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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 November 2011
The messenger-box is a symbol of office or badge, which is not only found in museums, but which is—at least in the Netherlands—still worn by messengers of several institutes in our day. It always bears a coat of arms and the question arises why it is called a box. The words ‘bus’, ‘Büchse’, ‘boîte’, ‘box’ are derived from the Greek word ‘pyxis’ and in former times all sorts of containers were indicated by this word. What was the reason that those badges which we know as messenger-boxes were called by that name? Have they ever been real containers? How strong must have been the tradition which has preserved the messenger-box under this very name in the shape of a badge up to the present!
page 88 note 1 Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, iii, i The Hague and Leiden, 1902Google Scholar, cols. 1924/5.
page 88 note 2 Schultz, Alwin, Das höfische Leben zur Zeit der Minnesinger, 2. Aufl., Leipzig, 1889, i, S. 174Google Scholar.
page 88 note 3 Paris, Alexis Paulin, Li Romans de Garin le Loherain, publicés pour la première fois …, Paris, 1833–5, 2 vols., ii, 103Google Scholar.
page 88 note 4 Nouvelles françaises en prose du 13e siècle, publicées par Moland et d'Héricault, Paris, 1856, p. 26Google Scholar.
page 88 note 5 von Würzburg, Konrad, Der trojanische Krieg, herausgeg. von A. von Keller, Stuttgart, 1858. S. 977Google Scholar.
page 89 note 1 Strauch, Ph., ‘Jansen Enikels Werke’, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Deutsche Chroniken, Band 3. Hannover u. Leipzig, 1891–1900, S. 526Google Scholar.
page 89 note 2 The most reliable Latin text is to be found in von Ammenhausen, Kunrat, Das Schachzabelbuch, nebst den Schachbüchern des Jakob von Cessole und des Jakob Mennel. Hrsg. von Ferdinand Vetter. Frauenfeld, 1892Google Scholar.
page 90 note 1 Roman van Lancelot. From the manuscript the Royal Library. Published by W. J. A. Jonckbloet, The Hague, 1846–9. 2 vols., first book, 16388.
page 90 note 2 Chronicon de Lanercost, quoted in Hill, Mary C., Tie King's Messengers, 1199–1377, London, 1961, p. 119Google Scholar.
page 90 note 3 Gay, Victor, Glossaire archéologique du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance, Paris, 1877–1928, 2 vols., i, 170Google Scholar; Vaillé, Eugène, Histoire générale des pastes françaises, Paris, 1947–55Google Scholar, 6 vols., i, 155, n. 4.
page 91 note 1 Mary C. Hill, op. cit., p. 41.
page 91 note 2 Mary C. Hill, op. cit., p. 41, 42, 106.
page 91 note 3 They have been elaborated by Laufer, Otto, ‘Der laufende Bote im Nachrichtenwesen der früheren Jahrhunderte’ in Beiträge zur deutschen Volksund Altertumskunde, Heft i (1954), S. 19–60Google Scholar.
page 91 note 4 N. de Pauw and J. Vuylsteke, De rekeningen der stad Gent, 3 vols., Gent, 1874, i, 273.
page 91 note 5 van Horenbeeck, J., ‘La poste à Tournai’, in Revue des Pastes beiges, xv (1956), p. 62Google Scholar.
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page 91 note 7 Korzendorfer, A., ‘Regensburger Handelsund Nachrichtenverkehr im Ausgang des Mittelalters’ in Archiv für Post und Telegraphic, li (1924), S. 479Google Scholar.
page 92 note 1 Korzendorfer, A., ‘Die ältesten Bilder deutscher Boten’ in Archiv für Postgeschichte in Bayern, viii (1932), S. 98Google Scholar.
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page 93 note 1 See the miniatures by Berthold Furthmeyer von Regensburg, 1468–72, in the ‘G. Rorersche Bibel’, collection Fürst zu Oettingen-Wallerstein, former monastery of Maihingen, Bavaria, reproduced in Archiv für Postgeschichte in Bayern, i (1925), S. 19–21. See also Velislav's illustrated Bible round about 1340 (fig. 8).
page 93 note 2 British Museum, Harley 1527, f. 108v, 1526, f. 15. Oxford, Bodleian Library 270 B, f. 185v. Cf. De Laborde, A., La Bible moralisée conservée à Oxford, Paris et Londres. Reproduction intégrate du manuscrit du 13e siècle accompagnèe d'une notice, 5 vols., Paris, 1911–14Google Scholar.
page 93 note 3 Bibl. Nat. Fonds français 571, f. 124. Cf. Enlart, Camille, Manuel d'Archéologie française, iii, Le Costume, Paris, 1916, fig. 383Google Scholar, which, contradictory to the printed catalogue of the French manuscripts of the Bibl. Nat., dates the manuscript in question as fourteenth century.
page 93 note 4 Brussels, Royal Libr. MS. 11040, f. 77v. Cf. A. Benoit, ‘Les Boîtes de messagers, leurs transformations depuis le Moyen Age: bougettes, valises, malles et sacs postaux’ in Bulletin mensuel de la Société d'études de la province de Cambrai, 1935, t. 35, nos. 9/10, pp. 202–10.
page 94 note 1 Zoroslava Drobna, Die gotische Zeichnung in Böhmen, Prag, 1956, S. 27.
page 94 note 2 Cf. Mary C. Hill, op. cit., frontispiece and p. 45, where it is presumed that the man going on foot represents a servant, since royal messengers often had one. However, in view of the importance of the messenger-box, I can hardly assume that this object was entrusted to persons other than the official messengers.
page 95 note 1 Bodleian Library 264, f. 82v, 83v, 85v, 98, 100, 123, 167, 167v, 196v, 197v, i98v. Cf. The Romance of Alexander, a collotype facsimile of MS. Bodley 264, with an introduction by M. R. James, Oxford, 1933.
page 95 note 2 British Museum, Roy. 16 G VI, f. 17, 18, 27v, 31v, 201, 220, 227v, 253, 284, 338, 344v, 354, 407, 426v.
page 95 note 3 Bibl. Nat. Fonds français 823, f. 88v and 91.
page 96 note 1 A. Schultz is the first to have drawn the attention to these miniatures, but his lithographic reproductions show coloured badges, whereas the originals are important because of the purely box-like character. Cf. Deutsches Leben im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert, GroBe Ausgabe, Wien, Prag, und Leipzig, 1892, Band i, Tafel vii. By error a manuscript from the Hofbibl. of the year 1383 is quoted there. The miniatures in question belong to another manuscript which it is difficult to date.
page 97 note 1 van der Linde, A., Geschichte und Litteratur des Schachspiels, Berlin, 1874Google Scholar, i, Beilage ii. Gerard F. Schmidt, Das Schachzabelbuch in mittelhoch-deutscher Prosa-Üersetzung, Berlin, 1961. Professor Dr.Goldschmidt, Adolph, ‘Die Luzerner illustrierten Handschriften des Schachzabelbuches des Schweizer Dichters Konrad von Ammenhausen. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Buchmalerei im 14. u. 15. Jahrhundert’ in Innerschweizerisches Jahrbuch für Heimatkunde, viii/x, Luzern, 1944/6Google Scholar.
page 97 note 2 Italian manuscript, Firenze, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Codex 2513/C 103.
page 97 note 3 Round messenger-boxes in De Cessolis's manuscripts: Paris, Bibl. Nat. Fonds Latins 6783, 15093; Fonds Français 2148, 2471, 580, 2000; Paris, Bibl. de l'Arsenal no. 3254; London, British Museum Add. 15698, 21458; Cambridge (Mass, U.S.A.), Houghton Library, MS. Typ 45; Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Hs. M. 69b; Prague, Bibliothek des Nationalmuseums, MS. X D 13; Vienna, Österreichische Staatsbibliothek, Hs. 2801; Wolfenbüttel, Hs. 25. 4 Aug. Quarto.
page 97 note 4 Bibl. Nat. Fonds latin 15093, f. 32v.
page 97 note 5 Bibl. Nat. Fonds français 2000, f. 39.
page 97 note 6 Bibl. de l’Arsenal 3254, f. 98.
page 97 note 7 München, Bayer. Staatsbibl., Cod. Germ. 243.
page 98 note 1 Bibl. Nat. Fonds français 1166, f. 51. Other pictures of shield-shaped messenger-boxes in De Cessolis's manuscripts: Bibl. Nat. Fonds français 1166; Bibl. de 1'Arsenal, no. 5107; Heidelberg Cod. Pal. Germ. 463; British Museum Roy. 19 C XI, Add. 11616 (= Kunrat von Ammenhausen, Das Schachzabelbuch, an adaptation of De Cessolis).
page 98 note 2 British Museum Add. 10290, f. 223v.
page 98 note 3 Schachzabel, Augustae, Günther Zainer, 1477.
page 98 note 4 Karll, Alfred, ‘Aachener Verkehrswesen bis zum Ende des 14. Jahrhunderts’ in Aus Aachens Vorzeit, xviii (1905), S. 94Google Scholar. Cf., however, Koppmann, K., Kämmereirechnungen der Stadt Hamburg 1350–1562, 7 Bde., Hamburg, 1869–94Google Scholar.
page 98 note 5 München, Bayer. Staatsbibl., Cod. Germ. 49.
page 98 note 6 Cambridge (Mass. U.S.A.), Houghton Library MS. typ 45.
page 99 note 1 Musées d'Art, d'Ethnographie et d'Histoire. Cf. C. Enlart, op. cit., iii, 416–18.
page 99 note 2 Belongs to the inventory of the Louvre, Dépt. des Objets d'Art 6282. Cf. de Vasselot, J.-J. Marquet, Musée National du Louvre, Catalogue sommaire de I'Orfèvrerie etc., Paris (1914)Google Scholar, no. 54. Further V. Gay, op. cit., i. 170 and C. Enlart, op. at., iii, 4.17.
page 100 note 1 Nissen, Robert, ‘Silberne Boten- und Spielmannsabzeichen und ihre Träger’ in Westfalen, Hefte für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde, xxxvi (1958), S. 167Google Scholar.
page 100 note 2 For messenger-boxes preserved in the Netherlands, see van der Kellen, D., Netherlands Antiques, The Hague, 1856–61Google Scholar; Historische Catalogus der Stad Utrecht, Centraal Museum Utrecht, 1928Google Scholar; Frederiks, J. W., Dutch Silver, 4 vols., The Hague, 1952–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Catalogue Goud- en Zilverwerken Rijksmuseum, 2de dr., 1952; Catalogus Tentoonstelling ‘Utrechts Zilver’, Centraal Museum Utrecht, 1952Google Scholar; Catalogus Tentoonstelling Gelders Zilver, Gemeentemuseum Arnhem, 1955Google Scholar ; Catalogus Tentoonstelling Middeleeuwse Kunst in de Noordelijke Nederlanden, Amsterdam, 1958Google Scholar.
page 101 note 1 Gans, M. H., Juwelen en Mensen, Amsterdam, 1961, p. 40Google Scholar.
page 101 note 2 van Riemsdijk, Th., De Griffie van Hare Hoogmogenden, 's-Gravenhage, 1885, p. 76Google Scholar.