Emperor Maximilian I

NUREMBERG: DÜRER AND HUMANISM

Hans von Hungerstein (1460–1503) had this depiction of Emperor Maximilian I as an ideal knight added to his personal copy of a popular chronicle of the city of Strasbourg by Jakob Twinger von Königshofen (1346–1420). Like the “Nuremberg Chronicle,” Twinger’s account situates Strasbourg within the histories of the world, emperors, popes, and the diocese. Hungerstein’s additions represent Maximilian’s coronation in 1486 as king of the Romans as a historical milestone. Seated on horseback like the legendary hero St. George, and surrounded by imperial coats of arms, Maximilian embodies the archetype of Christian and courtly manhood, no doubt how von Hungerstein, himself a knight, sought to be remembered.