Freydal tournament book

The miniatures depict Maximilian, in the guise of the story's eponymous hero, Freydal, taking part in 64 tournaments.

Eleven types of horseback joust popular at the time are shown in meticulous detail, as well as a wide variety of weapons used in foot combat.

A fourth painting for each tournament depicts a "mummery", a courtly masquerade ball held after the day's jousting had been completed.

[1] He intended it to be an allegorical romantic account, in text and with illustrations, of the events leading to his marriage to Mary of Burgundy in 1477.

[2] It was one of a number of artistic and literary projects intended to immortalize his life and deeds and those of his Habsburg ancestors,[3] and which he referred to as Gedechtnus (or "memorial").

[5][6] Over the next ten years planning sketches for the entire work were created[1] and Maximilian dictated a partially completed text of the story to his secretary.

[7][8] According to the draft text,[9][10] the story is an account of a series of 64 tournaments in which Freydal – a young knight and Maximilian's literary alter ego – demonstrates his valour in combat in order to earn honour and fame[11] and to win the hand of a princess.

Unusually for a powerful ruler, Maximilian was himself a regular participant in tournaments and continued to take part in jousts until at least 1511, when he was in his 50s.

[13] As part of the project, and to illustrate the narrative, 256 high-quality miniature paintings based on the planning sketches, were created in the form of a tournament book.

[14] Tournament books were a feature of late medieval and renaissance courtly culture and provide a graphic record of jousting and its associated rituals.

It provides an unparalleled pictorial source of jousting from the late medieval period and is the largest surviving tournament book.

[13] In addition to illustrating the jousts themselves, it represents a remarkable catalogue of the weaponry used during tournaments [13] and is the most extensive record of mummery that exists.

[15] The miniatures in the tournament book manuscript illustrate the types of jousting popular at the time, both on foot[note 1] and on horse.