Willibald
Pirckheimer

Grave No. 1414 in St. John's Cemetery, preserved. Son of Hans II. ∞ October 13, 1495 Crescentia († May 17, 1504), daughter of Paulus Rieter, patrician, five daughters, one son. 1478-88 tutored by his father. 1488/89 he was taught knightly arts at the court of the Bishop of Eichstätt. 1489-92 legal training in Padua, alongside humanistic studies and initial Greek language studies. 1492-95 in Pavia, where he devoted himself primarily to jurisprudence. 1496-1530 named in Nuremberg, 1496 to 1523 councilor, 1496 young mayor, interrupted from Easter 1502 to Easter 1505. During this time he studied Greek on his own. In 1499, he led the Nuremberg contingent in Emperor Maximilian's Swabian War. In his final years, he wrote a manuscript about it (in the BM London): "Bellum Suitense" (Swiss War), which, however, was not published until 1610 and went through several editions. In a portrait engraving from 1505, he was referred to as a captain. Willibald Pirckheimer was one of the most important German humanists with a profound knowledge of ancient languages; he also made a name for himself as a geographer. With his "Germaniae explicatio," published in Nuremberg in 1530, he created the first historical geography of Germany. He was a lifelong friend of Albrecht Dürer. In 1512/13, he produced a Latin translation from the Greek of Horus Apollo (Hieroglyphika des Horapollon) for Emperor Maximilian. Dürer contributed the illustrations and presented the work personally to the Emperor in Linz in 1514. Originally inclined towards the Reformation, he turned away from it more and more in the last years of his life, partly because he disapproved of the council's ecclesiastical policies. From September 31, 1520, to February 1521, he was under papal excommunication. His extensive library, which was partly inherited from his father, also contained a significant number of manuscripts and prints by ancient Greek authors; after his death, some of it passed into the possession of his daughter Barbara Straub, and some into the hands of his elder daughter Felicitas Imhoff. After his sister's death, the library was reunited by his grandson Willibald Imhoff. In addition to books and manuscripts, he collected gold and silver vessels, as well as coins and medals. His income from 60 houses was estimated at 720 florins per year. In the last years of his life, he was severely plagued by gout. The house where he was born and lived was at Hauptmarkt 19, leading all the way to Winklerstraße 20, which was later inherited by his eldest daughter Barbara, married. with Hans Straub; when the estate was divided, its value was estimated at 4,600 florins. Pirckheimer also owned a garden estate at Johannisstraße 13. His estate inventory from 1531 is published by Pohl, 1992. Dürer made a silverpoint drawing and a copperplate engraving of Pirckheimer. His portrait, painted by Friedrich Wilhelm Wanderer, is in the possession of the MStN. Panzer recorded his portrait in many variations, and several medals were also created in his honor. Pirckheimerstraße (1873) and the Pirckheimer-Gymnasium (1971) were named after him. Works: Opera politica, historica, philologica et epistolica. Translation of Plutarch's treatise against usury. For a list of his writings, see NDB and Will, GL III, pp. 184-199 and VII, pp. 164-174. MuS: NUREMBERG, City Library –, GNM. Lit.: ADB; NDB; Doppelmayr, 1730; Will, Coin Library, Vol. I, p. 337; Habich, Display Coins; E. Reicke, Willibald Pirckheimer's Correspondence, Vols. 1-2, Munich 1940-56; H. Rupprich, in: Life Pictures Franconia 1, 1967; Willibald Pirckheimer 1470-1970, a documentation of the City Library, 1970; W. P. Eckert and Ch. von Imhoff, Willibald Pirckheimer, Cologne 1971; Buhl, 1971; Mende, Dürer Medals, 1983; D. Wuttke, The Humanist Willibald Pirckheimer, 1994; Erlanger/Fischer, 2000; City Encyclopedia 2000; Kohn, NHb Sebald. Exhibitions: 1906/2; 1907/3; 1957/5; 1959/26; 1971/3; 1980/6 EA. (quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Encyclopedia, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)