Reconstructing Memory: Reconsidering the Origins of a Late Medieval Epitaph from Wiener Neustadt

Majorossy, Judit and Sarkadi Nagy, Emese (2019) Reconstructing Memory: Reconsidering the Origins of a Late Medieval Epitaph from Wiener Neustadt. Acta Historiae Artium Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 60 (1). pp. 71-122. ISSN 0001-5830 (print); 1588-2608 (online)

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Abstract

The Christian Museum in Esztergom preserves an epitaph depicting the Death of the Virgin Mary. The panel painting, dated by its inscription to 1498, was ordered by Stephan Geinperger, then burgher of Wiener Neustadt, for his deceased wife, Dorothea Gerolt. The donor’s name was for a long time misread as “Heinperger”, thus hindering his identification. The correct transcription made it possible to reveal information about the person of the donor and detect his family and their kinship network in the contemporary written documents. Based on the inscription and the archival material in Wiener Neustadt, Knittelfeld, Nuremberg, Passau and other related towns, the lives of Geinperger and his wife could be reconstructed and a stepfamily could be identified. In addition, the original placement of the epitaph was determined as was the social topography of the related families in Wiener Neustadt, including their economic and social importance. Moreover, art historical analysis placed the painting in the artistic milieu of the wider region.

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