Dated 1460 in the carved staghorn decoration, this is the earliest known dated crossbow in existence. The staghorn is inscribed with the coats of arms of Württemberg and Savoy, referring to the owner, Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480), and his third wife, Princess Marguerite of Savoy (1420–1479). Above the trigger is a German benediction rendered in Hebrew letters. This is a rare and early instance of Hebraic script on a personal item intended for a Christian patron. It can be translated as "Hold God dear and be high-hearted!" or "Hold God dear, high-hearted one!"
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Dimensions:L. 28 1/16 in. (71.2 cm); W. 25 5/8 in. (65 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 9 oz. (2972 g)
Classification:Archery Equipment-Crossbows
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Object Number:04.3.36
Inscription: Inscribed: (in classic Hebraic characters but including several mistakes, on staghorn plaque on underside of stock) HAB GOT LIEB HOCH HERZE; (in Gothic letters, on staghorn plaque with arms of Württemberg) Gloria . in excelsis . deo . Et . in . terra . pax . hominibus . bon[a]e . voluntatis . Laudam[us] . te . Benedicti[mus] . te . 1460; (in Gothic letters, on staghorn plaque with arms of Savoy) O Maria . graciosa . Dei . m[ate]r . generosa . Dig[n]a . laude . gloriosa . Sis . pro . nobis . speciosa . ad[?] M . CCCC . LX.
Marking: Heraldry: [on right side of stock] Württemberg: Or, three stag's antlers fessways in pale sable; [on left side of stock] Savoy: Gules, a cross argent.
Count Ulrich V of Württemberg, Stuttgart (1460–d. 1480); comte James Alexandre de Pourtalès-Gorgier, Paris (probably after 1813); Private collection, Europe (?) (by 1892; sold to De Cosson); Charles Alexander Cosson, London (1892–at least 1897; sold to duc de Dino); Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (by 1901–04; sold to MMA).
New York. The Cloisters Museum & Gardens. "The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages," March 28–June 15, 1975, no. 236.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Armour and Arms, or, Catalogue of the Famous Collection of Armour and Arms Formed by That Well-Known Connoisseur, The Baron de Cosson, F.S.A., Which Has Been On Loan to the South Kensington Museum for the Last Two Years. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 2–3, 1893. p. 33, no. 213.
de Cosson, Charles A. "The Crossbow of Ulrich V. Count of Wurtemburg [sic], 1460, with Remarks on Its Construction." Archaeologia 53, no. 2 pp. 445–64, pl. 34.
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. pp. 93–94.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of European Arms and Armor. Hand-book (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)), Vol. 15. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1905. p. 123.
Laking, Guy Francis, Sir, Charles Alexander Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. III. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920. pp. 135–36, fig. 936.
Dean, Bashford. "A Crossbow of Matthias Corvinus, 1489." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 22, no. 9 pp. 154–57.
Dean, Bashford, and Robert T. Nichol. Handbook of Arms and Armor : European and Oriental, edited by Stephen V. Grancsay. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1930. pp. 100–01.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 62, ill.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages. New York: Dutton, 1975. p. 222, no. 236, pl. 11.
Isenburg, Wilhelm Karl Prinz zu. "Die deutschen Staaten. Die Stammesherzoge, die weltlichen Kurfürsten, die kaiserlichen, königlichen und grossherzoglichen Familien." In Europäische Stammtafeln. Neue Folge, edited by Detlev Schwennicke, and Frank Freytag von Loringhoven. Vol. 1. Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, Berlin, 1980. pl. 123 (genealogy of Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide, edited by Kathleen Howard. New York, 1983. p. 65.
Paterson, W. F., and Arthur G. Credland. A Guide to the Crossbow. [England?]: Society of Archer-Antiquaries, 1990. pp. 67–68, pl. 12.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 40–41, 64, ill.
Frakes, Jerold C., ed. Early Yiddish Texts, 1100–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. pp. 68–69.
Die Hornbogenarmbrust: Geschichte und Technik. Ludwigshafen, 2006. pp. 42–43, fig. 26.
"Begleitbuch und Katalog zur Ausstellung des Landesarchivs Baden-Württemberg, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart und des Landtags von Baden-Württemberg." In Landschaft, Land und Leute: Politische Partizipation in Württemberg 1457 bis 2007. Stuttgart, 2007. pp. 104–5, ill. no. II 4 a–c.
Breiding, Dirk H. "The Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Württemberg." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Metropolitan Museum Journal, 44 pp. 61–87, ill.
Dahlström, Mikael. "Some Thoughts about Three 15th Century German Crossbows." Jahrblatt der Interessengemeinschaft Historische Armbrust (2011), p. 78.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Armor for America: The Duc de Dino Collection." Metropolitan Museum Journal, (2012), pp. 202–203, fig. 43.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 7–8, fig. 5.
Breiding, Dirk H. A Deadly Art: European Crossbows, 1250–1850. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013. pp. 23–26, no. 3, figs. 1.6–1.7.
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