The wooing of a mercenary in a guild room. At the bottom of the table in the guild room sits a french wooer, at the top, the mercenary sits astride. In the middle, a swiss soldier follows the trade. He carries a swiss dagger and a hand-and-a-half sword. Behind the mercenary stands death, pressing his knee into his back. The inscription reads "jch wet uch gern/ein wil zu losen/was ir rettend vunder disser rosen" - "i want to listen to you for a while, what you are talking about under this rose". The rose refers on the one hand to the carved rose on the ceiling, but also, in allusion to the expression "unter rosen reden" (talking under roses), to the summoning of misfortune through senseless chatter. The scene is related to the conclusion of the mercenary alliance between france and the swiss confederation on may 5, 1521, and the beginning of the recruitment of german mercenaries by france in july 1521. The swiss confederation feared that the mercenaries would betray them on the battlefield. Pen drawing with black ink, 21. 3 x 32 cm. Date: circa 1521.
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