The Tournament and its Role in the Court Culture of Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519)

39 
 
Herr Wolff von Mila 
Herr Krafft 
Der Lung 
Der von Habarn 
Fransziscus von 
Sikhingen 
Graf von 
Bitsch 
Herr von Flekhenstain 
Herr Hainsz Druchsesz 
Herr von Schwarszenberg 
Gaspar Erelshait 
Table 1: Combatants in Munich, BSB, Cod.icon 398
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1.3 Maximilian’s Personal Works
   
The third category of sources may be grouped together as those commissioned and produced 
by Maximilian personally during his lifetime, all of which also have a strong visual component. 
These include perhaps the most famous Turnierbuch associated with Maximilian: Freydal.
60
 The 
emperor is the undisputed star of this work, as it was one of several books commissioned by 
him to commemorate his reign. It is slightly different in its concept, however, from the above-
mentioned Turnierbücher, not in the least because it was intended to be produced as a printed 
book rather than a single manuscript, although it never made it to print in Maximilian’s 
lifetime.  
 
Freydal uses a fictional setup in which Maximilian (i.e. the valiant young knight Freydal) 
competes in a series of tournaments in several courts, watched and judged by several noble 
maidens, in order to eventually reach the court of his intended bride (i.e. Mary of Burgundy). 
This minimal plot, however, only serves as a framework, allowing Maximilian to be depicted 
fighting against actual historic figures and members of his court (many of whom also appear in 
                                                 
59
 Names in this table have been presented in their original ENHG spellings as they appear in 
the manuscript.  
60
 The original manuscript of Freydal (c. 1512-15) is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, 
Vienna (Inv.-Nr. 5073). For the purposes of this thesis, I have relied on Freydal: des Kaisers Maximilian I 
turniere und mummereien, ed. by Quirin von Leitner (Vienna: Adolf Hozhausen, 1880-1882). 

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40 
 
BSB, Cod.icon 398). Freydal is a unique combination of fiction and reality.
61
 In its blurring of 
real life and chivalric fantasy, Freydal is similar in many ways to the common Burgundian 
tournament format. However, as Heinrich Fichtenau has pointed out, Freydal is also very 
different from any pre-existing Burgundian models. Although Maximilian appears in these 
illustrations lavishly decked out in Burgundian-style opulence, and could be seen as presenting 
himself as a true Burgundian duke, the format is far more clinical than traditional Burgundian 
tournament accounts. More so than any literature detailing the exploits of a Burgundian bon 
chevalier (such as the deeds of Jacques de Lalaing), which often featured detailed descriptions of 
the extraneous performances and courtly speeches, Freydal was a substantial reduction of this 
presentation, showing that Maximilian’s true interest was solely in the tournament itself.
62
 
 
Fryedal consists of 255 plates lavishly illustrating this series of tournament combats. 
Included are thirty-three iterations of the Gestech (including twenty-eight Welschgestech), sixty-
three iterations of the Rennen, two combinations of the Rennen and Gestech, in which one 
competitor is equipped for each, and one mounted combat with swords.
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 It also includes 
sixty-four instances of foot combat and sixty-four masked dances, or mummerei. These always 
proceed in a set sequence of two jousts, one foot combat, and one mummerei. Differing hands 
of varying skill levels are obvious throughout the work. Some are closer to the rounded, 
cartoonish figures like those found in the von Eyb Turnierbuch, while some are crisper and 
more detailed, similar to the quality of the Saxony Turnierbuch.  
                                                 
61
 Stefan Krause, ‘»die ritterspiel als ritter Freydalb hat gethon aus ritterlichem gmute« - Das 
Turnierbuch Freydal Kaiser Maximilians I.’, in Kaiser Maximilian I.: Der letzte Ritter und das höfische Turnier, 
pp. 167-80. 
62
 Fichtenau, Der Junge Maximilian (1459-1482), p. 46. 
63
 Explanation of each of these styles of joust will follow in Chapter 3.  

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41 
 
Another work commissioned by Maximilian offers a very different type of tournament 
record: Maximilian’s Triumphzug, or his triumphal procession. The Triumphzug is a sequence of 
137 woodcuts produced at Maximilian’s behest, the plan for which was dictated by the 
emperor to his secretary, Marx Treitsaurwein, in 1512. The architect and designer Jörg 
Kölderer prepared the original sketches, which were then drawn in full by a collection of noted 
artists of the time, most particularly Hans Burgkmair (the Elder), although Albrecht Altdorfer, 
Hans Springinklee, Leonhard Beck, Hans Schäufelein, and Wolf Huber have been credited 
with contributions as well, and Albrecht Dürer is responsible for at least two of the sheets. 
Although the first edition of the Triumphzug was not printed until 1526, seven years after 
Maximilian’s death (and, even then, it was still incomplete), the original text does echo the 
voice of the emperor himself. The Triumphzug depicts a triumphal procession of all the glories 
of Maximilian’s court. It features musicians, huntsmen, fools, soldiers, nobles, and knights at 
tournament in various forms and was meant to be viewed and admired by the public.
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 The 
concept behind the artwork – that of the triumphal procession of a victorious ruler making a 
grand entrance into a city – was already part of a strong medieval tradition, and lavish, idealised 
illustrations of these events were growing in popularity in the fifteenth century, making 
Maximilian’s commission of the work not at all unusual for his time.  
Maximilian’s Triumphzug is uniquely personal to his reign, however.
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 In it Maximilian 
gives centre stage to his love of hunting, featuring five differently equipped groups of hunters, 
                                                 
64
 Eva Michel, ‘"zu ainer gedochtnüß hie auf Erden". Albrecht Altdorfers Triumphzug für Kaiser 
Maximilian’, in Maximilians Ruhmeswerk: Künste und Wissenschaften im Umkreis Kaiser Maximilians I., pp. 
381-94. 
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 For the purposes of this thesis, I have relied upon The Triumph of Maximilian: 137 Woodcuts by 
Hans Burgkmair and Others, ed. and trans. by Stanley Applebaum. The specific tournament-related prints 
may also be found in Turnierzug Hans Burgkmair des Älteren, ed. by Dr Hans Stöcklein (Munich: Verlag 
für Historische Waffenskunde, 1924). The original prints may be found in the Albertina and the 
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna. Hans Burgkmair the Younger subsequently re-issued the 

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