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Schembart Books in Nuremberg: What the Images Really Prove

By Bernhard De LucaUpdated

In brief
  • The Nuremberg City Library documents a collection of twelve richly illustrated Schembart books.
  • The Schembart books document historical processions, but their images alone do not provide complete dance instructions.
  • When reading, you distinguish between visible features in the images, statements in accompanying texts, and your own assumptions.
  • A depicted foot position, without an additional description of movement, proves neither a sequence of steps nor rhythm or a shift of weight.

A raised foot can quickly tempt you to picture an entire movement in your head. Especially when you dance yourself, your experience fills in a lot that isn’t actually written on the page.

What you need to read images

  • A legible image of a page from a Schembartbuch
  • Related information about the book and page, if available
  • Accompanying text for the image, if available
  • Paper or a notes file for your reading log
  • An enlargable view for small image details

The twelve books are a collection, not a sequence of steps

A collection of twelve richly illustrated Schembart books is documented in the city library of Nuremberg. The books document the Schembart runs, which are recorded for the period from 1449 to 1539. This information gives your reading a solid starting point: you are examining sources about historical runs. It does not yet tell you whether a particular image explains a dance movement.

The number of books is not the number of independent sources for a movement. Without information about how the books were created and how they relate to one another, you cannot simply count similar images as multiple corroborating eyewitness accounts. Likewise, a date identifying a depicted run is not automatically the date when the page was created. Keep the event, its depiction and later explanations separate.

This becomes practical as soon as you see a figure with a bent leg: “The knee is bent” describes the depiction. “The person is about to jump” already adds a sequence of events. Unlike a modern step-by-step guide to the Boarischer, a single image does not automatically specify sequence and repetition. The coordination of arms and legs cannot be inferred from two body positions visible at the same time, either. Here, you are examining what the books can tell you, not the complete history of the run or a reconstruction of the Butchers' Dance.

A precise reference makes your observation understandable to others, even if your interpretation changes later.
A precise reference makes your observation understandable to others, even if your interpretation changes later.

How to Create a Solid Reading Log

  1. Document the illustration clearly

    Note the existing book title, page or folio reference, and source of the illustration. If a detail is missing, write “not specified” rather than filling it in; this makes clear which specific depiction you analyzed and where its attribution is uncertain.

  2. Phrase your question narrowly

    Choose an answerable question, such as: “Are connections between the people depicted visible?” Avoid “How did people dance back then?” as your starting question, it asks about a sequence of movements that a single sheet may not describe at all.

  3. Describe what is visible without movement

    Describe body positions, clothing, objects, and the arrangement of the figures as far as you can actually make them out. For example, write “one foot is depicted higher than the other,” not “the person is hopping”; your sentence should be true without mentally playing out a movement.

  4. Match the text on the page with its explanation

    Keep separate what is written on the page and what an accompanying description claims. Don't fill in illegible words based on guesswork; also indicate whether an interpretation comes from the historical text or from a later explanation.

  5. Tie interpretations to concrete evidence

    Next to each interpretation, write which image detail or passage supports it. Present inherited explanations as such: “the text interprets the scene as …” must not silently become “this is what happened.”

  6. Identify the missing movement details

    For a possible dance movement, explicitly note whether the step sequence, weight transfer, duration, and rhythm are described. A visible foot does not automatically reveal the supporting leg; if the timing is missing, the movement remains unclear, even if you can imagine a plausible way to perform it.

  7. Write a limited conclusion

    End your report with three short statements: “What is depicted is …”, “The accompanying text says …” and “What is not evidenced is …”. This lets someone else use your observation without also taking your assumption for a historical fact.

Formulate statements that match the evidence

Like this

  • Write “The figures are arranged one behind the other”
  • Initially assign a date to the event it refers to
  • Record similar images with separate source references
  • Mark an illegible passage as illegible

Not like this

  • Immediately infer a fixed route from the arrangement
  • Declare the event date to be the date of creation without verifying it
  • Count similar depictions as independent confirmation
  • Fill in the missing wording based on your own expectations

Check off your evaluation after each work phase

Before looking

Assignment

After the description

Separation

Before sharing

Result

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. The documented number of surviving books does not mean that all twelve books are the same. It describes the size of the collection, not similarities in images, texts or origins. In your analysis, treat each page you examine as a separate source at first, and do not claim connections that are not supported by evidence.

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