The Fifteenth-Century Library of Scheyern Abbey

In Manuscript and Print: The Fifteenth-Century Library of Scheyern Abbey by John Thomas McQuillen A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Department of Art University of Toronto © Copyright by John Thomas McQuillen 2012 In Manuscript and Print: The Fifteenth-Century Library of Scheyern Abbey John Thomas McQuillen Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Department of Art University of Toronto 2012 Abstract This dissertation explores the library of Scheyern Abbey through religious, artistic, bibliographical, and historical paths in order to articulate more clearly the history of book production and library growth during the revolutionary “book age” of the fifteenth century. I have reassembled the now scattered fifteenth-century books from the monastery and examined the entire collection to show how one institution adapted to the increasing bibliographic requirements of the period, first through manuscript and then manuscript and print together. Two sets of library shelfmarks from the fifteenth century, unrecorded until now, physically represent attempts at ordering the Scheyern collection and disregard any differentiation between manuscript and print, proving how the books were utilized by their contemporary audience. In the fifteenth century, Scheyern Abbey subscribed to the so-called Melk Reform, a monastic reform movement that emphasized literacy and the care of books as one of its primary elements. The introduction of the Melk Reform inspired Scheyern’s local book production, which shows a diverse system of both highly trained scribes and many ii anonymous scribes who worked on individual books as part of their round of monastic chores. The connections established between member monasteries of the reform brought Scheyern into contact with commercial Augsburg book producers, especially Hainrich Molitor, who produced several large and lavish manuscripts for the monastery. Importantly, he introduced Scheyern to other book producers in Augsburg, including illuminators, printers, and binders, who continued to have an impact on Scheyern production and the growth of the library through the end of the century. Scheyern was also an epicenter of Bavarian dynastic propaganda, because their foundational history as the original house- cloister of the ruling Wittelsbach dukes was visually marked around the monastery and textually deployed to other monasteries in the region through the Scheyern Fürstentafel. The unification of book historical and art historical concerns herein allows for a clearer and deeper examination of a fifteenth-century library than heretofore attempted, and this examination reveals important characteristics of fifteenth-century library development necessary to fully understand the multivalent contexts of historical book collections. iii Acknowledgments This project entailed many quiet hours examining manuscripts and incunabula in rare book libraries in Europe and North America and far too many solitary hours staring at a computer screen, and yet there are a great many people to thank for their help, support, and encouragement during this process. If, in enumerating my gratitude, I have inadvertently overlooked anyone, my sincere apologies and heartfelt thanks nonetheless. First of all, I have to thank all of the librarians, curators, and archivists who allowed me access to their collections and answered my questions, whether in person or via email requests from overseas. Foremost among these is Bettina Wagner at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, whose generosity and hospitality have supported this project since its inception. Also at the BSB, I would like thank Brigitte Gullath, Head of the Manuscript and Rare Book Reading Room, who allowed me to see restricted materials and to produce binding rubbings. I must also thank Johannes Pommeranz and Antje Grebe (Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum), Martin Czernin (Vienna, Schottenstift), Armin Schlechter (Speyer, Pfälzische Landesbibliothek), Christian Buechele (Eichstätt, Universitätsbibliothek Eichstätt-Ingolstadt), Wolfgang Undorf (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket), Katherina Mechler (Esztergom, Főszékesegyházi Könyvtár/Cathedral Library of the Esztergom Archdiocese), Clark Evans (Washington, Library of Congress), Earle Havens (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Library), and John Goldfinch and Susan Reed (London, British Library). My sincere gratitude goes to Paul Needham (Princeton, Princeton University, Scheide Library) for his imperative assistance getting this project started by sharing the Index iv Possessorum Incunabulorum and for providing images of the Lengfelt Catholicon. I would like to thank Christine Beier (Vienna, Universität Wien, Institut für Kunstgeschichte) for her help on Augsburg illumination and her hospitality while I was in Vienna, and Karl-Georg Pfändtner (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek) for his assistance with manuscripts in Munich. For their translation and research help, I must thank Dr. Markus Stock, Anna Bücheler, Susannah Brower, Michael Barbezat, Rebecca Cooper, and Joseph Ackley. Finally, Eric M. White (Dallas, Bridwell Library) started me down the path of fifteenth-century books over a decade ago, and I am deeply indebted to his expertise, training, encouragement, and friendship over the years. This project would not have been possible without help to cover the cost of research travel and photography. For their financial support of my research, I must thank Adam S. Cohen, the Department of Art, and School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto, the Joint Initiative in German and European Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria University in the University of Toronto. While at the University of Toronto I have been extremely lucky to meet some outstanding people who have made this journey both possible and enjoyable. My sincere thanks to the faculty and staff of the Book History and Print Culture Collaborative Program, the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, and the Department of Art. Above all my deepest and most sincere gratitude goes to my committee who have provided exceptional examples of academic integrity, and their individual intellectual rigor and support strengthened this project and guided it to completion. Matt Kavaler helped to foster my v interest in libraries as more than just simple book collections. He instilled a deeper awareness of the visual aspects of objects and that decoration means something. Alexandra Gillespie shared my excitement over fifteenth-century book binding and book production practices, and her own clarity of thought helped to focus my own interests and arguments in the broader discourse of Book History. Finally, Adam S. Cohen has been a stedfast supervisor and supporter during the course of my doctoral degree, who has always kept me focused on the physical artwork as the primary source of information. He has provided a model of academic excellence and human compassion that I can only hope to emulate. The six years of my PhD have been both professionally and personally eventful, and I cannot thank my friends and family in Canada and the US enough for their unwavering support, shoulders, ears, and alcohol. To Rory McKeown, Candice Bogdanski, Tianna Uchacz, Lisa Betel, Michael Barbezat, Flora Ward, Chris Edwards, and Kyle Wyatt: love and gratitude. To James McQuillen, Alice Niemeyer, and Linda Kulp: I could not have done this without your strength and support. Ultimately, I must dedicate this work to my parents, James D. and Mary N. McQuillen, who supported me throughout my graduate career and were ecstatic when they could finally quit paying tuition for my unending education. Even though they are not here to see the completion of this degree, their undying love and support has carried me through. Go raibh mile maith agaibh and Vielen Dank. vi Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..iv Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………...ix List of Appendices………………………………………………………………………….xvii List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………xviii Introduction. Iste liber est beate Marie virginis in Scheyren: Reconstructing the Library of Scheyern Abbey…………………………………………………………………………1 1. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………3 2. Iste liber est: Provenance Evidence as the Method of Reconstruction………………7 3. Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………………..14 4. The Fate of Scheyern’s Library after 1500…………………………………………27 5. The Catalogue of Scheyern’s Library………………………………………………36 Chapter 1. An Historical Overview of the Scheyern……………………………………..….39 1. The Origins of the Scheyern-Wittelsbach Dynasty…………………………………39 2. Scheyern Abbey and Its Foundations……………………………………………….44 Chapter 2. Scheyern and the Melk Reform………………………………………………….51 1. The Council of Constance and the Process of Reform……………………………..53 2. The Melk Reform and Its Introduction(s) at Scheyern……………………………..64 3. The Consuetudines Schyrenses and the Renovatio Bibliothecae…………………...72 4. Wilhelm Kienberger and the Expansion of Scheyern’s Library……………………87 Chapter 3. Scheyern’s Scriptorium: Assessing the Evidence………………………………108 1. Writing Books at Scheyern: Quire Construction and Script………………………111 2. Decorating Books at Scheyern: Illuminations and Initials………………………..142 Chapter 4. Scheyern and the Augsburg Book Market……………………………………...165 1. Hainrich Molitor as Scribe………………………………………………………...167

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