ): “ab Albi te ad hoc nostrum Erfurdiense stadium reversum.” gymnasium — illustravi Cf. Ama. B .: “pulchrum etiam et praeclarum fore arbitratus, si nostrum hoc laudatissimum et in Germania princeps gymnasium Erphordiense in utroque Latinae scriptionis genere pro ingenii mei viribus, si non mirifice, qualitercumque tamen illustrarem.” magnorum virorum testimonio The expression crops up also in a virtually contemporaneous letter to Euricius Cordus of  May , in which Eobanus claims primacy among Hessian poets: “Nec moveat



.

.

.

.

. .

.

.

notes to oratio, sive praelectio te hoc, quod secundam patriae spem te appello; primam enim mihi testimonio maximorum virorum desumo in hac parte.” See Cordus, Epigr., . ne fortasse cuipiam . . . cristas tollere videar Cf. Her. Chr., ded. ., n. illud . . . male audiam Her. Chr., ded. .. Suum cuique pulchrum Erasmus, Adag. ... Qui enim — effugerit For the thought, cf. Plin. Ep. ..; TPMA, s.v. “Lob,” nos. –. For the wording, cf. Erasmus, Enchiridion, LB , col.  D: “Malo, malo publicanum humilem et misericordiam implorantem quam istud iustorum genus, sua benefacta commemorantium.” barbaris regionibus Eobanus calls Prussia “barbarous” as early as . See Sylv. duae . (Sylv. ..); letter of  April  to Georg Spalatin, in Mutian. Ep., :–; Gen. ebrios. .: “Hessus noster . . . aliquamdiu vixit in ista septentrionali barbaria.” puellas Eobanus liked to refer to his Heroides Christianae as his “maidens.” See Her. Chr. ., n.; Orat. .. novicium opus The phrase comes from the subtitle of Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ). quis enim omnia tandem posset Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Quis enim omnia enarraverit?” popularis aurae cupiditate Cf. Eobanus’ letter to Mutianus Rufus (Mutian. Ep. , late ?): “Non enim volo apud te gloriari, sed tibi Apollini meo tantum ostendere quam sim huiuscemodi popularis aurae cupidus assectator eaque de re, si possim, praeclara extorquere iudicia.” For popularis aura, see Laud. –, n. imperitae multitudini Cic. Dom. , ; Phil. .; .; Off. .; and often; Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .. verborum . . . lenociniis Lact. Inst. ..; Hier. Ep. .; Eob. Orat. .. lenociniis demulcent Cf. Eobanus’ letter to Mutianus Rufus (Mutian. Ep. , late ?): “In qua etiam velut alter Timotheus quasi dormiens fortunae nihilominus retia tendis et alioqui tergiversantem heram tuis istis blandissimis lenociniis sic demulces, ut velit nolit obsequi cogatur.” graculi — Graeculi Mutian. Ep. , letter of late November , to Johann Lang: “gracculi, hem Greculi.” The punning comes from Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. –: “Neque quisquam illorum Graeculos istos pluris facit quam graculos.” Grackles were proverbial for empty garrulity. See Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto . hem . . . dicere volebam Cf. Mutian. Ep. , letter of mid-October  to Eobanus Hessus: “ut rapiam, hem, capiam dicere volui”; Ep. , letter to Eobanus Hessus, written before  May : “male cunno iugati, hem, coniugati dicere volui.” For dicere volebam, see Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. –: “clamator ille — lapsa

notes to oratio, sive praelectio

. . .

. . . . . .

. .



sum, declamator dicere volebam”; , ll. –: “stultum — erravi, doctum volebam dicere”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “inebriati — poti dicere volebam.” Pomponii Fortunati I fail to find Eobanus’ source for this quotation. It certainly is very much in character for Pomponio Leto. incantamina This medieval word appears also at Gen. ebrios. .. verborum lascivia Tac. Dial. .. prophanorum poetarum Eobanus uses the same phrase in his edition of Heus lector, hic habentur Campani De miseria poetarum sapphicum. Eiusdem De sacerdotio contra poetas prophanos pulcherrimum elegiacum (Erfurt, ); cf. Her. Chr., ded. .–. De quibus — institutus sermo Cf. Gen. ebrios. .. ad quod nostra festinat oratio Cf. Orat. ., n. Tria sunt, auditores Urceo, “Sermo quartus,” in Opera, part , sig. Hv: “Tria sunt, auditores excellentissimi, quae maxime in hac vita solent homines appetere et venari, utilitas scilicet, voluptas, et honor.” rectissima studia Orat. Sylv. : “tot rectissima studia”; Orat. .. sermoni nostro coronidem imponemus For the expression, see Gen. ebrios. ., n. centones . . . sarcire Her. Chr., ded. ., n. in arctum collegit Plin. Nat. .; Eob. Laud., ded. ; Hod. . eiusdem Rhetoricorum ad Herennium Like Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. r, Eobanus was quite aware that the Rhetorica ad Herennium might not be a Ciceronian work at all. See Orat. stud., sig. Bv: “ea [rhetorica] quae fertur Ciceronis.” Cf. Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, l. : “quisquis is fuit, qui ad Herennium dicendi artem scripsit.” quorum tamen neutrum citat Beroaldus Eobanus’ competitive spirit also manifests itself at Orat. . below. Latinae . . . eloquentiae . . . parens Cf. Plin. Nat. ., quoting Caesar: “facundiae Latiarumque litterarum parens aeque”; Quint. Inst. .., referring to Cicero: “quasi eloquentiae parens”; Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. –: “M. Tullius eloquentiae Romanae parens.” Also cf. Eob. Orat. ., n. philosophiae parens Cic. Fin. .: “Socrates, qui parens philosophiae iure dici potest”; N.D. .: “Socraten ipsum parentem philosophiae.” qui “dono quodam providentiae” — iucunditate sonantior Cf. Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. r, inaugural lecture to a course on rhetoric: “Nam ut facundissime Quintilianus tradit, Cicero unus ‘dono quodam providentiae genitus’ videtur, ‘in quo totas vires suas eloquentia experiretur,’ qui effinxit ‘vim Demosthenis, copiam Platonis, iucunditatem Isocratis.’ ” Pericle — affectus potentior Quint. Inst. .., does not mention Pericles in this context. Cf., however, Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. r–v, inaugural lecture to a course on rhetoric: “Pericles ab Aristophane poeta comico dictus est fulgurare, tonare, cuncta oratione perturbare atque miscere. Hoc idem de Marco Tullio dicere possumus, cuius sententiae fulmina, verba tonitrua mihi videntur.”



.

. . .

.

.

. .

notes to oratio, sive praelectio Campanus See Campano, “Censura in orationes Tullii,” in his Opera, part , sigs. lv–lr (= Epistolae , in Campano, Opera, part , sig. ev): “Marcum Tullium Ciceronem cum in omnibus suis scriptis fuisse longe eloquentissimum et, quod ipse gloriatur, copiose, ornate, distincte dixisse videamus, ut tamen adeo et tanto sint in precio quae scripsit praecipue orationes effecerunt. In quibus tantum mea sententia crescit, tantum exurgit, ut in aliis demittere se paremque sui temporis ingeniis facere, in iis erigi atque attolli, et quod de Antheo tradunt poetae, humerotenus super [for: supra] omnes extare videatur. Orationum vero quanquam sunt quaeque illustrissimae, ardentiores tamen possunt videri, quae non modo ad odium inimici, sed etiam ad aemuli contentionem sunt habitae. Ita, cum caeterae hoc praestiterint ut amici defenderentur, Philippicae hoc quoque videntur conatae ut uno studio et eiicerent Anthonium et Demosthenem.” quod et ipse — comprobatur See Cic. Off. .: “nam philosophandi scientiam concedens multis, quod est oratoris proprium, apte, distincte, ornate dicere, quoniam in eo studio aetatem consumpsi, si id mihi assumo, videor id meo iure quodam modo vindicare.” The latter part of Eobanus’ sentence is based on Campano, Epistolae , in his Opera, part , sig. ev; see preceding note. eloquentiae flumine Quint. Inst. ... strictis pugionibus Suet. Jul. ., when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar makes no mention of such high drama during a senate debate. heae hoc — superaretur Eobanus paraphrases Campano, “Censura in orationes Tullii”: “Ita, cum caeterae [orationes] hoc praestiterint ut amici defenderentur, Philippicae hoc quoque videntur conatae ut uno studio et eiicerent Anthonium et Demosthenem.” For the entire passage, see note at Eob. Orat. ., “Campanus.” heae For this form, see Her. Chr. ., n. Ad reliqua te converte Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “ad reliqua sermonem convertamus.” philosophiae penetralibus Aug. De ordine .: “sacrosancta philosophiae penetralia.” Cf. Eob. Orat. ., n.: “intima philosophiae sacraria.” Qui cum — gloriatus est See Cic. Off. .: “ut ipse ad meam utilitatem semper cum Graecis Latina coniunxi neque id in philosophia solum sed etiam in dicendi exercitatione feci idem tibi censeo faciendum ut par sis in utriusque orationis facultate,” combined with Off. .: “id quidem nemini video Graecorum adhuc contigisse ut idem utroque in genere laboraret sequereturque et illud forense dicendi et hoc quietum disputandi genus.” cum . . . pene infinita sint quae ad Ciceronis laudem conferri possint Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “De qua re cum sint pene infinita quae dici possent.” in professo est Beda Venerabilis, De temporum ratione liber : “etiam hostibus Iudaeis in professo est.”

notes to oratio, sive praelectio



inimicicias exercuisse Cf. Vell. ..: “graves inimicitias cum M. Cicerone exerceret.” .– Unde et — adeptum Ciceronem Cf. Plin. Nat. .: “Salve primus omnium parens patriae appellate, primus in toga triumphum linguaeque lauream merite et facundiae Latiarumque litterarum parens aeque (ut dictator Caesar, hostis quondam tuus, de te scripsit) omnium triumphorum laurea maiorem, quanto plus est ingenii Romani terminos in tantum promovisse quam imperii.” . pulcherrimum . . . elogium Hier. Ep. .: “Marcus Tullius, ad quem pulcherrimum illud elogium est: ‘Demosthenes tibi praeripuit, ne esses primus orator, tu illi, ne solus’”; Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, l. : “pulcherrimum illud . . . elogium.” . in prologo primi Officiorum Cic. Off. . and .. . libro secundo De divinatione Cic. Div. .. . caput illud — corpore abstulisti Cf. V. Max. ..: “caput Romanae eloquentiae . . . amputavit.” . O factum male Catul. .; Cic. Att. ... . profecisse — valde placebit Quint. Inst. .., also quoted in Filippo Beroaldo’s inaugural lecture to a course on Cicero’s Tusculan Questions and Horace’s Odes. See Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v: “hunc spectemus, hoc propositum nobis sit exemplum, ille (ut Quintilianus ait) se profecisse sciat, cui Cicero valde placebit.” . ut plerique solent Hor. S. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .: “quod plerique solent.” orationis filo Cic. de Orat. .; Amic. . . Quorsum vero haec? Eobanus uses the same phrase in a letter to Mutianus Rufus of  March ; see Mutian. Ep.  (Gillert, :). He adopts it again in his letter to Johann Reuchlin of  January ; see headnote to Hymn. B . The expression imitates Hor. S. .., which Eobanus quotes in full at Gen. ebrios. . (where see note); also cf. Pers. .: “Quorsum haec?” . latissimum . . . campum ingredi Cf. Praef., sigs. Cv–Cr: “patentissimum . . . campum ingredi.” ad assem A proverbial expression. See Otto . . Nulla — explicare Eobanus goes a step further than Livy, as quoted in Sen. Suas. .: “si quis tamen virtutibus vitia pensarit, vir magnus ac memorabilis fuit, et in cuius laudes hexiequendas Cicerone laudatore opus fuerit.” . Plynius A common medieval and Renaissance spelling. See also Orat. . and Gen. ebrios. .; .; .. ..– Gloria Rhomulidum — Salve Celtis, Ludus : “Salve, Romulidum gloria Caesarum!” .. Latiae pater . . . linguae Cf. Ov. Pont. ..; Sen. Suas. ., quoting Sextilius Ena: “Deflendus Cicero est Latiaeque silentia linguae”; Eob. Laud. , n. .. Rhomanae — togae Cf. Mart. ..: “gloria Romanae, Quintiliane, togae”; Eob. Buc. B .: “fama togae.”



notes to oratio, sive praelectio

maxima fama = Ov. Am. ..; Mart. ... Attica . . . Pallas = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “lusit . . ./Attica Cecropios Pallas.” veteres . . . Athenas = Laud. , n. .. Graeca prius = Laud. , n.: “Graeca prius, post facta Latina, novissima nostra est.” ..– cui similem — dabunt Modeled on Strozzi, Eroticon ..–: “Cui neque nostra parem, neque prisci temporis aetas/Vidit, nec similem secla futura ferent.” .. pristina . . . aetas Claud. Cons. Stil. .. viderat aetas = V. Fl. .. . summis — attingere Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, ll. –; cf. Cic. Cael. : “extremis, ut dicitur, digitis adtigissent.” . Quae . . . remoretur inertia Cf. Eobanus’ verse letter to Euricius Cordus ( May ), in Cordus, Epigr., : “Nulla igitur coeptum remoretur inertia cursum”; Sylv. ..: “Perge, nec inceptum remoretur inertia cursum/Ulla.” . Mavultis bonas horas male collocare Eobanus alludes to a famous expression from Mart. ..: “male collocare si bonas voles horas.” via . . . regia Orat. .. The phrase comes from Vulg. Num. ., where it means the chief road through Edom that the Jews wanted to follow into the Promised Land. By the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance the expression had become proverbial. Thus in his inaugural lecture Lamia, Angelo Poliziano rephrases Pythagoras’ injunction “Per publicam viam ne ambules” as “Viam regiam declinato.” See Angelo Poliziano, Lamia: Praelectio in Priora Aristotelis Analytica, ed. Ari Wesseling (Leiden, ), , l. ; cf. Erasmus, Adag. .., xii, ASD .:, ll. –. . fomite quodam Gell. .. (Macr. ..): “fomitem esse quendam . . . ingenii virtutisque.” tantum abest ut velim Cic. Att. ..; Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .; Praef., fol. Cr: “tantum abest ut velim detrahere.” . litterarum candidati A standing academic phrase, used also at Gen. ebrios. .. qui ut — peregregie erudimini Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “peregregie quidem et perquambelle omnes vos philosophati.” . Aristotelem vero — esse appareat Philip Melanchthon makes very much the same lament in Declamationes , “De corrigendis adulescentiae studiis.” See his Declamationes, ed. Karl Hartfelder (Berlin, ), : “Aristotelem, eumque mancum et lacerum.” Cf. Ioannes Britannicus, dedicatory letter to his edition of Lucan’s Pharsalia (; Venice, ), fol. r, speaking of Vitruvius’ De architectura: “ex omni parte mancum, lacerum, mutilatum se sentiebat”; Paulus Crosnensis, dedicatory letter to Ioannis Pannonii . . . panegyricus in laudem Baptistae Guarini Veronensis praeceptoris sui conditus (Cracow, ): “mancum, mutilum, ac longo situ lacerum.” See Paul. Cros. Carm. ., l. . Also cf. the title of the Macrobius edition by ..

notes to oratio, sive praelectio

. .

.

.

.–

.

.



Ioannes Rivius, published at Venice in : “En tibi, lector candidissime, Macrobius, qui antea mancus, mutilus, ac lacer circumferebatur.” quod et Politianus indolere videtur See Poliziano, Miscellanea ., in Omnia opera Angeli Politiani (Venice, ), sig. Bv. nos . . . ad instituta . . . pergamus Cf. Cic. Off. .: “sed iam ad instituta pergamus”; Rhet. Her. .: “nos proficisci ad instituta pergemus.” Videtis, auditores Orat. .. philosophia universa Cic. Tusc. ., ; .; Sen. Ep. .. vitae nostrae — foelicitatis praemium Cf. Arist. Nicomachean Ethics .; Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae I–II..: “Est autem ultimus finis humanae vitae felicitas vel beatitudo.” For vitae nostrae fructus et finis ultimus, see Thomas Aquinas, In Sententiarum ., expositio textus: “Cognitio enim Trinitatis in unitate est fructus et finis totius vitae nostrae.” Quod nos — appellat Cf. Quint. Inst. ..: “pars illa moralis, quae dicitur ethice”; Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v, inaugural lecture to a course on Cicero’s Tusculan Questions and Horace’s Odes: “philosophia, quam Graeci ethicen, Latini moralem nominaverunt.” locupletissimus testis Cic. Ver. ... quam moralem — veritus est Cf., however, Cic. Fat. : “mores, quod ³qοσ illi vocant, nos eam partem philosophiae de moribus appellare solemus, sed decet augentem linguam Latinam nominare moralem.” Unde autem — disseruisse Eobanus paraphrases Arist. Magna Moralia a, via Giorgio Valla, De expetendis et fugiendis rebus opus (Venice, ), section ., sigs. KKv–KKr: “Unde igitur moralis philosophia duxerit exordium ambigue a veteribus proditum memoriae video. Nam plerique a Socrate ortum duxisse putant. Inde illud: ‘Rem tibi Socraticae poterunt ostendere chartae.’ At Aristoteles primum ait de moribus scripsisse Pythagoram, nec tamen recte, quando ipsas ad numerum sicut caetera evocavit . . . . Secundo loco Socratem multo huberius de moribus ait disputasse, verum ne ipsum quidem recte . . . . Tertio loco ait Platonem omnium longe copiosissime exactissimeque disseruisse.” Plerique a Socrate — docuisse dicitur Cf. Cic. Tusc. .: “Socrates autem primus philosophiam evocavit [al.: devocavit] e caelo et in urbibus conlocavit et in domus etiam introduxit et coegit de vita et moribus rebusque bonis et malis quaerere”; Locher, Stult., prologus, fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. xi.–): “Socrates, ille maximus sophiae cultor, primus de moribus disputare coepit. . . . tantum in philosophia emicuit, ut ipse e caelo philosophiam evocasse diceretur.” illud Horatianum Hor. Ars . Moralis — sibiipsi Eobanus again follows Giorgio Valla, De expetendis et fugiendis rebus opus (Venice, ), section ., sig. KKr: “Moralis igitur philosophia non singulorum modo, sed domus ac civitatis mores considerat, ut recte sensisse videantur qui politicum



.

. . . . .

. . .

notes to oratio, sive praelectio dicant eundem esse oeconomicum et ethicum, quod qui possit toti prodesse civitati, is multo magis etiam domui ac sibi, in idemque putant recidere civilem, quem politicum vocant et activum.” Hanc vero — corpore nobilior Cf. Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v, inaugural lecture to a course on Cicero’s Tusculan Questions and Horace’s Odes: “philosophia, quam Graeci ethicen, Latini moralem nominaverunt, quae quum animorum nostrorum medicina sit efficacissima, tanto reliquis disciplinis est excellentior quanto animi corporibus antecellunt.” For tanto . . . prestantior, quanto anima corpore nobilior, cf. Lact. Inst. ..: “quanto pluris est anima quam corpus, tanto pluris est Deus quam mundus”; Aug. Music. . (PL , col. ): “tanto excellentior . . . quanto anima omnis omni corpore est melior”; and, for example, Marsilio Ficino, Epistolarum familiarum liber I, ed. Sebastiano Gentile (Florence, ), , no. : “tanto . . . quanto animus prestantior est quam corpus aut spiritus”; opening section of the oft printed Ars moriendi (Nuremberg, ), sig. Ar: “Mors ergo animae tanto est horribilior atque destestabilior, quanto anima corpore est nobilior atque preciosior”; Eob. Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “Tanto sunt ii illis laude digniores quanto est animus corpore divinior”; Dial. , sig. Bv: “sicut Deus homini, sic animus praestat corpori.” bene vivendi rationem Cic. de Orat. .. parem superis hominem Cf. Nob. –, n. Infinitum — exhibeat Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; Nor., ded. : “recensere pene infinitum sit.” eius rei exempla Quint. Inst. ... litterarum scientia Hymn., ded., tit., n. quod . . . philosophia prestat Cf. Sen. Ep. .: “Hoc philosophia praestat.” nemo non — nihil intelligit Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. – . omnia in huiusce sermonis angustiam cogerem Cf. Aug. C.D. .: “nec tanta quaestio in sermonis angustias coartanda”; Eob. Nup. ; Gen. ebrios. .. tametsi — prestiterunt Cf. Orat. ., with a similar flash of oneupmanship. Campanus In “Initio studii MCCCCLV Perusiae oratio,” Campano speaks briefly about moral philosophy, within the context of philosophy as a whole. See Campano, Opera (Rome, ), part , sig. av. Beroaldus See Beroaldo, Opuscula, fols. v–v, inaugural lecture to a course on Cicero’s Tusculan Questions and Horace’s Odes. Mihi — ostendisse Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “dum veritatem nimis simpliciter et absque fuco profitemur.” parenesim Cf. Gen. ebrios. , tit., n. rectissima studia Orat. Sylv. : “tot rectissima studia”; Orat. .. pulverem — desudet Orat. stud., sig. Av: “omnibus qui in hac nostra Academia vel iam sunt emeriti vel adhuc desudant philosophicum pulverem”; cf. letter to Johann Meckbach of  March  (Epp.

notes to oratio, sive praelectio

.

. . . . . . . . .

. .

.

. .–



fam., ): “omnes qui in hac schola Hessiatica pulverem literatorium desudamus.” Disciplinae — involitent Cf. Orat. .; Erasmus, Enchiridion , Canon , LB , col.  B: “Non oscitantibus contingit regnum coelorum.” For the allusion to the Land of Cockaigne, where the pigeons fly roasted and buttered into one’s mouth, see Eob. Gen. ebrios. .–, with notes. intima philosophiae sacraria Cf. Sen. Ep. .: “in [philosophiae] sacrario”; Eob. Orat. ., n.: “philosophiae penetralibus.” salebrositate A medieval-Renaissance variant of “salebritas.” pro fortunae arbitrio Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, l. . regiam viam Orat. ., n. manentes imperium Her. Chr. ., n. verborum lenociniis Orat. ., n. auro gemmisque distinctis Hier. In Eccl. .: “auro gemmisque distinctos”; Ep. .: “auro gemmisque distinctum.” Heae For this form, see Her. Chr. ., n. summam — cognitionem Cf. Cic. de Orat. .: “summa rerum omnium scientia.” in sublimi solio residens For this standing phrase, cf., for example, Mant. Obiurgatio cum exhortatione ad capienda arma contra infideles ., in Opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fol. v: “sedebant/. . . in sublimi solio”; Eob. Her. Chr. .; Psalt. .: “Sublimi in solio sedisti.” fatuae virgines Eobanus plays on the New Testament parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Vulg. Matt. :–). puellarum amatores Gen. ebrios. ., n. fatuam bestiam Poggio Bracciolini, In L. Vallam invectiva , in Opera (Strasbourg, ), fol. v (= Opera [Basel, ], ): “Leonardus quidem Aretinus dum vixit, scio quid de te senserit, semper praesumptuosam et fatuam bestiam appellabat.” Eobanus uses the phrase also in an undated letter to Mutianus Rufus (late ?); see Mutian, Ep. . auditores, videtis Orat. .. fabulamento For this medieval word, see, for example, Poliziano, Miscellanea , in Omnia opera (Venice, ), sig. Cr: “anilibus fabulamentis”; Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, l. : “manium fabulamentis.” omni studio Verg. G. .. omni conatu Cf. Erasmus, Adag. ..: “Omni conatu invadere.” ut dixi See Orat. ., n. Labore — contingi Imitating Ermolao Barbaro, Oratio ad discipulos quom coepit Aristotelem domi suae profiteri ¡ωqιν’, in his Epistolae, Orationes et Carmina, ed. Vittore Branca, vol.  (Florence, ), : “Nihil est tam arduum quo humanum ingenium penetrare non possit; sed sine labore, sine vigiliis pervenire nemo potest ad ea quae nos a vulgo separant et a populo.” Eobanus knew this



. . . . . . . .

. . .

notes to oratio, sive praelectio text from Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v, where “quo” is printed as “quod,” just as Eobanus has it. For the thought, cf. also Sen. Dial. ..: “nihil est tam difficile et arduum quod non humana mens vincat.” defluit et emarcessit Gen. ebrios. .. For defluo in the sense of “wither,” see Vulg. Psa. .; Isa. .. Sapiens nunquam sine fructu ociatur Cf. Cic. Off. ., of Scipio Africanus: “numquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus.” Multa sunt — testimonia Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. brevi sermone perstrinxerit Hier. Ep. .; and elsewhere. Pythagoras, Plato, Apollonius — exules facti See Hier. Ep. . (prologue to the Bible). Memoriae — in publicum egredi See Plutarch, Demosthenes .. Ad Demosthenis laternam Cf. Orat. ., n.: “ad Demosthenis lucernam.” ad Demosthenis — vini consumite Cf. Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, ll. –: “Iactatum olim in Demosthenem, illius  νqυµªµατα τÍν λÒχνον Ëζειν, id est enthymemata lucernam olere, quod omnia de scripto diceret ac praemeditatus domi. Unde et illud de eodem celebratur elogium, quod plus olei quam vini consumpserit. Erat enim abstemius et ÑδροπÊτησ atque extrema etiam senecta ad lucernulam illam suam exercebatur.” Eobanus combines that phrasing with Erasmus, Adag. .., “Aristophanis et Cleanthis lucerna” (quoted at Eob. Her. Chr., ded. . as: “ad Aristophanis et Cleantis lucernam”). The expression plus olei quam vini consumite ultimately comes from Hier. Apologia adversus libros Rufini .: “Demosthenes plus olei quam vini expendisse se dicit.” dulcem poeticam — coniunxeritis Cf. Gen. ebrios. A .: “iucunda gravi sophiae coniuncta poesis.” Ut mandragora — eius cognitionem Erasmus, Parabolae, ASD .: , ll. –. Eobanus adduces the same simile at Gen. ebrios. A .–. Agite igitur Eobanus starts his parenesis at Gen. ebrios. . in exactly the same way: “Agite igitur, optimi litterarum candidati.” ut nullo unquam — possit avelli Cf. Quint. Decl. .: “nulla fortunae iniuria eripi potest”; Poliziano, Ep. ..: “ut ea nulla unquam temporum iniuria possit abolere”; Eob. Nob. –, n.; Epp. , sig. Cv, letter of  April  to Lazarus Spengler: “Nam etsi fortuna corpus auferat, animum certe nulla unquam vis fati, nulla fortunae iniuria a vobis avellet.”

notes to DE VERA NOBILITATE

Title Page tit.

De . . . priscis Germanorum moribus With this phrase, Eobanus forges a direct link to Tacitus’ Germania, which in Renaissance eds. bore the full title, De situ, moribus, et populis Germaniae. Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Cornelius Tacitus De situ moribusque Germanorum.” Eobanus was not, of course, the first to imitate Tacitus’ title. The edition of Enea Silvio’s Germania that appeared at Leipzig in , for example, was entitled De ritu, situ, moribus, et condicione Theutonie descriptio. When Konrad Celtis edited Tacitus’ Germania at Vienna in /, he added his own poetic description of Germany, under the title, “De situ et moribus Germanorum additiones.” In choosing his title, Eobanus also seeks to connect his poem directly to Celtis, Am. ., “Ad Elsulam a priscis et sanctis Germaniae moribus degenerantem.” Like Celtis in that poem, Eobanus praises ancient Germanic morality in order to contrast it with the degeneracy of modern-day Germans. Numerous verbal parallels in De vera nobilitate to Celtis, Am. ., underscore how much Eobanus admired his model. See further: Müller, Germania; Krebs, Negotiatio.

Liminary Epigram The poem was first printed in Krause, “Schrift,” . Meter: Phalaecean hendecasyllables.    

nominum bonorum Sylv. ..: “Iona, bonorum gloria nominum.” nobilem libellum Mart. ... si quis — perget Imitating Catul. .. The mention of an unnamed envier is standard fare in humanistic literature. See Eob. Rec. B ., with n. . Matrem — fuisse Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.

De vera nobilitate Meter: Elegiac distich. 

Nobilium . . . avorum Aus. Prof. ..



     

 

  

–     



notes to de vera nobilitate sanguine avorum = Sil. .; cf. Stat. Theb. .; Eob. Rec. . qua . . . parte venire solet Cf. Luth. .: “Qua sola potui parte venire tibi”; Psalt. .: “Et quacunque solet parte venire timor”; l.  below, n. Inclyta . . . virtus Laud. –, n. nostro . . . tempore = Lucr. .; Prop. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. laudis nomina . . . ferat Cf. l.  below. For laudis nomina at this metrical position, see Brant, Var. carm., sig. Fr (Texte .): “o laudis nomina magna tuae!”; cf. Eob. Laud. , n.; Sylv. duae ., n. titulum . . . -que decus Stat. Silv. ... decus . . . honoris Laud. . claros — avos Cf. Hutten, “Ad Eobanum Hessum,” Querel. ..: “Ille ego . . ./Cui fama est claros nobilis inter avos.” Precipis The statement, “I write at the urging of a friend,” is an exordial device for expressing the author’s modesty and ingratiating oneself with readers. See Curtius, ELLMA, . Here the topos is rooted — partly, at least — in fact. See the introd., pp. – above. Aonio . . . carmine Sylv. ... complectar carmine = Poliziano, Eleg. .: “Has ego non humili complectar carmine laudes.” Sarcina — meis Cf. Marul. Epigr. ..: “Imposita est humeris sarcina quanta tuis.” Ire . . . iterum tentare = Verg. A. .. Ire libet = Ov. Ep. .; Met. .; Luc. .. sacros . . . liquores Mant. . Parthen. .; Pontano, Urania .: “sacros fudere liquores/Pierides”; cf. Eob. Laud. , n. Caesarea . . . domo Ov. Tr. ... pectora flatu = Hod. ; Wirt. ; Sylv. ... Taliter — loco The verse reappears, slightly modified, in Her. ..: “Taliter ex omni vociferare loco.” This is followed by the apostrophe: “O qui praeteritae numeratis crimina vitae,/O quae mens scelerum conscia vulnus habet.” Qui — sceptra tenetis . . . Discite Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .: “Discite, primates orbis qui sceptra tenetis.” Terra . . . mater communis Liv. ..: “[terra] communis mater omnium mortalium”; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  below. Discite — superbae Adapted from Buc. .. Discite, mortales Ven. Fort. Carm. ..; Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .); Hutten, De virtute ; Epigr. .. sceptra . . . sublimia regni Cf. Her. Chr. .; ., n. Nec — opes Cf. Her., ded. –: “Praecipue clari quos gloria sanguinis inflat/Et quorum validae facta tuentur opes.” Humanae — meminisse Cf. Sylv. ..: “Quin subit humanae sortis meminisse”; Epic. .: “Nec subit humanae sortis meminisse.” Cf. further Ov. Tr. ..; Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Nec levis est placidae sortis meminisse voluptas.” materiae . . . melioris Her. Chr., lim. , n.

notes to de vera nobilitate 

–



 

     

  – 



Naturae . . . parenti Cic. Tusc. .: “natura parente omnium”; .: “communi parente natura”; Luc. .; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .; Orat. stud., sig. Av: “natura parens optima”; cf. l.  above, n. mortalis turba Her. Chr. ., n. Unus — sumus For the thought that we all come from the same stock, see, for example, Vulg. Act. .; Sen. Ep. .; .; Boeth. Consol. .m, especially ll. –: “Omne hominum genus in terris simili surgit ab ortu;/unus enim rerum pater est”; Petrarch, Rem. ..: “Origo cunctorum una est, unus parens humani generis, unus fons universorum.” Unus, et hic = Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., . Opifex rerum = Arator .; Eob. Hypocr. B .; Psalt. .; .; cf. Ov. Met. .; Luc. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Pater omnibus idem = Marul. Hymn. nat. ..: “Idem rex hominum atque deum, pater omnibus idem”; ..: “Sol pater omnibus idem”; cf. Lucr. .; Verg. A. .. caelesti . . . horto = Her. Chr. .. Quondam — erat A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy points to the traditional belief that Adam was created from soil taken from the plain of Damascus and was thence brought to Paradise. See Vict. , n. terrenae . . . molis Boeth. Consol. .m.; Marul. Hymn. nat. ..; ... pars quota = Her. Chr. ., n. portio terrae = Vict. , referring to Adam; Sylv. ..: “Prussiacae . . . portio terrae.” una conditione = Her. Chr. .; Sylv. ..; cf. Juvenc. .– . conditione sumus = Eleg. Maec. .; Eob. Ama. B .. genus . . . omnibus unum Verg. A. .; Eob. Val. .. Sic omnes — iter A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Eobanus’ model, Hor. Carm. ..–. mortis adimus iter = Prop. ... Nemo — annis A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Vulg. Job .. fatalibus . . . annis Tib. ... Impia — opes A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Mart. ..– (writing “statuere modum” rather than “statuere diem”). Impia . . . Parca Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Iniecitque feras impia Parca manus.” post fata = Her. Chr. ., n. esse docet = Mart. ... Aspicite — cutem Next to these reflections, a student’s note in the Copenhagen copy quotes the melancholy verses of Hor. Carm. ..–. Aspicite . . . coeant ≈ Verg. A. .. Aspicite ut = Strozzi, Eroticon ..; Eob. Sylv. ...

   

–     

  

     –  

notes to de vera nobilitate febribus artus = Ov. Ep. .; .. sate sanguine = Verg. A. .. sanguine claro = Stat. Theb. .; cf. l.  below. tua sunt — malis Cf. Andrel. Livia ..: “Nostraque sunt gravibus membra levata malis.” noxia membra = Tib. .. (in a different sense). By poetic licence, Eobanus uses noxia here as the equivalent of obnoxia. Cur — veretur The model is Hor. Carm. ..–, quoted in a ms. note in the Copenhagen copy. in fata ruunt Ov. Met. .. cum paupere reges = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “turba cum paupere reges.” famulantur opes = l.  below, n. Mors . . . veretur = Stat. Theb. .. timet esse nocens Cf. l.  below; Ov. Am. ..; Tr. .. Exilii A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Mant. Mort.  (fol. v): “Non patria est nobis terra, sed exilium.” (Following this verse Mantuanus’ poem adds: “Quid, precor, exilium patriae praeponere mavis/Caecaque terreni carceris antra pati?”) The student’s note goes on to quote Celtis, Am. ..–: “Quo moriare loco, nil refert. Ad Iovis aulam/A terra spatium semper habebis idem.” carcer For the old idea that the body is the soul’s prison, see Her. Chr. ., n. reditum in patriam = Petrarch, Africa .; cf. Verg. A. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Este . . . memores = Ov. Met. .; .; .. Qui colitis . . . regna In Ed. Leeum .–: “O qui/Musarum colitis beata regna.” proxima regna plagae = Accl. .; cf. Sylv. ..: “Sive truci Boreae proxima regna colat”; ..: “Et pete Mysnaeae proxima rura plagae”; Sylv. duae ., n.; Her. Chr. ., n.; Hypocr. B .; Her. ..; Ov. Fast. .; Celtis, Am. ..: “Dacica Germanis proxima regna”; Claud. Carm. minora .: “. . . sulphureae fervida regna plagae.” mentibus omnes = Pug. . Illa — rependit Cf. l.  below. virtutibus aucta = Aus. Parentalia .. Pressa — genus Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–. viciis inquinat Cic. Off. .; Tusc. .; [Sen.] Oct. . tot — sectae Cf. Idyl. .: “populi per tot discrimina.” nomina . . . habet = Her. Chr. ., n. ludus For the stage metaphor, see Curtius, ELLMA, –. Postquam — ante fores Cf. Vitanda ebriet. .–. Postquam — reliquit Cf. Ov. Met. .; Fast. .–; Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Sed postquam liquit terras Astraea nocentes”; Eob. Tum. .–. lues . . . viciorum Bebel, “Contra Simoniacos,” in Carm., sig. Ccv: “cum dira lues vitiorum regnet in orbe.”

notes to de vera nobilitate

 –

 

 

       





vacuum . . . orbem = Verg. G. .; cf. Eob. Vict. , n. polluit orbem = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v): “polluit orbem/ Caedibus innumeris.” Ut Virtus — ante fores Cf. ll. – below. clausas — fores Cf. Ov. Met. .; Tr. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Her. ..: “Et vicina meas Mors cubat ante fores.” Illa — fundit opes A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy connects this stark contrast between Virtue and Pleasure to the famous story of Hercules at the Crossroads, as told in Cic. Off. . and elsewhere. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., nn. Unlike Hercules, modern German noblemen prefer pleasure and debauchery to heroic virtue. miseris . . . querelis Ov. Met. .; Fast. .. pene exanimata Her. Chr. ., n. exanimata querelis Hor. Carm. ... assidua — opem ≈ Psalt. .: “Divinam assidua voce precabar opem”; cf. Psalt. .: “Assidua Domini voce precabor ope”; Psalt. , arg.  (Psalt. , arg. ): “. . . humili voce precatur opem.” voce . . . opem = Ov. Pont. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. voce precatur Verg. A. .; .. Deformi . . . situ Cf. Hor. Ep. ..; Eob. Max. , n. neglecta situ Max. . Aurea . . . astra Ov. Met. .. monstrat — viam = Locher, Stult. , sig. v: “Virtutem posuit sapiens in vertice collis./Qui nitidis animis monstrat ad astra viam.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; ., n. Picta genas = Mant. Calam. . (p. ); Pontano, Urania .: “Picta genas tortisque comis et nuda papillas”; cf. Ov. Am. ... indignata Voluptas = Sil. .; Maxim. .. Deque sinu — opes Cf. Sylv. ..: “gremio largas ubere fundis opes.” Also cf. Hor. Ep. ... totas . . . opes = Mart. ... longo . . . agmine Nup. , n. agmine miles = Claud. VI. Cons. Hon. . Illa — equis The model is Ov. Fast. ., combined with Ov. Ep. .. Circum — signis Cf. Nor. : “Picta toreumaticis statuunt tentoria signis.” dominae testificata suae Cf. Ov. Ars .. Proxima post = Prop. ..; Ov. Met. .. sceptro . . . superbo Her. Chr. ., n. Regina superbo ≈ Verg. A. .. toto corpore = Catul. .; Prop. ..; Ov. Fast. .; Tr. ..; Ib. . corpore nuda = Celtis, Am. ... nuda Venus Ov. Ars .; Mart. ... Assyrio — amomo Cf. Verg. Ecl. .; Sen. Thy. ; Stat. Silv. ..; ..; Sil. .; Mart. ..; Sid. Carm. .: “Indus odorifero crinem madefactus amomo.”

 

  



  –

   

     

notes to de vera nobilitate Immensam turbam Sardanapalus agit Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Sardanapalum, voluptariorum omnium antesignanum et ducem.” In the margin of the Copenhagen copy a student’s hand quotes a somewhat garbled version of Sardanapalus’ epitaph: “Hec habeo que edi queque exaturata libido Hauserat. Et cum te [mortalem] noris, presentibus exple Deliciis animum. Post mortem nulla voluptas.” Eobanus quotes part of the same epitaph at Gen. ebrios. ., n. Ut veteres taceam = Sylv. ..; ... temporis huius = Ov. Fast. .. nomina . . . ducum = Ilias Lat. : “Nomina clara ducum.” Omnibus his = Catul. .; Verg. A. .; Ov. Ars .; .; Met. .. certas . . . leges = Stat. Ach. .; Celtis, Am. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Murcea A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy points to Beroaldo, Annotationes centum, where Beroaldo (taking his cue from Aug. C.D. .) explains that the goddess Murcea is so named because she makes a person excessively slothful (“preter modum . . . murcidum”). See Filippo Beroaldo the Elder, Annotationes centum, ed. Lucia A. Ciapponi (Binghamton, ), , no. .. nomen habet = Sylv. duae ., n. et ad omnia promptae ≈ Mant. Ecl. .: “sapiens et ad omnia promptus/Furta erat”; Georg., fol. r: “Laudavere deam Lemures et ad omnia promptos/Se fore promittunt pro maiestate deorum.” displicuisse sciant Mart. ..; Eob. Idyl. .. Luxus — amor For this catalogue of vices, cf. Aug. C.D. .; Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .– (the vices as companions of Venus); Eob. Laud. –, n.; Gen. ebrios. ., n. For ll.  and , cf. especially Gunther. Lig. .: “Insidiae, fraudes, iniuria, furta, rapinae”; Celtis, Am. ..: “Stupra, . . . furta, rapinas.” Iurgia, Probra = Dantisc. Carm. .: “lites, iurgia, probra, nefas.” latam . . . frontem Sen. Phaed. . secum . . . trahit = Ov. Fast. .. milia multa = Her. Chr. ., n. Periuria, Furta, Rapinae = [Paul. Nol.], Carm., app. .: “Cessabunt fraudes, periuria, furta, rapinae”; Walther a: “Ex his [sc. divitiis] procedunt periuria, furta, rapinae”; Eob. Pod. : “Bella, doli, cedes, periuria, furta, rapinae.” relligionis amor = Prud. c. Symm. .; Perist. .. Et quae preterea = Her. Chr. ., n. mille figurae = Ov. Ep. .. Mollia . . . castra Ov. Ars .. castra sequuntur = Her. Chr. ., n. claro . . . de sanguine V. Fl. .; Stat. Theb. .; cf. l. , n., above. de sanguine natos = Ov. Met. .. Maxima pars = Her. Chr. ., n. blanda . . . imagine = Sedul. ..

notes to de vera nobilitate



timet . . . esse nocens l. , n., above. infandis caedibus Verg. A. .. caedibus . . . nocens Ov. Pont. ..; Sen. Oed. .  sacris . . . aris Laud. , n.  sacro sanguine Catul. .; Verg. A. .. sanguine foedat humum = Ilias .; cf. Ov. Met. .; Fast. ., ; Tr. ..; Ib. .  viciorum alimenta = Ov. Met. .. – alimenta rapinis Quaerit et = Gunther, Lig. .–.  auget opes = Ov. Fast. .: “et . . . suas per scelus auget opes.”  Legitimi . . . foedera . . . thori ≈ Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Legitimi sancto foedere nata thori.” Cf. Eob. Nup. , n.; cf. further Ov. Ep. .; Fast. .; Pont. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  stupra incestusque Cf. Laud. ; Vitanda ebriet. .. discrimine nullo = Ov. Tr. ..; Luc. .; Stat. Theb. .; Sil. ..  Non vita — pecus Lust reduces people to the level of unreasoning beasts. For the commonplace, see Ama. ., n.  Deglubit — oves Cf. Suet. Tib. . (mentioned in a ms. note in the Copenhagen copy): “boni pastoris esse tondere pecus, non deglubere”; Erasmus, Adag. ..; Eob. Luth. .; .–; Accl. .: “miseras comedet pastor avarus oves.” miseras . . . oves Claud. in Eutr. .. – Iura — suo A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy paraphrases a proverbial dictum by Anacharsis, for which see V. Max. ., ext. ; Bebel, Prov. : “Parvi fures suspenduntur. . . . Anacharsis interrogatus, quid esset Lex, respondit: Araneae tela; quia, si in eam inciderit quid debile, retinetur: grave autem pertransit tela rescissa.”  Iura — statera Cf. Laud. , n.  Versat . . . arbitrio . . . suo V. Max. ., ext. : “egit . . . illam urbem et versavit arbitrio suo”; Veit Werler, liminary epigram to the reader in L. Luciani Samosateni Dialogi (Leipzig, ): “Optimus orator, vates celeberrimus idem/Cetera et arbitrio versat ubique suo”; see Friedrich Ritschl, “Veit Werler als Leipziger Docent und die Leipziger Plautusstudien im Anfang des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts,” in Ritschl, Opuscula, :. arbitrio . . . suo = Ov. Rem. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Vitanda ebriet. .. fasque nefasque = Pontano, Laud. .; Eridanus ..; cf. Verg. G. .; Ov. Met. .; Luc. .; Otto .  rerum prodigus usu Cf. Juv. .: “. . . rerum proficis usu.”  Diviciis . . . suis = Ov. Fast. .; cf. Eob. Rec. B .. crimina foeda = Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .); cf. Mart. ...  sacras . . . in aedes Buc. ., n.  pia . . . sacra Ov. Fast. .; Tr. ..; Prud. Psych. . vix aliquo lumine = Ilias, praef. : “vix aliquo lumine digna legi.” 



notes to de vera nobilitate

aliquo lumine . . . videt ≈ Psalt. .: “Cur mea non aliquo lumine vota vides?” sacra videt = Locher, Stult. , fol. r: “Ille bibit stomacho ieiuno, devorat alter,/Antea quam templi limina sacra videt.” Cf. Ov. Met. ..  properata sine ordine = Ov. Ep. .; cf. Eob. Vict. , n. ordine rerum = Man. .; Juv. ..  Infaustas . . . aves Cf. Erasmus, Adag. ...  ferre queant = Celtis, Am. ...  sacris . . . ab aris = Her. Chr. .; cf. Celtis, Am. ..: “. . . sacris absenter ab aris”; Eob. Laud. , n.  corpus habere = Her. Chr. ., n. habere putant = Ov. Ep. .; Fast. ..  Ocia . . . sectentur inertia Sylv. ..: “Ocia quae tantum sectantur inertia”; cf. Mant. c. Am.  (fol. v): “[amans] inertia laudat/Ocia”; Sebastian Brant, “De singularitate novorum fatuum,” in Locher, Stult., fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. xv.): “Ocia sectantur, torporem et desidiamque.” Cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. turpi . . . luxu = Juv. .. inertia luxu = Walter, Alex. .; Celtis, Am. ..; l.  below.  gaudia ventris amant ≈ Celtis, Am. ... – Ebria — modum The German custom of Zutrinken is also castigated in Celtis, Am. ..–. For the practice, see introd. to Gen. ebrios., pp. – above.  Ebria . . . convivia Gen. ebrios. ... luce frequentant = Mant. Calam. . (p. ).  Non aliquem . . . modum l.  below; Tum. .: “Non habet haec aliquem dira vorago modum”; Salom. .: “aliquem non habet ista modum”; Psalt. .: “Quatenus haec aliquem non habet ira modum”; Ilias, praef. : “In verbis aliquem non habuisse modum.” – O quicunque — bibas For the topos of execrating the inventor, cf., for example, Prop. ..–; Tib. ..– (quoted as Eobanus’ model in a student’s note in the Copenhagen copy); ..–; Ov. Am. ..– ; ..–; Eob. Nob. –; Nor. –.  inferno . . . amne Mant. . Parthen. .: “infernos . . . amnes.” amne bibas = Ov. Rem. .  lumen habent = Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  haec saecula = Tib. ... saecula norunt ≈ Ov. Tr. ...  clarum . . . nomen habet Ov. Met. .. For clarum nomen, cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. viciis obruta = Psalt. .; cf. l.  below. nomen habet = Sylv. duae ., n. – Nec generi — comes Cf. Aen. Silv. Epygr. .–, quoted in Wimpfeling, Adol. , no. .a, under the title, “Contra iactantiam ex divitiis stemmate nobilitate ac prole venientem.” The verses are copied out on the blank last page of the Copenhagen copy of Eobanus’ De

notes to de vera nobilitate

  –

–  

  –   

 – 



vera nobilitate, under the heading, “Jacobus Wymphelingus, De vera nobilitate.” Eobanus’ student goes on to quote Boccaccio’s story about Gismonda and Guiscardo (Decameron .), as versified by Filippo Beroaldo: “Beroaldus: ‘Sola facit virtus generosum, sola beatum,/Sola potest mentes demeruisse probas.’ ” See Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v. generi . . . decus addit l.  below; cf. l.  above. decus addit = Stat. Theb. .. pondus . . . habent ≈ Ov. Tr. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. nobilitatis habent = Ov. Pont. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Diviciis — peior eris The verses amplify the proverbial thought that “everything bows to money” (Vulg. Eccl. .). See Erasmus, Adag. ..; Moria, ASD .:, ll. –; Bebel, Prov. ; Otto ; Häussler, , , , , ; TPMA, s.v. “Geld,” nos. –; and, for example, Brant, Narrenschiff  (Locher, Stult. ). For ll. – , cf. Vulg. Eccl. .: “sapientia pauperis contempta est et verba eius non sunt audita”; Ov. Am. ..; Fast. .– (mentioned in a ms. note in the Copenhagen copy, along with Hor. Carm. ..– ); Juv. .–; TPMA, s.v. “Arm,” nos. –. For ll. – , cf. especially Hor. Carm. ..– (quoted in a ms. note in the Copenhagen copy). malis . . . moribus Ov. Am. ..; Erasmus, Adag. ... esse comes = Her. Chr. .; .; .. Diviciae cui sunt Mant. Ecl. .: “divitiae cui sunt et neglegit uti,/Stultus.” hic nobilis Juv. .. ille beatus = Tib. ..; Stat. Silv. ... magnos . . . ante duces = Hutten, De virtute ; cf. Hor. Carm. ... Sit licet hic = Ov. Pont. ... alga vilior Verg. Ecl. .; Hor. S. ..; Otto . paleis For the sense of “straw,” see Her. Chr. ., n. Et licet — peior eris A ms. note in the Copenhagen copy quotes the model for these verses: Ov. Ars .–. Et licet exuperes = Her. Chr. .; cf. Ov. Ars .. exuperes — omnes Cf. Nup. . For the tag omnibus omnes, see Lucil. ; Lucr. .; Prud. Psych. . Omnibus . . . peior eris Max. B .. At non sic = Prop. ... veteres . . . heroes Stat. Ach. .. longis . . . ab annis = Ov. Ib. ; cf. Am. ... heroes ab annis = Theoc. .: “noti primis heroes ab annis”; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. pondere nomen habent ≈ Hutten. Querel. ..: “Et titulo et rerum pondere nomen habens.” For the tag nomen habent, cf. Eob. Sylv. duae ., n.; Her. Chr. ., n. Non sic — Non sic Cf. Epic. .–, with five-fold repetition of non sic at the verse opening. Maeonio vati Ov. Tr. ...



notes to de vera nobilitate

cantatus Achilles = Ov. Am. ... notior ille = Prop. ... tuba The war trumpet is a standard image for heroic poetry. See, for example, Mart. ..; .().; ..; ..; Poliziano, Eleg. .: “Tum liceat nomen fama tibi ferre per aevum/Et tua non humili gesta sonare tuba”; .: “Aggredere Aonia fortia bella tuba.”  facundus Ulysses = Nup. , n.  caetera turba = Her. Chr. ., n. turba ducum Verg. A. ..  Roma nepotes = Prop. ...  primae nobilitatis honor ≈ Andrel. Livia ..: “Sumque meae primus nobilitatis honor.” Cf. Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “. . . priscae nobilitatis honos”; l.  below.  Condidit . . . Romulus urbem = Tum. .. exiguam . . . urbem Verg. A. .–; Mart. ...  Immensi — erat A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Hor. Carm. ..–. Immensi . . . laboris Verg. Cat. .; Ov. Met. .. causa laboris erat ≈ Hutten, Epigr. .: “Haec tandem eximii causa laboris erit.” Cf. Ov. Pont. ...  Invenies quae te = Luth. .; Psalt. A .: “Invenies quae te cura levare queat.” pigeat numerare Her. Chr. ., n.  nobilitatis erunt ≈ Ov. Ep. .; Tr. ...  Teutonici . . . soli ≈ Celtis, Am. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .. saecla revolve Cf. Prud. c. Symm. .; Gunther, Lig. .: “Cogitet antiquos primevi temporis annos/Preteritosque dies et secula prisca revolvat”; Marul. Hymn. nat. ..: “longa . . . saecla revolvimus.” – Aspicies — ipsa suis The idealization of a primitive, but morally superior Germanic past is based on Tacitus’ Germania, as filtered especially through his German interpreter Konrad Celtis. See in particular Celtis, Am. .. For Celtis’ interpretation, see Müller, Germania, – ; Krebs, Negotiatio, –. Cf. Eob. Ama. , nn.; Nor. –.  nullo . . . orbe Sylv. duae .; Her. Chr. ..  Virtutem — sola facit Cf. Beroaldo, Opuscula, fol. v, versifying Boccaccio’s story about Gismonda and Guiscardo (Decameron .): “Sola facit virtus generosum, sola beatum,/Sola potest mentes demeruisse probas.” See note at ll. – above. vivere sola facit = Salom. .: “Verum hoc divitiis sapientia praestat et anteit,/Quod sibi devinctos vivere sola facit.”  purpureis . . . vestibus Verg. A. .. radians — aurum = Her. Chr. ., n.  ciphis A medieval-Renaissance spelling for scyphis. See, for example, Lotario, Miseria .: “cyphos et urceolos in ministerio ad vina fundenda”; Eob. Sylv. ..: “brevibus sumere vina cyphis.”  abiere dies = Prop. ...  novere cubilia = Sylv. duae .. 

notes to de vera nobilitate



 robore firma Her. Chr. .. – Dos — soli Cf. Tac. Ger. .; Celtis, Am. ..–, –, quoted at Eob. Ama. . as well as in a student’s note to the present verses in the Copenhagen copy.  duris — armis Cf. Max. , ; Gunther, Lig. .: “. . . duris adsuetus in armis”; Marul. Epigr. ..: “. . . virum duris tot milia in armis.” bellator in armis = Sil. .; Juv. ..  Et pecus et . . . iugera Mant. . Parthen. .: “et pecus et cultae felicia iugera villae.” tristis . . . soli Ov. Met. .. iugera — soli = Mart. ...  Scilicet arma = Ov. Fast. .. nostris . . . puellis = Celtis, Am. ...  degeneri . . . luxu = Vitanda ebriet. .; cf. Avit. .: “Degenerique fluens elegit vivere luxu.” inertia luxu = l. , n., above.  Improba . . . Venus Laud. , n. forma Venusve fuit Cf. Vict., app. .: “Una novi veris forma Venusque fuit.”  Mutuus . . . ardor Lucr. .. ardor habendam ≈ Paul. Nol. Carm. .: “ardor habendi.”  patrii . . . Reni = l.  of a verse letter to Joachim Vadian ( March ), in Vadian. Briefsammlung, no. : “patrii . . . potentia Rheni/ Littora.” fluitans in gurgite ≈ Sil. .. gurgite Reni = Gunther, Lig. ..  patriis . . . in armis = V. Fl. .; Sil. .; cf. Verg. G. .; A. ..  scelus atque nefas = Juv. .. molliter esse = Ov. Tr. ...  Taela . . . vibrare Luc. .. Taela puer = V. Fl. .; Stat. Theb. .. dextro . . . lacerto = Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. vibrare lacerto = Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Luth. ..  Et laeva . . . manu ≈ Ov. Am. ... clypeum . . . rotare V. Fl. ..  bellator eques Cf. Verg. G. .; A. .. longa . . . hasta Verg. A. .; Eob. Max. . sudare sub hasta Cf. Claud. IV. Cons. Hon. : “sudaret in hasta.”  flectere frena Stat. Silv. ..; Claud. VI. Cons. Hon. .  ocia vitae = Her. Chr. ., n.  sollicitare feras ≈ Ov. Am. ...  patrium . . . agrum Buc. ., n.; Her. Chr. .. duris versare ligonibus agrum Cf. Avien. Aratea : “. . . duris versare ligonibus arva.” Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–; Epod. .; Luc. ..  levare famem Ov. Ep. ..



notes to de vera nobilitate

– Non tunc — iacuisset iners Eobanus idealizes the Germanic past as a golden age of heroic manhood. In those good old days, he says, the people needed no walls to protect them, only their personal bravery (l. ). To underline the association with the Golden Age, Eobanus takes his wording in l.  from Ovid’s description in Met. .: “nondum praecipites cingebant oppida fossae.” The age of valor, he concludes, came to an abrupt end with the invention of gunpowder and cannons. As a student’s note in the Copenhagen copy indicates, Eobanus’ argument is taken from Pol. Verg. Invent. ..–: “Et haec omnia ad hominum perniciem inventa sunt, et illud novitium inventum in primis quod bombardum vocant, quo post hominum memoriam nihil terribilius ab humano ingenio excogitari potuit, cuius inventorem fuisse tradunt hominem Germanum admodum ignobilem. . . . Is itaque tam mortiferae machinae repertor pro mercede, opinor, accepit ut nomen eius perpetuo occultaretur . . . , dignus scilicet qui prior ipse vice Salmonei fulmine flagrasset. . . . [H]aec [machina] fulmini odore, luce, sonitu, impetu simillima est. Magna enim vi ignis collecti emissis repente aut ferreis aut lapideis pilis, quicquid obvium offendit quassat, dissipat, frangit, contundit adeo ut nullus sane sit locus, quamvis natura munitus, quin facile expugnetur. Ex quo iam usu venit ut in ea hoc tempore omnis ferme vis peditum, omnis equestris splendor, omnis denique bellica virtus indecore consistat, iaceat, obtorpeat. Haec bombarda vocatur . . . ; quidam alii tormentum aeneum malunt nuncupare.” Eobanus adapts Vergil’s text also at Gen. ebrios. .– and Nor. –.  Non tunc — fossae Cf. Verg. Ecl. .–; Ov. Am. ..; Ov. Met. .. firma — fossae Cf. Sylv. duae .. cavae . . . fossae Marul. Epigr. ..: “cava circumvallavit moenia fossa”; Eob. Hod. .  Tempore non illo = Anthol. Lat. .,  (in an epigram traditionally attributed to Seneca); Eob. Rec. .  Tormentis Pointing to “Beroaldo and others,” a ms. note in the Copenhagen copy says that the ancient term tormenta is now being applied also to bombards. Cf. Jakob Wimpfeling, Epithoma rerum Germanicarum (Strasbourg, ; VD , no. W ), chap. , fol. v: “bellici tormenti genus . . . quod vulgo bombarda dicitur a sono, ut opinor, ac tonitru. Hac una re nihil solertius, nihil terribilius esse contendit Philippus Beroaldus.” Cf. further Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .–; Gen. ebrios. .; and, for example, Max. , , . turpiter usa Ov. Am. ...  fulmina turres = TPMA, s.v. “Turm,” no. : “Impetus et venti, tonitrus et fulmina turres/Flatibus evertunt.” Fulmen is an everyday image in early modern descriptions of cannons. Besides Polydore Vergil (quoted at ll. – above), see, for example, Petrarch, Rem. ..; Poliziano, Silv. .–: “tormentum . . . aenum,/quod toni-

notes to de vera nobilitate



tru horrifico magnas sternentia turres/ardua fulmineo iaculetur saxa rotatu”; Eob. Nor. –, , –; Wirt. –.  Murus — suis Cf. Just. .., referring to ancient Sparta: “Tantum eos degeneravisse a maioribus, ut, cum multis saeculis murus urbi virtus civium fuerit, tunc cives salvos se non existimaverint fore, nisi intra muros laterent.” It was part of Sparta’s mystique that she had no walls, the only wall needed being the warrior-citizens. See, for example, Plato, Laws , d–a, where it is further suggested that walls create a false sense of security and encourage softness of soul; Erasmus, Adag. ... Hence, when Sparta was finally forced to build walls, this action was widely interpreted as a sign of her moral decline. The same pattern, Eobanus suggests, can be seen in German history. In ancient times, Germany possessed no cities at all, let alone walls; see Tac. Ger. .. But now, with the advent of cannons, all her cities are encircled with walls and moats. – Ah, pereat — opus For the topos of cursing the inventor, see ll. – , n., above.  Ah, pereat quicunque = Prop. ..; ..; cf. Tib. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. globos torquere Sil. .; .–; ..  Germano . . . in orbe = Hutten, Querel. ..; Exhortatio (I) ; Eob. Epic. .; Sylv. ..; cf. l.  below. primus in orbe Luc. .; Stat. Theb. .. in orbe fuit = Ov. Ars .; Fast. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  latuisset opus = Ov. Ars ..  militiae robur Vulg. . Paral. .; Eob. Nor. , in similar context.  Bellica . . . virtus Sen. Tro. ; Prud. Psych. . virtus — iners Cf. Sylv. duae ., n.  nostras . . . per urbes = Celtis, Am. ..; cf. V. Fl. .. regnaret . . . per urbes Verg. A. ..  valet ingenio Ov. Am. ...  antiquas . . . vires = Luc. .. per se Germania vires Cf. Max. . For the tag Germania vires, see Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .; Hutten, Epigr. ..  concordi . . . pace Ov. Met. ..  Quam bene = Buc. B ., n. Romanum Caesar . . . orbem ≈ Her. ... componeret orbem Man. ..  Trux licet = Her. ..: “Trux licet infesto saeviat ore Canis.” Adria Buc. B .; Max. ; B ., ; and Hutten, Italia B . (all referring to Venice as an Adriatic power). tollat aquas ≈ Mart. ...  Nobilitas . . . iacet = Ov. Ep. .. Nobilitas . . . prisca Mant. Sylv. .. (fol. r); Strozzi, Eroticon ... prisca iacet . . . cessant Sylv. ..: “Iam prisca cessit, iam iacet . . ./Virtus.”



notes to de vera nobilitate

– generosa . . . Facta = Mant. Calam. .– (p. ).  Regnant ocia Vitanda ebriet. ..  vix umbra relicta est Cf. Claud. IV. Cons. Hon. : “nulla relicta foret Romani nominis umbra.”  Quis neget = Her. Chr. ., n. quod ante fuit Ov. Met. .. – Quod prior — arce sedet Cf. Celtis, Am. ..–, with a similar list of German emperors. Also cf. Jakob Wimpfeling, Epithoma rerum Germanicarum (Strasbourg, ; VD , no. W ), chap. , fol. v: “Henricos, Othones, Carolos, Conrados, Fridericosque”; Cochlaeus, Germania .: “tot gloriosi principes, Caroli, Othones, Conradi, Henrici, Friderici.”  Quod prior . . . aetas ≈ Ov. Pont. ... magnis . . . Othonibus Sylv. ..: “magnorum de gente . . . Othonum.” conspexit . . . aetas Nor.   fama beat Celtis, Od. ..: “fama quem clarum beat.”  unus et alter = Nup. , n.  Maximus Aemilianus = Nup. , n.  rerum . . . in arce Wirt. , of Julius Caesar: “summa rerum stetit unus in arce.” in arce sedet = Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .d): “nummus in arce sedet”; , fol. r: “Quisquis adulator primus in arce sedet”; cf. Verg. A. .; Sil. .. – Qui nunc — Cogit Cf. Max. . Also cf. Buc. .–, n.; Max. .  culta diu = Sil. ..  reddit — opes Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Ven. Fort. Carm. ..: “. . . priscum reddit et auget opus.”  flexo poplite = Hutten, Querel. ..; Eobanus, letter of  March  to Joachim Vadian, in Vadian. Briefsammlung, no. : “Mandatum flexo poplite profer ‘Ave’”; cf. Stat. Theb. .; Vulg. Judic. ..  Iam — gentes Cf. Tum. .: “Vicinas conterret adhuc tua gloria gentes.”  vincere posse = Ov. Ep. .; Fast. .. posse nega = Ov. Pont. ... – Pelle pharetratos — habet Cf. Hymn. –, nn.; introd. to Hymn., p.  above; introd. to Nob., p.  above.  Pelle pharetratos — Turcas Cf. Max. ; Tum. .. Ancient Roman poets typically apply the epithet pharetratus to barbarian peoples from the East, especially the Scythians, Getes, and Parthians. Eobanus applies it to the Parthians at Max. . At Sylv. duae ., n., and Sylv. .., he bestows it on the Russians.  Graecia moesta = Ov. Ep. ..  vicina . . . arva = Verg. A. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Moenia — habet = Accl. .. Turca superbus ≈ Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Turca superbe.”

notes to de vera nobilitate



superbus habet = Ov. Fast. . (where Superbus is a proper name). ne surdo — querelam Cf. Verg. Ecl. .. The expression was proverbial. See Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto , ; TPMA, s.v. “Taub,” nos. –. Cf. Eob. Ama. .. cecinisse querelam = Her. Chr. ., n.  Propositi — mei Cf. V. Max. ..ext. : “certa est . . . ratio propositi mei”; Eob. Sylv. duae ., n.  nostris . . . ab annis Verg. A. ..  honor . . . nobilitatis l. , n., above. verae nobilitatis = Her. Chr. ., n.  toto . . . ab orbe = Her. Chr. ., n.  ferat laudum nomina Cf. l.  above, n. nemo rogat = Her. Chr. ., n.  Hesperus orae ≈ Ov. Fast. ..  aeterno . . . gelu = Epic. .; cf. Plin. Nat. ..  placidas — habenas ≈ Laud. , n.  Aurea . . . saecula Verg. Aen. .–: “Augustus Caesar . . . aurea condet/saecula.” Ancient and Renaissance panegyrics often praise rulers for ushering in a new Golden Age. See Eob. Buc. ., n.; Erasmus, Ep. , ll. –.  pius in superos = Theoc. .: “Rex pius in superos.”  clarum meritis Ov. Met. .; Eob. Hod. . – Sed quis — numerare velim Cf. Val. .–: “Sed quis erit modus, et quem finem nostra videbunt/Carmina, si quae sunt scribere plura velim?”  Sed quis erit modus = Verg. A. ..  si numerare velim = Nor. . – quos nostra tulerunt . . . saecula Buc. .–, n.  saecula prisca Man. .; .; Sil. ..  Credo equidem = Buc. ., n. Lybicae — arenae Cf. Verg. G. .–; Ov. Met. .. The image was proverbial. See Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto ; Eob. Vict. – .  Erichtonius . . . Hymettus Cf. Sid. Carm. .: “Erechtheo Xanthum mutabat Hymetto.” Mount Hymettus, southeast of Athens, was famed for its honey. See Otto ; Häussler, , . pascat Hymettus apes = Mart. ... – Prisca — famulantur opes Cf. Ov. Fast. .–, –.  moribus aevi = Luc. ..  viciis . . . obruta l. , n., above.  luxus iners et = Petrarch, Africa .: “luxus iners et dura superbia”; cf. Paul. Nol. Carm. .: “luxus iners, inpurus amor, maculosa libido.” et amor — habendi = Verg. A. . (after the Golden Age). Cf. Eob. Eccles. , n.  aliquem — modum Cf. Psalt. .: “Laetantes aliquem vix habuere modum”; Her. Chr. .; l.  above, n.  rerum . . . cupido = Hutten, Vir bonus ; cf. Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Prud. Cath. .. 



notes to de vera nobilitate

rerum longaeva = Mant. . Parthen. .: “rerum longaeva propago.”  Addit . . . generi decus l.  above; cf. l. . – aurea . . . Messis Ov. Met. ..  Da mihi . . . dederis = Ov. Fast. .. mihi divitias = Ov. Pont. ... Omnia constant = Lucr. .; .; et al.; Ov. Ars .; Met. ..  magnae . . . opes = Tib. ..; Prop. ..; Ov. Pont. ... cui famulantur opes = Walther , citing a familiar proverb: “Quis vere locuples? Cui famulantur opes”; cf. l.  above.  populi de fece Cf. Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto .  terribilem . . . rotam Her. Chr. ., n., where the phrase refers to the zodiac.  evaleat This medieval back-formation from evalui recurs in NeoLatin authors too. See, for example, Poliziano, Silv. .: “non ore profari/Evaleam”; Tifernate, Carm., sig. Av: “Non mea fortunae similis fortuna aliorum est/Quin quibus evaleant vivere rebus habent.” – alto . . . regum sanguine Sylv. ..: “clarum genus alto a sanguine regum”; cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  regum sanguine natus Cf. Jakob Locher, Iudicium Paridis, Act , l.  (Dietl, ): “regum de sanguine natus”; Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Liberat hoc ipso sanguine natus eques.” For sanguine natus, see also Ov. Met. .; Fast. .; Ib. .  Vidi ego = Tib. ..; Prop. ..; ..; .., ; Ov. Am. ..; and often; ll.  and  below; Her. Chr. .; Vitanda ebriet. ..  Regia . . . sceptra . . . manu Gunther, Lig. .–: “regia gessit/Sceptra manu”; Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Qui teneant forti regia sceptra manu.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; ., n. Regia sublimi sceptra Cf. Salom. .: “Qui fero sublimi regia sceptra manu.” For regia sceptra, see Her. Chr. ., n. sceptra tulisse = Ov. Fast. ..  catastae A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy glosses the word as vincula publica. That, indeed, is the ancient sense of the word. In medieval-humanistic Latin, however, catasta also referred to an instrument of torture (for example, the rack or the stocks).  mater . . . improba Catul. ..  Illustres — duces Cf. Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Lampedon, Hippolyten, Menalippen . . . videmus/Illustreis inter nomen habere viros.” nomen habere = Sylv. duae ., n. – potentum — ante domos Cf. l.  above. potentum . . . domos Mart. ...  proh pudor = Val. .; cf. Luc. ., ; Stat. Theb. ., . – Nulla fera — nullus honor Eobanus utters the same lament at Sylv. ..–: “Quippe iacent studia. Ingeniis laus omnis adempta est./ Non est ingenuis artibus ullus honor.”  studiorum praemia = Gunther, Lig. ..  Artibus ingenuis gloria Ov. Pont. ..; cf. Pont. ..; Eob. Laud. , n.

notes to de vera nobilitate



esse laboret ≈ Buc. ., n. invidiae . . . causa Her. ..: “Invidiae virtus optima caussa subest.” For the thought that virtue stirs up envy, see headnote to Pug. B  (:). causa fuisse pium = Max. ; cf. Ov. Ep. ..  maternis . . . ab uberibus = Celtis, Am. ... For the image, see Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. – Namque quis — scholas Cf. Laud. –, n.; Her. Chr. .–, nn.  ante decem = Verg. G. ..  Germano . . . orbe l. , n., above.  Teutona — Camaenas Cf. Buc. ., n.; Sylv. duae ., n.  Hei mihi, quam = Buc. ., n.; Sylv. duae ., n. res eget ista brevi = Her. ... – Grammata — dedidicisse fuit Cf. Lorenzo Valla, Elegantiae linguae Latinae, preface to bk. , in Prosatori latini del Quattrocento, ed. Eugenio Garin (Milan, []), . There Valla condemns the late medieval grammarians who, at great expense, teach pupils to know nothing, or leave them more foolish than when they arrived: “magna mercede docentes nihil scire, aut stultiorem reddentes discipulum quam acceperunt.” Valla’s attack became a commonplace in humanistic literature. See, for example, Erasmus, Ep. , ll. –; Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .–), on useless studies: “Nil nisi nunc manibus trivialia grammata volvunt./Grammatices priscae sincera volumina spernit,/Cuius Alexander Gallus praecordia turbat.” Eobanus takes up the theme again in Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “Tempus enim fuit — dolor est meminisse! — quo pueris nobis in trivialibus ludis praeter nugas meras et adeo portentosa ut nominare pudeat ludibria grammaticorum, tot virgarum flagris nihil incuteretur, quae multo satius erat nunquam attigisse quam semel imbibita sic haerere tenaciter ut dedisci non possint.”  docuere magistri = TPMA, s.v. “Buch,” no. : “Non paucos muti plene docuere magistri”; Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r).  Quae — fuit Cf. Pl. Am. –; Quint. Inst., ..; Hier., Epist. .: “ne discat in tenero, quod ei postea dediscendum est.”  melior . . . aetas = Her. ..; Sylv. ..: “Nanque vetus melior fuit et sapientior aetas.” moribus aetas = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Claud. IV. Cons. Hon. ; Rapt. Pros. .; cf. Ov. Ars ..  bonas . . . artes Ov. Ars .; Tr. ...  Latio . . . ore loqui Cf. Val. .: “Musas Romano iussimus ore loqui.” For Latio ore, see Her. Chr. .; for ore loqui, see Her. Chr. ., n.  Testis — non una Cf. Her. Chr. .. nostris . . . terris = Celtis, Am. ..; Germania , ; Strozzi, Eroticon ... acadaemia terris = Mant. . Parthen. .. – Inclyta — luna faces Cf. Nor. –, praising the city of Nuremberg. It was a panegyric commonplace to say that the object of praise outdoes  



notes to de vera nobilitate

all others as the sun or moon outshines the lesser stars. See, for example, Hor. Carm. ..–; Ov. Her. .–; Met. .–; Sil. .–.  Inclyta . . . Erphurdia = Luth. .; cf. Hod. B ., n. – quantis Erphurdia . . . Laudibus Laud. –.  Apollineos . . . inter olores Cf. Verg. Ecl. .; Poliziano, Epigr. .: “Phoebeos inter velut anser olores”; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Phoebaeos non ultimus inter olores.” Iovis armiger Buc. B ., n.  Inter — luna ≈ Pontano, Laud. .: “Inter sidereos candida luna choros.” sydereas . . . faces = Anthol. Lat. . (in an epigram traditionally attributed to Vergil). luna faces Stat. Silv. ..: “quantum praecedit clara minores/luna faces.”  esse fer inter Her. Chr. ., n.  lector amice = Ov. Tr. ..; Mart. ... – Nobilis hinc — docta senes Cf. Orat. stud., sig. Br, of the University of Erfurt: “ex qua tot eruditi scholastici vestris auspiciis prodeunt quot olim ex equo Troiano prodisse aiunt milites.” There (as here) Eobanus alludes to Cic. De orat. .: “Isocrates . . . cuius e ludo tamquam ex equo Troiano meri principes exierunt.”  Nobilis hinc — sophorum Cf. Aus. Ecl. .; Locher, “Responsio Virtutis,” in Stult., fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. d.): “Candida . . . doctorum turba sophorum.” A gloss in the Copenhagen copy says that hinc refers to the University of Erfurt. Since Eobanus presumably inserted ll. – in ca. late winter , the original version of this passage, composed at Leipzig, would have linked directly to ll. –, with their praise of the universities of Germany as a whole.  vincere docta = Prop. ...  aeterna . . . monumenta = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r).  titulos faciunt Buc. ..  studiis . . . honestis Hor. Ep. ..; Eob. Laud. . studiis virtus = Buc. B ..  verae nobilitatis habet ≈ Her. Chr. ., nn.  mortalibus omnia = Paul. Nol. Carm. ..  vetant . . . mori Hor. Carm. .., in similar context. inclyta facta Sil. ..  Adde quod = Buc. B ., n. fortuna sequatur = Verg. A. .; .; . (in a different sense). – Frustra — parens Cf. Juv. .–.  regibus ortum ≈ Poliziano, Silv. .: “atavis . . . regibus ortus”; cf. Ov. Pont. ..; Mart. ...  Thersitem A standard accusative form for Thersiten in medieval and Renaissance texts. animi . . . inertis Cf. Ov. Met. ..

notes to de vera nobilitate



At mihi si quis erit ≈ Ov. Pont. ... uterque parens = Her. Chr. ., n. egregium . . . genus Verg. A. ., . Semideos inter = Stat. Theb. .: “semideos inter . . . reges.” mihi signa domus = Her. Chr. .. signa . . . aurea Ov. Am. ..; Ars ..  pegmata fixa In ancient times, the busts of ancestors were set up in small cabinets (pegmata), complete with inscriptions and laudations, and were arranged to form a family tree. See Plin. Nat. ..  gentiliciis . . . signis = Her. Chr. . (different); Epp. , sig. Cv (ca. ): “Quod gentilitiis posset praeponere signis/Huttenus, Musis Gratia iuncta fuit”; Cordus, Epith., sig. Br: “gentiliciis circundatus undique signis/Stat paries.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .: “gentilitium signum.” sibi plaudere Hor. S. ...  Invidia — caret Cf. Ov. Tr. ..; Sil. .: “magnanima invidia virtus caret”; Mant. Epigr. . (fol. r): “. . . supercilio gloria vera caret”; Eob. Epic. .: “Invidiae stimulis gloria vera caret.”  Illustrat . . . genus Sylv. .b.: “Quae quia signa tenes, Hieronyme, gentis avitae/Non denigras tuum sed illustras genus.” seque suumque = Hutten, Epigr. .; cf. V. Fl. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  aulaea dietis ≈ Nup. .  regna beata Mydae Cf. Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Despiciam magni ditia regna Midae.” regna beata = Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Non — cubili A student’s note in the Copenhagen copy quotes Hor. Epod. .: “fortuna non mutat genus.”  denique quicquid erit = Psalt. A .; cf. Ov. Met. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  quodcunque voles = [Tib.] ..; Claud. Rapt. Pros. ..  insignes nobilitate = Cordus, Threnodia, sig. Bv (repr. in Opera poetica omnia [Frankfurt am Main, ca. ], sig. Kv): “insignes nobilitate viri.” Cf. Liv. ..: “insignes nobilitate viros.” – homines — esse deos Cf. Mant. Sylv. .. (fol. v): “Ipsa homines facit esse deos”; Dantiscus, Carm. ..–: “Haec homines facit esse deos per strenua facta,/Hos iungit superis per sua gesta choris”; Hutten, Epigr. .: “Provehit haec [virtus] homines et facit esse deos.” Cf. further Eob. Orat. ., referring to moral philosophy: “parem superis hominem reddit”; Idyl. ., referring to wisdom; Epic. .; Sylv. ..–: “qui me superis misceat aut parem/Coelo semideis praeferat omnibus.”  inserit astris = Avien. Descr. Orb. , : “caput inserit astris”; cf. Hor. Carm. ..; [Sen.] Her. O. , ; Luc. ..  Miscet cum superis Cf. Hor. Carm. ...  non auro — Indi Cf. Tifernate, Carm., sig. Cv: “Haec [sc. carmina] ego non auro, non cunctis comparo gemmis/Quas mercatores ex     



notes to de vera nobilitate

oriente vehunt”; Eob. Hod. B .. The wealth of India was proverbial. See Eob. Ama. ., n. divitis Indi Her. Chr. .; cf. Prop. ...  rectis studiis = Pod. : “Qui rectis studiis dedita turba sumus.” sponte venire solet = Sylv. ..; cf. Ov. Ars .; l.  above, n.  quicunque volet . . . videri = Salom. .: “quicunque volet sapientior esse videri/Omnibus.”  Mansuras . . . opes Arator .; Eob. Epith. : “Divite Mercurius virga continget amantes,/Queis bona mansuras copia fundet opes.” animi . . . opes Poliziano, Eleg. .; Mant. Epigr. . (fol. v): “Solum animi veras accumulavit opes”; Eob. Val. .; Wirt. ; Pod. ; Sylv. ... quaerere . . . opes = Her. Chr. .: “ingenuas quaerere iussit opes”; Sylv. ..: “quaerere laudis opes.”  vana — vulgi Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.: “vana levis . . . ludibria vulgi.”  unca manus Verg. G. .–; A. .; .. – Quas nec — puppis aqua Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–; Ov. Met. .– ; Eob. Orat. ., n.  edax ignis Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; .; Fast. ..  Nec media . . . aqua Ov. Am. ... naufraga puppis aqua = Ov. Ep. ..  Nobile . . . nomen habes ≈ Hymn. B ., n. perpetuo — habes Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Mart. ..; Eob. Nob. B .. nomen habes = Pug. , n.  nobilitate domus = Aus. Parent. ..  quoque principibus = Verg. A. .. principibus charum te fecit Cf. Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Sic te . . . potuit virtus . . ./. . . carum magnis reddere principibus”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. – fecit et auxit Divitiis = Val. .–; cf. Ov. Tr. ..  habere pudor = Ov. Am. ...  nobilium . . . virorum = Walter, Alex. .; Marul. Epigr. ...  Quos — numerare labor Cf. Nup. , n.; Calum. : “Idem est et stellas enumerare labor”; Theoc. .: “Sed labor est idem numero comprehendere velle/Quot vento rapidi veniant ad littora fluctus.” The comparison was proverbial; see Otto . stellas . . . numerare Vulg. Gen. .; Sedul. .; Mant. Ecl. .. – Hac ego — nobilis esse Cf. Her. Chr. .. Cf. further Hor. Carm. ..–; Ov. Met. .–.  rata sint praesagia ≈ Psalt. , arg. : “Haec quoque de Christi rata sunt praesagia regno.” Cf. Her. ...

b ]

notes to de vera nobilitate



B Eobanus included a revised version of this epigram in his Sylvarum libri (Sylv. .). The / version was first edited (from the Operum farragines duae, as printed at Frankfurt am Main in ) by Johann Benedict Carpzov in Narratio de Helio Eobano Hesso . . . composita a Ioachimo Camerario Pabepergense (Leipzig, ), –. Another edition, with philological notes, appears in Kreyssig, –. At the end of Sylv. ., Eobanus alludes to the poem’s original publication in De vera nobilitate and adds that he will not repeat the additional reasons that he foolishly gave then for assuming the name Helius (i.e., ll. – of the present poem). In his biography of our poet, Joachim Camerarius likewise alludes to the original epigram. See Nar. . (:– ; in n.  to that passage, correct the second sentence to: “It also appears in revised form as Sylv. .”). Meter: Elegiac distich.   –



–

  

certior esse meo ≈ Ov. Tr. ..; cf. Ep. .. sermone Latino = Gunther, Lig. .; Petrarch, Ep. ..; Mutian. Ep. , l.  of a poem addressed to Eobanus Hessus in August . Quid mage — patrem A student’s note in the margin of the Copenhagen copy here paraphrases Ficino, De vita ., ll. –: “Sol . . . circa ortum potens est, potens et in medio coelo; in plaga quoque illa coeli quae medium proxime sequitur, quam nonam astronomi vocant et sapientiae domum, Sol maxime gaudet. Quoniam vero poetae omnes Phoebum Musarum scientiarumque ducem esse volunt, merito si quid altius excogitandum est, his horis potissimum cogitent. Si Musae quaerendae, horis eisdem Phoebo duce quaerantur.” Musica turba = l.  of Eobanus’ epitaph for Konrad Celtis, as quoted in Mutian. Ep. : “Celtis . . ./Quem merita lugeat Musica turba chely”; Cordus, Epigr. ..; Hutten, Querel. ..: “Gasparus . . ./Quem passim in numeris Musica turba colit”; Eob. Luth. .; Theoc., ded. : “Quid mirum si te . . ./Laudibus aeternis Musica turba ferat?” Nomine — liquet As a student’s note in the Copenhagen copy hints, Eobanus takes this Neoplatonic thought from Macr. .–. He does so also at Sylv. ..–: “Musae, Mercurius, Phoebus, Pan, Liber, Apollo/Nomina sunt uni contribuenda Deo.” Eobanus may well have heard his mentor Mutianus Rufus expound the same doctrine. See Mutian. Ep.  (after  August ), p. . Cf. Eob. Laud. , n., where Christ is associated with Phoebus Apollo. See further: Lecompte, Chaîne d’or, –. numina plura A student’s hand in the Copenhagen copy glosses: “multe potestates.” divinum inspirat amorem = Verg. A. . (in the early eds.). spiritus iste = Her. Chr. ., n.

 –



   –     

notes to de vera nobilitate

[b 

Et nisi — fugit ille deus See Plato, Ion –. For the doctrine of poetic inspiration, see Curtius, ELLMA, –; Christoph J. Steppich, Numine afflatur: Die Inspiration des Dichters im Denken der Renaissance (Wiesbaden, ). Steppich discusses Eobanus’ poem (Sylv. .) on pp. –. Et nisi divini . . . Platonis ≈ Sylv. ..: “Et nisi divinum censes errasse Platona.” divini . . . Platonis Renaissance humanists often honor Plato with the epithet “divine.” See, for example, Ficino, De vita, prooemium (p. , l. ); Locher, Stult., prologus, fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. xi, l. ); Celtis, Od. ... sine numine vates = Nup. , n. mihi nascenti Ov. Tr. ... primo . . . ab ortu = Her. Chr. ., n. Lyra — in astris Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Man. .. Illa nocte — esse potest In Sylv. . these lines are replaced with a preliminary version of Her. ..–, – (cf. Her. Chr. .–, –). Illa nocte = Ov. Met. .; Fast. .. natum videre Tonantem = Mant. Ecl. .: “Pastores primi natum videre Tonantem.” Lucifer ortus erat = Ov. Ep. .; Met. .; Tr. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .. Mortali . . . orbe Epic. . (contrasted with heaven): “mortali ex orbe.” visus in orbe fuit Prud. Apoth. ; cf. Ov. Ars .; Fast. .. Aspice num = Verg. A. .. perpetuo — nomen = Nob. , n.

notes to DE GENERIBUS EBRIOSORUM ET EBRIETATE VITANDA

Title Page De generibus ebriosorum In Die deutsche Priamel, ihre Entstehung und Ausbildung (Leipzig, ), , Wilhelm Uhl argues that the title “De generibus ebriosorum” most likely parodies the title of chap.  in the Rule of St. Benedict: “De generibus monachorum.” Uhl’s suggestion carries some weight, because drunkards in the late Middle Ages did like to think of themselves as a kind of inverted monastic order, with rules to match. There were even drunkards’ masses and hymns. See Martha Bayless, Parody in the Middle Ages: The Latin Tradition (Ann Arbor, ), –, –. However, unlike Grieb’s Schelmezunfft, which makes a point of parodying the monastic rules, Eobanus’ mock speech offers the merest hints of a mock monastic order. See Gen. ebrios. . and .–. Besides, titles beginning with De generibus are fairly common in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. pulcherrimis . . . flosculis The phrase reappears in Eobanus’ letter to Joachim Camerarius of early May . See Epp. , sig. Br, alluding to Erasmus’ Antibarbari: “An non existimas me vidisse quod pulcerrimi flosculi in eo libro affatim exuberent?” scholastico more A standing expression for the scholastic method of argumentation. The mock speech will parody the traditional quodlibetical format, with its often abstruse questions and arguments, its formal conclusions and corollaries.

Testimonia tit.

facetosam The epithet derives from Cic. Fin. ., as printed in Renaissance eds.: “Et in quantam hominum facetosam [for: facetorum] urbanitatem incurratis.” Cf. Filippo Beroaldo’s preface to Plautus integer cum interpretatione Ioannis Baptistae Pii (Milan, ), quoted in Eobanus’ edition of Plautus’ Amphitruo (Erfurt, ), sig. Av: “sales et facetosam urbanitatem”; see introd. to Orat., p.  above. litterariae sodalitatis Erphurdianae Slightly modified, the phrase reappears on the title page of In Eduardum Leeum quorundam e sodalitate literaria Erphurdiensi Erasmici nominis studiosorum



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

[testimonia

epigrammata (Erfurt, ). With the phrase “literary sodality” Eobanus places himself in the tradition of Konrad Celtis, who speaks of founding such circles throughout the German Empire. See Tibor Klaniczay, “Celtis und die Sodalitas litteraria per Germaniam,” in Respublica Guelpherbytana: Wolfenbütteler Beiträge zur Renaissanceund Barockforschung. Festschrift für Paul Raabe, ed. August Buck and Martin Bircher (Amsterdam, ), –; Heinz Entner, “Was steckt hinter dem Wort sodalitas litteraria? Ein Diskussionsbeitrag zu Conrad Celtis und seinen Freundeskreisen,” in Europäische Sozietätsbewegung und demokratische Tradition: Die europäischen Akademien der Frühen Neuzeit zwischen Frührenaissance und Spätaufklärung, ed. Klaus Garber et al. (Tübingen, ), :–. Cf. also note to Eob. Gen. ebrios. . below (pp. –). testimonia The same term introduces a series of commendatory epigrams at the end of Eobanus’ Bucolicon (): “Quorundam amicorum testimonia.” See Poetic Works, :.

A The thoughts expressed in this epigram are closely paralleled at Orat. .–. Cf. also Gen. ebrios. ., n., and .–. Meter: Elegiac distich. –

       

Semina — iuvant Cf. Erasmus, Parabolae, ASD .:, ll. –: “Ut mandragora iuxta vites nascens vinum reddit lenius, ita philosophiae ratio admota poeticae moderatiorem efficit eius cognitionem.” Eobanus quotes the simile in full at Orat. .. consita Baccho ≈ Aus. Mosella ; cf. Eob. Sylv. ..: “Baccho loca consita”; Hod. –: “omnia Baccho/Consita sunt.” rugosam . . . frontem Sen. Ep. .; Mart. ... genialis gratia = Sylv. .. (..): “Fundet odoriferos genialis Gratia flores”; ..: “fluit in tenero genialis Gratia versu.” qua ratione trahat = Mart. ... iucunda — poesis Cf. Orat. .: “dulcem poeticam cum sancta philosophia coniunxeritis.” acidis . . . dulcia mista Cf. Mart. ... salibus . . . modestis Vergerio, Mor. : “licebit etiam iocis invicem ac salibus uti modestis.” Idaliis . . . rosis Prud. c. Symm. .. nihil — habere Her. Chr. .; cf. Mart. ...

a ]

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



A For the theme, cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n., and .–; Vitanda ebriet. .– . Meter: Phalaecean hendecasyllables. –

 



Risus — Gratiasque Cf. Sylv. ..: “Verba, ioci, risus, scommata, probra, sales”; ..–: “Et Musae Veneresque Gratiaeque,/Risus, scommata, fabulas, iocosque/Urbanosque sales, facetiasque”; ..: “Vina, ioci, risus, scommata, verba, sales.” Also cf. Hartlieb, Fide, , ll. –, where the audience is said to be expecting “ludos, fabulas, moderatos risus, aenigmata, sales, iocunda dicteria, facetias, et scommata.” Vafre dicta V. Max. ., tit. Timoniana For the epithet, see Filippo Beroaldo, “Hendecasyllabon ad libellum,” reprinted in In hoc volumine haec continentur: Marci Antonii Sabellici Annotationes veteres et recentes. . . . Philippi Beroaldi annotationes centum . . . ([Venice], ), fol. r: “Frontem nec metues Catonianam,/Linguam nec metues Timonianam”; Jakob Locher, letter to Johann Bergmann in Locher, Stult., fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. xvi, l. ): “linguamque Timonianam.” Eobanus uses the word again in Sylv. .. (written in the early s), this time as a noun: “Tristes . . . Timoniani.” Cf. Gen. ebrios. .; Sylv. .., a verse letter of late winter , to Johannes Dantiscus: “Tunc procul invisus cogitur ire Timon.” Eobanus goes on to suggest: “Sed Veneri et Musis facile indulgemus et illi/Qui capiti fecit pondera tanta tuo.” Caelo teste Her. Chr. ., n.

A Meter: Elegiac distich. 





loedoria In medieval-Renaissance usage, this feminine singular noun is regarded as a neuter plural. See, for example, Erasmus, Ep. , l. : “vetus illud loedorium”; C. Sylvanus Germanicus, dedicatory letter to Lucii Annaei Senecae in morte Claudii Caesaris Ludus nuper repertus (Rome, ), quoted in Allan P. Ball, ed., The Satire of Seneca on the Apotheosis of Claudius Commonly Called the Apocolocyntosis (New York, ), : “scommata aut . . . ediderunt loedoria.” Ridiculo . . . ioco = Paulus Hugo, epigram “Ad lectorem” immediately following the Facetiae in Heinrich Bebel, Opuscula nova et adolescentiae labores (Strasbourg, ), sig. Aav: “Inter res risu dignas mensamque nitentem/Ridiculo condit fercula saepe ioco.” scommata . . . iocis = Otmar Nachtigall, epigram in Luciani Samosatensis Deorum dialogi numero  (Strasbourg, ), sig. ur:



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

[a 

“Moribus este procul rigidi vultuque Catones,/Qui fugitis risus, scommata mixta iocis.” plena iocis = Col. .. Crassum Marcus Crassus, the father of M. Licinius Crassus Dives, is said to have laughed just once in his life. See Cic. Fin. ..



A Meter: Elegiac distich.  –

tenerae . . . iuventae = Stat. Silv. ..; Theb. .. Hanc — notet Alluding to Gregorius Magnus, Registrum epistularum . (CCSL A): “Aliud est enim picturam adorare, aliud per picturae historiam quid sit adorandum addiscere. Nam quod legentibus scriptura, hoc idiotis praestat pictura cernentibus, quia in ipsa ignorantes vident quod sequi debeant, in ipsa legunt qui litteras nesciunt; unde praecipue gentibus pro lectione pictura est.” The passage is quoted in Decretum D.  de cons. c. , as well as in Guillaume Durand’s much-consulted Rationale divinorum officiorum ... Brant, NS, preface –, alludes to the same passage.

A The epigram is reprinted in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. v. A different version appears in Euricius Cordus, Epigrammatum libri duo (Erfurt, ), no. .: IN BRUTORUM CONVIVIUM Convivas vitulos asinosque suesque canesque, Prensa vides bruto stringere vina pede. Quid mirare? Tuos hic aspicis, helluo, fratres; Mater enim tales vos parit Ebrietas.  Quam si nostra fuget tellus cum coniuge Luxu, Non ita degeneri perdita prole foret.

In Epigrammatum libri III (Erfurt, ), no. ., Cordus gives the poem the slightly fuller title, “In pictum brutorum convivium,” but ends the epigram at l. . For these versions, see Cordus, Epigr., xxxvii and . The  version is reprinted, via Epigrammatum libri IX (Marburg, ), in Cordus’ Opera poetica omnia [Frankfurt am Main, ca. ], bk. , sig. Ov (with “vos” in l.  being printed as “nos”). Meter: Elegiac distich. 

pecus Cf. Ama. ., n.

a ]

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



A Meter: Elegiac distich.   –

Talia dicentem = Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; .; et al. velle iuvare = Ov. Pont. ..; ... Hoc sibi — modo Cf. Celtis, Am. ..–, quoted at Eob. Gen. ebrios. ..

A Meter: Elegiac distich.  

titubantes . . . artus = Ov. Met. .: “quique senex ferula titubantes ebrius artus/sustinet.” nescius ipse sui = Claud. Cons. Mall. Theod., praef. ; cf. Ov. Tr. ...

De generibus ebriosorum anno — M.D.XV Cf. the subtitle of Nup.: “anno Christiani calculi M.D.XII.” in frequentissimo — consessu Eobanus uses similar wording in the title of an academic speech delivered in September : Oratio de studiorum instauratione in inclyta schola Erphurdiensi, omnium ordinum consessu frequentissimo auditorio (Erfurt, []). Cf. also Orat. Bacc.,  (September ): “in hoc tam celebri tamque splendido doctorum hominum consessu.” Quaestio ebrietas, viciorum fomes Gen. ebrios. .; ., n. virtutum enervatrix Cf. Petrarch, Rem. .. (ll. –): “voluptas enervatrix mentium”; Familiarium rerum libri .., in Francesco Petrarca, Le familiari, vol. , ed. Umberto Bosco (Florence, ), : “enervatrix virium voluptas.” ingeniorum pestis The phrase returns in Orat. Bacc., : “luxus, ocia plena degeneris inertiae, libidinum intemperantia, aliaeque iuvenum ac bonorum quorumvis ingeniorum pestes acerrimae.” Cf. Beroaldo, Declamatio, no. , fol. v: “vinum tanquam ingenii pestem reformidans.” Quae Germanis — exprobratur See Gen. ebrios. .. Sit avaricia — censeatur See Gen. ebrios. .. memoriae mors Plin. Nat. ., among the many consequences of drunkenness. See Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. . humanissime Domine Quodlibetarie Olearius, Fide, , l. ; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. Unlike some of the earlier burlesques, including the one foisted on Schram, Eobanus’ mock speech does not identify tit.



.

.

. .

.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum the quodlibetarius. He had good reason to suppress the name. In  the presiding master was the humanist theologian Ludwig Platz of Melsungen, to whom Eobanus had just dedicated his Hymnus paschalis. See Kleineidam, :. It would have been bad form for Eobanus to implicate his friend in the fiction or — horrors! — to have him thought responsible for the mock-quodlibetical question. huiusce Eobanus favors this emphatic form in the opening sentence of his academic speeches. See Orat. . and Orat. stud., sig. Ar. He uses it also at Orat. .; .. ad id operae subeundum Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “ad id muneris subeundum.” For the idiom id operae, see Ama. A ., in a letter from Peter Eberbach to Eobanus: “ad ociosum tempus id operae reiiciamus”; Beatus Rhenanus, letter of  May  to Michael Hummelberger, in Briefwechsel des Beatus Rhenanus, ed. Adalbert Horawitz and Karl Hartfelder (; Nieuwkoop, ), , no. : “ut id operae insumat”; Johann Cuspinian, letter of  April , printed in Clarorum virorum epistolae (), in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “id operae Cuspiniano praestes”; Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .: “id operae in multo oportunius otium reiiciendum.” meae si quid est — tenuitate The phrasing is based on Cic. Arch. , as printed in the early eds.: “Si quid est in me ingenii, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum.” Eobanus uses this modesty formula in several of his earlier writings. See Nup., ded. ; Orat. .; cf. Orat. Sylv. . ingenium et eloquentiam Cic. Brut. ; Tusc. .. uno eodemque consensu Decretum D.  c. , quoting Gregory the Great. detestentur et abhorreant Cf. Erasmus, Adag. ..: “Abhorrentis ac detestantis.” si omnia quae — cogere angustiam Cf. Orat. ., n. peregregie . . . philosophati Cf. Eobanus’ letter to Mutianus Rufus (Mutian. Ep. , written in late ?): “Retulit mihi Cordus egregie te isthic philosophari.” The adverb peregregie occurs in similar context at Orat. .. iamdudum . . . istius . . . severitatis Gen. ebrios. .. Consuevit enim — revirescant As he will do again at the end of his mock speech (Gen. ebrios. ., n.), Eobanus alludes to the tradition of the quodlibetical burlesques — as held at Heidelberg. There is, in fact, no evidence whatever that the University of Erfurt had such a custom itself. But that is part of the joke: to pretend that it did have such a tradition. Eobanus’ phrasing recalls Hartlieb, Fide, , title: “urbanitatis et facetiae causa”; and especially Fide, , ll. – , where the audience at that bellum philosophicum is exhorted to be “memores annuae huius actus consuetudinis: haec enim hora, hic locus, hic philosophici belli finis ludos, fabulas, moderatos risus, aenigmata, sales, iocunda dicteria, facetias, et scommata flagitat.”

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.

.

.



Relaxing the mind after the rigors of philosophical disputation is also the purpose alleged in Gallicus, Liechtschiff, , title: “excitandi ioci et animi laxandi causa”; Grieb, Schelmezunfft,  (title): “pro excitando ioco solacioque auditorum, ut moris est.” Cf. Cratho Udenhemius, introductory letter to Hartlieb, Fide, , ll. –: “laxandi animi iocique suscitandi causa”; Olearius, Fide,  (title): “causa ioci et urbanitatis.” cum quibusdam — amoenitatibus Cf. Orat. Sylv. : “adiectis quibusdam . . . veterum nugamentorum amoenitatibus.” quo animi — revirescant Eobanus uses quite similar phrasing in Laud., ded. : “munuscula, quae inter lasciviencium Musarum coetus nuper, dum ab ocio litterario severioris disciplinae recreandi atque quasi Laethaeo flumine conspersi refovendi animuli mei gratia paulisper diverterem, raptim et extemporaliter in arctum collegi”; Ama., ded. : “Necessarium enim puto bonis quibusque literarum studiosis . . . ne semper in actu sint, sed interdum animum a morosis meditationibus . . . absolvant et per liberioris ocii oportunitatem quasi in seipsis revirescant.” Cf. also Gen. ebrios. .. severioribus . . . studiis Johann Cuspinian, preface to his edition of Avienus, Descr. Orb. (Vienna, ), in Johann Cuspinians Briefwechsel, ed. Hans Ankwicz von Kleehoven (Munich, ), , no. : “severioribus studiis semotis succisivis horis”; Eob. Sylv. ., title: “ut . . . animum remittat a severioribus studiis.” tam laudatae et bonae consuetudini Cf. Olearius, Fide, , ll. – , assuring the audience that his speech will follow the conventions of the comic interlude: “pristinae huic laudabilissimae consuetudini a plerisque iam pridem observatae, quae iocos et facetias hactenus admisit.” Audietis enim Cic. Verr. .. seria mixta iocis The phrase occurs in l.  of the introductory poem to Aesop’s fables, as translated by “Walter of England” (Anonymus Neveleti): “Dulcius arrident seria mixta [or: picta] iocis.” See Julia Bastin, ed., Recueil général des Isopets, vol.  (Paris, ), . A standard schoolbook, Walter’s collection was familiar to all students in Eobanus’ day. Cf. Celtis, Am., praef. : “dulcius arriderent seria mixta iocis”; Jakob Locher, Iudicium Paridis, prologue, l.  (Dietl, ): “Mixta iocis variis seria grata tenet”; concluding verse in an epigram to the reader by Maximilianus Transsilvanus Bruxellensis, in Heinrich Bebel, Opuscula nova (Strasbourg, ), sig. Ar: “Namque iuvant placidis seria mixta iocis.” Cf. Eob. Sylv. .., addressing Euricius Cordus in ca. June : “Lusit amabilibus seria Musa iocis.” Eobanus amplifies the thought in Gen. ebrios. A . aequis . . . passibus Verg. A. .. igitur, ut ad rem veniamus Valla, De voluptate ... Cf. Hartlieb, Fide, , ll. – (at the end of the introductory paragraph): “Ad rem ipsam descendamus.”

 .. .. ..

.. .

.

. .–

. .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum commune malum Lucr. .; Stat. Theb. .; [Sen.] Her. O. . blanda Voluptas = Sylv. duae ., n. Morphique The long “i” represents the Greek dative ending “ei.” Cf. Eobanus’ explanation at Idyl. , arg.: “Nec hoc quenquam moveat, quod quidam Graece scribant ‘Eidyllion,’ cum nos ‘I’ longum pro diphthongo peregrina usurpemus.” nescia veri = Ov. Ep. .. ebrietatis et asotiae These vices are linked also at Gen. ebrios. .. The Greek asotia, first used in Latin by Gellius and Macrobius, occurs twice more in Eobanus’ writings, in both cases as a personification. See Vitanda ebriet. .; Hypocr. : “cuncta vorans Asotia.” Circes Cf. Gen. ebrios. A ., with n.  (p. ); Vitanda ebriet., lim. . incantamina Eobanus uses this Late Latin word also at Orat. .. viciorum fomes Gen. ebrios. , quaestio; ., n. veteris disciplinae Cic. Clu. ; Ac. .; de Orat. .. supra modum continentiae Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “effusis continentiae habenis modum omnem.” pene dubius substitissem For the rhetorical trick of dubitatio, by which the speaker confesses to being at a loss as to where to begin his speech, see Quint. Inst. ... For dubius substitissem, see Liv. ..: “substititque dubius, an transiret”; Jacobus Magdalius Gaudensis, “Carmen ad Iohannem Rinchum,” Erarium aureum poetarum (Cologne, ), sig. Ar: “An deceat revocare magis quam sistere calcem,/Substiteram dubius Tantalus alter ego”; Eob. Nor. –. Macrobius See Macr. ... Eobanus alludes to this passage already in one of his Leipzig lectures in early . See note at Sylv. duae .. He will draw on it again in Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “Equidem homines rationem cum diis immortalibus participantes, quibus duobus sensibus, gustu videlicet et tactu, in primis nos temperare oportuit. Ii sunt nobis maxime cum sue et asino communes peneque etiam nihil ab illis tam immoderate viventes discriminant, imo faciant bestialiores.” Macrobius’ text (continued at Gen. ebrios. . below) is quoted also in Petrarch, Rem. ... Beroaldo paraphrases it in Declamatio, no. , fol. r. On the importance of Macrobius to Renaissance literature, see Lecompte, Chaîne d’or. Saturnaliorum This form (not Saturnalium) is the one that Eobanus knew as the standard title of Macrobius’ book. ebrietate et crapula Vulg. Luc. .: “crapula et ebrietate.” Nam, ut Aristotiles — propriae sunt Eobanus paraphrases Aristotle by way of Macr. ..–. The form Aristotiles, found also at Gen. ebrios. . below, is common in late medieval and early Renaissance texts. One sees it also in Grieb, Schelmezunfft, , l. ; Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , l. . Macrobius See Macr. ... Mavult enim — bibere ut viveret Paraphrasing Macr. ..: “Socrates quidem dicebat multos homines propterea velle vivere ut ederent et biberent, se bibere atque esse ut viveret.”

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



continenciae exemplum Ter. An. . Sardanapalum Cf. Nob. –; Gen. ebrios. .; Erasmus, Adag. ... For Sardanapalus’ epitaph, see Strabo, De situ orbis .. (I quote from Gregorio Tifernate’s translation, as published at [Treviso] in , sig. Iv): “‘Sardanapalus, Anacindaraxis filius, Anchialem et Tarsum una die condidit. Ede, bibe, lude.’ Et: Cum te mortalem noris, presentibus exple Deliciis animum. Post mortem nulla voluptas. Namque ego sum pulvis, qui nuper tanta tenebam. Haec habeo quae edi quae[que] exaturata libido Hausit; at illa manent multa et praeclara relicta. Hoc sapiens vitae mortalibus est documentum.”

.– .– .

.

Eobanus was well acquainted with this text. He even dictated a portion of it during one of his lectures on De vera nobilitate in . In the margin of the Copenhagen copy of that poem, at ll. –, a student’s hand writes: “‘Hec habeo quae edi quaeque exaturata libido Hauserat.’ Et: ‘Cum te [mortalem] noris, presentibus exple Deliciis animum. Post mortem nulla voluptas.’ ” Though the epitaph ultimately comes from Strabo, Eobanus may have quoted it here via Beroaldo, “Oratio de foelicitate,” in Opuscula, fol. v. There the example of Sardanapalus follows immediately on that of Philoxenus (see Gen. ebrios. ., n.): “Sardanapalus, Assyriorum rex gulae et ventri deditissimus natusque helluationi, scripsit in epitaphio se illa tantum habere quae edisset et quae per libidinem expletam percepisset. Verba eius haec sunt inscripta monumento: ‘Ede, bibe, lude.’ Et: ‘Quum te mortalem noris, praesentibus exple/Delitiis animum. Post mortem nulla voluptas./[etc.]’” voluptariorum — ducem Sardanapalus is chief of the voluptuaries also at Nob. –. Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., . Ede, bibe, lude — gruem pretulit The passage reappears — in typically transmogrified form — in Fischart, GK , pp. –. Eya sane — von eyner zech in die andern Translated and adapted in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r. Vivite laeti, dum fata sinunt Cf. Sen. Her. F. . The phrase is quoted in this form also in Ugolino Pisani, Philogenia ; see Humanist Comedies, ed. and trans. Gary R. Grund (Cambridge, MA, ), . cras forte non licebit Arnulfus de Boeriis, Alia documenta vitae religiosae (Alias, Doctrina B. Bernardi), PL , col.  D: “Cum torpore deprimeris, cogita quod hodie operari licet, cras forte non licebit”; Francesco Ottavio Cleofilo, Iulia, ed. Mauro de Nichilo (Messina, ),  (no. , l. ): “Semper adest, semper Mors imminet omnibusque dicit:/‘Gaudete nunc, cras forte non licebit.’ ” The Julia () was reprinted at Strasbourg in , together with Gregorio Tifernate’s Opuscula and other works. Cf. further Walther : “Si fas est hodie, cras non fortasse licebit.” Horatius See Hor. Carm. ..–; ..; and ..–.



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

Szo gehen myr . . . “de virtute in virtutem” Cf. Vulg. Psa. .: “ibunt de virtute in virtutem.” The form myr (or mir) for wir is common in Middle and Upper German texts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It occurs also at Gen. ebrios. .; .; .., . in antiquo pariete, cum albis carbonibus Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “Erat autem scriptum in muro luteo, ‘cum carbonibus desolatoriis.’ ” ..– Sauff — Allexander A version of this drinking song appears already in the Glogauer Liederbuch, a collection copied down in the s: “Al vol al vol al vol/al vol al vol al vol!/Bistu vol, zo lege dich nyder,/stand off frü vnd folle dich wyder,/das gancze jor den obind vnd den morgyn.” See Das Erbe deutscher Musik, vol. : Das Glogauer Liederbuch. Erster Teil: Deutsche Lieder und Spielstücke, ed. Heribert Ringmann and Joseph Klapper (Kassel, ),  (part III: “Die deutschen Texte,” II. Weltliche Lieder, no. ). Cf. Murner, NB .– : “Jns tüfels namen, leg dich nider,/Morgen kumm vnd füll dich wider!” Similar verses appear in a comic booklet of the later sixteenth century, Ein Kurtzweilige Faßnacht-Predig vom Doctor Schwarmen zu Hummelshagen auff Grillenberg und Lappeneck [no place, no date]. See Svarmus spurca loquens, ed. Theodor G. von Karajan (Vienna, ), []:

.

sauff dich voll vnd leg dich nider, steh auff und füll dich wider. also spricht Alexander vertreibt eine volle Weis die ander.

.

.

For other versions, see H. Frischbier, “Schlemmerliedlein,” Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie  (), ; Arthur Kopp, Deutsches Volksund Studenten-Lied in vorklassischer Zeit (Berlin, ), –, no. ; and his “Nachträge III,” Euphorion  (), . Cf. Williams, Liederpoesie, , no. . Ecce quam — zum fenster auß The American humorist and folklorist Charles G. Leland imitates this passage in Meister Karl’s Sketch-Book (Philadelphia, ), : “he loved to see brothers join together in unity — ‘habitare fratres in unum,’ (as the monks did when they combined at a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether, to pitch the father abbot out of the window).” Leland had read De generibus ebriosorum in the  Frankfurt reprint. See his Hans Breitmann’s Ballads (Philadelphia, ), , epigraph for “Hans Breitmann’s Christmas.” Ecce quam — in unum Vulg. Psa. ., traditionally used in the context of medieval monasticism. See already Aug. Enarrationes in Psa. .. The verse is quoted by the “sow drunks” in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. v. tunc repletum est gaudio os nostrum Vulg. Psa. .. Keyn besser — wucher thut This is stanza  of the popular drinking song, “Der Weltlich Schlemmer: Wo sol ich mich hinkehren,/ich tummes brüderlein.” See Das Ambraser Liederbuch vom Jahre ,

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



ed. Joseph Bergmann (Stuttgart, ), –, no. ; cf. Williams, Liederpoesie, –, no. . .– Hec enim — flyegenn Translated, quoted, and amplified in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. From Gen. ebrios. ., Albertinus adds: “da man den schnabel im Wein waschen . . . kan.” . illa magna navis — in Schluraffen land Eobanus alludes to the German bestseller of his time, Sebastian Brant’s Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools). First published in , the book was translated into Latin verse by Jakob Locher in , under the title Stultifera navis. In his poem, Brant packs a host of fools into a ship that sets sail for Narragonia, or Schluraffenland: the Land of Cockaigne. There the bons vivants are king, the houses are built of pancakes and honey and roofed with sausages, rivers run with wine, and roasted doves fly into one’s mouth. The Fool’s Paradise was so well known in the late Middle Ages that Brant felt no need to describe it in any detail in his Ship of Fools. A few hints were enough to put readers in the picture. The first German to describe the Schluraffenland in some detail was the popular Strasbourg preacher Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (–). See his Navicula sive speculum fatuorum (Strasbourg, ), “Mundanorum turba cix,” section xxxvi r, where he applies the features of the Paradise of Fools to the Heavenly Paradise, “ubi tecta ex laganis sunt confecta, montes incaseati, lapides zuccarei, fontes lacte et fluvii melle fluentes, ubi albi panes triticei in arboribus pendent, cum phialis vino optimo plenis, sepesque ex farciminibus texti, et assatae columbae in ora volant hominum.” Hans Sachs followed in  with a poem, “Das Schlauraffenlandt.” See further: Richter, Schlaraffenland; Pleij, Cockaigne. sigeln This Middle High German form for segeln (the reading in BC) persisted well into the sixteenth century. Narrogoniam Though not found in the editio princeps of Locher, Stult. (Basel: Bergmann de Olpe, March ), this spelling for Narragoniam does crop up in the reprint by Johann Grüninger (Strasbourg,  June ), fol. v. Later it also occurs in the authorized Basel editions ( August ;  March ). See the variant readings given at Hartl, .:, . At Hartl, .:, l. , however, the editio princeps reads “Narragonia” — not “Narrogonia,” as Hartl has it. For the variant spelling, see also the expanded, but unauthorized edition of Brant’s Narrenschiff, published at Augsburg in : Hie vahet sich an das neü narren schiff von narrogonia. gezeunet The walls are woven together with bratwursts and plastered with honey. For this sense of zeunen, see Grimm, DWB, s.v. “zäunen,”  β. . Dabo vobis terram fluentem lac et mel Cf. Vulg. Exod. .; Lev. .; Bar. .. da uns die gebraten — meuler flyegenn Cf. Orat. ., n. The expression was proverbial. See Brant, NS , both in the woodcut and at ll. –; TPMA, s.v. “Backen,” nos. –; “Fliegen,” nos. –.

 .

.

.

.

.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum in puppi . . . Philoxeni effigiem cum gruis collo depictam In Fischart, GK , p. , this phrase is used to exhort the drunks to set sail in “Philoxenus’ cloud ship,” flying the banner of “the crane’s gullet”: “zu des Philoxen Nebelschiffs Segel, zum Kranchskragen.” Aristoteles See Macr. .., quoting Arist. Problemata .. Since Macrobius (following Gel. ..) quotes Aristotle in Greek, the asyet-Greekless Eobanus must have used an intermediate Latin source, perhaps a Latin translation of Arist. Problemata .. He might also have taken it directly from Beroaldo, “Oratio de foelicitate,” in Opuscula, fol. v: “Philoxenus, summum bonum collocans in voluptate gustatus, . . . optabat sibi dari gruis collum, ut videlicet diutius illa voluptate bibendi edendique frueretur.” Immediately after this comes the exemplum of Sardanapalus and his epitaph; see note at Gen. ebrios. . above. Cf. also Valla, De voluptate ..: “ille . . . qui collum gruis dari sibi optabat quo diutius perciperet gustus voluptatem, si modo in longissimo collo sit longissima et comedendi et bibendi voluptas.” Deus bone The expression is a favorite of Eobanus’. See, for example, letter to Bishop Johann Bonemilch, Epp. fam., ; Nup., ded. ; Sylv. duae, ded. ; Her. Chr., ded. .; letter of  August  in Mutian. Ep.  (p. ); letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. ; Orat. .. risu dignum Vitanda ebriet. .. istud terriculamentum Letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. , where Eobanus refers to Reuchlin’s enemies as “ista terriculamenta et monstrosissima monstra”; Dial. , sig. Bv: “ista puerilia terriculamenta.” The rare word terriculamentum first occurs in Eobanus’ writings at Buc. .. Emser uses it in Dialogismus, sig. Br: “horrendissima . . . terriculamenta.” voluptatis belluinae Gel. .. (quoted in Beroaldo, Declamatio, no. , fol. r), speaking of taste and touch: “istis beluinis voluptatibus”; Beroaldo, “Oratio habita in enarratione rhetoricorum, continens laudationem eloquentiae atque Ciceronis,” in Opuscula, fol. v: “voluptatibus beluinis.” Sardanapalus — Assiriorum regnum perdidit Cf. Bebel, “De miseria humanae conditionis,” in Carm., sig. Bbv: “Imperium Assiriis rex Sardanapalus, et ipsam/Amisit vitam luxurianter agens.” See also note at Gen. ebrios. . above. inter voluptates muliebres Ama. .: “Quid enim sordidius, quid foedius quam continuo et sine intermissione inter voluptates muliebres, inanes ac molles illecebras, impudicos meretricum amplexus tam deformes quam turpes vitam bestialem ducere?” opulentissimum Assiriorum regnum Cf. Cic. Tusc. .: “Sardanapalli, opulentissimi Syriae regis.” eius vitae — exitus Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “qualis vita, talis mors, . . . sicut vixit, ita morixit.” For condignus exitus, see Apul. Met. .. unus . . . de grege Prud. Apoth. –; and, for example, Petrarch, Posteritati  (p. ): “Fui autem vestro de grege unus.”

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.



Epicuri de grege porcus Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, l. , adapting Hor. Ep. ... Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “sues isti Epicurei.” In pecudum — detinetur Cf. Macr. .., quoted at Eob. Gen. ebrios. .; Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar, where Sophronius describes the drunkard’s life as follows: “Ferina hec vita est, nihil cum homine commune habens.” For the classification of drunkards into various beasts, Eobanus draws on a well-known legend of Jewish origin. After the Flood, Noah planted a vineyard, in partnership with Satan. First Satan slaughtered a lamb, then a lion, a pig, and an ape and watered the soil with their blood. “He did this to demonstrate to Noah that before drinking wine man is as innocent as a sheep. . . . But after he drinks a moderate amount of wine he believes himself to be as strong as a lion. . . . When he drinks more than he should, he behaves like a pig. . . . After he becomes completely intoxicated, he behaves like an ape, dancing about, laughing hysterically, prattling foolishly, and is completely unaware of what he is doing. All this happened to the righteous Noah.” See Samuel A. Berman, trans., Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu: An English Translation of Genesis and Exodus from the Printed Version of Tanhuma-Yelammedenu (Hoboken, ), –. The legend was widely told in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance. See Gesta Romanorum, ed. Hermann Oesterley (Berlin, ), , and, for example, Johannes Pauli, Schimpf und Ernst, ed. Johannes Bolte (; Hildesheim, ), no.  (:–, text; :, notes). The four species of drunkards were often expanded. Thus Kaspar Scheidt lists twelve transformations in “Die volle Br˚uderschafft.” They are sow, ass, bear, wolf, dog, lion, cat, monkey, goose, calf, sheep, and fox. See Philipp Strauch, “Zwei fliegende Blätter von Caspar Scheit,” Vierteljahrschrift für Litteraturgeschichte  (), –. In English literature, the best known series is the one in Thomas Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, His Supplication to the Divell (), in The Works of Thomas Nashe, ed. Ronald B. McKerrow (London, ), :–: Nor haue we one or two kinde of drunkards onely, but eight kindes. The first is Ape drunke, and he leapes, and sings, and hollowes, and daunceth for the heauens: the second is Lion drunke, and he flings the pots about the house, calls his Hostesse whore, breakes the glasse windowes with his dagger, and is apt to quarrell with any man that speaks to him: the third is Swine drunke, heauy, lumpish, and sleepie, and cries for a little more drinke, and a fewe more cloathes: the fourth is Sheepe drunke, wise in his owne conceipt, when he cannot bring foorth a right word: the fifth is Mawdlen drunke when a fellowe will weepe for kindnes in the midst of his Ale, and kisse you . . . : the sixt is Martin drunke, when a man is drunke, and drinkes himselfe sober ere he stirre: the seuenth is Goate drunke, when in his drunkennes, he hath no minde but on Lechery: the eighth is Foxe drunke, when he is craftie drunke, as



notes to de generibus ebriosorum many of the Dutch men bee, that will neuer bargaine but when they are drunke. All these species, and more, I haue seene practised in one Company at one sitting, when I haue beene permitted to remaine sober amongst them, onely to note their seuerall humors.

. .

.

.

scaeno A variant spelling of caeno. See Hymn. B .. n. Quod ut magis credatis Gen. ebrios. ., n. videte, precor, et cognoscite Gen. ebrios. .. Cf. Pl. Ps. ; Vulg. . Reg. .: “vide et cognosce.” mores singulorum Cf. Orat. .: “non solum hominum singulorum, sed et domus ac civitatis mores.” se vino . . . proluunt Cf. Verg. A. .; Prud. c. Symm. .. zithoque, quod nos cerevisiam vocamus Eobanus (incorrectly) equates the Egyptian zythus with modern beer. Cf. Plin. Nat. .: “zythum in Aegypto, . . . cervesia et plura genera in Gallia aliisque provinciis”; Pol. Verg. Invent. .. (following Diodorus Siculus ..): “Potum ex hordeo . . . quem . . . cervisiam vocant, secundum Diodorum zitum dicunt”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .; Val. ., under the heading “Cerevisia”: “Pelusiaci . . . pocula zythi.” habunde Until  this is Eobanus’ preferred spelling for abunde and its cognates. See Laud. ; Ama. .; .; Sylv. duae .; Her. Chr., ded. .. Only at Ruf.  and Buc. . do we find the form “abundat.” iureconsultus C. In medieval legal citations, the abbreviation “C.” refers to the Codex Justinianus. The abbreviation “l.” stands for “law,” “c.” for “chapter.” Here, of course, the reference is fictitious — a typical form of academic humor. Numerous examples appear in Grieb, Schelmezunfft. ff. de potatoribus Medieval lawyers conventionally referred to Justinian’s Digest (or Pandecta) by the abbreviation “ff.” Here the legal citation is a joke. The same fictional reference occurs earlier in Grieb, Schelmezunfft, , ll. –, as: “ff. de potatoribus l. infunde § repleti sunt omnes.” This reference is immediately followed by an equally fictitious reference to Justinian’s Code: “C. de conviviis l. caupo § merum.” The passage is repeated verbatim in Ps. Schram, Questio fab., –. Cf. also Olearius, Fide, , ll. – (misprinted in Zarncke’s text): “et l. Bacchus ff. de potatoribus et potatricibus.” Bos et iumentum Quoted — out of context, of course — from Alexander, Doctrinale : “bos et iumentum sunt ad praesepe ligati.” Plenus, inops Another out-of-context quote from Alexander, Doctrinale, this time from l. : “plenus, inops casum dant istum sive secundum:/vini vel vino duo dolia plena videto;/pauper, egenus, inops vino vel panis egebit.” sympotes For this Latinized Greek word, see Calepino, Dictionarium (s.v.): “Sympotin compotorem vocamus.” Eobanus uses it also in a letter of  October  to Justus Jonas: “Melchiarem, amabilem sympoten nostrum.” See Gustav Kawerau, ed., Der Briefwechsel des Justus Jonas, vol.  (; Hildesheim, ), , no. .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum .

.– .

. . . . .

. ..– . . . .– . ..–

.



vera est illa propositio A standing phrase in scholastic logic. homo est asinus A standard example in scholastic logic for an impossible proposition. mediocriter poti Eobanus uses the phrase also in a letter of ca. spring  to Veit Dietrich, Epp. fam., : “Tibi vero haec scribebam . . . mediocriter potus, sed a convivio Ionae digressus.” Ovidianum illud Eobanus’ text reflects that of the early printed eds., but reverses the order of Ovid’s verses found in Ars .– . Item aliqui — all ungluck Closely followed in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. ettlich werden hunds voll Cf. Sebastian Franck, Vonn dem grewlichen laster der trunckenheit ([Augsburg], ), in Sämtliche Werke, ed. Peter K. Knauer, vol.  (Bern, ), , ll. –: “Etlich werden bern truncken/ etliche sewe vol/ etlich hundts truncken/ etlich der teuffel gar.” For the expression hunds voll, see also Hans Sachs, Sämtliche Fabeln und Schwänke, ed. Edmund Goetze, vol.  (Halle/ Saale, ), , no. , l. : “hündzdrüncken vol.” At l.  Sachs writes: “Last in auschlaffen den hündzwein.” cor eorum — guttur eorum Cf. Vulg. Psa. .–; Luc. .. Egregie . . . dissimulant Gen. ebrios. .. Cave ab illis . . . qui veniunt — lupi rapaces Cf. Vulg. Matt. .. hüt dich vor den katzen — hynden kratzen For this German proverb, see Bebel, Prov. ; TPMA, s.v. “Lecken,” nos. –. bonarum litterarum amatores Eobanus first uses this phrase in , in a letter to Bishop Johann Bonemilch: “quamvis ego poeta non sim, nec mihi tantum nomen ambiam, amator tamen bonarum literarum sum.” See Epp. fam., . ex abundantia cordis os loquitur Vulg. Matt. .; Luc. .. Affen, frawen — halten kan See Wander, s.v. “Affe,” no. . Cf. Bebel, Prov. , with Suringar’s notes; TPMA, s.v. “Kind,” nos. –. mengen stetes hundes hor eyn A proverbial expression. See Bebel, Prov. ; TPMA, s.v. “Wolle,” nos. –. Sepulchrum — labiis eorum See Vulg. Psa. .. cum nobis — sit institutus Cf. Orat. .: “De quibus rebus quoniam mihi in praesentia quidem non est institutus sermo.” For nobis sermo sit institutus, see Cic. Tusc. ... Sunt deinde alii — mutehu, schudip Adapted and translated in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. muliebria corda habentes Cf. Sil. .: “muliebria . . . corda”; Eob. Ilias .: “. . . muliebria corda gerentes.” O genus — pericula mundi Ov. Met. .–. Instead of “gelidae” (the reading found in the contemporary editions of Ovid’s poem) Eobanus’ text has “falsae.” The bad reading may have been caused through anticipation of “falsique” two lines further down. “in simplicitate cordis” sui ambulant Cf. Vulg. Psa. . (iuxta Hebraicum).



.

. . .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum neque cuiquam nisi sibi ipsis nocent Cf. Decretum C.  q. : “mali pastores . . . sibi ipsis nocent”; Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, l. : “Ipse sibi nocet is alium qui laedere quaerit”; Eob. Her. Chr. B ., referring to a malicious critic at Leipzig: “Et tantum (res mira!) sibi nocet.” weych hertzige, weibliche, müterliche Cf. Olearius, Fide, , l. : “molles et effeminatos animos, scilicet müterliche hertzer.” leffelmeuler, sewleffel, genßleffel, leffelganß These four compounds of “leffel” (“fool”) inspired a much longer list in Fischart, GK , pp. –. mutehu An otherwise undocumented word. schudip Cf. the Alsatian word schudi (“dimwitted girl”). largius poti Hor. Ep. ... stare loco nesciunt Verg. G. .. Circumderunt me — obsederunt me Vulg. Psa. ., where modern texts read “circumdederunt.” The form circumderunt is a medievalism, removed in BC. Kust ku kelbertate — huner hauß Quoted in Fischart, GK , p. : “Küßkul Kelbertate, leckt Schmaut im Hünerhauß.” Kust ku kelbertate Literally, “Kiss cow calfity.” Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Küssen,”  e, explains the word as having the sense of “Kiss the ass.” The word kelbertate is a student joke, by which the everyday word “kälber” (“calves”) is turned into a learned-sounding noun by adding the Germanized Latin ending “-tas,” “-tatis.” In the same way “grob” (“coarse”) becomes “Grobität” (“coarsity”). See Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Kuhkalb.” schmanth A Thuringian word for “filth,” “excrement.” See Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Schmant.” Hoc epulum comede Cf. Alexander, Doctrinale : “Hoc epulum comedis, epulaeque parantur amicis.” Taken out of context, the phrase became a standing academic joke: “Eat this crap.” See Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , ll. –: “Hoc epulum comedis, poteris coniungere vinum.” It also occurs at the end of a booklet satirizing the Franciscan monk Thomas Murner, after Murner wrote against Wimpfeling’s Germania. See In hoc libello hec continentur: Versiculi Theodori Gresmund. . . . Epistole Thome Wolffii iunioris. . . . Carmina Esticampiani. . . . Tetrastichon Jacobi Wimphelingi. Epistola Thome Murner [Strasbourg, ?], sig. ar: “Alexander de Villa Dei ad Thomam Murner. Hoc epulum comede.” Thomas Murner then countered with Honestorum poematum condigna laudatio impudicorum vero miranda castigatio. N. decretorum doctor. Hoc epulum comede [Strasbourg, ?]. On sig. ar he adds: “Alexander ex Villa Dei epulas tuas sumptuose decoctas, N. charissime, nundiusquintus ad me detulit et hoc me epulum manducare debere recensuit. Quas, cum non eas esse conspexissem que parantur amicis indicta ieiunia dissimulavi.” Hereupon he vows to prepare a more sumptuous meal in return.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum . .–

.

.

. .

. . .



bestiali voluptati Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “voluptatis belluinae.” noctes continuas insomnes ducant Cf. Pl. Am. : “continuas has tris noctes pervigilavi.” Varghans . . . Sauff auß — ader vier Cf. Fischart, GK , p. : “Hiha Farghans, Mir zu als einer Ku, Ich wart sein, als ein Schwein, Halb als ein Kalb, Gantz als ein Farrenschwantz, Ist gut Bir, Es gilt dir, liebes Thier, Ein stubgen oder vier.” Also cf. Albertinus, De conviv., fol. v, where the sow drunks speak: “Der ander spricht: ‘feti gran schier du mein liebes Thier/es gilt dir/ein Maß oder vier.’ Der dritt spricht: ‘Mir zu/wie einer Kuhe/es ist gut/hab einen guten muth’”; Wander, s.v. “Thier,” no. : “Liebes Thier, es gilt dir; lieb kuh, mir zu; halb als ein Kalb; ich warth sein als ein Schwein; gar aus, so wird ein voller Bruder drauss.” sues isti Epicurei Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. donec adhuc — potest peragere Cf. Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .– (imitating Ter. Eun. ), of drunken beggars: “donec neque pes, neque lingua,/nec caput officium peragat.” Ich warth seyn Cf. Brant, NS .–, as an answer to a toast: “so wart ich/| Vnd wer mich, biß wir beid sint vol.” Halb That is, half a glass or mug. Es gylt dir Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Et gylt.” Tipplers proposed toasts with the cry, “es gilt dir.” Ridentur — putant Cf. Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:–, ll. – : “Ridentur haec ab omnibus, tanquam (uti sunt) stultissima, at ipsae sibi placent, et in summis interim versantur deliciis.” Myr wollen schlemmen unnd demmen . . . byß an den morgen frw Albertinus, De conviv., fols. v–r, quotes as a drinking song: “Wir wöllen schlemmen und demmen biß an den Morgen,/last uns frölich sein ohne sorgen/. . . ./Sauff dich derwegen voll und leg dich nider/stehe auff/unnd sauff dich voll wider.” For the latter two verses, cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. ..–, n. For the formula schlemmen und demmen, see Brant, Narrenschiff ., with Zarncke’s commentary note; Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Dämmen.” bene . . . poti Cic. Fam. .. poti dicere volebam Cf. Orat. ., n.: “Graeculi dicere volebam.” quod ne sues quidem faciunt Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Av: “id demum, quod sus etiam fugeret et natura ipsa abhorret, reglutire et revorare sese invicem cogant.” Cantate canticum — erden fallen These expressions were proverbial in tippling circles. Cf. Franck, Sprichwörter, , ll. –: “biß daß jn der Bachus . . . vnder die banck wirfft/ daß er anfahet die truncken mettin mit den langen noten zusingen/ daß all hund vnd sew z˚ulauffen/ vnd sich des gesangs vnd der mettin frewen.” Fischart, GK , p. , draws heavily on Eobanus’ text: “Nun cantate canticum auß der kanten, daß die noten auf die Erden fallen, pfui wie rauchen die kleien, Freß du die Schweinfedern.” With his phrase “cantate canticum auß der kanten” Fischart brings out the pun inherent in



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

cantate canticum, for the German “Kante” can also mean cantharus (“tankard”). .– Venite — pantzer an Quoted and paraphrased in Fischart, GK , p. . . Venite — Illudemus ei The drinking song quoted here is a parody of a parody of Vulg. Psa. . Everyone in the late Middle Ages knew that Psalm text by heart because it was repeated daily in the Invitatory at Matins: Venite, exultemus Domino iubilemus Deo salutari nostro praeoccupemus faciem eius in confessione: et in psalmis iubilemus ei. After several more sections, the Invitatory ends with the doxology: Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper: et in saecula saeculorum. Amen Whereas the liturgical Invitatory urges the faithful to worship in church, the parodic drinking song invites tipplers to betake themselves to the tavern. Part of the fun, of course, was singing the text to the same melody as the Invitatory itself. Here is the late medieval parodic drinking song: Venite ir lieben gesellen one sorgen der wirt der wil uns borgen den abendt als den morgen salutari nostro. Darumb solt ir nit sein verzagt! der wirth der hat ein schöne magd, die hat mir nechten z˚ugesagt in confessione; Und mög sie uns nicht all bestan, sie wöll ein gespilen z˚u ir han: iubilemus ei. After some further stanzas the song concludes with a parodic doxology. It is this medieval parody that Eobanus’ version parodies (first noted in Williams, Liederpoesie, , no. ). For the background and texts, including Eobanus’, see Kurt Gärtner, “Zechparodien auf den Invitatoriumspsalm (Psalm ),” in Deutsche Literatur des späten Mittelalters: Hamburger Colloquium , ed. Wolfgang Harms and L. Peter Johnson (Berlin, ), –.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



mussationem A Late Latin word, synonymous with mussitatio. Mutianus Rufus uses it in a letter of  March  to Eobanus Hessus: “Finge nos esse auditores istarum mussationum.” See Mutian. Ep. . ..– Glam — pantzer an A popular chorus in early modern German drinking songs. See Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Kling,” , explaining “glam glam” as imitating the sound of a church bell. . cum larvis luctantes For the adage, see Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto ; Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .. linea equinoctiali In late medieval thought, the Earthly Paradise was often placed on the equinoctial line, because that was the most temperate region on earth. See Alessandro Scafi, Mapping Paradise: A History of Heaven on Earth (London, ), –, –. iii meyl hynder — hund mit spyssen zu Borrowed in Der Fincken Ritter. Die History vnd Legend von dem treffenlichen vnd weit erfarnen Ritter Herrn Policarpen von Kirrlarissa, genant der Fincken Ritter (Strasbourg, ca. ), used again in Johann Fischart’s Binenkorb deß Heyl. Römischen Imenschwarms (Strasbourg, ). See Karl Goedeke, Grundriß zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung aus den Quellen, vol. : Das Reformationszeitalter (Dresden, 2), . iii meyl hynder dem pfingst montag Cf. Aarne/Thompson, no. , motif: “Schlaraffenland lies three miles beyond Christmas”; Richter, Schlaraffenland, , no. .; Pleij, Cockaigne, . See further Archer Taylor, “ ‘Zwischen Pfingsten und Strassburg,’ ” in Studies in Honor of John Albrecht Walz (Lancaster, PA, ), –. Do brant — lauter stim These impossibilities are characteristic elements of Topsy-Turvy Land, the World Upside-down. Cf. Curtius, ELLMA, –; Aarne/Thompson, nos.  and ; Richter, Schlaraffenland, –; Pleij, Cockaigne, chap.  (pp. –). . Ulenspigel An early literary reference to Hermann Bote’s Ulenspiegel (Strasbourg, /; repr.  August ). The reference comes two years after Tilmann Conradi attached two epitaphs on the “nobilis parasitus Oulenspigel” to his Batrachomyomachia [Erfurt, ]. See Otto Clemen, “Eulenspiegels Epitaphium,” Zeitschrift des historischen Vereins für Niedersachsen  (), –; repr. in Otto Clemen, Kleine Schriften zur Reformationsgeschichte (–), ed. Ernst Koch, vol.  (Leipzig, ), –; J. Klaus Kipf, in VLDH, :; Herbert Blume, “Bote, Hermann,” in Killy, Literaturlexikon: Autoren und Werke des deutschsprachigen Kulturraumes, ed. Wilhelm Kühlmann,  vols. (Berlin, –), :–. . fryßt die schweynß federn Cf. Fischart, GK , p.  (combining the phrase with Gen. ebrios. .): “Nun cantate canticum auß der kanten, daß die noten auf die Erden fallen, pfui wie rauchen die kleien, Freß du die Schweinfedern.” Grimm, DWB, explains Schweinsfedern (“swine feathers”) as a comic transference from feather beds to the muck in which pigs like to wallow. . monasillabis A medieval spelling for monosyllabis. .



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.– Video enim — Eo profecto, ut Cf. Erasmus, Moria, ASD .:, ll. –, quoting Hor. S. ..: “nonnullis Horatianum illud apud se mussitantibus: ‘Quorsum haec tam putida tendunt?’” Cf. further Eobanus’ letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “Quorsum vero haec? Ut scilicet ipsis peculiari poemate eorum vanissimos conatus deriderem”; Orat. ., n.: “Quorsum vero haec?”; and, for example, letter of  December  to Johann Lang, Epp. fam., : “Quorsum haec vero? Eo nempe, ut videas . . . .” . ut iamdudum — reficiam Cf. Gen. ebrios. .–, nn. .– A qua iocosa — accomodemus Eobanus expresses the same thoughts in Gen. ebrios. A  and A . He does so also at Vitanda ebriet. .–. The form accomodemus for accommodemus is common in medievalRenaissance texts. . amusi Erasmus, Adag. .., with the commentary note at ASD .:. Cf. Eob. Orat. Sylv. : “amusoteri.” hominem exuere Ov. Met. .. . Sed iamdudum — admonent, ut Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Verum enimvero iamdudum instituti ratio postulare videtur, ut.” ad reliqua sermonem convertamus Cf. Orat. .: “Ad reliqua te converte.” , tit. Vinum moderate sumptum prodest Drinking in moderation was standard medical advice. See, for example, Cels. .: “cibis uti bonis; vino modice”; Paul of Aegina, Praecepta salubria de tuenda valetudine, trans. Wilhelm Kopp (Strasbourg, ), chap. , sig. Fr, after listing the health benefits of wine: “hae sunt vini modice epoti commoditates. Immodice vero ingestum, contraria efficit. Hinc temulentorum eversiones, dementiae, soporesque perveniunt, quapropter cavendae immoderata vini potatio.” Eobanus versifies this advice at Val. .– : “Talia vina quidem modice data commoda praestant./Immodice noli sumere, sumpta nocent.” Cf. Vulg. . Tim. .; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n.; ., n.; ., n. .– Primam huius — “voluptatis incendium” est The passage is drawn from Pol. Verg. Invent. .., on the evils of drunkenness: “Unde divus Hieronymus Ad Eustochium de virginitate servanda inquit [cf. Ep. .]: ‘Sponsa Christi vinum fugiat pro veneno. Haec adversus adolescentiam prima arma sunt daemonum. Non sic avaricia quatit, inflat superbia, delectat ambitio. Facile aliis caremus vitiis; hic hostis nobis inclusus est.’ Et infra subdit [Ep. .]: ‘Vinum voluptatis incendium est,’ unde [V. Max. ..b] ‘proximus a Libero patre intemperantiae gradus ad inconcessam Venerem esse consuevit,’ propter quod teste Valerio Maximo matronae Romanae vino abstinebant.” . essetque capitali sententia interdictum See Plin. Nat. .–; V. Max. ... . venter mero — dominatur et furor Decretum D.  c. . Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Bv, combining the Decretum passage with V. Max. ..: “ut est in decretis canonicis, ‘Venter mero estuans cito despumat in libidinem.’ Hinc est quod antiquitus non licebat Romanis feminis

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

. .

.

. .

.



vinum bibere . . . . Et ut inquit Valerius, ‘Quecunque femina vini usum immoderate appetit et virtutibus ianuam claudit et delictis aperit.’ ” ex Concilio Agathensi — nutrix Decretum D.  c. : “Item ex Concilio Agatensi: ‘Ante omnia clericis vetetur [or: vitetur] ebrietas, que omnium vitiorum fomes ac nutrix est.’ ” Multa vero — citare possem, nisi Cf. Gen. ebrios. .; ., n. causam . . . multorum viciorum Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “viciorum mater ebrietas”; Vitanda ebriet. ., of drunkenness: “tot causa malorum.” Quis enim — parum multa In a lengthy catalogue, Aug. C.D. . includes the following vices: “fraus, furtum, rapina, perfidia, superbia, ambitio, invidentia, homicidia, parricidia, . . . luxuria, petulantia, inpudentia, inpudicitia, fornicationes, adulteria, incesta et contra naturam utriusque sexus tot stupra atque inmunditiae, quas turpe est etiam dicere, sacrilegia, haereses, blasphemiae, periuria.” Eobanus offers a similar catalogue of the crimes and vices brought on by drunkenness at Vitanda ebriet. .–. For earlier catalogues of the vices in Eobanus’ writings, see Laud. –, n.; Nob. –, n. id genus non parum multa Cf. Her. Chr., ded. .: “id genus alia multa.” Quis enim omnia Cf. Orat. .: “quis enim omnia tandem posset?” Videte — cognoscite Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “videte, precor, et cognoscite.” filium illum perdictionis Vulg. Joan. .; . Thess. .. The form perdictionis is a medievalism. fide . . . decocta The phrase occurs also in Eobanus’ letter to the reader, written on ca.  May  for Euricius Cordus’ book of epigrams against Tilmann Conradi: “potatores et baiuli et qui rem et fidem decoxere.” See Cordus, Epigr., . fodere non — erubesceret Alluding to the dishonest steward’s lament in Vulg. Luc. .: “Quid faciam? . . . Fodere non valeo, mendicare erubesco.” The ne’er-do-well Stylpho, who ends up as a sow herder, quotes the same phrase in Jakob Wimpfeling’s comedy Stylpho, scene . eiusdem farinae Orat. Sylv. : “carmen . . . ex eadem chorda lyratum et plane (ut dici solet) eiusdem farinae”; cf. Erasmus, Adag. ... ultima passuro Ov. Met. .; Tr. ..; Eob. Vict. ; cf. Vict. . The corrected reading “ultima” can be found already in the later Frankfurt reprints. aquae haustu Ov. Met. .; Eob. Hymn., ded. . fortunae flatum For the image, see Cic. Off. .; V. Max. ., ext. . plures esse foelicium — prorsus nullos Only the fortunate have friends. The thought is proverbial. See Vulg. Prov. .; .; Eccli. .–; Erasmus, Adag. ..; ..; Bebel, Prov. , ; Otto ; Häussler, , ; TPMA, s.v. “Freund,” nos. –.

 .

. .

.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum pecuniam, non te, tantopere venerabantur Cf. Ama. ., where the prostitute tells her ex-lover: “Ego te non amo nec amavi unquam tui quippiam preter tuberis marsupii largam aperitionem.” Valebis igitur, ut meritus Cf. Pl. Capt. : “tu, Aristophontes, de me ut meruisti, ita vale”; Poliziano, Ep., bk. , in Omnia opera Politiani (Venice, ), sig. qv: “Vale, ut meritus.” homo, cum esset — similis factus est eis Cf. Vulg. Psa. , verses  and  (where “intellexit” instead of “intellexisset”). Qualis servitus, tale praemium For the proverb, see TPMA, s.v. “Dienen,” nos. –, with mostly vernacular versions. qualis vita, talis mors Cf. Walther : “Qualis vita, finis ita”; “Qualis vita, mors est ita”; TPMA, s.v. “Leben,” nos. –. Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “eius vitae condignus sane exitus.” sicut vixit, ita morixit A medieval proverb that was quoted well into the eighteenth century. See Wander, s.v. “Leben (Verb.),” no. ; Basler Chroniken, vol. , ed. Wilhelm Vischer and Alfred Stern (Leipzig, ), , ll. –, following a standing formula: “Sicut vixit, ita morixit: Sine crux, sine lux, sine deus et sine omnis iusticia”; Basler Chroniken, vol. , ed. Wilhelm Vischer (Leipzig, ), , l. : “sicut vixerunt ita morixerunt.” post sussum surum See Walther : “Post sussum saurum, post vinum tu bibe laurum.” köppern gelt, köppern selmeß See Bebel, Prov. , with Suringar’s notes; TPMA, s.v. “Kupfer,” nos. –. Wan myr das gelt verprassen Recalling stanza  of the popular drinking song, “Das dumme Brüderlein” (partly quoted at Gen. ebrios. ..–, n.): “Ich wil mein gut verprassen/mit schlemmen frü und spat.” Fischart, GK , p. , quotes the drinking song and then parodies Eobanus’ text: “‘wann wir das Gelt verbrassen, darnach so trinckt man Wasser,’ wie geschriben staht, ‘Sitientes venite ad Aquam.’ Jr Wasserige kompt zum durst, der Wein ist heur nicht wol gerahten.” cum sacco per civitatem A beggars’ slogan in the later Middle Ages. See F. Schröder, “Ars mendicandi: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des mittelalterlichen Schülerbettelns,” Nederlandsch Archief voor Kerkgeschiedenis  (), . There Arnold Heymerick is quoted as writing in : “ostiatim currere cum sacco per civitatem.” In  Martin Luther remembered how, as a young monk, he was told by his Augustinian brethren to go begging for the order, “Saccum per dorsum et cum sacco per civitatem.” See D. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe. Tischreden, vol.  (Weimar, ), , ll. –, no. . Speculo peregrinorum A Speculum peregrinorum quaestionum was published at Strasbourg in . Speculum is a popular term in late medieval book titles. See Herbert Grabes, The Mutable Glass: Mirrorimagery in Titles and Texts of the Middle Ages and English Renaissance (Cambridge, ).

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



Ego pauper ludo Alexander, Doctrinale : “pauper ego ludo, dum tu dives meditaris.” The verse was also quoted as: “Ego pauper ludo dum tu dives mediteris.” See TPMA, s.v. “Arm (Adj.),” nos. –. Panem propter Deum A beggars’ cry in the late Middle Ages. See, for example, F. Schröder, “Ars mendicandi: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des mittelalterlichen Schülerbettelns,” Nederlandsch Archief voor Kerkgeschiedenis  (), : “Vetustum hoc pauperum carmen utputa ‘panem propter Deum.’ ” “Sicientes, venite ad aquam,” der weynn ist hewer nit wol geraten Adapted in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. v. The Latin quotation comes from Vulg. Isa. .. . quidam Occultus, poeta de Elferßkehofe On Nikolaus of Bibra, see VL, :– (F.J. Worstbrock); Christine Mundhenk, ed., Der “Occultus Erfordensis” des Nicolaus von Bibra: Kritische Edition mit Einführung, Kommentar und deutscher Übersetzung (Weimar, ). Nikolaus’ supposed birthplace, the village of Ilversgehofen, is mentioned in derisive context also in Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , l. . . Erat autem — “cum carbonibus desolatoriis” Cf. Mart. ..–: “nigri fornicis ebrium poetam,/qui carbone rudi putrique creta/scribit carmina quae legunt cacantes”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “in antiquo pariete cum albis carbonibus.” For “Erat autem scriptum,” see Vulg. Joan. .. For “cum carbonibus desolatoriis,” see Vulg. Psa. .. ..– Hic iacet — Pater noster The mock epitaph is quite similar to the one in EOV .. .. ille . . . mille The rhyme occurs already in the mock epitaph in Olearius, Fide, , l. : “Et si suntis mille, omnes oratis pro ille.” .. mane et sera The phrase is common in Middle Latin texts. The more classical reading in ABC, “mane et sero,” does not rhyme with pera. Böcking makes the correction in Hutten, Opera, Supplement .:, n. ..– In Pynterßleben — in charitatis Adapted in Fischart, GK , p. . .. Pynterßleben The initial “p” reflects the Thuringian pronunciation of “Bindersleben.” See H. Holstein, “Zur Topographie der Fastnachtspiele,” Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie  (), . Hans For this often derogatory name, see Gen. ebrios. ., with n. . .. gratis . . . charitatis Humorously barbaric forms for gratus and charitate. bipsit in charitatis Alluding to a sixteenth-century drinking song: “Bibit pater Abraham,/Biberunt omnes Prophetae,/Biberunt omnes Apostoli:/Bibit dominus N. in caritate./Trinck es gar aus,” etc. See Anton Birlinger and Wilhelm Crecelius, Deutsche Lieder: Festgruß an Ludwig Erk (Heilbronn, ), . Cf. Fischart, GK , p. : “Biberunt omnes Apostoli/Bibit Dominus Johannes inn Charitate.” The form bipsit is a comic medievalism. .. Hoc facit michi valde ve A Germanism (“Das tut mir sehr weh”). Cf. Hartmann, Fide, , ll. –: “Iohannes est mors, quod fecit mihi vae.”

 .. .. .

.

.

.

. . .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum morixit For this comic barbarism, see Gen. ebrios. ., n. Dicentes — Pater noster Cf. l.  of the epitaph in EOV . (p. , l. ): “Dicatis bis vel ter pro eo Pater noster.” lingnea A medieval spelling for lignea. Fatendum — adhiberemus The source is Pol. Verg. Invent. .., referring to the vice of drunkenness: “Quod tamen haud obesset, si esset, ut par est, modus in rebus [Hor. S. ..], nam auctore Plinio [Nat. .] non est quicquam aliud vino modice sumpto utilius”; cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. The argument as a whole is reminiscent of Eobanus’ argument on love in Orat. Sylv. –. Eobanus stresses the theme of moderation also at Vitanda ebriet. .–. temperantiam, pulcherrimam virtutem Proverbial; see Walther : “Omnibus adde modum! Modus est pulcherrima virtus”; TPMA, s.v. “Mass,” nos. , , . Etenim — excessus hominum For the thought, cf. Dicta Catonis .: “Quae potus peccas, ignoscere tu tibi noli;/Nam crimen vini nullum est, sed culpa bibentis”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n. The phrase excessus hominum recurs in medieval writings. apud Lucianum See Dialogi deorum , as translated in Luciani Samosatensis Deorum dialogi numero  (Strasbourg, ), sig. gr. The form Dyonisius (or Dionysius) (here taken from the translation) was common in the period. See, for example, Pol. Verg. Invent. ..; ..–. ad eandem rem . . . facientia Eobanus uses the same phrase on the title page of his edition, Heus lector, hic habentur Campani de miseria poetarum sapphicum . . . et quaedam alia lectu digna ad eandem rem facientia [Erfurt, ca.  March ]. apud Macrobium Macr. ... Cf. Pol. Verg. Invent. .., with a slightly different text: “Quin etiam Plato, uti testis est Macrobius libro Sat. ii., existimabat fomitem esse quendam et incitabulum ingenii virtutisque, si mens et corpus hominis vino flagraret.” quisquis ille fuit See Ps. Boethius, De disciplina scolarium ., ed. Olga Weijers, in Pseudo-Boèce, De disciplina scolarium (Leiden, ), . For quisquis ille fuit, cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. illud Ovidii See Ov. Ars .–. The reading “coloribus aptos” (for “caloribus aptos”) recurs in medieval and Renaissance versions of Ovid’s poem. puellarum amatoribus Bebel, Facetiae .: “Fidelis amator puellarum, probus lusor, et misericors miles seu militans, nimium stulti dicuntur”; Eob. Orat. .. winckel tauben Literally, “bordello doves.” Cf. Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Winkel,” . vadunt in plateis — de sero The university statutes specifically forbade late-night jaunts in town, most especially to the public taverns (by day and night). See Acten der Erfurter Universität, ed. J.C. Hermann Weissenborn, vol.  (Halle, ), , ll. –. The Middle Latin expressions de mane and de sero occur also in Grieb, Schelmezunfft,

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



, ll.  and ; , l. ; EOV . (p. , ll. –): “de sero bibit nobiscum, tunc de mane praedicavit de nobis.” auff . . . steltzen gehet A proverbial expression for “resting on a shaky foundation.” See, for example, Sebastian Brant, Tugent Spyl: Nach der Ausgabe des Magister Johann Winckel von Straßburg, ed. HansGert Roloff (Berlin, ),  (l. ): “Der Glaub werd bald auff steltzen gon”; Murner, NB , motto –: “Es gat ietzund so wunder selzen,/das christen glouben gat uf stelzen”; , title: “Der christen glouben uf stelzen”; .: “Das der gloub schier gat uf stelzen.” . sunt valde pulchrum socius A barbaric expression, probably a Germanism. secant se cum stadknechtibus A Germanism, imitated in EOV . (Appendix , p. , ll. –): “Praeterea etiam sunt audaces, quia percutiunt se hic cum reuteris.” quod diabolus extra saltat Another Germanism. . De quibus scriptum est per prophetam dicentem Eobanus combines several formulaic expressions. The first (de quibus scriptum est) is common in patristic and scholastic writers. The second (scriptum est per prophetam dicentem) blends Vulg. Matt. .; ., ; .; and .. Reges eos in virga ferrea . . . et tanquam vas figuli confringes eos Vulg. Psa. .. . Sed iam michi tempero, ne, dum Cf. Praef., sig. Cr: “Sed tempero mihi, ne, dum nimis istam Camarinam moveo, spiritus inde noxius exhalet.” Cf. also Gen. ebrios. .: “sponte mihi tempero”; letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “Sed nunc mihi tempero citharamque, ut iubes, suspendo”; letter of ca.  June  to Johann Drach, in Epp. fam., : “Tempero mihi nunc egerrime, ne totus effluam.” . poetis et versificatoribus Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  March  to Joachim Vadian, in Vadian. Briefsammlung, no. : “non . . . poetarum, sed versificatorum albo.” . declamant — legit When in their cups, the poets ignore the advice that Phoebus gives the lover in Ov. Ars .–: “neque declament medio sermone diserti,/nec sua insanus scripta poeta legat.” The reading “vesanus” for “non sanus” comes from the humanistic edition that Eobanus used. .–.. Quod et — putere diurno Cf. Fischart, GK, prefatory chapter, p. . .– Martialis . . . Et Horatius noster The first quotation comes from Mart. ..–, as printed in the early eds.; the second is from Hor. Ep. ... The two quotations are brought together in Beroaldo, Declamatio, no. , fol. v, and Erasmus, Adag. ... .–.. Non est dythirambus — putere diurno Based on Erasmus, Adag. ..: “Non est dithyrambus, si bibat aquam. . . . ‘Haud dithyrambus est, aquam si potitet.’ Non adest hilaritas, quum deest vinum; languet poetarum ingenium, ni vino concalescat. Unde teste Flacco:



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

‘Laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus.’ Et: ‘Ennius ipse pater nunquam nisi potus ad arma/Prosiliit dicenda.’ ” For the Horace quotations in Erasmus’ and Eobanus’ texts, see Hor. Ep. ..–. . vela contraham Erasmus, Adag. ..; Otto ; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. quicunque ratione . . . vigent Cf. Celtis, Am. .. (quoted at Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. below). ingenia vinum — exacuit Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . Quamobrem — deliberatae Cf. Pol. Verg. Invent. ..: “Quin etiam Plato, uti testis est Macrobius libro Sat. ii., existimabat fomitem esse quendam et incitabulum ingenii virtutisque, si mens et corpus hominis vino flagraret. Quod etiam Persae sensisse videntur, qui teste Strabone lib. xv. Geogr. [..] de rebus maximis inter vinum consultabant, quas ipsi firmiores putare quam quae in sobrietate fuissent deliberatae.” . Macrobius Macr. ..– (quoted here with one minor change). .– Quae Graeci — nobis comparet Summarized in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. . Quae Graeci symposia, nos compotationes vocamus Cf. Cic. Fam. ..; Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar: “Constat enim Gretiam omnem symposiis (sic enim vocant ipsi compotiones) dedisse operam et maxime fuisse oblectatam”; Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, ll. –: “priscis illis Graecorum symposiis, hoc est compotationibus.” For the phrasing, cf. Eob. Orat. ., n.: “Quod nos moralem philosophiam, Graeci aethicam, Cicero officia appellat.” . nascentis origine mundi Mant. . Parthen. .: “a prima nascentis origine mundi.” .– Loth . . . Noa The story of these two patriarchs’ adventures in drunkenness is told in Vulg. Gen. .– and Gen. .–. Both examples are mentioned together in Hier. Ep. .: “Noe ad unius horae ebrietatem nudat femora sua, quae per sexcentos annos sobrietate contexerat. Loth per temulentiam nesciens libidini miscet incestum et, quem Sodoma non vicerat, vina vicerunt.” See also Decretum D.  dict. ante c. , in a warning to priests not to become drunk: “venter mero estuans facile despumat in libidines. Unde Noe in ebrietate nudavit femora; Loth, quem Sodoma non vicit, vina vicerunt”; D.  c. .–: “In principio generis humani ignorabatur ebrietas; primus Noe vineam plantavit, dedit naturam, sed ignoravit potentiam. Itaque vinum nec suo pepercit auctori. Sed illius ebrietas nobis suadet sobrietatem. Semel enim inebriatus est Noe. Ubi malum ebrietatis agnovit, iumentum [al.: inventum] suum ad remedium temperavit, non ad vicium effudit. . . . Legimus etiam, quod patrem Loth inebriaverunt filiae in monte, ad quem timentes incendium Sodomitarum confugerant, et habitabant in spelunca. Fuit itaque ebrietas origo incesti.” The two examples are de rigueur in medieval and Renaissance discussions of the evils of drunkenness, especially the descent into lust. Eobanus was, of course, keenly aware of the negative implications. At

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.

.

. .

.

.

. .



Gen. ebrios. . he goes out of his way to excuse himself: the negative exempla he has chosen (including the one from Pliny) actually undercut his argument that compotations with friends is a custom both ancient and delightful. However, he just wants to prove that drinking is an ancient practice. Lactantius See Lact. ..: “qua ex vinea cum primum fructum cepisset [Noe], laetus factus bibit usque ad ebrietatem iacuitque nudus.” Pol. Verg. Invent. .. quotes the same words, but attributes them to Josephus (see his Antiquitates .–). Verum — tradant See Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar, where the tippler Sylenus argues that “hic mos [sc. compotandi consuetudo] primum . . . ab Indis ad Grecos defluxit.” The sober-minded Sophronius disputes this conclusion, as does the judge (who on sig. Br asserts that the practice of compotations originated in Greece). Plynius See Plin. Nat. .. Lege autem — usque compotarent The source is Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar, where Sophronius argues: “hoc . . . certe scio Lacedemonios et Cretenses nunquam combibisse solitos, imo lege apud eos cautum ne invicem ad ebrietatem compotarent.” Emser’s source in turn is Ps. Plato, Minos, in Divus Plato, trans. Marsilio Ficino (Venice, ), fol. r, col. : “Verum ex hoc maxime istos non recte exponere coniicere possumus, quod nulli vel Greci vel barbari symposiis, i. compotionibus, atque eiusmodi ludis abstinent preter Cretenses atque Lacedemonios, qui a Cretensibus didicerunt. In Creta preterea inter ceteras Minois ipsius leges hec extat, ‘Ne invicem compotetis ad ebrietatem.’ ” viciorum mater A standing phrase. See, for example, Aug. De beata vita : “matrem omnium vitiorum”; Eob. Orat. Bacc., : “discordiam, vitiorum ut maximorum, ita omnium altricem ac matrem.” Cf. Ps. Aug. Sermones ad fratres in eremo commorantes  (PL , col. ): “ebrietas, omnium malorum mater”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n.; Vitanda ebriet. ., of drunkenness: “Tot viciorum . . . genitrix.” animum reficiat — ingenium acuat For the benefits of drinking wine, cf. Gen. ebrios. .–, nn. amicicias contrahat — nobis comparet Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Br, speaking of the ancient custom of drinking healths: “Neque dubitem hoc more magnas sepe nasci amicitias, favores, gratiam, et benevolentiam, comparari divitias, honores, et potentiam.” Plato loco prealligato See Macr. ..–, with some different readings, notably “participandas” for Eobanus’ “participiandum.” Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. prealligato A variant spelling of the Middle Latin praeallegato. participiandum A medieval spelling for participandum. Plutarchus See Plutarch, De tuenda bona valetudine , as translated by Erasmus. See ASD .:, ll. –. futurae ebrietati locum relinquamus Cf. Plutarch, De tuenda bona valetudine , as translated by Erasmus, ASD .:, ll. –,



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

explaining Philip’s bon mot that we ought to save room for cake: “Hoc igitur pacto conveniet et nosmet ipsos ad inevitabiles compotationes preparare, ut opsoniis, bellariis atque adeo ebrietati quoque locum in corpore reservemus.” For futurae ebrietati, cf. Eob. Hymn. B .: “sitim . . . futuram.” . Vino eadem — quamminime noxium Quoted from Plutarch, De tuenda bona valetudine , as translated by Erasmus, ASD .:, ll. –. Instead of “michi copia tui” Erasmus’ text has “mihi tui copia.” . Plato See Laws , b, which Marsilio Ficino translates as follows: “[Dionysius] hominibus vinum quasi remedium adversus senectutis duritiam est largitus, ut reiuvenescere videamur et mestitie nos oblivio capiat.” Here Eobanus quotes the passage via Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Br: “precipue in senibus, quibus, ut inquit Plato, natura vinum quasi remedium adversus senectutis duritiam est largita, ut reiuvenescere videantur et tristicie eos capiat oblivio.” . si hoc unum addidero Her. Chr., ded. ., n. , tit. ad numerum bibere Ov. Fast. .. .–.. Veteres non solum — cruenta docet Eobanus closely follows Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar–v: “Quin hi [sc. Itali] non solum ad amicorum vota et preces, verum etiam ultro ad amicarum quoque bibebant nomina, tot exiccantes calices quot puelle adamate litteraria haberet elementa. Unde Martialis: ‘Naevia sex cyathis, septem Iustina bibatur,/Quinque Lydas, Lyde quattuor, Ida tribus./Omnis ab infuso numeretur amica Phalerno,/Et quia nulla venit, tu mihi, Somne, veni.’ Atque ut maior esset bibendi licentia, deorum etiam indignationem non bibentibus minitabantur. Unde Tibullus de Libero patre: ‘Iam venit iratus nimium nimiumque severus;/Qui timet irati numina magna, bibat./Quales his penas deus hic quantasque minetur,/Cadmee matris preda cruenta docet.’ Propinabant autem nonnulli amore Musarum novem scyphos, reliqui vero ad Gratiarum numerum tres dumtaxat. Unde proverbium apud eos, ‘Aut ter bibendum aut nonies.’ De quo etiam Ausonius: ‘Ter bibe vel totiens ternos, sic mistica lex est/Vel tria potanti vel ter tria multiplicanti.’ ” In its turn, Eobanus’ text inspired the paraphrase in Fischart, GK , p. , and in Albertinus, De conviv., fols. v–v (to which Albertinus adds the distich from Konrad Celtis quoted at Gen. ebrios. ..–  below). . Martialis See Mart. .. The variant readings “Naevia” (for “Laevia”) and “Lydas” (for “Lycis” or “Lycas”) come from the early eds. that Emser consulted. . ad numerum — dumtaxat Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–. . Ausonius Aus. Griphus ternarii numeri –. . Tibullus [Tib.] ..–, as given in Emser’s text. . ex neothericis quidam non indoctus Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Br, where the judge speaks at the end of the debate: “Ut igitur primum de hac re pronunciem, est hec propinandi vetus consue-

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.

. .

. .

..



factio, qua tam presentes quam absentes ex mera amicitia et benevolentia ad bibendum, quantum sapit ac volunt, subinvitamus, non solum non abolenda, verum etiam tanquam humanitatis et officii plena a quibuscunque etiam . . . colenda et imitanda, pro hoste et inimico censendus, qui sic bibere inter amicos contempserit aut recusaverit.” Neque damnandus — excesserit Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Br: “Nec vero acerbus in eum forem qui sic inter amicos (rariuscule tamen) modum etiam bibendo excederet.” medicorum consilium — bis in mense debere inebriari The idea that occasional intoxication is beneficial has a long history behind it. See Klaus-Dietrich Fischer, “Der griechische Arzt Soran als vermeintlicher Befürworter periodischer Rauschzustände: Anmerkungen zum . lateinischen Kommentar zu den hippokratischen Aphorismen,” in Hommages à Carl Deroux (Brussels, ), :–. Medieval physicians, however, cautioned that such medicinal inebriation should not exceed once or twice a month or advised against it altogether. See Arnald of Villanova, De regimine sanitatis , “De potibus,” in Opusculum observationum bone valitudinis quod vulgo Regimen sanitatis inscribitur Arnaldi de Nova Villa [Leipzig, ca. ], sig. Dr: “Decimatertia regula est quod inebriari semel vino vel bis in mense competit in regimine sanitatis, ut quidam asserunt. . . . Hanc tamen regulam non approbo nisi in his qui utuntur malo regimine. Hec regula non est observanda.” Cf. Eob. Val. .: “Utque frequens nocet ebrietas, sic rara iuvabit.” Occasional bouts of drunkenness were even recommended by philosophers. See Sen. Dial. ..–, maintaining that rest, recreation, and occasional intoxication relax the soul and help maintain its equilibrium, but that habitual drunkenness is folly. Petrarch, Rem. .. (ll. –), Brant, NS .–, and Beroaldo, Declamatio, no. , fol. v, all point to Seneca as their authority for the doctrine. quantum ad presens sufficit A standing phrase in scholastic writings. effusis continentiae habenis modum . . . egreditur Cf. Ama. ., with virtually identical phrasing: “Hanc ubi effusis continentiae habenis supra humanae affectionis modum adamarem.” Also cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “supra modum continentiae”; ., n.: “continentiae fines egressi.” satis superque Laud. , n. Campanus The now-following quotations all come from Epistolae . (concluding section) and Epistolae .. See Campano, Opera, part , sig. gv. Campano’s disparaging remarks about German barbarism reflect Italian stereotypes. See Peter Amelung, Das Bild der Deutschen in der Literatur der italienischen Renaissance (–) (Munich, ), – (about Campano specifically) and –; see further Krebs, Negotiatio, –. in caenam decurrere Campano, Epistolae ., reads “in coena decurrere.”



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

de moribus Germanorum Eobanus uses the same phrase in the title of his De vera nobilitate (July ). See the note there. ..– Tu sortem — quam bibere Campano, Epistolae ., to his friend Gentile de’ Becchi, written from the Diet of Regensburg (), in his Opera, part , sig. gv. In l. , the  Rome edition reads: “Nil hic est aliud . . . .” Fischart adapts l.  of the epigram in GK , p.  (final edition of ): “hie ist nit aliud viuere, dan bibere.” In the first edition () he quotes the verse in Latin, not from Campano but from Eobanus: “Nil est hic aliud vivere quam bibere”; in the second edition () he gives the verse in macaronic form: “Nit ist hi aliud viuere dan bibere.” .. miserere Campano, Epistolae ., offers the more correct form “miserare.” . Cornelius Tacitus See Tac. Ann. ., as printed at Venice in  and at Rome on  March . Both of those editions read “libidines” instead of Eobanus’ “libidinem.” Instead of “nulli invisam” modern editors prefer “nulli invisa.” The name “Italus” (rather than “Italicus”) is found in both the  and  editions. . adhuc idola colerent Sylv. duae .: “adhuc idola colebat.” Bacchum . . . venerati sunt See Aen. Silv. Germania .: “Saturnum, Iovem, Mercurium, Bachum, Cererem, Dianam, Venerem ceteraque deorum . . . vestri maiores coluerunt.” . Cuius rei aliquot adderem testimonia Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . Conradus Celtis See Celtis, Am. ..–. . ista septentrionali barbaria Cf. Orat. ., n. diobolares bestias Cf. Paul. Fest. p. M: “diobolares meretrices”; Eob. Ama. . (following Pl. Poen. ): “diobolari scorto.” . Ovidium Ov. Ars .–. . Quod ut — hystoriam Cf. Sylv. duae ., n.: “Quoque magis credas, pauca est narrare voluptas”; Gen. ebrios. .: “Quod ut magis credatis.” veram hystoriam A number of Heinrich Bebel’s Facetiae likewise claim to be vera historia. See, for example, Facetiae .; ., , , . The technique of introducing facetiae into the quodlibetical burlesque is found already in Hartmann, Fide, –. On the genre of the facetiae, see J. Klaus Kipf, Cluoge geschichten: Humanistische Fazetienliteratur im deutschen Sprachraum (Stuttgart, ). For their use in the quodlibetical mock orations, see pp. –. , tit. De adulterio — vera hystoria In this tale, a husband finds his wife sleeping with a student. The student gets off the hook by persuading the numbskull that he has no idea how the wife got into bed with him. The story belongs to the category of “The foolish man and his wife”; see Aarne/Thompson, nos. –. I know of no exact literary analogue. . ordine litteratorum A standard expression for scholars as a class. Cf. Orat. ., n.: “studiosorum ordine.” The term ordo, incidentally, is overinterpreted in Eckhard Bernstein, “Mutianus Rufus und der Gothaer ordo literarius,” Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Bonnensis: Pro.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



ceedings of the Twelfth International Congress of Neo-Latin Studies, ed. Perrine Galand-Hallyn et al. (Tempe, ), –, in particular , n. . When Mutianus uses ordo literarius, ordo Latinus, ordo noster, and the like, he almost always means the humanists as a class, not his own circle of friends. The one exception is Mutian. Ep. , where ordo for once means “my inner circle of friends.” Eobanus, too, thought of his circle as a sodality. See the title to the Testimonia in Gen. ebrios. (p.  above), with n. . puer natus in Bettelßheym The punning on Bethlehem seems to have been a standing joke. We find it also in Gallicus, Liechtschiff, , ll. –, where the speaker says he has just returned from Armatia (“Poor-Land”) and his friend from Betlehem (i.e., Bettelsheim, “Beggars’ home”). . accensa candela According to students’ notes, Eobanus used this everyday phrase during a lecture on his Heroidum Christianarum epistolae in the winter semester of /. See note at Her. Chr. .. magna voce exclamavit Liv. ..; Vulg. . Reg. .; Dan. .; and often. . per Deum vivum Vulg. Matt. .. bey dem flygen gott Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . ille . . . verbis adulteri fidem habens Cf. Bebel, Facetiae .: “Ille autem verbis fatui fidem habens.” effusissime ridens Eobanus first uses this rare phrase in a letter of  August  to Mutianus Rufus. See Mutian. Ep. : “Ubi rem cognovit, coepit (ut solet) effusissime ridere.” nemini dixeritis visionem hanc Vulg. Matt. ., as often quoted by medieval and Renaissance authors. . egregie dissimulabat Gen. ebrios. .. de crimine . . . insimulare A Middle Latin construction (instead of insimulo + the genitive of the charge), probably taken over from Eobanus’ source. Eobanus does not use the construction anywhere else. . Egressa etiam foras “flevit amare” Parodying Vulg. Luc. .: “et egressus foras Petrus flevit amare.” glacies, nix — procellarum Cf. Vulg. Psa. .: “grando, nix, glacies, spiritus procellarum.” peculiari mulieribus armario “A woman weeps when it suits her purposes”; see TPMA, s.v. “Frau,” nos. –. . illud Ov. Rem. –. ..–. Neve puellarum — an keren Cf. Franck, Sprichwörter, , ll. – : “Hund hincken/ frawen weynen/ kramer schweren/ sol sich keyn weiser ankeren, dann sie haben jr augen gelert/ das sie müssen wasser geben wann sie wöllen.” . vulgare nostrum For the phrasing, cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “hoc Germanicum.” For the proverb, see TPMA, s.v. “Hund,” nos. –. It is quoted, for example, also in Hartlieb, Fide, , ll. –: “Hund hincken, frowen weynen und kremer schweren, daran sol sich



, tit.

. .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum niemant keren.” There are Latin versions in Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , ll. –: “Dum femina plorat et rusticus ebrius orat et mercator iurat, hiis nullus credere curat”; Bebel, Prov.  (where see Suringar’s notes). Alia hystoria The “Tale of the Cradle” was a favorite in the later Middle Ages. In Aarne/Thompson, no. , it occupies a category of its own, with the following motifs: “Two youths pass the night with a family where all sleep in a common room, with a cradle at the foot of one of the beds. The moving of the cradle in the night confuses those walking about so that the strangers sleep with the wife and the daughter.” Variations of the tale occur in French, Italian, Netherlandish, and German literature. Boccaccio tells the story in Decameron .; Chaucer includes it in the “Reeve’s Tale.” For an overview of the analogues, see Benson/Andersson, –; for the texts themselves, see Benson/Andersson, –. On pp. – the authors reprint Eobanus’ version from the Frankfurt edition of . To that unreliable text they then offer an English translation. Unaware of Zarncke’s edition or even of the editio princeps, the editors labor under the impression that De generibus ebriosorum is “a collection of anecdotes illustrating the vagaries of drink” (p. ). See also Erik Hertog, Chaucer’s Fabliaux as Analogues (Louvain, ), –; VL, :–, s.v. “Studentenabenteuer A.” Hertog bases his analysis on the text as presented in Benson/Andersson. For an analysis of the genre, see Hans-Joachim Ziegeler, “Boccaccio, Chaucer, Mären, Novellen: ‘The Tale of the Cradle,’ ” in Kleinere Erzählformen im Mittelalter, ed. Klaus Grubmüller et al. (Paderborn, ), –. Eobanus’ version is closest to the medieval German “Studentenabenteuer.” In both tales, the students ask for lodging and then develop an attraction to the host’s daughter and wife; in both, the wife marvels at the supposed husband’s virility and covers up the daughter’s affair. Of all the versions, only Eobanus’ emphasizes that the students deliberately get the host family drunk. Eobanus also neglects to say what happens to the students afterwards, except by implication (they get away scot-free). It appears likely that Eobanus heard a version of the story somewhere. He now retells it with a special focus on drunkenness and with details specific to Erfurt. Inebriemus . . . eas vino The phrasing recalls Vulg. Gen. ., where Lot’s two daughters plot to sleep with their father: “veni, inebriemus eum vino dormiamusque cum eo.” pro voluntate eis cessisset Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  September  to Georg Sturz, Epp. fam., : “omnia . . . pro mea voluntate mihi cessura.” ingenui et morati iuvenes Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “boni et ingenui iuvenes.” undecim libros Aethicorum This type of academic humor recurs in Olearius, Fide, , ll. – (“Luke ”; “Mark ”; “John ”). It is

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.

.

. . . . .

. . .



heavily used also in Ps. Schram, Questio fab.; see, for example, p. , ll. – (“Psalm ”); , l.  (“Romans ”); , l.  (“Aristotle, De iuventute, bk. ”). Posteriorum The (implied) sense of posteriors is late Middle Latin. adulteri In Chaucer’s Fabliaux as Analogues (Louvain, ), –, n. , Erik Hertog argues that “adulteri” is a misreading for “alteri”: “[‘adulteri’] surely makes better sense for character and plot if emendated to ‘alteri’ . . . because the wife obviously thinks she gets into bed with ‘another husband’, not an ‘adulterous’ one.” Hertog’s emendation can be dismissed immediately because the proposed alteri is a dative form (not the genitive that Hertog imagines it to be), also because alter cropped up earlier in the same sentence, to mean the second student. To refer to that same student now by alteri would, in effect, make him “the other other student.” Hertog (who knows Eobanus’ text only from the extract in Benson/Andersson) has no inkling that this tale is placed in a moral setting, in which women, no less than men, become so drunk that they readily commit sins they would never have dreamed of committing when sober (Gen. ebrios..– ; .). The student plotting to sleep with the wife is, of course, an “adulterer” by malice aforethought. But the wife too becomes guilty of adultery — not because she has planned to be unfaithful, but because she has gotten too drunk to know what is going on. Had she not let herself be inebriated, Eobanus suggests, there would have been no adultery. dedolavit uxorem Apul. Met. .: “at vero adulter bellissimus ille pusio inclinatam dolio pronam uxorem fabri superincurvatus secure dedolabat.” multis vicibus Vulg. Psa. . (iuxta Hebraicum). Ita fit — facile admittamus Cf. Sen. Ep. .: “dic . . . quam multa ebrii faciant, quibus sobrii erubescant, nihil aliud esse ebrietatem quam voluntariam insaniam”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. Multa sunt — testimonia Cf. Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .: “Multa vero huiusmodi testimonia scriptorum hoc in loco citare possem, nisi”; .: “Cuius rei aliquot adderem testimonia, nisi.” modum rebus addere Cf. Walther  (= TPMA, s.v. “Ende,” no. , and “Maß,” nos. , , ): “Omnibus adde modum! Modus est pulcherrima virtus.” Germanis . . . virtutis gloria praefulgent Cf. Hod. –: “virtutis verae praefulget avitis/Splendor imaginibus.” Natura comparatum — gignantur See Hdt. .., as translated by Lorenzo Valla: “Natura enim comparatum esse, ut e mollibus regionibus molles viri existant, neve ex eadem terra admirandae fruges et egregii bello viri gignantur.” Strabo Strabo, De situ orbis .., as translated by Guarino of Verona. Caesar Caes. Gal. ... luxum Saxonicum — artes et vafricias Lists of regional stereotypes were popular in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. See



. . . .. .

. .

.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum Walther, “Scherz.” A similar list, but ironically inverted, appears in the mock question at the start of Ps. Schram, Questio fab., . See introd. to Gen. ebrios., p.  above. id genus — offuciarumque Gel. ..: “id praestigiarum atque offuciarum genus.” alia consulto pretereo Cic. Sest. : “alia maiora, quae consulto praetereo”; cf. Eob. Her. Chr., ded. .: “Alios consulto praetereo.” in media Germania Celtis was born in Wipfeld, northeast of Würzburg. idem poeta See Celtis, Am. ..–. In the  edition this passage begins with “Non tantum” rather than “Non solum.” At the end of the quoted passage, Celtis’ text has “σκʵµατε ledunt.” Triconchius This form of Tricongius comes from Celtis’ text. mille fraudum — “mille nocendi artes” Cf. Beroaldo, “Dirae in maledicam,” in Opuscula, fol. r (quoted in Olearius, Fide, , ll. –): “Fraudum mille modos, artes quoque mille nocendi/ Haec habet.” The phrase mille nocendi artes is quoted from Verg. A. .. libidinum . . . bestialium Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. qui etiam sobrii — admittimus Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. nos imperium — gloriose retinemus According to the late medieval theory of translatio imperii (“transfer of imperial power”), the Roman Empire devolved to the Germans when Charlemagne was crowned emperor at Rome in . See Werner Goez, Translatio Imperii: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Geschichtsdenkens und der politischen Theorien im Mittelalter und in der frühen Neuzeit (Tübingen, ). Eobanus alludes to the doctrine also at Nob. . The idea that the Italians lost the empire because of their decadence is also expressed in Jakob Locher’s preface to his annotated edition of Horace’s works, Horatii Flacci Venusini poete lirici opera (Strasbourg, ), front matter, fol. v: “Quod imperium quosque regios fasces Italia per luxum, per nefas, perque timiditatem amisit, id Theutona virtus Bistonio Marte adepta est, quod vitio contritum atque prostratum, istud virtus nostra bellica celestisque iusticia restauravit.” molliter defluentes Apul. Met. ., of luxuriantly flowing hair; Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob ., of leaves; Eob. Sylv. duae ., in a metaphorical sense, as here. Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “luxuria et deliciis defluens.” iamque ad septingentos annos Cf. Brant, “De corrupto ordine vivendi pereuntibus,” in Var. carm., sig. ar (Texte .–): “Germani sic nos annis prope septingentis/Sceptra sacra et vittas gessimus imperii./Quo liquido patet, in terris quod saecula tanta/Nulla monarchiae gens tulit imperium”; Cochlaeus, Germania .: “Iam enim septingentis annis apud Germanos Romanum permansit imperium, quod administraverunt tot gloriosi principes.” De fide — antecellere Precisely the same thought occurs at Max. – : “Prisca fidem coluit sanctam Germania, nec gens/Clarior hac nobis, testis es ipsa, fuit.” Cf. Tac. Ann. .: “nullos mortalium

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

.



armis aut fide ante Germanos esse.” Bebel, Germ. , sigs. kv–kr, cites ancient authorities to prove the unsurpassed fides of the ancient Germans. Non vino — sese ingurgitant Cf. Sylv. duae .–. pernicioso potu, quem cerevisiam vocant Equating the Egyptian zythus with modern beer (cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.), Eobanus restates Dioscorides, De materia medica .: beer is a noxious beverage that damages the kidneys and nerves, attacks the meninges, produces flatulence, bad humors, and elephantiasis. (Pol. Verg. Invent. .. quotes this information too, but not in the eds. that Eobanus used.) Eobanus adopts Dioscorides’ judgment also at Gen. ebrios. . and versifies it at Val. .–: Qui docuit crasso Cererem confundere succo, Huic iratus erat Bacchus, et ipsa Ceres. Nam Pelusiaci qui laudat pocula zythi, Illi nec cerebrum nec caput esse potest. Renibus et nervis cerebroque hic noxius humor, Saepe etiam leprae semina foeda iacit.

.–

Eobanus’ commentator Johann Placotomus vigorously disputes Eobanus’ claims by noting that modern beer contains hops as a preservative and hence is not subject to the noxious effects described by Dioscorides. See De tuenda bona valetudine libellus Eobani Hessi, commentariis doctissimis illustratus a Ioanne Placotomo (Frankfurt am Main, []), fol. r–v. See further Reinhard Düchting, “Helius Eobanus Hessus Baccho debacchatus,” in Nova de veteribus: Mittelund neulateinische Studien für Paul Gerhard Schmidt, ed. Andreas Bihrer and Elisabeth Stein (Munich, ), –. Germaniam — progressu The conceit occurs already in Aen. Silv. Germania .–. There the Italian humanist states that if one of the ancient German generals (Ariovist, for example) were to come back from the dead, he would undoubtedly prefer modern Germany over the ancient Germania. Jakob Wimpfeling is sure that Tacitus would change his mind about Germany if he could see the country now: “Profecto si nunc videat Cornelius Tacitus Germaniam, non scriberet eam — ut olim — informem terris, asperam celo, tristem cultu aspectuque.” See his letter to Johannes Trithemius of  September , first published in , in Jakob Wimpfeling, Briefwechsel, ed. Otto Herding and Dieter Mertens, vol.  (Munich, ), –, no. . The idea was taken up in Bebel, Germ. , sigs. kv–kr: “Cornelius Tacitus, Seneca, aliique non nulli scriptores Germaniam barbaram terram, sterilem, infoecundamque omnino scribunt, tristem et incultam. Quam si hodie viderent, nihil illa cultius dicerent. Cuius si primum homines viderent, cultosque mores religionemque coniunctam cum humanitate et eruditione, dicerent commutato ordine Graeciam in Germaniam commigrasse. Sed non est praesentis loci multa de his rebus loqui, cum alibi fecerim, si urbes,



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

arces et aedificia, nihil illis pulchrius, magnificentius atque munitius iurarent. Agri autem Germanici et segetum omnigenarum tanta foecunditas ut nihil ad Cereris et vini usum desit omnino . . . . [H]abetque regio ipsa non uno in loco latices calidarum aquarum sanandis morbis opportunos, omnis item generis metallorum foecunda.” The pattern is followed also, albeit more concisely, in Cochlaeus, Germania . (first published in ). After quoting Tacitus, Germ. .–  and .–, Cochlaeus adds: “Atvero si nunc perlustraret Germaniam, aliter scriberet. Grandis enim tanto in tempore mutatio facta est.” . Cornelius Tacitus Cf. Tac. Ger. .; .–; .; .. Cf. also Aen. Silv. Germania .. .– Quod si — feracem For this praise of modern Germany, as compared to ancient Germany, cf. Aen. Silv. Germania .. . ab Elisio parumper revocatus Cf. Laud. : “Elysiis iterum revocatus ab umbris.” . Istulam See Nup., lim. , n. cuius utramque ripam . . . possidemus Cf. Celtis, Am., ded. : “ad inclitum Albim fluvium, cuius utrasque ripas . . . Fridericus Saxoniae dux . . . longe lateque possidet.” potentissimam opulentissimamque Cf. Buc. ., describing Erfurt: “potens, opulenta.” .– Igitur tota — vino inebriantur Cf. Sylv. duae .–. . Oceani Germanici On this name, see n.  at Sylv. duae . (:). in sinum flexibus excurrens Cf. Sylv. .., referring to the Baltic: “aequor,/Quod variis totam flexibus ambit humum.” . cerevisiam — zithum appellat See Pol. Verg. Invent. ..: “Potum ex hordeo . . . quem . . . cervisiam vocant, secundum Diodorum [..] zitum dicunt”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . Quam — aqua concoquunt Cf. Celtis, Norimberga  (p. ): “Potus is aqua est, decoctione fumati ordei . . . aut alterius frugis adipe corrupta, cui (ut omnes in vitia ingeniosi sumus) semina herbae, cui humulo . . . nomen est, miscent et incoquunt.” . natura parens Nob. , n. . Plynius See Plin. Nat. ., quoted also in Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Bv. .– Retulit michi — morte puniant Cf. Celtis, Norimberga  (p. ), about the German custom of systematically drinking themselves into a stupor: “plerisque Germaniae populis caedium et multorum malorum causa est, dum certa lege et artibus, poculorum vicissitudine inter se contendunt et, tamquam de hoste parta victoria sit, virtute et gloria de eo, quem insensatum et velut mortuum reddiderint, gloriantibus.” Cf. Balthasar Rüssow, Chronica der Provintz Lyfflandt (Rostock, ), fol. r, in Scriptores rerum Livonicarum, [ed. Carl Eduard von Napiersky], vol.  (; repr. Hannover-Döhren, ), , describing the wild drinking at a wedding banquet among the nobility of Livonia; Paul Johansen, Balthasar Rüssow als Humanist

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



und Geschichtsschreiber, ed. Heinz von zur Mühlen (Cologne, ), –. . Et gylt Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . ut ad propositum redeam Quint. Inst. ... animam inter pocula evomant Cf. Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Av, referring to the custom of drinking healths to the point of stupefaction: “miseram et spumantem animam simul cum evomitione expuunt et inter pocula ipsa funerantur.” mortui cadavere Vulg. Exod. .. . poculorum vicissitudinem — propensior Celtis, Norimberga  (p. ), about the drinking of rounds: “poculorum vicissitudine inter se contendunt.” . mira humanitate Laud., ded. . . Dolor est meminisse A rare phrase, but quite common in Eobanus’ writings. See Her. Chr. ., n.; Orat. stud., sig. Ar. ..– Est mos — lance volant Celtis, Am. ..–, where the poet’s mistress describes the practice in Lübeck. For “temperat” (l. ), Celtis’ text has “temperet.” .. laridum crudum Celtis uses the phrase also at Am. ..: “laridum crudum fumosa in crate repostum.” ..– Mox noctem — Ducimus Cf. Verg. G. .–, describing how the Northern peoples spend the winter nights in underground caverns. ..– Iamque — tibi Celtis, Am. ..–. . Tu quoque fac simile Dicta Catonis ., as found in the mss. and early eds.: “Qui simulat verbis nec corde est fidus amicus,/Tu quoque fac simile: sic ars deluditur arte.” commixione A medieval spelling for commixtione. Recipe The comic “recipe” is quoted and put into its literary context in Carl Müller-Fraureuth, Die deutschen Lügendichtungen bis auf Münchhausen (Halle, ), , no. ; and Telle, “Rezept” (especially ). ripß rapß Odds and ends; worthless stuff. Cf. Olearius, Fide, , ll. –: “ein alten schüsselkorb, hackmesserstil, bonenstrow, spen, sprüwer, eschen, spindlen, spindelkorb, ripß rapß.” hymmelblo ii One or two or four ounces of sky blue are prescribed in a late medieval Easter play as well as in Dicteria Grilli () and Johann Fischart, Aller Praktik Großmutter (). See Telle, “Rezept,” –, , , with n.  on p. . donner x grillorum “Grillengesang” is mentioned in a mock recipe of the seventeenth century. See Telle, “Rezept,” . guty Perhaps a variant of Kot. Cf. Eduard Böcking, in Hutten, Opera, Supplement .: (n. to p. , l. ff.). contere in mortario A formula in medieval and early modern medical recipes. Cf. Her. Chr., ded. .: “quasi mortario conteram.” Osculetur me osculo oris sui Vulg. Cant. .. The verse goes on to say: “quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino.”



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

Laeva eius — amplexabitur me Vulg. Cant. .; .. Fyltzenhaußen Felt (Filz; adjective, filzen) is a coarse cloth typically associated with peasants and boors. Authentica The Liber authenticorum is cited, in fake legal style, also in Olearius, Fide, , ll. –. Non sic formantur Yet another (out-of-context) quotation from the despised Doctrinale of Alexander of Villedieu. See Doctrinale , explaining preterite verb formation. Grossitudo A Late Latin equivalent of crassitudo. See Vulg. . Reg. .; Jer. .. fyltzitasti A comic verb, formed from the German filzen (“to make felt cloth by hand”) and a Latin ending. . Dei patientia An ecclesiastical formula, used in the ordination of bishops. rex provinciae barbarorum Krause, HEH :, sees an ironic contrast with Eobanus’ kingship. Glosa notabilis The Glosa notabilis by Gerard Zerbolt of Zutphen is also mentioned at EOV, . (p. , ll. –); . (p. , ll. –); and . (p. , ll. –). Sciendum quod — pulchrum notabile Three scholastic formulas. They are never strung together, as Eobanus does here. in stabulo, in cellario, in coquina Quoted (in reverse order) in Oratio funebris in laudem Iohannis Cerdonis. See Hutten, Opera, Supplement :, l. : “fecit labores in coquina, cellario et stabulo.” Cf. EOV . (p. , ll. –): “in campo et in stabulo . . . supposuerunt eam.” lectum faciunt A Germanism also found in EOV . (p. , ll. – ): “ancilla voluit lectum facere.” . predominatur This Middle Latin word recurs in Eobanus’ writings. See Ama. ., n. cerevisia — ingenia extinguerentur Cf. Gen. ebrios. . above, n.; Val. .–. For crassus as an epithet for beer, see note at Sylv. duae .: “crassa Ceres.” noxius humor Eobanus applies the phrase to beer in Val. .. At Nor.  he uses it in the customary medical sense of a noxious body fluid. (ut credere par est) daemon aliquis Cf. Mant. Ecl. .: “Credo aliquis daemon.” veneno . . . pestifero Juvenc. .: “pestiferi rabies vesana veneni”; Eob. Dial. , sig. Cv: “pestifera venena.” si modus — non venit Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. . Celtis noster See Celtis, Am. ..–. .– Quamvis ridicula — voces sitiant Fischart, GK , pp. –, paraphrases this list of beers and concludes: “Hei wie süßklingend Sirenisch Tauffnamen, eben wie die Geuattern sind.” . ridicula . . . censoria nota digna Cf. Mutian. Ep. , letter of  August  to Eobanus: “tanquam ridiculos et nota dignos censoria.” Cf. also Sen. Ep. .: “dignum censoria nota.” .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum .. ..

. .

.

. .



Ah pereat — quicunque Cf. letter of ca. August  to Joachim Camerarius, Epp. , sig. Gr: “Ah pereat, crassum quicunque comedit Osirim”; Nob. , n. Schluntz Kydegern Schluntz means something like “slop” or “purée”; Kydegern means “talk a lot,” “loose lips.” In Fischart, GK , p. , the names represent two different beers: “der Erdtfortisch Schluntz vnd Kidegern.” rastris — ligonibus Cf. Ov. Met. .. danque caventum The reading in A is the obviously corrupt phrase “spanque caventum.” B attempts an emendation, but ends up with the even more corrupt (and now also unmetrical) phrase, “dat spanque caventum.” Since this leonine hexameter is not otherwise documented — it reappears as a quotation only in Fischart, GK , p.  — we have no choice but to resort to conjecture. In the introductory sentence, Eobanus stresses that there are three varieties of the Leipzig beer. The verse itself offers the following list: () “scherpentum”; () “rastrum”; () “caventum.” Unlike the first two beers, however, each of which is introduced by a numerical adverb, the third is introduced by the corrupt “spanque.” If “-que” is the Latin enclitic, we can easily emend “span” to “dan.” (The initial “s” in “spanque” may have been a virgule misread as “ſ”, while the immediately following “p” is a turned letter.) It appears that the editor of B intended the same emendation, by writing in something like “da/” above “spanque.” The printer thereupon misunderstood “da/” as an instruction to insert “dat” into the text. Paleographically more difficult to justify is the conjecture “dreique” or “driuque” (“and three”). Eynbeccensis . . . Numbergensis . . . Turgaviensis Cf. EOV . (p. , ll. –): “cerevisiam Embeccensem necnon Thurgensem et Neuburgensem.” Vorcellensis, Friburgensis Johann Placotomus, De natura cerevisiarum, in De tuenda bona valetudine libellus Eobani Hessi, commentariis doctissimis illustratus a Ioanne Placotomo (Frankfurt am Main, []), fol. r, discusses the beers together, under the headings, “De Freiburgensi” and “De VVurzensi.” Preterea quis non novit Hod. . For many of these beer names, see Arno Schmidt, “Deutsche Biernamen aus Altpreußen,” Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, NF  (), –. Alde Klauß Cf. Johann Coler, Oeconomiae oder Haußbuchs Erste Theil (Wittenberg, ), , says that this Brandenburg beer is so named, because it makes people indolent and sleepy, just like old folks: “Die Brandenburger haben ein Bier/ das nennen sie den alten Claus/ das es faule schlefferige Leute macht/ wie die alten pflegen zu sein.” per deum muscarum The phrase occurs in Act  of Heinrich Bebel, Comoedia de optimo studio iuvenum, ed. and trans. Wilfried Barner (Stuttgart, ), , l. . “God of the flies” is a name for Beelzebub. Cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .: “bey dem flygen gott.”

 .

. . . . .

.

. .

.– . . . . .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum finem ineptiendi faciam Letter of  May  to Johann Feige, Epp. fam., : “Itaque finem ineptiendi nunc facio, ne molestior tibi haud dubie pluribus ac potioribus occupato mea verbositate fiam”; letter of  June  to Johann Gröningen, Nar., sig. Tv: “Sed ne charta nimium excrescat, finem ineptiendi faciam.” Ebrietas — est fugienda Cf. the opening quaestio, with notes. Eobanus alludes to the repetition in the next sentence. verba divi Hieronimi See Gen. ebrios. ., n. vinum immodice sumptum Gen. ebrios. .; cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.; Val. .: “Immodice noli sumere [vina], sumpta nocent.” Nos ad alia festinamus Cf. Aug. In Iohannis evangelium tractatus .: “Sed ad alia festinamus”; Eob. Orat. ., n. nihil est . . . perniciosius Quint. Inst. ..: “nihil sit publicis privatisque rebus perniciosius eloquentia”; Eob. Ama. .: “Eo nihil est literarum studiosis perniciosius.” se sola non contenta In contrast to passionate love, which Eobanus terms “se sola contenta.” See Gen. ebrios. .. Videmus — virorem amittere Cf. Vitanda ebriet. .–. continentiae fines egressi Cf. Celtis, Oratio .: “dum inter continentiae fines vivebamus”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n. defluere, emarcessere Orat. .: “Stultus per inertiam et desidiam defluit et emarcessit.” Quid adhuc egemus testibus? Vulg. Matt. .. non . . . non . . . non . . . non . . . sed . . . sed Cf. Her. Chr., ded. .: “Heroidas . . . hasce non prophanas, non ethnicas, non impudicas, sed sacras, sed Christianas, sed castissimas”; Orat. stud., sig. Br: “non in qualibet, sed in optima, sed in pulcherrima re, in sacrarum literarum studio.” Nulla maior — omnis miliciae Krause, HEH, :, n. , compares Vitanda ebriet. .–. Nulla maior pestis Orat. .. hanc curare luem nulla medela potest Eobanus slips a pentameter into his prose. He reuses it at Eleg. .. Hunc hostem — superbe grassantem Cf. Hymn. –; Vitanda ebriet. .; Accl. .: “Externum propriis vidisti in finibus hostem.” degeneramus a patribus nostris Quoted from Liv. ..: “tantum pro! degeneramus a patribus nostris.” Maiores — imperium The ultimate model is Verg. A. .–: “‘ite,’ ait, ‘egregias animas, quae sanguine nobis/hanc patriam peperere suo.’ ” Cf. Macr. ..: “illa quippe saecula sunt quae hoc imperium vel sanguine vel sudore pepererunt.” German patriots of the Renaissance revived this image in order to contrast the old-time spirit of self-sacrifice with modern-day decline and degeneracy. See, for example, Martin Mayer, letter to Enea Silvio Piccolomini, in Aen. Silv. Germania .: “natio nostra quondam inclita, que sua virtute suoque sanguine Romanum Imperium coemit fuitque mundi domina ac regina, nunc ad inopiam redacta, ancilla et tributaria facta

notes to de generibus ebriosorum

. . .

.

.

. .



est”; Sebastian Brant, Pacis in Germanicum Martem nenia [Basel, /], in Brant, Texte .–: “Maiores vestri sudore et sanguine nomen/Imperii vobis et peperere decus./At vos desidia, fraterna caede, rapina et/Civili vultis perdere cuncta simul”; Bebel, Germ. , sig. mr: “Turpissimum ducite ab illis degenerare, qui rebus fortissime gestis cunctis fere gentibus iugum imposuerunt servitutis pulcherrimisque orbem terrarum victoriis peragraverunt fueruntque formidabiles in primis. Nolite committere ut florentissimum hoc imperium, quod maiores, immo patres vestri multo sanguine et factis gloriosissimis paribusque studiis vobis pepererunt, vos ipsi per secordiam et negligentiam amittatis.” laborem patrum nostrorum Vulg. Jer. .. Campanus See Epistolae . in Campano, Opera, part , sig. gv. consilio et sapientia Cic. De orat. .. Hannibal — fugatus est Cf. Liv. ..–; V. Max. , ext. .; Flor. Epit. .–: “Cum victoria posset uti, frui maluit relictaque Roma Campaniam Tarentumque peragrare; ubi mox et ipse et exercitus ardor elanguit, adeo ut vere dictum sit Capuam Hannibali Cannas fuisse. Si quidem invictum Alpibus, indomitum armis Campani — quis crederet? — soles et tepentes fontibus Baiae subegerunt.” luxuria . . . defluens Erasmus, Carm. , tit.: “iuvenem luxuria defluentem”; cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “molliter defluentes.” Alexander Magnus — incendit See Curt. ..–. Clitum — interfecit Cf. Sen. Ep. ., referring to the evils of drunkenness: “Refer Alexandri Macedonis exemplum, qui Clitum, carissimum sibi ac fidelissimum, inter epulas transfodit”; Curt. ..–; Plutarch, Alex. . The crime was a standard example in medieval and Renaissance exhortations against drunkenness. See, for example, Brant, NS .–; Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl. .:, no. .– ); Beroaldo, Declamatio, no. , fol. r; Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Ar. Tiberius Nero Cf. [Aur. Vict.] Epit. .: “Iste, quia Claudius Tiberius Nero dicebatur, eleganter a iocularibus Caldius Biberius Mero ob vinolentiam nominatus est”; Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Br: “Modo quis ignorat Tyberium bibacem fuisse et ebriosum ob idque eleganter a ioculatoribus pro Tyberio Nerone, ‘Biberium Meronem,’ a mero. i. vino nominatum?” ad vicia . . . ingeniosi Cf. Celtis, Norimberga  (p. ), discussing the production of beer: “ut omnes in vitia ingeniosi sumus.” Quid enim — perniciosius Cf. Pol. Verg. Invent. ..: “Et haec omnia in hominum perniciem adinventa sunt. Sed illud novitium inventum imprimis, quod bombardam vocant, cuius inventor (licet de eo nihil exploratum habeamus) utinam veluti Salmoneus fulmine flagrasset.” Vergil goes on to decry the loss of all martial valor on account of this pernicious invention, which nowadays can quickly conquer any fortified place. Cf. also Pol. Verg. Invent. .., execrating the inventor of gunpowder. Eobanus first versifies Pol. Verg.



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

Invent. .. in Nob. –, as confirmed in a student’s note to these lines. He returns to the theme at Nor. –. tormenti — vocamus Cf. Nob. , n. . Quo velut — obiiciamus For the thought that modern Germans (unlike their forebears) would rather wallow in luxury than engage in manly combat, cf. Nob. –; Max. –. aggeribus cinctis Sylv. duae .. . At non sic maiores nostri The phrase is quoted from Petrarch, De vita solitaria ... See Francesco Petrarca, De vita solitaria: Buch , ed. K.A.E. Enenkel (Leiden, ), . In Petrarch’s discussion, the phrase refers to the ancient Romans. ut est apud Tacitum In Germania , Tacitus says only that the ancient Germans did not have any cities, while Aen. Silv. Germania . adds that their communities were unwalled: “Nec munite his urbes erant neque oppida muro cincta.” Eobanus combines this information with a well-known piece of ancient propaganda for Sparta: Sparta had no walls, the citizens’ bravery being the only wall they needed. Cf. Plato, Laws , d–a. . ex transcursu Erasmus, Adag. ... .– Rem Veneream — factus est Eobanus offers exactly the same argument in Orat. Sylv. . At Vitanda ebriet. , he devotes an entire epigram to the thought that drunkenness, which is beastly, is more pernicious to young people than amatory love, which is a civilizing force. His model is Filippo Beroaldo’s inaugural oration on Propertius, “continens laudes amoris”; see Beroaldo, Opuscula, fols. r– v. . omni aetati turpis est Cic. Off. .: “luxuria vero cum omni aetati turpis tum senectuti foedissima est.” . se sola contenta In contrast to drunkenness. See Gen. ebrios. .: “se sola non contenta.” . Non placet — consistere Cf. Gen. ebrios. .. . in decretis canonicis See Decretum D.  c. , as printed in the early eds. Jerome’s words are quoted there from his Commentarii in prophetas minores, Micha .. Evangelium lege See Vulg. Matt. .; .; .. falsis predicare corporibus A late variant reading for “farsis predicare corporibus.” . Vinolentiam — in psalmis Paraphrasing Decretum D.  c. . The biblical quotation comes from Vulg. Eph. . (not, as Eobanus indicates, from Corinthians). In the Decretum the verse is introduced by the phrase, “ait Apostolus.” . Hinc Dominus — eadem sententia See Vulg. Lev. . and Num. .– . . Multis — totum See Decretum D. , with many injunctions against the carousing of clerics. . Quae ne — poetam dicentem Closely paralleled in Orat. .: “Quos ne temere nos coniungere aliquis possit criminari, audite Erasmum

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



nostrum in libro Similium sic dicentem”; and Orat. .: “Audite, quaeso, ne . . . male iudicare videamini.” Quae . . . cuncta . . . rimari Val. .. Tibullum Tib. ..–, –. Eobanus inverts the distichs to stress the need for purity in priests. ..– Ah scelus — Venus The epigram is reminiscent of the latter part of Sylv. duae . There the emphasis is on illicit sexual intercourse; here it is on drunkenness. .. Ah scelus = Mart. ..; cf. Eob. Max. , n. .. poto . . . mero = Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Liberaque e poto fundere verba mero.” .. Christophagi ≈ Sylv. duae .. vitent convivia ≈ Her. Chr. .. .. Sancta — manus = Sylv. duae .. .. Sit procul omne nefas = Ov. Ars .. venerandi — templi ≈ AH :, no. .: “venerandi limina templi.” .. sacras . . . ante fores Her. Chr. ., n. iacit ante fores = Prop. ..; cf. Ov. Ars .. .. Pura — sacerdos Cf. Sylv. duae .. castus . . . sacerdos Ov. Fast. .. liba sacerdos = Mant. Ecl. .: “offert nova liba sacerdos.” . non ineleganter scripsisse Cic. Brut. : “non ineleganter scripta.” Euricius Cordus See Cordus, Buc. .–. bucolico ludicro Apul. Apol. . .. a dypsade morsi ≈ Cordus, Contra maledicum Thiloninum Philymnum defensio ., in Cordus, Epigr., : “Accepisse putem diros a dipsade morsus.” .. vastam . . . Charibdim Lucr. .; Verg. A. .. .– Ve qui consurgitis — ebrietatem See Vulg. Isa. .– and Isa. .. The two quotations are joined also in Lotario, Miseria .; Emser, Dialogismus, sig. Bv. . statim subdit Gen. ebrios. .; Orat. .. . illud nostri Celtis See Celtis, Am. ..–. In that elegy, the poet upbraids his mistress Elsula for sleeping with a priest and condemns churchmen who flout their vows of chastity. The passage is quoted in Joachim Westphal’s Hoffartsteufel (Frankfurt am Main, ), sigs. Oov–Oor — not directly from Celtis’ Amores, but by way of Eobanus’ De generibus ebriosorum, in one of the Frankfurt reprints. At l.  of the quoted text, Westphal prints “malis,” as in Eobanus’ text, not “suis,” as in Celtis’. At l.  he reads “cum munere merces,” as in C and its reprints. See Ria Stambaugh, ed., Teufelbücher in Auswahl, vol.  (Berlin, ), . . quod nunc instat agamus Verg. Ecl. .. ne veritatis — mihi comparem For the thought, cf. Ter. And. : “veritas odium parit.” For veritatis patrocinio, see Lact. Inst. ..: “patrocinium veritatis.”

 .– . .–

. . . .

.

.

. .

notes to de generibus ebriosorum Rempublicam — pestifera civitati Quoted, with some omissions, in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. iuxta Platonis edictum Eobanus uses the same rare phrase at Orat. .. The allusion here is to Plato, Rep. , e and e — no doubt via Campano, Reg. mag. (see next note). quicunque eluvioni — pertinent Based on Campano, Reg. mag., sig. dv: “ei qui est deditus temulentiae et eluvioni corporis vires enervantur, fluctuat animus voluptatum cupiditatibus incensus explendarumque libidinum, quarum origo est omnis a ventre et est pestifera civitati. Dignitate enim abiecta et contempta respublica unius principis intemperantia tota in licentiam luxumque dissolvitur. Praeclare Atheniensis Solon legem tulit, quae iubebat temulentum principem morte esse mulctandum, cum satius sit, unum hominem in republica perire quam in uno viro foedari rempublicam. Et ne dicere nimis multa in eam sententiam videamur, colligenda sunt ei qui gubernacula reipublicae teneat omnia genera virtutum vitiaque abiicienda omnia ne qua parte deficiat.” vinum enim — corpus enervat Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.; also cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n. Preclare igitur — rempublicam Translated in Albertinus, De conviv., fol. r–v. vela contraham Gen. ebrios. ., n. ad nostrum institutum pertinent Cic. Inv. .. non solum corporis — extinguatur Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “vinum enim immodice sumptum gravat et obruit omnes vires ingenii et . . . corpus enervat.” The same observation appears in Vitanda ebriet. .–; Val. .–, of drunkenness: “Corporis exhaurit succos animique vigorem/Opprimit, ingenium strangulat atque necat.” Marsilius — enumerat Eobanus repeats much of the phrasing of Ama. .: “Marsilius Ficinus inter quinque studiosorum hostes monstri loco enumerat Venereum coitum.” Marsilius Ficinus See Ficino, De vita . (p. , ll. –). The source for Ficino’s quotation is Hieron. Adversus Iovinianum .: “unde et Galenus vir doctissimus, Hippocratis interpres, athletas quorum vita et ars sagina est, dicit in exhortatione medicinae, nec vivere posse diu, nec sanos esse: animasque eorum ita nimio sanguine, et adipibus, quasi luto involutas, nihil tenue, nihil coeleste, sed semper de carnibus, et ructu, et ventris ingluvie cogitare.” multis et crassis — non potest Eobanus adapts this passage at Orat. stud., sig. Ar: “aciemque mentis multis crassis vaporibus sic obtundimus, sic verberamus, ut nullis parum subtilioribus rebus possimus intendere, cum, ut Galenus inquit, ‘animus adipe et sanguine suffocatus coeleste nihil pervidere possit.’ ” quicunque in hac — militiam constituissent Cf. Orat. ., n.: “conventum hunc scholasticum pulcherrimum et litterariam miliciam Erphurdiensem.” De qua re — dici possent Cf. Orat. .: “cum . . . pene infinita sint quae ad Ciceronis laudem conferri possint.”

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



mihi tempero Gen. ebrios. ., n. ad finemque — adiecero Cf. Sen. Ep. .: “Denique finem faciam, si hoc unum adiecero.” . Dixi — fugiendam See Gen. ebrios. ., conclusion . in sacris ordinibus constitutis Decretum D.  c. –. . insaciabili . . . avaricia Sen. Dial. ..: “insatiabilis . . . avaritia.” . in sacris canonibus See Decretum C.  q.  c. . . Non placet — consistere Cf. Gen. ebrios. .. . dum veritatem — absque fuco profitemur Cf. Orat. .. The phrase simpliciter absque fuco crops up also in Eobanus’ letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , l. : “et Christiane tibi et simpliciter absque fuco precor.” . Dicerent enim — ideo mentiri See introd., pp. – above. a quo . . . semper longissime abfui Eobanus uses the same phrase in his letter of  May  to Johann Lang: “a quo semper abfui longissime.” See Epp. fam., . Multa mentiuntur poetae A proverb quoted in Arist. Metaph. a; and, for example, in Erasmus, Adag. ..; EOV .; cf. Eob. Orat. Sylv. ; Otto . malos Christianos vocant Cf. Mutian. Ep. ; EOV .: “unus poeta hic, qui habet magnam laudem, sed non est bene Christianus”; [Crotus Rubianus], Oratio funebris in laudem Iohannis Cerdonis, in Hutten, Opera, Supplement :, l. : “vides cotidie quam male Christiani sunt poetae.” . Habent . . . semper in promptu Cic. Off. .. Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “quod ipsis semper est in promptu.” hoc Germanicum Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “vulgare nostrum.” ..– Roller — Christen See TPMA, s.v. “Jurist,” nos. –; Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, Das Irrig Schaf (Strasbourg, ), sig. Ar; Muling, Margarita, sig. Gv in the  edition, at the end of the “Facetiae Keisersbergii,” under the heading “Septem mali Christiani”: “Zoller, roller, fergen, schergen, Ertzet, poeten, vnd Iuristen, Das sind siben böser christen.” .– Sed et non minus — dat tibi magne Reprinted (from the Frankfurt edition of ) in Wesselski, :–. . dictum Keyserßbergii The saying was first attributed to Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg in Muling, Margarita, sig. Gv, in the  edition: “Vor zeiten waren hultzin kelch vnd silberin oder guldin priester. Iam res versa est Vnd seind kostlich kelch vnd leuchte diener.” The proverb does not originate with Geiler von Kaysersberg, however, but goes back to Walahfrid Strabo (d. ). See Alice L. HartingCorrea, Walahfrid Strabo’s Libellus de exordiis et incrementis quarundam in observationibus ecclesiasticis rerum: A Translation and Liturgical Commentary (Leiden, ), , ll. – (chap. ): “Bonifacius martyr et episcopus interrogatus, si liceret in vasculis ligneis sacramenta conficere, respondit: ‘Quondam sacerdotes aurei ligneis



notes to de generibus ebriosorum

calicibus utebantur; nunc e contra lignei sacerdotes aureis utuntur calicibus.’ ” Cf. Bebel, Facetiae .: “Idcirco verissimum est illud dictum: Quamvis ecclesia habeat aureos nunc calices, ligneos tamen sacerdotes magna ex parte” (with the notes in Wesselski, :– ); Franck, Sprichwörter, , ll. –: “Vor zeiten waren finster kirchen/ aber liechte hertzen/ Hültzin kelch/ aber guldin pfaffen.” .– Bonos — ignaviores Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  January  in Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –. After attacking the Dominicans as thieves and wolves who fleece the sheep, Eobanus adds: “Haec autem de malis, non solum illis, qui te, sed et omnibus, qui veritatem conniventibus oculis aspiciunt, dicta sint. Bonis bene sit.” Also cf. Dial. , sig. Dr, speaking of the evangelical preachers in Erfurt: “Quis enim ignorat plurimos esse ex isto hominum genere vehementer eruditos? Quos . . . hic semper exceptos volo”; and a little later: “de pessimis semper loquor. Si qui boni sunt, laudo.” . Post parietem Vulg. Cant. ., where the phrase refers to the beloved: “En ipse stat post parietem nostrum.” . Bebelius Albert Wesselski explains the misattribution in Heinrich Bebels Schwänke (Munich, ), :: Bebel’s and Muling’s facetiae were both published by Grüninger at Strasbourg and were often bound together. Hence a reader could easily confuse the two. The poem that Eobanus took from Muling’s book was not written by Muling himself, as Wesselski assumes, but goes back to the fifteenth century. See W. Wattenbach, Anzeiger für Kunde der Deutschen Vorzeit, NF  (), cols. –, editing a version from Weimar ms. Q , fol. . Here the poem is addressed to people seeking instruction in hypocrisy (Heuchelei): Volentes informari in hüchelia Audi quid ad hos qui vult esse bonum sacerdos. Curre per ecclesie, lacrimare, percute pecte, Et genua flecte, lege longissime misse. Alte orate, dum transis per civitate.  Habe bella trice, si vis replere burse. Audi quod audior [audi ms.] si vis esse bonum confessor. Interroga mire, expede mille, fac cito redire. Murmur non cure, mitte vade quomodo vade. Esto pontifices, papa, sacerdos, et omnis.  Fer manice burse, coclear, pomaque, pire. Da pueri parve, tunc mater dat tibi magne. Quere nomen patre mortemque matre, Scribe nomen folie, dic eterne requie. Dum audiunt hoc omnis, facit tibi multa bonos. ..

belle Muling’s text has “pelli,” corrected in Eobanus’ text (but then printed with a turned letter).

notes to de generibus ebriosorum .. ..

.



Expede mille Muling’s text omits the manuscript’s phrase “Interroga mire” (and hence the internal rhyme). As if to compensate, Eobanus inserts “statim.” Mitto vade, quomodo vade A corrupt form of the proverb “Mitte vadere, quomodo [or: sicut] vadit” — a Germanism for “Laß (es) gehen, wie es geht” (“Let things go as they may”). Cf. Walther : “Quod te non ledit, fac vadere, quomodo vadit”; Crotus Rubianus, letter of  August , quoted in Kurt Forstreuter, “Johannes Crotus Rubianus in Preußen,” in Festschrift für Hermann Heimpel zum . Geburtstag am . September , vol.  (Göttingen, ), : “mitte vade, quomodo vadit.” Luther was fond of the proverb; see D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. Briefwechsel, vol.  (Weimar, ), , l. , no. , with n.  on p. ; vol.  (Weimar, ), , note at 11. Omelia On the topic of late medieval sermon parodies, see Friedrich Lehr, Studien über den komischen Einzelvortrag in der älteren deutschen Literatur, I. Die parodistische Predigt (diss. Marburg, ); Sander L. Gilman, The Parodic Sermon in European Perspective: Aspects of Liturgical Parody from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century (Wiesbaden, ), especially chap. , pp. –. avarissimi Parodying amatissimi. Deus ebriorum — sempiternum Eobanus imitates Grieb, Schelmezunfft, , ll. –, as quoted in Ps. Schram, Questio fab., , ll. – . Deus ebriorum The phrase occurs also in the anecdote, “Ebrii sunt et ego,” in Muling, Margarita, sig. Qr: “Deus ebriorum misit me ad vos.” fratrorum A Middle Latin form for fratrum. Similarly Eobanus uses the Middle Latin “civitatorum” for “civitatum.” For good measure, he then adds “statorum” for “statuum,” etc., the humor consisting in the accumulation of barbaric endings in “-orum.” dilectissimissimorum A hyper-superlative. Cf. Hartlieb, Fide, , l. : “maximissime.” solutam Instead of the expected “salutem.” sempiternum Instead of “sempiternam.” Fratres leccatissimi A parody of the standard apostrophe, “Fratres dilectissimi.” The nonce word “leccatissimi” combines lectissimi (“choicest”) with medieval Latin leccator (“glutton,” “scoundrel”). hodiernum dierum Instead of “hodierna die.” leximus A barbarism for “legimus” (formed after the pattern of “intelleximus”). The form occurs also in Hartlieb, Fide, , l. , in a letter written in pidgin Latin: “Lexi.” Viri Galilei, . . . quid admiramini . . . aspicientes in caelum . . . Alleluia Quoting from the introit for the Mass of Ascension Day: “Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum alleluia”; cf. Vulg. Act. .. ir ungetrewen Frantzosen Cf. Max. : “perfide Galle”; Max. , n.: “foedifragi . . . Galli.”



. .– .

. , tit.

.

.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum aspicientes in caelum Here the quotation has a special ring to the Germans, because of the association of “caelum” with the imperial eagles. Cf. Jakob Locher, Historia de Rege Frantie, Act , Chorus, ll. – (Dietl, ), of the earthbound lilies (the French): “Lilia, quid sacras aquilas vexastis, Olympi/Stelliferi sedes que penetrare solent?”; Eob. Buc. B ., of the Venetian frogs: “sperantes sydera ranas”; Petrejus Eberbach, in Hutten, Italia B , of the Gallic cock who will go blind by staring at the sun like an eagle. ut ambuletis Vulg. Jer. .; Coloss. .. per vias rectas Vulg. Sap. .. schossel korb On this word, see Zarncke’s note at Brant, NS . (p. ); cf. Grimm, DWB, s.v. “Korb,” ; and “Schüsselkorb.” Campanus See Campano, Reg. mag., sig. dv. Caput est — populis predixisse See Cic. Off. . and .. Verum enimvero — videtur, ut Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “Sed iamdudum tempus et ratio instituti admonent, ut.” coronidem — imponamus Eobanus follows Erasmus, Adag. ..: “usque ad coronidem. Quum extremum finem rei cuiuspiam significamus. A navibus translatum putant literatores, quibus aliquid rostri speciem gerens solet addi. Nam ‘corone’ Graecis cornicem sonat, ‘coronis’ corniculam. . . . Iucundius erit, quoties transfertur ad animum, veluti si quis ‘studiorum coronidem’ dicat aut moneat ut egregiis coeptis auream addat coronidem aut vitae laudabiliter actae iubeat auream imponi coronidem, hoc est mortem piam.” Eobanus had used the expression earlier at Orat. .: “sermoni nostro coronidem imponemus.” ex longa navigatione Cic. Sen. : “in portum ex longa navigatione esse venturus.” Quod profecto faciemus Cic. Fam. ..; Eob. Gen. ebrios. .; cf. Orat. .: “Sed profecto facimus.” parenesis Eobanus adopts this Grecism repeatedly in . By September he had used it three times already, always in this form, never as paraenesis. See Hymn. B , “De Gallis mystica parenesis”; Orat. .: “parenesis quaedam et ad rectissima studia amplectenda generalis adhortatio”; .: “parenesim quandam et velut hortamentum ad rectissima studia capessenda.” Though not formally called parenesis, the conclusion of Vitanda ebriet.  is one in fact. Lines – of that poem exhort young people to eschew drunkenness, but not moderate convivial drinking. boni et ingenui iuvenes Cf. Gen. ebrios. .: “ingenui et morati iuvenes.” litterarum scientia Eobanus had used this phrase twice already in . See Hymn., ded., tit., n., and Orat. .. verba Plynii See Plin. Nat. .–. Eobanus versifies the passage at Vitanda ebriet. .–. genae pendulae Eobanus understands Pliny’s phrase to mean “baggy cheeks”; cf. Vitanda ebriet. .: “pendula bucca.”

notes to de generibus ebriosorum



..– Nec Veneris — Iacche, gravi Anthol. Lat. .–, –, in an epigram traditionally included in the Appendix Vergiliana. Hartlieb, Fide, , quotes ll. – of the epigram and attributes them to Vergil. .– Agite igitur — honor et gloria Eobanus offers a quite similar exhortation to the newly-minted BAs toward the end of Orat. Bacc. See introd., pp. – above. . Agite igitur Eobanus uses the same phrase in his letter of  January  to Johann Reuchlin. See Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, :, no. , ll. –: “Agite igitur, o vos Teutones.” At the end of the parenesis in Orat. . he exhorts the students: “Agite igitur, studiosi iuvenes.” litterarum candidati This academic phrase appears also at Orat. .. . Cum sancto sanctus — perverteris Combining the first part of Vulg. Psa. . and the second part of Psa. .. This combination formed a proverb in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. For some examples, see TPMA, s.v. “Heilig,” nos. –. Corrumpunt — prava Vulg. . Cor. .: “Nolite seduci. Corrumpunt mores bonos conloquia mala.” . Seductores iuventutis The phrase reappears in the mock letter from Ioannes Dormisecure in [Crotus Rubianus], Oratio funebris in laudem Ioannis Cerdonis. See Hutten, Opera, Supplement :, l. : “illos malos seductores iuventutis.” pestem . . . mortiferam Ilias .: “Mortiferam pestem per castra immisit Achivum.” . Bonos duces Orat. ., likewise of teachers. . Quod profecto facietis Gen. ebrios. ., n. ebrietatem . . . et asociam Gen. ebrios. ., n. per virtutum operationem A standing ecclesiastical phrase. . Cui est honor et gloria A variant of this liturgical phrase concludes Ps. Schram, Questio fab. (p. ): “Dei mater, cui honor, laus, et gloria in saecula saeculorum.” .– Haec sunt — non dedistis Cf. the concluding paragraph of Olearius, Fide, , which starts off with the similar phrase, “Haec sunt, eximie domine quodlibetarie, quae placuit ad minus principalem quaestiunculam adducere,” and (like Eobanus’ burlesque) ends with an ironic undercutting of the speech’s moral thesis. . humanissime Domine Quodlibetarie Gen. ebrios. ., n. quaestionis . . . enodationem Heiricus Autissiodorensis, Homiliae per circulum anni, pars aestiva, homilia : “huius quaestionis enodatio ex verbis Mathei evangelistae est expetenda”; Alan. Planct.  (p. , l. ): “huius questionis enodationem.” . ad id muneris subeundum Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “ad id operae subeundum”; Caes. Civ. ..: “id muneris.” huius actus consuetudini As at the start of his mock speech (Gen. ebrios. ., n.), Eobanus alludes to the tradition as represented in the Heidelberg quaestiones minus principales. That becomes clear from the phrase “huius actus consuetudini,” which he takes directly from Hartlieb, Fide, , l. : “annuae huius actus consuetudinis.”



.

notes to de generibus ebriosorum consuetudini inservire Eobanus uses this rare phrase also in his letter of  March  to Johann Drach (Epp. fam., ): “ut consuetudini publicae inservirem et omnia quae ad meam fidem pertinerent absolverem.” temporaneum In the sense of “temporary,” “short-lived,” this word occurs also in Eobanus’ letter of  May  to Georg Spalatin. See Mutian. Ep., :: “ea tamen permutatione, quae nisi temporanea esse non debet.” fatuum agerem Locher, Stult. , fol. r: “Semper aget fatuum.” negligentiam et inhumanitatem, qui Cf. Eobanus’ letter of  June  to Johann Lang (Epp. fam., ): “Verum est, Langi doctissime, et nisi plane sim ineptus, non ierim inficias, satis quidem negligenter et pene etiam inhumane facere me, qui ab Albi te ad hoc nostrum Erfurdiense stadium reversum, tanquam diu nobiscum agentem, nec adierim unquam nec scriptis salutaverim.” tam multa dicenti — non dedistis The mock speech concludes with a parodic allusion to Vulg. Matt. ., where Christ at the Last Judgment tells the goats placed to his left: “sitivi et non dedistis mihi potum.”

notes to DE VITANDA EBRIETATE ELEGIA

Liminary Epigrams  Meter: Elegiac distich.    

diversas . . . formas ≈ Ov. Met. .. si libet, esse puta = Her. Chr. .; Sylv. ..: “Umbras, non homines, si libet, esse puta.” Nec dubita = Her. Chr. ., n. tempore nostro = Ov. Tr. ..; Eob. Buc. .. Pythagorae — palyngenesis Cf. Epic. .: “Heu ubi Pythagorae vana palingenesis?” A ms. note in the Münster copy points to Ov. Met.  as a good source of information about Pythagoras’ belief in palingenesis.

 Meter: Elegiac distich.  

se putat esse = Mart. ... se sciat esse = Sebastian Brant, “In Narragonicam profectionem celeusma,” in Locher, Stult., fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. x.–): “Quod si quis sapiens sibi se nusquam putet esse/Nos inter, cunctis se sciat esse locis”; Hutten, Epigr. ..

Elegies  Meter: Elegiac distich. –

Quid nova miraris . . . ? Desine. Nulla tibi Used by Rudolf Gwalther in the opening distich of his epitaph for Heinrich Bullinger’s mother (d.  August ): “Quid nova miraris, quid fles monumenta, viator?/Desine: nulla tibi causa doloris adest.” See Heinrich Bullinger, Diarium (Annales vitae), ed. Emil Egli (; Zürich, ), . After



    

notes to de vitanda ebrietate

[

stays in Basel, Strasbourg, and Lausanne, Gwalther took up studies at Marburg in June  and soon became good friends with Eobanus. Eobanus even shared some unpublished manuscripts with him, including the elegy, “De casu Moguntiacensi qui contigit in conventu principum Frankforti habito, anno ,” and the opening lines of his Fasti. See Heinrich Bullinger, Briefwechsel, vol.  (Zürich, ), , no. , dated  September . Because De vitanda ebrietate was by then virtually inaccessible, Gwalther would have seen it in Eobanus’ personal library at Marburg. nova . . . monstra Her. Chr. ., n. variarum monstra ferarum = Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. ., where Circe turns the companions of King Picus into various wild beasts. risu dignum Gen. ebrios. .. foecit spectacula = Her. Chr. ., n. Longe alia est ratio = Idyl. .; Sylv. ... ni caveas Hod. , n.

 Meter: Elegiac distich.   

Qui legis = Hymn., lim. , n. humanos . . . vultus = Mant. . Parthen. .; .. imagine vultus = Her. Chr. ., n. credere, crede tibi = Walther  (variant): “Si non vis aliis credere, crede tibi.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .. audire loquentes = Sedul. .; Mant. . Parthen. ..

 Meter: Elegiac distich. –



Non melius — libelli Cf. Sylv. ..–: “Non ita pontigenam Venerem bene pinxit Apelles,/Non ita Phidiacae numina sancta manus,/Quam bene puberibus iuvenem deducit ab annis/Ad Musas docti provida cura Vidae.” For the phrasing of l. , cf. also Ov. Ars .. in fronte libelli Ov. Tr. ..: “. . . in prima fronte libelli.”

 The epigram was first edited, from the  reprint of O, in Kreyssig, . Meter: Elegiac distich. 

Auriculas asini = Pers. .; cf. Erasmus, Adag. ...

]

   

notes to de vitanda ebrietate



Phrygio . . . tyranno = Verg. A. .. Torva . . . cornua Pers. .; Luc. .; Eob. Pug. B .. cornua . . . amor = Ov. Ars .. fecit amor = Ov. Am. ..: “quicquid magno de Iove fecit amor.” pecuina voluptas A student’s gloss in the Münster copy points to Hor. Ep. ..–, describing how Circe turned Ulysses’ men into dogs and swine. Cisseida Verg. A. .. Induit ora . . . Lycaon Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .–: “Torvaeque Lycaona regem/Induit ora ferae.”

 The theme that drunkenness is more pernicious to young people than love is also rehearsed in Gen. ebrios. .–, n., with the same reasoning: unlike drunkenness, amatory love has a profoundly civilizing effect on youths. The argument crops up briefly also at Vitanda ebriet. .–. Meter: Elegiac distich. 

       –  

Si te forte iuvat ≈ Ov. Ars .; Prop. ... tentare Cupidinis arcus = Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .). Cupidinis arcus = Ov. Am. ..; Rem. . Veneri . . . militiem Cf. Prop. ... Students’ notes in the margin of the Copenhagen and Münster copies quote Ov. Am. .. and Ars .–. Multa — pocula Cf. Ov. Rem. –. rara iuvant Mart. ... Venus . . . blanda Nup. , n. Quod — nocet Cf. Vitanda ebriet. .. ingeniis corporibusque = Val. ., ; Pod. . ingenuos mores Aus. Mosella . animi vires Verg. A. .. custodit amor = Tib. ... temulentia With a short first syllable, as in Prud. c. Symm. .. Verum si — habere puta For this advice, cf. Gen. ebrios. ..–, quoting an epigram traditionally attributed to Vergil. spernere possit = Ov. Ep. .. caelo dignum Ov. Ep. .. pectus habere = Ov. Rem. ; Tr. ..; Pont. ... habere puta = Ov. Pont. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .; ..



notes to de vitanda ebrietate

[

 The argument closely parallels that in Gen. ebrios. .–,  (drunkenness as the mother of innumerable evils and vices) and .– (drinking should be enjoyed in moderation, in the company of good friends). Meter: Elegiac distich. –   



     





Nuper ut — omne genus Cf. Nob. –, nn. humanos . . . ad usus = Man. .; cf. Eob. Sylv. duae ., n. liquit humum = Ov. Fast. ., referring to Justice: “ultima de superis illa reliquit humum.” terris . . . alta relictis Mant. Nat. Am.  (fol. v), of Cupid: “Aliger est, quoniam terris petit alta relictis.” Cf. V. Fl. .; Ilias Lat. ; Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. supera . . . alta Verg. A. .. Irrepsit . . . pestis Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:, l. : “Unde igitur pestis haec irrepsit in populum Christianum?”; cf. Moria, ASD .:, ll. –. scelerum pestis Cic. Pis. . pestis et omne genus = Tifernate, “In Beatam Mariam Virginem,” in Carm., sig. Ar: “Tu morbos diramque famem bellumque coerces,/ Exigis a terris pestis et omne genus.” rex . . . Averni Cf. Stat. Silv. ..: “reges . . . Averni.” Castra loco posuit ≈ Ov. Fast. .; cf. Eob. Max. , n. quo non . . . -ior alter = Verg. A. .; .. degeneres . . . Indos Cf. Max. , n.: “imbelles Indos.” Extulit . . . signa Vict. . Numidas . . . vagos Luc. .. In medio Europae = Celtis, Norimberga, lim. : “In medio Europae mediaque in Teutonis ora.” Teutonas invictos It was a point of pride among German writers of the Renaissance that no nation on earth has ever been able to conquer Germany. Even the ancient Romans had proved unequal to the task. See ll. – and  below; and, for example, Bebel, Germ. , sig. hr: “Multi Romanorum imperatorum scripserunt se a domita Germania Germanicos, sed nemo eorum unquam domuit Germaniam”; , sig. hr: “rebus Romanis florentibus Germanos invictos et indomitos diversis temporibus”; Eob. Max. –; Hod. –; Tum. .–, with the sidenote: “Nunquam vere victa Germania”; Hutten, Nemo (II) –, in Opera, :. arma premunt Stat. Theb. .. fortissima Something like regna has to be supplied here. The Holy Roman Empire is the strongest power on earth. mollibus armis Bebel, Triumph. Ven. ., where Venus commands: “mollibus . . . armis . . . mea castra subito!” hostiles non timet Imitating Mart. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ..

]      –   

 – 

 

  –

notes to de vitanda ebrietate



sibi subdidit orbem = Sedul. Hymnus prior, in AH :, no. .: “Mors fera per hominem miserum sibi subdidit orbem”; Eob. Tum. .. arbitrio . . . suo = Ov. Rem. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Nob. . non est opus indice = Ov. Ep. .; Fast. .. venit honor = Nux . Venit honor ≈ Ov. Ars .: “Venit honos.” virtus iacet Pub. Sent. I.; Mant. Mort.  (fol. v): “Victa iacet virtus”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. otia . . . Mollia Ov. Met. .; Man. .. otia regnant Nob. . ventri vivimus atque gulae Cf. Ambros. De paradiso .: “qui ventri et gulae vivunt”; Lact. Inst. ..: “ventri et gulae serviat.” nimio . . . luxu Verg. G. .. facimus convivia = Celtis, Am. .. (quoted at Eob. Gen. ebrios. ..). convivia luxu = Mant. . Parthen. .; . Parthen.  (fol. v); Sylv. .. (fol. r); Vegio, Aen. ; cf. l.  below. Inque — turba sumus Cf. Ov. Fast. .. For turba sumus, see also Ov. Am. ..; Rem. ; Eob. Buc. ., n. Languit omnis — ista lues Cf. Gen. ebrios. .–. For the theme that drunkenness is especially pernicious to scholars, see the lengthy discussion in Gen. ebrios. . Languit omnis honor = Sylv. ..: “Palladis artisciae languit omnis honor.” honor studiorum = Sylv. ..: “neglectus honor studiorum.” studiorum militiai For the martial image, cf. Orat. ., n. atrocior hostis = Idyl. .: “potuitne atrocior hostis/Grassari finesque tuos incurrere?” Teutona . . . in arva = Sylv. duae ., n. victrici . . . manu = Brant. Var. carm., sig. Cv (Texte .); Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .); Eob. Sylv. ... venit in arva = Mant. Sylv. .. (fol. r): “rapido venit in arva pede”; Eob. Sylv. duae .. Romana potentia vires = Ov. Fast. .. Quod non mille . . . potuere Nor. . plures . . . per annos Sylv. duae .. Ut taceam — requies Stephan Roth of Zwickau (–) wrote these lines into the last blank page of his copy of De generibus ebriosorum ([Mainz], ). See Otto Clemen, “Der Wormser Druck der Scherzrede De generibus ebriosorum von c. ,” Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen  (), , n. . Roth earned his BA at Leipzig in , his MA in . In early  he was among those who attended Eobanus’ lectures on Sylvae duae, as his richly annotated copy of that booklet, now in the Ratsschulbibliothek in Zwickau, attests. From  to  Roth was rector of the Latin school in Zwickau. After teaching for a year at Joachimsthal he went to





 –

  –   –     

 

notes to de vitanda ebrietate

[

Wittenberg in , where he studied and worked until . In  he returned to Zwickau, serving as town clerk and, from , also as councilman. Upon his death he left his large library — some , volumes — to the Ratsschulbibliothek. For an account of Roth’s life, see Regine Metzler, ed., Stephan Roth –: Stadtschreiber in Zwickau und Bildungsbürger der Reformationszeit; Biographie; Edition der Briefe seiner Freunde Franz Pehem, Altenburg, und Nicolaus Günther, Torgau (Stuttgart, ), –. Roth’s somewhat inaccurate version of Eobanus’ text may have been copied from memory. It bears the heading “De ebrietate Oebanus [sic] Hessus.” At l.  he writes “denigrat” for “denigret”; at l. , “Heu” for “Hei”; at l. , “fugatque” for “sugitque”; at l. , “Unde” for “Inde”, and “corporisque unde” for “corporis, inde”; at l. , “noculenta” for “nocumenta”. Ut taceam = Her. Chr. ., n. famae . . . honorem Pontano, Urania .: “famae quaesitus honos”; .: “famae . . . honorem”; Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “immortalis famae tibi quaeret honorem.” quantum — nocet Cf. Vitanda ebriet. .. animis corporibusque = Locher, Stult. , fol. v: “Dum requies animis corporibusque datur.” Ingenii — Exprimit Cf. Erasmus, Carm. .–, of old age: “Corporis epotet succos animique vigorem/Hebetet”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n., of drunkenness: “eo non solum corporis vires sed et ingenii vivacitas animique vigor omnis extinguatur”; Val. .–, likewise of drunkenness: “Corporis exhaurit succos animique vigorem/Opprimit.” Ingenii — vigorem Cf. Verg. A. .; Ov. Pont. ..; Sil. .. exhaurit vires Val. .: “Multa Venus vires exhaurit.” ut vites — novas Sylv. .., where the image refers to the writing of verse: “Nos canimus magno victricia iubila Christo,/Ut cogunt vites humida praela novas.” Omne decus — esse facit Cf. Gen. ebrios. .–. decus formae = Mart. ..; cf. Verg. A. .; Ciris . vultibus esse = Ov. Ep. .. Inde manus — choris Paraphrasing Plin. Nat. ., quoted at Eob. Gen. ebrios. .. anxia mentis Epic. Drusi : “anxia mentis eras”; Paul. Nol. Carm. .–: “anxia mentis/cura.” animi requies Sen. Her. F. . exhalant . . . mephytes Pers. .; cf. Verg. A. .. putres . . . genas Stat. Theb. .–. stillantia lumina = Ven. Fort. Carm. .., “stellantia lumina florum,” which in the mss. and early printed eds. frequently appears as “stillantia lumina florum.” See, for example, AH :, no. .. lumina guttis ≈ Stat. Silv. ... arata cutis = Cordus, Epigr. ..; cf. Prud. Perist. .. titubantis . . . linguae Laud. , n.; Gen. ebrios. ...

]         

  

 –     –   

notes to de vitanda ebrietate



Nocturna . . . tempora ≈ Lucr. .. tempora somni = Sen. Apoc. ... Adde quod = Buc. B ., n. improba pestis = Ser. Samm. , of a scorpion bite; Eob. Hod. B .. Asphalti . . . bitumine stagni Cf. Isid. Orig. ..: “lacus Asphalti, id est bituminis.” miseris . . . modis = Pontano, Tum. ..; ..; Strozzi, Eroticon ... Flamma . . . residit Ov. Ep. .. Ebria mens = Mant. Dionys. . (fol. v): “dulcedine tanta/Ebria mens”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n., in a figurative sense. spes destituunt ≈ Tib. ... ferit ossa Culex . ossa pavor Verg. A. .. Vidi ego = Nob. , n. Atque — possit Cf. Bebel, “Satyricum carmen,” in Carm., sig. Ccr: “Atque aliae innumerae quas non comprehendere menti est.” aliae innumerae = Nor. . quis enim — possit = Ilias .; cf. Nor. . Camarina Camarina was a pestilential swamp in ancient Sicily. Cf. Erasmus, Adag. ... Quid referam quantis ≈ Juv. .; Eob. Max. ; Epic. .; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. quantis . . . ruinis Hor. Carm. ... Tot — genitrix Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n., quoting canon law: “ebrietas, quae omnium viciorum fomes est ac nutrix”; Plin. Nat. .: “Aegypto, genetrice talium vitiorum.” causa malorum = Verg. A. .; Luc. .. At Gen. ebrios. ., Eobanus calls drunkenness “causam . . . multorum viciorum.” pestifera . . . manu Ov. Met. .. atra manu = Her. Chr. .. Iurgia, furta — esse scias Cf. Laud. –, n.; Nob. –, n.; Gen. ebrios. ., n. Iurgia, furta = Mant. Ecl. .: “Iurgia, furta, irae, Venus et mendacia, rixae.” Incestus, stuprum Nob. , n. iacta manu = Ov. Ib. . si nescis = Her. Chr. ., n. At potuit — heret humo The notion that it is preferable to be a lover than a drunkard is amplified at Gen. ebrios. .– and Vitanda ebriet. , where see notes. Veneris . . . voluptas Ov. Ars .; Pont. ... blanda voluptas = Sylv. duae ., n. cura futura = Marul. Epigr. ... futura fuit = Ov. Am. ..; Ep. .; Pont. ... Triste malum Sen. Phaed. . radices altius egit Ov. Rem. .

 – 



     – –   

–

 – 

notes to de vitanda ebrietate

[

Non opus — Ebrietas Cf. Gen. ebrios. .–. aeratas . . . cohortes Mant. Calam. . (p. ); cf. Verg. A. .; .. armare in bella = Balbi, Opusc. .: “Iam cupit unanimes armare in bella sodales.” bella cohortes = Sil. .. Victa . . . vicio = Ov. Pont. ... Victa iacet = Ov. Met. .. Teutonis ora suo = Buc. B . (by Justus Jonas); cf. Sylv. duae ., n. Asotia Gen. ebrios. ., n. possidet urbes = Ov. Fast. .. miseros cogit . . . pati Ama. .. iura superba = Celtis, Am. ... nostris — hostem Cf. Gen. ebrios. .. finibus hostem = Verg. A. .: “detrudere finibus hostem.” Sit pudor — nefas = Ama. .. Omnibus — parentes Cf. l.  above, n. Omnibus invictos = Sylv. ..: “Omnibus invictos . . . duces.” O quibus — utrunque modus For the parenesis, cf. Gen. ebrios. .– , n. O quibus — viget Cf. Verg. A. .–: “‘vos o, quibus integer aevi/sanguis,’ ait ‘solidaeque suo stant robore vires.’ ” iuvenili in corpore robur = Ilias .; .. Cf. Petrarch, Ep. .., at this metrical position: “mihi que viguit iuvenili in corpore quondam/Forma”; Stat. Theb. .: “. . . in corpore robur.” vires ingeniumque viget = Tifernate, “Ad Angelum Reatinum,” in Carm., sig. Av: “Dum pariter vires ingeniumque viget.” Cf. Mart. ... degeneri . . . luxu = Nob. , n. convivia . . . luxu l.  above, n. perdita luxu = Prud. c. Symm. .; Celtis, Am. ..: “Castaque simplicitas . . . tanto perdita luxu”; cf. Boeth. Consol. .m.: “inerti perdita luxu.” Sit medium — non hominem Drinking in moderation is the best course. See, for example, Sen. Dial. ..–, where the Stoic philosopher argues that rest, recreation, and the occasional bout of drunkenness will relax the soul and help maintain its equilibrium. He cautions, however, that habitual intoxication is folly. Cf. also Hor. Carm. ..–: “Misce stultitiam consiliis brevem:/dulce est desipere in loco”; Eob. Gen. ebrios. ., n. inter utrunque modus = Luth., lim. ; cf. Ov. Rem. ; Fast. .; .. Nam semper — non hominem Cf. Gen. ebrios. .–, n. semper sapere Cordus, Epigr. ..: “Desipere est semper sapere et non tempora nosse.”

notes to EPISTOLA ITALIAE. RESPONSIO MAXIMILIANI. EPIGRAMMATA ALIQUOT

Title Page tit.

divum Maximilianum Following ancient Roman tradition, Eobanus assigns the title divus to the emperor; see also Accl. , tit. At Nup., tit., and Her. Chr., ded. ., he assigns it to a king. ex his — argumento Cf. Eobanus’ draft letter to the reader, originally meant to introduce Hutten’s Italia: “ex his temporum motibus bellorumque procellis capto argumento.” See p.  above.

Liminary Epigram Edited in Münch, :. Eduard Böcking offers a better text in Hutten, Opera, :* (bibliographical description) and : (edition). Meter: Scazon. For this meter, see the headnote to Hymn. B  (p.  above).  

Brevi libello Hymn. B ., n. perdar For the rare passive use of perdo, see Hor. S. ... Eobanus uses it here for metrical reasons.

Epistola Italiae Hutten’s heroic letter may have been inspired by an anonymous playlet staged at Verona in September  for the benefit of Maximilian’s representative, Cardinal Matthaeus Lang. In this little play, the shattered and half-dead Italia speaks of the emperor as her “bridegroom” and fervently hopes that he will soon come to her rescue and restore her to her former glory. For a text, see I diarii di Marino Sanuto, ed. Federico Stefani et al., vol.  (Venice, ), cols. –. Though Hutten was not in Verona when the playlet was staged — he was studying in Bologna at the time — he could have learned about it via one of his friends. If so, he recast the play’s central idea into an Ovidian-style heroic epistle. Hutten’s fictive letter appears to be modeled especially on Eob. Her.



notes to epistola italiae

Chr. , “Alcyone to St. George.” Rescued from a monster by the heroic intervention of St. George, Alcyone now feels abandoned by her beloved hero. She exhorts him to make a triumphal return, as her bridegroom and future king. Only then will she be restored to health and happiness. Meter: Elegiac distich. –   –

  



      

Qua, si — ab Italia Modeled on Ov. Ep. .–: “Qua, nisi tu dederis, caritura est ipsa, salutem/mittit Amazonio Cressa puella viro.” salutem For the play on the two meanings of salus (“greetings” and “welfare”), see Her. Chr. ., n. afflicta . . . Italia ≈ Max. ; cf. Hutten, De piscatura Venetorum  (Opera, :); Eob. Max. –. Fama erat — sonabat “Io” Imitated in ll. – of Roman Schmiedt’s heroic letter, “Alexander the Great to Archduke Charles of Austria,” published at Leipzig in : “Fama erat hunc tandem terris heroa dedisse/fata et ab Austriaca dinumerasse domo./[ distichs]/Exilui mecumque anima illustrissima Achilles/pectore laetato dulce sonabat Io.” See Römer, . For other such borrowings, see notes at ll. , , and – below. antiquo . . . Tridento Max. . milite plena Ov. Met. .. Exilui Hutten, De statu Romano epigrammata . (Opera, :): “Audivi, exilui, dubiam spes ardua mentem/Erexit, trepidos deposuique metus.” molita . . . triumphos Ov. Am. ..; Met. .. novos . . . triumphos Tib. ..; Stat. Theb. .. de more triumphos ≈ Petrarch, Africa .: “Hic Urbem tribus invectus de more triumphis.” Iamque adeo = Lucr. .; Verg. A. .; .; et al.; Eob. Buc. .. hoc . . . sonabat “Io” Cf. Hutten, Triumph.  (Opera, :): “Hoc magis ingeminet bis Io, bis Ioque sonando.” dulce sonabat Tib. ..; Stat. Silv. ... ire retro = Hutten, Epigr. ., addressing Maximilian: “quoties aliquid coeperis, ire retro.” Turbavi . . . comas Ov. Fast. .; Stat. Theb. .. vestibus aurum = Ov. Met. .; Stat. Theb. .; Eob. Her. Chr. . (where the heroine spurns her gold-embroidered dresses after her husband has left on a crusade). lachrymis — genae = Her. Chr. ., imitating Ov. Tr. ... pater superum = Her. Chr. ., n. Stygiis . . . admoverit umbris ≈ Ov. Met. .. turritum . . . caput Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Prud. Psych. . concutiat . . . caput Ov. Met. .. per te cunctando — rem Hutten, Exhortatio (I)  and (II) : “Spes mihi per te igitur cunctando restitui rem.” The model is Enn. Ann.  (quoted in Cic. Sen. ; Off. .; Att. ..): “Unus homo

notes to epistola italiae

          

              



nobis cunctando restituit rem.” Vergil imitates the phrase in A. .; Ovid does so in Fast. .. Hutten alludes to the dictator Q. Fabius Maximus, nicknamed “Cunctator” because he deliberately avoided all pitched battles with Hannibal after the devastating defeat at Cannae ( bce). Excusare . . . ingeniosa Cf. Ov. Ep. .. sumptis . . . armis = Verg. A. .; Ov. Fast. .; cf. l. , n., below. invaderet armis ≈ Hutten, Querel. ... domino . . . causa = Ov. Tr. .. esse putabis ≈ Lucr. .; Ov. Ep. .; Met. .. Donec abes = Her. Chr. .. Like Eobanus’ Alcyone, Italia feels abandoned by the heroic warrior she adores. blando . . . ore Ov. Met. .; Luc. .; V. Fl. .. detrahit ore Hutten, Querel. ..: “nobis . . . detrahit ore maligno.” grande decus Hor. Carm. ... Me . . . ingentibus urget V. Fl. .: “. . . castris me ingentibus urget.” Tentavit nostram . . . fidem Prud. c. Symm. .. non habui . . . fidem Prop. ... mea sola voluntas = Juvenc. ., where God the Father says: “Unicus hic meus est natus, mea sola voluntas.” In a note, Böcking wonders if the intended reading might be “mea sola voluptas.” For that phrase, cf. Verg. A. .; Ov. Ep. .. Tu dominus, tua . . . , te Cf. Ov. Ep. .: “Tu dominus, tu vir, tu mihi frater eras.” iussa sequar Verg. A. .. domitis gentibus = Mart. ... acre caput Calp. Ecl. .. priscus honor [Tib.] ..; Verg. A. .. squalida sorde = Her. Chr. .. lenta mora Max. , n. cessas . . . in vota Verg. A. .. vota tuorum = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; .. dubio . . . metu = Celtis, Am. ..; cf. Stat. Theb. .. nullis . . . obnoxia fatis Claud. Carm. minora .. praeda relicta = Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., referring to Alcyone. nomenque decusque = Verg. A. .. iniecta . . . manu = Ov. Fast. .; Pont. ... contemerare manu ≈ Mart. Sp. .. In mea . . . grassantur viscera = Eccles. ; cf. Max. , n. foedifragi . . . Galli = Max. , n. Venit — Ibero Cf. Max. . adustus Afer Cf. Sil. .: “adustus corpora Maurus.” Itala regna petit Hutten, Exhortatio (I)  and (II) : “Romam tibi et Itala regna petenti.” For Itala regna at this metrical position, see Ov. Ep. .; Mart. ... Quid dicam eversas . . . urbes Cf. Man. .; ..



  

      

    

   –

notes to epistola italiae eversas — urbes Cf. Mant. Ecl. .: “. . . deletis eversae moenibus urbes”; Eob. Max. . Quid memorem = Laud. , n. igne peti = Ov. Tr. ..; Nux . neglecta situ Nob. . veterum — parentum = Verg. A. .; cf. Eob. Max. , n. Fluentino A ms. sidenote in the Chicago copy explains: “Florentia olim dicta est Fluentia.” In the Münster copy the student writes: “Flor¯ena olim dicta est Flu¯ena.” The supposition originated in a reading found in many mss. of Plin. Nat. .: “Fluentini praefluenti Arno adpositi” (rather than: “Florentini praefluenti Arno adpositi”). See Poliziano, Ep. ..; cf. Biondo, Italia ... prodita Roma dolo = Andrel. Livia ..: “Ipsaque Tarpeio prodita Roma dolo”; cf. Prop. ... Da veniam si = Her. Chr. ., n. si liberius quid dixero Cic. S. Rosc. ; Hor. S. ..–. tenere negas The Münster copy glosses: “ablata non vis retinere.” digna ultio Sedul. .; Walter, Alex. .; .; Hutten, Querel. ..: “Quo veniat nostris ultio digna malis.” opemque feres ≈ Ov. Rem. ; Tr. .. Ne contemne = Mart. ... tot annos = Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. . (in the mss. and early printed eds.). Quae veniunt — tamen Cf. Hutten, Epigr. ., addressing Maximilian: “Tarda quidem, sed opima tibi Fortuna resultat:/Quae veniunt cupidis sera, tamen veniunt.” Desperat The false reading “Dispereat” in A is maintained in BC. Eobanus evidently did not recognize the misreading, for in both the Chicago and Münster copies we find the student’s gloss, “male habeat.” Latios . . . patres Stat. Silv. ... auspiciis . . . tuis = Ov. Ep. .; Fast. .. In me — Cymbri A ms. sidenote in the Chicago and Münster copies quotes Flor. Epit. ..– (formerly ..–). terribiles . . . Cymbri Juv. .. Teutonicae . . . manus ≈ Hutten, Epigr. .; cf. Querel. ... Me ferus — armis In the liminary epigram to Hutten’s Arminius (Sylv. ..–), Eobanus recalls this verse as follows: “Hic ferus Arminius, patriis qui victor in armis/Afflixit vires, Martia Roma, tuas.” sumptis . . . in armis = Verg. A. .; Eob. Max. ; cf. Hutten, Italia , n. meas . . . fregit opes Hutten, Querel. ..: “Fregit opes Fortuna meas animumque reliquit”; cf. Juv. .; Hutten, Epigr. .. At tu bella move Cf. Verg. A. .: “aut tu bella cie . . . .” potes et debes = Juv. .. Ducat in — uterque suum Cf. Hutten. Epigr. .–; Eob. Max. – .

notes to epistola italiae



Ducat in exemplum Quoted in l.  of Roman Schmiedt’s fictional letter “Alexander the Great to Archduke Charles of Austria” (): “atque ut in exemplum ducat te gloria patris.” See Römer, . For other borrowings, see notes at ll. – above and ll.  and – below. Carolus actis = Gunther, Lig. .: “Et socium claris admittit Carolus actis.”  a nobis ille removit onus Cf. Ov. Met. .: “a se Tantalides onus . . . removit.”  Ducat in — Othonum Imitated in ll. – of Roman Schmiedt’s fictional letter “Alexander the Great to Archduke Charles of Austria” (): “Ergo age in exemplum geminorum gloria fratrum/te ducat.” See Römer, . For other such borrowings, see notes at ll. – and  above and ll. – below.  premia digna laborum = Brant, Var. carm., sig. Er (Texte .); cf. Verg. A. .; and, for example, Ov. Ars .; Fast. ..  illud et illud habes ≈ Ov. Rem. .  patriae . . . amore Verg. A. .; .; Ov. Fast. .; et al.  fortes . . . viros = Sylv. duae ., n. – omnia quondam — noverit omni In ll. – of Roman Schmiedt’s fictional letter “Alexander the Great to Archduke Charles of Austria” (), the conquests of Rome are applied to those of the Habsburg empire. See Römer, –. For other such borrowings, see notes at ll. –, , and  above.  supposuique iugo ≈ Ov. Met. ..  maxima Roma = Mart. ..; ...  Lybici . . . duces Sil. .; .; Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Libycique duces.” – Punica . . . regna Verg. A. .; Sil. ..  Marte subegi ≈ Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .: “Frisiam . . . Marte subegit.”  Effera . . . domus Sen. Oed. –. – fudi . . . feroces . . . populos Hutten, Exhortatio (I) : “populos fudisse feroces”; cf. Verg. A. .–.  Calydonios . . . Britannos = Luc. . and Mart. .., where some mss. and early eds. read: “Calidonios [Calydonios] . . . Britannos”; Hutten, Triumph.  (in the original text): “Calydonios . . . Britannos.” Cf. Niccolò Perotti, Cornu copiae .., in Cornu copiae seu linguae Latinae commentarii, vol. , ed. Marianne Pade and Johann Ramminger (Sassoferrato, ), : “Est et in Britannia Calidonia silva ingens . . . a qua . . . Britanni aliquando Calydonii vocantur.” Perotti goes on to quote Mart. ..: “Quinte Calydonios Ovidi visure Britannos.”  eminus arcu = Hutten, Epigr. .: “pugnantes . . . eminus arcu/ Atrebates.”  Attica regna Mant. . Parthen. .; ..  Graecia tota = Prop. ..; Ov. Rem. , . 



notes to epistola italiae

domitae . . . Asiae . . . urbes Verg. G. .; cf. Ov. Pont. ... A gloss in the Münster copy explains that Asiae means “maior et minor Asia.” For this usage, see also Hutten, Epigr. .: “cum nondum Asiae bellum Aegyptusque negarint”; Exhortatio (II) : “has aquilas Asiae videantque tremantque”; : “Quicquid habent Asiae, Thracia quicquid habet.” tot regna, tot urbes = Luc. ..  Solymae . . . gentis Mant. Bapt., fol. v: “Solymas gentes.” gloria gentis = Verg. A. . and Ov. Met. . (different).  Teutonas armis ≈ Luc. ..  Nullus in orbe locus = Ov. Fast. .. qui me non noverit = Her. Chr. ..  est insula si qua mari = Hutten, Exhortatio (II) : “Inque illo posita est insula siqua mari.”  caput mundi . . . Roma Luc. .–. Cf. Luc. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .–, n.; l.  below.  Non . . . ipse negare potest Cf. Prop. ..; Ov. Pont. ... negare potest = Ov. Ars ..  sinis . . . perire Ov. Ep. ..  Non . . . precium . . . vile laboris Ov. Ep. .; Claud. Epith. ; cf. Hutten, Querel. ..: “Dii tibi dent tanti precium non vile favoris.”  causa pudenda = Ov. Ep. .; Fast. ..  mille rates = Ov. Ep. .; ..  bello . . . petis Verg. A. .; ..  tenenda fui ≈ Ov. Ep. ..  Tu caput es Romae Cf. Hutten, Exhortatio (I) , addressing Maximilian: “Tu caput es rerum, tibi totum subdidit orbem.” Mundi caput l.  above, n.  rerum . . . caput Hor. Ep. ..; Ov. Met. ..  Aut hoc si nimis est Cf. Ov. Met. .: “Aut hoc si nimium est” (the reading that Hutten adopts in B); Mart. ...  Quo nihil — habet Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Tr. ..; Locher, “Carmen ad Sebastianum Brant,” in Stult., fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. iv.): “Hoc nihil egregius maximus orbis habet.” – Praedones — restituisse sibi Hutten imitates Verg. A. .–, the famous statement of Rome’s mission in the world (quoted in a ms. sidenote in the Münster copy).  pellere ab imperio Hutten, Epigr. .: “Et Gallum attacto pellis ab imperio.” Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .: “Qui se de tanto pelleret imperio.”  Romanum — statum = Hutten, Panegyricus .  cape praemia Ov. Met. .; ., . praemia summa Ov. Ep. ..  meruisse minus = Ov. Pont. ...  Ausoniae . . . opes = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Ausoniae labentur opes”; Somn., fol. v: “Ausoniae populentur opes.” Cf. Ov. Met. .–; l.  below, n. lacerantur opes Ov. Ep. .. 

notes to epistola italiae



decus omne = V. Fl. .; cf. Verg. Ecl. .; Ov. Fast. .. fex ima = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Stygii faex ima profundi.” teneris . . . puellis = Tib. ..; Ov. Ep. .. matronas . . . probas Her. Chr. .. Non sexus, non . . . aetas Tac. Ann. ..; ... rabido . . . furori Catul. .. Foemineum . . . genus = Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .): “Foemineum laudare genus”; , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .): “Foemineum inprimis genus ampla superbia vexat.” Cf. Sen. Phaed. ; V. Fl. ..  Quod perdam — manet Cf. Dirae : “nil est quod perdam ulterius.”  non perierunt omnia = Ov. Met. .: “si non perierunt omnia mecum.”  casu . . . in isto Hutten, De piscatura Venetorum  (Opera, :).  tollere morbos = Man. ..  medicae . . . manus ≈ [Tib.] ..; cf. Verg. G. ..  Rumpe moras = Verg. G. .; A. .; l.  below. Venere dies = Pers. ..  laude fideque = Pontano, Parthen. ..: “Romana laude fideque.”  Arma cape = Ov. Ep. .. assere laudes = Hutten, Exhortatio (I)  and (II) : “Assere Caesareas, . . . assere laudes”; cf. Ov. Met. ..  Ausonias . . . opes ≈ Ov. Fast. .; cf. l.  above, n. hostis opes = Hutten, Querel. ...  materiam . . . ab hoste pete = Ov. Ep. .. materiam laudis Ov. Tr. ... – Moesta — Brachia Imitating Ov. Ep. .– (quoted in a ms. sidenote in the Münster copy).  summis — ima Cf. Ov. Met. ..  suprema fuit = Ov. Fast. ..  Non modus est Cf. Ov. Met. .; Stat. Theb. .. Non est, qui debuit Ov. Am. ...  Turbantur . . . fasque nefasque Cf. Verg. G. .; Ov. Met. .–; Eob. Nob. , n.  Dilanior . . . tyrannis = Petrarch, Ep. ..: “Civili hinc semper (scelus o lacrimabile) dextra/Dilanior, cupidis illinc sum preda tyrannis.” facta tyrannis ≈ Verg. A. ..  Ut taceam = Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  below.  sorde iacent Her. Chr. ..  vulgus iners = Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .); cf. Luc. .; Stat. Theb. ..  facta referre pudet = Ov. Ep. ..  Et pudet et dicam = Ov. Rem. . pathicos . . . cynedos ≈ Andrel. Ecl. .: “pathicis stipata cinaedis.” For the charge of homosexuality, see Eob. Gen. ebrios. .–, with n. .

     



notes to epistola italiae

tunc pudet esse meam Cf. Ov. Tr. ..; Pont. ... Dii melius, quam = Ov. Am. ..; Rem. . Sic cecidi — surgere Cf. Ov. Tr. .–. Grande quidem = Stat. Silv. ... vulnus . . . medicabile Sil. ..  recusat opem = Mant. c. Am.  (fol. v): “Achilles/. . . Argolicis ferre recusat opem.”  Ne sine te vinci ≈ Hutten, Panegyricus : “Nec sine te vinci.”  media . . . mora = Hutten, Epigr. .: “Sunt tibi vel media fausta parata mora.”  Trinacrio . . . littore Verg. A. .. littore fluctus = Stat. Theb. .; Sil. ..  dubias . . . vias = Ov. Ep. . (in one ms. tradition); .. findere . . . vias Ov. Ep. .. findere classe = Prop. ...  mihi me reddas Hor. Ep. ... in tua iura Ov. Ep. .; ..  tenebis iter ≈ Ov. Tr. ...  Omnis . . . manus = Stat. Ach. .. opposita . . . Alpe Cf. Hutten, Epigr. .: “Oppositam molem iniectasque ut transeat Alpeis.”  adversae . . . pugnae ≈ Sil. .. robora pugnae Aetna .  Venetas . . . manus Hutten, Exhortatio (I)  and (II) . fugere manus = V. Fl. . (in a different sense).  grave . . . iugum = Hutten, Epigr. ..  adversas . . . manus = Eleg. Maec. .. explicuere manus ≈ Hutten, Querel. ..: “Primum ausus vetitas explicuisse manus.”  non esse putas = Mart. ... arma virique = Sil. ..  Ausonio milite ≈ Ov. Pont. ... milite bella geras = Luc. ..  gravior vindicta Juv. ..  Quid dubitas = Her. Chr. ., n. spacio . . . brevi Lucr. .; ., ; Ov. Met. .; et al. corripere arma = Celtis, Am. ...  Ut taceam = l.  above, n.  claro . . . Marte Sil. ..  quisquam . . . de plebe = Ov. Tr. ..  pectore cura = Ov. Pont. ...  potentia vires = Ov. Fast. .; Pont. ...  quisquis amicus adest Cf. Ov. Met. .; Mart. ... – Finguntur — ubi est? Cf. Hutten, Italia B .–; Epigr. .–, telling Maximilian that he has become the laughingstock of Italy: “Factus es altivoli opprobrium miserabile Galli,/Itala sunt risus plena theatra tui.”    

notes to epistola italiae    

    

   



medio . . . Olympo = Luc. .; Man. .. medio . . . sol = Ov. Met. .. indignum . . . parere = Luc. .. parere iubenti = Luc. .. Per genus = Ov. Ep. .; .. genus egregium = Verg. A. .; cf. A. .. claris . . . factis = Verg. A. .. Austriacae . . . domus Max. ; cf. Max. . On the concept of the “house of Austria,” see Alphons Lhotsky, “Was heißt ‘Haus Österreich’?” in his Aufsätze und Vorträge, ed. Hans Wagner and Heinrich Koller, vol. : Europäisches Mittelalter. Das Land Österreich (Munich, ), –. stemmata clara = Locher, “Carmen ad Sebastianum Brant,” in Stult., fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. iv.); Celtis, Am. ... decus imperii = Luc. .; .. maiestatemque verendam = Ov. Met. .. Per qui te Verg. A. .. Per . . . ossa parentis Prop. ..; cf. Verg. A. ., . molliter, ossa = Verg. Ecl. .. cura nepotis = Pontano, Tum. ..; cf. Aus. Ad patrem de suscepto filio ; Parent. .. Rumpe moras = Verg. G. .; A. .; l.  above. Fer opem = Ov. Met. .; .; .; et al. rebus . . . caducis Mant. Calam. . (p. ); Poliziano, Silv. .; Hutten, Epigr. .. sera . . . aetas Ov. Ars .. superet . . . acta patris Cf. Ov. Met. .. vocemque coloremque = Verg. A. .; .. adventu . . . tuo = Ov. Ars ..

Responsio Maximiliani Meter: Elegiac distich.  –  –     

Legimus — precantis The model is Ov. Ep. .–. afflictae . . . Italiae Hutten, Italia , n. lachrymas Cf. Hutten, Italia . Legimus — formae Cf. Hutten, Italia –. gemma . . . graves Verg. A. .. amplius esse = Her. Chr. .. neglectae . . . formae Ov. Ars .. crimina formae = Stat. Theb. .; Silv. ... Et nimium — mora See Hutten, Italia ; cf. Ov. Am. ... lenta . . . mora = Ov. Ep. .; cf. Ars .. Scribis ut = Ov. Ep. .; Tr. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Et desperata — mori Cf. Hutten, Italia : “quae mortua credor.”



–     – 

 

 

   

 –  

notes to responsio maximiliani desperata . . . salute Ov. Pont. ... pene . . . mori = Her. Chr. .. Si qua — tibi Cf. Hutten, Italia –. quam . . . misisse salutem Sylv. ..: “Quam tibi debueram toties misisse salutem/. . . ipse tuli.” est illa ferenda tibi Cf. Ov. Fast. .. non eadem ratio est = Her. Chr. ., n. velle videris ≈ Hor. S. ... afflictam . . . Italiam ≈ Hutten, Italia , n.; cf. ll. – above. Nos regem — amas Cf. Hutten, Italia –. Nos regem — fateris Cf. Ov. Met. .; Juv. .; Mart. ..; Gunther, Lig. ., addressing Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa: “dominumque simul regemque fatentur”; .: “Agnoscit dominum supplex regemque fatetur”; Eob. Hymn. : “dominum fatetur.” Dulce . . . nomen = Ilias Lat. ; cf. Lucr. .. Caesaris illud = Eleg. Maec. .; Epic. Drusi . supplex — adoras = Venus .; cf. Ov. Tr. ..; Pont. ..; Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .: “. . . supplex quoque numen adorat”; Eob. Accl. ., addressed to Emperor Charles V: “Ille tuum supplex iamdudum nomen adorat.” libera signa = Prop. ... Commemoras — parentum See Hutten, Italia –. Cf. Marul. Epigr. ..: “priscorum repetas . . . facta parentum.” veterum . . . parentum = Verg. A. .; Ov. Am. ..; cf. Verg. A. .; .; Hutten, Italia . Mavortia facta Sil. .. Restitui — tibi Cf. Hutten, Italia , . Parce queri = Ov. Rem. . servaque fidem = Hrotsv. Dionys. : “Certa constanter servaque fidem patienter.” ne dubita = Her. Chr. ., n. noster anhelat equus = Ov. Rem. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Quantulacumque . . . mora Marul. Epigr. ..: “Et mora lethalis quantulacunque foret”; Erasmus, Adag. .., ASD .:–: “illis in omni re quantulacunque mora longa videatur.” nocet cupidis mora Her. Chr. A .. Cf. Locher, “Latina navis seu barca socialis,” in Stult., fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .): “Naviculae . . . mora cuncta nocet.” sub armis = Verg. G. .; A. ., . variis . . . locis = Celtis, Am. ... Scribimus — brevis Like many of Eobanus’ heroines in Heroides Christianae, none of whom was ever a poetess in life, Maximilian consciously writes in verse. Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Scribimus, et = Ov. Am. ..; Ep. .; .; Tr. ... dictant . . . Camaenae Her. Chr. ., n. verba Camaenae = Buc. .. Terribiles . . . tubas Ov. Met. ..

notes to responsio maximiliani

    –   

                 

 –



referunt — tubas Modeled on Ov. Ep. .. Teutonicas . . . phalanges Sylv. ... videor spectare Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. scripta tabella = Her. Chr. .; cf. Ov. Ars .. longas . . . hastas Verg. A. .; Eob. Nob. . promissam . . . salutem Her. Chr. .. salutem — posses Cf. Ov. Ep. .–. For salutem missam, see also Eob. Laud. , n. arma manus = Ov. Am. ..; ..; Ep. .; Ars .. Alpinas . . . arces = Man. .; Eob. Venus .. Mene — fragosum In a note to this verse, Böcking mistakenly places the events in the summer of . There are similar errors at ll. , , , –, – below. Athesimque fragosum ≈ Gunther, Lig. .: “Athesamque fragosis/Sub pedibus rauco certantem murmure saxis.” Ludibrium famae Cf. Nor. : “famae ludibria vana.” tuas — aures = Verg. A. .; cf. Eob. Rec. , n. aliquid maius quam = Her. Chr. .; cf. Her. Chr. .. praeclaris . . . actis = Hutten, Max. . Ex ista — fuit Cf. Sylv. ..: “Ex illa nobis parte maligna fuit.” imbelles . . . Gallos Erasmus, Carm. .. Augusto nomine = Ov. Fast. .; cf. Fast. .. nomine terror erat = Hutten, Exhortatio (I) ; cf. Ov. Met. .. non timuisse = Tib. ... sumptis . . . in armis = Hutten, Italia , n. bellator in armis = Nob. , n. Tentatum precibus ≈ Sil. .; cf. Ov. Am. ..; Met. .. peregit opus = Ov. Am. ..; Ars .. doles — fuisse Cf. Luc. .. irata — manu Cf. Ov. Pont. ..; Ib. ; Eob. Her. Chr. .. For irata manu, see also Pug. , n. For fulmina, see Her. Chr. ., n. Hoc tibi, quicquid erat Cf. Mart. ... crimine pene nocens = letter of May  to Mutianus Rufus, in Mutian. Ep. , l. : “nostro crimine pene nocens”; cf. Sylv. duae ., n. In tua — dextra Cf. Luc. .; Hutten, Italia , n. Finge age = Ov. Ep. .; l.  below. cui placuisset erat ≈ Her. Chr. .. potui et volui = Mant. Ecl. .. Infestis Aquilis Cf. Luc. .. in sua regna = Prop. ... sua regna sequi = Brant, “De corrupto ordine vivendi pereuntibus,” section “Regnum Persarum,” in Var. carm., sig. ar (Texte .). sancta fides = Mart. ..; cf. Verg. A. .; l.  below. Prisca fidem — fuit Eobanus expresses the same thought at Gen. ebrios. ., n.: “De fide et integritate quid, precor, attinet dicere, cum



   –   

        –

    

notes to responsio maximiliani probatum etiam Romanorum scriptorum testimoniis nullam gentem fide Germanis antecellere?” testis es ipsa ≈ Her. Chr. .; Sarmat. ; cf. l.  below. sua . . . sunt praemia Verg. A. .. sua perfidiae . . . praemia Sylv. ... pro stipe castra merent = Eleg. .: “Musica nec vili pro stipe castra merent.” Quantum — dolo Cf. Tum. .–. prodita . . . dolo = Hutten, Italia , n.; l.  below. prodita regna = Sylv. ..; cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. male dissimulat = Ov. Ars .; cf. Ep. .. Cepisse — ducem Cf. Hutten, Epigr. .–, referring to the French: “Mediolano postquam consedit in Angue,/Conflavit magnos crista superba metus.” anguigerum . . . ducem A standard phrase in Renaissance times. See, for example, Poliziano, Epigr. .. Gallica crista = epigram by Zaccaria Ferreri in Ad Venetos . . . elegia, reprinted at Erfurt in  and included in Palladii de insitione carmen [Erfurt, ?], sig. Bv, with contributions by Eobanus Hessus (see Buc., headnote at B , in Poetic Works, :; Corrigenda, Poetic Works, :xi): “Velabat Venetum Gallica crista caput.” For the image, cf. l.  below. Nos quoque, dii Cf. Sil. .. dii facerent = Ov. Met. .. Inque sinu = Prop. ..; Ov. Met. .; .; .; Fast. .. nunc mitior = Petrarch, Ep. ..: “Padus estivis solito nunc mitior undis.” pacem toties . . . petiisse Hymn. –. Venetum . . . rebellem Nob. ; l.  below. pondus — preces Cf. Ov. Ars .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .. antiquam . . . paludem Buc. ., also referring derisively to Venice. Cf. l.  below. Aspice et . . . contemplare Pl. Mos. : “aspice et contempla.” Austriaca . . . domo ≈ Hutten, Italia , n. Respice — nihil Cf. Tum. .–: “Retro pauca vide, dein confer tempora nostris./Omnia iam totum circumspice regna per orbem,/ In primis quae prima et maxima regna fuerunt./Haud ullum invenies partum sine sanguine et armis.” bis quinis . . . annis Sen. Tro. –; Man. .; Sil. .. Invenies faustum . . . nihil Cf. Ov. Tr. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. numerosas — turmas Cf. Pontano, Urania .: “. . . validas numeroso milite turmas”; cf. Hutten, Epigr. .: “. . . vagas disperso milite turmas.” parva — manu Cf. Prop. ..; Eob. Sarmat. : “Castra . . . exigua maxima capta manu.” For castra manu, see Ov. Ep. .. Scit Padus et . . . Myncius Cf. Buc. B ., n.; ll.  and  below.

notes to responsio maximiliani



Mantoae . . . urbi ≈ Mant. . Parthen. .: “Mantoam gressibus urbem.”  Antenorei . . . laris = Mart. ... tecta superba = Ov. Am. ...  aequoreae . . . Ravennae ≈ Mart. ...  Heu — bibit Cf. Ov. Ep. .; Fast. .; Sil. ..  Scit Verona Cf. l.  above, n. suis . . . animosior armis Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  miserae . . . Cremonae = Verg. Ecl. ..  Mutinensis ager = Strozzi, Eroticon ...  dominatrix . . . profundi Cf. Sen. Phaed. : “Creta dominatrix freti”; Eob. Max. : “domina . . . maris.”  medio . . . aequore = Verg. A. .; Luc. .; .. aequore nautae ≈ Stat. Theb. .; Sil. ..  pavida . . . manu = Ov. Tr. ...  tot . . . per annos = Verg. G. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  foelici . . . pede = Ov. Fast. .. adeunda pede = Ov. Tr. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. – Ecce, timet — iura voca Like Böcking, Carl Krause erroneously interprets this passage to refer to the treaty of alliance between Pope Leo X and King Louis XII, signed on  October . See Krause, HEH, :, n. .  sacra positus Leogallus in arce Cf. Mutianus Rufus, epigram to Eobanus Hessus, l. , in Mutian. Ep.  (ca.  August ), referring to Pope Leo X: “Capitolina . . . Leo . . . in arce.” “Leogallus” is a derogatory term for Leo X, who is a Leo (“lion”) by name, a Gallus (“priest”) by profession, a cock (gallus) crowing on his own dunghill, allied with “the Gallic cock” (Gallus), Francis I. For the punning on Gallus, see n.  at Hymn. B  (p.  above). Cf. Mutian. Ep.  ( October ), where Crotus Rubianus writes: “Video Leogallum suis esse oneri, video Urbinatem . . . , video Turcam . . . .” Like Eobanus, Crotus alludes to Pope Leo X (not the state of Venice), for he couples Leogallus with two other individuals: Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere and Sultan Selim I. Certainly Hutten understood Eobanus’ Leogallus in that light, for in the  edition of the poem (B) he goes out of his way to whitewash the mockery by changing it to speculator. See the headnote at Hutten, Italia B  (pp. – below).  Capitolinum . . . Iovem ≈ Ov. Fast. ..  Sub domino . . . Caesare Hutten, Epigr. .: “Caesare sub domino, Galle, fer imperium!” Cf. Mart. ..; Gunther, Lig. .: “domino sub Caesare.”  caelestis . . . regni = Vict. , n.; cf. Ov. Met. ..  superorum — aulae Cf. Her. Chr. ., n., likewise referring to the pope.  Romanae . . . urbis Ov. Met. .; Fast. .; .; .. ditionis et urbis A standing phrase in the later Middle Ages.  capite . . . corona tuo ≈ Ov. Ars .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.



notes to responsio maximiliani

nostra corona = Mart. ... Utere pace = Sedul. .. pace bona = Buc. .; cf. Ciris . rebus inemptis Ov. Am. ...  promissi . . . Olympi Mant. . Parthen. ..  Martia . . . arma = Her. Chr. ., n.  bella cruenta geras = Bebel, “De miseria humanae conditionis,” in Carm., sig. Bbv: “pro iusticia bella cruenta geras”; cf. Celtis, Am. ..: “Cum gallo gallus bella cruenta gerit.”  tibi . . . nos debere fatemur Ov. Met. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  sanctam . . . fidem l.  above, n.  Externos dominos Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “externis dominis servire.” dominos in mea iura ≈ Ov. Am. ...  Tu quoque ne dubita = Strozzi, Eroticon ..; cf. Prop. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Luth. .; Val. .. pars optima = Ov. Met. . (in some mss. and early eds.); Luc. .; Juv. .: “nostri pars optima sensus.”  ex multa — tua est Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. – Indignos — castra tuo See Hutten, Italia –, nn.  ab occiduo . . . Ibero = Hutten, Italia ; l.  below.  Quodque magis miror = Mant. Ecl. .; Eob. Luth. .; cf. Ov. Met. .; ..  Illyris ora Ov. Tr. ..  eversas — urbes Cf. Hutten, Italia , n. sine maenibus urbes ≈ Paul. Nol. Carm. .; cf. Verg. A. .; Ov. Am. ..; Met. .; Fast. ..  Squalida . . . situ = Andrel. Livia ..: “Squallida nunc turpi languet avena situ.” informi . . . situ = Celtis, Am. ..; cf. Hor. Ep. ..; Eob. Nob. . signa vetusta = Ov. Pont. .. (in a different sense); Celtis, Am. ...  In gremio . . . tuo = Pontano, Am. ..; cf. Ov. Am. ... Gallica castra = Locher, Stult. , fol. v.  spera bene = Her. Chr. .; cf. Rec. , n. – Lubrica nunquam Fortuna Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Lubrica quem nunquam potuit Fortuna movere”; cf. Boeth. Consol. .m.–; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  in summo cardine Stat. Theb. ..  Semper et — Romae Cf. Tum. .: “Semper, et a prima . . . origine mundi.” et a prima . . . origine = Verg. A. ..  Fortunae facies = Ov. Ib. . facies non . . . una Ov. Ars .; Met. ..  Europae atque Asiae = Verg. A. .; Prop. ..; cf. l.  below, n. 

notes to responsio maximiliani

  

    – 

   



,  –   – 



Punica regna = Petrarch, Africa .; Mant. Dionys. . (fol. r); cf. Verg. A. .. incensam . . . Urbem Verg. A. .. Quid memorem = Laud. , n. lectas . . . cohortes = Nup. ; cf. Idyl. .. Quale — iugum Cf. Tum. .–. imposuit . . . iugum = Tifernate, “Ad Pium Pontificem Maximum,” in Carm., sig. Bv: “Romanum imposuit dura per arma iugum”; Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “Indis/Pellaeum imposuit . . . iugum.” Quam cito = Buc. ., n. Siculis . . . finibus V. Fl. .. Dissimules . . . licet Ov. Pont. ... bis octenos . . . annos = Sil. .; .; cf. Ov. Met. .. The form octenos is a medieval variant for “octonos.” tolerasse per annos = Luth. .. testis proxima . . . ipsa tibi Cf. Idyl. .: “ipsa sui testis sibi proxima.” testis . . . es ipsa l. , n., above. Quam funesta — potest Cf. Tum. .–. Thrasimenia For this rare adjectival form, see Hermann Langkabel, Die Staatsbriefe Coluccio Salutatis: Untersuchungen zum Frühhumanismus in der Florentiner Staatskanzlei und Auswahledition (Cologne, ), : “Trasimeniam cladem”; Mant. Nicolaus Tolentinus ., in Opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fol. v: “Thrasumenia . . ./Praelia.” Cf. Sid. Carm. .: “Stragem . . . Thrasimenicam.” Scit — tuo Cf. l.  above, n. proxima rura = Celtis, Am. ..; ..; ..; cf. Mart. ..; ... pharetratos Parthos Cf. Nob. , n. impune lacessis = Sarmat. ; cf. Stat. Theb. .. sanguinis unda V. Fl. .. Europae . . . orbem ≈ Verg. A. .. domitum . . . orbem ≈ Epic. Drusi ; cf. Verg. G. .; Ov. Ars .; Fast. .. signis victricibus Luc. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. innumera . . . clade Mant. . Parthen. .: “Cum Punica bella/Cladibus innumeris Italos Romanaque regna/Concuterent”; Calam. . (p. ): “innumeris . . . cladibus.” non sine clade = Gunther, Lig. .; cf. Tac. Ann. .: “non sine clade nostra deiectus.” Ut taceam = Her. Chr. ., n. Ut taceam — iugum See Hutten, Italia –. est numerare molestum Nup. , n. imposuisse iugum = Ov. Ep. .. Nostra tuo — poenituisse tui For the idea that Germany has never yet been defeated in war, see Vitanda ebriet. ., n. Nostra . . . Germania = Nup. , n.



notes to responsio maximiliani

poenituisse tui = Ov. Tr. ... Nec . . . semper eundem Cf. Ov. Ars .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Fortuna dedit cursum Verg. A. ..  similis . . . tui Ov. Ep. ..  oppressa malis Lucr. .. rebus . . . secundis = Her. Chr. ., n.  ver arrisit Cf. Calp. Ecl. .. saevit hyems Ov. Met. .; Eob. Vict. , n.  dea lubrica = Dantiscus, Carm. ..: “Nil habet aeternum, nil fert dea lubrica firmum.” Cf. Carm. ..: “lubrica . . . dea”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  rerum . . . vices Luc. .. non amat illa = Ov. Ars ..  non potuisse magis = Brant, Var. carm., sig. Br (Texte .). – Nos quoque . . . eadem sors . . . tulit Cf. Balbi, Opusc. .–: “Me quoque sors eadem peregrinum visere caelum/Compulit.”  per varios . . . labores = Sid. Carm. .: “per varios . . . fortuna labores”; cf. Verg. A. ..  Multiplici rerum Mant. Ecl. .: “Unde haec multiplici rerum variantia forma?”  flore iuventae = V. Fl. .; Stat. Theb. .; Silv. ..; ... For the image, cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; ., n.  armorum — fuit = Accl. .; cf. Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “armorum . . . gloria.” gloria nostra = Her. Chr. ., n.  Vidit et invidit The wordplay recurs in Middle Latin writings. See, for example, Cornelius Aurelius, Marias ., in Die Marias von Cornelius Aurelius, ed. J.C. Bedaux (Louvain, ), . omnia secum = Verg. G. .; A. .; Ov. Ep. ..  nulla . . . ratione = Lucr. .; .. – Sepe rebellantes — fuisse pium Cf. Wirt. : “Saepe rebellanti toties ignoveris hosti.”  Sepe rebellantes — Sycambros Cf. Jakob Locher, Spectaculum de regibus et proceribus Christianis [Augsburg, ], Act , ll. – (sig. ar), addressing Maximilian: “sepe rebelles/Stravisti Cymbros et sevo Marte Sycambros.” See Dietl,  (misprinting “cymbros” in the original as “cymbios”). Caveat lector: the dramatic texts edited by Cora Dietl are often badly mutilated. Four pages of Spectaculum de regibus (sigs. ar–av) are omitted because they are missing in the editor’s copy text (a microfiche from the Bibliotheca Palatina collection). In consequence, Act  is reduced to just eleven disjointed lines. Sycambros Eobanus identifies the Sugambri with the Gelderlanders. Cf. Celtis, Am. ..–: “Haec Batavi madidique habitant loca nota Sugambri [Sicambri ],/Quos modo Gelrenses Flamineosque vocant/Hollandosque”; Hutten, Exhortatio (I) , addressing Maximilian: “Tu vario indomitum vicisti Marte Sycambrum.” In  

notes to responsio maximiliani



Exhortatio (II)  Hutten changes the verse to: “Tu varia indomito conflasti incendia Geldro.”  iterum atque iterum Verg. A. .; Hor. S. ... causa fuisse pium = Nob. ; cf. Ov. Ep. ..  acies Gallorum Hutten, Epigr. .; .; ..  ingenti strage Sen. Thy. . dedisse neci = Ov. Ib. .  Pannoniae tremuit domus Cf. Prop. ...  facies omnibus una Ov. Met. ..  modis Fortuna = Walter, Alex. .: “Omnibus est temptanda modis fortuna.”  quorum — Helvetios Cf. Hutten, Italia .  Palatinas . . . opes Buc. B .. sequerentur opes Ov. Tr. ..  pepuli . . . de limite Turcas Cf. Nob. ; Tum. ..  aliqua . . . manu = Her. Chr. .; Sylv. ... adeunda manu = Her. ..: “Arva nisi armata non adeunda manu.”  Cuncta referre piget Cf. Erasmus, Julius exclusus e coelis, in Erasmus von Rotterdam, Ausgewählte Schriften, ed. Werner Welzig, vol.  (Darmstadt, ), : “omnia referre piget”; Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .: “tedet cuncta referre”; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Multa referre piget”; Venus .: “Quosque referre piget numero.” Also cf. Ov. Pont. ., –: “cuncta referre/nomina longa mora est”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.: “quos numerare piget.” – nec enim — ferre potest Quarried from Eobanus’ poem in Joachim Friedrich Theander’s encomium of the city of Solothurn, dated : “Caetera subticeo, nec enim brevis omnia chartae/Servatura modum pagina ferre potest.” See Johann Mösch, “Der Einfluß des Humanisten Glarean auf Solothurn,” Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte  (), . For another long borrowing in the same poem, see note at ll. – below. Cf. Eob. Tum. .: “Omnia vix possint plures comprehendere chartae.”  brevis . . . chartae Mart. ..; Eob. Luth. ..  tot . . . abeuntibus annis Cf. Stat. Theb. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  Aediderim campis funera Cf. Verg. A. .–; .. nemo rogat = Her. Chr. ., n.  Quid mirum si = Lucr. .; Ov. Ep. ..  causasque . . . morandi Verg. A. .. causas . . . quaesisse morandi Cf. Nor. : “causam . . . quaesisse serendi/Auribus incautis fucum facientia verba.”  exempla parentum = Paul. Nol. Carm. ..  metiri facta = Hypocr. ; cf. Her. ...  tempora nostra = Ov. Tr. ..  geminorum splendor Othonum = Hutten, Italia .  patrii . . . regni Verg. A. .; Eob. Max. ; Vict. , . concordia regni = Gunther, Lig. ..



notes to responsio maximiliani

Martia — loco Imitating Tib. ... Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Epic. .; l.  below. hostili . . . loco = Ov. Pont. ...  Caesaris esse = Prop. ..; Ov. Pont. ... – Nunc confisi — militia est For the thought, cf. Gen. ebrios. ..  confisi opibus Apul. Met. .: “suis opibus confisum”; Aus. Ep. .: “His opibus confise tumes?”  sibi quisque videtur = Walther : “Quisque sibi placet, et sapiens sibi quisque videtur.” Cf. Verg. A. .; Ov. Ars .; Fast. ..  preter nomen inane nihil Petrarch, Rem. ..: “nichil . . . preter nudum et inane regis nomen.” nomen inane = Ov. Ep. .; Ars .; Tr. ...  Sepe — damus Cf. Prop. ..; Ov. Tr. ... regnique senatum ≈ Luc. ..  auspicio . . . bono = Her. Chr. .; cf. Buc. B ., n. – Semper at — praeda sumus Maximilian has his hands tied by the German princes and diets. Sebastian Brant makes the same lament. See his “De corrupto ordine vivendi pereuntibus,” section “Translatio imperii,” in Var. carm., sig. ar–v (Texte .–). Cf. Celtis, Oratio .: “Nequeo temperare, dum vitiis nostris et domesticis factionibus laboramus et opulentissima regna, quorum tantum titulos tamquam in consolationem praeferimus, negligimus, dum ligulas stringimus et ad quintum lunae coitum consultamus consiliis nostris.”  Semper at = Prop. ... iterum . . . iterumque = Hor. S. ..; V. Fl. .; Mart. ...  terimus . . . aevum Verg. A. ..  quid nisi praeda sumus = Mart. ...  Ah, pudet = Tib. ..; Ov. Am. ..; Ars .; Pont. ..; ... pudet imperii Sen. Apoc. .: “illam sententiam: ‘pudet imperii.’ ” illa inclyta = Verg. A. .. – mentem . . . subiit Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. ..  Euxini . . . maris Ov. Tr. ..; ..; ..; Pont. ... luxque decusque A medieval Latin phrase. See, for example, Theodulf. Carm. ., in MGH, Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, :: “O populi, o cleri luxque decusque vigens”; AH :, no. .  At nisi — fati Cf. Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r): “Et nisi me fallunt priscorum oracula vatum”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., nn.; Nob. B .. Cf. Brant, “Thurcorum terror et potentia,” in Var. carm., sig. nr (Texte .–): Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Vulg. Dan.  prophesies Maximilian’s victory over the Turks. When the prophecy did not come true for Maximilian, Eobanus shifted it to Charles V. See Accl. .– .  Pro . . . poenas crimine . . . dabis Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “. . . dari pro crimine poenas”; Eob. Sylv. ..–: “dignas pro crimine poenas/Nunc dedit”; ..: “Sed dabit heu nimias tali pro crimine poenas”; Vict. , n. 

notes to responsio maximiliani



poenas . . . , Turca, dabis Accl. .. Ante — rebellem Cf. Nob. –. Also cf. l.  above; Buc. .– , n.  cristam For the image, cf. l.  above, n.  palatia Romae = Her. Chr. ., n.  Tybridis amne Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v): “per Tybridis amnem”; Dionys. . (fol. r): “per amoenum Tybridis amnem.”  Quoque minus dubites = Ov. Met. .; ., ; Pont. ...  stare fidem V. Fl. ..  Vindelici — Suevi Cf. Hod. ; Accl. .; Sylv. ..: “Vindelici . . . Suevi”; ..: “. . . Vindelicis Augusta palatia campis.”  populis . . . iura damus ≈ Ov. Fast. ..  Teutonicae . . . gentes Celtis, Am. ... fortissima pectora = Mutius, Triumph., sig. cv: “septem, fortissima pectora, fratres”; Andrel. Ecl. .; Celtis, Am. ... Cf. Eob. Vict. –, n.  arma parant = Brant, “De singularitate quorundam novorum fatuorum additio,” in Locher, Stult., fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. xv.); cf. Ov. Ep. .; Fast. ..  viribus agmen = Luc. ..  hominum milia = Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “hominum millia multa dabit.”  irato . . . Iovi = Ov. Am. ... fulmina . . . Iovi ≈ Ov. Rem. .  Ha scelus = Bocc. Ecl. .: “Ha scelus infandum!”; cf. Eob. Gen. ebrios. .., n. The form ha for ah recurs in late medieval and Renaissance writings. tuta pericli For the idiom, cf. Luc. .: “tuta fugae.”  deerat adhuc Ov. Met. ..  hanc quoque posse ≈ Ov. Fast. .. posse capi = Ov. Ep. .. – Ter frustra — relliquiasque legit Cf. the account given in a letter from Sir Robert Wingfield to King Henry VIII, dated at Augsburg,  September , and summarized in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, Preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and Elsewhere in England, vol. ., ed. John S. Brewer (London, ), , no. : “News from Verona states that eight days ago the Venetians removed the siege; four days before which they ‘did beat with artillery continually both day and night,’ and made two assaults. In the first they were repulsed; in the second, the garrison, after resistance, pretended to withdraw, and allowed them to enter, when with artillery prepared for the purpose they killed all that came in, and made a sortie with much slaughter.”  Ter frustra . . . ter Verg. A. .–; .–. Magna . . . caede Luc. ..  tradere sive mori Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  minis . . . terrere Enn. Ann. ; Verg. A. .. 



notes to responsio maximiliani

iam tertia — umbras Cf. V. Fl. .; Ilias Lat. : “Postera lux tacitas ut primum depulit umbras.”  revecta, dies = [Aus.] De rosis nascentibus .  excidium . . . parant V. Fl. ..  sponte . . . ducum Luc. ..  duris — armis Cf. Nup. ; Nob. , n.  Pars . . . maxima = Ov. Tr. ...  Iamque videbantur ≈ Sil. .; ..  Iamque fere = Enn. Ann. , ; Verg. A. .; ., .  Rupit ab insidiis = Tifernate, “Triumphus Cupidinis,” in Carm., sig. Ar: “Rupit ab insidiis quas fecerat ecce Cupido.”  officio . . . tuo = Her. Chr. ., n. gratia digna = Ov. Tr. ...  Quid referam quantam Vitanda ebriet. ., n.  Horret adhuc animus = Stat. Theb. .; Claud. Bell. Gild. ; cf. Verg. A. .. meminisse grave est = Sarmat. ; cf. Culex .  Galli . . . minaces l.  below.  milia caesa = Ov. Met. .; Hutten, Exhortatio (I) .  Noster at = Her. Chr. .; ..  relliquiasque legit = Hod. ; cf. Juvenc. ..  Martia castra = Tib. ..; cf. l.  above. castra sequi = Ov. Am. ... – Ut taceam — opem Eobanus expands on Hutten, Italia –, but by way of Hutten, Epigr. .–. Cf. Eob. Accl. .–, with a catalogue of nations that will join the emperor in a crusade against the Turks. For similar catalogues, see Raffaele Zovenzoni, “Carmen concitatorium ad principes Christianos in Turcum” (–), edited in Baccio Ziliotto, Raffaele Zovenzoni: La vita, i carmi (Trieste, ), –, no. ; Brant, “Thurcorum terror et potentia,” in Var. carm., sig. nv (Texte .–); Jakob Locher, Spectaculum de regibus et proceribus Christianis, Act , sig. ar–v (Dietl, , ll. – ).  Ut taceam = Her. Chr. ., n. quantas . . . vires = Verg. A. .. Germania vires = Nob. , n.  invictos . . . duces = Sylv. ..; cf. Ov. Tr. ..; Luc. .; ..  Ungarus . . . pugnax Nup. .  rura Polonus arat = Sylv. duae .; cf. Mart. ...  Ducet . . . turmas Verg. A. .. ab occiduo . . . Ibero = Hutten, Italia ; l.  above.  Finge age = Ov. Ep. .; l.  above.  destituantur opes = Psalt. .; cf. Ov. Ib. .  timidum In B, Hutten alters this pejorative epithet to the relatively harmless “tumidum.” Cf. Hutten, Epigr. . and De statu Romano . (Opera, :). The alteration (perhaps owing to the changed political situation) is part of a pattern. Thus Hutten changes the 

notes to responsio maximiliani



derogative “imbelles Gallos” at l.  of Eobanus’ poem to “audaces Gallos”; “perfide Galle” at l.  to “Galle superbe”; “foedifragi Galli” at l.  to “raptoris Galli” (matching the change of wording at Italia ). Cf. headnote at Hutten, Italia B  (pp. – below).  nostra domus Cf. Hutten, Italia , n.  Mater — fuit Cf. Bebel, Oratio ad Romanum Regem Maximilianum, in Opera Bebeliana (Pforzheim, ), sig. cr: “te . . . qui es ex ea familia Austriae scilicet natus inclyta et florentissima, quae tot regum atque imperatorum mater, saepe etiam Pannoniae, saepe Boemiae, quandoque Poloniae reges dedit.” innumeris regibus V. Fl. ..  dixeris esse = Mart. ..; ...  Hanc tibi, si nescis = Sylv. ..: “Hanc tibi, si nescis, mitto, Ludovice, salutem”; cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  Renus — Alpibus Cf. Walahfrid Strabo, “Visio Wettini” , in MGH, Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini, :: “Rhenus ab Ausoniis quo ducitur Alpibus, aequor/Miscet.”  claudit utrumque mare Cf. Ov. Ep. ..  Tam late = Sylv. duae .; Hutten, Epigr. .. patrium regnum l.  above, n. – regnum . . . terminat Her. Chr. ., n.  Ister aquis = Ov. Tr. ..; Pont. ..; ...  nec imbelles — Sabaeos Cf. Mant. Somn., fol. v (quoted in Bebel, Germ. , sig. kr): “neque . . . imbelles Indi mollesve Sabaei.” For imbelles mollesve, cf. Stat. Theb. .. For imbelles Indos, see Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; cf. Vitanda ebriet. .: “degeneres . . . Indos.” For the Arabs as a “soft” people, cf. Catul. .; Verg. G. .; Man. ., .  Persas medias . . . inter opes The wealth of Persia was proverbial. See Otto . medias . . . inter opes = Epic. .; cf. Erasmus, Carm. .: “Inter opes medias.” – Sed genus — famem Cf. Sarmat. –, praising German soldiery. Eobanus’ verses are applied to Solothurn in Joachim Friedrich Theander’s encomium of that city, published in : “Tu genus acre virum producis et inclita bello/Pectora, non aliquo sueta labore premi,/Gentem animo infracto, patientem frigus et aestum,/Aeque docta sitim quam tolerare famem.” See Johann Mösch, “Der Einfluß des Humanisten Glarean auf Solothurn,” Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte  (), . For another borrowing, see note at ll. –  above.  genus acre virum = Verg. G. .; Eob. Sarmat. ; cf. Hutten, Italia B .. – ferroque — Agmina Cf. Hor. S. ..–.  animo infracto = Locher, “Responsio Virtutis,” in Stult., fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. d.): “Seu res civiles merito tractare favore,/ Haec animo infracto, me duce, cuncta facis.”



notes to responsio maximiliani

patientem — aestum Cf. Verg. Cat. .: “ferre durum frigus aut aestum pati”; Lucr. ..  Tamque — famem Cf. Ov. Pont. ... For doctam tolerare, see Ov. Fast. ..  Gallum — minacem Cf. Tum. .: “. . . Gallum prohibere rebellem”; l.  above.  Fortunae . . . caedendum Ov. Pont. .. (in the earliest mss.); Sil. .. temporis huius = Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  facti poenituisse sui = Hutten, Querel. ..; cf. Ov. Ep. ..  datas . . . habenas V. Fl. .. rerum — habenas ≈ Psalt. .: “Qui virtute tua rerum moderaris habenas.” Cf. Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; Sil. .; Eob. Laud. , n.  sive tibi — mori Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  Viribus imperii = Tum. .. sociata . . . arma Cf. Nup. , n.  antiquum . . . Tridentum ≈ Hutten, Italia .  Alpinas . . . nives Verg. Ecl. ..  Tum neque foedifragi . . . Galli Cf. Hutten, Italia ; Eob. Tum. .: “Nam neque foedifrago decuit concedere Gallo.”  domina . . . maris V. Fl. .; Heinrich Bebel, prefatory letter to his Opera (Pforzheim, ), sig. [a]v, referring to Venice: “quae se habere voluit dominam maris”; cf. Eob. Max. , n.: “dominatrix . . . profundi.”  Non aliquem — isse See Hutten, Italia –.  Europam atque Asiam = V. Fl. .; cf. l.  above, n. – Tum mihi — mei See Hutten, Italia –; B ; B ; B .  retrogrados . . . cancros Crabs were proverbially retrograde. See TPMA, s.v. “Krebs,” nos. –.  nova carmina = Ov. Am. ..; cf. Eob. Hymn., lim. ., n.  Udaque — facta tuis Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Tr. ..; Pont. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. For the motif of the tear-stained letter, see Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  pessima turba = Locher, Stult. , fol. v: “ranarum pessima turba”; cf. Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .): “. . . pessima turba.” – Poena scelus — deos For the thought, cf. Her. Chr. .–, n.  Poena . . . sua . . . manet Paul. Nol. Carm. .: “sacrilegum sua poena manet.”  Sine crimine = Her. Chr. ., n. crimine laesa ≈ Ov. Tr. ...  ultores . . . deos = Prop. ..; cf. Ov. Met. .. gloria vera = Petrarch, Africa .: “Gloria vera placet”; Marul. Epigr. ..: “ex vero gloria vera bono”; Mant. Epigr. . (fol. r): “supercilio gloria vera caret.” – At tu — una mei Cf. Hutten, Italia –.

notes to responsio maximiliani   



        



passa graves motus Tum. .: “Passa graves rerum motus tristesque procellas.” fracta malis = Idyl. .; cf. Luc. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .; Tum. .; .. vitam — mei Imitating Andrel. Livia ..: “. . . haec vitam spes fovet una meam”; cf. Tib. ..–. adventus spes . . . mei Cf. Accl. .: “Solius adventus spes mihi facta tui.” Ecce, novum = Ov. Am. ... spondet . . . Fortuna Verg. A. .. rerum Fortuna = Luc. . (different). Fortuna tenorem = Ov. Ep. .; Man. .. iam revoluta rota est For the image, see Sylv. duae ., n. Adde . . . animo vires Hutten, Querel. ..: “Addam animo vires”; cf. Ov. Met. .; Tr. ... novas . . . vires Verg. A. .. te iam periisse puta Cf. Ov. Tr. ... nec caede malis Cf. Verg. A. .. Exiguum . . . tempus Her. Chr. ., n. Exiguum est, quod = Ov. Rem. . tempus abesse = Ov. Ep. .. vel quisquam credere possit Mart. ... Polliciti — mei Cf. Ov. Ep. .; Mart. ..; Eob. Val. .: “Polliciti non sunt pondera plena mei.” Caetera — feremus For this conclusion to a heroic letter, cf. Her. Chr. ., n. responsa feremus ≈ Verg. A. .. Armorum . . . nihil Sarmat. ; Nor. .

B Edited by Böcking in Hutten, Opera, : (introd. to Hutten, Epigr.). candide lector Ov. Tr. ..; ... ad eam rem . . . pertinentia Gel. ..: “Verba . . . ad eam rem pertinentia”; Eob. Orat. ., n.: “multa ad hanc rem pertinentia.”

B This poem is not included among Hutten’s epigrams in Delitiae, . It was first edited in Münch, :–, from the posthumous reprint C. For a critical text (based on B, but lacking the variants of A), see Hutten, Opera, :–, no. a. Likewise based on B is Kühlmann, Lyrik, , with German translation and notes.



notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

Under the impression that most of Hutten’s epigrams to Maximilian were written during his first stay in Italy, Böcking explains the pasquils B  and  as originating in the aftermath of the reconciliation between Pope Leo X and King Louis XII in . However, the reference to the torches carried about in Florence, the mocking of Maximilian’s crab-like progress in Italy, and the scornful question, “Caesar ubi est?” all point unmistakably to Maximilian’s ignominious retreat from Italy in March of . Cf. D. Gnoli, “Storia di Pasquino (dalle origini al Sacco del Borbone): Parte seconda ed ultima,” Nuova antologia di scienze, lettere ed arti, Third Series,  (), –; Wulfert, –; Hutten, Italia –, n.; Eob. Max. –. We can thus place epigrams B  and  in the early spring of . Gnoli, , and Grimm, Hutten, , suggest that Hutten affixed the two pasquils to the Pasquino statue. If so, he could not have done it on the traditional day, April , for by then he had already left Rome; see Grimm, Hutten, . Meter: Elegiac distich.    –

       

gens Itala = Sil. ., . vates . . . deos = Ov. Tr. ... Caesar ubi est? = Hutten, Italia ; l.  below. Certa nec — orbe deus The three famed oracles are mentioned together in Cic. Div. .; Nep. Lys. . (noted by Böcking), in the same order as in Hutten’s epigram; Jakob Locher, Historia de Rege Frantie, Act , sig. ar (Dietl, , ll. –): “Delphos . . . , Dodoneas columbas . . . , Hamonem Iovem.” sylva . . . Iovis Verg. A. .. canit abdita vates Tib. ..; cf. Sil. .. Lybico . . . orbe = Strozzi, Eroticon ..; cf. Luc. .; .. corniger orbe deus Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Ars .; Met. .; .. miro . . . motu = Hutten, German. : “Romanas acies miro Germania motu/. . . conciderit.” At Leo, desperans In B the reading is far more cautious: “Atque aliquis, metuens.” Cf. the headnote to epigram B  below. Caesaris esse = Prop. ..; Ov. Pont. ... esse loco = Ov. Tr. ..; ..; Pont. ..; ... Maxima res = Verg. A. .. nec te . . . peritior alter Cf. Ov. Tr. ... Dic . . . vates optime Cf. Verg. A. .. Caesar ubi est? = Hutten, Italia ; l.  above.

b ]

notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot



B Reprinted in Delitiae, :. Edited in Münch, :; Böcking, :, no. b; Kühlmann, Lyrik, , with translation and notes. Münch takes the text from C, Böcking and Kühlmann from B. Meter: Elegiac distich.     

Pone metum = [Tib.] ..; Ov. Ep. .; Ars .; Met. .; et al. vivit adhuc Ov. Met. .; Pont. ... ego vates = Prop. ... Adria Nob. , n. Haec . . . dixi . . . futura = Hutten, Nemo (II)  (Opera, :): “‘Haec etiam’ dixi ‘culpa futura mea est.’ ” Haec ego non = Prop. ..; ..; Ov. Pont. ...

B Hutten did not include this poem in B. Böcking nevertheless reprints it among the epigrams as Epigr.  (Hutten, Opera, :), on the assumption that its omission must have been accidental. In consequence, his edition contains  epigrams — not the round  that seem to have been intended. Böcking’s reasoning is badly flawed, because it neglects the long interval between composition and publication. When Hutten wrote the epigram in early , he was still a private student in Rome. As such he felt free to speak his mind on the political situation in Italy. The present poem is an excellent example. It is sharply critical of Leo X. Indeed, the pope is charged with betraying Italy to the French and being “blind, as always.” When Hutten was preparing his Italian epigrams for publication in the latter half of , however, our knight was in the employ of Archbishop Albert of Mainz, whom Leo X had just elevated to the rank of cardinal. In consequence, he now had to be far more diplomatic in his language. Anything deemed too critical of Leo X had to be excised. This is the true reason why Hutten omits the present epigram. He likewise removes the mocking reference to Leo X from B ., above, by changing the hostile, “At Leo, desperans,” to the blandly vague, “At aliquis, metuens.” To cover his tracks, he even resorts to supplying a misleading title for epigram B ; see the headnote there. A similar pattern is at work in Hutten’s Italia. At Italia  Hutten softens “Thuscus usurarius” (Leo X) to the more palatable “Thuscus opum mercator.” Not content to bowdlerize



notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

his own poems, Hutten alters Eobanus’ lines too, whenever he deems them politically incorrect. See esp. Max. , where he changes the mocking phrase “sacra positus Leogallus in arce” to the harmless “Latia clausus speculator in arce”; and Max. , where he removes the worrisomely explicit “Leo” and changes it to “tibi.” Cf. Max. , n., where the pattern of change reflects the altered political situation vis-à-vis the French. Meter: Elegiac distich. tit.     

conventu Hutten uses this word in the title of epigram B  below, as printed in B: “De conventu Bononiensi.” Genitor . . . deorum Phaed. ..; ..; Stat. Theb. .–; Silv. ... Genitor, miserere = Sil. .. Grande . . . malum Hor. S. ..; Sen. Her. F. ; Her. O. . terra Latina = Mant. Sylv. .. (fol. r); Eob. Sylv. duae .; Her. Chr. .. abstulit omnem = Ov. Met. .. pacem . . . amicam Pontano, Urania .: “amicae foedera pacis.” Leo Böcking explains the name as “Veneti” (i.e., the Lion of Venice). He was misled by Hutten’s revised heading to the immediately following epigram no.  (= B ). See the headnote to epigram B .

B Edited in Münch, :, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :, no. , from B. In the early version printed by Eobanus, the epigram has the heading, “De eodem.” Its subject, in other words, is the same as that of epigram B : the Concordat of Bologna, negotiated between Pope Leo X and King Francis I in December . As we have seen, however, Hutten deliberately excluded epigram B  in B, because the poem now seemed far too critical of the pope. With epigram B  gone, however, he had to come up with a new title for B . Afraid of reviling the pope at this stage of his career, but reluctant to excise yet another epigram, Hutten simply gave the poem a different title: “De Gallorum et Venetorum amicitia.” With this sleight of hand, he directs attention away from Leo X and focuses it instead on the Lion of Venice (Leo). All that remains of the poem’s original thrust is the ironic phrase placido Leone (l. ) — a satiric touch that perfectly fits Hutten’s mockeries of Leo X, not the Republic of Venice. Meter: Elegiac distich.

b ] 

    

notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot



Aurea saecla . . . redeunt Brant, “De prospera regis Maximiliani electione. Anno ,” in Var. carm., sig. bcv (Texte .): “Regibus his redeunt aurea saecla deum”; Bebel, “Ecloga triumphalis de victoria Caesaris Maximiliani contra Boiemos,” in Opera Bebeliana (Pforzheim, ), sig. Gv: “Aurea falciferi redeunt iam secula divi”; Celtis, Od. ..: “Te vivo redeunt aurea saecula.” Cf. Verg. A. .– . iterum redeunt Prop. ... redeunt — regna = Verg. Ecl. .. Cumaea . . . Sybilla Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .. Cum canibus — damae = Verg. Ecl. .. ovile lupos ≈ Ov. Ars .; Tr. ... Inter se coeunt Verg. G. .; Man. .. coeunt inimica Cf. Hor. Ars . placido . . . Leone Mart. ...

B Edited in Münch, :–, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :, no. , from B. In B, Hutten titles the poem, “De conventu Bononiensi ad Italos.” Unlike epigrams B  and B , where he takes pains to cover his tracks by either omission or revision, Hutten could afford to reveal his original intentions here, for the simple reason that there is no telltale reference to Leo X. Böcking correctly associates epigram B  with epigram B  (his no. ), which however he misinterprets as referring to a pact between the French and the Venetians. Meter: Elegiac distich.      

genus acre virum Verg. G. .; Eob. Max. . plausus . . . pompa = Ov. Am. ... aspirat — labori = Verg. A. .. invicti roboris Sil. .; Anthol. Lat. b.: “inmensos invicti roboris aestus.” esse puta = Ov. Ep. .; Pont. ... Germano milite = Hutten, German. . milite vires = Sil. .. omnia CAESAR erunt ≈ Luc. ..

B Edited in Münch, :, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :–, no. , from B. Böcking misunderstands the thrust of the poem and places it in .



notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

Meter: Elegiac distich. 

Sequanicos . . . Francos Cf. Celtis, Germania : “Sequanicis . . . Gallis.”

B Edited in Münch, :, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :, no. , from B. Böcking takes l.  to refer to the Treaty of Blois, signed by France and Venice on  March . By that treaty, France was to reconquer the Duchy of Milan, while the Republic of Venice was to recover the territories she had lost to the League of Cambrai. But as the allusions to the Battle of Marignano show, Hutten is reacting to events in the late summer of . Meter: Elegiac distich.  

 –

Ne, Rana, superbi = Hutten, Marcus  (Opera, :). Marco semileone = Hutten, Exhortatio (II) ; cf. Epigr. .: “Veneto . . . semileone.” In a note to the present line, Böcking explains “semileone” as “alato” (“winged”). But even with wings, a lion is still a lion, not a “half lion.” Hence the term must be understood as an insult to the Venetians’ manhood (cf. semivir). Their symbol may be the lion; but they themselves are not lionhearted. The derogatory sense comes out clearly in Exhortatio (II) : “Tu natos e Marte viros ne crede timeri,/Dum sinis a Marco semileone peti.” suus . . . deus = V. Fl. .. Aut ego fallor Aut = Ov. Met. .–.

B Edited in Münch, :–, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :–, no. , from B. With his bias for the earliest possible date, Böcking places the epigram in . On  April , the French defeated the Spanish at the bloody Battle of Ravenna, but withdrew from Italy after just a few months. When they returned to Italy the following spring, they were defeated by Swiss forces at the Battle of Novara on June . However, Böcking fails to notice that the epigram explicitly says that the French remained entrenched in Italy over the winter. Hutten must be thinking, therefore, of the French invasion of Lombardy in . It is true that this invasion took place in the late summer, not the spring; but then Hutten is writing poetry, not a history book. Writing now in the winter of , he predicts that Emperor Maximilian will return in the early spring to

b ]

notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot



drive the French out of Italy again. Hutten makes similar predictions in epigrams B , B , and B . For the central image, cf. Hutten, Epigr. .–: “quid enim si lilia, quae tam/Nunc frondent, sicco stipite flacca cadant?” Meter: Elegiac distich.    



Ver erat = Ov. Met. .; Fast. .; [Aus.] De rosis nascentibus . bissenis mensibus Aus. Genethliacos . Gelida . . . ab Arcto = Gunther, Lig. .; cf. Luc. .; Claud. VI. Cons. Hon. . lilia frondent = Jakob Locher, Historia de Rege Frantie, Act , “Chorus heroicus,” l. , in Dietl, , referring to France triumphant: “passim victricia lilia frondent.” Cf. Hutten, Vir bonus : “frondentia lilia”; Epigr. .– (quoted above). dubiis rebus Verg. A. .; .. rebus habere fidem = Hutten, Nemo (II)  (Opera, :).

B  Edited in Münch, :, from C; in Hutten, Opera, :, no. , from B. Meter: Elegiac distich.  

retrogrado . . . cancro Walter, Alex. .; Eob. Max. , n. tellus Itala Ov. Fast. ..

B – Böcking inserts B – in Hutten, Opera, :, immediately after Epigr. . He inserts B  in Hutten, Opera, :, immediately after Epigr. . B  Meter: Iambic strophe (an iambic trimeter alternating with an acatalectic iambic dimeter). 

longos dies Buc. .–, n.; Her. Chr. ., n.



notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot

[b 

B  The distich puns on various meanings of Gallus: “Frenchman,” “barnyard cock,” and “castrated priest of Cybele.” Cf. Hymn. B . Meter: Elegiac distich.  

fertur petiisse = Hrotsv. Maria ; Mant. . Parthen. .. At . . . audito . . . nomine Verg. A. .; cf. Ov. Ep. .; Pont. ..; ...

B  Meter: Elegiac distich.  

Galle, quid exultas? Cf. Ov. Fast. .. Solis — caecus eris Of all animals, only the eagle is able to stare into the sun. For this bit of proverbial lore, see Plin. Nat. .; .; TPMA, s.v. “Adler,” nos. –. Solis . . . lampada Sil. .; ..

B  Meter: Elegiac distich. 

Lernaeo . . . angue Verg. A. ..

B  Edited in Hutten, Opera, :. As Böcking suggests in a note at Opera, :, Eobanus follows up on Hutten, Epigr. . Meter: Elegiac distich. 

    

Ludite — poetae Cf. Hutten, Epigr. .–, about Maximilian’s war with Venice: “Bellum ingens oritur: proh numina! materia apta est/ Quam sibi desumat quodlibet ingenium.” materiam . . . causamque Juv. .. Castalias . . . aquas = verse letter of August  to Mutianus Rufus, in Mutian. Ep. , l. : “Te duce Castalias eiaculantur aquas.” Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Mart. ... Adria Nob. , n. utraque digna = Claud. Rapt. Pros. .: “utraque digna coli.” digna cani = Vict., ded. ; cf. Her. Chr. .. satis est Caesar = Mart. Sp. . (different). det Odyssean = Hod. : “Quis det Odyssean aliquam mihi?”

b ]

notes to de eadem re epigrammata aliquot



B  Edited in Hutten, Opera, :. Meter: Glyconics.   

  

Clames . . . licet Juv. .. Nugas . . . novas Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .): “nugas commemorant . . . novas.” pedo In De pronuntiatione, ASD .:, l.  (published in ), Erasmus jokingly compares a schoolteacher to a bishop: “Habet ille pro pedo ferulam.” Mart. .. compares the schoolmaster’s rod to a scepter. Hercules The Greek hero was a byword for any strong man. See Otto . fortibus et bonis Hor. Carm. ... peior es omnibus Nob. .

notes to VICTORIA CHRISTI AB INFERIS

Dedicatory Letter The opening section of this letter (ll. –) seems originally to have been an epigram to the reader. Eobanus wrote it in mid-March , when readying his book for publication in Leipzig. In  he turned that epigram into a dedicatory letter by adding ll. – in praise of Dr. Heinrich Eberbach. See pp. – above. In  Eobanus had good reason to dedicate the book to Heinrich Eberbach, partly because of the hospitality shown to him the preceding summer, partly too because Heinrich was dean of the medical faculty (he occupied that position continuously from  to ). As such, he was a man worth cultivating. However, as Mutianus Rufus and others could have told Eobanus, by openly courting Heinrich Eberbach he risked losing another powerful friend, Herbord von der Marthen, who in the summer of  had become grand syndic of Erfurt. Herbord was an implacable foe of the Eberbachs and hated anyone associated with them. For all we know, that may have been a key reason why Eobanus did not publish Victoria Christi in . See the introd. to Hymnus paschalis, p.  above. By Easter  such maneuverings were no longer necessary. Arrested for treason after his rectorate in / and confined to his home, Herbord had fled Erfurt early in . Meter: Elegiac distich. –



 

Fugit — vestit Amor For other evocations of springtime in Eobanus’ poetry, see Ruf. –; Buc. .–; Her. Chr. .–, n.; Hymn. – . Here the immediate models are Hor. Carm. ..– and Ven. Fort. Carm. ..– (the opening verses of “De pascha”). Cf. also Mant. Ecl. .–. Fugit — nives = Ruf. : “Fugit hyems, abiere nives, cessere pruinae,/ Sarmaticumque gelu.” Cf. Laud. , n.: “Altera fugit hyems.” Nova gaudia = Buc. B ., n.; Her. Chr. ., n. gaudia rerum = Luc. .. Alma . . . Venus Buc. ., n. Indole nativa Sylv. ..: “Cum mihi nativa spirarent indole versus.”



 



 –    

   – 

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[ded.

Gratia mundum = Avit. Carm. .: “varioque colore/Plurima distinctum pingebat gratia mundum.” Cf. Ven. Fort. Carm. ..: “Ecce renascentis testatur gratia mundi/Omnia cum domino dona redisse suo.” vultu . . . venit [Sen.] Her. O. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Nunc propiore Ov. Met. .: “pete nunc propiore loco.” propiore deo Ov. Ars ., referring (as here) to the sun. genitivae . . . terrae Cf. Hymn. : “Vis . . . genitiva terrae”; Theoc. . and Sylv. ..: “genitivi gaudia veris.” munera terrae = Hor. Ep. ... Sponte sua = Buc. ., n. virides . . . comas = Mart. ... explicuere comas = Claud. in Rufin. , praef.  (referring to trees); cf. Eob. Buc. . (of hair). Vernat — sylvae = Buc. ., n. Iucundior aer = Claud. Epith. . aer Spirat = Vict. –; cf. Her. Chr. .; Pontano, Hort. .: “Spirat odoratus Zephyris felicibus aer.” temperat aura fretum Cf. Hor. Carm. ..–; Celtis, Am. .. (quoted in Eob. Gen. ebrios. ..): “. . . quo rigidum temperet aura gelu.” totumque per orbem = Luc. .; Epic. Drusi ; cf. Eob. Laud. , n.; . Pube nova Poliziano, Od. ., in springtime: “Laetum pube nova, post gelidas nives,/Serpentem, positis exuviis.” Nos quoque = Ov. Am. ..; Ep. ., ; Met. .; et al. degeneres elegos In the Munich and Münster copies, a student’s hand adds the interlinear gloss, “molles versus” (“love poems”). Cf. Laud. , n.; Nup. , n. The verse is paralleled at Vict., app. ., likewise drawing a sharp contrast between amatory and “heroic” verse. levia ista = Her. Chr. .; Idyl. .. For the epithet levis applied to elegiacs, see Ov. Am. ..–; Tr. .–; Pont. ..; Mart. ... carmina facta novo = Hutten, Querel. .., in praise of Sebastian Brant: “ingenio carmina facta novo”; cf. Ov. Tr. .; Pont. ... Acheruntidos orae Cf. Lucr. .: “. . . Acheruntis in oras.” The form Acheruntidos may have been coined by Eobanus. audaci pectine Cf. Buc. ., n. Also cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .: “audaci promere cantu.” digna cani = Max. B .; cf. Her. Chr. .. Quandoquidem — chelim Cf. Her. Chr. .–; Hymn. –. Quandoquidem — Christo Cf. AH :, no. .: “Tellus herbida/ resurgenti plaudit/Christo”; Eob. Ruf. : “Omnia nunc rident reduci plaudentia Phaebo”; Vict., app. .. Quandoquidem reduci = Luth. .. reduci . . . Christo ≈ Eleg. .: “reducem . . . Christum.”

ded.]

  –

   



–  – 

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



omnia Christo = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; .; .; Mant. . Parthen. .; Eob. Luth. .. novo — veri Cf. Vict., app. .. avium . . . milia = Verg. G. .; cf. Eob. Sylv. ..: “Milia per frondes avium nova carmina cantant.” quis . . . probet Ov. Am. ..; Mart. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Illo — viro Cf. Luth. .–: “Dic age per Musas quas ille coronat Apollo/Quem peperit nullo Pieris usa viro”; Val. .– in the editio princeps (): “Coelorum decus Uranie, sed Apolline nata,/Quem peperit nullo Pieris usa viro”; Epic. .: “rex . . ./Quem peperit verum virgo puella Iovem.” Illo precipue = Ov. Ars .; l.  below. ductante choream ≈ Locher, Stult. , fol. v: “In girum saltant pedibus ductantque choreas.” Quem peperit = Ov. Ib. . nullo — viro Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Illo precipue = l.  above, n. Pythone perempto = Claud. in Rufin. , praef. ; Mant. . Parthen. .. Leticiae . . . novae paeana canentes Cf. Verg. A. .; Mant. . Parthen. .: “prolique novae paeana canorum/. . . cecinere”; . Parthen. .: “. . . Christo sacrum paeana canentes.” Leticiae . . . novae Pug. , n. assueto . . . maius ebur Cf. Laud. –, n. For ebur in the sense of “lyre,” see Laud. B ., n. tangere . . . ebur = Epic. .; cf. Balbi, Epigr. .: “Facundum . . . sacro pectine tanget ebur.” Quae tibi — damus Cf. Vict., app. .–. laus . . . decusque Cf. V. Fl. .; Eob. Laud. . laus prima Sylv. ..: “prima terrae laus Herichuntiae”; ..: “eques, laus prima tuorum.” decus . . . Nominis Ov. Met. .–. exiguo de lare = l.  of an epigram that Eobanus wrote into a presentation copy of his Dialogi tres (Erfurt, ). Thanking Wolfgang von Tenstedt for his drinking parties, Eobanus contrasts the Erfurt patrician’s generosity with his own poverty: “Magna merebatur pietas tua munera, Vvolphe,/Sed nos exiguo de lare parva damus./Munera sed vere sic maxima nostra putabis,/Sic tibi, sic placeant, ut tua vina mihi.” The copy, formerly in the Bibliothek des Evangelischen Ministeriums (Augustinerkloster) at Erfurt, is now in the local Stadtund Regionalbibliothek. A facsimile of its title page appears in Horst R. Abe, Die Erfurter Medizinische Fakultät in den Jahren – (Leipzig, ), . Cf. Hor. Carm. ..: “parvo sub lare”; Celtis, Am. ..: “Quod superest vitae, superi, concedite Celti,/Illud ut exiguo sub lare tutus agat!” A student’s hand in the Munich and Münster copies glosses “exiguo de lare” with “parvo ingenio.” Eobanus’ original intent,



    – 

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[ded.

however, was not so much to highlight his modesty as to apologize for presenting the dedicatee with a poem composed several years earlier, for another occasion. This interpretation is confirmed by the reading “antiquo de lare” in the posthumous version of  (Vict., app. .). There too, Eobanus acknowledges that the poem was not written expressly for the dedicatee, but had come from his old files (app. .–). mea . . . Calliopea Ov. Tr. .; Eob. Sylv. ... Quod — remitti Cf. Prud. c. Symm. .: “his ego pro meritis quae praemia digna rependam,/non habeo”; Eob. Hod., app., l. : “Quaenam pro meritis tibi praemia digna relinquam?” ingentes . . . Iliadas Wirt. –; cf. Prop. ... Accipe parva = Ov. Fast. . (different); Claud. Carm. minora .. ista — soles Cf. Luth. .–; Idyl., . ded.  (. ded. ); Accl. .; Coluth., ded. –: “Nunc age Thebani carmen geniale poetae/Quaque fide debes adsere quaque potes.” metuent — famae ≈ Psalt. .: “Tolle procul, quoniam metui, mala nomina famae.” Cf. Ov. Ars .; Luc..; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.

Victoria Christi ab inferis Meter: Hexameter. –

 – 

–



Infernae — vocari With their epic propositio, their invocation to Christ, and their rejection of the pagan divinities, the opening verses are studiously similar to Nup. –, where see notes. The first four lines imitate Mutius, Triumph. – (which in their turn imitate Claud. Rapt. Pros. .–): “Infernos aditus et fracti claustra profundi/Aetheria pulsata manu spoliataque caeci/Antra ducis canimus. Christi, pia Musa, triumphum/Incipe.” Infernae . . . domus = Luc. .; cf. Eob. Sylv. duae ., n. nigri — Iovis [Sen.] Her. O. . Regna Iovis = Sil. .. tetro . . . carcere Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. ereptos carcere manes Cf. Hymn. –; Vict. . For carcere manes, see Sen. Phaed. . Dicere conanti . . . influe Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Val. .–: “Musa, repertoris medicarum filia rerum,/Te duce conanti scribere pauca fave.” Cf. also the invocation to the Trinity in l.  of Eobanus’ inchoate Fasti, as preserved in Epp. , sig. Cr: “Annue, Summe, tuas conanti dicere laudes,/O qui quicquid habes, trinus et unus habes.” solito maiore = Aus. Epigr. ., as printed in Renaissance eds.: “solito maiore cachinno/Concussus.”

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



 –   –

  –  



  



maiore Camoena = Mant. . Parthen. .: “Sed neque Pierii fontis, neque Phocidis undae/nunc vada sunt tentanda mihi: maiore Camena/et maioris opus nunc est ope numinis”; Eob. Idyl. .. Christe . . . influe Paul. Nol. Carm. .: “Influe pectoribus semper tibi, Christe, dicatis.” Domitor Stygis Spangenberg, Triumph. : “Deus, ille Stigis Domitor.” opus exiguum = Ov. Pont. ..; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. sancta . . . Numina = Mant. . Parthen. .–: “sancta precati/ Numina terrigenis Christi implorate favorem.” veterum — deorum = Her. Chr. ., n. non dedignare = Ov. Ep. .. Cum tener — obambulat orbis Eobanus combines the creation story of Genesis – with the one in Ov. Met. .–: God creates the world out of primeval Chaos, binds the elements together, causes the stars to revolve in their orbits and the seasons to follow regular successions, and so on. In this combination he follows the example of Mant. . Parthen. .–. For ll. –, see especially Boeth. Consol. .m.–. Also cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; ll. – below. tener . . . orbis Verg. Ecl. .. pubesceret orbis Sylv. ..: “iam viridi coma/Pubescit orbis”; Venus .: “Vere novo variis pubescit floribus orbis.” penderet in aere ≈ Ov. Met. .: “pendebat in aere tellus”; .; Eob. Laud. B .. necdum Firma satis Hod. . concordia mundo = Luc. .; Man. .. Naturae . . . Pater Brant, “Contra Iudeos et hereticos,” in Var. carm., sig. Ar (Texte .): “Naturae genitor et pater omnigenae”; Marul. Hymn. nat. ..: “Pater Naturae, adsis, precor.” Cf. l.  below, with note at ll. –. statuit Pater Verg. G. .. nexibus aequis Marul. Hymn. nat. ..: “Complexus aequis undique nexibus.” certas elementa ≈ Pontano, Urania ., of the seasons: “Hasque vices pater ille deum volventibus annis/Esse dedit, quas ipsa aeterno foedere servant/Tam certos elementa simul retinentia nexus.” Cf. Sen. Med. ; Man. .. elementa vices = Anthol. Lat. . and Dracont. Satisfactio  (imitating Hor. Carm. ..): “Alternant elementa vices.” sydera rebus = Gunther, Lig. .: “mundanis dominantia sidera rebus.” foecundo . . . ubere Prud. c. Symm. .. Sponte sua = Buc. ., n. vegetis . . . herbis ≈ Theoc. .: “Fontes et vegetae, plantatio nobilis, herbae.” Aera — pisces Cf. Paul. Nol. Carm. ..



  –   –     –  –

– 

– 

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Aera — tranarent Cf. Celtis, Am., ded. : “aera et aquas tranarent.” Cf. also Verg. G. .; A. .; Stat. Theb. .. Aera . . . liquidum = Man. .; Stat. Theb. .. Deque — prodita Cf. Ov. Fast. .–. De . . . caho veteri Her. Chr. ., n. agnati . . . regni Sylv. ..: “exerces agnatum in carmina regnum.” foedera regni = Luc. .; Stat. Theb. .. Non tamen — flammas Eobanus imitates Ov. Met. .–, as students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies confirm. Monarchae Erasmus, Carm. .: “. . . caelique solique monarcha”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. semine mentis = l.  below. Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Fast. .; Sil. .. mentis Aethereae Petrarch, Ecl. .; Aen. Silv. Epygr. .; Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r). vacuumque — orbem A reminiscence of Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “. . . vacuaeque suis cultoribus urbes.” Cf. Verg. G. .; .; Ov. Met. .; Eob. Nob. . magnae . . . viscera matris Hod. ; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. For the tag viscera matris, see Ov. Met. .. Condidit ergo = Prud. Amart. ; cf. Amart. ; l.  below, n. dominumque vocavit = Ov. Am. ... Imperiumque . . . dedit Verg. A. .. cuncta . . . viventia Prud. Perist. .. Verum — orbis Students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies refer to the relative distances of sun and moon from the earth, as given in Plin. Nat. .. quaecumque — alto Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. sol magnus = V. Fl. .. Hic mihi — flammas Cf. Verg. Ecl. .–. Students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies point to Lact. Inst. ..: “De hac hominis fictione poetae quoque quamvis corrupte, tamen non aliter tradiderunt. Namque hominem de luto a Prometheo factum esse dixerunt. Res eos non fefellit, sed nomen artificis.” Cf. Pol. Verg. Invent. ..: “Poetae vero fabulantur homines primitus aut Promethei molli luto esse formatos aut Deucalionis Pyrrhaeque ex duris lapidibus natos.” usum fomite — flammas Cf. Hod. –. rapuisse Promethea flammas Cf. Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v): “sancto igne . . . ,/. . . non quem rapuisse Promethea fama est”; epigram by Eobanus Hessus in Johann Regiomontanus, Problemata XXIX. Saphaeae nobilis instrumenti astronomici (Nuremberg, ), sig. Ar: “Coelestes ferula traxisse Promethea flammas.” Hoc igitur — ligni See Vulg. Gen. –; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .–; .–; Hymn. –. divinae animal rationis Cf. Cic. Leg. . (quoted in Lact. ..; Pol. Verg. Invent. ..): “animal hoc providum, sagax, multiplex,

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

–  



   –   –  –  



acutum, memor, plenum rationis et consilii, quem vocamus hominem, praeclara quadam condicione generatum esse a supremo deo; solum est enim ex tot animantium generibus atque naturis particeps rationis et cogitationis, quom cetera sint omnia expertia.” illo Temporis = Man. .–: “in illo/temporis articulo.” voce vocari = Ov. Met. .. E terra genitum Ov. Met. .. informis . . . terrae Verg. G. .–. quota portio = Sylv. ..: “Ipse licet vestrae vix sim quota portio plebis”; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. portio terrae = Nob. , referring to Eve; Sylv. ..: “Prussiacae . . . portio terrae.” Cf. Juvenc. .: “terrae portio corpus.” ut memorant = Ov. Met. .; .; Tr. ..; l.  below. agri de parte Damasci In medieval belief, God created Adam out of the clay that he had taken from the plain of Damascus. He then took Adam to the Earthly Paradise. See Peter Comestor, Historia scholastica, Gen.  (PL , col.  A): “Remansit homo in loco ubi factus est, in agro scilicet Damasceno? non. Ubi ergo translatus est? in paradisum quem Deus die tertia plantaverat.” A ms. note at Eob. Nob.  in the Copenhagen copy ascribes the story to “Eusebius and others”: “Legimus enim apud Eusebium et alios ex agro Damasceno partem terre tulisse archangelum.” Eobanus originally wrote “raptam de virgine terra” (B). He revises this phrase here because he has already used terra twice in the preceding line. For the reading of B, cf. Ambros. In Luc. : “ex terra virgine Adam, Christus ex virgine . . . factus”; Ep. ..: “primus ille homo, . . . ex terra creatus virgine”; Lotario, Miseria .: “Adam . . . fuit formatus de terra, sed virgine; tu vero procreatus de semine, sed immundo”; Brant, Var. carm., sig. Ar (Texte .): “Peccat Adam virgo, natus de virgine terra.” viridantibus hortis = Col. .. Aere perpetuo veris Eternal spring is a standard feature in descriptions of the Golden Age. See Her. Chr. ., n. invidit serpens Peter Comestor, Historia scholastica, Gen.  (PL , col.  D): “Serpens invidit, mentitus est, decepit.” vetiti — ligni Cf. Aug. Enarrationes in Psa. .: “homini . . . cum de ligno vetito gustasset.” germine ligni ≈ Prud. Apoth. . Hinc — hinc Modeled on Verg. A. .. Cf. Eob. Tum. .; Idyl. .: “Prima mali labes, et tantae caussa ruinae.” ruinae Decipula For the image, cf. Vulg. Os. .: “laqueus ruinae.” A student’s hand in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies glosses ruinae with “mortis.” Inde per amplum = Verg. A. ., referring to Elysium. per amplum — curarum Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. dulcibus arvis = Walter, Alex. .; cf. Verg. Ecl. .. Exilium Cf. Her. Chr. .–, nn.



   

  

–

 –   –  

–

notes to victoria christi ab inferis durus . . . labor Verg. G. .; Sen. Her. F. ; Thy. . anxia vitae = Petrarch, Africa .: “vidue non anxia vite/Dulcedo”; Eob. Idyl. .: “ignobilis anxia vitae/Tempora”; Psalt. , arg. : “anxia vitae/Vulnera.” obnoxia curis ≈ Verg. G. .. Clausa . . . ianua = Ov. Ars .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., in similar context. caelestis . . . ianua regni Her. ..; cf. Max. , n. annorum tot milibus = Campano, Opera, sig. Ev (“De Sulmona,” Epigrammata .): “Sim licet annorum tot milibus inclyta Sulmo.” Cf. l.  below, n. cognato caelo Ov. Met. .. A student’s hand in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies glosses this phrase with “habentes aliquam divinitatem.” superumve hominumve Cf. Sil. .. miseratus iniquum ≈ Verg. .. Humani generis = Ov. Met. .; Luc. .; .. quod condidit ipse Avit. Carm. .; cf. Prud. Amart. ; l.  above. Rex — Parens = Psalt. .; cf. Enn. Ann.  (Verg. A. .; .; ., ): “divum pater atque hominum rex”; Pol. Verg. Invent. ..: “Deus enim — ‘divum pater atque hominum rex’ (ut poeta ait).” hominum divumque Parens = Vegio, Astyanax ; cf. Stat. Theb. .; Juv. .. ille — Conditor Cf. Hypocr. B .: “. . . ille Deus magni Faber unicus orbis”; Tum. .: “. . . ille deum Pater et Faber unicus orbis.” For orbis Conditor, see, for example, Prud. Cath. .; Apoth. ; c. Symm. .; Boeth. Consol. .m.. unicus orbis = Ov. Met. .; Prud. Amart. . intactae — alvo Closely paralleled in Hymn. –, nn. intactae . . . Virginis = Prud. Psych. ; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. regionis in oram = Theoc. .: “cuius . . . abiit regionis in oram?”; cf. Juvenc. .: “. . . solitae regionis ab oris”; Eob. Idyl. .: “Teutonidos . . . regionis in ora”; Nor. , ; Wirt. . Tectus — homo est Cf. Her. Chr. .–, n. humanae — carnis = Hod. ; cf. Her. Chr. ., nn.; ., n. humanae . . . carnis = Sedul. .: “humanae positurus tegmina carnis.” Natus homo est = Ov. Met. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. matris . . . alvo = Mant. . Parthen. .; cf. Lucr. .; Hor. Carm. ..; Ov. Met. .. Deum non exuit AH :, no. .: “Sic humana servans iura,/ Quod Deum non exuit.” Nunc age — capellae Cf. Mant. Parthen. .–, after describing how the shepherds spread the good news of Christ’s birth: “Non erat Oleniam fama haec nutrire capellam/Cretaea sub rupe Iovem.”

notes to victoria christi ab inferis     



 – 



– 



Nunc age . . . Iuppiter = Verg. G. .. Creteae . . . Idae Verg. A. .; Ov. Am. ..; Fast. .: “Nais Amalthea, Cretaea nobilis Ida,/dicitur in silvis occuluisse Iovem.” Ubera . . . Oleniae . . . capellae Cf. Buc. .; Her. Chr. ., n. Ubera . . . capellae = Ov. Met. .. abstulit omnem = Ov. Met. .. recta fides Her. Chr. ., n. est reddita mundo = Aetna . Iam . . . annorum . . . milia quinque Her. Chr. .; cf. Hor. Ep. ..; l.  above, n. Eobanus’ original reading, preserved in B, is “annorum bis milia bina.” There the phrasing goes back to Walter, Alex. .: “. . . annorum bis milia bina leguntur.” coecae . . . noctis = Ov. Met. .; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. caligine noctis = Sil. .: “nigrae caligine noctis”; Eob. Her. Chr. .; ll.  and  below. The darkness of the underworld was proverbial; see Her. Chr. ., n. requiem — laborum Cf. Vegio, Aen. : “. . . requiem finemque malorum”; Mant. . Parthen. .: “requiem . . . finemque laborum”; Eob. Laud. , n.; l.  below, n. Cum Deus — amaro Epitomized in Spangenberg, Triumph. –. Cum Deus humanae Cf. Mant. Dionys. . (fol. v): “Tum Deus humanae qui fundamenta salutis/Iecerat”; Eob. Hod. . humanae . . . vitae = Mant. Ecl. .. defunctus munere vitae = l.  of an introductory epigram by Philip Gundel of Passau, in Konrad Celtis’ Libri odarum (Strasbourg, May ), sig. ar: “rapidae defunctus munere vitae.” Gundel reuses the phrase in a verse letter to the reader printed on  December : “meritae defunctus munere vitae.” See The Prefatory Epistles of Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples and Related Texts, ed. Eugene F. Rice, Jr. (New York, ), , no. . The model for both Gundel’s and Eobanus’ verses is a line in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, “Deprecatoria ad Deum,” first published in his Opera omnia of  and often printed thereafter: “Ut cum mortalis perfunctus munere vitae/Ductus erit dominum spiritus ante suum.” For a text and translation of Pico’s poem, see The Complete Works of St. Thomas More, vol. , ed. Anthony S.G. Edwards et al. (New Haven, ), – . Fatalis . . . ligni Ov. Met. .. regnaret ab arbore ligni Vulg. Psa. ., in an Old Latin addition: “Dominus regnavit a ligno” (my emphasis). See, for example, Venantius Fortunatus’ famous hymn “Vexilla regis,” in AH :, no. .: “Impleta sunt, quae concinit/David fideli carmine/Dicendo nationibus:/Regnavit a ligno Deus.” The Psalm passage is quoted in the students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, and Munich copies. arbore ligni = Paul. Nol. Carm. . (the cross). Sanguineo — amaro Cf. Her. Chr. .–, nn. Sanguineo . . . amictu Stat. Theb. ..



–  –  –

  –  



    –     –

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Sol obscuravit AH :, no. .: “Terra tunc contremuit,/et sol obscuravit”; AH :, no. .: “Tunc terra contremuit,/se sol obscuravit.” triste . . . Supplicium = Verg. A. .–; Ov. Met. .–. triste perosus = Poliziano, Silv. .. mortuus . . . Morte Epic. .; .. Morte Creatoris = Her. Chr. .. Tum — cruento This detail does not come from the Gospel accounts, but from a Christological interpretation of Vulg. Isa. . and Apoc. .. According to a belief common in antiquity, a blood-red moon seen during a lunar eclipse portends calamity. stetit ore = Claud. in Rufin. .. ore cruento = Tib. ..; Verg. A. .; .; et al. Lathmia saxa = Catul. .; cf. Ov. Ep. .. rubore Confusam Col. .. et dulcia furta = Verg. G. .. Continuo invasit ≈ Verg. A. .. terram nox = Lucr. .. nox atra = Ilias Lat. ; Sil. .; Tifernate, “Hymnus in Trinitatem,” in Carm., sig. Av (at the Crucifixion): “Inque die medio tenebris nox atra profundis/Horruit.” Confusumque cahos = Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr (at Christ’s descent into hell): “Confusumque chaos secretaque Tartara.” For the motif, cf. Sen. Ag. –. cognita rerum = Lucr. .. montes — altis Cf. Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Buc. ., n. duris . . . saxis Ov. Am. ..; Ars .; Met. .; et al. Totaque naturae facies Hymn. . naturae facies = Man. .; Celtis, Am. ..; ... casu . . . amaro = Mant. Calam. . (p. ); cf. Ov. Tr. ... Desinite — terrae The Thessalian sorceresses of antiquity claimed they could draw down the moon from heaven. See, for example, Tib. ..; Hor. Epod. .–; .–; Verg. Ecl. .. Desinite — per Cf. Luth. .: “Desinite heu fatuae per aperta pericula mentes/Fortiter in vestram tendere perniciem!” For fatuae mentes, see also Her. Chr. ., n. Credere posse = Lucr. .. vices naturae Plin. Nat. .; Poliziano, Eleg. ..: “Naturae arcano concinit ore vices”; Eob. Val. .; l.  below. magicis . . . susurris = Mant. Ecl. .: “magicisve susurris.” solidissima pondera terrae Cf. Ov. Met. .. pondera terrae = Ov. Met. .. Viderat — labores When Dionysius the Areopagite saw the heavens darken at the very time that Jesus was being crucified in far-away Jerusalem, he exclaimed: “Aut deus nature patitur, aut machina mundi dissolvetur.” The legendary words were familiar to Eobanus’ readers, because they stand at the end of Johannes de Sacro Bosco’s popu-

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

    –  



 



lar astronomical textbook, Tractatus de sphera. See Lynn Thorndike, The Sphere of Sacrobosco and Its Commentators (Chicago, ), ; cf. ll. – below. For the story, see Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ed. Giovanni Paolo Maggioni, vol. . (Tavarnuzze, ), chap. . Medieval and Renaissance writers generally place Dionysius in Heliopolis, Egypt, when he observed the extraordinary eclipse. Others, however, place him among the philosophers in Athens. See Elizabeth McGrath, “Von den ‘Erdbeeren’ zur ‘Schule von Athen’: Titel und Beschriftungen von Kunstwerken der Renaissance,” Vorträge aus dem Warburg-Haus, vol.  (Berlin, ), –; Bonino Mombrizio, De passione Domini (; Leipzig, ), bk. , sig. Ir: “Talia Cecropia porro Dionisius urbe/Cum prospectaret . . ./[ lines]/. . . exclamans: ‘Aut inconsueta creatae/Naturae patitur deus, aut labefacta ruentis/In chaos antiquum solvetur machina mundi.’ ” Dyonisius A medieval spelling for Dionysius (the reading in B). Attide terra = Germ. Arat. : “Atthide terra/Natus Erichthonius”; Poliziano, Silv. .: “inque Atthide terra/Clarus honore Lichas.” casum . . . minatur Verg. A. .. mala . . . patitur . . . ultima Cf. Gen. ebrios. ., n.; l.  below. mala . . . ultima Prop. ... patitur Deus = Luc. .. Sponte sua = Buc. ., n. tantos . . . labores = Verg. A. .; .; ., . cogit natura = Lucr. ., ; ., . O divinum — motus Cf. Verg. G. .. divinum — lumen Hod. . mentem . . . beatam Prud. Epilogus ; Eob. Sylv. ..: “Lingua nobilis, ore fulminator,/Cui mentem genius dedit beatam.” causam . . . cognoscere = Ov. Tr. ... insoliti . . . motus Verg. G. .. cognoscere motus = Germ. Arat. : “mundi varios cognoscere motus”; Eob. Val. .. Nox — cursu Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .: “Attulerat medio nox alta silentia cursu”; . Parthen. .: “Nox silet, et medio volvuntur sidera lapsu”; . Parthen.  (fol. v): “Dum faceret medio nox alta silentia cursu”; . Parthen.  (fol. r): “Nox ruit et medio Pisces attollere cursu/Incipit”; Celtis, Am. ..: “Nox erat, et medio transmisit sidera caelo.” For nox erat, et, see also, for example, Prop. ..; Hor. Epod. .; Verg. A. .; .; .. soror aurea Phoebi = Ilias .; cf. Laud. , n.; Verg. G. .; Ov. Met. .. Umbrarum domus Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “ingens domus umbrarum, praecepsque barathrum.” Cf. Verg. A. .. vastae — cavernae Cf. Sil. .–. Ancient authors typically imagine hell as an immense cave. See, for example, Verg. A. .; Sen. Her. F. –, .

  –   –  

– –

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Dant sonitum = Verg. A. .; .; .. Fugit . . . Cerberus For the motif, cf. Stat. Theb. .–; Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr, at the coming of Christ: “Horruit immanis perculsi ianitor Orci.” limenque relinquit = Claud. III. Cons. Hon. ; cf. Verg. A. .. tria — cohercens Cf. Verg. G. .; Ov. Met. .; .; Spangenberg, Triumph. . Quaeque — suarumque The shades of the dead now suddenly remember the light of life, which they had forgotten after drinking from the River Lethe. For l. , cf. Verg. A. .–. Spem capiunt = Gunther, Lig. .; cf. Ov. Met. .; Fast. .; .; Prud. Amart. ; l.  below. Intentae expectant ≈ Verg. A. .. quae tanta potentia = Venus .: “Saevae quae tanta potentia pestis?”; Epic. .: “immitis quae tanta potentia fati.” Cf. Ov. Met. .; .. sedes . . . infernas Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; .; Sen. Phoen. –. Ipse cava — sidereo Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –: Rex coeli ut Christus Phlegetontis regna subivit, Princeps regali Pluto prospexit ab aula []. Ad sua dum sensit concurrere limina Christum [], “O socii [],” exclamat, “iam tempus sumere tela, Quandoquidem hic, sanie perfusus [] membra, propinquat, Praedaturus opes [] nostras umbrasque animasque. Scandite tecta alacres hostemque a limine telis Arcete obiectis [–] multa et compage serarum []. Regalem interea nos hic tutabimur armis [], Obicibus crebris, et duris vectibus aulam [–].” Agmine facto illi summa ad fastigia currunt, Vocibus horrisonis et tecta et moenia complent [–]. Ecce autem [] Christus per taetra silentia rupit Lumine sidereo [] claraque in luce refulsit [].

 –  

cava — extulit Cf. Ov. Met. .; Stat. Theb. .; Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Ex alta senior specula caput extulit album”; Pontano, Urania .: “cavo . . . caput extulit antro.” caput extulit . . . et . . . prospexit Cf. Verg. G. .; A. .. caput . . . atrum = Sid. Carm. .; cf. Sen. Her. F. . procul ecce = Mant. . Parthen. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. signis pallaque rubentem As he enters hell, Christ holds the cross staff and wears a mantle, both of which are stained with the blood of the Lamb. That Christ’s mantle is crimson goes back to a patristic interpretation of Vulg. Isa. . (quoted in students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies), combined with

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



Vulg. Marc. .. Cf. Venerable Bede, In Marci evangelium expositio .: “Mystice ergo in purpura qua indutus est Dominus, ipsa eius caro quam passionibus obiecit insinuatur, de qua praemissa dixerat prophetia: ‘quare ergo rubrum est indumentum tuum, et vestimenta tua quasi calcantium in torculari?’”  Ad . . . tendentem limina Verg. A. ..  infestis . . . signis Luc. .; ..  Consiliique . . . inops Ov. Met. .. mentis inops = Ov. Rem. ; cf. Ep. .; Ars .; et al. – ibimus, . . . O socii Hor. Carm. ... For O socii at the hexameter opening, see Verg. A. .; . (with wording that Eobanus imitates at ll. – below). At Walter, Alex. ., the Ancient Serpent addresses his minions with the same words: “o socii.”  ibimus,” inquit = Ov. Tr. ..; V. Fl. ..  hosti . . . inulto Ov. Ep. ..  nullaque — quietis Cf. Ov. Ib. ; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  pars orbis = Nemes. Ecl. .: “secreti pars orbis.” sub Arcton = Luc. .; Eob. Nup. , ; Sylv. duae .; Sylv. ..; Vict., app. ., n.  Indurata gelu Cf. Walter, Alex. ., referring to a part of hell: “Planicies, durata gelu.” mortalibus invia = l.  below; cf. Verg. A. ..  animas — ituras Imitating Verg. A. ..  Non licuit = Verg. A. .; .; Ov. Met. .. patrio . . . regno = l.  below; cf. Max. , n. considere regno = Stat. Theb. .; cf. Verg. A. ..  Quin protinus = Verg. A. .. – protinus alto . . . caelo Verg. A. ..  longo . . . spacio Lucr. ., , ; Ov. Fast. .; Tr. ... – nec ulla est — facultas Students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Chicago, Munich, and Münster copies here quote Verg. A. .–.  via ad caelum Sen. Phaed. . nulla facultas = Lucr. .; Ov. Tr. ...  prodest . . . coluisse Tib. ... tot annis = Ov. Tr. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Invisas caelo ≈ Sil. .; l.  below; cf. Verg. A. .. caligine semper opaca Combining Ov. Met. . and ..  scaevo . . . sulphure Her. Chr. . (in hell). calentia . . . regna Celtis, Am. ..: “regna calentia Ditis.”  Dulcis amor patriae Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Wirt. ; cf. Buc. ., n.; Her. Chr. ., n.  longoque induruit usu = Her. Chr. ., n.  Sarcina curarum Her. Chr. ., n. Haebraeus Apella = Walter, Alex. .; cf. Hor. S. ..; Eob. Hymn. , with n.  (p. ).  Perfusus sanie = Verg. A. .. pectusque — pedesque Cf. Ov. Met. ..

   – 

 – –       –       – –     

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Eheu quam timeo ne Cf. Hutten, Querel. ..: “Heu mihi, quam timeo, ne.” Stygioque . . . antro Sil. .; Prud. c. Sym. .; Eob. In Ed. Leeum .: “Cerberus . . . Stygio . . . in antro.” tracturus ab antro Sil. . (referring, as here, to Cerberus). aurea . . . Sidera = Verg. A. .–; cf. l.  below, n. praedam Cf. Ven. Fort. Carm. ..: “Inferus insaturabiliter cava guttura pandens,/qui rapuit semper, fit tua praeda, Deus./Eripis innumerum populum de carcere mortis;/et sequitur liber quo suus auctor adit.” A well-known Easter hymn (AH :, no. .) says: “Quam devorarat improbus,/Praedam refundit tartarus.” See also note at l.  below. teneat mora ≈ Ov. Met. .. Si qua salutis — fortuna Imitating Verg. A. .–. ultima venit . . . dies Cf. Verg. Ecl. .; Ov. Met. .–; Fast. .. tentemus!” ait = Stat. Theb. .. proxima raptim = Sil. .. primoque — portae Combining Verg. A. . with A. .. Cf. also Stat. Theb. .. obiectis . . . taelis Verg. A. ., as quoted in Macr. Sat. ..: “obiectis sic undique telis/obruitur.” loca foeta = Buc. ., n., referring to the entrance to hell. Regalem . . . arcem Nup. –, –. Ne qua . . . vis ingruat Sen. Her. F. : “resiste, ne qua vis subita ingruat.” Ite, per omnes ≈ Verg. G. .. per omnes . . . vias = Paul. Nol. Carm. .–. Sic fatus = Verg. A. .; Luc. .; .; et al. Illi agmine facto = Verg. A. ., as quoted in Renaissance eds. of Serv. A. .; Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v). Cf. Eob. Nup. , n. Ad summa — tectorum Cf. Verg. A. .. et moenia complent = Verg. A. .. atroque veneno = Verg. A. .. Tum vero audisses ≈ Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr: “Tum vero auditae voces et carmina sacris/Dicta choris”; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. mugire cavernas = Luc. .. Cf. l.  above, n. gemitu . . . ululatu = Verg. A. .. Sicut . . . Haud secus = V. Fl. .–. Sicut — venator Cf. Verg. A. .; Claud. in Rufin. .–. Hercinia . . . rupe Idyl. .. Obsedit . . . aditus Ov. Met. .. omnia circum = Verg. A. ., ; .; .. Vesana suadente fame Verg. A. .; .. Totum . . . aera Lucr. .; Luc. .. ululatibus aera complent = Spangenberg, Triumph. ; cf. Verg. A. .; Nemes. Ecl. .. moenia servant = Prop. ..; cf. Verg. A. ..

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



vastis . . . clamoribus Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .. feriunt clamoribus auras Cf. Rec. , n.  Ecce autem = Verg. G. .; A. ., , ; and often; l.  below. – visa repente Omnia Verg. A. .; ..  admittere solem ≈ Claud. Epith. ..  perpetuae noctis loca Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. For perpetuae noctis, see Catul. .; Ov. Met. .; Sen. Phaed. . – Totis nova — profundi The passage is heavily indebted not only to Verg. G. .– and Ov. Met. .–, but also — and especially — to Claud. Rapt. Pros. .–. Cf. also Ov. Met. .–; [Sen.] Her. O. –; Eob. Hymn. –, where see n.  (p. ). Spangenberg, Triumph. –, epitomizes Eobanus’ text as follows: 

Obstupuit prior ipse Charon seque abdit in ulva [], Et canis obstupuit claudens tria Cerberus ora []. Gorgones Harpiaeque tremunt, pavet ipsa Megera [], Tisiphone [], Alecto [], perculsae luce molesta [], Ultrices Dirae, Furiae, Parcaeque sorores [–]. Et quid multa? Silent gemitus, tormenta, dolores [–]. nova monstra = Ov. Met. .; .; Luc. .; Eob. Eccles. ; cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  quae tanta incendia = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v): “Aethna cavernosis quae tanta incendia nutrit/Visceribus.” Cf. Aetna . incendia lucem = Verg. A. .. – lucem . . . novam Her. Chr. ., n.  Tisiphone . . . angues = Tib. ... comantes . . . angues Cf. Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r): “Tisiphone Furiaeque aliae multo angue comantes.”  ut memorant = l.  above, n.  lanificae . . . fila Sorores = Dantiscus, Carm. .: “lanificae rupissent fila sorores”; cf. Mart. ..–; Eob. Ama. .; Buc. ., n.  Verbera — Dirae Cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. Verbera . . . quatiebant Culex : “Tisiphone . . ./et flammas et saeva quatit mihi verbera poenae.” – Dirae Ultrices Verg. A. ., . – gemitus . . . exauditi Verg. A. .; ..  tristes . . . querelae = Her. Chr. .; cf. Ciris ; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Ipse Charon = Prud. Amart. . prima . . . in alga Marul. Epigr. ..: “Littore . . . Phario prima . . . in alga.”  oppositam . . . ripam = Gunther, Lig. .: “Contigit oppositam traducto milite ripam.” tangere ripam ≈ Sil. ..  contempto iure = Claud. Epith. .  Nec solita — urna Cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. 



notes to victoria christi ab inferis

 omne forum = Hor. Ep. ...  Fatis nolentibus Stat. Theb. .. – Tantalus — prehendit Cf. Hor. S. ..–; Ov. Ep. .; Eob. Ama. B .–.  Tantalus . . . undis = Stat. Theb. ..  immotus . . . resistat Verg. A. ..  Sysiphe, saxum = Ov. Met. ..  Spem . . . veniae Hor. Ars ; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Spem . . . capis l.  above, n. de rupe Prometheus = Poliziano, Silv. .: “Caucasea pendens de rupe Prometheus”; cf. Prop. ...  evinctas . . . palmas ≈ Verg. A. ..  Multaque — saecli Cf. Her. Chr. .. Multaque preterea = Lucr. .; .; and often; Verg. A. .; .; .; .. fatui ludibria saecli = Her. Chr. ., n.  placidam cepisse quietem = Ov. Fast. .; cf. Fast. ..  Quem — profundi Cf. l.  below, n. superi . . . manesque Verg. A. .. manesque profundi = Verg. G. .; Sil. .. – Stabat — avaro Eobanus imitates Verg. A. .–, describing the impregnable gate of hell.  opaca, ingens = Verg. A. . (the great elm at the entryway to hell). ferali . . . cupressu = Ov. Tr. ...  proxima pertinet = Her. Chr. ..  Obiicibus cohibent ≈ Pontano, Hort. .: “Obiicibus cohibe ac summi molimine muri.”  trabibus duris Stat. Theb. .. postulat usus = Ov. Met. ..  superum vis Verg. A. .. – aperto — avaro Cf. Ov. Met. .–.  Diti . . . avaro Sen. Her. F. ; cf. l.  below, n.  ab origine mundi = Lucr. .; Ov. Met. .; Tr. .; cf. l.  below, n.  superum . . . orbem = Celtis, Ludus : “Caesar . . . superum qui dirigis orbem.” Cf. Eob. Hymn. –; Luth. .. – maioraque famae Praemia Sylv. ..: “Ambibas titulos maioraque praemia famae.” Cf. Claud. Cons. Mall. Theod. –; Poliziano, Silv. .: “ineptae praemia famae.” famae . . . perhennis Verg. A. .; Ov. Am. ..; ... – cum Pyrithoo — inani Based on Verg. A. ..  comitatus amico ≈ Paul. Nol. Carm. ..  studio . . . inani = Verg. Ecl. .; Ciris .  Troiugenam Aenean Cf. Verg. A. . (.; .; Ov. Met. .): “Troius Aeneas.” Cumaea Sybilla = Verg. A. ..  Duceret ad manes ≈ Ov. Fast. ..

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



auro frondente Verg. A. ., referring to the golden bough. – Ergo ubi — rupes Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –: Ecce autem [] Christus per taetra silentia rupit Lumine sidereo [] claraque in luce refulsit []. “Heus agite, umbrarum proceres, attollite portas Portarumque seras et magnos demite vectes [–]. Quid, miseri, audetis contra capere arma Tonantem []? Hic ego Rex vester! Frustra est obsistere Regi [].” Haec ubi dixisset, subitus pavor occupat omnes []. Turmatim effugiunt []. Ululatibus aera complent []. Nec mora, cum sonitu postes cecidere solutis Cardinibus, magnamque dedit collapsa ruinam Ianua [–], et admittunt concussa palatia Christum. ubi — caligine Combining Stat. Silv. .. with Stat. Ach. . and Theb. .. caligine noctis = l.  above, n.  clara . . . in luce refulsit Verg. A. .; cf. A. ..  sic fatus = Verg. A. .; Luc. ..  Regique haec . . . vestro = Verg. A. ..  capere arma = Prop. ..; Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. ..  Quin agite = Verg. A. .; Luc. .. – umbrarum — vectes Cf. Vulg. Psa. . and  (mentioned in the students’ sidenotes in the Berlin, Munich, and Münster copies); .. These verses had long since been applied to the descensus, not only in Nicodem. ., but also in the liturgy. Cf. Eob. Her. Chr. .–, .  Portarum vectes = Psalt. .; cf. Vulg. Psa. . (iuxta Hebraicum), traditionally associated with the descensus.  Haec ubi dicta = Verg. A. .; .; ., ; et al. animis . . . incidit ≈ Marul. Hymn. nat. ..: “Quis novus hic animis furor incidit?” Ocyus omnes = Verg. A. .; .; .; Ov. Met. .; ..  sine ordine = Ov. Am. ..; Ep. .; .; Ars .; Met. .; et al. ordine castris = Claud. Carm. minora .. – Non plures — hyems Reused in Venus .–: “Non plures aere guttae/Praecipitant cum saevit hyems Aquilone refusis/Imbribus.” For the image, cf. Verg. G. .–; Eob. Eccles. –. aere guttae Deciderant Cf. Pontano, Meteor. : “cadunt ex aere guttae”; : “Quid grandes aestate cadunt super aere guttae?”  cum saevit hyems = Stat. Silv. ..; cf. Ov. Met. .; Eob. Max. . hyems pluvialis Strozzi, Eroticon ..: “pluvialis hiems Zephyro spirante recedit.” – Non tot — procellas For the image, cf. Nob. , n.





notes to victoria christi ab inferis

Hesperium littus Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .. Notus . . . gravior Sen. Ag. : “fit gravis nimbis Notus.” Notus incubuit Cf. Verg. G. .–; A. .–.  Non tam precipiti = Luc. .; cf. Verg. A. .. precipiti lapsu cecidere Cic. Arat. ; Walter, Alex. .: “precipiti cecidisset belua lapsu”; Celtis, Od. ..: “lapsu praecipiti cadit.”  Arboribus — decorem Cf. Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .: “arboribusque comae Borea populante rigentes.” glandes A masculine (rather than feminine) noun, as at Her. Chr. ..  per Hercinios saltus = Celtis, Am. ..: “Inde per Hercynios saltus vallesque patentes.” Alpes . . . nivosas Petrarch, Africa .; Bocc. Ecl. .–; Marul. Epigr. ..; Erasmus, Carm. .–.  Obnobiis . . . saxis Cf. Celtis, Germania : “Obnobios montes”; Am. ..: “Obnobiis . . . crepidinibus”; ..: “Obnobiis . . . montibus”; Od. ..: “Obnobii particula Alpium.” For Celtis (who coined the adjective Obnobius from the ancient “Abnoba”) the “Obnobian Mountains” stretch from the Black Forest to Hesse and Saxony. See Müller, Germania, –, note at l. .  Nec mora = Pug. , n. cecidere solutis = Stat. Theb. ..  Cum sonitu — ruinam Cf. Verg. A. .–: “elapsa repente ruinam/cum sonitu trahit.” ingentem . . . ruinam = Walter, Alex. .: “Fit fragor ingentem monstro faciente ruinam”; cf. Verg. A. .. dedit . . . ruinam Verg. A. .; .–.  non aliter quam si Verg. A. .; Ov. Ep. .. Iovis igne = Ov. Fast. .; Tr. .. igne repente = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r): “tanto igne repente/ Corripui.”  sonitum . . . super aequora = Lucr. .. super aequora = Lucr. .; .; Ov. Met. .; .; et al. aequora rupes = Stat. Silv. ... – Est locus — caelo The passage is closely paralleled by Her. Chr. .– , where see notes.  Est locus — poetas Cf. Verg. A. .; .; Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r), of the Earthly Paradise: “Est locus, Elysium dicunt . . .”; Calam. . (p. ): “quam veteres dicunt Phaethonta poetae.” veteres . . . poetas Lucr. .; .; Hor. Ep. .., .  si qua fides = Verg. A. ..  Acheruntis avari = Verg. G. .; cf. l.  above, n.  Antrum immane = Verg. A. .. immane, patens = Stat. Theb. . (in one ms. tradition).  crassissimus aer Her. Chr. ., n. – Ille locus — conchae Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –:  

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



Quo simul ingreditur Christus, tremere omnia circum []. Sed gaudent animae sanctae manesque piorum []. Primus Adam ante alios palmas ad sidera laetus Extulit et Dominum devota est voce precatus [–]: “Expectate venis miseris, o sancte Redemptor! Da requiem finemque malis. Fer ad astra redemptos [–]!” Sic pater Habramus, puer Isacus, atque Iacobus Procedunt alacres, iuxta formosus Ioseph [–] Et Moses sanctus et vitta insignis Aaron, Et Iosue invictus, reliqui regesque ducesque, Et patriae vindex Machabeus origine Iudas, Inde alii patres, fama super ethera noti [–].    –   –  – –  –



 –

 –

animas manesque Ov. Met. .. manesque piorum = V. Fl. .. per tot iam saecula = Luc. .; Claud. Cons. Stil. .. saecula Christo = Prud. Apoth. . Quo simul ut venit Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. tremere — Visa Cf. Verg. A. .; l.  below. lumine . . . novo l.  below, n. lumine circum = Lucr. .. Tartara caelo = Col. .; Aetna ; Stat. Theb. .. Primus ibi — lavisse futurum The list of Old Testament saints imitates an even longer catalogue in Mutius, Triumph., sigs. cv–cr. Primus ibi ante alios Cf. Verg. A. .; V. Fl. .; Stat. Theb. .. pater . . . Adamus Her. Chr. .. palmasque ad sidera laetus . . . Extulit Cf. Verg. A. .–; .; Avit. Carm. .: “. . . palmasque ad sidera tendunt.” sic voce precatus ≈ Verg. A. .; .. tandem . . . Expectatus ades = Mutius, Triumph., sig. cv, where the Old Testament saints greet the Savior: “mersis Erebi sub carcere tandem/Expectatus ades.” tandem longis = Ov. Tr. ... longis optate querelis Cf. Bebel, “Epigramma ad somnum,” in Carm., sig. Ccv: “Somne, quies rerum, multis optate querelis.” Because Eobanus wrote his epyllion in the late winter of , and Bebel’s early elegy () was not published until November , either the parallel is fortuitous or Eobanus adopted Bebel’s phrasing when revising his poem in  or . For longis querelis, see Stat. Silv. ... Da requiem finemque malis Cf. l.  above, n. For da requiem at the hexameter opening, see Ov. Ars .; Fast. .. Talia — novam Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; Ilias .–: “Talia magnifico regem sermone loquutum,/Laeticiam testante animi clamore sequuntur/Argivi.” Talia dicentem = Gen. ebrios. A ., n.; l.  below. clamore sequuntur Laeticiam ≈ Verg. A. .: “clamore sequuntur/laetitiaque fremunt”; cf. A. .; ..



notes to victoria christi ab inferis

Laeticiam . . . novam Pug. , n.; l.  below. Quos maximus inter = Gunther, Lig. .; cf. Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr (referring to Moses, in a catalogue of Old Testament saints): “Lecta manus patrum, quos inter maximus alti/Praecipuo splendore micans dux agminis ibat.”  Dominumque salutat ≈ Juvenc. .: “regem dominumque salutant.”  Pone subit = Verg. A. .. puer Isaac Mant. . Parthen. .: “sic puer Isaacus satus est.”  sacram mactari . . . ad aram Ov. Ib. ; cf. Tr. ..; Eob. Laud. , n.  prole beatus ≈ Celtis, Am. ..: “numerosa prole beatur.” Cf. Eob. Buc., ded. , n.  formosus Ioseph = Mant. . Parthen. .. – Quem — coniux Imitating Mant. Georg., fol. r, referring (as here) to the patriarch Joseph: “Labanide nate,/Regia quem coniunx mendaci polluit ore,/Traxit ab illecebris mentem muliebribus altam.” For the biblical story, see Vulg. Gen. .–.  custos ovium Verg. G. .; Eob. Buc. .. tulit — nympha Cf. Verg. A. .; ..  Regia . . . coniux Verg. A. .; .; .; Ov. Ep. .; Met. .; et al. victa libidine = Ov. Met. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .; Tum. ..  Flectere . . . nequeat ≈ Verg. A. .. crimine falso = Ov. Ib.  (in some mss. and eds.); Eob. Her. Chr. ..  paena . . . acerba = Locher, Stult. , fol. v: “paena plectuntur acerba.”  Quid memorem antiquum ≈ Laud. , n. – qui duxit in arva . . . genus Israel Her. Chr. ., n.; cf. Sil. .. arva . . . foelicia Her. Chr. ..  Quae — mella Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. niveo cum lacte Ov. Fast. .. flaventia mella = Pontano, Urania .; cf. Mant. Dionys. . (fol. v): “apibus, quae rura volantes/Per longinqua legunt flaventia mella.”  alios referam = Ov. Ep. ..  Israelitici The posthumous edition B has the unusual form “Israeliaci.” Eobanus uses this coinage also in Psalt. .: “Israeliacae domui.” gloria sceptri = Vegio, Aen. : “Hic clarae virtutis honos et gloria sceptri?”  patriae vindex Claud. Bell. Get. . vir maximus armis = Brant, Var. carm., sig. dr (Texte .), lauding Judas Maccabee: “Bellator fortis Iudas, vir maximus armis.” Cf. Verg. A. ..  Inde alii = Verg. A. ..



notes to victoria christi ab inferis



– quos tam — conchae Cf. Ov. Tr. ..–; also cf. Ars .; Mart. ..–.  quot in Ionio . . . littore Cf. Verg. G. ..  Ecce autem = l.  above, n. sacros . . . vates Laud. , n. quondam fortissima ≈ Verg. A. .. – fortissima . . . Pectora = Verg. A. .–; Eob. Luth. .–; Epic. .–; et al.; cf. Max. , n. – vates . . . pulchro . . . euntes Agmine Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr (describing the Old Testament prophets rescued from limbo by Christ): “Precipue vates . . ./. . . pulchro subeuntes agmine pompae.”  quis non miretur = Nor. .  ignivomum . . . solem Ven. Fort. Carm. ..; Spangenberg, Triumph. ; cf. Eob. Laud. –, n. aurea sidera = Verg. A. .; cf. ll. – above, n. sidera solem = Lucr. ., .  Foelices animae, quibus = Ov. Fast. .. Cf. Verg. A. .; Mutius, Triumph., sig. cr, referring to the blessed souls in limbo: “Vos alacres mecum supera ad convexa triumphum/Ducite, felices animae”; l.  below. praescia fati = Claud. in Rufin. , praef. ; Cons. Stil. ..  Mens — recessus Cf. Her. Chr. .–, nn. For the topos, see Sylv. duae .–, n.; Her. Chr. .–. aethereos . . . recessus = Luc. .; Paul. Nol. Carm. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  below. potuit penetrare recessus = Petrarch, Africa .: “si fama Latini/Nominis et Libicos potuit penetrare recessus”; cf. Claud. Cons. Stil. ..  Sublimes . . . habitare domos Inverting Verg. Ecl. .. Cf. Avit. Carm. .: “Sidereas habitare domos.” vincta cathenis = Man. .; Sil. .; Claud. Rapt. Pros. .. – cathenis Corporis For the concept of the body as the soul’s prison, see Her. Chr. ., n.  Corporis infirmi Ov. Ep. .; Maxim. .. obruta mole Ov. Met. .. mole laborum = Buc. ., n. – deorum Concilio ≈ Verg. G. .–.  libera nexu = Stat. Theb. ..  magni . . . mundi Lucr. ., ; Ov. Met. .; [Tib.] ..; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n.; l.  below, n. confinia mundi = Ov. Met. ..  decora umbrarum — alti Cf. [Sen.] Oct. ; Pontano, Urania .: “. . . terrae decus et decus aetheris alti.” For the tag aetheris alti, see also Verg. A. .; Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Felices animae, sedem quibus aetheris alti/Iuppiter indulget.” – Quis — Maronis Cf. Nor. –, –; Wirt. –. The model is Verg. A. .–.

 

 

–  



–  – 

  –   –

notes to victoria christi ab inferis laudes aequare canendo = Pontano, Laud. .: “Ac veluti numero stellas comprendere non est/. . . ,/sic neque Dominici laudes aequare canendo,/concipere humano nec queat ore sonus.” Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .: “Nulli adeo vivax animi sollertia, nulli/tam felix aderit florentis gloria linguae,/ut Mariae possit laudes aequare loquendo.” For aequare canendo, see also Stat. Silv. ..; Eob. Nor. . cecinisse poetae ≈ Verg. Ecl. .. Digna satis = V. Fl. .; Sil. .; cf. Verg. A. .. arguto . . . plectro Buc. .. magnum Orphea Tifernate, “Triumphus Cupidinis,” in Carm., sig. Ar: “Orphea quid magnum memorem?” Vobis — Camoenae Cf. Buc. .–, n.; .–, nn. in carmina mentem = Celtis, Am. ..: “stimuletque in carmina mentem.” magni . . . orbis = Ov. Met. .. lustrator Spiritus orbis Cf. Paul. Nol. Carm. .: “inlustrat . . . sanctus spiritus orbem”; AH :, no. .: “Spiritus alme,/illustrator hominum.” Enthea . . . pectora vatum Cf. Mant. Praesid., fol. r: “. . . habet enthea pectora vates”; Cordus, “De Carthusiana religione panaegyricum,” in Threnodia, sig. Bv: “scripta . . ./Enthea quae veterum cecinerunt numina vatum”; Eob. Buc. ., n. sanctorum . . . vatum Buc. ., n. Non qui — Camoenae Cf. Ama. B ., n.: “Sacra canunt veri, Veneris non furta, poaetae.” furta canunt Veneris Ov. Ars .; Tr. ., . turpes . . . Concubitus Verg. Ecl. .–. teneri . . . Cupidinis Pontano, Hendec. ..: “illi tener it comes Cupido”; ..: “tener Cupido”; Erasmus, Carm. .: “tenerique Cupidinis ignes.” insana Cupidinis arma Cf. Aen. Silv., “In effigiem Amoris,” in Carm. .: “qui sapit evitat malesana Cupidinis arma.” Cf. also Mant. c. Poet. : “Carmine qui celebrat vesana Cupidinis arma”; Ov. Am. ..; Met. .. Carmina . . . Camoenae = Her. Chr. ., n. Foelices . . . ter et amplius Hor. Carm. ..; Eob. Venus .: “Foelicem ter et amplius.” Foelices animae = l.  above, n. potentem . . . dextram Her. Chr. ., n. dextram contingite Ov. Am. ..; Sen. Her. F. ; Stat. Silv. ... The motif is prefigured in Nicodem. . votiva precamina = AH :, no. .. The ecclesiastical word precamen is found also, for example, in Erasmus, Carm. .; .; Moria, ASD .:, l. . Haec aliquis — lavisse futurum Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –: Candidus ille chorus Christum reverenter adorat [–]. Regius ante alios vates [], notissima proles

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



Stirpis Iesseae [], cytharam tangebat eburno Pectine [–] et ad numeros una omnes voce precati Dulce melos pangunt concordi carmine vates [–]. Ante alios [] iuvenis, qui Christum nuper ad undas Tinxerat, hic letis concentibus agnifer ibat [–]: “Salve, Herebi Victor! Domitor salve inclite Mortis, Destructor scelerum! Salve, o fortissime Vindex Amissae vitae [–]! Salve, o Spes una salutis! Aspice plasma tuum, sancte et venerande Creator, Et post tot gemitus nos duc ad regna polorum” [cf. –]. 



 – –  –  

 – 



 

Haec . . . vel plura Cf. Ov. Met. .. candidus The righteous are clad in white to denote their purity of soul and their readiness to enter Paradise. Cf. Vulg. Apoc. .–; .; Eob. Her. Chr. .–. chorus . . . adorat Juvenc. .: “Illum procumbens sancte chorus omnis adorat.” reverenter adorat = Her. Chr. ., n. noctis opacae = Verg. A. .; Ov. Ep. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Regius ante alios . . . David Cf. Her. Chr. .: “Nobilis ante alios . . . David.” Regius — Saulem See Vulg. . Sam. .– and . Sam. .– (. Par. .–). ruris . . . paterni Hor. Epod. .; Ep. ..; Eob. Buc. ., n. laeta . . . Pascua = Buc. .–, n. armenta sequentem ≈ Verg. Ecl. .. Cinxit . . . diademate Prud. c. Symm. .. diademate regni = Dantiscus, Carm. .. (in an epithalamium for Sigismund I, published on  February ): “sacro diademate regni.” The phrase was, however, a standard one in medievalRenaissance literature. Eobanus uses it at Her. Chr., ded. .: “regni diadema.” Sceptra . . . regia Her. Chr. ., n. eburno . . . pectine Verg. A. .; Eob. Ama. ., n. resonas — chordas Cf. Celtis, Od. .., in a poem first published at Nuremberg in : “chordas resonas pollice tangimus”; Eob. Icones, sig. Av: “. . . resonas percurrens pollice chordas.” tangebat . . . chordas Ov. Rem. ; Eob. Nup. . pectine chordas = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Maxim. .. Stirpis Iessaeae = Mant. . Parthen. .; Eob. Venus .. notissima proles Anthol. Lat. . (in a well-known epitaph for Achilles): “Pelides ego sum, Thetidis notissima proles.” magni . . . Christi = Sedul. .; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. inclyta Christi = Prud. Apoth. . Talia — profudit Cf. Ilias .: “Talia consulto de pectore verba profudit.” Cf. further Catul. ..



–   

– –  

        

–    

notes to victoria christi ab inferis magnanimo . . . pectore Mant. . Parthen. –; Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .). Nec me — credere priscis Cf. Her. Chr. .–. Nec me adeo = Verg. A. .. caeca . . . nocte Buc. ., n.; Her. Chr. ., n. nocte tenebrae = Verg. G. .. mihi non animo . . . sederet = Verg. A. .. spes certa = Aus. Versus paschales . Pater, afflictae ≈ Sil. .. afflictae tandem . . . plebi = Her. Chr. .. tandem post plurima Mant. Georg., fol. v: “. . . post plurima funera tandem”; Somn., fol. r: “post plurima tandem/Funera.” post plurima . . . Saecula Claud. VI. Cons. Hon. . Sic namque — credere priscis Cf. Nicodem. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .– . Praevidique — futurum Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. nigris in vallibus Orci = Sannazaro, De partu Virg. ., in the unauthorized editio princeps [Venice, early s]. See the critical edition by Charles Fantazzi and Alessandro Perosa (Florence, ), , . Like Eobanus, Sannazaro refers to King David as he addresses the souls in limbo and predicts the birth of Jesus. spem . . . salutis = Sil. .. oraclis . . . priscis Sil. .. At nunc certa fides Cf. Stat. Theb. .; cf. Eob. Buc. ., n. fides . . . dicta sequta est Her. Chr. ., n.; cf. Ov. Met. .; Fast. .. Vota precesque ferunt = Mant. . Parthen. .; cf. Eob. Rec. , n. Da, Pater = Verg. A. .; .; .. Talia dicentem — recepit Cf. Verg. A. .–. Talia dicentem = Gen. ebrios. A ., n.; l.  above. dictis . . . solatur amicis Verg. A. .. dictis . . . animum Verg. A. .; .; .. voce precati = Sil. .. Dulce melos = Her. Chr. .; cf. Prud. Cath. .; AH :, no. .: “Dulce melos tangat caelos.” tali . . . carmine = Verg. Ecl. .. carmine vates = Buc. ., n. Tandem — Venit Cf. Verg. A. .; .; Spangenberg, Triumph. . laeta dies = Ov. Fast. .. expectata per annos ≈ Brant, Var. carm., sig. fr (Texte .): “iam multos rex expectate per annos.” tenebris — profunda Buc. ., n. nocte profunda = Tib. ... candore novo Poliziano, Eleg. .. cernere coram = Paul. Nol. Carm. .. licet cognoscere = Ov. Met. ..

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



–

  – –      



 –



cognoscere vultus = Ov. Met. .; Sil. .. Tartara — paludes Cf. Verg. A. . (referring to Hercules as conqueror of Hades); Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  above. Tartara — tremunt Cf. AH :, no. .b: “Inferna/tremunt tartara/cito praedam,/quam ceperant,/amissura.” Stygiaeque paludes ≈ Verg. A. .. ad funera — machina rerum Paraphrasing the words of Dionysius the Areopagite, when he saw the heavens darkened at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. See ll. – above, n. machina rerum = Claud. Rapt. Pros. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Salve, magne = Stat. Silv. ..; cf. Verg. G. .. Erebi Victor [Sen.] Her. O.  (referring to Hercules). Mortis Infernae [Sen.] Her. O. . Vitae . . . Amissae Juvenc. .. esse memento = Her. Chr. ., n. quae magni . . . mundi ≈ Catul. .; cf. l.  above, n. infima mundi = Sedul. .. Dextra potens Her. Chr. ., n. semine mentis = l.  above, n. aetheream . . . arcem Rec. , n. accepit sceptra Verg. A. .. Talia . . . carmina = Poliziano, Eleg. .: “Talia dulcisono modularis carmina plectro.” festivo . . . carmina plausu Psalt. .: “Fundite laeta Deo festivo carmina plausu.” Agnifer . . . iuvenis = Mant. Bapt., opening verse, fol. r: “Agnifer aeterna iuvenis dignissime vita.” Mantuan uses the rare word agnifer also in Bapt., fol. v. nuper ad umbras = Brant, Var. carm., sig. Br (Texte .): “Herebi iam nuper ad umbras/Mergerer.” rapidum — amnem Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; Mant. . Parthen. .: “. . . Iordanis ad amnem.” Tum sic — servabat inani Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –: Tum Christus verbis animas adfatur amicis []: “Ponite corde metum, tristes secludite curas. Ipse, ubi tempus erit, vos ad mea regna reducam [].” Haec dicens, fractis portarum molibus intrat [] Horrendi Ditis regnum. Quem protinus inde Extractum vinclis et carcere frenat opaco. Horrendum ille tonans nequicquam palpitat artus Inmordetque seras indignaturque teneri [–]. At Deus, ille Stigis Domitor [], Phlegetonte relicto, Intulit Elisio [–] raptos de carcere patres []. Hinc redit a tumulo redivivus, pervigil ipsum Miles ubi clausum studio servabat inani [–].

  –  

  –   –    –  –  –   –         

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Tum sic . . . affatur amicos Cf. Hor. Carm. ..; Verg. A. .; .; .; .. Omnia — vices Cf. ll. – above; also see note at ll. –. complexum . . . orbem Mant. . Parthen. ., in an account of the Creation: “Oceanum . . . suis complexum fluctibus orbem/fuderit.” fecimus orbem = Avit. Carm. .. Multiplicis . . . caeli Consol. : “Aspice multiplici vertentia sidera coelo.” volumina caeli = Her. Chr. ., n. Students’ glosses in the Berlin and Münster copies explain: “omnium orbium celestium . . . revoluciones.” rerum — corpora Cf. Lucr. .–, , ; .–; Ov. Met. . . naturae . . . vices l.  above, n. tum, ne — hortos Cf. ll. – above, with n.  (p. ). ne qua maneret = Claud. in Rufin. .. concessimus hortos ≈ Mart. ... aevum Degeret Lucr. .. morti . . . obnoxius Ov. Met. .; l.  below. fato obnoxius ≈ Ov. Met. .; cf. Luc. .. poenas — pendens ≈ Gunther, Lig. .: “penam pro crimine pendet”; Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .: “paenas pro crimine pendit.” Cf. Ov. Ib. ; Eob. Max. , n. novus incola terras ≈ Ov. Pont. .., referring to the exiled poet himself. Tempore — Sidera Cf. Her. Chr. .–. Tempore ab hoc = Her. Chr. ., n. caeli . . . Porta ll. – below, n. mortalibus invia = l.  above; cf. Verg. A. .. alta Sidera Sylv. duae ., n. magnae . . . abysso Vulg. Gen. .; Eccli. .. loca proxima = Ov. Met. .; cf. Eob. Sylv. duae ., n. patrio . . . consistere regno Cf. Verg. A. .; l.  above, n. Nec tamen . . . Excidit . . . ardor Cf. Ilias Lat. : “Non tamen Atridae Chryseidis excidit ardor.” Nec tamen interea = Verg. Ecl. .. ab origine rerum = Paul. Nol. Carm. .; cf. l.  above, n. ultima passi Gen. ebrios. ., n.; cf. l.  above. impia facta = Lucr. .; Erasmus, Carm. .. Venimus et = Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. et tandem miserati Verg. A. .. a morte redemptis Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Haud mora = Verg. G. .; A. .; .; et al.; Ov. Met. .; .. confuso . . . ordine = Her. Chr. .. Laeticiam . . . novam Pug. , n.; l.  above. Tum Pater = Verg. A. .; .; and often.

notes to victoria christi ab inferis  –  –   

  –

   –  –  –     

  



nigri . . . Ditis = Ov. Met. .; cf. Eob. Buc. .. Ditis Limina Sen. Tro. ; Her. O. . Limina perrumpit = Verg. A. .. Cf. Sen. Her. F. . in sede latere . . . aspiciunt Verg. A. .–. Necquicquam For this form, see Sylv. duae ., n. aspiciunt comites = Verg. A. .. Quem protinus = Verg. A. .. ululantem . . . per umbras Verg. A. .. Implicat et = Verg. A. .; .. vinclis — opaco Cf. Verg. A. .; Mant. Georg., fol. v: “insontemque animam concede reverti/Ad superos vinclis et opaco carcere functam.” Horrendum . . . sonans Verg. A. .. palpitat artus = Luc. .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. Immordet In ancient Latin this verb is found only in the past participle. indignaturque teneri Cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .: “indignata teneri.” Sicut ubi — Haud secus Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .–: “Non secus ac circumpositis hastilibus ardet/Caeruleus serpens et aperta fauce venenum/Colligit ignivomisque oculis atque auribus altis/Sibilat et tetram diffundit in aera pestem:/Sic furit impatiens Caesar.” The Libyan setting is intended to remind us of the dragon slain by St. George. For the story, see Eob. Her. Chr. , with nn.  and . deserta per arva Luc. .; Sedul. .: “ceu pastor ovem deserta per arva /Colligit errantem.” clausere catasta Sylv. duae .. penetrabile virus Mant. Ecl. .. virus Colligit = Laud. –. acre micans oculis Cf. Ov. Met. . (of Cadmus’ dragon); .; Celtis, Am. ..: “Belua vasta, micans oculis . . . .” caudaque — auras Cf. Her. Chr. .–. ingentes spiras Verg. A. .. naribus ignem = Lucr. .; Verg. G. .; .; A. .. ignem Evomit Aetna ; Sil. .. inficit auras = Ov. Met. . (Cadmus’ dragon). humani generis latro Cf. Hymn. , n.; Ov. Met. .. necquicquam For this form, see Sylv. duae ., n. qui nunc quoque = Ov. Met. .; .; .; .. Excubias . . . aeternas = Verg. A. .. Excubias . . . agit Ov. Fast. .. fraudumque ministris ≈ Walter, Alex. .: “scelerum fraudisque ministri”; Eob. Tum. .: “fraudumque ministra.” dextra victrice = Luth. .; cf. Ov. Met. .; Fast. .; Sen. Her. F. ; Eob. Hymn. –. Stygias . . . oras = Ov. Pont. ... Ad superas . . . terras Celtis, Am. ... Acheronte relicto = Sil. ..

   –

–   

 –  –

 –  

   

notes to victoria christi ab inferis Extulit . . . signa Vitanda ebriet. .. victricia signa = Sil. .; .; Eob. Her. Chr. .. regno . . . avito Verg. G. .. considere iussit = Epic. .; cf. Verg. A. .. Est locus — Porta patet Eobanus versifies Remigius of Auxerre, In Genesim . (PL , col.  C–D): “possumus coniicere paradisum in Oriente situm. In quacunque autem orbis parte sit, scimus eum terrenum esse, et interiecto Oceano et montibus oppositis a nostro orbe longe remotissimum. Est enim in altissimo loco situs pertingens usque ad lunarem circulum.” Cf. Peter Comestor, Historia scholastica, Gen.  (PL , col.  A–B): “Est autem locus amoenissimus longo terrae et maris tractu a nostra habitabili zona secretus, adeo elevatus ut usque ad lunarem globum attingat.” Cf. further Lact. Phoenix –: “Est locus in primo felix oriente remotus,/qua patet aeterni maxima porta poli”; Eob. Epic. .–, of Paradise: “Est locus Aurorae primo surgentis in ortu,/Aeriae supra lucida regna plagae.” Est locus . . . Nobilis = Verg. A. .–. Aurorae . . . venientis Verg. A. .; Ov. Met. .; Eob. Hod. . primo . . . ab ortu = Her. Chr. ., n. tractu maris Verg. Ecl. .; G. .. orbe remotus = Ov. Ep. .. Immenso . . . vertice Sen. Her. F. ; Phoen. ; Her. O. . altivagam For this rare word, see, for example, Anthol. Lat. .. Eobanus uses it also at Buc. .; Sylv. ..: “altivago . . . axe”; ..: “altivagum . . . Lucam”; Tum. .: “altivagi . . . solis.” contingens vertice lunam Cf. Tib. ..; Mant. Ecl. ., describing Paradise: “. . . contingit vertice lunam.” aereis nebulis Catul. .. maxima — patet Enn. var.  (quoted in Sen. Ep. . and Lact. Inst. ..); cf. Sil. .; ll. – above. veterum . . . pagina vatum Cf. Sylv. duae ., n.; Her. Chr. ., . Chrysolitis . . . iaspide . . . Topasio . . . pyropos Cf. Vulg. Tob. .– ; Isa. .–; Ezech. .; Apoc. .–; Prud. Psych. –. For pyropos as a kind of carbuncle stone, see Erasmus, Carm. ., n. Caelestes . . . animae Buc. ., n. Tenuissimus aer Spirat Cf. Her. Chr. .–; Vict., ded. –, n. Tenuissimus aer Ov. Met. .. aeternos . . . honores = Mant. . Parthen. .; . Parthen.  (fol. v); Celtis, Am. ..; cf. Hor. Carm. ... florum . . . honores = Pontano, Meteor. : “purpureos florum iam spargit honores.” Sunt — soles Cf. Vulg. Apoc. .. Est perpetuum ver Ov. Met. .. mille avium voces = Buc. ., n. labentes . . . rivos = Ov. Rem. . Ex re nomen habet = Ov. Am. ..; cf. Met. .–.

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



toto . . . in orbe = Ov. Met. .; .; cf. Eob. Hymn. B ., n.; Nob. , n.; l.  below, n.  ereptos — patres Cf. Bonino Mombrizio, De passione Domini (; Leipzig, ), bk. , sig. Br, where Jesus at the Last Supper expresses his desire to liberate the righteous from limbo: “. . . Stygio de carcere solvere patres”; Eob. Hymn. –; Vict. .  per inania lapsu = Petrarch, Africa .: “ast illam rapido per inania lapsu/Tartara nigra quidem et Stigiam tetigisse paludem”; Mant. . Parthen. .: “celeri per inania lapsu.”  Ad Solimas arces Mant. . Parthen. .: “venerat ad Solymas arces”; Eob. Her. Chr. .; cf. Her. Chr. ., n.  cura . . . inani = Locher, Stult. , prefatory verses, fol. v: “cura torquetur inani.”  Hortus erat = Mor. . viridi . . . umbra = Verg. Ecl. .; Ciris ; cf. Eob. Buc. .; Her. Chr. B ..  declivis in Eurum Cf. Celtis, Am. ..: “. . . Aegoceros pluvium declivis in austrum”; Eob. Nor. .  excisa . . . sub rupe Juvenc. ., of Lazarus’ sepulcher.  necquicquam morte = Ciris , as printed in Renaissance eds. For the form necquicquam, see Eob. Sylv. duae ., n. morte peremptum = Verg. A. .. – Iamque — lucem Students’ sidenotes in the Berlin and Münster copies indicate that Eobanus alludes to Vulg. Os. ., a passage traditionally seen as a prophecy of the Resurrection: “vivificabit nos post duos dies; in die tertia suscitabit nos, et vivemus in conspectu eius. Sciemus sequemurque ut cognoscamus Dominum, quasi diluculum [diluculo] praeparatus est egressus eius, et veniet quasi imber nobis temporaneus et serotinus terrae.” The student’s hand in the Münster copy goes on to quote Vulg. Psa. ., as follows: “gloria mea [. . .] exurgam diluculo”; the Berlin copy points more generally to Psa. : “Item David in Psalmo ‘Miserere.’ ” Cf. Guillaume Durand, Rationale divinorum officiorum .. (CCCM : ): “Ecce tertium sacramentum, scilicet resurrectio, sed de descensu ad inferna premittitur, ex quo mortui liberantur; unde in Osee: De manu mortis liberabo eos, de morte redimam eos, ero mors tua o mors, ero morsus tuus inferne. Hic est evangelicus fortis qui fortem ligavit et eius vasa diripuit; hic est qui dicit in Psalmo: Ego dormivi et soporatus sum et resurrexi quoniam Dominus suscepit me; qui Patri dicenti: Exurge gloria mea, exurge psalterium cum cithara, brevi sermone respondet: Exurgam diluculo.” – Iamque . . . diem ducebat Lucifer Verg. A. .–; cf. Ecl. ..  Iamque — quadrigis Combining Verg. A. . with A. . (. et al.) and A. .. Iamque propinquabat = Sil. .. croceis Aurora = Ov. Am. ..: “placuit croceis Aurora capillis.” For the epithet croceus, see Eob. Hymn. , n.  vicinae . . . noctis Stat. Ach. ..



 

 –  –      –

 –     –   – 

 

notes to victoria christi ab inferis caligine noctis = Her. Chr. ., n. gramina rores = Mant. . Parthen. .; .. dubiam . . . lucem = Walter, Alex. .: “Tempus erat dubiam cogens pallescere lucem.” Cf. Ov. Met. .; Luc. .. dubiam — agnoscere Cf. Claud. Rapt. Pros. .–: “hanc ut dubio vix tandem agnoscere visu/evaluit.” Cum subito ecce = Nup. ; cf. Rec. , n. tremere — adytis The model is Verg. A. .–. Cf. ll. – above. omnia motu = Lucr. .; .; .. mugire . . . Terra Verg. A. .–. magno . . . terrore V. Fl. .. Nec mora = Pug. , n. dant gemitum Verg. A. .; .; .. patescit ianua Tib. ..–. ianua rima = Celtis, Am. ..: “Illius angusta laxatur ianua rima.” Iamque novo . . . lumine Cf. Verg. A. .; .; ll. – above. perfusus lumine Christus Cf. Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Lumine perfusus patuit Deus.” neci . . . demisit Verg. A. .. qua passus — tumulo For this patristic doctrine, see, for example, Rufin. Expositio symboli , ll. – (CCSL :–): “Filiumque Dei natum ex Virgine et passum pro salute humana ac resurrexisse a mortuis in eadem carne, qua natus est”; Paul. Nol. Ep. .: “in eadem carne, qua mortuus et sepultus fuerat, et resurrexisset.” Carne resurgebat Her. Chr. .. tertius ibat Lucifer Cf. Ov. Fast. .; Eob. Buc. ., n. infandae . . . morti Verg. A. .. per vulnera morti ≈ Verg. G. .; A. .; .; cf. Luc. .. non omnis Hor. Carm. ..: “non omnis moriar.” purpurea . . . palla = [Tib.] ... corpora palla ≈ Ciris . obnoxia morti = Ov. Met. .; cf. l.  above. Vulneraque — Accepit Modeled on Verg. A. .. Vulnera . . . quinque Mant. c. Poet. : “Ante flagellati vulnera quinque Dei”; . Parthen.  (fol. r): “per vulnera quinque.” mortis monumenta Her. ... monumenta nefandae = Verg. A. .. Salve — Vise prius Cf. Hymn. –. Salve — palmae Cf. Mart. ..: “Haec est illa dies, magni quae conscia partus”; Sabell. In natal. . (fol. ar): “Salve, festa dies, coelestis conscia partus.” The phrase Salve, festa dies goes back to Ven. Fort. Carm. .., used as the opening line to Venantius’ famous Easter hymn. victricis . . . palmae Prop. ..–; Eob. Pug. . terras caelo coniunxit Cf. Her. Chr. .. Labentem . . . mundum Paul. Nol. Carm. .; Avit. Carm. .. stipite mundum ≈ Spangenberg, Triumph. .

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



 Salve iterum Verg. A. .. – nunquam — Vise prius Cf. Firm. Mat. De errore profanarum religionum ., at the Resurrection: “Ecce post triduum lucidior a solito dies oritur, et reddita soli praeteriti luminis gratia omnipotens deus Christus splendidioribus solis radiis adoratur”; Mutius, Triumph., fol. cr: “Gratior haud unquam coelo nec laetior alto/Ulla dies orta est, tanta nec luce sereni/Arrisere poli, nitido nec purior orbe/Flammiferos Titan radianti gurgite currus/Extulit et claro spectavit ab aethere terras.”  lucifer ortu = Col. ..  iter insuetum Verg. A. .. – Quo frigida — Christi Cf. Her. Chr. .–.  da veniam = Luc. .. incunabula Christi = Mant. Calam. . (p. ); . (p. ).  erepta . . . luce Sil. .. – Stabat . . . Sol Buc. ., n.  Stabat — trementi Cf. Petrarch, Africa .: “Substitit attonite similis similisque paventi.” anhelanti similis = Verg. A. ..  Sol novus = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “cum mane colorat/Sol novus oppositos Eoa lampade montes”; cf. Eob. Hymn. ; Vict., app. ..  In faciem conversa novam Cf. Ov. Tr. .. – Interea — imperat astris Epitomized as follows in Spangenberg, Triumph. –: Quos [sc. milites] tremor attonitos sic fecerat, ut neque dictis Auderent contra aut sumptis insurgere telis [–]. Sed Solimam ingressi magnis terroribus urbem, Surrexisse aiunt magno cum robore Christum [–]. Interea sese vitae Reparator amicis Discipulisque [] suis redivivum praebuit et post Quadraginta dies coelestia regna [] revisit. Quem mox venturum rursum expectamus ab alto, Arbiter ut iusta cunctis det praemia lance.  timor occupat Her. Chr. ., n. – altaque — pavor Cf. Verg. G. .– (A. .–); Stat. Theb. .–.  altaque pulsat = Verg. A. ..  Cecidere animi = Verg. A. .. – Vox aegra palatum Deserit Cf. Ov. Am. ..; Eob. Her. Chr. ..  Attonitos — artus Cf. Verg. A. .; .; Ov. Met. .; .; .; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.  eripuit mentem = Verg. A. ..  attonitam . . . per urbem = Luc. ..  tristi — mersum = Erasmus, Carm. . (unknown to Eobanus); cf. Claud. Bell. Gild. .. For tristi funere, see Lucr. .; Aetna ; Eob. Her. Chr. .. For funere mersum, see Verg. Aen. .; ..



notes to victoria christi ab inferis

Altera — fluxit Eobanus has much the same verse in Consol. : “Altera iamque dies, iam fluxit et altera.” Cf. Hieron. Vita sancti Pauli : “iam altera effluxerat dies”; Prud. Perist. .–: “iam fluxerat/dies”; Eob. Her. ..–: “alter . . ./Fluxit . . . annus.” iamque dies = Verg. A. .: “Postera iamque dies.”  vidisse sorores = Petrarch, Ecl. .: “novem vidisse sorores.”  Rumor iit = Mant. Calam. . (p. ). spes credula = Pontano, Urania .; cf. Tib. ..–; Hor. Carm. ..; Sen. Phaed. .  Illum etiam = Verg. Ecl. .; Ov. Am. ... Galilaea . . . rura = Her. Chr. ., n.  carne resumpta = Ven. Fort. Carm. .. (after Christ has taken the righteous to Paradise): “hinc tumulum repetens, post Tartara carne resumpta”; Eob. Luth. .; cf. Hymn. –.  Sola — gentis The verse closely parallels Her. Chr. ., n. For recutitae gentis, see also n.  at Her. Chr. . (:).  nostros . . . sub annos = Tum. .; .. usque sub annos = Theoc. . and Epith. : “extremos usque sub annos.”  infidum . . . genus Prop. ... – exilium . . . Aeternum Hor. Carm. ..–.  omnibus errat = Sil. ..  Invisum caelo ≈ l.  above, n. caelo ac terris = Sil. ..  regno . . . paterno Verg. A. .; Prop. ..; Ov. Ep. ..  toto . . . vagatur in orbe Combining Verg. A. . and Ov. Met. .; cf. l.  above, n.  potens . . . mundi Faber Cf. Eccles. : “Christe potens rerum, magni Faber unice mundi”; Hypocr. B .: “Omnipotens Deus, ingentis Faber unice mundi”; Psalt. .: “Summe Parens rerum, magni Faber unice mundi”; Spangenberg, Triumph. : “Faber astrorum.” The phrase mundi Faber recurs in medieval and Renaissance literature.  Vitae — necis The model is Erasmus, Carm. .: “Christe, necis Domitor ac vitae perpetis Autor.” Vitae Author = Mutius, Triumph., sig. cv: “saevam . . . tuli . . . mortem/Vitae auctor.” Cf. Vulg. Act. .; Juvenc. .; Ven. Fort. Carm. ...  reducisque — vitae Cf. Mant. Mort.  (fol. v): “Sunt iterum nostrae rediturae in corpora vitae.”  duraeque . . . mortis = Luc. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n.; Hymn. –. pericula mortis = Bebel, Triumph. Ven. . (in a variation on Luc. .: “mille pericula Martis”): “mille pericula mortis”; Locher, Stult. , fol. r.  Sublimi . . . volatu Hod. . nubila regna Her. Chr. ., n., describing the Ascension. regna volatu = Luc. ..



notes to victoria christi ab inferis



– Aethereos — imperat astris The ending recalls Mutius, Triumph., fol. cr: “Ipse Triumphator magno cum Patre sedebat/Sublimis. Dextram sedem sceptrumque tenebat/Maiestate pari, unde aequa dicione gubernat/Omnia.”  Aethereos abiit . . . recessus Cf. Her. Chr. ., n.; l.  above, n. populo spectante = Her. Chr. ., n. – potenti . . . manu Ov. Met. .–.  et parentibus imperat astris Cf. Mant. . Parthen. . (concluding line): “. . . et caeli lucentibus imperat astris.”

Appendix  This is the dedicatory poem for the edition that Eobanus planned for Easter , a half year before his death. Though it recycles much of the dedication of /, the poem adds a new section specifically for Johann Meckbach. Eobanus also explains that he found the manuscript of his Victoria Christi while rummaging through his papers. Meckbach, he adds, could have read the printed book already in , while studying at Erfurt. Eobanus’ poem found an appreciative reader in the nobleman Floris van den Bouchorst (Boekhorst) of Noordwijk (–). A law student at Poitiers and soon-to-be Jesuit priest, Bouchorst published a lengthy poem on the Huguenot wars at Poitiers, entitled Urbis Pictavii tumultus et eiusdem restitutio (Poitiers, ). In it he repeatedly imitates verses from the prefatory matter to Eobanus’ Victoria Christi (no doubt via the Basel reprint of ). For Bouchorst’s life, see Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek, vol.  (Leiden, ), cols. –. For a text, see Bouchorst, Tumultus. For Bouchard’s borrowings from Eobanus, see the notes at ll. – and – below; also see the note at app. .–. Meter: Elegiac distich. tit.

– –

patrono et amico Though rare elsewhere, this salutation is common in Eobanus’ correspondence, beginning with his letter to Crotus Rubianus (Epp. fam., ), written in the winter semester /. Oporinus truncates the phrase to “amico” in his  reprint of B. Fugit hyems — maius ebur Except for the variant at l. , this passage is identical to ll. – of the dedicatory letter in A. See the notes there. Fugit hyems — vestit Amor Adapted in Bouchorst, Tumultus,  (concluding verses): Luctus abit, fugiunt caedes, nova gaudia rerum Integra dat gremio luxuriante Themis.



notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

Indole nativa redeuntes Gratia Musas Excipit et vultu candidiore colit. Ipse triumphali splendens in veste sacerdos, Laurea quem circum tempora serta tegunt, Progreditur, reseratque strepentia limina doctor, Martia quae paulo clauserat ante manus. Omnia nunc iterum nova sunt, laetamque per urbem Pube nova ridens omnia vestit Amor.  

 –   –           

temperat unda = Prop. ..; cf. Verg. G. .. Acherontidos The evangelical preacher and Neo-Latin poet Johann Pollen of Bielefeld (ca. –) adopts this neologism in line  of his poem De tribus monstris ecclesiam vastantibus (Marburg, [latter half of /early ]; repr. Zürich, [/]): “. . . tenebris egressa Acherontidos undae.” Eobanus contributed an introductory epigram to the Marburg edition of Pollen’s book. The Zürich reprint adds a verse letter from Pollen to Eobanus (fols. v–r), in which Pollen introduces himself, praises Eobanus’ verse Psalter, which he has just read, and asks him for a copy of De victoria Wirtembergensi (). reduci . . . Christo = l.  below, n. tanto Pythone — tanta manus Imitated in Bouchorst, Tumultus, : “victo serpente Chimaera,/Sternere quem potuit non nisi tanta manus.” Ergo — Christo Cf. Vict., ded. , n. (app. .); app. .. iubila Christo = Buc. ., n.; Sylv. .., addressed to Johannes Dantiscus: “Nos canimus magno victricia iubila Christo.” scribere iussit amor = Ov. Ep. .; .. Quae tibi — damus Cf. Vict., ded. –, nn.; Coluth., ded. : “Quae damus e noto munera prompta penu.” annos post tot Mart. ... antiquo . . . lare Tib. ..; ... ubi contigerint = Prop. ..; Ov. Ars .. ocia curis = Her. Chr. ., n. vix sinit = Ov. Pont. ... iuvenilibus . . . plectris Epic. .. carmina lecta = Mant. Epigr. . (fol. v); c. Poet. ; cf. Prop. ... Lusimus haec = Her. Chr. ., n. forsitan esse = Ov. Tr. ..; Pont. ... qualiacunque — honori Cf. Tifernate, “Epicedion in Camillum,” in Carm., sig. Cv: “Nam tumuli quaecunque pio debentur honori.” vir memorande = Brant, Var. carm., fol. fv (Texte .); Eob. Sylv. ..; ..; ..; ..; Wirt., ded. . studiis — ab istis Cf. Cic. Att. ..: “non alienus a Scaevolae studiis”; Eob. Coluth., ded. : “Non sunt a studiis haec aliena tuis.”

app. ]  –

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



prima iuventa = Ov. Fast. .; cf. Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Accipe — ullus erit With some minor variants, these distichs are identical to those in Vict., ded. –, where see notes.

Appendix  This epigram must have been composed in the early spring of , for it alludes not only to the poet’s youthfulness, but also to his amatory verse. Similar allusions occur in the opening verses of Encomium nuptiale, printed in late February of that year. Line  of the poem is identical to Her. Chr. ., most likely written in . The phrase subitus fluxit calor in l.  (from Stat., Silv. , praef.) accords with Eobanus’ use of the phrase in February ; see Nup., ded. , n. Meter: Elegiac distich.           – 

Hyperboream bruma . . . sub Arcton Tum. .: “Cessit Hyperboream . . . bruma sub Arcton”; cf. Pontano, Urania .: “. . . Hyperboream cursu surgentia in Arcton.” Venit . . . mollior aura Ov. Fast. .; Tr. ... Propter aquam = Verg. G. .. spaciabar in herba ≈ Prud. Amart. . Multa . . . umbra Verg. A. .. pubuit A Late Latin perfect form of pubesco. Eobanus does not use it elsewhere. Iamque novus = V. Fl. .. novus . . . sol Vict. , n. Pura — iubar Cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Pura . . . unda = Her. Chr. .; cf. Verg. A. .. Allusere — veri Cf. Vict., ded. . formosa silentia = Sylv. ... forma Venusque fuit Cf. Nob. : “. . . forma Venusve fuit.” Aptabam — manus = Her. Chr. .; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. levis . . . Musa Prop. ... arundine Musa ≈ Verg. Ecl. .. Advenit — Amor Imitated in Bouchorst, Tumultus, : “Praecipue Uranie mediis immixta catervis,/Quas pius aeterno nectare pascit amor.” Uranie Cf. Hod. –, where Urania is a tenth Muse who comes down from heaven to enlighten human minds; Val. .–, in the editio princeps (): “Coelorum decus Uranie, sed Apolline nata,/Quem peperit nullo Pieris usa viro”; Hypocr. B .–: “Huc ades, Uranie, coelestia plectra movemus,/Plectra creatori psallere docta Deo.” Already mentioned in Hesiod’s catalogue of the Muses at Theogonia –, Urania becomes “the heavenly Muse” in Plato’s Symposium d–e, in contrast to the earthly Muse Polyhymnia.



  –

       



notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

prima Sororum = Stat. Theb. .; Poliziano, Silv. .: “Aonidum miretur prima sororum.” Quas — Amor ≈ Hypocr. B . (Psalt. .): “voluptas,/Quam pius aethereo nectare pascit amor.” aethereo nectare Mart. ... prope constiterat ≈ Nup. , n. Quid — dicata est For the thought, cf. Her. Chr., lim. –, where the poet contrasts himself to the profane poets: “Sunt quibus omne iocis teritur iuvenilibus aevum/Musaque servandos perdit inepta dies./At mea, cui debet, Christo devota iuventa est.” mea signa relinquens = Luc. .. digna legi = Ov. Tr. .. Vis — scribe mihi Cf. Aen. Silv. Epygr. .: “Orchestram si vis scribere, scribe mihi”; Eob. Hod., lim. : “Vis quod te deceat conspicere, ista vide”; Sarmat. : “Vis quod te deceat scribere, scribe nihil.” Dixit — auras = Celtis, Am. ..; Eob. Sylv. ..; Ilias .. Cf. Marul. Epigr. ..: “Dixit, et in tenues mens aegra evanuit auras”; Eob. Her. Chr. ., n. Territa — ossa Cf. Verg. A. .; Andrel. Livia ..: “Territa sed postquam subitus pavor ossa reliquit.” subitus fluxit . . . calor Stat. Silv. , praef.; cf. Eob. Nup., ded. , n. ludibria vana = Locher, Stult. , fol. v (Hartl, .:, no. .); Eob. Nor. ; Psalt. .; Consol. ; cf. Her. Chr. ., n. Heroam . . . tubam ≈ Val. .; Psalt., ded. ; cf. Idyl. .. sollicitare tubam ≈ Mart. Sp. .. Ergo — Christo Cf. Vict., app. ., nn. resurgenti . . . Christo = Sylv. .. (in a liminary poem for a planned book of Easter poems, including Hymnus paschalis and Victoria Christi): “Sacra resurgenti celebravimus orgia Christo.” Cf. AH :, no. . (in a well-known hymn on the Resurrection): “Tellus herbida/resurgenti plaudit/Christo.” Teste dea Ov. Ep. .; .; Fast. ..

Appendix  Meter: Hexameter. –

Cum Faber — cuncta creata Epitomizing Vict. –. In ll. – Spangenberg closely follows Hrotsv. Dionys. –: “Dum factor summae, medie rationis et ime/In cruce supplicium mortis pateretur amarum,/Orbem nocturnae circumduxere tenebrae,/Et sol deposito radii splendore sereni,/Exequias Domini celebrat famulamine tristi.” As Spangenberg would have known, Hrotsvitha versifies an antiphon commonly used in the Good Friday liturgy: “Cum [or: Dum] Fabricator mundi mortis supplicium pateretur in cruce, clamans voce magna tradidit spiritum, et ecce velum templi scissum est; monumenta aperta sunt; terrae motus enim factus fuerat magnus, quia

app. ]

 





–  

  –   – 

 



notes to victoria christi ab inferis



mortem Filii Dei clamabat mundus se sustinere non posse.” An echo of that passage appears at Eob. Her. Chr. .–: “Terribilem foecit qui cum pateretur in illa/Morte sua rerum terruit omne genus.” non posse dolores = Sil. .. Ignivomi solis Ven. Fort. Carm. ..; Eob. Vict. . lumen nox Enn. Ann. , quoted in Macr. ..: “Cum superum lumen nox intempesta teneret.” nox abstulit atra = Sil. .; cf. Verg. A. .. Contremuit tellus . . . dehiscunt ≈ Petrarch, Africa .: “Contremuit tellus arbustaque multa dehiscens/Sorbuit horrificoque palam subsidit hiatu.” Cf. Mant. Calam. . (p. ), at the Crucifixion: “Contremuit tellus . . . .” scopuli rupesque = Hod. ; cf. Verg. G. .. Et quid opus multis = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r); Dionys. . (fol. v). Lugebant cuncta = Erasmus, Carm. .. cuncta creata = Lucr. .. The phrase is common in early Christian and medieval poetry. Rex coeli — refulsit Epitomizing Vict. –. regna subivit = Cordus, Epigr. ..: “infera regna subivit”; Eob. Psalt. .: “Nilotica regna subivit.” regali . . . aula Sen. Tro. –. Pluto The humanists often call Satan by this Greek name. See, for example, Mant. Calam. . (p. ); . (p. ); Bebel, Triumph. Ven. .; Eob. Sylv. ... sumere tela = Ov. Met. .. sanie perfusus membra Cf. Verg. A. .; Luc. .; Petrarch, Africa .: “. . . perfusus membra sopore”; Sannazaro, De partu Virg. . “. . . sera perfusus membra quiete.” telis . . . obiectis Macr. .., quoting Verg. A. . (where we now read “iniectis”). summa ad fastigia = Verg. A. .. Vocibus horrisonis . . . complent Cf. Lucr. .: “vocibus omnia complent”; Petrarch, Ecl. .: “Impiger horrisonis pastores vocibus implet.” Ecce autem — Christum Epitomizing Vict. –. per . . . rupit Poetically, for perrupit (Mengwasser). taetra silentia = Hrabanus Maurus, In honorem sanctae crucis .B . (CCCM :): “quo taetra silentia noctis/Perpetuae latitant.” silentia rupit = Ov. Met. .; Sil. .. claraque in luce refulsit = Verg. A. .. Portarum . . . seras Vulg. Psa. .: “confortavit seras portarum tuarum.” magnos . . . vectes Mant. . Parthen. .–: “Hostia claudebant aditum tria ferrea magnis/Vectibus.” Haec ubi dixisset = Theoc. .; .. subitus pavor occupat Cf. Verg. A. . (Ov. Met. .): “subitus tremor occupat artus”; Ov. Met. ..

    –   – 

– –  –    –   –   

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

Turmatim — complent Combining Vict.  and . collapsa ruinam = Tum. .: “tristem sentit collapsa ruinam”; Psalt. .: “Quae nunc ipse suam deflet collapsa ruinam.” concussa palatia = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. r): “Ecce soli horrendo concussa palatia motu/Urbe tremunt tota, fractis compagibus alta/Tecta ruunt.” Obstupuit — dolores Epitomizing Vict. –. claudens — ora Imitating Vict. . tria Cerberus ora = Verg. G. .. Gorgones Harpiaeque = Verg. A. .. Megera — Alecto = Mant. Georg. v, but in different arrangement: “Tisiphone, Alecto, Proserpina, dira Megaera.” gemitus, tormenta = Ov. Tr. ... tormenta, dolores = More, Epigr. ., in Complete Works of St. Thomas More, vol. ., ed. Clarence H. Miller et al. (New Haven, ), : “curas, tormenta, dolores”; Eob. Pod. : “poenas, tormenta, dolores.” Quo simul — ethera noti Epitomizing Vict. –. ad sidera laetus Extulit et = Verg. A. .–. Expectate venis = Verg. A. .. Sic — formosus Ioseph Cf. Mant. . Parthen. .–: “Sic alacer Sanson, sic et formosus Ioseph,/sic puer Isaacus satus est.” Moses sanctus Prud. Tit. hist. . vitta insignis Aaron The fillet was part of Aaron’s holy vestments; see Vulg. Exod. .–. For vitta insignis, see Ov. Met. .. regesque ducesque = Gunther, Lig. .; Marul. Hymn. nat. ..; Bebel, Triumph. Ven. ., ; Hutten, Epigr. .. fama — noti ≈ Verg. A. .. Candidus — regna polorum Epitomizing Vict. –. Regius . . . vates Psalt. , arg. : “Regius hoc vates carmine praemonuit.” qui . . . nuper ad undas Salom. .: “illi, qui nuper ad undas/Transierit Stygias.” Christum . . . Tinxerat Prud. Tit. hist. . letis concentibus = Pontano, Parthen. ..: “tum volucres laetis concentibus aera miscent.” Herebi Victor [Sen.] Her. O. . Victor! Domitor . . . Mortis Petrarch, Ep. ..: “domitor mortis, qui quondam Tartara victor/Ingressus rediit.” Destructor scelerum The phrase occurs in several late medieval hymns. See the Kyrie in a fourteenth-century mass for Pope Clement VI: “verax deus, destructor scelerum,” quoted in Margaret Bent, “Early Papal Motets,” in Papal Music and Musicians in Late Medieval and Renaissance Rome, ed. Richard Sherr (Oxford, ), , n. ; AH :, no. , “De sancto Elisaeo,” In . Nocturno. Responsoria : “O prophetarum flos,/destructor scelerum.” In Christian poetic usage scelus often means “sin.” See, for example, AH :, no. ..:

app. ]

 



–   

     –   

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



“Iesse proles, solve moles,/Quae me premunt, scelerum”; Erasmus, Carm. .. Spes una salutis = Luc. .; .; Sil. .. Aspice plasma tuum ≈ opening line of a medieval epitaph in leonine hexameters, inscribed over the entrance to Christ’s sepulcher in Jerusalem: “Aspice plasma meum, qui transis ante sepulchrum.” See Detlev Kraack, Monumentale Zeugnisse der spätmittelalterlichen Adelsreise: Inschriften und Graffiti des .–. Jahrhunderts (Göttingen, ), . The inscription was well known in Spangenberg’s time. It is quoted, for example, in Luther’s Tischreden, no. . See D. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe. Tischreden, vol.  (Weimar, ), –. The phrase plasma tuum recurs in medieval ecclesiastical texts. See, for instance, AH :, no. , R. : “Salva, redemptor, plasma tuum nobile.” nos duc ad regna polorum Spangenberg quotes this phrase from a well-known hymn for St. Francis of Assisi. See AH :, no. , concluding section: “Salve, sancte pater,/patriae lux, norma minorum,/Virtutis speculum,/recti via, regula morum,/Carnis ab exsilio/ duc nos ad regna polorum.” Tum Christus — servabat inani Epitomizing Vict. –. Tum Christus — amicis Spangenberg combines Verg. A. . (.) with A. .; cf. Hrotsv. Maria : “. . . verbis affatur amicis.” Ponite — curas Imitating Verg. A. .: “solvite corde metum, Teucri, secludite curas.” tristes . . . curas Catul. .; Verg. G. .; Tib. ... Ipse — reducam Cf. Mant. Calam. .– (p. ): “Ipse, ubi tempus erit, nos in violata reducet/Regna.” The ultimate model is Verg. Ecl. .: “ipse, ubi tempus erit, omnis in fonte lavabo.” vos . . . reducam Mutius, Triumph., fol. cr. There Christ tells the blessed souls: “Vos . . ./. . . super alta reducam/Sidera.” Haec dicens = V. Fl. .; Sil. .; et al. fractis . . . molibus = Sil. .. Horrendum . . . tonans Petrarch, Ep. ..: “Dum scribimus, ecce/ Horrendum violenta tonat miscetque dolores/Et varios Fortuna metus”; Pontano, Meteor. : “Horrendum tonat.” Stigis Domitor Vict. . tumulo redivivus Erasmus, Carm. ., in a widely read poem: “Emersit tumulo superas redivivus in auras.” studio servabat inani Cf. Verg. Ecl. . (Ciris ): “. . . studio iactabat inani.” Quos tremor — praemia lance Epitomizing Vict. –. attonitos . . . fecerat Ov. Met. .. magnis terroribus urbem = Gunther, Lig. .: “Implevere suam magnis terroribus urbem.” Cf. Verg. A. .. magno cum robore = Philip Melanchthon, “Psalmus CXII” (Vulg. Psa. ), l. : “Mens immota velut magno cum robore quercus/



–   

 



–

  

 –

notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

Constat.” See Philippi Melanthonis Opera quae supersunt omnia, vol. , ed. Karl G. Bretschneider (; New York, ), col. , no. . The verse paraphrase was first printed in Farrago aliquot epigrammatum Philippi Melanchthonis et aliorum quorundam eruditorum (Haguenau, ), sig. Dr. sese — redivivum praebuit Paraphrasing a well-known sequence attributed to Notker Balbulus, “In ascensione Domini,” in AH :, no. .: “Et redivivum iam/suis se praebuit/servis et amicis.” vitae Reparator A familiar phrase, often found in hymns. See, for example, AH :, no. .: “Mortis destructor,/vitae reparator,/mundi redemptor.” coelestia regna = Ov. Pont. ... iusta . . . det praemia lance Cf. Strozzi, Eroticon, ..: “aequa dare praemia lance”; Mutius, Triumph., sig. cv: “Aeternus iusta decernens ultima lance”; Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “iusta librat Deus omnia lance”; Eob. Psalt. .: “Iudicat et iusta consyderat omnia lance.” Graium proceres = V. Fl. .. aeternos mansura sub annos Cf. Petrarch, Africa .: “seros mansisset firma sub annos”; Eob. Nor. : “Aeternos quod possit opus durare sub annos.” The expression sub annos (for per annos) does not occur in ancient Latin poetry. Arboris . . . venerabile lignum Cf. Verg. A. . and Prud. Psych.  (referring to the cross): “venerabile lignum”; [Lact.] De passione Domini  (PL , col.  C): “Flecte genu, lignumque crucis venerabile adora.” De cuius ramis . . . dependent Recalling a response used in the liturgy for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: “O crux admirabilis, in cuius ramis pependit thesaurus et redemptio captivorum, per quem mundus est redemptus sanguine Domini sui.” See Corpus antiphonalium officii, ed. Renato-Joanne Hesbert, vol.  (Rome, ), , no. . fractis cervicibus = Walter, Alex. .: “Ille vomit saniem fractis cervicibus”; cf. Vulg., . Sam. .: “fractis cervicibus mortuus est.” oculis turgentibus = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Quot tepidi erumpent oculis turgentibus imbres.” Stigius Pluto = Walther  (an oft quoted proverb, sometimes attributed to Enea Silvio Piccolomini): “Non audet Stygius Pluto temptare, quod audet/Effrenis monachus plenaque fraudis anus”; cf. Locher, Stult. , fol. v: “Quem Stygius Pluto conatur fallere.” laqueis, pedicisque Cf. Ov. Met. .: “retia cum pedicis, laqueosque artesque dolosas”; Eob. Hymn. – (of death). Hinc alia — guttura late Spangenberg imitates Mant. . Parthen. .–: “Protulit ora pavor gelidae sub imagine mortis/Pallidus et curvo contractus pectora dorso,/Coecus et elinguis, trepidus, vix ossibus haerens,/Dentibus exertis trunca deformia nare/Ora gerens et crure labans, et frigore torpens.”

app. ]

notes to victoria christi ab inferis



alia Mengwasser (p. ) explains: “Ex alia parte crucis.” Aniello Salzano takes “alia” to be an epithet with “stipite” (it is a masculine noun; cf. l. ) and thus creates a second tree trunk. Cf. ll. , , and  below: “Fronde alia.” Mortis . . . imago Verg. A. .. Mortis imago is a common phrase, normally used figuratively.  frigore torpens = Claud. Cons. Olyb. et Prob. , referring to winter.  Dentibus excussis = Sid. Carm. .. truncis naribus Verg. A. . (of Deiphobus); Mart. ... naribus ora = Mant. Calam. . (p. ): “Longaque sub geminis surgentia naribus ora.”  et hyantia guttura = Mant. Sylv. .. (fol. r): “Serpentum fauces et hiantia guttura.”  Inferni . . . ianua Erasmus, Carm. .: “inferni ianua, mortis iter.” Cf. Verg. A. .: “inferni ianua regis.”  sibi Mens male conscia = Mant. Ecl. .: “Iudiciumque timet sibi mens male conscia iustum.”  Omnia quae Christi = Mant. . Parthen.  (fol. v): “credimus ultro/Omnia quae Christi fratres de Numine fati.” roseo . . . cruore An ecclesiastical phrase, often used for the blood of Christ. See, for example, the old hymn “In Resurrectione Domini,” in AH :, no. .: “Cruore eius roseo/Gustando vivimus Deo.” tit.  Chyrographum See Vulg. Coloss. .: “delens quod adversum nos erat chirografum decretis quod erat contrarium nobis et ipsum tulit de medio adfigens illud cruci.”  Dilaniata modis miseris Taken from Tum. ., where the personified Rome laments: “Sum miseris artus dilaniata modis.”  sordifluus . . . Mundus Spangenberg uses the phrase twice elsewhere in his Evangelia Dominicalia (Wittenberg, ): at sig. Bv (Christ speaks): “relinquo/Sordifluum hunc mundum et coelestia regna reviso”; and at sig. Bv: “Sordiflui mundi princeps.” The word sordifluus appears to have been coined by Jakob Locher, on the model of such Late Latin formations as aurifluus, mellifluus, and tabifluus. See Locher, Stult. , fol. r (Hartl, .:, no. .): “gentes . . ./Sordifluas, quarum pectora daemon agit.” stipite Mundus ≈ Vict. .  dissidiis A variant spelling of discidiis.  crudelia facta tyrannum ≈ Gunther, Lig. .: “crudelia facta tyranni.”  His — nostrum est Cf. Ov. Fast. .: “vestrum est dare, vincere nostrum.”  quoque per Christum = Eccles. : “Te quoque, per Christum mea spes, mea vita, Luthere.” – Christum . . . Cum Patre — regnat Spangenberg adapts the traditional doxology: “Qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum.” For the phrasing, cf. AH :, no. . (AH :, no. .): “Qui sancto tecum cum







notes to victoria christi ab inferis

[app. 

flamine regnat in aevum”; Geraldini, Ecl. .: “. . . victorque Herebi cum Flamine regnat.” victoria nostra est = Ov. Met. ., as printed in the contemporary editions (e.g., Strasbourg, ; Cologne, ).

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations of ancient and patristic works as well as books of the Vulgate follow the ones given in P.G.W. Glare, ed., Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford, ); Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary (; Oxford, ); and Henry G. Liddell and Robert Scott, A GreekEnglish Lexicon, revised by Henry S. Jones (; Oxford, ). To distinguish Baebi Italici Ilias from Eobanus Hessus’ translation of Homer’s Iliad, the ancient abridgment is referred to as Ilias Lat. As for Anthologia Latina (D.R. Shackleton Bailey, fasc. ; Alexander Riese, fasc. ), it is cited as Anthol. Lat. Other works cited in abbreviated form are given below. A. Patristic, Medieval, and Early Modern Authors and Works Aen. Silv. Carm.

Varia carmina. In Enee Silvii Piccolominei postea Pii PP. II carmina, ed. Adriaan van Heck (Vatican City, ), –. Aen. Silv. Epygr. Epygrammata. In Enee Silvii Piccolominei postea Pii PP. II carmina, ed. Adriaan van Heck (Vatican City, ), –. Aen. Silv. Germania Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Germania, ed. Maria Giovanna Fadiga (Florence, ). AH Analecta hymnica medii aevi, ed. Guido M. Dreves, Clemens Blume, and Henry M. Bannister (–; repr. New York, ).  vols. Albertinus, De conviv. Aegidius Albertinus, De conviviis et compotationibus, Von Gastereyen. Faksimiledruck nach der Erstausgabe von , ed. Herbert Walz (Bern, ). Alexander, Doctrinale Das Doctrinale des Alexander de Villa-Dei: Kritischexegetische Ausgabe, ed. Dietrich Reichling (Berlin, ). Andrel. Ecl. Eclogae. In The Eclogues of Faustus Andrelinus and Ioannes Arnolletus, ed. Wilfred P. Mustard (Baltimore, ). Andrel. Livia Publi Fausti Andrelini “Amores” sive “Livia”, ed. Godelieve Tournoy-Thoen (Brussels, ). Arator Arator, De actibus apostolorum, CSEL , ed. Arthur P. McKinlay (Vienna, ).

 Avit. Carm.

list of abbreviations

Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus, Carmina. In MGH, Auctores antiquissimi, ., ed. Rudolf Peiper (Berlin, ), – . Balbi, Epigr. Epigrammata (Paris, []; repr. [Leipzig, ca. ]). In Hieronymus Balbus: Poet, Humanist, Diplomat, Bischof: Opera omnia quae supersunt, ed. Anton F.W. Sommer (Vienna, ), :–. Balbi, Opusc. Opusculum epigrammaton (Vienna, ). In Hieronymus Balbus: Poet, Humanist, Diplomat, Bischof: Opera omnia quae supersunt, ed. Anton F.W. Sommer (Vienna, ), :–. Bebel, Carm. Heinrich Bebel, Carmina. In Bebeliana opuscula nova et adolescentiae labores (Strasbourg, ), sigs. Bbr– Ddr. Bebel, Facetiae Heinrich Bebel, Facetien. Drei Bücher, ed. Gustav Bebermeyer (; Hildesheim, ). Bebel, Germ. Heinrich Bebel, Germani habuerunt alterum imperium. In Opera Bebeliana (Pforzheim, ), sigs. hr–mr. Bebel, Prov. Heinrich Bebel, Proverbia Germanica, ed. Willem H.D. Suringar (; repr. Hildesheim, ). Bebel, Triumph. Ven. Triumphus Veneris: ein allegorisches Epos von Heinrich Bebel, ed., trans., and annotated by Marcel Angres (Münster, ). Beroaldo, Declamatio Filippo Beroaldo, Declamatio ebriosi, scortatoris, et aleatoris. In Beroaldo, Opuscula, fols. v–v. Beroaldo, Opuscula Filippo Beroaldo, Varia opuscula (Basel, ). Biondo, Italia Italia illustrata. In Biondo Flavio, Italy Illuminated, vol. , ed., trans., and annotated by Jeffrey White (Cambridge, MA, ). Bocc. Ecl. Buccolicum carmen. In Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio, vol. ., ed., trans., and annotated by Giorgio B. Perini (Milan, ), –. Bouchorst, Tumultus Floris van den Bouchorst, Urbis Pictavii tumultus et eiusdem restitutio (Poitiers, ), ed. Alfred Barbier, “Chroniques de Poitiers aux XVe et XVIe siècles,” part , Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest  (), –. Brant, NS Sebastian Brant, Das Narrenschiff, ed. Friedrich Zarncke (; repr. Hildesheim, ). Brant, Texte Sebastian Brant, Kleine Texte, ed. and annotated by Thomas Wilhelmi (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, ).  vols. in . Brant, Var. carm. Sebastian Brant, Varia carmina (Basel, September ). Calepino, Dictionarium Ambrogio Calepino, Dictionarium (; Paris, ). Camerarius, Nar. Joachim Camerarius, Narratio de H. Eobano Hesso (Nuremberg, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–.

list of abbreviations Campano, Opera



Giannantonio Campano, Tractatus v, Orationes xv, Epistolarum ix libri, Vita Pii, Historia Brachii, Epigrammatum viii libri (Rome, ). Campano, Reg. mag. Giannantonio Campano, De regendo magistratu. In Campano, Opera, part , sigs. cr–dr. Celtis, Am. Konrad Celtis, Quattuor libri amorum, ed. Felicitas Pindter (Leipzig, ). Celtis, Germania De situ et moribus Germanie additiones. In Gernot M. Müller, ed., Die “Germania generalis” des Conrad Celtis: Studien mit Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentar (Tübingen, ), –. Celtis, Ludus Ludus Dianae. In Conrad Celtis, Ludi scaenici, ed. Felicitas Pindter (Budapest, ), –. Celtis, Norimberga De origine, situ, moribus et institutis Norimbergae libellus. In Albert Werminghoff, ed., Conrad Celtis und sein Buch über Nürnberg (Freiburg i. Br., ). Celtis, Od. Libri odarum quattuor. In Conrad Celtis, Oden/Epoden/ Jahrhundertlied, ed. and trans. Eckart Schäfer (Tübingen, ). Celtis, Oratio Oratio in gymnasio in Ingelstadio publice recitata. In Conradi Celtis Protucii Panegyris ad duces Bavariae, ed., trans., and annotated by Joachim Gruber (Wiesbaden, ), –, no. iv. Cochlaeus, Germania Johannes Cochlaeus, Brevis Germanie descriptio (), ed., trans., and annotated by Karl Langosch (Darmstadt, ). Conradi, Chol. Tilmann Conradi, Decii Magni Ausonii libellus de ludo septem sapientum. Thilonini Philymni Choleamynterium in Fellifluum Philymnomastigiam Hercinefurdensem [Wittenberg, ]. Cordus, Buc. Bucolicon per decem aeglogas iucundissime decantatum (). In Euricius Cordus, Bucolicon, ed. and annotated by Ioanna Paschou, (Hamburg, ). Cordus, Epigr. Euricius Cordus, Epigrammata (), ed. Karl Krause (Berlin, ). Cordus, Epith. Euricius Cordus, Epithalamium in nuptias Helii Eobani Hessi et Thrynae Spateranae [Erfurt, /]. Cordus, Threnodia Euricius Cordus, Funebris threnodia in mortem illustrissimi Hessie principis Gulielmi, Philippi patris (Erfurt, []). Dantiscus, Carm. Ioannis Dantisci poetae laureati carmina, ed. Stanisław Skimina (Cracow, ). Decretum Decretum Magistri Gratiani. In Corpus iuris canonici, vol. , ed. Emil L. Richter, revised ed. by Emil A. Friedberg (; Graz, ). Part  is cited as D. (Distinctio), followed by c. (capitulum). Part  is cited as C. (Causa), followed by q. (quaestio) and c. (capitulum).

 Delitiae Emser, Dialogismus Eob. Eob. Dichtungen Eob. Poetic Works EOV Erasmus, Adag. Erasmus, Carm. Erasmus, Ep. Erasmus, Moria Ficino, De vita Fischart, GK

Franck, Sprichwörter Gallicus, Liechtschiff Geraldini, Ecl.

Grieb, Schelmezunfft Gunther, Lig. Hartlieb, Fide Hrotsv. Dionys.

list of abbreviations Delitiae poetarum Germanorum huius superiorisque aevi illustrium, ed. A.F.G.G. (Frankfurt am Main, ).  vols. Hieronymus Emser, Dialogismus de origine propinandi, vulgo compotandi, et an sit toleranda compotatio in rep. bene instituta nec ne (; Leipzig, ). Eobanus Hessus Helius Eobanus Hessus, Dichtungen: Lateinisch und Deutsch. Dritter Band: Dichtungen der Jahre –, ed. and trans. Harry Vredeveld (Bern, ). The Poetic Works of Helius Eobanus Hessus, ed., trans., and annotated by Harry Vredeveld (Tempe, –; Leiden, –).  vols. to date. Epistolae obscurorum virorum, ed. Aloys Bömer (; repr. Aalen, ). Desiderius Erasmus, Adagia. In ASD, ordo . Desiderius Erasmus, Carmina, ed. Harry Vredeveld. In ASD .. Desiderius Erasmus, Opus epistolarum, ed. P.S. Allen, H.M. Allen, and H.W. Garrod (Oxford, –).  vols. Desiderius Erasmus, Moriae encomium, id est, Stultitiae laus, ed. Clarence H. Miller. In ASD .. Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life, ed., trans., and annotated by Carol V. Kaske and John R. Clark (Binghamton, NY, ). Johann Fischart, Geschichtklitterung (Gargantua): Synoptischer Abdruck der Fassungen von ,  und , ed. Hildegard Schnabel (Halle/Saale, ).  vols. Cited by chapter number, followed by the page number in the  edition. Sprichwörter. In Sebastian Franck, Sämtliche Werke: Kritische Ausgabe mit Kommentar, vol. , ed. Peter K. Knauer (Bern, ). Jodocus Gallicus, Monopolium et societas vulgo Des liechtschiffs. In Zarncke, Univ., –. Eclogae. In Das “Carmen Bucolicum” des Antonio Geraldini: Einleitung, Edition, Analyse ausgewählter Eklogen, ed., trans., and annotated by Sigrun Leistritz (Trier, ). Bartholomäus Grieb, Monopolium philosophorum, vulgo Die schelmezunfft. In Zarncke, Univ., –. Gunther der Dichter, Ligurinus, ed. Erwin Assmann (Hannover, ). Jakob Hartlieb, De fide meretricum in suos amatores. In Zarncke, Univ., –. Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, Passio Sancti Dionisii, egre-

list of abbreviations

Hrotsv. Maria

Hutten, De virtute Hutten, Epigr. Hutten, Exhortatio Hutten, German. Hutten, Italia

Hutten, Opera Hutten, Panegyricus Hutten, Querel. Hutten, Triumph. Hutten, Vir bonus Locher, Stult.

Lotario, Miseria Mant. Bapt. Mant. Calam. Mant. c. Am. Mant. Consol.



gii martiris. In Hrotsvit, Opera omnia, ed. Walter Berschin (Munich, ), –. Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, Historia nativitatis laudabilisque conversationis intactae Dei Genitricis. In Hrotsvit, Opera omnia, ed. Walter Berschin (Munich, ), – . De virtute elegiaca exhortatio. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber unus. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Ad divum Maximilianum Caesarem Augustum . . . bello in Venetos euntem exhortatio. In Hutten, Opera, :– . Quod ab illa antiquitus Germanorum claritudine nondum degeneraverint nostrates heroicum (). In Hutten, Opera, :–. Epistola Italiae ad divum Maximilianum Caesarem Augustum. In Quae in hoc libello nova habentur: Epistola Italiae ad divum Maximilianum Caes. Aug. Ulricho Hutteno Equite Germano autore. Responsio Maximiliani Aug. Helio Eobano Hesso autore (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :– with Hutten’s epigrams B – on pp. –. Ulrichi Hutteni opera quae reperiri potuerunt omnia, ed. Eduard Böcking (–; repr. Aalen, ).  vols. and  supplementary vols. In laudem Reverendissimi Alberthi Archiepiscopi Moguntini panegyricus. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Querelarum libri duo. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Triumphus Doctoris Reuchlini, sive Ioannis Reuchlin viri clarissimi encomion. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Vir bonus. In Hutten, Opera, :–. Jakob Locher Philomusus, Stultifera navis (Basel, ). Partially edited in: Brant, NS, –; Brant, Texte; and Hartl. In the present volume, Locher’s chapters are numbered according to the arrangement in the  edition (not, as in Hartl, according to the numbering in Brant, NS). Lotario dei Segni (Pope Innocent III), De miseria condicionis humane, ed. Robert E. Lewis (Athens, GA, ). In laudibus Ioannis Baptistae. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–r. Baptista Mantuanus, Libri tres de calamitatibus temporum, ed. Gabriele Wessels (Rome, ). Elegia contra Amorem. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–r. Consolatio in morte Collae Asculani. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–r.

 Mant. c. Poet.

Mant. Dionys. Mant. Ecl. Mant. Epigr. Mant. Georg. Mant. Lud. Morb. Mant. Mort. Mant. Nat. Am. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. . Parthen. Mant. Praesid. Mant. Somn. Mant. Sylv. Marul. Epigr.

list of abbreviations Contra poetas impudice loquentes. In Mariano Madrid Castro, “Baptistae Mantuani contra poetas impudice loquentes, cum Sebastiani Murrhonis interpraetacione,” Humanistica Lovaniensia  (), –. De Dionysii Areopagitae conversione, vita, et agone. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–v. Eclogae. In Adulescentia: The Eclogues of Mantuan. Baptista (Spagnuoli) Mantuanus, ed. and trans. Lee Piepho (New York, ). Epigrammata ad Falconem. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–r. De vita et agone D. Georgii martyris. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r– v. De vita D. Ludovici Morbioli Bononiensis. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r– r. De contemnenda morte. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–v. De natura Amoris ad iuvenes, carmen iuvenile. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–v. Parthenice prima sive Mariana. In La Partenice Mariana di Battista Mantovano, ed., trans., and annotated by Ettore Bolisani (Padua, []). Baptista Mantuanus, Parthenice secunda (Catharinaria). In Vitae Sanctae Katharinae, Pars secunda, ed. A.P. Orbán, CCCM  A (Turnhout, ), –. Parthenice tertia, Margarita. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–r. Parthenice quarta, Agatha. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–r. Parthenice quinta, Lucia. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–r. Parthenice sexta, Apolonia. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–v. Parthenice septima, Caecilia. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. r–v. De praesidentia oratoris et poetae. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–r. Somnium Romanum. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–v. Sylvarum libri IV. In I. Baptistae Mantuani opera omnia (Antwerp, ), , fols. v–v. Epigrammaton libri. In Michaelis Marulli carmina, ed. Alessandro Perosa (Zürich, ), –.

list of abbreviations Marul. Hymn. nat. Micyllus, Sylv. Muling, Margarita

Murner, NB Mutian. Ep. Mutius, Triumph. Nar. Nicodem. Olearius, Fide Paul. Cros. Carm. Petrarch, Africa Petrarch, Ecl. Petrarch, Ep. Petrarch, Posteritati

Petrarch, Rem.

Poliziano, Eleg. Poliziano, Ep. Poliziano, Epigr.



Hymnorum naturalium libri. In Michaelis Marulli carmina, ed. Alessandro Perosa (Zürich, ), –. Jacobus Micyllus, Sylvarum libri quinque. Quibus accessit Apelles Aegyptius, seu Calumnia, ed. Julius Micyllus (Frankfurt am Main, ). Johann Adelphus Muling, ed., Margarita facetiarum. Alfonsi Aragonum Regis vafredicta. . . . Tropi sive sales Ioannis Keisersberg concionatoris Argentinensis. . . . Facetiae Adelphinae (nd edition, Strasbourg, ). Narrenbeschwörung. In Thomas Murners Deutsche Schriften, vol. , ed. M. Spanier (Berlin, ). Epistolae. In Der Briefwechsel des Conradus Mutianus, ed. Karl Gillert (Halle, ).  vols. Macarius Mutius, De triumpho Christi (Venice, ). See Camerarius, Nar. The Gospel of Nicodemus: Gesta Salvatoris, ed. H.C. Kim (Toronto, ). Paul Olearius, De fide concubinarum in sacerdotes. In Zarncke, Univ., –. Pauli Crosnensis Rutheni carmina, ed. Maria Cytowska (Warsaw, ). Francesco Petrarca, Africa, ed., trans, and annotated by Bernhard Huss and Gerhard Regn (Mainz, ).  vols. Francesco Petrarca, Bucolicum carmen, ed., trans., and annotated by Marcel François and Paul Bachmann (Paris, ). Francesco Petrarca, Epistulae Metricae. Briefe in Versen, ed., trans., and annotated by Otto und Eva Schönberger (Würzburg, ). Franciscus Petrarca Posteritati. In Karl Enenkel, “A Critical Edition of Petrarch’s Epistola Posteritati,” Modelling the Individual: Biography and Portrait in the Renaissance, ed. Karl Enenkel, Betsy de Jong-Crane, and Peter Liebregts (Amsterdam, ), –. Francesco Petrarca, De remediis utriusque fortunae. In Pétrarque, Les remèdes aux deux fortunes. De remediis utriusque fortune (–), ed., trans., and annotated by Christophe Carraud (Grenoble, ).  vols. Elegiae. In Angelo Ambrogini Poliziano, Prose volgari inedite e poesie latine e greche edite e inedite, ed. Isidoro del Lungo (Florence, ), –. Epistolae. In Angelo Poliziano, Letters, vol. , ed., trans., and annotated by Shane Butler (Cambridge, MA, ). Epigrammata Latina. In Angelo Ambrogini Poliziano, Prose volgari inedite e poesie latine e greche edite e inedite, ed. Isidoro del Lungo (Florence, ), –.

 Poliziano, Od.

list of abbreviations

Odae. In Angelo Ambrogini Poliziano, Prose volgari inedite e poesie latine e greche edite e inedite, ed. Isidoro del Lungo (Florence, ), –. Poliziano, Silv. Angelo Poliziano, Silvae, ed., trans., and annotated by Charles Fantazzi (Cambridge, MA, ). Pol. Verg. Invent. Polydorus Vergilius, De inventoribus rerum libri tres. Text quoted according to the Strasbourg edition of . Book, chapter, and section numbering cited according to Polydore Vergil, On Discovery, ed., trans., and annotated by Brian P. Copenhaver (Cambridge, MA, ). Pontano, Am. De amore coniugali. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), –. Pontano, Eridanus Eridanus. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), – . Pontano, Hendec. Hendecasyllabi. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), –. Pontano, Hort. De hortis Hesperidum. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina, ed. Benedetto Soldati (Florence, ), :– . Pontano, Laud. De laudibus divinis liber. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), –. Pontano, Meteor. Meteororum liber. In I poemi astrologici di Giovanni Pontano: Storia del testo; Con un saggio di edizione critica del Meteororum liber, ed. Mauro de Nichilo (Bari, ), –. Pontano, Parthen. Parthenopeus. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), –. Pontano, Tum. De tumulis. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina: Ecloghe, Elegie, Liriche, ed. Johannes Oeschger (Bari, ), – . Pontano, Urania Urania, sive de stellis. In Ioannis Ioviani Pontani carmina, ed. Benedetto Soldati (Florence, ), :–. Prud. Amart. Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, Amartigenia. Prud. Apoth. Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, Apotheosis. Prud. Perist. Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, Liber Peristefanon. Prud. Tit. hist. Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, Tituli historiarum (Dittochaeon). Ps. Schram, Questio fab. Questio fabulosa, recitata per Magistrum Iohannem Schram ex Dachaw. In Zarncke, Univ., –. Reuchlin, Briefwechsel Johannes Reuchlin, Briefwechsel, ed. Matthias Dall’Asta and Gerald Dörner (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, –).

list of abbreviations Sabell. In natal.



Marcantonio Sabellico, In natalem diem divae virginis Mariae. Cited according to the edition Deventer: R. Pafraet, . Sannazaro, De partu Virg. Jacopo Sannazaro, De partu Virginis, ed. Charles Fantazzi and Alessandro Perosa (Florence, ). Sedul. Caelius Sedulius, Paschale carmen, ed. J. Huemer. In CSEL :–. Spangenberg, Triumph. Triumphus Christi heroicus. In Johann Spangenberg, Evangelia Dominicalia in versiculos extemporaliter versa (Wittenberg, ), sigs. Er–Er; Eob. Vict., app.  (:–). Strozzi, Epigr. Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, Epigrammata. In Strozii poetae pater et filius (Venice, ), fols. v–v. Strozzi, Eroticon Eroticon libri VI. In Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, Poesie latine tratte dall’Aldina e confrontate coi Codici, ed. Anita della Guardia (Modena, ): –. Theoduli Ecloga Theoduli Ecloga, ed. R.P.H. Green, in Seven Versions of Carolingian Pastoral (Reading, ), –. Tifernate, Carm. Gregorio Tifernate, Carmina. In Hoc volumine haec continentur: P. Gregorii Tipherni poetae illustris opuscula. Francisci Octavii poetae elegiae . . . (; Strasbourg, ). Urceo, Opera Antonio Urceo Codro, In hoc Codri volumine haec continentur: Orationes seu sermones . . . , Epistolae, Silvae, Satyrae, Eglogae, Epigrammata (Bologna, ). Vadian. Briefsammlung Die Vadianische Briefsammlung der Stadtbibliothek St. Gallen, vol.  (), ed. Emil Arbenz, –. Valla, De voluptate Lorenzo Valla, On Pleasure. De Voluptate, ed. Maristella de P. Lorch, trans. A. Kent Hieatt and Maristella Lorch (New York, ). Vegio, Aen. Aeneidos liber XIII. In Maffeo Vegio, Short Epics, ed., trans., and annotated by Michael C.J. Putnam (Cambridge, MA, ), –. Vegio, Astyanax Astyanax. In Maffeo Vegio, Short Epics, ed., trans., and annotated by Michael C.J. Putnam (Cambridge, MA, ), –. Ven. Fort. Carm. Venantius Fortunatus, Carmina, ed. Friedrich Leo. In MGH, Auctores antiquissimi, . (Berlin, ). Vergerio, Mor. Pier Paolo Vergerio, De ingenuis moribus et liberalibus adulescentiae studiis liber. In Humanist Educational Treatises, ed., trans., and annotated by Craig W. Kallendorf (Cambridge, MA, ), –. Walter, Alex. Walter of Châtillon, Alexandreis, ed. Marvin L. Colker (Padua, ). Wimpfeling, Adol. Jakob Wimpfelings Adolescentia, ed. and annotated by Otto Herding (Munich, ).



list of abbreviations B. Eobanus Hessus’ Works

Accl.

Adnot. Ama. Buc. Calum. Coluth. Consol.

Dial. Ebn. Eccles. Eleg. Epic. Epigraphia

Epith.

Eras. Gen. ebrios. Guil.

Divo ac invicto Imp. Caes. Carolo V. Augusto Germaniam ingredienti Urbis Norimbergae gratulatoria acclamatio. Ad eundem de bello contra Turcas suscipiendo adhortatio (Nuremberg, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :–. In P. Virgilii Maronis Bucolica ac Georgica adnotationes (Haguenau, ). De amantium infoelicitate, contra Venerem, de Cupidinis impotentia (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Bucolicon (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Descriptio Calumniae, ad doctissimum virum Philippum Melanthonem (Marburg, ), sigs. Ar–Av. Coluthi Lycopolitae Thebani vetusti admodum poetae de raptu Helenes ac iudicio Paridis poema (Erfurt, ). Ad optimum virum M. Philippum Nidanum, in morte Barbarae uxoris consolatio. In Descriptio Calumniae, ad doctissimum virum Philippum Melanthonem. Ad optimum virum M. Philippum Nidanum, in morte Barbarae uxoris consolatio (Marburg, ), sigs. Ar–Br. Dialogi tres: Melaenus, Misologus, Fugitivi (Erfurt, ). In funere clariss. quondam viri, D. Hieronymi Ebneri (Nuremberg, []); Eob. Dichtungen, :–. Ecclesiae afflictae epistola ad Lutherum (Haguenau, ). Elegiae tres de Schola Norica (Nuremberg, ). Illustrium ac clarorum aliquot virorum memoriae scripta epicedia (Nuremberg, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :– . Set of six epigraphs for the Collegium maius at Erfurt (ca. autumn ); two of them can still be seen there; the rest are known only from Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. .  Aug. o; Eob. Poetic Works, :– (introd. to Orat.). Epithalamion seu ludus gratulatorius in nuptiis et receptione insigniorum Doctoratus Iurium humanissimi et eruditissimi viri, D. Iusti Studaei (Frankfurt am Main, ). In funere clariss. et incomparabilis eruditionis viri, D. Erasmi Roterodami, epicedion (Marburg, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :–. De generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda [Erfurt, ]; Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Ad illustrissimum Principem Guilielmum, Ducem Brunsvigensem etc., apud hostes captivum consolatio [Erfurt, ].

list of abbreviations Her. Her. Chr. Hod. Hymn. Hypocr. Icones Idyl. Ilias In Ed. Leeum Laud.

Luth.

Max.

Mog. Nob. Nor. Nup. Orat.



Heroidum libri tres (Haguenau, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :–. Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. A profectione ad Des. Erasmum Roterodamum hodoeporicon carmine heroico (Erfurt, []). Hymnus paschalis (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. In hypocrisim vestitus monastici  κφâνησισ. Psalmi quatuor ex Davidicis carmine redditi [Nuremberg, ]. Homericae aliquot icones insigniores, Latinis versibus redditae (Nuremberg, ). Bucolicorum idyllia XVII. In Operum farr., , fols. r– r. Poetarum omnium seculorum longe principis Homeri Ilias . . . iam recens Latino carmine reddita (Basel, ). Epigrams by Eobanus Hessus in In Eduardum Leeum quorundam e sodalitate literaria Erphurdiensi Erasmici nominis studiosorum epigrammata (Erfurt, ). De laudibus et praeconiis incliti atque tocius Germaniae celebratiss. Gymnasii litteratorii apud Erphordiam . . . carmen succisivis horis deductum (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Habes hic, lector: In evangelici Doctoris Martini Lutheri laudem defensionemque elegias IIII. Ad Iodocum Ionam Northusanum cum eodem a Caesare redeuntem elegiam I. Ad Udalricum Huttenum Equitem Germanum ac poetam nobilissimum de causa Lutheriana elegiam I. In Hieronymum Emserum Lutheromastiga conviciatorem invectivam elegiam I (Erfurt, ). Responsio Maximiliani Aug. In Quae in hoc libello nova habentur: Epistola Italiae ad divum Maximilianum Caes. Aug. Ulricho Hutteno Equite Germano autore. Responsio Maximiliani Aug. Helio Eobano Hesso autore (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. De casu Moguntiacensi qui contigit in conventu principum Frankforti habito, anno . Unpublished poem in Ms. D , r–r, Zürich, Zentralbibliothek. De vera nobilitate et priscis Germanorum moribus [Erfurt, ]; Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Urbs Noriberga illustrata carmine heroico [Nuremberg, ]; Eob. Dichtungen, :–. Encomium nuptiale divo Sigismundo, regi Poloniae (Cracow, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Oratio, sive praelectio in auspicio Officiorum M. Tullii Ciceronis et M. Accii Plauti comoediarum [Erfurt, ]; Eob. Poetic Works, :–.

 Orat. Bacc. Orat. stud.

Orat. Sylv. Pod. Praef.

Psalt. Pug. Rec. Ruf.

Salom. Sarmat. Sylv. Sylv. duae Theoc. Tum.

list of abbreviations Oratio in promotione Baccalaureorum pronunciata (ca. early autumn, ). In Epp. fam., –. Oratio de studiorum instauratione in inclyta schola Erphurdiensi, omnium ordinum consessu frequentissimo auditorio, ab Eobano Hesso habita anno M.D.XIX mense Septembri (Erfurt, []). Oratio in praelectione Sylvarum, olim Lypsiae habita (January, ). In Epp. fam., –; Eob. Poetic Works, :– (introd. to Sylv. duae). Ludus de podagra, in quo eius affectionis natura, commoda iuxta ac incommoda recensentur. E vulgari Germanico in Latinum carmen coacta (Mainz, ). Praefaciuncula in Enchiridion Christiani militis. In Praefatio in epistolas divi Pauli Apostoli ad Corynthios Erphurdiae ad Christianae philosophiae studiosorum ordinem habita ab eximio viro D. Iodoco Iona Northusiano . . . . Huic addita est non multum dissimili argumento Eobani Hessi praefaciuncula in Enchiridion Christiani militis (Erfurt, ). Psalterium universum (Schwäbisch Hall, ); Psalterium universum. Helius Eobanus Hessus, ed. Mechthild Fuchs (diss. Jena, ; Berlin, ). De pugna studentum Erphordiensium cum quibusdam coniuratis nebulonibus (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. De recessu studentum ex Erphordia tempore pestilenciae [Erfurt, ]; Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Ad Mutianum Rufum elegia vernae alacritatis commendatitia. In Harry Vredeveld, “A Forgotten Poem by Eobanus Hessus to Mutianus Rufus,” In “Der Buchstab tödt — der Geist macht lebendig”: Festschrift zum . Geburtstag von Hans-Gert Roloff von Freunden, Schülern und Kollegen, ed. James Hardin and Jörg Jungmayr (Bern, ), :–. Salomonis Ecclesiastes carmine redditus (Nuremberg, ). In poetam Sarmatam Germanos ignaviae insimulantem invectiva [Erfurt, /]. Sylvarum libri IX. In Operum farr., , fols. r–r. Sylvae duae nuper aeditae: Prussia et Amor [Leipzig, ]; Eob. Poetic Works, :–. Theocriti Syracusani idyllia triginta sex, Latino carmine reddita (Haguenau, ). De tumultibus horum temporum querela. Priscorum temporum cum nostris collatio. Omnium regnorum Europae mutatio. Bellum servile Germaniae. Haec omnia carmine heroico. Ad Germaniam afflictam consolatio

list of abbreviations

Val.

Venus

Vict. Vitanda ebriet. Wirt.



paraenetica, elegia una. Roma capta, elegiae duae (Nuremberg, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :–. Bonae valetudinis conservandae rationes aliquot. Simplicium ciborum facultates quaedam. Medicinae encomion. Chorus illustrium medicorum. Novem Musae [Nuremberg, ]. Venus triumphans, ad Ioachimum Camerarium Questorem. Ioachimi Camerarii querela, qua superiori carmini respondet. In nuptiis Ioachimi Camerarii epithalamion, seu ludus Musarum (Nuremberg, ). Victoria Christi ab inferis carmine heroico (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. De vitanda ebrietate elegia, additis super eadem re aliquot epigrammatis (Erfurt, ); Eob. Poetic Works, :–. De victoria Wirtembergensi, ad illustrem et inclytum heroa Philippum, Hessorum omnium ac finitimarum aliquot gentium principem, gratulatoria acclamatio (Erfurt, ); Eob. Dichtungen, :–.

C. Eobanus Hessus’ Correspondence and Collected Works Epp. fam. Epp. 

Epp. 

Epp. 

Epp.  Operum farr.

Helii Eobani Hessi, poetae excellentiss., et amicorum ipsius epistolarum familiarium libri XII, ed. Johann Drach (Marburg, ). Narratio de H. Eobano Hesso . . . , composita a Ioachimo Camerario Pabebergensi. Epistolae Eobani Hessi ad Camerarium et alios quosdam, ed. Joachim Camerarius (Nuremberg, ). Libellus alter, epistolas complectens Eobani et aliorum quorundam doctissimorum virorum, necnon versus varii generis atque argumenti, ed. Joachim Camerarius (Leipzig, ). Tertius libellus epistolarum H. Eobani Hessi et aliorum quorundam virorum autoritate, virtute, sapientia, doctrinaque excellentium, ed. Joachim Camerarius (Leipzig, ). Libellus novus, epistolas et alia quaedam monumenta doctorum superioris et huius aetatis complectens, ed. Joachim Camerarius (Leipzig, ). Operum Helii Eobani Hessi farragines duae, nuper ab eodem qua fieri potuit diligentia contractae et in hanc, quam vides, formam coactae, quibus etiam non parum multa accesserunt, nunc primum et nata et aedita (Schwäbisch Hall, ).



list of abbreviations D. Other Abbreviations

Aarne/Thompson add. AH app. Arévalo arg. ASD b. Bauch Benson/Andersson Benzing bk., bks. BL BNU Böcking BSB c. ca. Carm. CCCM CCSL cf. chap. col., cols. corr. CSEL Curtius, ELLMA d. ded. Dietl

Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson, The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography (Helsinki, 2). addidit, addiderunt, added (in) Analecta hymnica medii aevi, ed. Guido M. Dreves, Clemens Blume, and Henry M. Bannister (–; repr. New York, ).  vols. appendix C. Vetti Aquilini Iuvenci presbyteri Hispani Historiae evangelicae libri IV. Eiusdem carmina dubia, aut suppositicia, ed. Faustino Arévalo (Rome, ). argumentum, argument, summary Desiderius Erasmus, Opera omnia (Amsterdam, – ; Leiden, –). born (in) Gustav Bauch, Die Universität Erfurt im Zeitalter des Frühhumanismus (Breslau, ). Larry D. Benson and Theodore M. Andersson, The Literary Context of Chaucer’s Fabliaux: Texts and Translations (Indianapolis, ). Josef Benzing, Ulrich von Hutten und seine Drucker (Wiesbaden, ). book, books British Library Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, National and University Library See Hutten, Opera. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bavarian State Library capitulum, capitulo, (in) chapter circa, approximately; capitulum, capitulo, (in) chapter Carmen, Carmina Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis (Turnhout, –). Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina (Turnhout, –). confer, compare. chapter column, columns correxit, correxerunt, corrected (in) Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Vienna, –). Ernst R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, trans. Willard R. Trask (Princeton, ). died (in) dedicatio, dedicatory letter Cora Dietl, Die Dramen Jacob Lochers und die frühe Humanistenbühne im süddeutschen Raum (Berlin, ).

list of abbreviations Ecl. ed. edd. eds. e.g. Ep., Epp. Epigr. et al. ex. fol., fols. Gillert Grimm, DWB Grimm, Hutten HAB Hartl

Häussler i. introd. ISTC Kleineidam Kleinschmidt

Krause, “Beiträge”

Krause, HEH



Ecloga edited by; editor editiones, editionibus, editions editions exempli gratia, for example Epistula, Epistulae Epigramma, Epigrammata et alii, et alia, and others; et alibi, and elsewhere exemplar, exemplaria; exemplari, exemplaribus, copy (of a book) folio, folios See Mutian. Ep. Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Deutsches Wörterbuch (Leipzig, –).  vols. (in ). Heinrich Grimm, Ulrich von Hutten: Wille und Schicksal (Göttingen, ). Herzog August Bibliothek Nina Hartl, Die ‘Stultifera Navis’: Jakob Lochers Übertragung von Sebastian Brants ‘Narrenschiff ’ (Münster, ).  vols. The chapter nos. in Hartl’s partial edition refer to the arrangement in Brant’s Narrenschiff, not to Locher’s own arrangement; additional materials are assigned Roman numerals. Reinhard Häussler, ed., Nachträge zu A. Otto: Sprichwörter und sprichwörtliche Redensarten der Römer (Hildesheim, ). Cited by page number. id est, that is introduction (to) Incunabula Short Title Catalogue, British Library. Electronic database, available at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/istc/ Erich Kleineidam, Universitas studii Erffordensis: Überblick über die Geschichte der Universität Erfurt (Leipzig, –).  vols. Erich Kleinschmidt, “Scherzrede und Narrenthematik im Heidelberger Humanistenkreis um . Mit der Edition zweier Scherzreden des Jodocus Gallus und dem Narrenbrief des Johannes Renatus,” Euphorion  (), –. Karl Krause, “Beiträge zum Texte, zur Chronologie und zur Erklärung der Mutianischen Briefe mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Gillert’schen Bearbeitung,” Jahrbücher der Königlichen Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt, NF  (), –. Carl Krause, Helius Eobanus Hessus, sein Leben und seine Werke: Ein Beitrag zur Cultur- und Gelehrtengeschichte des . Jahrhunderts (; repr. Nieuwkoop, ).  vols.

 Krause, “Schrift”

list of abbreviations

Karl Krause, “Eine neu aufgefundene Schrift des Eobanus Hessus,” Centralblatt für Bibliothekswesen  (), –. Krebs, Negotiatio Christopher B. Krebs, Negotiatio Germaniae: Tacitus’ Germania und Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Giannantonio Campano, Conrad Celtis und Heinrich Bebel (Göttingen, ). Kreyssig Johann Theophil Kreyssig, ed., Ioachimi Camerarii Narratio de Helio Eobano Hesso. Accesserunt Christ. Theoph. Kuinoelii oratio de Helii Eobani Hessi in bonas literas meritis et Helii Eobani Hessi carmina: De pugna studentum Erphordiensium cum quibusdam coniuratis nebulonibus et In bonarum artium detractorem (Meissen, ). Kühlmann, Lyrik Humanistische Lyrik des . Jahrhunderts, Lateinisch und deutsch, ed., trans., and annotated by Wilhelm Kühlmann, Robert Seidel, and Hermann Wiegand (Frankfurt am Main, ). l. lex, lege, (in) law; line LB Landesbibliothek, State Library LB Desiderius Erasmus, Opera omnia, ed. Johannes Clericus (–; repr. Hildesheim, –).  vols. Lecompte, Chaîne d’or Stéphanie Lecompte, La Chaîne d’or des poètes: Présence de Macrobe dans l’Europe humaniste (Geneva, ). Leonhardt Jürgen Leonhardt, “Exegetische Vorlesungen in Erfurt –,” Humanismus in Erfurt, ed. Gerlinde Huber-Rebenich and Walther Ludwig (Rudolstadt, ), –. lim. liminary epigram, epigram on the title page ll. lines m metrum (in Boeth. Consol.) MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica Möncke Gisela Möncke, “Zwei Erfurter Drucke mit unbekannten Gedichten von Eobanus Hessus,” GutenbergJahrbuch  (), –. ms., mss. manuscript, manuscripts Müller, Germania Gernot M. Müller, Die “Germania generalis” des Conrad Celtis: Studien mit Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentar (Tübingen, ). Münch Ulrichi ab Hutten, Equitis Germani, Opera quae extant omnia, ed. Ernst J.H. Münch (Berlin and Leipzig, – ).  vols. Musper, Holzschnitte Theodor Musper, Die Holzschnitte des Petrarkameisters: Ein kritisches Verzeichnis mit Einleitung und  Abbildungen (Munich, ). n., nn. note, notes (to); footnote, footnotes (followed by a number)

list of abbreviations NF Nickel no., nos. om. ÖNB Otto par. PL Pleij, Cockaigne postscr. praef. r. repr. Richter Ritschl, Opuscula Römer

Rummel, Debate Rummel, Reuchlin SB sc. sig., sigs. SLUB SUB s.v. Telle, “Rezept”



Neue Folge, new series Holger Nickel, “Zum Erfurter Buchdruck im . Jahrhundert.” In Erfurt: Geschichte und Gegenwart, ed. Ulman Weiß (Weimar, ), –. number, numbers omisit, omiserunt, omitted (in) Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Austrian National Library A. Otto, Die Sprichwörter und sprichwörtlichen Redensarten der Römer (; Hildesheim, ). Cited by proverb number. paragraph Patrologiae cursus completus. Series Latina (Paris: –  and –), ed. Jacques-Paul Migne.  vols. Herman Pleij, Dreaming of Cockaigne: Medieval Fantasies of the Perfect Life, trans. Diane Webb (New York, ). postscript praefatio, preface reigned reprinted Dieter Richter, Schlaraffenland: Geschichte einer populären Phantasie (Cologne, ). Friedrich W. Ritschl, Opuscula philologica (–; repr. Hildesheim, ).  vols. Franz Römer, “Alexandri Magni epistola ad inclitum archiducem Austriae Carolum Divi imperatoris Ferdinandi filium. Literarische Fiktion im Dienste der Habsburgerpanegyrik,” In Pontes I. Akten der ersten Innsbrucker Tagung zur Rezeption der klassischen Antike, ed. Martin Korenjak and Karlheinz Töchterle (Innsbruck, ), –. Erika Rummel, The Humanist-Scholastic Debate in the Renaissance and Reformation (Cambridge, MA, ). Erika Rummel, The Case against Johann Reuchlin: Religious and Social Controversy in Sixteenth-Century Germany (Toronto, ). Staatsbibliothek, State Library scilicet, namely signature, signatures Sächsische Landes- und Universitätsbibliothek Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, State and University Library sub verbo, sub voce, under the heading Joachim Telle, “Das Rezept als literarische Form: Zum multifunktionalen Gebrauch des Rezepts in der deut-



list of abbreviations

schen Literatur,” Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte  (), –. Thorbecke August Thorbecke, Geschichte der Universität Heidelberg: Abteilung : Die älteste Zeit der Universität Heidelberg, – (Heidelberg, ). tit. title, heading t.p. title page TPMA Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi: Lexikon der Sprichwörter des romanisch-germanischen Mittelalters, founded by Samuel Singer, ed. Kuratorium Singer der Schweizerischen Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften (Berlin, –).  vols. and  supplement volume. trans. translated (by), translator (of) UB Universitätsbibliothek, University Library ULB Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, University and State Library v., vv. versus, verse, verses VD  Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des . Jahrhunderts. Digital database, available via http://www.Gateway-Bayern.de VL Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters: Verfasserlexikon, ed. Kurt Ruh, Gundolf Keil, et al. (Berlin, –).  vols. VL  Literaturwissenschaftliches Verfasserlexikon: Frühe Neuzeit in Deutschland, –, ed. Wilhelm Kühlmann et al. (Berlin, –).  vols. VLDH Verfasserlexikon: Deutscher Humanismus, –, ed. Franz J. Worstbrock (Berlin, –).  vols. vol., vols. volume, volumes von Hase Martin von Hase, Bibliographie der Erfurter Drucke von – (Nieuwkoop, 3). Vredeveld, “Traces” Harry Vredeveld, “Traces of Erasmus’ Poetry in the Work of Helius Eobanus Hessus,” Humanistica Lovaniensia  (), –. Walther Hans Walther, ed., Proverbia sententiaeque Latinitatis medii aevi (Göttingen, –).  vols. Cited by proverb number. Walther, “Scherz” Hans Walther, “Scherz und Ernst in der Völker- und Stämme-Charakteristik mittellateinischer Verse,” Archiv für Kulturgeschichte  (), –. Wander Karl F.W. Wander, Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon (–; Aalen, ).  vols. Wesselski Albert Wesselski, trans., Heinrich Bebels Schwänke (Munich, ).  vols. Williams, Liederpoesie Charles A. Williams, Zur Liederpoesie in Fischarts Gargantua (Halle/Saale, ).

list of abbreviations Wulfert



Heiko Wulfert, Die Kritik an Papsttum und Kurie bei Ulrich von Hutten (–) (Berlin, ). Zarncke, “Quaestiones” Friedrich Zarncke, “Über die Quaestiones Quodlibeticae,” Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum  (), – . Zarncke, Univ. Friedrich Zarncke, ed., Die Deutschen Universitäten im Mittelalter: Beiträge zur Geschichte und Charakteristik derselben. Erster Beitrag (Leipzig, ).

INDEX OF MEDIEVAL AND NEO-LATIN WORDS

This index lists words that occur neither in Thesaurus Linguae Latinae nor in Forcellini’s Lexicon totius Latinitatis. Words in the sense indicated here that are also found in dictionaries of later Latin are marked with an asterisk. For proper names and their derivatives, see the Glossarial Index. *absumptor, squanderer: Gen. ebrios. .. *acadaemia or academia, university: Orat., t.p.; ., ; Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. .. *acadaemicus, a, um, academic, of a university: Orat. .. *acetositas, bitterness: Gen. ebrios. .. *adorabundus, a, um, full of adoration: Orat. .. *agnifer, a, um, lamb-bearing: Vict. ; app. .. *aliqualiter, to some extent, somewhat: Gen. ebrios. .. *alludo, to allude (to): Gen. ebrios. .. *amusus, a, um, unrefined, uncultured: Gen. ebrios. .. *anguiger, a, um, viper-bearing: Max. . *anteliminaris, e, preliminary, prefatory: Hymn., ded. . *armarium, arsenal: Gen. ebrios. .. biro, “beeron,” beer baron: Gen. ebrios. .. birolatro, beer bandit: Gen. ebrios. .. *catasta, the rack (as an instrument of torture): Nob. ; a trap: Vict. . *chimica, alchemy: Orat. .. choraules, chorister, choirboy: Hymn. .

*chyromantia, chiromancy: Orat. .. *coadiutrix, female assistant: Orat. . *coaevus, a, um (with dative), equal to or of : Hymn. . collator, steward: Max. . *collegium, college: Epigraphia, tit. *commendico, to gather up by begging, pick up: Orat. .. *complexio, complexion, temperament: Gen. ebrios. .. *conquatio, shake to the foundations: Vict. . curialis aulicus, courtier, court official: Gen. ebrios. .. *dieta, diet, assembly: Gen. ebrios. .. diversitudo = diversitas: Orat. .. *divus, saint: Gen. ebrios. .; .; .; .; .. *dominus quodlibetarius, presiding master at the quodlibet disputation: Gen. ebrios. .; .. *domus, hall, college building: Orat., lim. ; Orat. .., ; Epigraphia .; ., ; .; .; .. domus contubernalis, collegiate hall: Epigraphia , postscr. *ducatus, duchy: Gen. ebrios. .. *dux, duke: Gen. ebrios. .; .; Max. . *elucidatio, elucidation: Gen. ebrios. ..



index of medieval and neo-latin words

eluvio, debauchery: Gen. ebrios. .. *enervatrix, emasculatrix: Gen. ebrios., tit. (quaestio). evaleo, to possess: Nob. . exorbitamen, deviation, vagary: Orat. .. *fabulamentum, fictitious story: Orat. .. *grammata, grammar: Nob. . gravipensilis, e: heavy: Hymn. B .. *gymnasium, university: Hymn., tit.; Orat. ., ; .; Nob. . *idiota, simpleton, half-wit: Gen. ebrios. .. *incantamen = incantamentum, a charm, incantation: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. incroceo, to yellow, to stain saffron: Gen. ebrios. ... *indoleo, to regret, deplore: Orat. .. inemarcessibilis, e, unwithering: Orat. .. *inurbanitas, churlishness: Gen. ebrios. .. *ius, iura, property, dominions: Hymn. B .; Max. .

paradisius, a, um = paradisiacus: Vict. . participio = participo: Gen. ebrios. .. *peregregie, marvelously well: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. *physionomia, physiognomy: Orat. .. *poetizo, poeticize, be a poet: Orat. .. *prealligatus, a, um, abovementioned: Gen. ebrios. .. *predicamentalis, e, predicamental, predicable: Gen. ebrios. .. prophanus, a, um, bawdy: Orat. .. pubes, greenery: Vict., ded. ; app. .. *quodlibet, quodlibet disputation: Gen. ebrios., tit. *quodlibetarius. See dominus quodlibetarius.

*notabile, note, gloss: Gen. ebrios. .. noxius, a, um = obnoxius: Nob. .

*salebrositas = salebritas: Orat. .. *schola, university: Nob. , . *scholasticus, a, um, scholastic, of the schoolmen: Gen. ebrios., tit. *semileo, half-lion: Hutten, Italia B .. *semiloqutus, a, um, muttered: Vitanda ebriet. .. *septenarium, septenary: Orat., t.p.; .. *siligo, rye: Gen. ebrios. .. sordifluus, dripping with filth: Vict., app. .. *strumulus, dried cod: Gen. ebrios. ... *studens, student: Gen. ebrios. .; , tit.; ., ; .. *studium, university: Orat., t.p. *sympotes, drinking companion: Gen. ebrios. ..

*obgarrio, jabber at: Orat. .. obvolvo = volvo, revolvo: Gen. ebrios. ..

*teutonizo, translate into German: Gen. ebrios. .. *titulus, section: Gen. ebrios. ..

*libidinatio, lustfulness: Gen. ebrios. .. liniger, seine-hauling, net-bearing: Max. . *loedorium = loedoria: Gen. ebrios. A .. *lupulus, hops: Gen. ebrios. ..

index of medieval and neo-latin words *tormentum, cannon: Nob. ; Max. , , . *tumbetum, grave, tomb: Hymn. B. ..



*undequaque, in every way: Orat. .. *universitas, university: Epigraphia , postscr. volumen, revolving sphere (in the heavens): Vict. .

GLOSSARIAL INDEX

All references are to the Latin and macaronic texts. References to proper names that are alluded to in these text, but not explicitly mentioned, are enclosed in square brackets. Eobanus’ name is omitted when it occurs in the titles and headings of his own works. The abbreviation Italia refers to Hutten, Italia. For a key to the abbreviations, see pp. – above. Aaron, the brother of Moses and first high priest of the Israelites: Gen. ebrios. .; magnus Vict. ; vitta insignis Vict., app. .. Abraham. See Habraam. Academia. See Achadaemia. Academia Erphurdiensis, the University of Erfurt: [Hymn., t.p.; Orat., t.p.; .–.; Epigraphia , postscr.; Nob. –]; Gen. ebrios. .. Academicae quaestiones, Cicero’s Academics, a discussion of academic skepticism: Orat. .. Achadaemia, the gymnasium outside of Athens where Plato taught: Epigraphia .. Acheron or Acheruns, a river in the underworld; hence, the underworld itself : Vict. ; avarus Vict. . See also Erebus. Acheronteus, a, um, of Acheron; hence, infernal, of the underworld: profundum Vict. . Acherontis or Acheruntis, idos, of the Acheron; hence, infernal: ora Vict., ded. ; app. .. Achilles, the hero of Homer’s Iliad and Statius’ unfinished Achilleid: Orat. .; cantatus Maeonio vati Nob. ; tam magnus Orat. .. ———, a hero like Achilles: Nob. .

Adam or Adamus, the first man: [Hymn. –; Nob. –]; Vict. [–, –], , [–, –]; app. ., []. Adria, the Adriatic Sea; hence, Venice as an Adriatic power: Max. B ., ; levis Italia B .; nunc mitior Max. ; trux Nob. . See also Euganeum mare; Venetia. Aeacus, a judge of the dead in the underworld: Vict. . Aegides, the legendary Greek hero Theseus, son of the Athenian king Aegeus; together with his friend Pirithous he attempted to abduct Proserpine from the underworld: impiger Vict. . Aegiptus, Egypt: Italia . Aeneas, the Trojan hero, ancestor of the Romans: [Nob. ]; Troiugena Vict. . Aeneis, Vergil’s Aeneid: Virgiliana Orat. .. Aeternitas, Eternity (personified): Epigraphia .. Aethica, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: Gen. ebrios. .. ———, Ethics (personified): Orat. .. Aethiopes, the Ethiopians: truces Italia . Afer or Apher, an African: Max. ; adustus Italia . Affenschwantz, “Monkeytail,” a cuckolded husband: Gen. ebrios.

glossarial index ., ; bonus ille Gen. ebrios. .. Africa. See Aphrica. Agathensis. See Concilium Agathense. Agave, the mother of King Pentheus of Thebes: Gen. ebrios. ... Agrigentum, the city of Agrigento (Akragas) on the southern coast of Sicily: Vitanda ebriet. .. Albertistae, Albertists, followers of the Dominican friar and Scholastic philosopher Albertus Magnus (?–): Gen. ebrios. .. Albis, the Elbe River: Gen. ebrios. ., ; patrius Nob. . Alcibiades, Athenian statesman and general (ca. –ca.  bce): Gen. ebrios. .. Alcides, the legendary Greek hero Hercules: Nob. ; Italia B .; fortissimus Vict. . See also Hercules. Alde Klauß, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Alecto, goddess of revenge, one of the three Furies: Vict. ; app. .. See also Furiae. Alexander or Allexander, Alexander of Villedieu (/–/), author of the school grammar Doctrinale puerorum that was much reviled by the humanists: Gen. ebrios. .; .. See also Halt lex ander. Alexander Magnus, Alexander the Great (– bce), King of Macedon from , conqueror of Persia: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. Allexander. See Alexander. Alpinus, a, um, of the Alps, Alpine: arces Max. ; nives Max. . Alpis; Alpes, the Alps: Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. .; opposita Italia ; Teutonica Italia B .;



Ausoniae Max. ; nivosae Vict. . [Amalthea], the she-goat Amalthea that suckled the young Jupiter on Crete: Vict. . Ambrosius, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan from / to : divus Gen. ebrios. .. [Ammanati Piccolomini, Jacopo], Cardinal of Pavia from  to : Gen. ebrios. .. Amor, the god of love: Gen. ebrios. ... See also Cupido. ———, Love (personified): pius Vict., app. .; ridens Vict., ded. ; app. .. Amphion, legendary King of Thebes, renowned as a musician; by playing his lyre he was able to move the stones needed to build the walls of Thebes: aliquis Orat. ... Amphitheatrum. See Amphytheatrum. Amphitryo, a comedy by the Roman dramatist T. Maccius Plautus: Orat., tit. Amphytheatrum, the Flavian Amphitheater, begun by Emperor Vespasian and completed by Titus; it eventually became known as the Colosseum: Caesareum Orat. ... Anglia, England: fida Max. . Antenoreus, a, um, of the Trojan prince Antenor, who is said to have founded Padua: lar (Padua) Max. . Anthaeus, the giant Antaeus, son of Poseidon and Earth: Orat. .. Antiqua Saxonia, the medieval Duchy of Saxony in northern Germany: Gen. ebrios. .. Antonius, Marcus, the Roman statesman and general Mark Antony (ca. – bce): Orat. .; ., [–]; nefandissimus Orat. ..



glossarial index

Aonius, a, um, of Mount Helicon, Heliconian, devoted to the Muses: carmen Nob. . Apella, a derogatory term for a Jew: Haebraeus (Christ) Vict. ; infoelix Hymn. . Apelles, celebrated Greek painter (fourth century bce): Cous Vitanda ebriet. .. Aperbacchus, Georgius, the Erfurt physician Georg Eberbach (d. ), the father of Heinrich Eberbach: Vict., ded., tit. Aperbacchus, Henricus, the Erfurt physician Heinrich Eberbach (d. ), son of Georg Eberbach; dean of the medical faculty at Erfurt from  to : Vict., ded., tit., [passim], . Aperbachus, Petreius, Petrejus (Peter) Eberbach (ca. – /): Italia B , tit. Apher. See Afer. Aphrica, northern Africa: Gen. ebrios. .. Apianus Alexandrinus, Appian of Alexandria (second century ce), who wrote a history of the Civil Wars, part of a much larger Roman History: Orat. .. Apollineus, a, um, Apollonian, of Apollo: olores Nob. . Apollo, god of the sun, patron of poetry and the Muses: Nob. B .; neglectus Gen. ebrios. ..; Pythius Gen. ebrios. .. See also Phoebus. Apollonius, the Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana (first century ce): Orat. .; .. Apoplexis, Apoplexy (personified): Vitanda ebriet. .. Apulus, a, um, of Apulia, a region in southern Italy: regna (the Kingdom of Naples) Max. .

Arabes, the Arabs: Italia . See also Sabaei. Arbor consanguinitatis pecudum et ebriorum rusticorum, a fictitious authority: Gen. ebrios. .. Arctos, the Great and Little Bear, constellations in the northern sky; hence, the North: Vict. ; gelida Italia B .; Hyperborea Vict., app. .; utraque Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Ursa. Arctous, a, um, northern: aequor (the Baltic Sea) Gen. ebrios. ... Arethe, Arete (Moral Virtue), associated with Astraea, the goddess of justice who was the last divinity to leave the earth after the Golden Age: Vitanda ebriet. .. Argentinensis, e, of Strasbourg: concionator (Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg) Gen. ebrios. .. Argivi, the Greeks: Nob. B .. Argonautae, the Argonauts who sailed with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece: Orat. .. Aristoteles or Aristotilis, Greek philosopher (– bce): Orat. .; .; Gen. ebrios. .; .; noster Gen. ebrios. .. Aristotelicus, a, um, Aristotelian: philosophia Orat. .. See also Peripateticus. Aristotilis. See Aristoteles. Arithmetica, Arithmetic (personified): Orat. [.]; .. Arminius, a chieftain of the Cherusci (/ bce–ce /) who annihilated a Roman army in the Teutoburg Forest in  ce: ferus Italia . Artaxerxes, Artaxerxes II, king of Persia from  to  bce: potentissimus Hymn., ded. . Asia, Asia, Asia Minor: Max. , ; domitae Italia .

glossarial index Asotia, Debauchery (personified): communis Vitanda ebriet. .. Asphalti stagnum, the Dead Sea: Vitanda ebriet. .. Assirii, the Assyrians: Gen. ebrios. .. Assyrius, a, um, Assyrian: amomum Nob. . Astraea, the goddess of justice, the last deity to leave the earth after the Golden Age: Nob. . Astronomia, Astronomy (personified): Orat. [.–]; .. Athenae, Athens, the capital city of Attica: veteres Orat. ... Athenienses, the Athenians: Gen. ebrios. .. Atheniensis, e, of Athens: Solon Gen. ebrios. .. Athesis, the Adige River in northern Italy: Gen. ebrios. .; fragosus Max. . Atticus, a, um, of Attica in Greece; hence, Greek: Pallas Orat. ..; regna Italia . Attis, idis, Attic, Athenian: terra Vict. . Augusta Vindelici Suevi, Augsburg, the capital of Bavarian Swabia: princeps Max. . Augustus, a Holy Roman emperor: Max. , , . See also Caesar. ———, Emperor Maximilian I: Caesar Italia, t.p.; tit.; Max., tit. See also Maximilianus. Augustus, a, um, imperial, of the Holy Roman Emperor: opes Max. . Aurea saecula, the Golden Age; hence also, a new Golden Age: Nob. ; Italia B .. Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, the dawn: [Hymn. –]; Vict. , . Ausonius, the poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius (ca. – ca. ), a native of Burdigala



(now Bordeaux): Gen. ebrios. .. Ausonius, a, um, Italian: miles Italia ; Alpes Max. ; opes Italia , ; principes Italia B .. Auster, the south wind: Nob. . Austria, the heart of Emperor Maximilian’s hereditary dominions: [Italia ]; Max. [, –]; ; mea Max. . Austriacus, a, um, of Austria: domus Italia ; Max. . Authentica, a fictitious collection of laws: Gen. ebrios. .. Avaricies, Greed (personified): Nob. . Avernus, a lake near Naples, described by Vergil as leading to the underworld; hence, the underworld itself : Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Erebus. Bacchus, a vegetation god, identified with Dionysus; the god of wine; hence also, wine, grapevines: Gen. ebrios. A .; .; [..; ..–]; ..; .; ..; .., ; ..; ..; ..; Vitanda ebriet. .; blandus Gen. ebrios. ..; nascens Gen. ebrios. A .. See also Dyonisius; Iacchus; Liber; Lyaeus. Bactra, an ancient city in central Asia, now Balkh in Afghanistan; hence, a far-distant place: Vitanda ebriet. .. Barbara, a (fictitious) German girl in book  of Konrad Celtis’ Amores: sua Gen. ebrios. .. Barbarus, Hermolaus, the Italian humanist Ermolao Barbaro the Younger (/–), especially known for his scholarly work on Aristotle, Pliny, and Pomponius Mela: Orat. ..



glossarial index

Bastart, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Batzman, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Bavaricus, a, um, Bavarian: intemperantia Gen. ebrios. .. Bebelius, the German humanist Heinrich Bebel (–), author of a well-loved collection of Facetiae in three books: Gen. ebrios. .. Belgeranensis, e, of Belgern, a town in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Belgeranus, a, um, of Belgern, a town in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Bella Civilia, a history of Rome’s civil wars by Appian of Alexandria: Orat. .. Beroaldus Bononiensis, Philippus, the Italian humanist Filippo Beroaldo the Elder, a native of Bologna (–): Orat. ., ; .. Bettelßheym, “Beggar’s Home,” “Bedlam” (for “Bethlehem”): Gen. ebrios. .. Beyderwan, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Bizantium, Constantinople, captured by the Ottoman Turks in : [Hymn. –]; Nob. ; [Max. –]. Boccacius, the Italian humanist Giovanni Boccaccio (–), author of the Decameron: Gen. ebrios. .. Boemus or Bohemus, a Bohemian: Gen. ebrios. .; acer Max. ; tumidi Max. . Bononia, the city of Bologna: Italia, postscr.; B . Bononienses, the inhabitants of Bologna: Italia B , tit. Bononiensis. See Beroaldus Bononiensis.

Boreas, the north wind: Vict. ; Riphaeus Hymn. . Bosphorus, the Bosporus, a narrow strait between Europe and Asia: propinquus Hymn. . Breypott, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Britanni, the ancient Britons: Calydonii Italia . Brixia, the city of Brescia: toties vinci docta Max. . Brugis, Bruges, a town in western Flanders: Max. , []. Brunswigensis, e, of Brunswick (Braunschweig) in Lower Saxony: Mommom sive Momum Gen. ebrios. .. Buffel, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Byzantium. See Bizantium. Cadmeus, a, um, Cadmean: mater (Agave, the daughter of Cadmus and mother of King Pentheus): Gen. ebrios. ... Caesar, the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar (– bce): Orat. .; .; Gen. ebrios. .. ———, a Holy Roman emperor: Italia B .; Max. , , . See also Augustus. ———, Emperor Maximilian I: Nob. , , ; Italia, t.p.; tit., , , ; B ., , ; [B .– ]; B .; B , tit., [–], ; B .; Max., tit; ; B ., ; B .; amissus Italia B .; tuus Italia B .; Max. . See also Maximilianus. Caesareus, a, um, imperial, of the emperor: Amphytheatrum Orat. ..; domus Nob. . Calliopea, one of the nine Muses: mea Vict., ded. . See also Musa. Calydonius, a, um, Caledonian, Scottish: Britanni Italia .

glossarial index Camaena, Camena, or Camoena, a Muse; hence also, poetry, verse: solito maior Vict. ; caelestes Vict. ; dulces Gen. ebrios. ..; iratae Max. ; lugubres Hymn. ; Romulides Nob. . See also Musa. Camarina, a noxious swamp in ancient Sicily: tam nocens Vitanda ebriet. .. Camena; Camoena. See Camaena. Campanus, Ioannes Antonius, the Italian humanist-bishop Giannantonio Campano (– ): Orat. .; .; Gen. ebrios. .; .; .; .. Cannae, village in southern Italy where Hannibal destroyed a Roman army in  bce: Max. . Cantica, the Old Testament book of Canticles: Gen. ebrios. .. Capitolinus, a, um, of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, with a great temple to Jupiter; Capitoline: Iovis Max. . Capnion, Ioannes, the German humanist Johann Reuchlin (– ): Hymn. B , tit.; B .; [B , tit.]. Capua, city in southern Italy where Hannibal wintered in / bce: Gen. ebrios. .. Carolus, Charlemagne, emperor from  to : Italia . ———, Emperors Charlemagne (r. –) and Charles IV (r. – ): unus et alter Nob. . ———, Charles of Burgundy (– ), crowned King of Spain on  March , the future Emperor Charles V: Italia [], . [Carthago], Carthage: Italia – ; Max. . Caspia Porta, the Caspian Gates, a pass in the Caucasus mountains: Italia .



Castalius, a, um, Castalian, of the spring Castalia on Mount Parnassus, sacred to Apollo and the Muses: aquae Max. B .. Catilinarius, a, um, Catilinarian; of the Roman politician Lucius Sergius Catilina (ca. – bce) who conspired to overthrow the Roman Republic, but was attacked by Cicero in a series of speeches: coniuratio Orat. .; machinatio Orat. .. Cato, M., the Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as Cato the Younger (– bce): Orat. .. Catullus, the Latin poet C. Valerius Catullus (ca. –ca.  bce): Orat. .. Catulus, Q., the Roman statesman Q. Lutatius Catulus, consul in  bce: Orat. .. Celtis, Conradus, the German “archhumanist” Konrad Celtis (–): Gen. ebrios. .; ., []; noster Gen. ebrios. .; .; .. Cerberivisia, comic name for beer, combining the name Cerberus with cerevisia (beer): Gen. ebrios. .. Cerberus, the monstrous threeheaded dog guarding the entrance to Hades: Orat. .; Vict. , []; app. .. Cercopes, inhabitants of Pithecusae, off the coast of Italy; Jupiter punished their treachery by turning them into monkeys: Vitanda ebriet. .. Ceres, the goddess of grain; hence, grain, barley: Gen. ebrios. .., ; ... Charibdis, the whirlpool Charybdis between Sicily and Italy; hence, a ravenous gullet: vasta Gen. ebrios. ...



glossarial index

Charon, the old ferryman who took the shades across the Styx and Acheron to Hades: ipse Vict. ; app. .. Charybdis. See Charibdis. Cherusci, a people in northwestern Germany: Gen. ebrios. .. Chimica, Alchemy (personified): Orat. .. Christen, Christians: syben bößer Gen. ebrios. ... Christiani, Christians: Gen. ebrios. .; mali Gen. ebrios. .. Christianus, a, um, Christian: computatio Gen. ebrios., tit.; nomen Hymn., ded. ; plebs Hymn. ; secta Hymn. ; victoria Hymn., t.p.; Heroides Orat. .; philosophi Gen. ebrios. .. Christi dormitio, the Dormition of Christ: Hymn., ded. . Christophagus, a, um, Christ-eating: mystae Gen. ebrios. ... Christus, Jesus Christ: Hymn., ded. –; Hymn. [passim]; , , , , , ; B , tit., ; B , tit.]; B , tit., ]; Epigraphia .; .; .; [Nob. B .– ]; Gen. ebrios., t.p.; .; .; Vict., t.p.; [ded. –]; Vict., tit., [passim], , , , , , ; app. [.–]; .; app. , tit., [passim], , , , , , , , , ; tit. before ; , , ; tit. before ; , ; magnus Hymn. ; Vict. ; parvus Vict. ; redux Vict., ded. ; app. ., ; reses Vict. ; resurgens Hymn. ; Vict., app. .. See also Deus; Iesus; Phoebus; Tonans. Chunrati, a series of German emperors named Konrad: Nob. . Chymica. See Chimica.

Chyromantia, Chiromancy (personified): Orat. .. Cicero, M. Tullius, the Roman orator, writer, and statesman (– bce): Orat., t.p.; tit.; .; .; .; .; [–, passim]; ., , ; .–, ; .; ..; .–; .; ., , ; .; ., –; ., ; Gen. ebrios. .; noster Orat. .; .. Ciceronianus, a, um, Ciceronian, of Cicero: laus Orat. .–; philosophia Orat. .; .; lectiones Orat. .. Cimon, an uncouth nobleman in a story by Giovanni Boccaccio; inspired by love for the beautiful Iphigenia, he becomes a gallant gentleman: Gen. ebrios. .. Circaeus, a, um, of the enchantress Circe: artes Gen. ebrios. A .. Circe, the enchantress Circe, who turned Ulysses’ men into swine, wolves, and other beasts: Gen. ebrios. .; nulla Vitanda ebriet. .. Cisseis, Hecuba, the widow of King Priam of Troy; maddened by the tragic death of her children, she changed into a dog: Vitanda ebriet. .. Clitus, a Macedonian general, killed in a drunken quarrel by Alexander the Great in  bce: Gen. ebrios. .. Colchi, the Colchians who lived on the eastern coast of the Black Sea: Italia . Commentarii, Caesar’s books on the Gallic and Civil Wars: Gen. ebrios. .. Commodus, Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from  to : Gen. ebrios. .. Concilium Agathense, the Council of Agde, held in : Gen. ebrios. ..

glossarial index Constantinopolis. See Bizantium. Constitutiones, comic title for the Doctrinale puerorum of Alexander of Villedieu: Gen. ebrios. .. Cordus, Euricius, the humanist poet Euricius Cordus of Simtshausen, Hesse (–): Gen. ebrios. A , tit.; A .; .. Corinthii, the Corinthians: Gen. ebrios. .. Cous, a, um, from the island of Cos in the southeastern Aegean: Apelles Vitanda ebriet. .. Crassus, the proverbially humorless Marcus Crassus, grandfather of the triumvir M. Licinius Crassus Dives: tetricus Gen. ebrios. A .. Cremona, a city in Lombardy: misera quondam, nunc capta Max. . Creteus, a, um, on the island of Crete: Ida Vict. . Cumaeus, a, um, Cumaean, of Cumae northwest of Naples: Sybilla Italia B .; Vict. . Cupido, the god of love: Gen. ebrios. ..; Vitanda ebriet. .; tener Vict. . See also Amor. Curtius, Q. Curtius Rufus, author of a Latin history of Alexander the Great: Orat. .. Cybele, an originally Phrygian goddess, also known as Magna Mater, whose emasculated priests were called Galli: [Italia B .]; magna Hymn. B .. Cyclopaeus, a, um, of the oneeyed giants, Cyclopes; hence, horrendous: ululatus Vict. . Cymbri, the Cimbri, a Germanic tribe that inflicted severe defeats on the Romans in the second century bce and invaded Italy in : Italia ; terribiles Italia . Cynicus, a Cynic philosopher: quidam (Diogenes) Hymn. B ..



Cynosura, the constellation Ursa Minor: Gen. ebrios. ... Cypris, Venus: alma Gen. ebrios. ... See also Venus. Cyrus, the Persian prince and general Cyrus the Younger (d.  bce): Orat. .. Dalmata, a Dalmatian; hence, Dalmatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea: Italia . Damascus, an ancient city in Syria: Vict. . Damus, Berterus, Bertram von Dam of Brunswick (d. ), a member of Eobanus’ circle at Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. A , tit. Danaus, a, um, Greek: praedones Italia . Dantiscum, Danzig (Gda´nsk): Gen. ebrios. ., . Danubius, the Danube River: Gen. ebrios. .; .. See also Ister. Darius, Darius the Great, a king of Persia (r. – bce): Hymn., ded. . David or Davides, King David, the Psalmist, son of Jesse and father of Solomon and Absalom: [Gen. ebrios. .; .; .; .; .]; Vict. [–], , ; [app. .–]. See also Psalmographus. Declamationes, the Declamationes maiores, formerly attributed to Quintilian: Gen. ebrios. .. De commixione complexionum, a fictitious medical handbook: Gen. ebrios. .. Decreta canonica or Sacri canones, the Decretum Gratiani, a twelfthcentury collection of canon law: Gen. ebrios. .; ., ; .. Decreta colonica, the Colonical Decrees, a fictitious collection of laws: Gen. ebrios. ..



glossarial index

De divinatione, Cicero’s treatise on divination: Orat. .; .. De finibus bonorum et malorum, Cicero’s treatise On the Ends of Good and Evil: Orat. .. De legibus, Plato’s Laws: Gen. ebrios. . Delphi, city in Phocis where Apollo had a famous oracle: Max. B .. Delphicus, a, um, Delphic, of the Delphic oracle: fama Italia B .. Democritus, the “laughing philosopher” Democritus of Abdera (ca. –ca.  bce): Gen. ebrios. .. De monasillabis, a fictitious book on monosyllabic words: Gen. ebrios. .. Demosthenes, Greek orator (–  bce), especially famed for his Philippics: Orat. .; .; .–; .; Graecus Orat. .. De natura deorum, Cicero’s treatise On the Nature of the Gods: Orat. .. De officiis or Officia, Cicero’s dialogue On Duties: Orat. t.p.; tit.; .; ., ; .; .; ., ; .; .; .; Gen. ebrios. .. De regendo magistratu, a treatise on good government by Giannantonio Campano: Gen. ebrios. .. De republica, a dialogue by Cicero on political philosophy: Orat. .. De situ moribusque Germanorum, Tacitus’ description of ancient Germany: Gen. ebrios. .. De tuenda bona valetudine, an essay by Plutarch on keeping in good health: Gen. ebrios. .. Deucaleon, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were the only people to survive the great flood; an aged couple, they regenerated the human race by casting stones over their shoulders: priscus Vict. .

Deus, God the Father, Christ, the Trinity: Hymn. [, –], , [], B .; B .–; Orat. .; [Nob. –]; Gen. ebrios. ., ; .; [.]; .., , [; .–]; Max. ; Vict. [– , , ], , , ; app. .; tit. before ; ; bonus Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .; defunctus munere humanae vitae Vict. ; immortalis Orat. .; natus Epigraphia .; vivus Gen. ebrios. .. See also Apollo; Christus; Got; Iuppiter; Pater; Sanctum Flamen; Tonans. De vinaria, a fictitious book on wine: Gen. ebrios. .. [Diabolus], the devil: Hymn. –, –, , ; Vict., passim. See also Dis. Dialogi deorum, Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods: Gen. ebrios. .. Diodorus, the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (first century bce): Gen. ebrios. .. [Diogenes], Greek philosopher (fourth century bce) who founded the Cynic school of philosophy: Hymn. B .. Dionysus; Dionysius. See Dyonisius. Dirae, the three Furies (Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone), goddesses of revenge: sociae Vict. ; ultrices Vict. ; app. .. See also Furiae. Dis, lord of the underworld, the devil; the underworld itself : [Vitanda ebriet. .]; Vict. [–], ; avarus Vict. ; horrendus Vict., app. .; magnus Vict. ; niger Vict. . See also Diabolus; Erebus; Infernus; Iovis (niger); Pluto; Python. Divinae institutiones, the Divine Institutions by the Christian apologist Lactantius (ca. – ca. ): Gen. ebrios. ..

glossarial index Dodonaeus or Dodonius, a, um, of Dodona, an oak grove in northwestern Greece sacred to Zeus, with a famous oracle: Iovis Italia B .; iuga Vict. . Doli, Guile (personified): Nob. . Domicianus, Domitian, Roman emperor from  to : Gen. ebrios. .. Dryudae, the Druids, the Celtic priests of Gaul: Hymn. B .. Ducatus Stetinensis, the Duchy of Stettin: Gen. ebrios. .. Dyonisius, Dionysus, the god of wine: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Bacchus. ———, Dionysius the Areopagite, an Athenian philosopher converted by St. Paul: Vict. . Ebrietas, Drunkenness (personified): Gen. ebrios. .; ..–, [– ], ; Vitanda ebriet. .; .; ., [–, –], ; aemula Circaeis artibus Gen. ebrios. A .; doctior in vicium Vitanda ebriet. .. Elferßkehofe, Ilversgehofen, a village north of Erfurt (now a suburb): Gen. ebrios. .. Elß, Elsa, a woman’s name: Gen. ebrios. .. Elysium or Elisium, the abode of the blessed after death: Gen. ebrios. .; Vict. . See also Elysius. Elysius or Elisius, a, um, Elysian, of Elysium: carcer Vict., app. ; campi Gen. ebrios. ... See also Elisium. [Emser, Hieronymus], German humanist and Catholic polemicist (–), author of a dialogue on convivial drinking: Gen. ebrios. .. Ennius, the father of Roman poetry, Quintus Ennius (– bce): Gen. ebrios. ...



Eobanus Hessus, Helius. See Hessus, Helius Eobanus. Eous, a, um, eastern: currus Vict., app. .. Epicureus, a, um, Epicurean: sues Gen. ebrios. .. Epicurus, Athenian philosopher (– bce) whose advocacy of the pleasure principle was often caricatured as shameless hedonism: Gen. ebrios. .. Epilepsia, Epilepsy (personified): horrida Vitanda ebriet. .. Epistolae, the Epistles of Horace: Gen. ebrios. .. ———, a collection of letters by Giannantonio Campano: Gen. ebrios. .. Epistolae familiares, a collection of letters written by Cicero to his friends: Orat. .. Erasmus, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (–): noster Orat. .. Erebus or Herebus, the underworld, hell: Vict. ; app.  [passim], . See also Acheron; Avernus; Dis; Orcus; Phlegeton; Styx; Tartara. Erffurdianus, a, um. See Erphurdianus. Erfurdia. See Erphurdia. Erfurdiensis. See Erphurdiensis. Erichtonius, a, um, Athenian, near Athens: Hymettus Nob. . Erphurdia, Erphordia, or Erfurdia, the city of Erfurt: Orat., lim. ; Gen. ebrios., tit.; [.]; .; ., ; Max., postscr.; inclyta Nob. ; nobilis Nob., lim. . Erphurdianus or Erffurdianus, a, um, of Erfurt: Collegium Epigraphia, tit.; Eobanus Hessus Epigraphia , tit.; litteraria sodalitas Gen. ebrios. A –, tit. Erphurdienses, the Erfurters: Gen. ebrios. ..



glossarial index

Erphurdiensis or Erffurdiensis, e, of Erfurt: Academia Orat., t.p.; Gen. ebrios. .; cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .; Gymnasium Hymn., t.p.; Orat. .; hoc stadium Orat. .; litteraria milicia Orat. .; Petreius Aperbachus Italia B , tit.; praelectio Orat., tit.; Quodlibet Gen. ebrios., t.p.; Studium Orat., t.p.; Universitas Epigraphia , postscr. Esaias, the Old Testament book of Isaiah: Gen. ebrios. .. Ethica. See Aethica. Euclio, an old miser in Plautus’ comedy Aulularia: Hymn. B .. Eufrates, the Euphrates River: Max. . Euganeum mare, the Adriatic Sea: Max. . See also Adria. Eumenides, the Furies, goddesses of revenge: Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Furiae. Euripides, Athenian tragic playwright (ca. –ca.  bce): Gen. ebrios. .. Europa, the European continent: Gen. ebrios. .; Vitanda ebriet. .; Max. , , . Eurus, the east wind; hence, the East: Vict. . Eustochium, St. Eustochium (– /), who left Rome with her mother St. Paula to live in Bethlehem with St. Jerome: Gen. ebrios. .. Euxinum mare, the Black Sea: Max. . Euxinus, a, um, of the Black Sea: Propontis Nob. . Eva, the first woman: [Nob. ]; Vict. [–], . Evangelium, the Gospel: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Sacra scriptura. Evangelus, one of the guests in Macrobius’ Saturnalia: Gen. ebrios. ..

Expetendarum et fugiendarum libri, the encyclopedic work De expetendis et fugiendis rebus by the Italian humanist Giorgio Valla (–): Orat. .. Eynbeccensis, e, of Einbeck, a town in Lower Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. . Falernum. See Phalernum. Fama, Rumor (personified): degener Vict., ded. ; app. .; despiciens Max. ; Virgiliana Gen. ebrios. .. Fastus, Arrogance (personified): Nob. . Fatum, Fate, Destiny; hence also, death: Nob. , ; Gen. ebrios. .; Vitanda ebriet. .; Italia ; Max. ; Vict. , ; altum Vict. ; malum Orat. .; promissum Max. ; cuncta Vict. . See also Parca; Sors. Fauni, fauns, deities of the fields and woods: Gen. ebrios. ... Favonius, the west wind of spring: caelestis Vict. ; vitalis Hymn. . See also Zephyrus. Fertzer, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Ficinus, Marsilius, the Italian humanist and philosopher Marsilio Ficino (–): Gen. ebrios. .. Fidelia, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Flora, the goddess of flowers: Gen. ebrios. ... Florentia, the city of Florence: Italia B .; B .; Max. . Florentini, the people of Florence: Italia B , tit. Fluentinus, a, um, Florentine, of the city of Florence: dolus Italia . Foemilius, Ioannes, the humanist Johann Femel of Erfurt (d. ): Gen. ebrios. A , tit.

glossarial index Fortuna, the blind goddess Fortuna; hence also, fortune, luck: Orat., lim. ; Orat. ., [], ; .; .; .; Epigraphia .; Nob. , ; Gen. ebrios. .; Italia ; Max. , , [–], , [–], , , , [– ], , []; B .; Vict. ; lubrica Max. . See also Sors. Forum, the Forum Romanum, the center of public life in ancient Rome: Gen. ebrios. ... Forum piscium, the Fishmarket in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Forum raparum, the Turnipmarket (Rübenmarkt) in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Franci, the Franks, inhabitants of Franconia: Gen. ebrios. .; alii Italia B .. ———, the Western Franks, the French: Sequanici Italia B .. See also Gallus. Franconia, duchy in central Germany: Gen. ebrios. .. Francophurdiani, the people of Frankfurt an der Oder: Gen. ebrios. .. Frantzosen, the French: ungetrewe Gen. ebrios. .. See also Gallus. Fraudes, Fraud (personified): Nob. . Friburgensis, e, of Freiburg in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Friderici, the German emperors Frederick I Barbarossa (r. – ), Frederick II (r. –), and Frederick III (r. –): tres Nob. . Fridericus or Friderichus, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (r. – ): Italia , [–, ]; aliquis Max. . ———, Emperor Frederick III (r. –), the father of Maximilian I: [Italia ].



———, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony from  to : Nob. , [–]. Frisones. See Phrysones. Furiae, the Furies, goddesses of revenge: Vict., app. .. See also Alecto; Dirae; Eumenides; Megaera; Tisiphone. Furta, Theft (personified): Nob. . Fyltz, a beer brewed in Magdeburg: Gen. ebrios. .. Fytscherling, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Galenus, the Greek physician Galen, a native of Pergamum (ca. – ca. / ce): Gen. ebrios. .. Galilaea, Galilee in northern Palestine: Hymn. . Galilaeus or Galileus, a, um, of Galilee: rura Vict. ; viri Gen. ebrios. .. Gallia, ancient Gaul: Italia . ———, modern France: Italia , ; blanda Italia ; saeva Italia . Gallicus, a, um, French: crista Max. ; hostis Italia ; castra Max. . Gallus, a Frenchman, the French: Gen. ebrios. ..; Italia ; B .; B .; B .; B .; B , tit.; B .; B , tit., ; Max. , , , , ; foedifragus Max. ; improbus Max. ; minax Max. ; perfidus Max. ; pugnax Italia B .; timidus Max. ; victor Italia ; alacres Max. ; armigeri Italia B .; foedifragi Italia ; imbelles Max. ; minaces Max. ; toties victi Italia . See also Franci; Frantzosen. ———, Francis I, King of France from  to : Italia B .; B , tit., ; B .; B , tit.; Max. ; superbiens Italia B ..



glossarial index

———, Frenchman; rooster; emasculated priest of Cybele: Hymn. B , tit., , , . Ganimedes, Ganymede, identified with the constellation Aquarius: Nob. B .. Gauße, a beer brewed in Goslar: Gen. ebrios. .. Gaza, Theodorus, Greek scholar (–ca. ), a native of Salonike who came to Italy in  and became a famed translator and interpreter of ancient Greek authors: Orat. .. Genesis, the first book of the Bible: Gen. ebrios. .–. Gentile, Gentile de’ Becchi of Urbino, bishop of Arezzo from  to : suus Gen. ebrios. .. Geographia, a geographical work in seventeen books by Strabo: Gen. ebrios. .; .. Geomantia, Geomancy (personified): Orat. .. Geometria, Geometry (personified): Orat. [.]; .. Georgius. See Aperbacchus, Georgius. Gera. See Ghera. Germani, the ancient Germans: Nob., t.p.; [Nob. –]; Gen. ebrios. .; ., , ; .; omnes Gen. ebrios. .. ———, the modern Germans: Gen. ebrios., tit.; , tit., , ; ..; .; , tit., –; ..; .; .; nostri Gen. ebrios. .; ..; septentrionales Gen. ebrios. , tit.; superiores Gen. ebrios. .. See also Teutones; Teutsche. Germania, ancient Germany: Nob. [], ; Gen. ebrios. .; Italia B .; prisca Max. . ———, modern Germany: Orat. .; Nob. [], , [–]; Gen. ebrios. ., –; ..;

[Vitanda ebriet. .–, – ]; Italia [passim], , ; Max. [passim], , , [B ]; bellipotens Gen. ebrios. A .; maritima Gen. ebrios. .; media Gen. ebrios. .; nostra Gen. ebrios. .; .; Max. ; tota Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. Germanicus, a, um, German: Oceanus (the Baltic Sea) Gen. ebrios. .; [proverbium] Gen. ebrios. .; antiquitates Gen. ebrios. .. See also Germanus. Germanus, a, um, German: eques (Ulrich von Hutten) Italia, t.p.; miles Italia B .; Max. ; nomen Max. B ; orbis Nob. , ; poeta (Konrad Celtis) Gen. ebrios. .; res Italia ; vicium (drunkenness) Gen. ebrios. ..; scholae Nob. . See also Germanicus; Teutonicus; Teutonis; Teutonus. Gethae, the Getes, a Thracian people: horribiles Italia . Ghera, the Gera River that flows through Erfurt: Thuringa Orat., lim. . Gloria, Glory (personified): Nob. ; vera Epigraphia .. Glosa notabilis, a commentary by Gerard Zerbolt van Zutphen (–) on the Doctrinale puerorum of Alexander of Villedieu: Gen. ebrios. .. Gorgo, Medusa, the snake-haired Gorgon, killed by Perseus; anyone looking at her frightful head was turned to stone: Hymn. B .. Gorgones, the three snake-haired Gorgons, female monsters: Vict., app. .. Goslariensis, e, of the city of Goslar in Saxony: Gauße Gen. ebrios. .. Got, God: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Deus.

glossarial index Gotius, Bartholomeus Threisensis, Bartholomew Götz of Treisa in Hesse (d. ): Gen. ebrios. A , tit. Graeca (pl.), the Greek language, Greek: Orat. .; .; ... Graece, in Greek: Orat. .; ... Graeci, Greeks, speakers of Greek: Orat. .–; .; ., , ; .; Gen. ebrios. ., , . Graecia, Greece: moesta Nob. ; praedatrix Max. ; tota Italia . Graecitas, Greek language: Orat. .. Graeculi, Greeklings: Orat. .. Graecus, a, um, Greek: Demosthenes Orat. .; philosophia Orat. .; philosophus Orat. .; litterae Orat. .; verba Orat. .. See also Graius. Graii, the ancient Greeks: Vict., app. .. Graius, a, um, Greek: duces Nob. . See also Graecus. Grammatica, Grammar (personified): Orat. [.]; .. Gratia; Gratiae, Grace; the three Graces: Hymn. ; Gen. ebrios. A .; .; Vict., ded. ; app. .; omnes Epigraphia .. Gula, Gluttony (personified): Nob. . Gulckelßhan, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Habraam or Habramus, the patriarch Abraham, father of Isaac: Vict. , []; app. .. Haebraeus, a, um, Hebrew, Jewish: Apella Vict. . Halt lex ander, comic deformation of the name Alexander of Villedieu, author of the grammar text Doctrinale puerorum: Gen. ebrios. .; .. Hamburgum, the city of Hamburg: Gen. ebrios. ..



Hannibal, the Carthaginian general Hannibal (–/ bce) in the Second Punic War: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Poenus. Hans Raumtasche, the name of a beggar (“Hans Pickpurse”): Gen. ebrios. ... Hans Speck, an example of monosyllabic names: Gen. ebrios. .. Harpiae, the three Harpies, monsters with a woman’s head and the body of a bird of prey: Vict., app. .. Harpocrates, the Egyptian god of silence; jocularly, the Greek physician Hippocrates: Gen. ebrios. .. Harpyiae. See Harpiae. Hartenacke, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Hebraeus. See Haebraeus. Helene, Helen of Troy, wife of Menelaus: Vitanda ebriet. .; [Italia ]. Heliogabalus, a notorious Roman emperor (r. –): Gen. ebrios. .. Helius, one who loves the sun god: Nob. B . Helius Eobanus Hessus. See Hessus, Helius Eobanus. Helschepoff, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Helvecius or Helvetius, the Swiss: Italia ; Max. ; ferus Italia . See also Rheti; Suiceri. Helvetius, a, um, Swiss: manus Italia B .; vires Italia B .. Henrici, the Holy Roman Emperors Henry II (r. –), Henry III (r. –), and Henry IV (r. –): tres Nob. . Henricus Aperbacchus. See Aperbacchus, Henricus. Heraclitus, the “weeping philosopher” Heraclitus of Ephesus, who flourished around  bce: Gen. ebrios. ..



glossarial index

Hercinius, a, um, Hercynian, of the Hercynian Forest: rupes Vict. ; saltus Vict. . Hercules, the Greek hero, famous for his Twelve Labors: [Hymn. B .–]; Vict. . See also Alcides. ———, a man like Hercules: quisquam Max. B .. Hercynius. See Hercinius. Herebus. See Erebus. Herodotus, Greek historian of the fifth century bce: Gen. ebrios. .. Heroides Christianae, Eobanus Hessus’ Heroidum Christianarum epistolae (Leipzig, ): Orat. .. Hesperius, a, um, Hesperian, western, Atlantic: littus Vict. . Hesperus, the evening star (Venus): Nob. . Hessi, the Hessians: Gen. ebrios. ., ; Vict., app. , tit. Hessiacus, a, um, Hessian, of Eobanus Hessus: Musa Hymn., lim. . Hessus, Helius Eobanus: Nob. B , tit., , , ; [Gen. ebrios. .]; Erffurdianus Epigraphia , tit.; noster Gen. ebrios. .; .; .. Hieronymus, St. Jerome (ca. – /): Gen. ebrios. .; divus Gen. ebrios. .; .; .. [Hierosolima], Jerusalem: Italia ; Vict. . See also Solymus. Hispanus or Hyspanus, a Spaniard: Gen. ebrios. ..; Italia ; Max. [], . Historia Augusta. See Hystoria Augusta. Homerus, Homer (seventh century bce?), traditionally the poet of the Iliad and Odyssey: Orat. ., ; [Nob. ]; vinosus Gen. ebrios. ... See also Maeonides.

Horatianum, a passage from the Roman poet Horace: illud Orat. .. Horatius, the Roman poet Horace (– bce): Gen. ebrios. .; .; noster Gen. ebrios. .. Horlemotsche, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Hotenbach, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Huttenus, the German humanist Ulrich von Hutten (–): Italia, t.p.; B , tit.; Max. B . Hyalision, a celebrated painting by Protogenes, depicting Ialysus, the son of Helius and protector of Rhodes: Vitanda ebriet. .. Hydra, a many-headed serpent that lived in the swamp Lerna in Argolis. When one of its heads was cut off, two others grew in its place; Hercules burned out their roots with firebrands and so killed the monster: Hymn. B .; [Italia B .]. Hydromantia, Hydromancy (personified): Orat. .. Hymettus, a mountain near Athens, famed for its honey: Erichtonius Nob. . Hyperboreus, a, um, Hyperborean, arctic: Arctos Vict., app. .. Hyspanus. See Hispanus. Hystoria Augusta, Tacitus’ Annales: Gen. ebrios. .. Iacchus, a name for Bacchus, the god of wine: Gen. ebrios. ..; Vitanda ebriet. .; vetus Gen. ebrios. ... See also Bacchus. Iacobus, the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebecca: Vict. , []; app. .. Iberus, the Ebro River in Spain: occiduus Italia ; Max. , .

glossarial index Ida, the mountain on Crete where the infant Jupiter was raised: Cretea Vict. . ———, a girl mentioned by Martial: Gen. ebrios. ... Idalius, a, um, of Idalium in Cyprus, sacred to Venus: fornix Vict., app. .; rosae Gen. ebrios. A .. Iessaeus or Iesseus, a, um, of or begotten by King David’s father, Jesse: stirps Vict. ; app. .. Iesus, Jesus Christ: Hymn. ; Vict. ; crucifixus, pauper, et esuriens Gen. ebrios. .; resurgens Hymn. . See also Christus. Ilias, a poem like Homer’s Iliad: Max. B .; ingentes Vict., ded. . Illyria, region on the east coast of the Adriatic: pugnax Max. . Illyrii, the Illyrians, who fought two wars with Rome in / and / bce: Italia ; rebelles Italia . Illyris, idis, Illyrian: ora Max. . Indus, an Indian: Gen. ebrios. .; dives Nob. ; degeneres Vitanda ebriet. .; imbelles Max. . Inertia, Indolence (personified): Nob. . Infernus, Hell (personified): Vict., app. , tit. before ; . See also Dis. Insidiae, Treachery (personified): Nob. . Institutiones pravae, a fictitious legal treatise: Gen. ebrios. .. Insuber, bris, of Milan: turmae Italia B .. [Ioannes Baptista], John the Baptist: Vict. –; app. .–. Ioannes Capnion. See Capnion, Ioannes. Ioannes Monasterius, John of Münster (Minster), a fictitious preacher: Gen. ebrios. ..



Ionius, a, um, of the Ionian Sea, between Greece and southern Italy: littus Vict. . Iordanes, the Jordan River in Palestine: Vict. . Ioseph, the Hebrew patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob und Rachel, ruler in Egypt: formosus Vict. ; app. .. Iosue, Joshua, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land: invictus Vict. ; app. .. Iovis, Jupiter, an Italian sky god identified with Zeus, chief god of the Romans: Hymn. ; B .; Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. .; Vitanda ebriet. .; Italia [–]; B .; Vict. ; aliquis Vitanda ebriet. .; Capitolinus Max. ; Dodonaeus Italia B .; iratus Max. ; superus Hymn. B .. See also Iuppiter. ———, the sky: clarus Max. . ———, god of the underworld, Dis, Satan: niger Vict. . See also Dis. Ira, Anger (personified): Nob. . Ira Dei, Wrath of God (personified): Vict., app. , tit. before ; . Isaac or Isacus, the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, son of Abraham und Sarah: Vict. ; app. .. Isocrates, Athenian rhetorician and orator (– bce): Orat. .; .. Israel, Israel, the Israelites: Vict. , [–]. See also Iudea. Israeliticus, a, um, of Israel: sceptrum Vict. . Ister, the lower Danube: Gen. ebrios. ..; Max. . See also Danubius. Istula, the Vistula River: Gen. ebrios. .. Italia, Italy: Italia B .; alma Nob. .



glossarial index

———, Italy (personified): Italia, t.p.; tit., [passim], ; Max., tit., [passim]; afflicta Italia ; Max. ; afflicta et precans auxilium, sed tamen nostra Max. ; invita Italia ; pulchra Italia . Italici, the Italians: Gen. ebrios. ... See also Italus. Italicus. See Italus. Italicus, a, um, of Italy, Italian: luxus Gen. ebrios. ..; orbis Italia B .; victoria Italia ; plagae Gen. ebrios. ... Italus, Italicus, an Italian-German king of the Cherusci, installed by Emperor Claudius in : Gen. ebrios. .. ———, an Italian: Gen. ebrios., tit.; , tit., , ; , tit., .–, –; Italia B .; B , tit.; pugnax Italia B .. See also Italici. ———, a, um, of Italy, Italian: gens Italia B .; tellus Italia B .; regna Italia . Itax, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Ithacus, Ulysses, king of Ithaca: Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Ulysses. Iudas Machabaeus or Machabeus, The Jewish hero Judas Maccabee (second century bce) who led a successful revolt against Seleucid Syria in  bce: Vict. ; app. .. Iudea, Judea, the people of Israel: Vict. . See also Israel. [Iulius II]. See Lygur. Iunius, the month of June: Orat., tit. Iuno, Juno (Hera), sister and wife of Jupiter: Gen. ebrios. .; Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Saturnia. Iuppiter, an Italian sky god identified with Zeus, chief god of the Romans: Gen. ebrios. .; Italia [; B .], B .; Vict. . See also Iovis; Tonans.

———, the Christian God: omnipotens Hymn. B .. See also Deus. [Iuppiter Ammon], Egyptian god represented as having ram’s horns, identified with Jupiter; he had a famous oracle in Libya: Italia B .. Iurgia, Strife (personified): Nob. . Iurisprudentia, Jurisprudence (personified): Orat. .. Iustina, a girl mentioned by Martial: Gen. ebrios. ... Iuvenalis, the Roman satirist Juvenal, who flourished in the early second century ce: Orat. ., . Ixion, a king of the Lapiths who attempted to seduce Juno (Hera); in punishment, he was bound with snakes to a ceaselessly turning wheel: Hymn. ; Vict. . Kalenberg. See Pfarrer vom Kalenberg. Kelberzagel, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Keyserßbergius, the Strasbourg preacher Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (–): Gen. ebrios. .. Klyngßoer, Klingsor (Klingsohr, Klinschor), a wizard in German medieval folklore: Gen. ebrios. .. Koervinck, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Kreßem, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Küschwantz, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Kydegern. See Schlunz. Labanis, idis, begotten by Laban: nympha (Jacob’s wife Rachel) Vict. . Lacedaemonii or Lacedemonii, the Spartans: Gen. ebrios. .; ..

glossarial index Lactantius, Christian apologist (ca. –ca. ), author of the Divine Institutions: Gen. ebrios. .. Laethaeus, a, um, of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in the underworld: fluenta Vict. . Lapithae, the Lapiths, a Thessalian tribe: Gen. ebrios. ... Lathmius, a, um, of Mount Latmus, where the moon-goddess Selene made love to the sleeping Endymion: saxa Vict. . Latina (pl.), the Latin language, Latin: Orat. .. Latine, in Latin: Orat. ... Latini, Romans, speakers of Latin: Orat. .. Latinitas, Latinity: vera Orat. . Latinus, a, um, Latin, Roman: eloquentia Orat. .; .; homo Orat. .; nomen Italia ; oratio Orat. .; philosophia Orat. .; sermo Orat. .; Nob. B .; terra Italia B .; litterae Orat. .; .; Musae Orat. .; reges Vict., app. .; regna Italia . See also Romanus. Latium, Latium in central Italy; hence, Rome, Italy: Italia ; B ., . Latius, a, um, Latin, Roman: aula Gen. ebrios. ..; imperium Italia ; lingua Orat. ..; os Nob. ; schema Orat. ..; patres Italia . See also Romanus. Latmius. See Lathmius. Latrocinium, Robbery (personified): Nob. . Leo, Leo X, pope from  to : Italia [, –]; B .; B , tit., ; B , tit., ; Max. [, – ], ; fortis Hymn. ; placidus Italia B .. See also Leogallus; Thusci; Thuscus.



Leogallus, Pope Leo X: Max. . See also Leo. Lernaeus, a, um, living in the swamp Lerna in Argolis, where Hercules killed the manyheaded Hydra: anguis Italia B .. Lethaeus, a, um. See Laethaeus. Leviticus, book in the Old Testament: Gen. ebrios. .. Liber, the “Liberator,” a name for Bacchus, the god of wine; hence also, wine: Nob. B .; Gen. ebrios. .; ..; .. See also Bacchus. Libs. See Lybs. Libya. See Lybia. Libycus, a, um. See Lybicus. Ligur. See Lygur. Lipsenses; Lipsensis; Lipsia. See Lypsenses; Lypsensis; Lypsia. Lituania, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the Baltic Sea: Gen. ebrios. .. Livonia, a region on the Baltic coast, covering much of modern Latvia and Estonia: Gen. ebrios. ., , ; .. Livor, Envy (personified): Nob. . Loetenaße, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Logica, Logic (personified): Orat. [.–]; .. Lolhardus, a Lollard, member of a heretical sect that championed reform in the Church: Gen. ebrios. .. Longus pons, the Long Bridge (Lange Brücke) over the Gera River in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Lorch, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Loth, the Old Testament patriarch Lot, who escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with his two daughters: iste vetustissimus Gen. ebrios. ..



glossarial index

Lubecum, the port city of Lübeck: Gen. ebrios. .. Lucianus, the satirist Lucian, a native of Samosata in Syria (second century ce): Gen. ebrios. .. Lucifer, the morning star Venus: Vict. . ———, a bright star in the East: Nob. B .. ———, a day: tertius Vict. . ———, the lightbringer, the sun: Vict. ; vagus Hymn. . See also Sol. Ludovicus Platz Moelsingensis. See Platz Moelsingensis, Ludovicus. Luna, the moon goddess (Selene, Phoebe), the moon: Vict. , [– , , ]. Luxus, Extravagance, Indulgence (personified): Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. ... Lyaeus, the “Releaser,” a cult title of Bacchus (Dionysus); hence, wine: multus Gen. ebrios. ... See also Bacchus. Lybicus, a, um, Libyan, of North Africa: arena Nob. ; orbis Italia B .; duces Italia . Lybs, Lybis, of Libya in North Africa: agricolae Vict. . Lycaon, a mythical king of Arcadia, changed into a wolf : ferus Vitanda ebriet. . Lydas, a girl mentioned by Martial: Gen. ebrios. ... Lyde, a girl mentioned by Martial: Gen. ebrios. ... Lygur, the “Warrior Pope” Julius II (r. –), a native of Liguria on the Gulf of Genoa: Max. ; pugnax Max. . Lypsenses, the people of Leipzig: Gen. ebrios. .. Lypsensis, e, of Leipzig: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. [Lypsia], the city of Leipzig: Gen. ebrios. ..

Lyra, a constellation that rises in the night from January  to : Nob. B .. Macedae, the Macedonians: Italia . Macedones, the Macedonians: Gen. ebrios. .. Machabaeus, Iudas. See Iudas Machabaeus. Macrobius, Roman philosopher (flourished around  ce), author of the Saturnalia: Gen. ebrios. ., ; ., . Madeburgensis, e, of Magdeburg in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Maeonides, the Lydian, Homer: Vict. . See also Homerus. Maeonius, a, um, of Maeonia, the eastern part of Lydia: vates (Homer) Nob. . Magi, the three wise men from the East: Nob. B .. Mahumetici, the Mohammedans, Moslems: Hymn. . Mala conscientia, Bad Conscience (personified): Vict., app. , tit. before . See also Mens sibi mala conscia. Mancinus, Christophorus, a pen name for the humanist poet Christoph Hack of Großenehrich: Gen. ebrios. A , tit. Mantous, a, um, of Mantua: tuba (Vergil) Nob. ; urbs Max. . [Mantuanus, Baptista], the Italian humanist Giovanni Battista Spagnolo of Mantua (–): Orat. .. Marchia Superior et Inferior, Upper and Lower Lusatia (Lausitz): Gen. ebrios. .. Marcus, St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice, whose symbol was a winged lion: semileo Italia B ..

glossarial index [Mare Germanicum], the North Sea: Max. . [Mare Mediterraneum], the Mediterranean Sea: Max. . [Maria], the Virgin Mary, Mother of God: Hymn. ; B .–; Vict. , . See also Pieris. Mariae, the three Marys who visited Christ’s sepulcher on Easter morning: Vict. ; lugentes Hymn. . Marius, C., Roman general (ca. –  bce) who defeated the Teutones in  and the Cimbri in : Orat. .; Nob. . Maro, the Roman poet Vergil (P. Vergilius Maro), who lived from  to  bce: Vict. . See also Virgilianus; Virgilius. Mars, the god of war; hence also, war, battle, valor: Nob. B .; Italia ; tam clarus Italia ; totus Max. ; tuus Italia . Martialis, the Roman epigrammatist Martial, a native of Bilbilis in Spain (first century ce): Orat. .; .; Gen. ebrios. .; .. Martius, a, um, of Mars; hence, of war; valiant: arma Max. ; castra Max. , ; iura Max. . See also Mavortius. Mavortius, a, um, warlike, valiant: facta Max. . See also Martius. Maximilianus, Maximilian I, king of the Romans from  and emperor from  to : Nob. [–]; Italia, tit., [passim]; Max., [passim]; Caesar Augustus Italia, t.p.; tit.; Max., tit.; divus Italia, t.p. See also Augustus; Caesar; Maximus Aemilianus. Maximus Aemilianus, a humanist name for Maximilian I: Hymn. –; Nob. . See also Maximilianus. Mazovia, Masovia, a region in eastcentral Poland: Gen. ebrios. ..



Medicina, Medicine (personified): Orat. .. Megabacchus, Ioannes, Johann Meckbach of Spangenberg (– ); personal physician to Landgrave Philip I of Hesse from : Vict., app. , tit., , [– ]. Megaera or Megera, goddess of revenge, one of the three Furies: improba Vict. ; ipsa Vict., app. .. See also Furiae. [Menelaus], King of Sparta, husband of Helen of Troy: Italia . Mens sibi mala conscia, Consciousness of Sin (personified): Vict., app. .. See also Mala conscientia. Mercurius, the Roman god Mercury, son of Jupiter and Maia: Nob. B .. Methaphisica, Metaphysics (personified): Orat. .. Midas. See Mydas. Mincius. See Myncius. Minerva, goddess of wisdom, learning, and the arts, identified with Pallas Athene: compta Idaliis rosis Gen. ebrios. A .; sancta Orat., lim. . See also Pallas. Minos, legendary king of Crete, judge of the shades in the underworld: Vict. . Misnenses. See Mysnenses. Mithridates. See Mythridates. Moesi, a Thracian people in what is now Serbia, brought to heel by M. Licinius Crassus in  bce: feri Italia . Mommom or Momum, name of a beer brewed in Brunswick: Brunswigensis Gen. ebrios. .. Mons, the Petersberg in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Morpheus, the god of dreams: Gen. ebrios. ...



glossarial index

Mors, Death (personified): Hymn. B .; Vict., app. .; tit. before ; ; inferna Vict. ; pallida Nob. . Mortbotner, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Moses, the Hebrew leader and lawgiver: antiquus Vict. ; sanctus Vict., app. .. Muckensenff, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Mundus, the sinful World (personified): Vict., app. , tit. before ; sordifluus Vict., app. .. Murcea, goddess of sloth: Nob. . Musa, a Muse; hence also, poem, song: Orat. .; ..; [Epigraphia .]; Gen. ebrios. A .; .; Vict. ; Hessiaca Hymn., lim. ; levis Vict., app. ., []; Latinae Orat. .; nobiles Nob. ; nostrae Orat., lim. . See also Calliopea; Camaena; Pieris; Uranie. Musica, Music (personified): Orat. [.–]; ., []. Musicus, a, um, of the Muses: turba Nob. B .. Mutinensis, e, of Modena, a city in northern Italy: ager Max. . Mydas, a mythical king of Phrygia, who was given asses’ ears because he had no ear for Apollo’s music: Nob. ; [Vitanda ebriet. .]. Myncius, the Mincio River near Mantua: propior Mantoae urbi Max. . Mysnenses, inhabitants of the Meissen region in Saxony (including Dresden and Leipzig): Gen. ebrios. .. Mythridates, Mithradates VI, the Great, King of Pontus (r. – bce): Nob. . Naevia, a girl mentioned by Martial: Gen. ebrios. ...

Naiades, river nymphs, naiads: pulchro flore comantes Hymn. . Napaeae, the nymphs of wooded valleys: faciles Hymn. . Narrogonia, the Paradise of Fools, the Land of Cockaigne: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Schluraffen land. Nasica, P., P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, consul in  bce: Orat. .. Natura, Nature (personified): Nob. , ; Gen. ebrios. .; Vict. , , , [–]. See also Terra. Naturalis historia or hystoria, an encyclopedia of natural history by Pliny the Elder: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .. Necromantia, Necromancy (personified): Orat. .. [Neptunus], Neptune, the Roman god of the sea: Vitanda ebriet. .. Noa, the Old Testament patriarch Noah, the discoverer of wine: Gen. ebrios. .. Notus, a stormy south wind: Vict. . Numbergensis, e, of Naumburg, a town on the Saale River, southwest of Leipzig: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Numeri, the Old Testament book of Numbers: Gen. ebrios. .. Numidae, the Numidians, a people in North Africa: vagi Vitanda ebriet. .. Obnobius, a, um, of the “Obnobian Mountains” that stretch from the Black Forest through Hesse to Saxony: saxa Vict. . Occultus, the Occult Poet (Anonymous Poet) Nikolaus of Bibra, the otherwise unknown author of an occasionally satiric poem on Erfurt life, written in –: quidam Gen. ebrios. ..

glossarial index Oceanus, the ocean that in ancient belief surrounds the world: Gen. ebrios. .; Vict. . Oceanus Germanicus, the Baltic Sea: Gen. ebrios. .. Octo lapides, a brothel in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Odera, the Oder River: Gen. ebrios. .. Odrysius, a, um, Thracian: aquae Max. . Odyssea, Homer’s Odyssey: Orat. .. ———, a poem like Homer’s Odyssey: Max. B .. Oeconomica, Domestic Economics (personified): Orat. .. Oenus, the Inn River: Gen. ebrios. .. Officia. See De officiis. Olenius, a, um, Olenian, of Olenos: capella (the she-goat Amalthea that suckled Jupiter on Crete) Vict. . Olympus, the abode of the Greek sky gods; heaven; the sky: Vitanda ebriet. .; Vict. ; medius Italia ; promissus Max. . Orcus, the underworld, hell: Hymn. , ; Vict. . See also Erebus. Orpheus, legendary Thracian lyrist and singer: magnus Vict. . Osthenius, Ioannes, the Pomeranian nobleman Johann von Osten (d. ), a friend of Eobanus Hessus’ in Frankfurt an der Oder: Nob. B , tit. Othones, Holy Roman Emperors named Otto: Otto I (r. –), Otto II (r. –), and Otto III (r. –): gemini (Otto I and II) Italia ; Max. ; magni (Otto I, II, and III) Nob. . Ovidianum, a passage from the Roman poet Ovid: illud Gen. ebrios. ..



Ovidius, the Roman poet Ovid ( bce–ce /), a native of the Pelignian city Sulmo: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .; noster Gen. ebrios. .. [Padua], a city in northeastern Italy: Max. . Padus, the Po River: Max. . Palatinus, a, um, Palatine, of the Palatinate: opes Max. . Pallas, goddess of wisdom, learning, and the arts: Attica Orat. ... See also Minerva. Pannonia, a Roman province in Central Europe, south of the Danube: Italia . ———, Hungary: Max. . Papiensis, e, of Pavia: Cardinalis (Jacopo Ammanati Piccolomini, cardinal of Pavia from  to ): Gen. ebrios. .. Paradisus, the Earthly Paradise, believed to be located on a high mountain in the east: [Hymn. –, –; Nob. ]; Vict. [–, –, –], . Parca, goddess of Fate: [Nob. –; Vict. –]; Vict., app. .; impia Nob. . See also Fatum. Parnasus, Mount Parnassus in Phocis, sacred to Apollo and the Muses: Orat. .. Parthi, the Parthians, who founded an empire in western Asia: Gen. ebrios. .; Italia ; pharetrati Max. . Pascha, Easter: Hymn., ded. ; [Hymn., passim]. Pasquillus, Pasquillo (Pasquino), a mutilated statue in Rome, to which people affixed satirical verses (“pasquils,” “pasquinades”): Italia B , tit., , ; B , tit. Pater, God the Father: Vict., app. .. See also Deus.



glossarial index

Pater noster, the Lord’s Prayer: Gen. ebrios. ... Patricius, the papal master of ceremonies, Agostino Patrizi Piccolomini (ca. –): Gen. ebrios. ... Paulus, St. Paul the Apostle: Gen. ebrios. [.]; divus Gen. ebrios. .. [Pentheus], a King of Thebes; after he tried to prevent the worship of Dionysus, he was torn to pieces by his mother and other women: Gen. ebrios. ... Pericles, Athenian orator and statesman (ca. – bce): Orat. .. Peripateticus or Peripatheticus, a, um, Peripatetic, Aristotelian: philosophia Orat. .; respublica Orat. .. See also Aristotelicus. Periuria, Perjury (personified): Nob. . Persa, a Persian: Hymn., ded. ; Gen. ebrios. .; .; Italia ; Max. . Persius, the Roman satirist Aulus Persius Flaccus (–): Orat. .. Peter Ferckel, name for a drunkard: Gen. ebrios. .. Petreius Aperbachus. See Aperbachus, Petreius. Pfarrer vom Kalenberg, the tricksterhero of Philipp Frankfurter’s book of anecdotes, first published in : Gen. ebrios. .. Phalernum, Falernian wine; hence also, a fine wine: Gen. ebrios. ..; vetus Hymn. B .. Phidiacus, a, um, of the Athenian sculptor and architect Phidias (fifth century bce): ars Epigraphia .. Philippicae, three orations by Demosthenes against King Philip II of Macedon: [Orat. .].

———, a series of speeches by Cicero against Mark Antony: Orat. .. Philippicus, a, um, of Cicero’s Philippics: fulminatio Orat. .. Phillippus, Philip II, King of Macedonia from  to  bce: Gen. ebrios. .. ———, Philip the Magnanimous (–), Landgrave of Hesse since , declared of age in : Vict., app. , tit. Philosophia, Philosophy (personified): Orat. [.]; ., [– ]; ., [], . Philostratus, the Greek sophist Lucius Flavius Philostratus (flourished in the early third century ce) who wrote a life of Apollonius of Tyana: Orat. .. Philoxenus, the notorious gourmand Philoxenus of Leucas: Gen. ebrios. .. Phisica, Aristotle’s Physics: Gen. ebrios. .. Phlegeton, the River of Fire in the underworld; hence, the underworld itself: Vict. ; app. ., . See also Erebus. Phoebaeus, a, um, of the sun god Phoebus: globus Gen. ebrios. ... Phoebe. See Luna. Phoebus, the sun god: Nob. B .; [Vict., ded. ]; Vict. ; [app. .]; rediens hyberno ab astro Hymn. . See also Apollo; Sol. ———, Christ, the true sun: ille Vict., ded. ; app. .. See also Christus; Sol. Phrygius, a, um, of Phrygia: tyrannus (King Midas) Vitanda ebriet. .. Phrysones, the Frisians: Gen. ebrios. .. Phryxaea pecus, the zodiacal sign Aries (Ram) with the Golden Fleece; the sun enters Aries at

glossarial index the beginning of spring: Hymn. . Physica. See Phisica. Physionomia. Physiognomy (personified): Orat. .. Pieris, a Muse: Vict., ded. ; app. .; repulsae Gen. ebrios. ... See also Musa. ———, the Virgin Mary as a Christian Muse: usa nullo viro Vict., ded. ; app. .. See also Maria. Pirithous. See Pyrithous. Plato, Greek philosopher (ca. –  bce): Orat. .; .; .; .; Epigraphia .; Gen. ebrios. .; ., ; .; divinus Nob. B .. Platonicus, a, um, of Plato, Platonic: decretum Gen. ebrios. .. Platz Moelsingensis, Ludovicus, Ludwig Platz of Melsungen (d. ), a teacher and administrator at the University of Erfurt: Hymn., ded., tit., [ded., passim]; humanissimus Hymn., ded. . Plautus, M. Accius, the comic playwright T. Maccius Plautus (d.  bce): Orat., t.p.; tit.; .– . Plinius. See Plynius. Plutarchus, the biographer and essayist Plutarch of Chaeronea (before  ce–after ): Orat. .; .; Gen. ebrios. .–. Pluto, the lord of the underworld, the devil, Satan: [Vitanda ebriet. .]; Vict., app. .; tit. before ; Stigius Vict., app. .. See also Dis. Plynius, Pliny the Elder (– ce), author of the encyclopedic Historia naturalis: Orat. .; Gen. ebrios. .; .; .. ———, Pliny the Younger (/– ca. ), author of nine books of letters and a panegyric of Emperor Trajan: Orat. ..



Poenus, the Carthaginian general Hannibal (–/ bce): Max. . See also Hannibal. Poetica, Poetry (personified): Orat. [.–]; .. Politianus, the Italian humanist Angelo Poliziano (–): Orat. .. Politica, Politics (personified): Orat. .. Polonia, Poland: Gen. ebrios. .. Polonus, a Pole: ferox Max. . See also Sarmatici. Pomerani, the Pomeranians: Gen. ebrios. .. Pomerania, region on the south coast of the Baltic: Gen. ebrios. .. Pompeius, Gn., the Roman general and statesman Pompey the Great (– bce): Orat. .. Pomponius Fortunatus, a name adopted from time to time by the Italian humanist Giulio Pomponio Leto (–): Orat. .. Pontus, the Black Sea: Italia . Posteriora, Aristotle’s Posteriora analytica: Gen. ebrios. .. Probra, Infamy (personified): Nob. . Prometheus, mythical creator of the human race who stole fire from the gods in the stalk of a fennel plant and gave it to mortals; Zeus chained him to Mount Caucasus, where a vulture (or eagle) forever tore at his liver: Vict. , . Propontis, the Sea of Marmora: Hymn. ; Euxina Nob. . [Proserpina], the wife of Pluto, queen of the underworld: Vict. . Protogenes, celebrated Greek painter (late fourth century bce), whose most famous painting was a portrait of Ialysus, the son of Helios: Vitanda ebriet. ..



glossarial index

Prussia, German region on the southeastern Baltic: [Orat. .]; Gen. ebrios. .; .. Prutheni, the Prussians: Gen. ebrios. .. Psalmographus, the Psalmist, King David: Gen. ebrios. .; .; .; .. See also David. Psalmus, one of the Psalms of David: Gen. ebrios. .. Punicus, a, um, of Carthage, Carthaginian: regna Italia ; Max. . Puteal Libonis, a monument in the Forum Romanum, shaped like a well-head: Gen. ebrios. ... Pynterßleben, Bindersleben, a village north of Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. ... Pyrithous, mythical hero who together with Theseus attempted to carry off Proserpine from the underworld: Vict. . Pyromantia, Pyromancy (personified): Orat. .. Pyrrha, Pyrrha and Deucalion were the only people to survive the great flood; an aged couple, they regenerated the human race by casting stones over their shoulders: Vict. . Pythagoras, the philosopher Pythagoras of Samos (late sixth century bce), a believer in the doctrine of reincarnation: Orat. .; .; Vitanda ebriet., lim. .. Pythius, a, um, of Pytho (Delphi), Delphic: Apollo Gen. ebrios. .. Python, a serpent killed by Apollo at Delphi; hence, the ancient serpent, the devil, vanquished by Christ: ille tantus Vict., ded. ; app. .. See also Dis. Quintilianus, the Roman rhetorician M. Fabius Quintilianus (ca. –

ca.  ce): Orat. .–; ., []; Gen. ebrios. .. Quodlibet, a quodlibet disputation: Erphurdiensis Gen. ebrios., t.p.; [tit.; .]. Quytscharth, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. [Rachel], wife of the patriarch Jacob, mother of Joseph and Benjamin: Vict. . Radamanthus, a judge of the shades in the underworld: Vict. . Rapinae, Plunder (personified): Nob. . Raßeman, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Rastrum, a beer brewed in Leipzig: Gen. ebrios. .. Ratisponnensis, e, of Regensburg: dieta Gen. ebrios. .. Ravenna, Italian city on the Adriatic coast: aequorea Max. . Renus. See Rhenus. Reyßekopff, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Rhadamanthus. See Radamanthus. Rhaeti. See Rheti. Rhenus or Renus, the Rhine River: Gen. ebrios. .; .; Max. ; patrius Nob. ; tuus Italia . Rheti, the Swiss; hence, Switzerland: Italia . See also Helvecius. Rhetorica, Rhetoric (personified): Orat. [.]; .. Rhetorica ad Herennium, a rhetorical treatise written early in the first century bce, ascribed to Cicero in the manuscripts: Orat. .. Riphaeus, a, um, arctic: Boreas Hymn. . Rhoma. See Roma. Rhomani, the ancient Romans: Gen. ebrios. ., ; veteres Gen. ebrios. .. Rhomanus. See Romanus.

glossarial index Rhomulides, the Romans: Orat. ... Riga, the principal city in Livonia: Gen. ebrios. .. Robertus, the Venetian condottiere Roberto da Sanseverino (– ), who drowned in the Adige River after losing the Battle of Calliano in : amissus Max. . Rolings byer, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Roma or Rhoma, the city of Rome: Orat. [.]; ..; Nob. , [], ; Italia, t.p.; Italia, [passim], , , , , ; Max. [passim], , ; mea Italia , ; nostra Max. , ; sua Max. ; tota Italia . Romani. See Rhomani. Romanus, a Roman, an Italian: Italia B , tit., . Romanus or Rhomanus, a, um, Roman, Latin: aula Hymn. ; ditio et urbs Max. ; eloquentia Orat. .; .; historia Orat. .; nobilitas Nob. ; orbis (Holy Roman Empire) Nob. ; potentia Vitanda ebriet. .; respublica Orat. .; status Italia ; toga Orat. ..; homines Orat. .; ora Orat. ..; scriptores Gen. ebrios. .; verba Orat. .. See also Latinus; Latius; Romulis; Romulus. Romulis, idis, Roman: Camaenae Nob. . See also Romanus. Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome: generosus Nob. . Romulus, a, um, Roman, Italian: regna Max. . See also Romanus. Rubschnytzel de Fyltzenhaußen, a fictitious authority: Gen. ebrios. ..



Rugia, the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea: Gen. ebrios. .. Rupetop, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Russia, Russia: Gen. ebrios. .. Sabaei, the Sabaeans in southwestern Arabia, the Arabs: molles Max. . See also Arabes. Sacer Flatus, the Holy Spirit: Hymn. –. See also Sanctum Flamen. Sachßen, Saxony: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Saxonia. Sacra scriptura; Sacrae litterae, Holy Scripture: Gen. ebrios. .; ., ; .; .. See also Evangelium; Vetus instrumentum. Sacri canones. See Decreta canonica. Sacrum Triduum, the Sacred Triduum from Maundy Thursday to Holy Saturday: Hymn., ded. . Salat, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Salustius, Crispus, the Roman historian Sallust (ca. –/ bce): Orat. ., []. Samnis, Samnium, a region in central southern Italy: aquosa Max. . [Samos], island near Ephesus in Asia Minor: Hymn., ded. . Samuel, the Old Testament prophet who anointed David as second king of Israel: Vict. . Sanctum Flamen, the Holy Spirit: Vict., app. .. See also Deus; Sacer Flatus; Spiritus Sanctus. Sanctus Gothardus, the Church of St. Gotthard in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Sapientia, Wisdom (personified): Epigraphia .. Sardanapalus, last King of Assyria (ca. seventh century bce), legendary for his sensuality: Gen. ebrios. ., , ; crinem madefactus amomo Nob. .



glossarial index

Sarmatia, northeastern Europe, including Poland, Russia, and the Baltic regions: Gen. ebrios. .. Saturnalia, a book by Macrobius: Gen. ebrios. .; .. Saturnia, Juno, the daughter of Saturn: Italia B .. See also Iuno. Saturnius, a, um, of the Roman god Saturn, who reigned over the Golden Age: regna Italia B .. Satyri, satyrs, lascivious gods of the woods: Gen. ebrios. ... Saul, the first King of Israel: Vict. . Saxones, the Saxons: Nob. . Saxonia, Saxony: Antiqua Gen. ebrios. .; Ulterior Citeriorque Gen. ebrios. .. See also Sachssen. Saxonicus, a, um, Saxonian, of Saxony: luxus Gen. ebrios. .; cerevisiae Gen. ebrios. .. Scaurus, M., the Roman statesman M. Aemilius Scaurus (ca. – / bce), consul in , leader of the senate: Orat. .. Schiltgen, an area in Erfurt, by St. Gotthard’s: Gen. ebrios. .. Schlipschlap, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Schluntz, name of a beer brewed in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .; Kydegern Gen. ebrios. ... Schluraffen land, the Paradise of Fools, the Land of Cockaigne: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Narrogonia. Schwein kuntz, name for a drunkard: Gen. ebrios. .. Scipio Aphricanus, P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (–ca.  bce), the Roman general who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War: Orat. .. Scothophagus, a, um, Scotophagous (“Scotus-eating,” with a play on “scatophagous,” “dung-

eating”), a derogatory term for the Scotists: scrophae Gen. ebrios. .. Scoti, the Scottish Monastery in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Scotizantes, Scotists, followers of the scholastic philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus (/–): Gen. ebrios. .. Scythae, the Scythians, nomadic tribes of the steppes northeast of the Black Sea: rigidi Italia . Selene. See Luna. Seneca, the Roman philosopher and tragic playwright Lucius Annaeus Seneca (ca.  bce–ce ): Gen. ebrios. .. Senones, a Gallic tribe that crossed the Alps into Italy and captured Rome in  bce: Max. . Sequanicus, a, um, living by the Seine River: Franci Italia B .. Sermones dormi secure, a collection of model sermons for the entire year, written by the Franciscan Johann of Werden (d. ): Gen. ebrios. .. Sew clauß, name for a drunkard; hence also, a drunkard: Gen. ebrios. ., , . Sfortia, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan from  until he was captured by the French in : [Max. ]. ———, Massimiliano Sforza (– ), Duke of Milan from  until he was deposed by King Francis I in : Italia B .. Sibylla. See Sybilla. Siculi, the Sicilians: Italia . Siculus, a, um, of Sicily: fines Max. . See also Trinacrius. Sileni, woodland spirits, companions of Bacchus; hence, drunkards:

glossarial index madidi continua ebrietate Gen. ebrios. ... Silenus, Bacchus’ tutor and habitually drunk companion: Vitanda ebriet. .. Silesitae, the Silesians: Gen. ebrios. .. Similia, the Parabolae, a book of similes by Erasmus of Rotterdam, published in : Orat. .. Sirenes. See Syrenes. Sisyphus. See Sysiphus. Socrates, the Greek philosopher (–  bce): Orat. .–; Gen. ebrios. .. Socraticus, a, um, Socratic, of Socrates and his followers: chartae Orat. .. Sol, the sun god, Sun (personified): Hymn. ; Nob. B .–, , , , , ; Vict. , [–]; magnus Vict. ; novus Hymn. ; Vict. ; app. .. See also Lucifer; Phoebus. ———, Christ, the Sun of Salvation: Nob. B .. See also Christus; Phoebus. Solimus. See Solymus. Solon, Athenian statesman (early sixth century bce): Orat. .; Atheniensis Gen. ebrios. .. Solymus or Solimus, a, um, of Jerusalem, of Israel: gens Italia ; urbs Vict., app. .; arces Vict. . See also Hierosolyma. Somnus, Sleep (personified): Gen. ebrios. ... Sors, destiny: eadem Max. . See also Fatum; Fortuna. Spalatinus, Georgius, the German humanist Georg Spalatin (– ): Nob., t.p.; tit., , , [–]. Sparta, ancient Greek city-state: Gen. ebrios. .. Speculum peregrinorum, a fictitious handbook: Gen. ebrios. ..



Sperlingßberg, the Sperlingsberg Square in Erfurt: Gen. ebrios. .. Sperpype, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Spiritus or Spiritus Sanctus, the Holy Spirit: Gen. ebrios. .; Vict. ; ille Vict. . See also Sanctum Flamen. Spretus amor relligionis, Scorn for Religion (personified): Nob. . Stafeling, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Stampff yn die aschen, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Statius, the Roman poet P. Papinius Statius (latter half of the first century ce): Orat. .. Stigius, a, um. See Stygius. Stix. See Styx. Stoicus, a, um, Stoic: philosophia Orat. .. Stortz den kerl, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Strabo, Greek geographer (/ bce–/ ce): Gen. ebrios. .; .. Streckepertzel, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Stroheyntzgen, a German beer: Gen. ebrios. .. Studium Erphurdiense, the University of Erfurt: Orat., t.p. Stupra, Debauchery (personified): Nob. . Stygius or Stigius, a, um, Stygian, of the river Styx in the underworld; of hell: antrum Vict. ; carcer Vict. ; plaga Nob. ; Pluto Vict., app. .; orae Vict. ; paludes Vict. ; umbrae Italia . Styx or Stix, a river in the underworld; hence, the underworld itself, hell: [Nob. ]; Gen. ebrios. ..; Vict. , , ; app. .. See also Erebus.



glossarial index

Suetonius, the Roman biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus (ca. – ca. ?), who wrote the Lives of the Caesars: Orat. .. Suevi, the Suebi, Germanic peoples who lived east of the Elbe: Gen. ebrios. .–. Suevus. See Augusta Vindelici Suevi. Sugambri. See Sycambri. Suiceri, the Swiss: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Helvecius. Superbia, Haughty Pride (personified): Nob. , []. Sybilla, a Sibyl, a prophetess in ancient Greece and Rome: Cumaea Italia B .; Vict. . Sycambri, the Sugambri, a Germanic tribe that lived along the lower Rhine; hence, the Gelderlanders: sepe rebellantes Max. . Syloson Samius, Syloson of Samos, younger brother of Polycrates of Samos, who expelled him to Egypt; he was eventually made ruler of Samos by Darius I: Hymn., ded. . Symphiloenus, a wine bibber: Hymn. B .. Syrenes, the Sirens, female monsters who lived on the southern coast of Italy and lured sailors to their death with their enchanting voices: merae Gen. ebrios. .. Syri, the Syrians: audaces Italia . Sysiphus, Sisyphus, a King of Corinth, notorious for his cunning; he was punished in Hades by forever having to push a rock uphill, only to have it roll back: Hymn. ; Vict. . Taberna culis rusticorum, a fictitious book: Gen. ebrios. .. Tacitus, Cornelius, Roman historian (ca. –ca.  ce): Gen. ebrios. .; .; ., [–]; .. Tantalus, a Lydian king punished in Hades with unending hunger

and thirst. Fruit and water were close at hand, yet forever out of his reach: [Hymn. –]; Vict. . Tartara, Tartarus, hell: Vict. [passim], , ; inferna Vict. . See also Erebus. Taurus, the Bull, a zodiacal sign; the sun enters Taurus in mid-April: Hymn. . Terra, Mother Earth: Nob. , []. See also Natura. Teutones, the Teutons, an ancient Germanic tribe: Italia . ———, the modern Germans: invicti Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Germani. Teutonicus, a, um, Teutonic, of the Teutons: manus Italia . ———, German: Alpis Italia B .; militia Gen. ebrios. .; solum Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. ..; gentes Max. ; phalanges Max. . See also Germanus. Teutonis, idis, German: ora Vitanda ebriet. .. See also Germanus. Teutonus, a, um, German: arva Nob. ; Vitanda ebriet. .; fulmina Nob. . See also Germanus. Teutsche, the Germans: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Germani. Themistocles, Athenian statesman (ca. –ca.  bce): Orat. .. Theologia, Theology (personified): Orat. .. Theopompus, Greek historian of the fourth century bce: Orat. .. Thersites, the ugliest and most scurrilous of the Greeks before Troy: Nob. . Theseus. See Aegides. Thraces, the Thracians, a people who lived in the northeastern Balkan peninsula: pugnaces Italia . Thrasimenius, a, um, of Lake Trasimene, where Hannibal defeated the Romans in  bce: tempe Max. .

glossarial index Thuringi, the Thuringians: Gen. ebrios. .. Thuringus, a, um, Thuringian, in Thuringia: Ghera Orat., lim. . Thusci, the Tuscans, the people of Florence in Tuscany (Pope Leo X and his followers): Italia . Thuscus, a, um, Tuscan, of Florence in Tuscany: usurarius (Pope Leo X) Italia . Tiberius Nero, Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, Roman emperor from  to  ce, mocked in Seneca’s Apocolocyntosis: Gen. ebrios. .. Tibris. See Tybris. Tibullus, the Roman poet Albius Tibullus (ca. – bce): Gen. ebrios. .; .. Ticinus, the Ticino River, a tributary of the Po; here Hannibal defeated the Romans in  bce: tuus Max. . Timantes, the Greek painter Timanthes (fifth century bce): Vitanda ebriet. .. Timones, misanthropes like Timon of Athens: amusi Gen. ebrios. .. Timonianus, a, um, like the ancient misanthrope Timon of Athens: vita Gen. ebrios. A .. Tisiphone, goddess of revenge, one of the three Furies: Vict. ; app. .. See also Furiae. Tonans, the Thunderer, Jupiter: Italia B ., [–]. See also Iuppiter. ———, God, Christ: Vict. ; app. .; natus Nob. B .; trinus Hymn. B .. See also Christus; Deus. Traianus, Trajan, Roman emperor from  to : Orat. .. Trapezuntius, Georgius, the Greek scholar George of Trebizond (–ca. ), who emigrated to Italy, where he gained fame as



a translator of Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek authors: Orat. .. Trasumenius. See Thrasimenius. Trebia, a tributary of the Po River; Hannibal defeated the Romans there in  bce: Max. . Triconchius, Novellius Torquatus of Milan, who drank three congii (nine bottles) of wine at a single sitting: ille Gen. ebrios. ... Tridentum, Trent, a city on the Adige River in northern Italy: Max. ; antiquum Italia ; Max. . Trinacrius, a, um, of Sicily: littus Italia . See also Siculus. Troia, Troy: Orat. ..; Gen. ebrios. ... Troiugena, a Trojan: Aeneas Vict. . Tullius. See Cicero. Turca, a Turk; hence also, the Ottoman Empire: [Hymn. – , ]; Nob. ; Italia ; Max. ; crudelis Hymn. ; superbus Nob. ; infidi Max. ; pharetrati Nob. . Turgaviensis, e, of Torgau, a town in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. .. Tusculanae quaestiones or Tusculanae, the Tusculan Disputations, a philosophical dialogue by Cicero: Orat. .; .. Tuscus. See Thuscus. Tybris, the Tiber River: Max. . Tysiphone. See Tisiphone. Ulenspigel, the German trickster Till Eulenspiegel: Gen. ebrios. .. Ulysses, the hero of Homer’s Odyssey: Orat. .; facundus Nob. . See also Ithacus. Ungarus, a Hungarian: pugnax Max. .



glossarial index

Uranie, one of the nine Muses (“the heavenly one”); hence, the Christian Muse: Vict., app. ., [–, ]. See also Musa. Urban, St. Urban, the patron saint of vintners: sanct Gen. ebrios. .. Ursa, the Great and Lesser Bear, constellations in the northern sky: nobilis aeterno gelu Nob. . See also Arctos. Ursel, a woman’s name (Ursula): Gen. ebrios. .. Valerius, the Roman poet C. Valerius Flaccus (first century ce), who wrote the epic poem Argonautica: Orat. .. Valerius Maximus, author of a collection of “Memorable Deeds and Sayings” (early first century ce): Gen. ebrios. .. Valla, Georgius, the Italian humanist Giorgio Valla (–), author of the encyclopedic work De expetendis et fugiendis rebus: Orat. ., . Varghans, name for a drunkard: Gen. ebrios. .. Venereus, a, um, of Venus; hence, sexual: res Gen. ebrios., tit.; .. [Venetia], Venice: Max. –, – , . See also Adria; Venetus. Venetus, a Venetian; hence, Venice: Italia , , , ; B .; B , tit., [–]; Max. , , , ; rebellis Max. , ; imbelles Max. ; rebelles Nob. . See also Venetia. Venetus, a, um, of Venice, Venetian: sanguis Max. ; cives Italia ; manus Italia ; vires Max. . See also Venetia. Venus, goddess of love; hence, sexual intercourse, charm: Nob. ; Gen. ebrios. A .; ..; ..; .; ..; ..; ..; ..; ..–; Vitanda ebriet. .; .,

, [–]; .; Vict. ; app. .; alma Vict., ded. ; app. .; blanda Vitanda ebriet. .; improba Gen. ebrios. ..; inconcessa Gen. ebrios. .; mala Gen. ebrios. ..; nuda Nob. . See also Cypris. Vergilius. See Virgilius. Verona, a city on the Adige River in northern Italy: inclyta Max. , [–]; per nos animosior Max. . Vespasianus, Vespasian, Roman emperor from  to : Orat. .. Vesta, Roman goddess of hearth and home: Orat. .. Vestphali, the Westphalians: Gen. ebrios. .. Vetus instrumentum, the Old Testament: Gen. ebrios. .. See also Sacra scriptura. Vicentinus, a, um, of Vicenza, a city in northeastern Italy: ager Max. . Virgilianus, a, um, Vergilian, of the Roman poet Vergil: Aeneis Orat. .; Fama Gen. ebrios. .. See also Maro. Virgilius, the Roman poet Vergil (P. Vergilius Maro), who lived from  to  bce: [Nob. ]; Gen. ebrios. .. See also Maro. Virtus, Virtue (personified): Nob. , [–], , , , , [– ]; Vitanda ebriet. .; captiva Nob. . Vistula. See Istula. Volhardus Byrschlauch, a fictitious authority on wine: Gen. ebrios. .. Voluptas, Pleasure (personified): [Nob. –]; Gen. ebrios. ..; picta genas Nob. . Vorcellensis, e, of Wurzen, a town in Saxony: cerevisia Gen. ebrios. ..

glossarial index Xenophon, Greek historian (ca. – ca.  bce): Orat. .. Zephyrus, the warm west wind, harbinger of spring: Hymn. . See also Favonius. Zeusidis, e, painted by Zeuxis of



Heraclea (late fifth century bce): Iuno Vitanda ebriet. .. Zoilus, Cynic philosopher (fourth century bce) who bitterly attacked Homer; hence, a malicious critic: Vict., ded. ; app. ..

GENERAL INDEX

This index combines names and subjects. All references are to the page numbers. References to the literary texts presented in this volume are to the English translation. For names in the Latin texts, consult the Glossarial Index. Aaron, , , –,  Abdera, Democritus of,  Abnoba,  Abraham, ,  Academy. See Plato; Roman Academy Acheron, ,  Achilles, –, , , , ; epitaph for,  adage, , , . See also proverb Adam, , , –, , , , , ; associated with the Hebrew word for soil, ; created from soil taken from the plain of Damascus, ,  Adige River, , , ,  Adriatic Sea, , , , , ,  adultery; adulterer; adulterers; adulterous love, , , , , –, ,  Advent,  Aeacus,  Aegis,  Aeneas, , , ,  Aeneid. See Vergil Aesop, fables of,  Afghanistan,  Africa, ; nomads of, , ; North,  Africans, the, ,  Agamemnon,  Agave,  Agde, Council of,  Agnadello, Battle of,  Agricola, Rudolf,  Agrigento, 

Albertinus, Aegidius, , , – , , , , , , ; De conviviis et compotationibus,  Albertists, the, , – Albert of Mainz, Archbishop, , –, ; solemn entry of, into Erfurt, –; solemn entry of, into Mainz, – Albert of Prussia, Grand Master,  Albertus Magnus; Albert the Great, ,  Alchemy (personified), ,  Alcibiades,  Alcyone (fictional heroine), – Alexander of Villedieu, , , –, , ; Doctrinale puerorum, , , –, , ,  Alexander the Great, ,  Alexandria, Appian of,  Allecto, ,  allegory; allegories, –, , ; moral,  All Souls’ Day,  Alpine: mountains, ; passes, ; snows,  Alps, the, , , , , , –, ; German, ; Italian, ; Swiss,  Alsatian word,  Amalthea,  Ambrones, the,  Ambrose, St., xxii, ,  Amor,  Amphion, King, , ; modern (Eobanus), 

general index Amphitheater,  Anacharsis,  Anastasia, St., xxi anecdote; anecdotes, , , , , , ; collection of, , . See also story angel; angels, , , . See also archangel Anger (personified),  Anna, St., ,  Anonymus Neveleti,  Antaeus,  Antenor, home of (Padua),  Antony, Mark, , – Apella, ; credulous Jew, , ; derogatory term for Jews, , , ; Jesus mocked as, , . See also Jew Apellaean people, . See also Jew Apelles of Colophon, ; called “Apelles of Cos,” – Aphrodite Anadyomene,  Apian, Peter,  Apollo, , , , , ; associated with Christ, ; Christus, , ; lyre of, , ; neglected, ; oracle of (in Delphi), ; Pythian, ; swans of, ; tripods of, . See also Phoebus; sun Apollonius of Tyana, , ,  Apoplexy (personified),  Appian of Alexandria,  Apulia, – Aquarius, ; identified with Ganymede, . See also zodiac Arabia,  Arabs, the, ,  Aragon; Aragonia, ,  Arcadian king (Lycaon),  Arcas,  archangel (Michael), . See also angel Arctic, hyperborean,  Arctophylax,  Arete, ; associated with Astraea, 



Arévalo, Faustino, –, – Arezzo, Bishop of (Gentile de’ Becchi),  Argonauts, the,  Aries, , . See also Ram; zodiac Ariovist,  aristocracy; aristocrats. See nobility Aristotle, –, –, , , , –, , –, , ; corrupt texts of, –; humanistic translations of, , –; medieval commentaries and translations of, –, ; Nicomachean Ethics, ; Physics, ; Posterior Analytics,  Arithmetic (personified), ,  Arminius,  Arrogance (personified),  Artaxerxes II Mnemon,  artist; artists, ; late medieval, , . See also painter arts and sciences, the, , ; go unrewarded, . See also liberal arts; sciences Ascension, the, , , , . See also Christ Ascension Day, Mass for, ,  Asclepius Barbatus, Nicolaus, , , – Asia, , ; Minor and Major,  Assyria, –, ,  Astraea, ; associated with Arete, . See also Justice astrolabe,  Astronomy (personified), ,  Athenians, the,  Athens, , , , , , , , ,  Attendorn, Peter,  Attic: eloquence, ; orator (Isocrates), ; Pallas,  Attica,  Aubanus, Gregor, xix Augsburg, , –, ,  Augustinian: brethren, ; monastery (in Erfurt), 



general index

Aurora, . See also Dawn Ausonius, ,  Austria, , ; house of, , , ,  Authenticum; Liber authenticorum,  avarice, , , ; for priests more detestable than drunkenness, –; less detestable than drunkenness, , ; must be shunned by magistrates, – ; Sparta ruined by, – Averroës,  Ayrer, Heidericus and Marx,  Babylonian captivity,  Bacchantes, the,  Bacchus, , , , , , , –, , , , , , , ; devotee of, . See also Dionysus; drunkenness; Iacchus; Liber; wine Bactra,  Bad Conscience,  Bad Liebenzell, xvi Balkh,  Baltic; Baltic Sea, ,  Baltic regions, the,  Barbara (mistress),  barbarism; barbarisms, ; comic, ; German, ; medieval, , , ; of thought and expression, . See also obscurantism Barbaro, Ermolao, , , ,  barbarolexis,  Bartholomew, St., day of, ,  Basel, , , , , ; University of,  Battle of the Frogs and Mice,  Bauch, Gustav,  Bavarian (adjective): licentiousness, ; Swabia, ; swineherd,  Bavarian (noun),  beanus,  Bear Keeper (Arctophylax), 

Bears, both, . See also Big Bear; Ursa Major; Ursa Minor Bebel, Heinrich, –; Facetiae, ; Proverbia Germanica, , , , –,  (see also proverb) Becchi, Gentile de’, ,  Bede, the Venerable,  Bedlam (Bettelßheym),  Beelzebub,  beer; beers, , ; crassus, ; small, ; weak,  – equated with zythus, , , , ; German names for, , , , –, – ; harmful to the body, , , ; ingredients of, ; in the north country, , – ; medical properties of, ; modern, contains hops, , ; production of, . See also drunkenness; wine beggar; beggars, , ; drunken, ; slogan (cry) of, – Belgern beer,  Benedict, Rule of St.,  Bent, Margaret,  Benzing, Josef,  Bergmann de Olpe, Johann, ,  Berlin,  Bernstein, Eckhard,  Beroaldo the Elder, Filippo, , – , –, , , , ,  Bethlehem, ; Innocents of, ; punning on,  Bettelßheym,  Bible, the, , ; macaronic glosses on, ; prologue to, . See also Corinthians; Genesis; Gospel; Holy Scripture; Isaiah; Old Testament; parable; Psalm; Psalmist; Vulgate Bibra. See Nikolaus of Bibra Bielefeld, Johann Pollen of,  biennium; two-year teaching stint, , ,  Big Bear, . See also Bears

general index Bill of Indebtedness,  Bindersleben, ,  Black, Robert,  Black Forest,  Black Sea, , ,  Blasius, St., Church of,  Block, Dietrich, , ,  Blois, Treaty of,  Blomberg, Henning, xvi Boccaccio, Giovanni, , , – , –,  Böcking, Eduard, , , –, –, , , , , , , – Boethius, , – Bohemia, ,  Bohemians, the: brave, ; fickleness and faithlessness of, ; swaggering,  Bologna, , , , , , , . See also Concordat of Bologna; University of Bologna Bolognese, the,  bombard; bombards: bulwark of the vices, ; called tormenta, ; pernicious invention, ; recent invention, . See also cannons Bonemilch, Johann, , , ,  Boniface, St.,  Bosporus,  Bote, Hermann, ,  Bouchorst (Boekhorst), Floris van den,  Bracciolini, Poggio. See Poggio Bracciolini Brahmans, the,  Brant, Sebastian, , , , , , ; Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools), , , , ,  Braunsberg,  Brescia, – Bretten,  breviary, ; Roman,  Britain: Erasmus’ poem in praise of,  Britons: Caledonian, 



Bruges, ,  Bruni Aretino, Leonardo: Cicero novus,  Brunswick, , ,  Bullinger, Heinrich,  Burgundy, Charles of, . See also Charles V Bury, Richard de: Philobiblon,  Busche, Hermann von dem, , , ; with Crotus, publishes Epistolae obscurorum virorum, ; writes satiric epigrams at Cologne,  Buttstädt, xvi Byzantium, . See also Constantinople Byzenus, Eleutherius, . See also Hutten Cadmean mother (Agave),  Cadmus: daughter of (Agave), ; dragon slain by,  Caesar, Julius, , , , , –,  Caesar’s Amphitheater,  Caledonian Britons, the,  Calliano, Battle of,  Callimachus,  Callisto,  Camarina,  Cambrai, League of,  Camerarius, Joachim, xv–xvi, , , , , , ,  Camerino,  Campano, Giannantonio, , , , , –, , , , – Candido Decembrio, Pier,  Cannae, , ,  cannons, , ; descriptions of, ; destroy heroic valor, , , , , ; invention of, , , , ; modern, . See also bombard canonical decrees, , , . See also Decretum canon law. See law (canon)



general index

Capella (star),  Capitol (University of Erfurt),  Capitoline: Hill, ; Jove,  Capnio (Capnion). See Reuchlin Capricorn, . See also zodiac Capua,  Carafa, Cardinal Oliviero,  Caria,  Carinthia, Lower,  Carolingians, the,  Carpzov, Benedict,  Carthage, , ,  Caspian Gates,  Castalian spring,  Catholics, the,  Catilinarian conspiracy, , – Catiline, – Cato, Marcus Porcius,  Catullus,  Catulus, Quintus Lutatius, ,  Caunus, Protogenes of,  Celtis, Konrad, , –, , , , , , , , , , , ; edits Tacitus’ Germania, ; Eobanus’ favorite German poet, ; founds literary sodalities, ; idealizes the Germanic past, , ; publishes a poetic description of Germany, ; rediscovers Gunther’s Ligurinus, ; rediscovers Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, ; reinterprets the Druids, – Centaurs, the,  Cerbeerus,  Cerberus, xxi, –, , –, , , ,  Cercopians, the,  Ceres,  Chaos: ancient, ; primeval,  Charlemagne, , , , , ,  Charles, the first and second (emperors),  Charles V, Emperor, , , , 

Charles of Burgundy,  Charm; Charms (personified), , ,  Charon, , ,  Charybdis,  Chaucer: Reeve’s Tale,  Cherusci, the,  Chiromancy (personified), ,  Christ, , , , , , –, –, –, , –, , –, ; associated with Phoebus Apollo, , ; bride of, , ; fervent love for, ; invocation to, – , , ; pious vows to, ; prayer to, , –, ; unbelief in, . See also Apollo; Christus Apollo; God; Jesus; Phoebus; Word – Life: birth of, ; child in a crib, ; cross of, –; crucifixion of, , , , , , , ; blood of, , ; sepulcher of, , , , , , , , ; entombed, ; Dormition of, ; divinity of, buried, ; descends into hell, –, –, , , – , , ; preaches to the spirits, , ; harrows hell, , –, , –, , – , , , ; carries a cross banner, ; holds the cross staff and mantle, ; victory over hell of, –, , –, –; by dying vanquishes death, ; vanquishes the ancient Serpent, , , ; resurrection of, , , , , , , , – , –, , , , ; risen, , , , , , ; ascends to heaven, –, , , ; governs all fate, ; at the Last Judgment, , , ,  – Titles: Almighty, –; Ancient of Days, ; Conqueror

general index (of hell; of death), , , , , , , , , ; Creator, , , , , , ; Destroyer of sins, ; Father, , ; Father of gods, ; King, , ; King of Heaven, ; King of men, ; Life that has died, , ; Lord, , , , , , , ; lord of vanquished Orcus, ; Maker, , ; Maker of the stars, ; Redeemer, , , , ; Redeemer-Messiah, ; Restorer of life, ; risen Sun, , , ; victor over hell, , ,  Christian; Christians, , ; bad, , ; have a duty to invoke Christ rather than Phoebus, ; may not worship pagan names as divinities,  Christianity, –, ; a “sect,” –,  Christmas, : carol, ; Mass,  Christological interpretation,  Christophagous priests,  Christus Apollo, , . See also Christ Cicero, M. Tullius, , , –, –, , –, , , ; best Roman interpreter of Aristotle, , ; made Greek philosophy available in Latin, ; philosophical writings of, ; philosophy of, ; praises of, –, , , – – Academic Questions,  – De finibus (The Ends of Good and Evil), ,  – De officiis (Duties), –, , , –, , , ; Eobanus’ lectures on, –, , , , ; Cicero’s best-known book,  – De oratore,  – Divination, ,  – Letters to Friends, , 



– Nature of the Gods,  – Philippic Orations; Philippics, , ,  – Republic,  – Tusculan Questions; Tusculans, , , , , – Cimbri, the, , –,  Cimon, , – Circe, –, , –, –  Clarorum virorum epistolae, , ,  Claudian,  Clemen, Otto, , , , ,  Clement V, Pope,  Clement VI, Pope, ,  Clementine Constitutions,  Cleopatra (girlfriend),  Clitus,  Cock; Cocks; cockscomb (French; French king), , , , –, , ; Gallic, , –, , , , . See also French; Gallus Cocytus,  Codex Justinianus, ,  Colchians, the,  Colchis,  Coler, Johann Christoph, ,  Collegium maius, the (in Erfurt), –, , , ; called Collegium universitatis, ; called Domus universitatis and Domus facultatis,  – bombing of, ; damage to (in ), , , ; epigraphs for, , –, ; fellow of,  (Femel),  (Heinrich Eberbach); modern reconstruction of, ; portal to, ix, –, , ; Renaissance reconstruction of, –, , –, , –. See also University of Erfurt Cologne, ; asses in, ; diabologians of, , ; Diet of, ; Dominicans of, –, ; ignoramuses of, ; magister of



general index

Cologne (cont.), (Gratius), ; power-hungry priests of, . See also University of Cologne Colophon, Apelles of,  Colosseum, ,  comedy; comedies, , –, , –, , , ; Italian,  comic; facetious; jocular: barbarism, ; booklet, ; debate question or questions, , , – , , ; deformation, ; distortion, ; effect, ; element, ; epilogues to the quodlibets, , ; fiction, ; German phrases, ; gloss or glosses, , , ; intermezzos or interludes to the quodlibets, –, , ; intermingling of Latin and German (barbarolexis), ; letter, ; medievalism, ; poet (Plautus), ; privileges, ; recipe, ; significance, ; texts, ; transference, ; verb, ; verse, . See also humor Commodus,  commonplace. See topos complexions, the, – compotation; compotations; convivial drinking, , , –, , , , ; an ancient and civilized practice, , , , ; ancient origin of, , –, ; benefits of, –; called “symposia” by the Greeks, ; contrasted with Zutrinken, ; drinking by measure and number at, –; temperate, . See also drinking; symposia Concordat of Bologna, , , –, , . See also Bologna Conradi, Tilmann, , –, – , ; epitaphs by, on Till Eulenspiegel, ; life and works of, , –; Choleamynterium,

, ; Triumphus Christi, . And Cordus, , –, , , ; Crotus, ; Eobanus, ; – , –, ; Femel, , , , ; Mutianus,  Conrads, the (emperors), ,  Consciousness of Sin (personified),  Constantinople, , . See also Byzantium; Istanbul convivial drinking. See compotation Cordus, Euricius, , , , –, , , ; among Hessian poets, second only to Eobanus, ; bucolic trifles by, ; destitute poet, ; epigrams by, , , –, –, ; Bucolicon, ; Epigrammatum libri duo, , ; Epithalamium in nuptias Helii Eobani Hessi et Thrynae Spateranae, xiii, , . And Conradi, , –, , ; Eobanus, , , , –, , –, –; Femel, ; Hack, xv–xvi, ,  Corinthians, Paul’s letter to the, ,  Cos, Apelles of,  Cracow, , –, –, ; University of,  Cranach, Lukas,  Crassus, Marcus,  Crassus Dives, M. Licinius, ,  Creation, the; creation of the world, , , , , , , ; story of,  Cremona, – Crete,  Croke, Richard, , – Crosnensis, Paulus, , , ,  Cross (trophy),  Crotone, Bishop of (Campano), ,  Crotus Rubianus, , , , ; anonymously publishes Epistolae obscurorum virorum, ; writes satiric epigrams at Cologne, 

general index crusade, ; against the Turks, , , , , ; Third,  Cumaean Sibyl, ,  Cupid, , , ,  Curtius Rufus, Quintus: Alexander,  Cybele, , , , ; castrated priest or priests of, , , ; revered as “Great Mother of the Gods,”  Cynic (Diogenes), – Cyrene, poet of (Callimachus),  Cyrus the Great,  Cythnos, Timanthes of,  Dalmatia,  Dalmatians, the,  Damascus, plain of, , ,  Damm, Bertram von, xvi,  Dantiscus (Dantiscanus), Johannes, –, , ,  Danube, the, , ; lower, ; money-grubbing frauds and tricks of,  Danzig, , , ,  Darius I, the Great, – David, King, –, , ; prophet, xxii; Psalmist,  Dawn, goddess, , . See also Aurora Dead Sea,  Death; death (personified), , , , , , ; bonds of, ; dominion of, ; Prince of (Satan), ; snare of, ,  debauchery; debaucheries; debauchment, , , , , , , , ; (personified) , . See also vice Decretum, –. See also canonical decrees Dedekind, Friedrich: Grobianus,  Deiphobus,  dell nymphs,  Delphi,  Delphic oracle, ,  Democritus, 



Demosthenes, , , , ,  descensus, the, ; Neo-Latin poems on, , – Desiderius, King,  Deucalion, – Deventer,  devil; devils, , , , . See also Satan dialectic, . See also Logic Dido, xxii Dietl, Cora,  Diets, , , , ; of Cologne, ; of Regensburg, , , , , ; of Worms,  Digest of Roman Law, ,  Diodorus,  Diogenes of Sinope,  Dionysius the Areopagite, , , –,  Dionysus, , , . See also Bacchus Dioscorides, ,  Dirae, –, . See also Furies Dis, , , ; kingdom of, ; palace of, . See also Satan disciples of Christ, the, , ,  disputation; disputations, , , , –, , . See also quodlibet Dobeneck, Job von, , , , , ,  doctors. See physician Dodona, ,  Domestic Economics (personified), ,  Dominican; Dominicans, –, , –, ; compared to magpies and Harpies, ; wear a black-andwhite habit,  Domitian,  Donatus: Ars minor,  Dormition of Christ,  Dörrie, Heinrich,  doxology, , , ; parodic, 



general index

dragon, , , ,  drinking: bouts, , , , , , , , ; customs (in Prussia and Livonia), ; literature, ; party or parties, , , , , ,  (see also compotation); song or songs, , , –, , , – , – drinking of healths (rounds), , –, , , , . See also Zutrinken Dromo Dromonis of Dromonia,  Druid monastery,  Druids, the, , , ; genuine priests, , –, –; representation of, by Konrad Celtis, – drunkards; drunks, , , , , , , –; Germany the land of, ; god of, ; Litany of, ; mock masses of, ; paradise of, ; punished by St. Urban, ; Saxony the land of, ; species of, , , , , –, –, –; swinish names for, ; think of themselves as an inverted monastic order,  drunkenness; intoxication, , , –, –, – , –, , , –, ; (personified) , –, –, , –. See also Bacchus; beer; Hessus (De generibus ebriosorum; De vitanda ebrietate); intemperance; wine – almost impossible to root out, ; among women, –, –; chronic (habitual), , , ; especially disgraceful in priests, , , –, – ; forbidden to clergymen, , , ; harmful, , , ; leads to many crimes and bad consequences, –, –, –, –, , –

; makes people insane, , ; more pernicious to young people than amatory love, , , –, , –, , , , ; must be shunned by all estates, , ; ruinous to magistrates, , , ; ruinous to scholars, , , –, –, ; turns people into beasts, –, – ; unbridled, ; worse than avarice, ,  – Germany’s national vice, , –, , , ; greatest plague, fiercest enemy facing Germany, , , , , –; in Livonia, –; in the north country, , , – ; mother of evils and vices, –, , , , ; plague, , , , , , , , ; tinder (tinderbox) of the vices, , , ,  – allegory of, ; avoidance of, , , , , , , ; bestial pleasure of, ; Eobanus a master on the subject of, ; Eobanus’ booklet on, –; evils of, , , ; exhortations against, – , , , ; facetious question on, , , , ; life of, ; literary-philosophical treatments of, , –, –, –, ; merry tales of, ; occasional bouts of, recommended, , , ; public debates about, ; tract against, ; vice of, – , , , , ; vices engendered by,  Dürer, Albrecht,  eagle; eagles: can stare into the sun, , , ; German emblem, , , , , , –, , , ; Jupiter’s

general index armorbearer, , , , ; Roman emblem,  Earth (goddess), . See also Mother Earth Easter; Easter feast, , –, , , , , , –, , , , , ; Eobanus’ planned book of poems on, – , , , , ; holiday, , ; holiday in hell at, , – ; hymn, –, –; poem, , , ; Sapphics, ; song, ; sunrise service at, ; Vigil, . See also Hessus (Hymnus paschalis; Victoria Christi) Eberbach, Cosmas,  Eberbach, Georg,  Eberbach, Heinrich, , , , , , , , –,  Eberbach, Petrejus, , , , ; epigrams on the Italian wars by, –, , – Eberhard of Bremen,  Ebro River, , ,  Echo (personified), picture of,  Egenolff, Christian, , , ,  Egypt, , ,  Eight Stones, the,  Eimbeck or Einbeck, , ,  Eisermann (Ferrarius), Johannes,  Eisleben,  Eitelwolf vom Stein, ,  Elbe River, ,  elegiac: couplets, ; distichs, , ; measures, ; meter, , ; verse, . See also meter (elegiac distich elegiacs, , ; reserved for the tender emotions, , ; tender, . See also meter (elegiac distich) elegy; elegies, –, , –, –, , , , , –, , , –, , , , ; degenerate, ,



, ; erotic, ; love, ; panegyric, . See also meter (elegiac distich) elements, the four, , , ,  Elijah,  Elisha,  Elizabeth (Mary’s kinswoman),  Ellinger, Georg,  eloquence; oratory, , ; (personified) ; Attic, ; father of (Cicero), ; Latin, , , ; laurel of, ; nerve of, ; Roman, , ; stream of, ; teeming,  Elsa,  Elsula, ,  Elysium; Elysian Fields, , , , , . See also limbo; Paradise Emser, Hieronymus, xvi, –,  Endymion,  Engelsburg (Angels’ burg), , ,  Engentinus, Philip Engelbrecht,  England,  Ennius,  Enoch,  envy, , , , , ; image of, ; (personified)  Eobanus Hessus. See Hessus Ephesians, the,  Ephesus, Heraclitus of,  epic; epics, , , –, , , , ; mock, ; short, , , , , –. See also epyllion; heroic poem epicedion, , ,  Epicurean hogs,  Epicurus, herd of,  Epilepsy (personified),  Epirus,  Epistolae obscurorum virorum (Letters of Obscure Men), , , –, , , , ,  epitaph; epitaphs, –, , ; for Achilles, ; for Bullinger’s mother, ; for Celtis, ; for



general index

epitaph (cont.), Sardanapalus, , , ; for Till Eulenspiegel, ; medieval, . See also mock epitaph epithalamium, , , , ,  epyllion, , , –, , – , –, . See also epic Erasmian (noun), ,  Erasmianism,  Erasmus of Rotterdam, Desiderius, , , –, , ; mock epitaph by, –; poetry of,  – Adagia, –, , , , , , , , , , , – , –, , –, , , , –, –, , , , , , , . See also proverb – Carmen heroicum de solemnitate paschali,  – Enchiridion militis Christiani, ,  – Parabolae (Similes), –,  Erato, . See also Muse Erebus, ; Conqueror of (Christ), , . See also hell Erfurt, ix, xv–xvi, , –, –, , , , –, , , , –, –, , –, , , , , , , – , –, , , , , –, , , , , . See also University of Erfurt – Archbishop Albert’s solemn entry into, ; beer in, , ; Eobanus’ friends in, –, –, ; Eobanus of, ; Eobanus’ publishers in, , ; Eobanus returns to, –, , , , , ; evangelical preachers in, , ; great changes in, ; literary sodality in, , ; “Mad Year” in, , ; Reformation in, , ; riots and tumults in, xvi, , , , , –, , , ; satire

on, ; satire on life in, ; severe plague in, ; syndic of (Herbord von der Marthen), , ,  – Places: Augustinian monastery in, ; Borngasse in, ; brothel in, ; Domplatz in, ; Engelsburg in, , , ; Faustgäßchen in, ; Frauengasse (Halbmondsgasse) in, ; house “Zum Goldenen Kreuz” in, ; Lange Brücke (Long Bridge) in, , –; market places in, –; Petersberg (Mountain) in, – ; Schildchen area in, ; Scottish Monastery in, ; Sperlingsberg Square in, ; St. Gotthards’ in, ; village north of (Bindersleben), ; village outside of (Ilversgehofen),  Erfurters, the,  Eryxis,  Esther,  ethics, , , ; (personified) , . See also moral philosophy Ethiopians, the,  Euclio, – Eulenspiegel, Till, ,  Euphrates,  Euripides,  Europa,  Europe, , , , , , , –, , ,  Eurydice,  Eusebius,  Eustochium, St.,  Evangelus,  Eve, , , –, , ,  Extravagance (personified),  Fabius Maximus Cunctator, Q., , , ,  fable; fables, , ; about Antaeus, ; about King Gyges, ; Aesop’s, . See also story

general index facetiae, . See also story facetiousness. See humor Falernian wine, ,  Fama (Rumor): Vergil’s description of, , ,  Fate; Fates, , , , –. See also Parcae Federfusius, Lupoldus,  Federigo of Naples,  Femel, Johann, , , –,  Ferdinand, King, ,  Ferrara,  Ferrarius (Eisermann), Johannes,  Ficino, Marsilio,  Fischart, Johann, , , ; Geschichtklitterung, , , , –, –, , , , – Flamboyant Gothic,  Flavia, , , ,  Flavian Amphitheater,  Flood,  (Deucalion’s),  (Noah’s) Flora,  Florence, , , , ,  Florentine; the Florentines, , , , ,  folklore, ,  Foolagonia (Narragonia; Narrogonia), . See also Paradise of Fools Fortuna; Fortune (personified); Lady Luck, , , , , , , , , , , , , ; blows of, , ; breeze of, ; brittle as glass, , ; maliciousness of, ; slippery, ; wheel of, , , ,  Fortunato (Leto), Giulio Pomponio, ,  Forum,  France, , , , , , , , –; armies of, ; King of, , , , ,  Francis I, King, , , –, , –, , ,  Franciscan (Johann of Werden), 



Franciscan monk (Murner),  Francis of Assisi, St., ,  Franck, Sebastian, ; Sprichwörter, , ,  (see also proverb) Franconia, ,  Franconian godliness,  Franconians, the: insolence of,  Frankfurt am Main, , , ,  Frankfurt an der Oder, , , , , , , ,  Frankfurter, Philip,  Franks, eastern and western,  Fraud (personified),  Frederick I Barbarossa, Emperor, , ,  Frederick III, Emperor, , , ,  Frederick III (the Wise), elector of Saxony, –, –; exemplar of true nobility, , –, ; founded the University of Wittenberg, , – Fredericks, the (emperors), ,  Freiburg, , ,  French, the; Frenchmen, , , , –, , , , , , –, –, –, , , –; arrogant, , ; perfidious, , , –, , ; treaty-breaking, , . See also Cock; Gallus frenzy; frenzies (poetic), , , . See also inspiration Frisians, the: fickleness and faithlessness of,  Frog; Venetian frogs, , . See also Venice Fulda,  Funck, Mathias,  Fundinus,  Furies, the, , , , –, –, . See also Dirae Galen, ,  Galilee, , , 



general index

Gallus; Galli, punning on, , –, , , , , , , . See also Cock; French Gallus (Gallicus), Jodocus, , ; Liechtschiff (The Windship), , , ,  Gandersheim, – Gans, Johann, , , ,  Ganymede,  Garden of Eden, , , , , , . See also Paradise Gast, Johann, , ; uses the pseudonym “Philoponus,”  Gaul, ,  Gauls, the,  Gaza, Theodore,  Gehazi,  Geiler von Kaysersberg, Johann, –, ,  Gelderland, Duchy of,  Gelderlanders, the, ,  Gellius,  Genesis,  Genoa,  Geomancy (personified), ,  Geometry (personified), ,  George, St., ,  Gera River, ,  Gerbel, Nikolaus, – German (language), , , , , , , , , , , , ; Middle, ; Middle High, ; Upper, . See also vernacular – glosses in, , ; sprinkled into Latin,  German; the Germans, , –, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . See also High Germans – Ancient: –; could not read or write, ; did not have cities, , , ; heroic virtues of, , , , , ; innocence of, ; lived a simple life of manly virtue, ; old-time morality of, , ;

sometimes tore down their walls, ; unsurpassed fides of, , , ; venerated Bacchus,  – Modern: , ; already in youth read and sing better than the Italians at that age, ; chronic drunkenness of, –, –, , ; heroic spirit of, ; in the northern regions, mostly consume beer, –; mocked by the Italians, –; never yet conquered in battle, , ; outshine the Italians in warfare and manly virtue, , ; stoutest of heroes, ; won the Roman Empire from the Italians, , ; would rather wallow in luxury,  Germania,  Germanic: antiquities, ; morality, ; past, , ; tribe (Cimbri), ; tribes, ,  Germanism, , , ,  Germany, –, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  – Ancient: , , –; antique simplicity of, , ; barbarian, ; defeated the Romans, –, ; did not need walls, , –, ; held loyalty sacred, ; heroic spirit and pure morality of, , , –, , ,  – Medieval: , ,  – Modern: , , , , –; a land of drunkards, , –, ; compared to ancient Germany, , –; cultural achievements of, ; customs in, ; Danzig beer the best in, ; drunkenness the greatest threat to, , , ; greatest living poet of (Eobanus), –; littoral (maritime) region of, ; moral degeneration of, –, –, –, ,

general index , ; never yet conquered, , , , , ; northern regions of, –; poetic description of, by Konrad Celtis, ; ruled by Drunkenness, –; Turks a threat to, ; universities of, , , , – , , ; valiant in war,  Getes, the, ,  Gillert, Karl,  Gismonda and Guiscardo: Boccaccio’s story about, – Glory (personified), , ,  Gloss, the,  gluttony, , , , , , ; (personified)  God, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , –, , –; cannot be depicted, –; Lamb of, , ; many names for, , –; not three different Gods, ; Spirit of, ; Word of, ; Wrath of, . See also Christ; Holy Breath; Spirit of God; Thunderer; Triune Thunderer; Trinity – Deeds: created the world out of Chaos, ; created heaven and earth, –, ; created humankind to replenish heaven, –; created Adam and took him to Paradise, ; rested on the seventh day, ; clothed himself in flesh, ; birth of, ; suffered in human flesh, ; died on the cross, , ; lay buried for three days, ; victory of, , , ; has risen again,  – Titles: Craftsman-Monarch, ; Creator, , , ; End for which we strive, ; Father, , , , , , , , ; Father of Nature, ; God of nature, ; Maker, ; Prime Father of the universe, ; Subduer of the Styx, 



god; the gods, xxii, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; ancient, , , ; false, , ; horned (Jupiter Ammon), ; infernal (Pluto), ; pagan, ; sun (Phoebus), , , , ,  – of all disciplines (Cicero), ; of drunks, ; of silence (Harpocrates), ; of the flies, , , ; of wine (Bacchus; Dionysus), , ,  – catalogue of, ; council of, ; equal of, , ; father of, , ; Great Mother of (Cybele), ; king of, ; offerings to, ; one, with many names, ; shameful liaisons of, ; wrath of, ,  goddess; goddesses, ; Dawn, ; Drunkenness, ; moon (Phoebe; Selene), –; slippery (Fortuna),  – of fate (Parcae), ; of grain crops (Ceres), ; of justice (Astraea), , ; of sloth (Murcea), , ; of the hearth (Vesta), ; of wisdom and learning (Minerva),  golden; of gold: bough, , ; chains, ; fleece, ; mountains, ; pot, ; priests,  Golden Age; golden age, , , , , , –, , , ; of heroic manhood, ; of morality,  Good Friday, , , ; liturgy for,  Gorgon; Gorgons, ,  Goslar,  Gospel; the Gospels, xvi, , ; apocryphal, ; metrical harmony of, ; minister of, xvi; Sunday, –. See also Bible Gospel of Nicodemus, , –, , 



general index

Gotha,  Göttingen, ,  Götz, Bartholomew, – Graces, the three, , , , , ,  Grammar (personified), ,  grammar school, , . See also Latin school; school Gratius, Ortwin, xix, , ,  great year (magnus annus), – Grecism; Grecisms, , ,  Greece, , , , , ,  Greed (personified),  Greek (language), xx, , , , , , , , ; bits of, ; inserted into Latin, –, , ; professor of, ,  Greek; Greeks, , , , , , , ,  Greeklings,  Gregory the Great, ,  Grieb, Bartholomäus, –, , ; Schelmezunfft (The Rogues’ Guild), , , , , ,  Grimm, Heinrich, ,  Großenehrig, xvi,  Grüninger, Johann, ,  Guarino of Verona,  Guile (personified),  Gundel, Philip,  Gunther: Ligurinus,  Guot, Hartmann,  Gwalther, Rudolf, – Gyges, King,  Habsburg: claim of succession, ; dynasty, , ; empire,  Hack (Hacke; Hacus), Christoph (Christoffel; Christoff), xv–xvi, , –; uses the pen name “Christophorus Mancinus,” xv– xvi, –; Odae, sive Psalmi poenitentiales, xv–xvi, – Hades, , , , . See also hell

Hadrian I, Pope,  Halle,  Halt lix ander. See Alexander of Villedieu Hamburg,  Hamilton, William,  Hannibal, , , , –,  Hardegsen,  Harpies, the, ; black-white (Dominicans),  Harpocrates, – Harris, William, xix Harrowing of Hell, , , , , , –; (recounted) – , –; prefiguration of, . See also hell Hartlieb, Jakob, –, ; De fide meretricum (The Fidelity of Prostitutes), ,  Hartmann, Burgrave of Kirchberg, Prince-Abbot of Fulda, – Haughty Pride (personified),  Häussler, Reinhard: Nachträge zu A. Otto, , , , , . See also proverb Heaven; heaven, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; citadel of, ; doorway of, ; gatekeeper of (Leo X), ; gate to, ; herald of, ; keys of, ; kingdom of, , , ; King of, ; ranks of,  Hebrew (language): controversy about books in, ; Reuchlin’s work in,  Hecuba,  Hegendorff, Christoph, ,  Heidelberg, , . See also University of Heidelberg Heidelberg Castle: poem on the conflagration of,  Helen, Empress,  Helen of Troy, , ,  Helicon, 

general index Heliogabalus,  Heliopolis,  Helios; Helius, , . See also sun Helius. See Hessus hell, , , –, , –, , –, ; (personified) , ; imagined as an immense cave, ; paganstyle, . See also Erebus; Hades; Harrowing of Hell; limbo; Orcus; Phlegethon; Stygian; Styx; Tartarus; underworld – Christ’s descent into, , , –, , , ; Christ’s victory over, , , –, , –, , , – ; Conqueror of, , ; defense of, ; entrance hall before, ; entrance to, , ; Estates General of, ; gate of, , ; gates of, ; holiday in, , –, ; hosts of, , ; inhabitants of, ; king of, ; kingship over, ; prince of, ; punishment of, ; shades of,  Helle,  Helvetians, the,  Henry, Prince,  Henry I and II, Emperors,  Henry VIII, King, ,  Henrys, the (emperors), ,  Heraclea, Zeuxis of,  Heraclitus, ,  Herbstein, Johann Gans of, ,  Hercules, , , , , , , , , , ; a second (Reuchlin), , ; at the Crossroads,  Hercynian: cliff, ; Forest, ,  Herennius (centurion),  Herod Antipas, ,  Herodotus,  heroic epistle or letter, xx, , – , , , , , –, 



heroic poem, , , , – , . See also epic Herold, Lazarus,  Hertog, Erik, – Hesiod: Works and Days,  Hesperian shore,  Heß, Johann, xix–xx,  Hesse, , . See also Philip of Hesse Hessian: piety, ; poets, ,  Hessians, the, ; ferocity of,  Hessus, Helius Eobanus – Life: born on a Sunday (Three Kings’ Day), ; student years at Erfurt, , , , , , , , , ; cuts short his required biennium of teaching, ; journeyman years in the north country, xx, , , , , , , , , , , , , ; in Cracow, , , – , –, ; cannot bear living among the “barbarians” in Prussia and Poland, , ; offered a lectorship at Cracow, ; aspires to a lectorship at Wittenberg and Leipzig, , – , ; in Leipzig, , –, –, , –, , , , , –, , , , , , ; adopts the name “Helius,” –, –,  – ends his journeyman years and returns to Erfurt, , , –, , , , ; is invited to return to Prussia, ; engagement to Katharina Später, , ; marriage, , , , , ; lives in the Engelsburg, , , ; resumes his biennium of teaching at Erfurt, ; magister novellus at Erfurt, , ; seeks a lectorship at Erfurt, –, , , ; lectures at Erfurt, xx, , –, , , , , ; lectures on Cicero’s Duties and Plautus’ Amphitruo, –; praises the



general index

Hessus, Helius Eobanus (cont.), University of Erfurt, –, , , –; highlights his contributions to the University of Erfurt, –, –; “king of poets,” xv, –, –, – , , , , , , , ; “prince of poets,” ; a modern Amphion, , ; claims primacy among Hessian poets, , ; critiques painters and paintings, –; criticizes the insertion of Greek into Latin texts, –; does not yet read Greek, , ; studies Greek, xx; publishers of, in Erfurt, , ; moves from Nuremberg to Erfurt, then to Marburg,  – Character: addicted to dice and drink, , , ; Bohemian, ; careless in preserving documents and files, , , ; charismatic, , ; content to preach what he would not practice himself, ; determined to play by the university’s rules, ; dislikes rewriting and polishing, ; does not ever criticize identifiable modern noblemen, ; frolicsome rather than disciplined in writing, ; German patriot, , ; idealizes the Germanic past, , ; intent on winning glory and renown, , –, , ; keen on bringing distinction and glory to the university, ; natural leader of the Erfurt humanists, ; not a plagiarist, –; tries to be of service to as many as possible, ; venerates the philosophical disciplines,  – Friends and acquaintances: xx, , –, –, , , , –, , , , –, , , , , , –, –, –, ; circle of humanists

(literary sodality) around, , , , , , , ,  – Asclepius Barbatus, –; Camerarius, , , , , ; Conradi, , –, –; Cordus, , , , –, , –, –, –; Dantiscus, –, –, , ; Eberbach (Heinrich), , , , , , , , – , ; Eberbach (Petrejus), , ; Gwalther, ; Hack, xv– xvi; Hutten, –, –, –, ; Jonas, , , ; Lang, , ; Marthen (Herbord, Gerlach, and Wolf von der), ; Marthen (Herbord von der), –, , ; Meckbach, –, –, ; Micyllus, , –; Mutianus Rufus, –, –, , –, , , , ; Osten (Johann and Alexander von der), –; Platz, , , –, –, , , ; Reuchlin, –, , –, , –, , , ; Spalatin, , –, –, , –; Spangenberg, – ; Werler, – – Works: anonymously publishes De generibus ebriosorum, – ; book projects of, –, – ; co-edits Hutten’s Arminius, , ; did not edit Hutten’s Opera poetica, –; edits an anthology of poems on the wretchedness of poets, , ; edits Plautus’ Amphitruo, –, ; epigraphs by, for portraits by Cranach and Dürer, –; epigraphs by, for the Collegium maius in Erfurt, –; juvenilia of, –; literary productivity of, , ; love poetry by, , –, –, , , ; poems in De generibus ebriosorum explicitly attributed

general index to, , –, –; previously unknown distich by, xxiii; welcoming verses by, for Archbishop Albert, – – Bucolicon,  – De casu Moguntiacensi,  – De generibus ebriosorum, xv– xvi, –, , , , , ; authorship of, –, ; background to, –; printing history of, –; rediscovered by Kaspar Scheidt, ; reprints and afterlife of, –; speaker’s persona in, – – De laudibus et praeconiis incliti Gymnasii litteratorii apud Erphordiam, ,  – De vera nobilitate, –, , , , ; analysis of, –; finished in Erfurt, , –; lectures on, , ; outlined by Spalatin in Leipzig, , –, ; printing history of, –; reception of, ; sent to Valentin von Sunthausen, – – De vitanda ebrietate, , – , ; Cordus’ reaction to, –; lectures on, , ; printing history of, – – Encomium nuptiale, –, , ,  – Epicedia,  – Fasti, ,  – Heroidum Christianarum epistolae, xix–xxiii, , , , , , , –, , ; called “maidens” or “queens,” , , , , ; copy of, in Basel, xx–xxiii, ; copy of, in Dresden, xix–xx, ; copy of, presented to Platz, ; copy of, sent to Mutianus, ; copy of, sent to Reuchlin, ; copy of, sent to Spalatin, ; Eobanus returns to Erfurt with,



, , , ; Hutten’s Epistola Italiae inspired by, , –, –; lectures on, at Erfurt, xx–xxiii, , , , , –, , , ; makes Eobanus famous, ; planned lectures on, at Leipzig, , –; published in Leipzig, –; reception of, by Hegendorff, ; reception of, by Mutianus, –; reception of, by Reuchlin, ; reception of, by Spalatin, ; written to win fame, ; Victoria Christi and Hymnus paschalis a follow-up to, – – Hymnus paschalis, xx, –, , , , , , ; composition date of, ; epigrams attached to, , , –, – , , , , ; intended to help Eobanus win a lectorship at Erfurt, –; interpreted as a celebration of Reuchlin’s triumph, –; lectures on, ; publication history of, – , , , ; with Victoria Christi, a follow-up to the Christian Heroides,  – Ilias, , –,  – In poetam Sarmatam invectiva,  – Operum farragines duae, , , , , ,  – Oratio, sive praelectio, xx, – , , ; analysis of, –; printing history of, – – Psalterium universum, , ,  – Responsio Maximiliani, xx, , –, , –; epigrams attached to, –, – – Sylvae; Sylvarum libri, –, , , ,  – Sylvae duae, xx, , , , , , ; inaugural lecture on, ; lectures on, , , , ; reception of, by Hegendorff, 



general index

Hessus, Helius Eobanus (cont.) – Victoria Christi ab inferis, xx, , –, ; amazing afterlife of, –; composition history of, , –, –, ; invocation to, –, ; lectures on, , ; prefatory epigrams to, –, –, , –, , , ; publication history of, –, , , –, ; reception of, – Heymerick, Arnold,  High Germans, the, . See also German Hildesheim, Dietrich Block of,  Hilt, Johann,  Hippocrates,  Hofmann, Gregor, – Hofmann, Kraft,  Höltzel, Hieronymus,  Holy Breath; Holy Spirit, , , , , . See also God; Spirit of God Holy League, ,  Holy Roman Empire, , , , . See also Roman Empire Holy Roman Emperor or Emperors, , –, ,  Holy Saturday,  Holy Scripture, , , , , . See also Bible Holy Sepulcher, . See also sepulcher Holy Spirit. See Holy Breath Holy Week,  Homer, , , , ; Roman (Vergil), ; Iliad (Achilles), , ; Iliads, ; Odyssey, , ; Odyssey as a morality tale, – . See also Maeonian bard homosexuality; sodomy, –, ,  Hoogstraten, Jakob van, –, , ,  Hoppelsen (Hoppelssheym), Konrad, 

Horace, , –, , ; Epistulae, , ; Odes,  Hornmold, Sebastian,  Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, – ,  Huguenot wars,  humanism: at Erfurt, ; at German universities,  humanist; the humanists, –, , , , , , –, , , , , , –, , – , , , , , , , , , ; Christian, ; derided as poetae, , , –; German, –, , , , , , , ; Italian, , , , , , , , ; Polish (Crosnensis), , ; Renaissance, , , , , ,  – at Cracow, ; at Erfurt, , , , , , , ; detest the Doctrinale puerorum, , , , ; support of, for Reuchlin, – humor; facetiousness; wit, , , , , –, , , , , , , , ; academic, , ; student, , . See also comic; joke humor; humors (bodily), , , ,  Hungarians, the,  Hungary, house of,  Hutten, Hans von, – Hutten, Moritz von,  Hutten, Ulrich von, xv–xvi, , – , , , , , , . And Croke, –; Eobanus, , , –, ; Gerbel, – ; Maximilian I, – – Life: ; in Italy, –, ; in Bologna, ; in Rome, ; in the service of Archbishop Albert, ; in Augsburg, ; patriotism of, ,  – Works: bowdlerizes his own

general index and Eobanus’ poems, , – , –; Neobius’ Triumph ascribed to, ; part  of Epistolae obscurorum virorum ascribed to, ; publishes an anthology of his poems at Augsburg, , , , ; uses the pseudonym “Eleutherius Byzenus,”  – Ad Caesarem Maximilianum epigrammatum liber unus, – , , , –, , – – Arminius, , ,  – De arte versificandi (Ars versificatoria; Stichologia), , , ,  – Epistola Italiae, xx, , – , –, –; epigrams attached to, –, , , , –; inspired by an Italian playlet, , –; inspired by reading Eobanus’ Heroides, , –; lectures on,  – In tyrannos,  – Nemo, ,  – Opera poetica, , –; edited by Micyllus, –; not edited by Eobanus, – – Panegyricus, – Hydra, , , ,  Hydromancy (personified), ,  Hymettus, Mount, , ,  Hymmelhuer,  hymn; hymns, –, –, , , –, , , , , , , –; choral, ; Latin, ; Sapphic, –, , – – by Ambrose, xxii; by Venantius Fortunatus, , , , ; parodies of, , ; to Jupiter, . See also Hessus (Hymnus paschalis) hypocrisy; hypocrites, , , 



Iacchus, . See also Bacchus Ialysus,  Iconium,  Ida (girlfriend),  Ida, Mount,  idleness; sloth, , , , , , , , , , , ; goddess of (Murcea), , . See also Indolence Iliad. See Homer Illyrian coast,  Illyrians, the, ,  Ilversgehofen, ,  image; images, , ; ancestral, ; lifelike, ; of a distant age, ; of an eagle, ; of death, , ; of Drunkenness, ; of kingship, ; of Sardanapalus, ; of the liberal arts, , . See also painting; portrait; woodcut – (figure of speech) , , , , , , , , , , , , ; citadel of learning, ; dog, , ; military service, –, ; proverbial, ; ship of fools, ; thunderbolts, ; war trumpet,  Immortality (personified), ,  inaugural lecture or lectures (praelectio; praelectiones), –, , , , ,  India, ; the Brahmans of, ; unwarlike, , ; wealth of, ; wealthy,  Indians, the,  Indolence (personified), . See also idleness Indulgence (personified),  Infamy (personified),  Ingolstadt. See University of Ingolstadt Innocents of Bethlehem,  Inn River,  inspiration (poetic), , , , , , –, , , . See also frenzy; Muse



general index

intemperance, , . See also drunkenness intoxication. See drunkenness invocatio; invocation, –, – ,  Ionian shore,  Iphigenia,  (fictional character),  (mythical figure) Iron Age,  Isaac, ,  Isaiah, xxii,  Ischia,  Isocrates, ,  Israel,  Israelites, the,  Istanbul, , . See also Constantinople Italia; Italy (personified), , – , , ; abandoned, ; shattered, , , , ,  – defeats suffered by, –; letter of, to Maximilian, , – , –, –; peoples defeated by, ; response to, by Maximilian, xx, , , – , , –. See also Italy Italians, the, –; degeneracy of, ; do not outshine the Germans in warfare and manly virtue, , ; drunkenness of, ; German youths more proficient in reading and singing than, ; lost the Roman Empire to the Germans, , ; revel in wealth and luxury, ; stereotyped as sodomites, – ; taunt the Germans for being drunkards, , –, – , ; vices of, – Italus, King, ,  Italy, , , , , , , – , –, –, –, –; French campaign against, ; Maximilian’s campaigns in, , –; Maximilian the laughingstock of, ;

universities of, , ; ways of, . See also Italia Ixion, King, ,  Izydorczyk, Zbigniew,  Jacob (patriarch), ,  Jacobus a Voragine,  Jerome, St., , , , , ,  Jerusalem, , , , , , ; destroyed by the Romans,  Jesse, , – jest. See joke Jesuit, ,  Jesus; Jesus Christ, , , , –, , , ; birth of, , ; death of, , , , , , ; mocked, ; risen, , ; Word made flesh, ; year of birth of, . See also Christ Jew; the Jews; the Jewish people, , , , , , , ; baptized, ; converted, , , ; credulous, , ; deny the Resurrection, , ; malign the Christian faith, ; suffer eternal exile, ; unbelief of, . See also Apella; Apellaean people Joachimsthal,  John, the bishop,  John of Münster (John Minster),  John the Baptist, , , , , ,  joke; jokes; jest; jests, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , –, , , , , . See also humor Jonas, Jr., Justus,  Jonas, Justus, , –, , , ,  Jordan River, –,  Joseph (patriarch), , ,  Josephus,  Joshua, ,  Jove. See Jupiter Judas Maccabee, , , 

general index Judea,  Julius II, Pope, , , – Juno, , , ,  Jupiter; Jove, , , , , , , , , –; black (Satan), , ; Capitoline, . See also Thunderer – assumes different forms, – ; bolt of, ; cupbearer of (Ganymede), ; eagle the armorbearer of, , , , ; father of the gods, ; grove of, in Dodona, ; hymn to, ; oracle of, ; sends a great flood, ; son of (Hercules), , ; son of (Tantalus), ; stands for Emperor Maximilian, , –; thunderbolts of, , , ,  Jupiter Ammon,  Jurisprudence (personified), ,  jurist. See lawyer Justice (personified), . See also Astraea Justina,  Justinian Code, ,  Justinian’s Digest (Pandecta),  Juvenal, , , , ,  Juvencus, –, , –, , – Kalenberg, Parson of, ,  Kampschulte, Franz W.,  Karinus, – Kassel, ,  Kaysersberg. See Geiler von Kaysersberg Kellner, Johann, xv Kirchberg, Burgrave of (Hartmann),  Kleineidam, Erich, ,  Klingsor, ,  Knappe the Elder, Johann, , , , ,  Kolbe, Andreas, ,  Königsberg,  Krause, Carl (Karl), xv, , –, ,



, , –, , –, , , , , ,  Kreyssig, Johann Theophil, ,  Kropik, Cordula,  Laban, daughter of (Rachel),  Labyrinth (Laborintus), ,  Lacedaemonians, the, . See also Spartans Lactantius,  Lady Luck. See Fortuna Landino, Cristoforo,  Land of Cockaigne. See Paradise of Fools Landsberg, Martin,  Landshut Succession, War of the,  Lang, Cardinal Matthaeus,  Lang, Johann, ,  Lange Brücke (Long Bridge), , – Lapiths, the,  Last Judgment, –, , ; painting of,  Late Latin, , , , , , . See also Latin Latin (language); Latin tongue, , , , , , , , , – , , , , , ; ancient, ; bad, ; barbaric, ; corrupt, ; good, ; humanistic, , ; intermingled with German, , ; medieval, , , ; pidgin, , , ; professor of, ; with admixture of Greek, . See also Late Latin; Middle Latin; Old Latin Latinity: dubious, ; good, ; true,  Latins (speakers of Latin),  Latin school or schools, , , , –, . See also grammar school; school Latium, , ; language of,  Latmus, Mount,  Lausanne, 



general index

Lausitz,  law, , , , , , ; canon, , , , , , ; civil and canon, ; mystical, ; natural, ; of nature, ; professor of, , ; Roman, , ; student of,  lawyer; lawyers; jurist; jurists, , , , , , , , ; church, ; medieval,  Lazarus, ,  League of Cambrai,  legend, , ; Jewish, , ; of Christ’s descent into the hell, ; of St. Dionysius, , , ; of the bond of indebtedness, ; of the three Marys, . See also story Leipzig, ; beer of, , –, ; book fair in, ; Eobanus in, , , –, –, , – , , , , , , –, , , , , , . See also University of Leipzig Leland, Charles G.,  Lemnius, Simon,  Lentulus Sura, P. Cornelius,  Leo, Heinrich,  Leo X, Pope, , , , , , , , , –, , , –. See also Tuscans; Tuscan usurer Lerna, ,  Lernaean snake,  Lethe River, ,  Leto, Giulio Pomponio, ,  Letters of Illustrious Men. See Clarorum virorum epistolae Letters of Obscure Men. See Epistolae obscurorum virorum Leucius, – Levèfre d’Etaples, Jacques,  Liber (Liberator), , , . See also Bacchus liberal arts, the, , , , , , ; (personified) –; are not honored, ; candidates

in, , ; scholars in, ; source of, , . See also arts and sciences Liber authenticorum (Authenticum), ,  Libo’s Well,  Libya, , ,  Libyan: desert, ; deserts, ; farmers, ; setting,  Liguria,  Ligurian, the (Julius II), , –  limbo; limbus patrum, , , , , , , . See also Elysium; hell Lion (Leo X), –, . See also Leo X Lion: of St. Mark, ; of Venice, ,  Lithuania,  liturgical: Invitatory, ; language, ; phrase,  liturgy, , ,  Livonia, , , –, ,  Livy, ,  Locher, Jakob, , , ; Stultifera navis, , ,  Logic (personified), , . See also dialectic Lollard; Lollards,  Lombards, king of the (Charlemagne),  Lombardy, , , –, , , , ; King of (Desiderius),  London, ; madhouse in,  Lorich, Reinhard,  Lot (patriarch), , ,  Lotter, Melchior,  Louis XII, King, , ,  Love (personified), , ,  lovemaking; passionate love; sex, , , , , , , , ; a civilizing force, , , , ; not as pernicious as drunkenness, , –, ,

general index –, , , , , . See also lust; Venus Lübeck, ,  Lucan, – Lucian, –; Dialogues of the Gods,  Lucretius, ,  Luder, Peter,  Ludwig of Bavaria-Landshut, Duke,  Ludwigs, the (emperors),  Luna (goddess), . See also Phoebe; Selene Lusatia, Upper and Lower,  lust, , , , , ; descent into, ; reduces people to the level of beasts, . See also lovemaking Luther, Martin, xvi, , , , , –, , , ; portrait of, by Cranach,  Lutheran Reformation. See Reformation Luther Year,  Lycaon,  Lydas (mistress),  Lyde (mistress),  Lydia, Queen of,  Lyre (constellation),  Maccabee. See Judas Maccabee Macedonia, Philip of,  Macedonians, the,  Macrobius, , , , , , ; Saturnalia, ,  Maeonian bard, . See also Homer Magdeburg, ,  Magi, the,  magister legens,  magister novellus; magistri novelli, ,  magnus annus,  Mainz, xvi; Archbishop Albert’s solemn entry into, –; Archbishop of, , –. See also University of Mainz Mair, Martin, 



Maler, Matthes, , , , , ,  Mancinus, Christoph. See Hack Manitius, Max,  Mansfeld County,  Mantua, ; trumpet of (Vergil),  Mantuanus, Baptista, , – Manuzio, Aldo, xix Marburg, –, , , . See also University of Marburg Marches, Upper and Lower,  Marienburg,  Marignano, Battle of, , , , , ,  Marius, Gaius, , –,  Mark, St.: day of, ; half-lion, ; Winged Lion of,  Mars,  Marschalk, Nikolaus, xix Marsyas, second (Eobanus),  Marthen, Herbord, Gerlach, and Wolf von der,  Marthen, Herbord von der, –, , ,  Martial, , , , –, ,  Martin, Josef,  Mary, the Virgin, –, , – ; conceives the Word through her ear, , ; intercedes, ; Mother, ; Virgin Muse, ,  Mary Magdalene, ,  Marys, the three, , , – Mass; Masses, , , ; drunkards’, ; Easter preface of the, –; for Ascension Day, , ; for Christmas,  Matins, , ; drunken, ; monastic,  Maundy Thursday,  Maximilian I, Emperor, , , , – , , , –, –, , –, , , , , , , , 



general index

Maximilian I, Emperor (cont.) – admires Frederick I Barbarossa, ; called “Maximus Aemilian,” , , –; exemplar of true nobility, , –; heroic letters to and from, – ; imprisoned by the citizens of Bruges, ; Italian wars of, , –, –, , –, ; mocked by the Italians, – , , –, , , , ,  Maximus Aemilian. See Maximilian I Mayer, Martin,  Mazovia,  Meckbach, Johann, –, , –,  Medici, Lorenzo de’,  medicine, (personified) , ; (profession) ; dean of, , ; doctorate in, ; professor of, , ,  medievalism, xvi, , , ; comic,  Mediterranean Sea,  Medusa,  Megaera, ,  Meissen,  Meisseners, the: arrogance of,  Melanchthon, Philip, , , , ; Dürer’s portrait of, ; epigraph by, for Cranach’s portrait of Luther, – Melsungen. See Platz Mencel, Hieronymus,  Menelaus, King, ,  Mengwasser, Hermann, –, ,  Mensa philosophica,  Mercury, ,  Mestre,  metaphor; metaphorical, , , , –, ,  Metaphysics (personified), ,  meter; meters, , ; Eobanus’ lordly command of, ; feeble, ; lyric, xvi

– dactylic (heroic) hexameter; epic verse, –, , , , , , , ; alternating with iambic trimeters, ; suited to grand themes, ,  – elegiac distich, , , , , –, –, , , , –, –, , , –, , , . See also elegiac; elegiacs; elegy – Glyconics,  – Iambic strophe,  – iambic trimeters, , ,  – iambs, , – – leonine hexameters, , ,  – pentameter, , –, , , ,  – Phalaecian hendecasyllables, xix, , , , , , ,  – Sapphic strophe, –, , , , – – Scazons (choliambic), , , –,  Metra (girlfriend),  Michael (archangel),  Micyllus, Jakob, – Micyllus, Julius,  Midas, King, –, – Middle Ages, , , , , , , , , , –, –, , , , , , , , –, –, ,  Middle Latin, , –, , , , , , . See also Latin (medieval) Migne, J.-P.,  Milan, –, , , , – , , , , –, ; Duchy of, , ; Duke of, , ,  Miller, Johann,  Milton, John,  Mincio River, ,  Minerva, ,  Minos, 

general index Mirandola. See Pico della Mirandola Mithradates,  mock barbaric poem,  mock brotherhood,  mock bull,  mock epitaph or epitaphs, , – ; for a drunkard, –; for a rich miser, –; for a scoundrel, ; for a spendthrift drunkard, ; for Roberto da Sanseverino,  mock glosses, , , , –  mock legal: citations, , , , , , ; reference,  mock letter,  mock monastic order,  mock quodlibetical question, – , ,  mock quodlibetical speech, – , ,  mock recipe, ,  mock sermon, – Modena,  moderation: in drinking, , – , –, , , , , , , , , ; in reading the bawdy poets, ; loveliest or best of virtues, , . See also temperance Moesi, the,  Mohammedans, the, . See also Turks monastic: Matins, ; order, ; rules, ,  monasticism, medieval,  monk; monks, xvi, , , , , , ; apostate, ; Franciscan,  Monkeytail, Master,  Montemagno, Buonaccorso da,  moral philosophy, , , , , ; combined with poetry, –; in the Odyssey and other works of literature, ; objects of, ; origins of, , ; praise of, –, , , –;



terms for, , . See also ethics; philosophy Moral Virtue (personified), , , , , . See also Virtue Morpheus,  Mosellanus, Petrus, ,  Moses, , –,  Mother. See Mary Mother Earth; Mother Nature; Nature, , –, , , , , , . See also Earth Mountain (Petersberg in Erfurt),  Muling, Johann Adelphus, , –  Müller, Kraft,  Münch, Ernst J.H., –, , , – Münster, John of,  Murcea, ,  Murner, Thomas,  Muse; the Muses, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . See also Erato; inspiration; Polyhymnia; Urania – divine Sisters, ; earthly, ; heathen, ; heavenly, –, , , ; holy, ; Latin, ; light, ; my, , , ; nine, ; noble, ; of Christian poets, ; of mourning, ; Roman, ; rustic, ; sweet, ; tenth (Urania), ; Vergil’s, ; Virgin (Mary), , ; wrathful,  – catalogue of, ; devotees of, ; enchanting dreams of, ; grottos of, ; inspired by, ; sanctuary of the,  Music (personified), ,  Mutianus Rufus, xvi, , –, , , , , , , , . And Conradi, –; Eobanus, –, –, –, , , –, , , , , ; Reuchlin, –,  Muzio, Macario, – Myricius, Sebastian, –



general index

myth; myths: ancient, ; frivolous, ; Greek, , ; pagan,  – of Amalthea, ; of Cerberus, ; of Ceres, ; of Orpheus in the underworld, ; of Prometheus,  mythology: ancient, ; classical, ; Greek, ; pagan, , ; Roman,  Naaman,  Naevia,  Naiads, the, . See also nymph Naples: Federigo of, ; Kingdom of,  Narragonia; Narrogonia; Narragonien, , . See also Paradise of Fools Nashe, Thomas,  Nasica, Publius,  Nature. See Mother Earth Naumburg,  Neale, John M.,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Necromancy (personified), ,  Neobius’ Triumph, , . See also Hutten Neptune, –. See also Poseidon Nero, Tiberius,  Netherlands, Regent of the (Maximilian), ,  New Testament parables. See parable Nickel, Holger, – Nikolaus of Bibra; Occultus, , –,  Noah, , ,  nobility; noblemen; aristocrats, – , –, ; (personified) ; hereditary, ; medieval, , ; modern, , –, , –, , ; Roman, ; wild drinking among, in Livonia, ; Zutrinken among, . See also topos (true nobility) Noordwijk,  Nordhausen, –, 

North Sea,  Nossen, Michael,  Notker Balbulus, ,  Novara, Battle of,  Novellae,  Novellius, Torquatus,  Nuremberg, xx, , , ; Eobanus’ description of, ,  nymph; nymphs, , . See also Naiads Obnobian Mountains, ,  obscene literature,  obscurantism; obscurantists, , , . See also barbarism Obsopoeus, Vincentius,  Occultus. See Nikolaus of Bibra Ocean,  Ockham, William of,  Octavian,  Odyssey. See Homer Oglio River,  Oldendorp, Johann,  Old Latin, . See also Latin Old Testament, ; prophets of the, , ; righteous men and women of the, ; saints of the, , –, –, –, –. See also Bible Olearius, Paul, –; De fide concubinarum (The Fidelity of Concubines), –, , –  Olenian goat (Amalthea),  Olmütz, ,  Oporinus, Johannes, –,  oracle; oracles, , , , , , , . See also Delphic oracle oratory. See rhetoric Orcus, , , . See also hell Orestes,  Orpheus, ,  Osten, Alexander von der,  Osten, Johann von der, –

general index Otto I and III, Emperors, ,  Otto, A.: Sprichwörter der Römer, , , , , , –, , , , , , , . See also proverb Ottoman Turks. See Turks Ottos (emperors): the three, , , , , ; the two, ,  Ovid, , , , , , ,  Padua, , –, ,  painter; painters, –, –; Eobanus’ remarks on, –. See also artist painting; paintings, ; Eobanus’ remarks on, –; of the Last Judgment, ; of Venus, . See also image Palatinate,  palingenesis, ,  Pallas,  Paltz, Johann von,  Pan, ; pipes of, ,  Pandecta,  panegyric; panegyrics, , , , , , , , ,  Pannonia,  Papal States,  Paphnutius, St., xxi parable: of the lost sheep, ; of the prodigal son, ; of the wise and foolish virgins,  Paradise: Earthly, , , , , , –, –, , , , , , , , ; Heavenly, . See also Elysium; Garden of Eden Paradise of Fools; Land of Cockaigne; drunkards’ paradise, , –, , , , , , . See also Foolagonia; Narragonia; Schluraffenland Parcae, the, , . See also Fate parenesis, , –, , , , , , –,  Paris (city), 



Paris of Troy, ,  Parma,  Parnassus, Mount,  parody; parodies, –, – , , –, , , , , , –, , , , , ; parody of a parody, ,  Parthia,  Parthians, the, , , ,  Pasquillo; Pasquino, –,  pasquils; pasquinades, ,  Passau, Philip Gundel of,  patriot; patriots; patriotism, , –, , ,  Paul, St., , ; Letter to the Corinthians, ,  Paula, St.,  Paulus Diaconus,  Pavia, , ; Cardinal of (Jacopo Ammannati Piccolomini),  Pelagia, St., xxi Pentheus, King,  Pericles, ,  Peripatetic: philosophy, ; Republic,  Perjury (personified),  Persia: King of, , –; wealth of,  Persian: king (Cyrus the Great), ; kings,  Persians, the, , , ,  Persius,  Peter, St.,  Peters, Paul, – Petersberg,  Petrarch Master (Weiditz?),  Pfefferkorn, Johann, , ,  Pforzheim, ,  Phacchus, Balthasar,  Pharaoh,  Phidias,  Philip, Count Palatine,  Philip of Hesse, , – Philip of Macedonia, King, ,  Philoponus. See Gast



general index

philosophy, –, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; (personified) , –; arena of, , ; Aristotelian, ; combined with poetry, –; Greek, , ; imperfect without moral philosophy, ; Peripatetic and Stoic, ; scholastic, ; William of Ockham’s, . See also moral philosophy Philostratus: Apollonius,  Philoxenus, , , ,  Philoxenus of Cythera,  Phlegethon; River of Fire, , , . See also hell Phoebe, –, . See also Luna Phoebus, , –, , ; Apollo, ; associated with Christ, , , ; born of a Virgin Muse (Christ), , ; sister of (Phoebe), . See also Apollo; sun Phrixus,  Phrygia, , – Phryxian Ram, . See also zodiac physician; physicians; doctors, , , , , , , , , –, –; medieval, ; orders of, ; prescriptions of,  Physiognomy (personified), ,  Piccolomini, Agostino Patrizi,  Piccolomini, Enea Silvio, , , , ; Germania,  Piccolomini, Francesco Todeschini,  Piccolomini, Jacopo Ammannati,  Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, xxiii, ,  Picus, King,  Pilade, Giovanni Francesco Boccardo, ,  Pio, Giovanni Battista, – Pirithous, ,  Pistoris, Maternus, 

Pithecusae,  Placotomus, Johann, ,  plagiarism, –, –, , – plague: in Erfurt, ; (figurative) deadly, ; inveterate, ; of drunkenness, , , , , , , , ; of vices, ; St. Urban’s,  Platina (Sacchi), Bartolomeo,  Plato, xxiii, –, –, , , , , , , , , ; Academy of, , ; divine, , ; fable by, about Gyges, ; Laws,  Platz of Melsungen, Ludwig, , , –, –, , ; quodlibetarius, ,  Plautus, –, –, , ; called M. Accius, , ; humanistic editions of, –, ; praises of, ; “Vetus Codex” of, ; Amphitruo, –, –, ; Aulularia, ; Casina,  Pleasure (personified), , ; Sensual, . Pliny the Elder, , , , , , –, ; Natural History, ,  Pliny the Younger: Trajan,  Plunder (personified),  Plutarch, , , , ,  Pluto, , , . See also Jupiter (black); Satan Poelman, Theodor, –, –  poetry: (personified) , ; combined with philosophy, , –; proscribed at German universities,  poets; poetae, , , , , , , , , , , ; ancient, , , ; bad, ; Christian, , , , , ; frenzied, ; German, , , ; Hessian, , ; humanistic, , , ; lewd (bawdy), ,

general index ; living, ; loquacious and quarrelsome when drinking, , ; mad, ; profane, ; Renaissance, ; Roman,  – bad Christians, ; derisive term for humanists, , ; held in contempt, ; tell many lies, ,  – catalogue of, xvi; king (prince) of (Eobanus), xv, –, –, , , , , , ; wretchedness of,  Poggio Bracciolini, ; Facetiae, ,  Poitiers,  Poland,  Poles, the, ,  Politics (personified), ,  Poliziano, Angelo, –,  Pollen, Johann,  Polyhymnia, . See also Muse Pomerania, ,  Pomeranians, the: boorishness of,  Pompeius, Gnaeus; Pompey, ,  Po River,  portrait; portraits, ; of Aphrodite Anadyomene, ; of Ialysus, ; of Luther, ; of Melanchthon, . See also image Poseidon, , . See also Neptune Posthius, Johannes,  praelectio. See inaugural lecture Pregel, Hans,  Preunlein, Mathias,  Priam, King,  Price, David H.,  Prometheus, –,  Promised Land,  prophecy; prophecies, , , , , ,  prophet; prophets, xxii, , , , , , , , , , ; without honor in his native land, ,  propositio, epic, –,  Proserpine, , 



Protestants, the,  Proteus, ,  Protogenes,  proverb, , , , , , , , , , ; familiar, ; German, , , , ; medieval, , , , ; popular, . See also adage; Bebel (Proverbia Germanica); Erasmus (Adagia); Franck (Sprichwörter); Häussler; Otto; Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi; Walther (Proverbia); Wander proverbial, , , , , –, ; comparison, ; custom, ; dictum, ; drunken matins, ; emblem, ; expression, –, , , , , ; image, ; lore, ; misanthrope (Timon of Athens), ; phrase, ; saying, ; senarius, ; thought, ,  Prudentius,  Prussia, xx, , , , , , , , , , –, , , , ; barbaric (barbarous), , , , , , ; description of, ; drinking customs in, – Prussians, the,  Psalm; Psalms, , ; lyric interpretations of, xv; paraphrases of, ,  Psalmist, , , , , ,  Psalter (versified), ,  Pseudo-Juvencus, – Pseudo-Quintilian,  Pseudo-Schram. See Schram Ptolemy, ,  pun; punning, , , , , , , , , , , , , , . See also wordplay Punic Wars, , , – Pyromancy (personified), , 



general index

Pyrrha, – Pythagoras, –, , , , ; belief of, in palingenesis, ,  Pythagorian teacher (Apollonius),  Pythian Apollo: oracle of the,  Python, , , . See also Satan quadrivium,  Questio fabulosa (A Fabulous Question), –, , , ; falsely ascribed to Schram,  Quintilian, , –, ,  quodlibet; quodlibets: at the University of Erfurt, –, , , ; at the University of Heidelberg, –, ; tradition of comic speeches at the, –, , , . See also disputation quodlibetarius, , , –, –, –, , ,  Rabelais,  Ram (Phryxian Ram), . See also zodiac Rastrum (Rake), – Ravenna, ; Battle of, ,  recipes, medical, . See also mock recipe Reformation, Lutheran, ; in Erfurt, ,  Regensburg, ; Diet of, , , , ,  Reiffenstein, Wilhelm,  Remigius of Auxerre, ,  Renaissance, the, , , , , , , , , , , ,  Resurrection, the, , , , , , , , –, –, , , , . See also Christ Reuchlin, Johann, xvi–xvii, –, , , –, , –, ,

, , , , , , ; called “Capnion,”  Reuchlinist; Reuchlinists, – Reuchlin-scourge (Hoogstraten),  Reuter, Johann,  Reval,  Rhadamanthus,  Rhenish, the,  rhetoric, , , ; (personified) , ; professor of, ; tricks of,  Rhetorica ad Herennium, ,  rhetorical: considerations, ; devices, –, ; fashion, ; structure, –; trick,  Rhine, the, , , , ; frauds and tricks of,  Rhodes,  Riesenburg, – Riga, ,  River of Fire. See Phlegethon Robbery (personified),  Roman Academy,  Roman Breviary,  Roman Court,  Roman Emperor Elect (Maximilian I),  Roman Empire, , , , , . See also Holy Roman Empire Roman Republic,  Romans, the, , , , , , , , , , , , ; King of (Maximilian), , ,  Rome – Ancient: , , , , , , , , , –, – , , ; conquests of, ; Fathers of, ; first bishop of (St. Peter), ; kings of, ; mission of, ; nobility of,  – Medieval and Renaissance: , , , , , , , , , , –, , , , , , , –; (personified)  Romulus, ; land of, 

general index Rösch, Jakob,  Rostock, ,  Roth, Stephan, , – Rovere, Francesco Maria della,  royal road, , , ,  Rubianus. See Crotus Rubianus Rufus. See Mutianus Rufus Rufus, St.,  Rügen,  Rule of St. Benedict,  Rumor. See Fama Russia,  Russians, the,  Rüssow, Balthasar,  Sabbath,  Sacchi (Platina), Bartolomeo,  Sachs, Hans, ,  Sacred Triduum,  Saint Mary of Bethlehem (Bedlam),  Sallust (Sallustius), Gaius Crispus, , – Salonike,  Salzano, Aniello, ,  Samnium,  Samos, –,  Samuel,  Sannazaro, Jacopo,  Sanseverino, Roberto da,  Sara,  Sardanapalus, –, , , , ; epitaph of, , , ,  Sarmatia,  Sassoferrato, Bartolo da,  Satan, , –, –, , , ; associated with the dragon, , ; fell from heaven, –; lord of the abyss, ; Pluto, ; Prince of Death, ; Ruler of the Styx, ; tyrant of the human race, . See also devil; Dis; Jupiter (black); Pluto; Python; Serpent satire; satires, xvi, –, , , , , , –, , ,



–, , , , ; of Juvenal,  satiric fiction, , , ,  Saturn,  Saul,  Saxon beers,  Saxonian extravagance,  Saxony, , –, –, , –, ; Duchy of, ; Lower and Upper, ; Old, ; stereotypically a land of drunkards,  Scaurus, Marcus,  Schede, Paulus Melissus,  Scheidt, Kaspar, –,  Schenck, Hieronymus,  scherpentum (scherpent beer),  Schlettstadt, Jakob Wimpfeling of,  Schluntz; Schluntz Gabalot (Kidegern), ,  Schluraffenland, . See also Paradise of Fools Schmiedt, Roman, ,  Schöffer, Johann,  scholastics, the, , , , , ,  school; schools, , , , , – , , –, . See also grammar school; Latin school school author or authors, ,  schoolbook; school text, , , , –,  school comedies,  school grammars,  schoolmaster; schoolmasters; schoolteacher, , , ; ignorant, ,  Schram, Johann, –, – ; butt of satire, ; Questio fabulosa ascribed to, –,  Schürer, Matthias, , – Schwarzenberg, Johann von, –  Schwarzenberg, Paul von, xix Schwenke, Paul, 



general index

Schwenk zu Schweinsberg, Philip,  sciences, the: natural, ; queen of (Philosophy), ; useful, . See also arts and sciences Scipio Africanus Aemilianus, P. Cornelius, , , , ,  Scorn for Venerable Religion (personified),  Scotists, , – Scotophagous (Scotus-eating) sows,  Scotus, Duns, ,  Scythians, the, ,  Sea of Marmara, ,  Sedulius, – Seine,  Selene, . See also Luna self-restraint. See temperance Selim I, Sultan,  Seneca, , , ,  Senones, the, – Sensual Pleasure. See Pleasure sepulcher: of Christ, , , , , , , ; of Lazarus, . See also Holy Sepulcher sermon; sermons, –, , , , ; mock, ; parodic, , ; parodies of, ; Sleep Soundly,  Serpent (Satan), , , , , , , . See also Satan Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the, xxii sexual intercourse. See lovemaking Sforza, Bianca Maria,  Sforza, Ludovico,  Sforza, Massimiliano, , – Ship of Fools, the, ,  Sibyl, ; Cumaean, ,  Sicily, , , ,  Siemau, Hieronymus Schenck of,  Siena, ,  Sigismund I, King, ,  Sileni: drunken,  Silenus, 

Silesian; the Silesians, ; boorishness of,  Silius Italicus,  Silvio, Enea. See Piccolomini Simeon,  simile, ,  simony,  Sinnhold, Johann Nicolaus,  Sinope, Diogenes of,  Sirens, the,  Sisyphus, King, ,  Sleep (personified),  sloth. See idleness Socrates, , ; paragon of selfrestraint,  Socratic: pages, ; philosopher and historian (Xenophon),  sodality, literary, , , ,  sodomy. See homosexuality Solon, ,  Solothurn, ,  son of perdition,  sophist; sophists, , , ; (scholastics) – Sophronius, , ,  South Wind, ,  Sow Claus (Clauses), , ,  Spain, , ; King of, ,  Spalatin, Georg, , , –, , , . And Eobanus, , –, , , – Spangenberg, Johann, –, ; Triumphus Christi heroicus, , , –, – Spangenberg, Johann Meckbach of, . See also Meckbach Spaniards; the Spanish, , , , , ,  Sparta, , ; had no walls, , ; ruined by avarice, – Spartans, the, . See also Lacedaemonians Später, Katharina, ; engaged to Eobanus, , ; Eobanus’ wife, –; not to be identified with Flavia, ; urges Eobanus to get a job, 

general index Spengler, Lazarus,  Speyer, episcopal court at, ,  Spirit of God, . See also God; Holy Breath spring; springtime, xvi, xx, –, , , –, , , , , –, , , , –, , , , , , –, , , , –; eternal, , ; of life, , , ; season of love and rebirth in nature, ; start of, marked by Aries,  Springer, Carl P.E.,  Statius, P. Papinius: Achilleid,  Stein, Eitelwolf vom, ,  stereotypes: German, ; Italian, ; regional, , ,  Stettin, Duchy of,  Stoics, the,  Stolberg,  story; stories; tale; tales, –, – , –, , , , , –, , , , , , , , , , –, , , , , , , –, –, , –, , , –, , , , , . See also anecdote; fable; facetiae; legend; Tale of the Cradle Strabo, , ,  Strabo, Walahfrid, ,  Strasbourg; Straßburg, , , , –, , , ; Cathedral of, ; preacher at (Geiler von Kaysersberg), ,  Strauß, David F.,  Strife (personified),  Studentenabenteuer,  Stygian: cavern, ; Pluto, ; pools, ; prison, ; realms, ; shades, ; shores, . See also hell Stylpho,  Styria,  Styx, the, , ; Conqueror of (Christ), , , ; Ruler of



(Satan), ; Subduer of (Christ), . See also hell Suabians, the,  Suebi, the,  Suetonius Tranquillus, C., ; Vespasian, ,  Sugambri: identified with the Gelderlanders,  Sulzfeld,  sun, the (personified), ; god, – , , , , , , , ; leaps for joy at Easter, ; many divinities united in, ; risen (Christ), . See also Apollo; Helios; Phoebus Sunday Gospels (versified), –  Sunday prayers (versified),  Sunthausen, Valentin von, – Swabia, ; Bavarian,  Swabian nun,  Swine Guild, – Swiss, the, , , , ,  Swiss Confederacy,  Swiss Confederates, the,  Swynkuncius (Swineherd; Swineherdius), ,  Sylenus, ,  Syloson of Samos, – Symphiloenus,  symposia, , . See also compotation Syrians, the,  Tacitus, Cornelius, , , , , ; Germania, ,  tale. See story Tale of the Cradle, –,  Tallinn,  Tantalus, ,  Tartarus, , , , , . See also hell Taurus, , . See also zodiac temperaments, the four,  temperance; self-restraint, , , , . See also moderation Tenstedt, Wolfgang von, 



general index

Teramo, Bishop of (Campano), ,  Tertullian,  Teutoburg Forest, Battle of the,  Teutonic Order, , , –,  Teutons, the, ,  Theander, Joachim Friedrich, ,  Thebes, , ,  Theft (personified),  Themar, Adam Werner of,  Themistocles,  theologian; theologians, , –, , ; bad, ; conservative, ; French (Levèfre d’Etaples), ; humanist, ; scholastic, ; wrath of the,  theology, , , , , , , , , ; (personified) ,  Theophane,  Theopompus, ,  Thersites,  Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi, , , , , , , , , , , , –, , , , , , . See also proverb Theseus,  Thessalian sorceresses,  Thracian floods,  Thracians, the,  Three Kings, day of the,  Thunderer, the, , , ; newborn (Christ), . See also God; Jupiter; Triune Thunderer Thuringia, xvi, ,  Thuringian (adjective): Gera, ; pronunciation, ; word,  Thuringians, the: slothfulness and inhospitality of,  Thurzo, Johannes V., xx Tiber,  Tiberius Nero, Emperor, , , 

Tibullus, ,  Ticino, ; Battle of, – Tifernate, Gregorio,  Till Eulenspiegel, ,  Timanthes,  Timon of Athens; Timons, ,  Tisiphone, ,  Titus, Emperor,  topos; topoi; commonplace, , , , , , ; body as prison of the soul, , ; cursing the inventor, , , ; modesty, , , , –; true nobility, , – Topsy-Turvy Land (World Upsidedown), , ,  Torgau beer,  Trajan, Emperor, ,  translatio imperii, ,  Trasimene: Battle of Lake, ; vale of,  Treachery (personified),  Trebbia River,  Trebelius, Hermann,  Trebizond, George of,  Treisa, Bartholomew Götz of, –  Trent, , , , ; Cathedral of,  Treu, Martin,  Tricongius (Torquatus Novellius),  Trinity, , . See also God; Triune Thunderer Triumphus Christi heroicus. See Spangenberg Triumvirate,  Triune Thunderer, . See also God; Thunderer; Trinity trivium, ,  Trojan War,  trophy; tropaeum, – Troy, , , ,  Turk, flayed,  Turkish army,  Turks, the Ottoman, , , , , , –, , ;

general index crusade against, , , , , . See also Mohammedans Tuscans, the, . See also Leo X Tuscan usurer (Leo X),  Tuscany,  Ubaldi, Baldo degli,  Uhl, Wilhelm,  Ulrich of Württemberg, Duke, ,  Ulysses, , , –, ; hero of wisdom, – underworld, the, , , , , , , ; darkness of, ; Lord of, ; Orpheus in, ; realms of, ; uppermost region of, . See also hell University of Basel, . See also Basel University of Bologna, , , . See also Bologna University of Cologne, the, , , , ; theological faculty at, . See also Cologne University of Cracow, . See also Cracow University of Erfurt, the, xvi, –, –, –, , –, –, –, , –, –, –, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; eminent reputation of, , ; grand buildings at, ; superior to other universities in Germany, –. See also Collegium maius; Erfurt – History: foundation of, ; calamity at (in ), ; in free fall, , ; revival of, , –, , , –; stops Tilmann Conradi from lecturing, ; is becoming more humanistically inclined, , ; adopts humanistic translations of Aristotle, , ; will thrive only if she welcomes the humanists, , ; decay of the quodlibets at,



–; on the brink of collapse (in ),  – Faculty and students: bad teachers at, –; conservatives at, ; faculty council (senate) of, , –; faculty of, , , , , , , , , ; humanism at, ; humanists at, , , , , , ; magisters at, , ; magistrates of, ; medical faculty at, , , ; militia of humane letters at, , ; philosophical faculty at, – , , , ; professoriate at, ; professors at, , ; rector of, , , , , , ; scholastic and humanistic factions at, ; students of, , , –, , , , , , , –, , , , –, –, ; theological faculty at, ; Via moderna at,  – Traditions and statutes: biennium at, , , ; mockquodlibetical speeches at, , –; no tradition of comic quodlibetical speeches at, , ; parody of the quodlibets at, ; quodlibets (disputations) at, –, , ; statutes of, , ,  – Eobanus campaigns for a lectorship at, –, , ; Eobanus’ inaugural lecture at, ; Eobanus’ praises of, –, , –, , , –; Eobanus’ precarious position at, ; Eobanus’ student days at, , , , ; fortunate to possess a star like Eobanus, ; has no money to offer Eobanus a stipend, ; ought to reward Eobanus with a lectorship, – University of Heidelberg, the, , –, , ; annual quodlibets at, ; magister or magisters at, , ; mock



general index

University of Heidelberg (cont.), quodlibetical speeches at, – , –, –, , , ; students of, ; theological faculty at, . See also Heidelberg University of Ingolstadt, the, – ; inaugural lecture at,  University of Leipzig, the, –, , , , , , , ; collegiate dormitory at, , . See also Leipzig University of Mainz, ; theological faculty at, . See also Mainz University of Marburg, , , , . See also Marburg University of Vienna, ,  University of Wittenberg, , , , –, , –, , , , . See also Wittenberg Urania, –, , , . See also Muse Urban, St.: plague of, ; punishes drunkards,  Urbanus, Heinrich, , , , ,  Urbino,  Ursa Major, . See also Bears Ursa Minor, . See also Bears Ursel,  Vadian, Joachim, ,  Valerius Flaccus, C., ; Argonauts,  Valerius Maximus, ,  Valla, Giorgio, ; De expetendis et fugiendis rebus,  Valla, Lorenzo,  Varus, P. Quinctilius,  Vatican Library,  Venantius Fortunatus,  Venetian Republic,  Venetians, the, , , –, , , , , , , , –, , –, , , –; frogs, , ; half lions,  Venice, , , , –, , , , , , , , ,

, , , ; citizens of, ; Republic of, , , ; state of, ; Winged Lion of, , , . See also Frog Venus, , , , , , , , , , , ; lifegiving, , ; Queen, ; represents Mother Nature, , . See also lovemaking – army of, ; brothel of, ; companions of, ; painting of, –; roses of,  Vergil, , , , –, , , ; called “Roman Homer,” ; “Fama” of, , , ; messianic eclogue of, ; verses ascribed to, xxiii, , , ,  – Aeneid, –; a moral allegory, ; a morality tale, – ; description of Fama in, , – vernacular, the, –, , , , . See also German Verona, , , –, , , ; Guarino of,  Vespasian, Emperor, , , ,  Vesta,  Via antiqua,  Via moderna,  vice; the vices, , –, – , , –, –, , , , , –, –, –, , , –, , , ; German (drunkenness), ; Italian, –; Roman,  – bestializing effects of, , ; brought on by drunkenness, , , ; catalogue of, – , , –, , , ; ingenuity of, ; mother of (drunkenness), , , , ; plague of, ; reverence for, ; the companions of Venus, ; tinder (tinderbox) of (drunkenness), , , , 

general index – Individual vices: ingratitude, ; pursuit of private advantage, ; simony, ; sodomy, . See also Anger; avarice; debauchery; drunkenness; envy; gluttony; hypocrisy; idleness Vicenza: Battle of, , , ; fields of,  Vienna. See University of Vienna Villedieu. See Alexander of Villedieu Vincent of Beauvais,  Virgin, the. See Mary Virtue (personified), , , , . See also Moral Virtue Vistula, ; also called Istula,  Viterbo,  Vulgate, . See also Bible Wagenseil, Christian J.,  Walter of England,  Walther, Hans, , ; Proverbia, , , , , , , , , , , , . See also proverb Wander, Karl F.W., , , . See also proverb War of Wartburg,  Way of the Albertists,  Weiditz, Hans,  Wenzenberg,  Werden, Johann of,  Werler, Veit, – Werlich, Johann,  Werner of Themar, Adam,  Westphal, Joachim,  Westphalian honesty,  Westphalians, the,  Wetteravians, the,  Whitmonday,  Willich, Jodocus,  Wimpfeling, Jakob, , , , , , , ,  wine, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , –, ,



, , , ; Falernian, ; imported, –, ; largely lacking in the north country, –, . See also Bacchus; beer; drunkenness – beneficial when consumed in moderation, , –, , ; harmful when consumed immoderately, –, – , –; kindles sensuality, ; must be shunned by young people, , ; overindulgence of, must be shunned by scholars, ; provokes licentiousness, ; remedy against the troubles of old age, ; wanton fury of,  Wingfield, Sir Robert,  Wipfeld,  Wisdom (personified), ,  wit. See humor Wittenberg, xvi, , –, , , , , . See also University of Wittenberg Wladislaw, King,  Woldenburg,  woodcut; woodcuts, –, , , –, –, , , , –, –, , , , , . See also image Word, the, , , ; of God, . See also Christ wordplay; play on words, , , , , , . See also pun World, the (personified),  World Upside-down. See TopsyTurvy Land Worms, –; Diet of,  Wrath of God (personified),  Wrocław, xx Würzburg,  Wurzen beer,  Wycliffe, John,  Wyle, Niklas von,  Xenophon: Cyrus, 



general index

Zápolyai, Barbara,  Zarncke, Friedrich, , –, –, –, –, , , ,  zephyrs, ; heavenly,  Zerbolt of Zutphen, Gerard, – ,  Zeuxis,  zodiac; zodiacal sign, , , , , . See also Aquarius; Aries; Capricorn; Ram; Taurus

Zoilus, , ,  Zutrinken, , –, , , , ; contrasted with compotations, . See also drinking of healths Zwickau, – zythus, , ; Egyptian, , ; equated with beer, , , , 