The Execution of Paulus Hector Mair

Augsburg's Account of Mair's Death

Content Warning: This historical document contains descriptions of a suicide attempt, capital punishment and torture.

Paulus Hector Mair was famously executed on December 10th, 1579 for embezzling large amounts of money over many years from the government of Augsburg, where he held the offices of treasurer and bannerherr. It is hypothesized that he used his ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle, and even to aid in his collection and creation of fencing treatises. An illustration and account of his hanging found their way into the ‘Wunderbuch’ of Johann Jakob Wick of Zürich, also known as the Wickiana. The accompanying text has not been widely published, so it is presented in translation below. It contains multiple interesting details about Mair’s case, including how a baker was caught in the crossfire of the crimes, details of Mair’s arrest and attempted suicide, and the extent of his pilfering.

One key piece of the story is that Augsburg and the wider region were undergoing a food shortage in 1571 and Mair embezzled a portion of money set aside to pay for much-needed bread. The severity of this famine is also documented in the ‘Wunderbuch’:

Of great hunger and famine.

From Augsburg and elsewhere arrive letters which report that it has never been worse in human memory, and that many people die of hunger - since in many places, one can get neither wheat nor rye. [...] On February 25, the entire city of Chur ran out of bread, so that the rich as well as the poor lacked it. Also those who have children had to go without it. [...] All in all, this shortage does not only affect bread but everything by which humans shall and must live.

Looting part of a famine relief fund is sure to not be a great look, to put it lightly, no matter the era it occurs in! It is this important piece of context that may color an interpretation of his crimes.

The illustration of Paulus’ hanging from the ‘Wunderbuch’

The Record

How a distinguished person at Augsburg was executed on the gallows on December 10, 1579, also by way of a higher power.

On December 10, Paulus Hector Meyer at Augsburg was executed on the gallows. He was bannerherr of the city of Augsburg, also appointed over all treasure of the city, expenses and income, also those of the local council. This official administration he performed for 36 years [and] engaged in such massive embezzlement that he embezzled more than 100,000 crowns of the city.

During the previous teuerung [= inflation, famine, food shortage] eight years ago, the council at Augsburg sent a baker to Moravia with 3,000 guilders, so that he would buy grain there and transport it to Augsburg. Meanwhile, Paulus Hector Meyer gave him no more than 2,000 guilders.

When he [= the baker] arrived in Moravia and inspected the bag - which was sealed with the city's seal - he did not find more than 2,000 guilders. Thus he came back with the grain and the council had him thrown into prison. Inside he was evilly tortured, his body crushed in such a manner that he was no longer able to stand or walk. He did not confess more than that he had only received 2,000 guilders from this treasurer.

As Paulus Hector Meyer's falseness and embezzlement came to light, he also confessed that he wronged this baker [and] only gave him 2,000 guilders, he kept 1,000 guilders for himself.

On November 28, when he had invited many of his neighbors as guests and intended to ride to Nuremberg in the morning to his son's wedding, he was arrested at the table at the joint dinner[?], and when one escorted him out of the house into the prison, then he inflicted upon himself three stabs towards the heart with a penknife which he had in his pocket.

But since the penknife was short and could not reach this far, also since it was not according to God's order and providence that Death should take vengeance against him, he was placed in prison.

Among other things, he also confessed and told how he spent many years and days with whoring[?] and spending, which was not the least cause of his misconduct.

Peter Hürtzel, citizen here in Zürich, also reported to me that when he came to Augsburg on December 12, he saw more than 300 persons standing around the high court, who had come from afar and from nearby villages and hamlets, to view this Hector Meyer out of wonder.

Also the council at Augsburg has admitted the previously mentioned baker to the hospital, who shall be provided with all necessities until the end of his life. Therefore God can bring to light the innocence of a pious human.

After this account follows a note sent to the Zürich clergyman and ghost specialist Ludwig Lavater, a colleague of Johann Jakob Wick:

To Herr Ludwig Lavater, from Strasbourg.

In Augsburg on December 10, Paulus Hector Mair - a foremost man in the order of the senate, who had presided over the quaestorship - was convicted for embezzlement. For this, he was hanged by the council, for he had stolen 105,000 guilders from the republic over 35 years. He leaves behind twelve children, of which ten live in marriages.

Conclusion

Although he was accused of immoral acts, Paulus Hector Mair is undeniably one of the most important figures in HEMA, with many citing him as one of the first “true” HEMA-ists with his obsession of collecting fencing treatises (along with making his own). His library of over a dozen fechtbuchs represented a huge treasure trove of history and culture, all combined at a time where collation and preservation of these books was not a common thing. In many ways we modern sword nerds have likely benefited from his embezzlement, with the written works he stockpiled shaping how we fence today. So thank you, Pauly, at least for your collecting activities. And sorry about the noose!

Thank Yous

Thank you to my research partner Miriam for her help in fixing my transcription and translating both the initial Mair record, and the helpful note about the 1571 famine in Augsburg. You are amazing!