Nuremberg Hausbuch (MS 3227a)

The Nürnberger Hausbuch, also called the Pol Hausbuch after its owner Nicolaus Pol, is a manuscript household miscellany in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, shelfmark Hs. 3227a. It is the oldest surviving manuscript with the teaching of Johannes Liechtenauer. The compiler is unknown and several scribes worked on it. It has 169 folios of 105 × 145 mm, written on paper and parchment in black and red ink, in Middle High German, Early New High German and partly Latin. The fencing part lies on folios 13v–65r. After an introductory counsel come a gloss on Liechtenauer's teaching on the long sword, the teachings of Andres Juden, Jobs von der Nyssen, Nicklas Preußen, Hans Döbringer and the "Priest", a poem on fighting on horseback, a short section on the short sword and a conclusion. The rest consists of the Liber Ignium Marca Graeca, alchemical, medical and culinary recipes, a calendar and master Albrant's book on treating horses. The manuscript is often wrongly attributed to Hans Döbringer, who wrote only a short addendum. The anonymous author of most of the fencing texts is therefore called Pseudo-Döbringer. The year 1494 on the front cover marks Pol's doctorate and appears on every volume of his library, so it is unrelated to the manuscript's origin. The dating to around 1390 rests on the calendar on folio 83v, covering 1390–1495. Christian Tobler considers it unjustified, since the calendar may have been copied from an older one or compiled for the future. The long sword material is the only part also found in another fencing source, the Glasgow Fechtbuch.

Martial arts in this work

Contents

The fencing section has a fixed order. Folios 13v–17v hold general advice on fencing, folios 18r–40r a gloss on Liechtenauer's exposition on the long sword. Folios 43r–52v summarise the teachings of Andres Juden, Jobs von der Nyssen, Nicklas Preußen, Hans Döbringer and a master designated as the Priest. Folios 53r–59v hold a verse text on fighting on horseback, the short sword takes folios 60r–61r and the final part folios 64r–65r. Besides the long sword and mounted combat, the manuscript covers sword and buckler, staff, messer, dagger and wrestling. The non-fencing part begins on folios 1r–5v with the Liber Ignium Marca Graeca, the calendar is on folio 83v, master Albrant's Rossarzneibuch on treating horses on folios 161v–165v, and the miscellany closes with an index of recipes on folios 166r–169v.

Authorship

The compiler of the manuscript is unknown and it is considered the work of several scribes. Hans Döbringer wrote only a short addendum among the teachings of other masters, yet he is wrongly named as author of the whole manuscript. Paulus Kal does not name him among the members of the Society of Liechtenauer either. The anonymous author of the main fencing text is therefore called Pseudo-Döbringer. The dating to around 1390 rests on the hundred-year calendar on folio 83v, giving the intervals between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday for 1390–1495. Christian Tobler objects that the calendar may have been copied from an older one or calculated for the future, so it does not justify the dating to 1390. The year 1494 on the front cover belongs to the doctorate of the owner Nicolaus Pol.

People and martial arts

• Pseudo-DöbringerAuthor
• Hanko DöbringerCo-author
• Andres JudenCo-author
• Jobs von der NyssenCo-author
• Nicklass PreußenCo-author

Details

Form

Manuscript

Repository

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg

Shelfmark

Hs. 3227a

Folios

169

Material

Paper and parchment