Disquisition on the Celebrated Poetic Book Theuerdanck

...records original: menti; likely the conclusion of monumenti (monuments or records) from the previous page that he handled business matters, such as the alienation The legal transfer of ownership of lands or rights of entire domains, by virtue of his high office. Among the monuments that preserve his memory, five silver medals stand out, struck in his honor, which are kept by the Pfintzing family. The first and greatest of all, which adorns the title of this Inquiry, requires no further explanation. The second presents his image, with these words inscribed: Portrait of Melchior Pfintzing, Provost of the Church of St. Alban in Mainz and of St. Sebald in Nuremberg, Canon of Trent and of St. Stephan in Bamberg. The other side of the coin shows the woman appearing on the first coin, with a similar inscription. The third shows his portrait with a bare head, with the words added: Melchior Pfintzing, Provost of St. Alban in Mainz. On the other face is seen a small boy riding a lion, holding in his right hand the helmet of the provostship of St. Alban, decorated with the upper part of a donkey, and in his left hand the helmet of the Pfintzing family, conspicuous with bull horns at the top; a shield decorated with the Pfintzing insignia lies nearby, with a donkey standing at a distance—the token of the said provostship—with the words added: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1:2; a common Renaissance memento mori reminding the viewer of the fleeting nature of earthly status The fourth medal is very similar to the previous one. The fifth shows on one side the heads of the five Pfintzing brothers, with this motto: OF FRATERNAL CONCORD. On the other side, the following inscription is read: PORTRAITS OF SIGISMUND; MELCHIOR, PROVOST OF THE CHURCH OF SAINT ALBAN AT MAINZ; ULRICH, ABBOT OF SAINT PAUL IN THE LAVANT VALLEY; SEYFRIED AND MARTIN PFINTZING, BROTHERS. IN THE YEAR 1509. From which medal it is clear that our Melchior was the second-born of the five brothers; of whom the eldest was Sigismund, a Senator of Nuremberg and holder of the Bamberg prefecture of Marloffstein. Ulrich—who in the above-cited Nuremberg Chronicle, page 95, is mistakenly called Melchior—was the Pfennigmeister A high-ranking financial official or Treasurer of Maximilian. Of Seyfried, nothing...