Greater Germany

detail of engraving with houses and a tower on the background

Geographical Locations in Texts: Greater Germany.

4 people in this category.

53. Albrecht Dürer
59. Heinrich Aldegrever
61. Jacob Binck
113. Hans von Aachen
53. Albrecht Dürer

53. Albrecht Dürer

Etching
Signed Hh excud. By Hendrick Hondius, attributed to Simon Frisius
11.8 x 19.4 cm


Transcription of Inscription:

ALBERTUS DURERUS, NOREBERGENS
Vir virtute gravis, túmque arte insignis habetur,
   Teutonicae gentis gloria summa suae.
Contulit huic Caesar insignia nobilitatis,
   Tantus honos artis, famáque tanta viri.

Translation of Inscription:

Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg
He is considered to be a man grave in virtue and famous for his skill, the greatest glory of his Teutonic1 people.  The emperor2 gave him the marks of nobility.  So great was the honour [paid] to his skill, and so great the man’s fame. 

Orenstein 1996 Frisius, no. 143; Hollstein 2008 no. 163

 Karel Van Mander's biography of Albrecht Dürer 
 Grove Art Online biography

Footnotes:

  1. Perhaps better to translate “German”.
  2. Can be translated as “Caesar”  Cf. note on “Emperor” on the text for 33. Jan Vermeyen.
  3. Jan van Leyden
  4. “ingenio... finxit”.  Cf. the texts on 67. Maarten van Heemskerk, “finxit qui ingenio”; 83. Christian van den Queborn, “fingit at ingenium”; 111. Cornelius Ketel, “finxerat ingenio”.   The combination is common enough in classical Latin (Cicero, Seneca, etc.)
  5. Does the author here mean “engraved” by “expressa”?  Compare note on text for 89. Joos van Winghe.
  6. I am here translating as if the author had written the ablative “censore” instead of the dative “censori”.  For metrical reasons, we can be sure he wrote “censori”, but translating the dative would give the extremely awkward “you will be great for the censor of skill, if he is believed”.  I have little doubt the author meant what I have written. – See also the note 5 on “pictorum censor” in Poem to the Lovers and Admirers of Pictures.
  7. Sic.
  8. Reading “primis” for the text’s impossible “primus”.  Cf. also 141. Adam Elsheimer, “primis … ab annis”.