The Augsburg Book of Miracles

The Augsburg Book of Miracles

The Augsburg Book of Miracles, also known simply as The Book of Miracles, is an illuminated manuscript made in Augsburg in Germany in the 16th century.

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  • Based on watermarks on some of the pages, the frequency with which events in Augsburg and its environs appear and the naming of Augsburg artist and printmaker Hans Burgkmair within it, it has been concluded that the manuscript was most likely produced in Augsburg.
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  • The identities of the creators of the manuscript, and the person or persons for whom it was produced, remain something of a mystery. The name of the Augsburg artist and printmaker Hans Burgkmair appears on one page of the manuscript.
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  • Till-Holger Borchert, an expert in German Medieval art, suggests that, as Burgkmair the Elder died in the 1530s, the artist in question here must be his son, Hans Burgkmair the Younger, who is much less well attested by known works.
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  • In addition, at least two of the images appear to be based on drawings from the workshop of Burgkmair the Younger, leading Borchert to conclude that he was a contributor to the manuscript, possibly in conjunction with Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder and/or Heinrich Vogtherr the Younger.
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The manuscript itself was probably produced between 1545 and 1552 (some of the text is lifted from the Luther Bible of 1545; the final image before those from the New Testament Book of Revelation features a hailstorm on the town of Dordrecht in the Netherlands which occurred in 1552).

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  • The leaves were rebound in the nineteenth century. Some are missing, with only one or two recently re-identified.
  • The manuscript is now in the collection of art collector Mickey Cartin.
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