Vtilis & compendiaria introductio Utilis et compendiaria introductio

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[Holzschnitt: Zwei Säulen mit einem Rundbogen darüber, die ein Fenster bilden; mehrere Wappen an den Säulen; im Fenster der folgende Text als Titel]

Utilis ⁊ compen-
diaria introductio, qua ut fun-
damento iacto ꝗ̃ facillime mu-
sicum exercitiu̅,instrumento℞
& Lutinę,& quod uulgo Gey-
gen nominant,addiscit᷑ labore
studio & impensis Ioannis Iu-
denkunig de Schbebischen
Gmundt in co̅mune̅oi̅m
usum & utilitate̅ typis ex
cudendum primum exhi
bitum. Viennæ
Austriæ.

[Holzschnitt: Zwei Säulen mit einem Rundbogen darüber, die ein Fenster bilden; mehrere Wappen an den Säulen; im Fenster der folgende Text als Titel]

Utilis et compendiaria introductio, qua ut fundamento iacto quam facillime musicum exercitum,instrumentorum et Lutinę,et quod vulgo Geygen nominant,addiscitur labore studio et impensis Joannis Judenkunig de Schwebischen Gmundt in communemomnium usum et utilitatem typis excudendum primum exhibitum. Viennæ Austriæ.

[Holzschnitt: Zwei Säulen mit einem Rundbogen darüber, die ein Fenster bilden; mehrere Wappen an den Säulen; im Fenster der folgende Text als Titel]

Utilis et compendiaria introductio (Utilis et compendiaria introductio)

ID: Jud_151-1_n00
Content type: text
Fols. / p. new: 1r

Genre / Type	Subgenre	Description	Comment
title page
woodcut with coat(s) of arms		This woodcut on fol. 1r (identical with fol. 13r in the Underweisung) presents the title within an architectural frame, a title-border typical of Renaissance prints, here embellished with four coats of arms in the corners and with Judenkünig’s shield bearing his initials 'H I' (centrally placed at the bottom). Not all of these arms can be identified with certainty. It is nevertheless evident that the print seeks to fulfil its representational function on two levels. The use of Austrian elements drawn from the imperial heraldry not only alludes to the reigning territorial prince in 1523, Ferdinand I; it also situates the work within a lineage of highly esteemed literature and links it to the activity of the Collegium poetarum in Vienna (established in 1501) as well as to the humanist editions issued by Singriener (until 1514 Singriener & Vietor) in the second and third decades of the century. The Austrian Bindenschild (upper left) has appeared since 1388 in the seal of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Vienna. The alliance arms of New Austria and Old Burgundy (lower right) form part of the armorial bearings of Maximilian I. In this form—at the centre of the double-headed eagle in the imperial arms—they are also found among the insignia of the Collegium poetarum of 1504 (sceptre, poet’s laurel). Both coats of arms also appear on the sides of the so-called 'Celtic chest' (1508). The alliance arms of Old Burgundy and Old Hungary (lower left) were likewise borne by Maximilian I. The arms in the upper right corner, however, cannot be identified. Singriener used woodcuts combining four or five coats of arms chiefly for humanist, including panegyrical, publications. In these, the Bindenschild invariably occupied the position in the upper left corner, for example in Adrian Wolfhard’s Panegyris ad Caesarem Maximilianum (1512). Another representational tendency becomes apparent in the placement of Judenkünig’s personalised shield among the imperial arms. As a survey of the output of the Singriener press shows, this was an exceptional procedure. In the 1520s it was above all printers or booksellers—such as the Alantsee brothers or Singriener himself—who introduced an 'ownership mark', not authors. Moreover, printers’ devices were generally integrated into foliate or putto ornamentation or into columnar ensembles, and were not aligned with the imperial arms, let alone depicted on a larger scale than the other heraldic motifs. Judenkünig’s coat of arms therefore constitutes a demonstrative sign of authorial self-representation and of his claim to be at least an equal participant within the exchange of new, predominantly humanist, publications. Singriener and Judenkünig undoubtedly pursued commercial aims by this means. Yet this positioning is also consonant with Judenkünig’s ideas. In introduction (Utilis) his address to all readers and the use of the second-person singular accords with the assertion of parity among the coats of arms represented in the title woodcut, and strives for a sense of identity within a humanist community. The essential criterion of value within this community—virtue, achieved through labour, including manual skill—was inscribed in the lutenist’s own emblem. The appearance of the shield resembles the so-called 'house marks' or 'masons’ marks'. At the time it unambiguously conveyed a guild-like character and additionally alluded to alliances and artisanal labour. It is, in this context, irrelevant that this shield was in all likelihood an imitation rather than an emblem actually borne by Judenkünig.	The interpretation of 'Judenkünig’s coat of arms' among music historians varies widely and is often highly speculative. For Adolf Koczirz, it is 'a "speaking" [book emblem]. He considered the three mystical symbols of the central panel, in the form of a Greek cross, to represent "three differently shaped plectra (with and without handles), thus the venerable emblems of stringed-instrument playing and simultaneously allusions to the profession of the man whose name is indicated by the Latin initials."’ Of particular interest for the humanist aspect is the presence of Greek letters in the device, although no other instance of Greek usage by Judenkünig is documented, see Koczirz 1905: 242; for more Schöning 2021.

Short title	Fols / Pages
Koczirz 1905	242
Schöning 2022c

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