FORTUNATUS: THE FRANKFURT WOODCUTS

Fortunatus was disseminated throughout Europe through the Frankfurt editions, and so it was the Frankfurt illustrations that appear in translations such as the English one by T.C. (The French translation, on the other hand, contained no illustrations.) All woodcuts reproduced here – with one stated exception – are taken from the 1676 T.C. text and can be traced back to the 1551 Frankfurt edition.

There are 15 different illustrations and 20 illustrations in total. Numbers 1 and 2 are used three times, and Number 3 is employed twice. The woodcuts are here presented in the order of their appearance in the text.

1) (8, 12) Fortunatus sets out to seek his fortune.

This woodcut is also used for his departure on his second major journey. The Augsburg original appears when Fortunatus leaves Venice for Constantinople.

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2) (11, 20) Jousting.

A fool has been added, and the equal impact in the original illustration has given way to a one-sided encounter.

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3) (10) Andrea throws the murdered nobleman's body down a privy.

This woodcut is also used when Lupoldus throws the Constantinople innkeeper's body down a well – a scene to which it is better suited.

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4) Fortunatus faces hanging for a murder of which he is innocent and ignorant.

The Augsburg original is more brutal; there are two hanging bodies, while a third man is being haled up the ladder.

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5) Fortunatus kills the bear in the wood.

The depiction of the bear in the editio princeps is excellent; here, it seems that the illustrator chose to replace the forest animal with a demonic creature. In another significant alteration, Fortunatus is shown killing the bear, not merely hiding up a tree in fear.

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6) The encounter with Lady Fortune.

This meeting now occurs on the edge of a forest and near a city. Fortunatus is now wearing a hat, holding a sword, and standing to the right of Lady Fortune, who no longer appears pregnant. Many editions of Fortunatus had this image on their title-page.

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7) The entrance to St. Patrick's Purgatory.

This image is taken from the 1682 garbled annotation of the T.C. text, published by Thomas Haly, for the image in the 1676 T.C. text is very badly faded. It is quite different to the Augsburg woodcut, which shows Fortunatus and Lupoldus in the cave.

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8) See 1.

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9) Lüpoldus slays the thievish host in Constantinople

Fortunatus (if the person on the right is Fortunatus, and not merely a servant) is more courageous than in the Augsburg illustration, being ready to strike with his drawn sword. As with the bear woodcut, the act of killing is demonstrated; in the original, Lupoldus stands with raised sword over the dead host.

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10) See 3.

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11) See 2.

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12) See 1 and 8.

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13) Fortunatus steals the Wishing-Hat from the Sultan of Babylon.

The major difference to the Augsburg woodcut is the increased size of the figures, especially of Fortunatus, who is not now foreshortened. Another change can be found in the shape of the Hat, which no longer resembles the petasus of Mercury.

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14) The Death of Fortunatus.

He enjoins his sons, Ampedo and Andolosia, to tell no-one about the Purse of Plenty and the Wishing-Hat, and never to separate the two magical items. In the Augsburg woodcut, both sons turn towards the two treasures.

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15) Agrippina drugs Andolosia.

Andolosia pledges Princess Agrippina of England with drugged wine. This illustration does not appear in the Augsburg edition of 1509.

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16) Andolosia abducts Agrippina.

They are now depicted flying out of her room; in the Augsburg illustration, they appear in the air in a wilderness.

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17) In the wilderness, Andolosia finds a hermit who reveals how his horns may be removed.

The hermit now has a staff and lantern; Andolosia here takes his hand; his horns are much shorter; and Agrippina, having floated through the air in the Augsburg illustration, is here depicted in an improbable body position.

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18) The second abduction of Agrippina.

This is very similar to the Augsburg illustration: the same details appear, but the craftsmanship is inferior.

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19) Andolosia is murdered by Earl Theodorus of England.

In the editio princeps we see Andolosia sitting in the stocks, talking to Theodorus; his arms are suspended, and he is a pitiful sight. This is the third occasion – after the bear in the wood, and the host in Constantinople – on which a killing is depicted in the Frankfurt illustrations but not in the Augsburg woodcuts.

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20) See 2 and 11.

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VIEW THE AUGSBURG (1509) ILLUSTRATIONS

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