As Howard Louthan discusses in his introduction to Jonathan Green’s recent translation, the woodcuts’ meticulously realistic details connect the adventures of the eponymous knight to the daily world of the sixteenth-century audience (14).

The protagonist, Theuerdank (meaning “thought of noble virtue”^[1]), is the thinly disguised Maximilian I (1459-1519), Holy Roman Emperor from 1508-1519; his intended, Princess Ehrenreich, is Maximilian’s wife, Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482). Maximilian I, grandfather of Charles V, is well known for his concern for and creation of his own memorialization, in the service of which he exploited various media, both textual and visual. As a fictional biography of Maximilian (who commissioned it), the epic of Theuerdank fits into this larger propaganda.

Though Theuerdank is the protagonist, the epic begins with his future bride: the beloved only child of her widowed father, Princess Ehrenrich has attained marriageable age. Her father, nearing death, chooses her husband, whose identity is revealed to all, including his daughter, only after the father’s death. After the burial and a period of mourning, the princess, now queen, assembles the lords of her lands and announces her late father’s decision. An envoy is dispatched to the selected suitor, Theuerdank; in the wake of this, the three captains who will attempt to sabotage the marriage meet and begin to plan.

Only in Chapter 8 does the reader encounter Theuerdank himself, when the knight learns that he is the chosen one. Shortly thereafter, having bested an evil spirit who tries to give him bad advice, Theuerdank travels from his home to that of his bride. This long and arduous journey — related over the course of eighty-five short chapters (each usually 1-3 pages) — requires him to cross three mountain passes, each of which is controlled by one of the three wicked captains. Although the latter attempt to dispatch him to the next world by orchestrating various dangers, often by manipulating conditions (e.g., sending him to hunt for wild animals in known dangerous places, encouraging voyages when bad weather is approaching, providing untrustworthy medical advice, serving poisonous food), Theuerdank, with his steadfast faith in God, prevails.

The three disloyal captains represent the three ages of man and have speaking names. Fürwittig represents youth and personifies a “reckless lust for wit and wonder”; Unfallo represents middle age—his name means “a fall into misfortune.” Neidelhart, “a villain with a hateful, envious heart,” represents old age (30). Despite these mens’ combined efforts, Theuerdank eventually arrives at the queen’s court, where he is warmly welcomed and asked to recount his adventures. Restrained in his narration, Theuerdank stresses that God knows the “full truth,” a strategy that allows him both to appear modest and to avoid direct criticism of the royal captains. The night, followed by mass the next day and more discussion between Theuerdank and the queen, gives the wicked captains time to plan yet more ways to derail the marriage. Arranging for six knights, all relatives of Neidelhart, to joust or otherwise compete with Theuerdank, the captains hope that he will be killed. Theuerdank, however, outfitted by the queen, once again proves himself and emerges unscathed. At this point, Theuerdank’s herald approaches the queen privately and, seeking justice for his lord, presents the queen with a written account of the treachery of her three captains. She promises to act in accordance with the custom of her court, by issuing a summons and holding a hearing (the emphasis on proper legal procedure is conspicuous). At this formal hearing, the captains are found guilty and sentenced to death, a sentence executed in subsequent chapters.

After the execution of the captains, the queen asks Theuerdank to lead a crusade against those not of the Christian faith, as his travails up to now have all been for the sake of secular honor. Theuerdank takes time to reflect, during which he is visited by an angel who advises him on how to live his remaining life: love and fear God alone, do not be motivated by pride or vain honors, remain loyal to those to whom you have sworn loyalty. Encouraging Theuerdank to accept the queen’s call to a crusade, the angel assures the knight of God’s protection. Armed with this, Theuerdank accepts the commission, first assuring himself that the queen will indeed marry him. The two are married. There follow two final chapters, first one with woodcut but no text, and a final chapter in which the narrator promises to record the further adventures of the hero. The epic ends with an appeal to God for “health, peace, and unity in this world, and after that eternal  bliss” (296). 

Dedicated to Maximilian’s grandson, Charles V, who would become Holy Roman Emperor on Maximilian’s death, Theuerdank was printed with a key provided by Melchior Pfinzing, the Nuremberg humanist and main editor of the work. Intended to prove the truthfulness of the collected tales, the key identifies the characters as historical people or as allegories and aligns the events with acs and locations either real or symbolic. Theuerdank thus can easily be read as both a historical account and a literary heroic adventure; indeed, Pfinzing refers to Theuerdank as a “hero book,” a term that acknowledges that this work incorporates characteristics from other genres. The literary component of the work is paired with great attention to visual aspects, primarily the woodcuts but also the typeface that was created specifically for Theuerdank. Historical and literary analysis as well as consideration of the editorial and material aspects of Theuerdank (it was printed on both vellum and paper) are all productive avenues into this work. The contemporary reception (see Tennant), including translation into Latin and French, offers yet another perspective on Theuerdank. In sum, Theuerdank is more than a narrative, it is a work that opens a door into sixteenth-century central European Renaissance culture.

^[1] I have used Jonathan Green’s translation, Theuerdank. The Illustrated Epic of a Renaissance Knight. See Green’s helpful explanation of this name (29).