Bull's Head and Mermaid - The Bernstein Project - Österreichische ...

cle, cross consisting in two lines above” (E+F), does not
match those of the other sections. Related watermarks are
found in the Piccard-Online Collection under No. 153721
(1456) and No. 153726 (1456). In the related repertory volume,
“Triple Mountain”, Piccard has established that this
type of triple mount, numbered 1615–1624 in Section 5 of
the book, dates to between 1451 and 1456. Since this layer
of papers is found within the third section of the manuscript,
it seems to have “slipped in” by mistake when the
codex was being bound. This explains the slightly later date
of “about 1451–1456”, as the manuscript could only be
bound after the other four sections were finished.
Literature: Unterkircher / Horninger / Lackner, Die datierten
Handschriften in Wien, Nr. 255; Piccard, Die Wasserzeichenkartei
im Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, Bd. 16/1–2.
50
M.S. / M.W. (C.P.-K.)
IV 1 Letter from Sigismund, Archduke of Austria
to Count Ulrich von Württemberg
5 August 1459
Paper, 22 x 32 cm, with pressed seal on the back
Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart A 602 Nr. 4828
With this letter, Sigismund, Archduke of Austria announces
his appointment of Count Hug von Montfort as the head of
Swabia to Count Ulrich von Württemberg. The paper’s watermark
is a triple mount with a rod and letter Tau. This is
placed in the centre of the sheet, facing from left to right.
The triple mountain is considered a heraldry watermark. It is
formed of three arched hills, the middle of the three the
highest. Here it serves as a pedestal or base for the stem
and cross above. The triple mountain is a common heraldry
motif, found in this form already in early coats of arms. In
addition to the very common triple mountain, depictions of
five and six mountains are also found. In the heraldry of the
Middle Ages, the triple mountain often has the function of
the base. In modern heraldry, the same function is usually
served by a single hill at the lower edge of the shield.
Mountains are found in many variations, above all in Germany,
Switzerland, Hungary and Italy.
Based on this letter’s exact date and the watermark of
triple mountain, rod and letter Tau watermark, Gerhard Piccard
was able, by means of his important proof on the basis
of identity, to date the Missale speciale (Constantiense)
(Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich, Clm. 63 ao.) (Piccard
269, Ill. 39).
Literature: Gert, Lexikon der Heraldik, S. 60; Piccard, Die
Datierung des Missale speciale; Scheibelreiter, Heraldik,
S. 77.
C.K. (C.P.-K.)
IV 2 Vocabularius « Ex quo »
[1444–1446]
Paper, 193 Sheets, 30 x 21 cm
WLB Stuttgart HB VIII 8
Sheet 19 (Watermark: “Hunting horn”)
The Vocabularius “Ex quo” was written by various hands in
a fluid bastarda script and is distinguished by its decorative
book ornaments and embellished initials. The manuscript
was acquired by the Württembergische Landesbibliothek
from the Constance Cathedral library by way of the Weingarten
Monastery. The bilingual Vocabularius has been
composed in Latin and a Swabian dialect. On the front cover
is found a coloured woodblock print portraying John the
Baptist and John the Evangelist dated to between 1440 and
1455 (Ill. IV 2a). This type of text can be found throughout
the German-speaking realm of the 15 th century. The Vocabularius
was intended as a practical guide for understanding
the Bible as well as for interpreting other Latin texts. It was
drafted especially for the so-called pauperes scolares, who
had only a rudimentary knowledge of Latin. It offered condensed
and basic information about grammar. A siglia code
makes the grammatical category of each lemma clear. The
Latin explanation of each term is augmented by a translation
into the vernacular dialect. On occasion, mnemonic
rhymes or quotations are included as examples. The aim of
the Vocabularius “Ex quo” is to be a short, comprehensive
handbook that is practical to use.
Gerhard Piccard wrote an expertise on the watermarks of
this manuscript, and described the paper from Sheet 1 to
Sheet 161 as containing the Ravensburg watermark “Hunting
horn”. From Sheet 162 this is replaced by paper produced
in Milan with “Bull’s head with eyes, mouth, etc.,
with stem and five-lobed flower”. Piccard was able, based
on a comparison of this watermark with other examples in
manuscripts in the Stadtarchiv Nördlingen, to establish their
identity. Both Nördling manuscripts indicate the year 1446.
The second watermark is found as No. 966 and 967 of the
Bull’s head types included in Piccard’s published Findbuch
“Ochsenkopf”. Piccard points out that these Bull’s head
watermarks are characterized by significant deformations.
He initially dates them to the period after 1440, later considering
the years between 1443 and 1446 the most likely
timeframe for their use. Based on its watermarks, it was
possible for Piccard to date the Vocabularius “Ex quo” to
between 1444 and 1446.
Literature: Buhl, Die Handschriften der ehemaligen Hofbibliothek
Stuttgart, Bd. 4,1; Grubmüller, Vocabularius Ex
quo, 1967; Grubmüller, Vocabularius Ex quo, 1999.
C.K. (C.P.-K.)