Genealogische Entwürfe am Hof Kaiser Maximilians I. (am Beispiel von Jakob Mennels Fürstlicher Chronik)

Abstract

During the period of transition from the Middle Ages to Early Modern Times, genealogical structures not only present a vital dispositif for the foundation of power and political dominance, but, when compared to genealogies of the High Middle Ages, they become even more important due to exceedingly bold constructions of noble family histories. At the court of Habsburgian emperor Maximilian I genealogical concepts and research projects of an especially outstanding quality had been developed. In the course of Maximilian’s grand projects, numerous changes had taken place within his genealogical programs that illustrate the alteration of the Habsburgian genealogy from different branches of Roman nobility to the foundation of the Habsburgian line on the Trojan myth and to the origination of the line traced back to Noah. Thus, the specific processing of genealogies is demonstrated by the manifold modelling and restructuring of genealogical lines. On the initiative of Maximilian I learned members of the court had been trusted with the task of making the genealogical record of the noble house of Habsburg accessible. Among them, a critical discourse about the coherence and accuracy of genealogies had been established. In this article we focus on the genealogical designs of Jakob Mennel and on his depiction of the origins of the royal house of Habsburg.