The Raitenhaslach tax register

Burghausen or Raitenhaslach (?), 1438 (with supplements)
Parchment

Tax registers were used to note levies and tithes that had to be paid regularly by those liable to pay taxes to a monastery. Abbot Leonhard Schellensteiner (1438–1444) had a new register prepared for the monastery of Raitenhaslach in his first year in office. It is highly unusual for administrative documents, where the focus is on functionality, to be provided with precious illuminations like this one.

Page 1: According to the heading (in red), Abbot Leonhard Schellensteiner (1438–1444) had the tax register ("urbar puech") renewed on the day of Saint Walpurga (1 May) in 1438. In the initial, the abbot is kneeling before the seated Mary with child, the patron saint of the monastery church of Raitenhaslach. The I-initial below shows Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the Cistercian order. In the abundant vines at the lower edge, two mixed creatures are aiming at each other with bows and arrows.