The Latin Report of Johannes Cuspinian of the Viennese Congress

Congressus ac Celeberrimi Conventus Caesaris Maximilian et trium Regum Hungariae, Boemiae, et Poloniae
... descriptio. Vienna: Singriener 1515
Vienna, University Library, I-302.206

Johannes Cuspinian (1473-1529), a doctor and professor at the University of Vienna, had been in the diplomatic service of Emperor Maximilian since 1510 and was centrally involved in the preparation of the 1515 treaties. Even after Maximilians’ death, he remained in charge of diplomatic relations with the Hungarian royal court in Buda. At the meeting of the monarchs in Vienna, he wrote a report in Latin underlining the political dimensions of the event, its glory, and, indirectly, his own merits and role in its success. In the introduction, Cuspinian honors Maximilian’s ability to enlarge his sphere of influence and interprets the double wedding as key step towards securing the eastern European borders. The first folio includes a woodcut often used by the Viennese printer Johannes Singriener: the imperial coat of arms with a double-headed eagle and two griffons holding the Golden Fleece. That Singriener was able to incorporate it into his publications signals certain special privileges given to him by the Habsburg ruler.
Elisabeth Klecker