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{{infobox writer
 
{{infobox writer
  | name                = [[name::Paulus Hector Mair]]
+
  | name                = Paulus Hector Mair
 
  | image                = File:Mair.png
 
  | image                = File:Mair.png
 
  | imagesize            = 250px
 
  | imagesize            = 250px
 
  | caption              = "Mair", Cod.icon. 312b f 64r
 
  | caption              = "Mair", Cod.icon. 312b f 64r
 +
 +
| pseudonym            =
 +
| birthname            =
 
  | birthdate            = 1517
 
  | birthdate            = 1517
 
  | birthplace          = Augsburg, Germany
 
  | birthplace          = Augsburg, Germany
 
  | deathdate            = 10 Dec 1579 (age 62)
 
  | deathdate            = 10 Dec 1579 (age 62)
 
  | deathplace          = Augsburg, Germany
 
  | deathplace          = Augsburg, Germany
  | occupation          = {{plainlist | [[occupation::Civil servant]] | [[occupation::Historian]] }}
+
| resting_place        =
  | language            = {{plainlist | [[language::Early New High German]] | [[language::New Latin]] }}
+
  | occupation          = {{plainlist | Civil servant | Historian }}
 +
  | language            = {{plainlist | [[Early New High German]] | [[New Latin]] }}
 +
| nationality          =
 +
| ethnicity            =
 +
| citizenship          =
 +
| education            =
 +
| alma_mater          =
 +
| patron              =
 +
 
 +
| period              =
 
  | genre                = {{plainlist | [[Fencing manual]] | [[Wrestling manual]] }}
 
  | genre                = {{plainlist | [[Fencing manual]] | [[Wrestling manual]] }}
  | notableworks        = ''Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica''
+
| subject              =
 +
| movement            = {{plainlist | [[Nicolaüs Augsburger|Augsburg tradition]] | [[Nuremberg group|Nuremberg tradition]] }}
 +
  | notableworks        =  
 
  | manuscript(s)        = {{collapsible list
 
  | manuscript(s)        = {{collapsible list
 
   | title = List of manuscripts
 
   | title = List of manuscripts
   | 1    = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|MSS Dresden C.93/C.94]] (1540s)
+
   | 1     = [[Geschlechterbuch der Stadt Augsburg (Cod.icon. 312b)|Codex Icon 312b]] (1548)
   | 4     = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Codex Icon 393 I & II]] (1540s)
+
  | 2     = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|MSS Dresden C.93/C.94]] (1540s)
   | 2    = [[Geschlechterbuch der Stadt Augsburg (Cod.icon. 312b)|Codex Icon 312b]] (1548)
+
   | 3     = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Codex Icon 393 I & II]] (1550s)
  | 3     = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Codex 10825/10826]] (1550s)
+
   | 4     = [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Codex 10825/10826]] (1550s)
 
   | 5    = [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] (1553)
 
   | 5    = [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] (1553)
 
  }}
 
  }}
 +
| principal manuscript(s)=
 +
| first printed edition=
 
  | wiktenauer compilation by=[[Michael Chidester]]
 
  | wiktenauer compilation by=[[Michael Chidester]]
 +
 +
| spouse              =
 +
| partner              =
 +
| children            =
 +
| relatives            =
 
  | influences          = {{collapsible list
 
  | influences          = {{collapsible list
 
   | title = List of influences
 
   | title = List of influences
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   | 10    = [[Ott Jud]]
 
   | 10    = [[Ott Jud]]
 
  }}
 
  }}
 +
| influenced          =
 +
| awards              =
 +
| signature            = [[file:Paulus Hector Mair Sig.png|170px]]
 +
| website              =
 +
| translations        =
 +
| below                =
 
}}
 
}}
'''Paulus Hector Mair''' (1517 – 1579) was a [[century::16th century]] German civil servant and fencing enthusiast. He was born in Augsburg in 1517 to a wealthy and influential family in the German middle class (Bürger). In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing manuals. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the Augsburg City Treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the duty of Master of Rations.  
+
'''Paulus Hector Mair''' (Paulsen Hektor Mair, Paulus Hector Meyer; 1517 – 1579) was a 16th century German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. He was born in 1517 to a wealthy and influential Augsburg patrician family. In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing treatises. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the City Treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the office of Master of Rations.
  
Mair lead a lavish lifestyle and maintained his political influence with expensive parties and other entertainments for the burghers and city officials of Augsburg. Despite his personal wealth and ample income, Mair spent decades living far beyond his means and taking money from the Augsburg city coffers to cover his expenses. This embezzlement was not discovered until 1579, when a disgruntled assistant reported him to the Augsburg City Council and provoked an audit of his books. Mair was arrested and tried for his crimes, and hanged as a thief at the age of 62.
+
Mair's martial background is unknown, but as a citizen of a free city he would have had military obligations whenever the city went to war, and as a member of a patrician family he likely served in the cavalry. What is clear is that he was an avid collector of fencing treatises and other literature on military history. Like his contemporary [[Joachim Meÿer]], Mair believed that the Medieval martial arts were being forgotten, which he saw as a tragedy, idealizing the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. Where Meÿer sought to update the traditional fencing systems and apply them to contemporary weapons of war and defense, Mair was more interested in preserving historical teachings intact. Thus, some time in the latter part of the 1540s he commissioned what would become the most extensive compendium of German fencing treatises ever made, a massive two-volume manuscript compiling virtually every fencing treatise he could access. He retained famed artist [[Jörg Breu|Jörg Breu the Younger]] to create the illustrations for the text, and hired two Augsburg fencers to pose for the illustrations. This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of this compendium were produced, each more extensive than the last; the first ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|MSS Dresden C.93/C.94]]) was written in [[Early New High German]], the second and most artistically ambitious ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Cod.icon. 393]]) in [[New Latin]], and the third and final version ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Cod. 10825/10826]]) incorporated both languages.
  
While Mair is not known to have ever certified as a fencing master, he was an avid collector of fencing manuals and other literature on military history, and some portion of his embezzlement was used to fund this hobby. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed manual of [[Antonius Rast]], a Master of the Longsword and one-time captain of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild. The venerable master died in 1549 without completing it, and Mair ultimately was able to produce the [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] based on his notes. In sum, he purchased over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, many of them from fellow collector [[Lienhart Sollinger]] (a [[Freifechter]] who lived in Augsburg for many years). After Mair's death, this collection was sold at auction as part of an attempt to recoup some of the funds Mair had appropriated.
+
Beginning in the 1540s, Mair began purchasing older fencing manuscripts, some from fellow collector [[Lienhart Sollinger]] (a [[Freifechter]] who lived in Augsburg for many years) and others from auctions. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed treatise of [[Antonius Rast]], a Master of the Long Sword and three-time captain of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild. The venerable master left in incomplete when he died in 1549, and Mair ultimately produced a complete fencing manual ([[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]]) based on his notes. Ultimately, he owned over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, including the following:
  
Already in Mair's lifetime some of his people's Medieval martial arts were being forgotten; this was tragic to Mair, who viewed the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. In order to preserve as much of the art as possible, Mair commissioned a massive fencing compendium titled ''Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica'' ("The Greatest Work on the Athletic Arts"), and in it he compiled all of the fencing lore that he could access. He retained famed Augsburg painter [[Jörg Breu|Jörg Breu the Younger]] to create the art for the text, and according to Hils Mair also hired two fencing masters to pose for the illustrations.{{cn}} This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of the massive fencing manual—six volumes in all—were produced, the first entirely in [[Early New High German]], another entirely in [[New Latin]], and a third including both languages. ([[Paulus Hector Mair|Read more]]...)
+
([[Paulus Hector Mair|Read more]]...)
  
 
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Revision as of 21:02, 9 January 2015

Paulus Hector Mair

"Mair", Cod.icon. 312b f 64r
Born 1517
Augsburg, Germany
Died 10 Dec 1579 (age 62)
Augsburg, Germany
Occupation
  • Civil servant
  • Historian
Movement
Influences
Genres
Language
Manuscript(s)
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Signature Paulus Hector Mair Sig.png

Paulus Hector Mair (Paulsen Hektor Mair, Paulus Hector Meyer; 1517 – 1579) was a 16th century German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. He was born in 1517 to a wealthy and influential Augsburg patrician family. In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing treatises. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the City Treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the office of Master of Rations.

Mair's martial background is unknown, but as a citizen of a free city he would have had military obligations whenever the city went to war, and as a member of a patrician family he likely served in the cavalry. What is clear is that he was an avid collector of fencing treatises and other literature on military history. Like his contemporary Joachim Meÿer, Mair believed that the Medieval martial arts were being forgotten, which he saw as a tragedy, idealizing the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. Where Meÿer sought to update the traditional fencing systems and apply them to contemporary weapons of war and defense, Mair was more interested in preserving historical teachings intact. Thus, some time in the latter part of the 1540s he commissioned what would become the most extensive compendium of German fencing treatises ever made, a massive two-volume manuscript compiling virtually every fencing treatise he could access. He retained famed artist Jörg Breu the Younger to create the illustrations for the text, and hired two Augsburg fencers to pose for the illustrations. This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of this compendium were produced, each more extensive than the last; the first (MSS Dresden C.93/C.94) was written in Early New High German, the second and most artistically ambitious (Cod.icon. 393) in New Latin, and the third and final version (Cod. 10825/10826) incorporated both languages.

Beginning in the 1540s, Mair began purchasing older fencing manuscripts, some from fellow collector Lienhart Sollinger (a Freifechter who lived in Augsburg for many years) and others from auctions. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed treatise of Antonius Rast, a Master of the Long Sword and three-time captain of the Marxbrüder fencing guild. The venerable master left in incomplete when he died in 1549, and Mair ultimately produced a complete fencing manual (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82) based on his notes. Ultimately, he owned over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, including the following:

(Read more...)

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