Conrad Grünenberg

Conrad Grünenberg, also spelled Konrad, Grünemberg, Grünberg (probably born around 1415; died 1494) was a patrician from Constance in southern Germany, known as the author of three books, two armorials and a travelogue: the ''Österreichische Wappenchronik'' (''lit.'' "Austrian armorial chronicle", c. 1470); the ''Wappenbuch'' (''lit.'' "Book of coat-of-arms", c. 1483), containing some 2000 coats-of-arms, which he presented as a gift to Emperor Frederick III;Reginald Grünenberg
Ritter Conrad, mein Vater und ich
WELT.de, Axel Springer SE, 24 August 2009, retrieved 30 March 2020Extant in some eight manuscripts. The likely original is the Berlin ms. (Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, VIII. HA II, Nr. 21), dated 9 April 1483 in the preface but presumably completed in 1485/86. Others include Bayerische Staatsbibliothekbr> Cgm 145
an
Cgm 9210

Cgm 9210 is a copy dated 1602–1604 with numerous changes. and the illustrated description of his 1486 pilgrimage to Jerusalem (extant in two original manuscripts, both from 1487, the Karlsruhe and the Gotha codices).Konrad von Grünenberg: Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Cod. St. Peter pap. 32
/ref>Denke (2010:53)

Life

Grünenberg was perhaps born around 1415 or earlier, as the son of the mayor of Constance. He is first mentioned in 1441 as a judge and church architect. By 1465, he had been in the service of Emperor Frederick III for some time, and at the latest 1486 on held the rank of ''Ritter''.Denke (2010:92) In Jerusalem, he was probably made a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. He was furthermore a member of the Aragonese Order of the Jar and of the Austrian Order of Saint George.

Holy Land pilgrimage (1486)

His pilgrimage to the Holy Land lasted 33 weeks, from April to early December 1486.
Starting out in Constance on 22 April, he travelled to Venice via Rheineck, Sterzing in Tyrol and Trento, and (31 May) from Venice by galley via Poreč in Istria, Dalmatia (Zadar, Šibenik, Lesina, Korčula and Ragusa) to Corfu, Modon in Morea, then on to Candia on Crete, Rhodes, and Cyprus (Limassol, Galini, Famagusta), arriving in Jaffa on 24 July.

Travelling by donkey, he visited Lydda, Ramla, Emmaus (i.e. Imwas), Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

On 1 September he took a ship back from Jaffa, reaching Venice on 16 November ( Saint Othmar's day), returning home in early December.Denke (2010:466)

The two original illustrated manuscripts describing the pilgrimage were already completed in 1487 and are considered to be autograph. The slightly older one is being kept at the Baden State Library in Karlsruhe as Cod. St. Peter pap. 32; and the next and more detailed one is being kept at the Gotha Research Center of the University of Erfurt. Both codices contain coloured drawings, and while some of the drawings in the Karlsruhe codex seem to be made by Grünenberg himself, the Gotha codex is illustrated with larger drawings that combine features of the Karlsruhe drawings with features borrowed from Erhard Reuwich's work, originating from Reuwich's own 1483-4 pilgrimage. The Karlsruhe codex has been interpreted as Grünenberg's own private copy, with the Gotha codex, which contains a more elaborate text and more detailed drawings, interpreted as a presentation copy dedicated to some important personality.Denke (2010:59-60)

References

Revised and facsimile editions

*Stillfried-Alcantara, Hildebrandt, ''Des Conrad Grünenberg, Ritters und Burgers zu Costenz, Wappenbuch. Volbracht am nünden Tag des Abrellen do man zalt tusend vierhundert drü und achtzig jar.'' Görlitz 1875–1884, (new facsimile edition 2009)
*Johann Goldfriedrich, Walter Fränzel (eds.). ''Ritter Grünembergs Pilgerfahrt ins Heilige Land 1486'', Leipzig 1912, (''Voigtländers Quellenbücher'' 18), (new facsimile edition 2009).
*Aercke, Kristian (ed.), ''The story of Sir Konrad Grünemberg's pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1486'' (2005).
*Denke, Andrea,
Konrad Grünembergs Pilgerreise ins Heilige Land 1486. Untersuchung, Edition und Kommentar
' (2010).

Bibliography

*Andreas Klußmann, ''In Gottes Namen fahren wir. Die spätmittelalterlichen Pilgerberichte von Felix Fabri, Bernhard von Breydenbach und Konrad Grünemberg im Vergleich'' (2012).
*Christof Rolker, ''Konrad Grünenbergs Wappenbuch: acta et agenda'', in: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins 162 (2014), 191–207
* Philipp Ruppert, ''Ritter Konrad Grünenberg'', in: Konstanzer geschichtliche Beiträge. Zweites Heft, Konstanz 1890, 34–3
*Claudia Zrenner, ''Die Berichte der europäischen Jerusalempilger (1475-1500): ein literarischer Vergleich im historischen Kontext'' (1981)

External links

in Geschichtsquellen des deutschen Mittelalters (''lit.'' German medieval historical sources), Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich (last edit, as of March 2020: 10 Sep 2019)
* Christof Rolker,
The baron who became an architect: (mis-)remembering Konrad Grünenberg (d. 1494)
', 2017.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruenenberg, Conrad
Medieval Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
People from Konstanz
1494 deaths
Travelogues
Holy Land travellers
Year of birth unknown