Gregor Reisch (ca. 1470 - 1525) belonged to the circle of the German humanists in the region of Strassburg, Freiburg im Breisgau
and Basel. He worked as a university teacher till 1496 (it's assumed, that his work Margerita Philosophica was finished around this time, but printed editions could be proven only since 1503). The same year he became a Carthusian monk and later prior of the Freiburger Kloster at the Johannisberg. To his circle belonged Beatus Rhenanus, Jakob Wimpheling, Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (known for his preachings, in which he incorporated short passages to the Karnöffel game), Konrad Pellikanus, Johannes Reuchlin (the first German kabbalist) and occasionally Erasmus von Rotterdam. His most famous pupils were Johann Eck (strong opponent of Martin Luther later), Martin Waldseemüller (the cartograph) and his friend Matthias Ringman (who used playing cards to teach Latin grammar), Johannes Schott (who printed Reisch's Margerita Philosophica in 1503) and Sebastian Münster (cartograph).
The printer Grüninger (famous for the first Till Eugenspiegel print 1515), who had close relations to Thomas Murner - literary foe to Reisch's friend Wimpheling and who made himself 2 playing cards decks 1502 and 1507 and was in various texts the preparator of the German Fool theme - was accused by Reisch to print and have changed the Margerita Philosophica without authorisation.
Reisch became close to emperor Maximilian in 1509. In his late years Reisch was an opponent of Martin Luther.
The Margarita Philosophica became a great success with many following editions, occasionally called the first German encyclopedia.
Woodcuts in Margerita Philosophica
The artes liberales pictures of the Margerita Philosophica have less similarity to the Mantegna Tarocchi motifs, but remind in style more the pictures of the Chartiludium Logicae of Thomas Murner 1507. This might be due to the condition, that the oldest extant example of the book came from the printing house of the above mentioned Grüninger (1509). The many pictures in the Margerita Philosophica are attributed to various artists.
The following pictures are presented by http://luminescencias.blogspot.com/
Further Material
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