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 Beginning
DirectX® 10
Game
Programming

Wendy Jones
ß 2008 Thomson Course Technology, a division of Thomson Learning Publisher and General Manager,
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To my children Virginia, Elizabeth, and Ian.
Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank Emi Smith for giving me the chance to work with Course PTR
again. My experiences writing for her and Course PTR have been very rewarding.
I’d also like to thank project editor Jenny Davidson for doing the editing and
bringing everything together.
I’d like to take a moment to give thanks to the entire gaming industry for
allowing me to be part of something so wonderful. Where else can you get paid to
have fun with friends and put out some amazing products at the same time?
About the Author

Wendy Jones devoted herself to computers the first time her eyes befell an Apple
IIe in elementary school. From that point on, she spent every free moment
learning BASIC and graphics programming, sketching out her ideas on graph
paper to type in later. Other computer languages followed, including Pascal, C,
C#, and C++.
As Wendy’s career in computers took off, she branched out, teaching herself
Windows programming and then jumping into the dot-com world for a bit.
Although Internet companies provided a challenge, they didn’t provide fulfill-
ment, so Wendy started expanding her programming skills to games, devoting
any extra energy to its pursuit.
Wendy’s true passion became apparent when she got the opportunity to work for
Atari’s Humongous Entertainment as a game programmer. During her time at
Atari, she worked on both PC and console titles, thrilled with the challenge they
provided.
Wendy can now be found at Electronic Art’s Tiburon studio in Orlando working
with some wonderfully talented people on Next Generation consoles.
If you have any comments or questions about this book, you can reach Wendy at
her website at http://www.fasterkittycodecode.com.
Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Chapter 1 The What, Why, and How of DirectX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What Is DirectX? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Is DirectX Needed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How DirectX Is Put Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Component Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introducing Direct3D 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Stages of Direct3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Direct3D 10 Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 2 Your First DirectX Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Creating the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Adding the Windows Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
WinMain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
InitWindow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
WndProc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Time for Direct3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Initializing Direct3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

vi
 Contents vii

The Viewport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Clearing the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Displaying the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cleaning Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Updating the Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Changing the Message Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Init Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Render Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The ShutdownDirect3D Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Adding the DirectX Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 3 The 2D Resurgence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

2D Game Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Loading a Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Texture Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Viewing a Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Sprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Z Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Sprite Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Creating a Sprite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Getting the Sprite to the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Handling Multiple Sprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Defining a GameSprite Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Sprite Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Updating the Sprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Drawing More Than One Sprite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Getting the Sprites Moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Changing the Sprite’s Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Using Sprites with Transparent Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Sprite Animation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
The Updated GameSprite Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
viii Contents

Updating the Sprite’s Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Displaying the Animated Sprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Timers: How to Animate on Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Timing under Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Using QueryPerformanceCounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Getting the Time for Each Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Changing the Animation to Be Time Based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 4 Text and Font Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Adding Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Textured Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
A Font System Explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Creating a Font System Using Sprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
The FontSprite Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Translating a String to Sprites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Updating the Sprite Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Direct3D Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Creating the Font Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
DrawText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Optimized Drawing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Using a Sprite Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Text Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 5 3D Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Left-Handed Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Right-Handed Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Finding the Distance between Two Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
 Contents ix

Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Determining the Length of a Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Normalize a Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Cross Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Dot Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
The Geometry Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
World Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
View Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Projection Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Transforming an Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
What Are Matrices? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Identity Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Initializing a Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Matrix Scaling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Matrix Translation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Matrix Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Rotate around the X Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Rotate around the Y Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rotate around the Z Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Multiply Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Primitive Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Point Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Line Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Line Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Triangle Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Triangle Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Triangle Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Chapter 6 3D Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

The Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Custom Vertex Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Vertex Input Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
A Small Shader Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Loading an Effect File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
The Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
x Contents

Vertex Buffers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Creating a Vertex Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Drawing a Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
The Draw Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Collecting the Common Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Optimizing the Drawing Using Index Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Creating an Index Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
DrawIndexed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Adding Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Vertex Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Adding a Third Dimension—The Cube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Object Translation and Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Rasterizer State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Creating a 3D Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Generating the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Generating Terrain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Chapter 7 Shaders and Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Effect Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Effect File Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Loading an Effect File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
External Variables and Constant Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Input and Output Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Technique Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
High Level Shading Language (HLSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Variable Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Semantics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Function Declarations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Vertex Shaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Grid Animation in the Shader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Timing the Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Pixel Shaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Changing the Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Generating Normals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
 Contents xi

Lighting Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Applying the Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Geometry Shaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Geometry Shader Function Declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
The Geometry Shader Explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Chapter 8 Direct3D, Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Textures and Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Texture Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Adding Support for Texture Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Drawing the Textured Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Multi-texturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Texture Blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Texture Blending Using Alpha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
A Couple of Texture Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Texture Color Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Color Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
The Mesh Creation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Drawing the Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Chapter 9 DirectInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

I Need Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Which Devices Does DirectInput Support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Using DirectInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Creating the DirectInput Object ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Creating the DirectInput Device ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Setting the Data Format . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Setting the Cooperative Level . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Acquiring Access . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Getting Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
xii Contents

Enumerating Input Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Getting the Device Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Getting Input from a Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Getting Input from a Mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Using a Game Pad or Joystick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Supporting Multiple Input Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Reacquiring an Input Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Cleaning Up DirectInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Force Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Force Feedback Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Enumerating the Input Devices for Force Feedback . . . . . . . . . 262
Creating a Force Feedback Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Starting an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Stopping an Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Chapter 10 XInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

The XInput API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Getting User Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Controller State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Enabling User Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Detecting Controller Insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Reading the Digital Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Analog Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Dead Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Controller Vibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Motors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Starting and Stopping the Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Device Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
 Contents xiii

Chapter 11 DirectSound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
DirectSound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
How Does DirectSound Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Using DirectSound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Sound Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
The Secondary Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Creating a Secondary Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Loading a Sound File into a Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Chapter 12 The Final Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Welcome to the Final Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Creating the Application Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
WinMain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
InitWindow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
WndProc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Initializing Direct3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
The Direct3D Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
The Direct3DFunctions Header File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Adding Input Functionality—XInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
The XInputManager Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
The XInputManager Header File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Texture Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
The TextureFuncs Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
The TextureFuncs Header File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
The Game Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
The Game.cpp Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
The Game Header File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
The Terrain Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
The Terrain Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
The Terrain Header File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Vertex Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
The Terrain Effect File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
xiv Contents

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Appendix A Answers to End-of-Chapter Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Appendix B Using the CD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Introduction

Game programming is an exciting job in the computing world. Where else do

you get the chance to create virtual worlds that encompass creatures or places
normally found only in dreams? You give people the ability to become anyone
they want to and provide them with environments that bring their fantasies to
life.
The game industry is growing by extraordinary bounds, and the technology is
expanding at a rapid pace. Previously, video cards with 3D hardware were
unheard of. Only expensive SGI workstations were capable of the 3D effects we
take for granted today. Now it’s possible to have the same computer power at
home that existed only in a lab a few years ago. 3D graphics have been brought to
the masses.
Microsoft Windows is riding this technology wave on the PC, competing with
companies like Sony and Nintendo in the game console space. Today, most PC
games on the market are built on DirectX, enabling gamers to experience the
latest graphics technologies and the most realistic worlds.
Console gaming has also come under the domain of DirectX with the Xbox and
the Xbox 360. The skills you learn programming DirectX are directly applicable
to both PC and console platforms.

xv
xvi Introduction

How Much Should You Know?

Even though game programming may seem like a fun way to teach yourself
programming, it actually requires a more advanced understanding of pro-
gramming concepts; therefore, a thorough understanding of C++ and object-
oriented concepts is needed to understand all the lessons presented in this book.
Basic math skills are also a plus, although most math concepts are explained.
Working knowledge of Visual Studio.NET 2005 or any product in the Visual
Studio family is helpful. The opening chapters explain what you need to get
started.

How to Use This Book

The first part of this book describes DirectX and how to get your first DirectX
program up and running. The second part gives you the basics you need for
designing and building 3D worlds, with an introduction to 3D concepts and
Direct3D. The third part rounds out your DirectX knowledge with an intro-
duction to sound processing with DirectSound and getting input from the user
with DirectInput. The book wraps up with a final encompassing project that
shows you how to apply the concepts you’ve learned.

Requirements
In order to get the full use of this book, a few things are required: A computer
system running Windows Vista Retail with Visual Studio 2005 Professional
installed. Additionally, you should have the June 2007 DirectX SDK installed.
Later versions of the SDK may work with the samples in the book but are not
guaranteed to compile as Microsoft can change the API at any time. Finally,
you’ll need a video card that has been certified Direct3D10 compliant. The
samples and code in this book might work with the software renderer but might
run slowly if at all.
This page intentionally left blank
 chapter 1

The What, Why, and How

of DirectX

DirectX is the premier game API for the Windows platform. Just a few years ago,
game makers were struggling with problems stemming from hardware incom-
patibilities, making it almost impossible for everyone to enjoy the same games.
Then Microsoft came along with DirectX. It provided game makers with a single
clean API to write to that would almost guarantee compatibility across different
sets of PC hardware. Since DirectX’s release, the number of games running under
Windows has increased dramatically.
In this chapter, I’ll cover the following:
n Understanding what DirectX is
n Why DirectX is useful
n How data flows through the Direct3D 10 pipeline
n What is brand new for Direct3D 10

What Is DirectX?
DirectX, Microsoft’s collection of application programming interfaces (APIs), is
designed to give game developers a low-level interface to the PC hardware
running Windows. Each API component provides access to different aspects of

3
4 Chapter 1 n The What, Why, and How of DirectX

the hardware, including graphics, sound, and networking, all through a standard
interface. This interface allows developers to write their games using one set of
functions with little worry about the hardware it’s being run on.

Why Is DirectX Needed?

Before the release of the Windows operating system, developers were writing
games for DOS. This single-threaded, non-GUI operating system provided
developers with a direct path between their application code and the hardware it
was running on. This had both its advantages and problems. For instance,
because there was a direct path between the game code and the hardware,
developers could pull every ounce of power out of the machine, giving them
complete control of how their game performed. The down side included the need
to write either directly to the hardware or use a variety of third-party libraries for
any hardware they wanted their game title to support; this included even com-
mon hardware like video and sound cards.
Video cards were especially confusing since not all video cards followed the same
standard. Even though most video cards supported a series of common resolu-
tions, developers were forced to access video memory directly. This made even
drawing to the screen difficult. Developers were definitely looking for a better
and easier way.
When Windows 3.1 was released, it carried with it the same limitations that DOS
had. Since Windows ran on top of DOS, it severely limited the resources available
to games and took away the direct access developers had enjoyed for so long.
Most games written to support Windows at the time consisted mainly of card
and board games, while most games continued to support DOS only.
Microsoft’s release of Windows 95 didn’t eliminate any of these problems until
the release of DirectX 1, also known as the Game SDK. It gave developers a single
library to write to, placing a common layer between their game and the PC
hardware; drawing graphics to the screen had just become a whole lot easier. The
first version of DirectX still didn’t give support for all the hardware out there, but
it was a great starting point in giving game developers what they had been waiting
for. Over the years, there have been multiple releases of DirectX, each one
improving and adding support for new technologies such as network play,
streaming audio, and new kinds of input devices. The latest version of DirectX
includes Direct3D 10, which is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista.
 How DirectX Is Put Together 5

How DirectX Is Put Together

DirectX is based on a collection of code libraries, each providing a common set of
functionality needed for games or multimedia applications. To make sure that
your game only has to link to the necessary functionality, DirectX is separated
into multiple components.

The Components
The DirectX API is split into multiple components, each representing a different
aspect of the system. Each API can be used independently of one another, thereby
only adding in the functionality your game requires.
In the latest version of DirectX, some of the components were updated, such as
Direct3D, while others are now being maintained at their previous levels by
Microsoft. The components within DirectX can be upgraded individually as new
functionality is required.
n DirectX Graphics. The component that handles all graphics processing.
This API provides functions for handling 2D and 3D graphic drawing, as
well as initializing and setting the environment for your game.
n DirectInput. All user input is handled through this API. This component
includes support for devices like the keyboard, mouse, gamepad, and joy-
sticks. DirectInput also provides support for force-feedback.
n XInput. A new addition to the DirectX family of APIs. XInput allows for
easy interfacing with the new Xbox 360 controller.
n DirectSound. For adding in sound effects or background music, this is the
API to use. DirectSound’s functionality allows for loading and playing of
one or more sound files while providing complete control over how they’re
played.
n DirectSetup. After your game is complete, you’ll want to show it to others.
DirectSetup gives you the functionality to install the latest version of
DirectX on the user’s computer.
Note
In previous versions of DirectX, 2D drawing functionality was provided by a component called
DirectDraw. Because DirectDraw is no longer being updated, you should perform all drawing
using 3D.
6 Chapter 1 n The What, Why, and How of DirectX

The Component Object Model

The DirectX API is based on the Component Object Model (COM). COM
objects consist of a collection of interfaces that expose methods that developers
use to access DirectX. COM objects are normally DLL files that have been
registered with the system that provide the support for the specific hardware in
the machine. For DirectX COM objects, this happens during the installation of
DirectX. While similar to C++ objects, COM objects require the use of an
interface to access the methods within them. This is actually an advantage over
standard objects because multiple versions of an interface can be present within a
COM object, allowing for backwards compatibility.
For instance, each version of DirectX included a new DirectDraw interface
accessible through the API, while still containing the previous version so as not to
break existing code. Therefore, games created using DirectX 7 are able to work
with DirectX 9 with little to no changes.
An additional advantage to COM objects is their ability to work with multiple
languages, not just C++. Developers can use Visual Basic, C++, or C# and still
use the same DirectX libraries. As Microsoft updates and adds new functionality
to DirectX, the version numbers of each updated component will increase. You’ll
find when dealing with DirectX that not all the included components exist at the
same version level. For instance, DirectSound remains at version 8.0 while
Direct3D is now at 10.

Introducing Direct3D 10
With the latest version of Windows, called Vista, Microsoft is introducing a new
version of graphic API called Direct3D 10 (D3D10). With this latest release,
Direct3D has gone through a dramatic change, streamlining the API and
dropping a lot of the unnecessary code. The entire desktop in Windows Vista will
be based on D3D10 giving the user more than a two-dimensional workspace.
Each window on the desktop will actually be a 3D object with the ability to
behave as objects do in the real world. To allow this to happen, the GPU on the
video card now becomes a shared resource.
Video cards are also being upgraded to provide users with the functionality that
D3D10 will require. In earlier versions of DirectX, video card manufacturers had
the option of providing only partial Direct3D compatibility, causing all sorts of
headaches. When you bought the latest game, you were never sure that your
 Introducing Direct3D 10 7

video card could fully support the features it required. Now with D3D10, all card
manufacturers must implement the full feature set to be considered compatible
either within the hardware or within their driver. This will greatly benefit
the buyers of video cards because companies won’t be able to only support the
functionality that they deem important.
Since the changes to Direct3D were extensive, the latest Direct3D will not work
on earlier versions of Windows. This will be the first time that DirectX will no
longer be backward compatible. You may want to keep this in mind when writing
games for D3D10, because the installed base of users may take a while to migrate
to Windows Vista.

Stages of Direct3D
Direct3D is more than just an API; it’s a tool for transforming simple geometric
shapes and images into a living, breathing world. Even though you can treat
many pieces of Direct3D as a black box and not have to worry about the
implementation details, it is a good idea to understand at least an overview of
how it works.
Direct3D processes your scene in multiple stages, each stage performing a specific
set of tasks resulting in a final image.
The first stage, called the Input-Assembler (IA) stage, can be thought of as the
building block stage. This is the stage where the basic building blocks that make
up your objects are put into the Direct3D pipeline.
Next, the vertices are passed into the Vertex Shader (VS) stage. Every vertex in the
scene is passed into the vertex shader stage individually and transformed by the
currently active shader. You’ll learn about shaders later in the book. This stage is
user configurable through shaders.
The third stage, the Geometry Shader (GS), is brand new to Direct3D 10. With
the introduction of the Geometry shader, full primitives such as triangles and
lines can be transformed as a whole. Previously, each vertex in the primitive was
required to have all processing done on an individual vertex basis using the vertex
shader stage. This stage is user configurable through shaders.
The fourth stage, the Rasterizer, has the job of transforming your 3D scene
description into actual pixels. Any pixels that lay outside of the viewport are
clipped before the image is drawn.
8 Chapter 1 n The What, Why, and How of DirectX

Figure 1.1
The pipeline stages of Direct3D.

The Pixel Shader (PS) stage is where pixels in your scene are processed. Like
vertices, every pixel that makes up a primitive is fed into the pixel shader. Pixel
shaders allow you to determine how objects in your scene are going to appear in
the final image. You can apply lighting effects, handle environment mapping, or
just pass the pixels through. This stage is user configurable through shaders.
The final stage, the Output Merger (OM) stage, is where it all comes together.
The OM takes all of the pieces from the other stages of the pipeline and builds up
the final image to send to the screen.
Figure 1.1 shows the stages of Direct3D.

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end of this edition there is a beautifully-designed cut of the printer’s
device, which is probably the work of the same artist. V.87
A painter, named Nicholas Emanuel Deutsch, a contemporary of
Urse Graff, and who resided at Bern, is said, by Sandrart, to have
been of a noble English family, and the same writer adds that he left
his own country on account of his religion. The latter statement,
however, is not likely to be correct, for there are wood-cuts, with this
artist’s mark, dated “Bern, 1518;” which was before the persecution
in England on account of the doctrines of Luther had commenced. In
J. R. Füssli’s Dictionary of Artists it is stated that he was of a French
family, of the name of Cholard, but that he was born at Bern in
1484, and died there in 1530. He was a poet as well as a painter,
and held one of the highest offices in the magistracy of Bern.
Within the first thirty years of the sixteenth century the practice
of illustrating books with wood-cuts seems to have been more
general than at any other period, scarcely excepting the present; for
though within the last eight or ten years an immense number of
wood-cuts have been executed in England and France, yet wood
engravings at the time referred to were introduced into a greater
variety of books, and the art was more generally practised
throughout Europe. In modern German and Dutch works wood 315
engravings are sparingly introduced; and in works printed in
Switzerland and Italy they are still more rarely to be found. In the
former period the art seems to have been very generally practised
throughout Europe, though to a greater extent, and with greater
skill, in Germany than in any other country. The wood-cuts which are
to be found in Italian books printed between 1500 and 1530 are
mostly meagre in design and very indifferently engraved; and for
many years after the German wood engravers had begun to give
variety of colour and richness of effect to their cuts by means of
cross-hatchings, their Italian contemporaries continued to adhere to
the old method of engraving their figures, chiefly in outline, with the
shadows and the folds of the draperies indicated by parallel lines.
These observations relate only to the ordinary wood engravings of
the period, printed in the same page with type, or printed separately
in the usual manner of surface printing at one impression. The
admirable chiaro-scuros of Ugo da Carpi, printed from two or more
blocks, are for effect and general excellence the most admirable
specimens of this branch of the art that ever have been executed;
they are as superior to the chiaro-scuros of German artists as the
usual wood engravings of the latter excel those executed in Italy
during the same period.

In point of drawing, some of the best wood-cuts executed in Italy

in the time of Albert Durer are to be found in a folio work entitled
Triompho di Fortuna, written by Sigismond Fanti, and printed at
Venice in 1527. V.88 The subject of this work, which was licensed by
Pope Clement VII, is the art of fortune-telling, or of answering all
kinds of questions relative to future events. The volume contains a
considerable number of wood-cuts; some designed and executed in
the very humblest style of wood engraving, and others, which
appear to have been drawn on the block with pen-and-ink, designed
with great spirit. The smallest and most inferior cuts serve as 316
illustrations to the questions, and an idea may be formed of them
from the three here given, which occur under the question: “Qual
fede o legge sia di queste tre la buona, o la Christiana, l’Hebrea,
o quello di Mahumeto?” V.89 In English: “Which of these three
religions is the best, the Christian, the Jewish, or the Mahometan?”
Several larger cuts are executed in a dry hard style, and evidently
drawn by a person very inferior to the artist who designed the cuts
executed in the manner of pen-and-ink drawings. The following is a
fac-simile of one of the latter. It is entitled “Fortuna de Africo,” in a
series of twelve, intended for representations of the winds.
 The following cut, which appears in folio 38, is intitled “Michael
Fiorentino,”—Michael Angelo; and it certainly conveys no bad idea317 of
the energetic manner in which that great artist is said to have used
his mallet and chisel when engaged on works of sculpture. This cut,
however, is made to represent several other sculptors besides the
great Florentine; it is repeated seven times in the subsequent pages,
and on each occasion we find underneath it a different name. The
late T. Stothard, R.A. was of opinion that wood engraving was best
adapted to express pen-and-ink drawing, and that the wood
engraver generally failed when he attempted more. His illustrations
of Rogers’s poems, engraved on wood by Clennell and Thompson,
are executed in a similar style to that of the following specimen,
though with greater delicacy.
 Certain wood-cuts with the mark A. G., executed towards the
conclusion of the fifteenth century, have been ascribed to an artist
named Albert Glockenton. Bartsch, however, says that the name of
the artist is unknown; and he seems to consider that Sandrart had
merely conjectured that those letters might represent the name
Albert Glockenton. For no better reason the letters I. V. on a tablet,
with two pilgrim’s-staffs crossed between them, which are to be
found on several old chiaro-scuro wood engravings, have been
supposed to represent the name, John Ulric Pilgrim. This name
appears to be a pure invention of some ingenious expounder of
monograms, for there is not the slightest evidence, that I am aware
of, to show that any artist of this name ever lived. The chiaro-scuros
318
with this mark were probably executed in the time of Durer, but
none of them contains a date to establish the fact. Heineken
considers them to have been the productions of a German artist;
and he refers to them in proof of the art of chiaro-scuro having been
practised in Germany long before the time of Ugo da Carpi. It is,
however, highly questionable if they are of an earlier date than
1518; and it is by no means certain that the artist was a German. By
some persons he has been supposed to have been the inventor of
chiaro-scuro engraving, on no better grounds, it would seem, than
that his pieces are without a date.
Next to the Germans, in the time of Albert Durer, the Dutch and
Flemings seem to have excelled in the art of wood engraving; but
the cuts executed in Holland and Flanders are generally much
inferior to those designed and engraved by German artists. In a
considerable number of Dutch wood engravings, of the period under
review, I have observed an attempt to combine something like the
effect of cross-hatching and of the dotted manner mentioned at
page 232 as having been frequently practised by French wood
engravers in the early part of the sixteenth century. In a series of
cuts from a Dutch prayer-book, apparently printed between 1520
and 1530, this style of engraving is frequently introduced. Where a
German artist would have introduced lines crossing each other with
great regularity, the Dutch wood engraver has endeavoured to attain
his object by irregularly picking out portions of the wood with the
point of his graver; the effect, however, is not good. In the border
surrounding those cuts, a Dance of Death is represented, consisting
of several more characters than are to be found in the celebrated
work ascribed to Holbein, but far inferior in point of design and
execution.
An artist, named John Walter van Assen, is usually mentioned as
one of the best Dutch wood engravers or designers of this period.
Nothing further is known of him than that he lived at Amsterdam
about 1517. The mark supposed to be Van Assen’s is often ascribed
by expounders of monograms to another artist whom they call
Werner or Waer van Assanen.
A considerable number of French works, printed in the time of
Albert Durer, contain wood engravings, but few of them possess
much merit when compared with the more highly finished and
correctly drawn productions of the German school of the same
period. The ornamental borders, however, of many missals and
prayer-books, which then issued in great numbers from the Parisian
press, frequently display great beauty. The taste for surrounding
each page with an ornamental border engraved on wood was very
generally prevalent in Germany, France, and Flanders at that period,
more especially in devotional works; and in the former country, and 319
in Switzerland, scarcely a tract was printed—and the Lutheran
controversy gave rise to many hundreds—without an ornamental
border surrounding the title. In Germany such wood engravers as
were chiefly employed in executing cuts of this kind were called
Rahmen-schneiders—border-cutters,—as has been previously
observed at page 190. In England during the same period wood
engraving made but little progress; and there seems to have been a
lack of good designers and competent engravers in this country. The
best cuts printed in England in the time of Durer are contained in a
manual of prayers, of a small duodecimo size. On a tablet in the
border of one of the cuts—the Flight into Egypt V.90—I perceive the
date 1523. The total number of cuts in the volume is about a
hundred; and under each of the largest are four verses in English.
Several of the smaller cuts, representing figures of saints, and
preceding the prayers for their respective days, have evidently been
designed by an artist of considerable talent. As most of the wood-
cuts which constitute the ornaments or the illustrations of books
printed at this period are without any name or mark, it is impossible
to ascertain the names of the persons by whom they were designed
or engraved.
The manner of wood engraving in intaglio so that the figures
appear white on a black ground, so frequently adopted by early
Italian wood engravers, was sometimes practised in Germany; and in
one of the earliest works containing portraits of the Roman
emperors, V.91 copied from ancient medals, printed in the latter
country, the cuts are executed in this style. The subject of the work
is the lives of the Roman emperors, written by Joannes Huttichius,
and the portraits with which it is illustrated are copied from medals
in a collection which had been formed by the Emperor Maximilian,
the great promoter of wood engraving in Germany. The first edition,
in Latin, was printed by Wolff Köpffel, at Strasburg, in 1525; and a
second edition, in German, was published at the same place in the
succeeding year. The cut on the next page, of the head of Nero, will
afford an idea of the style in which the portraits are executed, and320
of
the fidelity with which the artist has in general represented the
likeness impressed on the original medals.
Besides Durer, Burgmair, Cranach, and Schaufflein, there are
several other German painters of the same period who are also said
to have engraved on wood, and among the most celebrated of this
secondary class the following may be mentioned: Hans Sebald
Behaim, previously noticed at page 253; Albert Altdorffer; Hans
Springinklee; and Hans Baldung Grün. The marks of all those artists
are to be found on wood-cuts executed in the time of Durer; but I
am extremely doubtful if those cuts were actually engraved by
themselves. If they were, I can only say that, though they might be
good painters and designers, they were very indifferent wood
engravers; and that their time in executing the subjects ascribed to
them must have been very badly employed. The common working
formschneider who could not execute them as well, must have been
a very ordinary wood-cutter, not to say wood-engraver,—by the
latter term meaning one who excels in his profession, and not a
mere cutter of lines, without skill or taste, on box or pear-tree.

Albert Altdorffer was born at Ratisbon in 1480, and afterwards

became a magistrate of his native city. The engravings on wood and
copper containing his mark are mostly of a small size, and he is
generally known as one of the little masters of the German school of
engraving. V.92 Hans Springinklee was a painter of some eminence,
and according to Doppelmayer, as referred to by Bartsch, was a pupil
of Durer’s. His mark is to be found on several wood-cuts; and it
occurs in one of the illustrations in the Wise King. Hans Baldung
Grün was born at Gemund in Suabia, and studied at Nuremberg
under Albert Durer. He excelled as a painter; and the wood-cuts
which contain his mark are mostly designed with great spirit. The321
earliest wood engraving that contains his mark is a frontispiece to a
volume of sermons with the date 1508; and the latest is a group of
horses, engraved in a hard, stiff manner, with the name “Baldung”
and the date 1534. V.93 He chiefly resided at Strasburg, where he
died in 1545. He is mentioned by Durer, in his Journal, by the name
of “Grün Hannsen.”

We may here conveniently introduce fac-similes on a reduced

scale of two rather interesting wood engravings given by Dr. Dibdin
in his Bibliomania, and copied from an early folio volume, entitled
Revelationes cœlestes sanctæ Brigittæ de Suecia, printed at
Nuremberg by Anthony Köberger, m ccc xxi. mensis Septembris,
which some read 1500, on the 21st of September, others 1521, in
the month of September. The first of these cuts is curious as
representing the simplicity of an ancient reading room, with its
three-legged joint stool, such as is so prettily described by Cowper,
Task, I. v. 19; the other cut describes a punishment which is said 322
to
have been revealed to St. Bridget against those ladies who have
“ornamenta indecentia capitibus et pedibus, et reliquis membris, ad
provocandam luxuriam, et irritandum Deum, in strictis vestibus,
ostensione mamillarum, unctionibus, &c.” The artist is unknown, but
seems to be among the best of the Nuremberg school.
It cannot be reasonably doubted that
Durer and several other German painters of
his time were accustomed to engrave their
own designs on copper; for in many instances
we have the express testimony of their
contemporaries, and not unfrequently their
own, to the fact. Copper-plate engraving for
about sixty years from the time of its
invention was generally practised by persons
who were also painters, and who usually
engraved their own designs. Wood engraving,
on the contrary, from an early period was
practised as a distinct profession by persons
who are never heard of as painters. That
some of the early German painters—of a period when “artists were
more of workmen, and workmen more of artists” V.94 than in the
present day—might engrave some of the wood-cuts which bear their
marks, is certainly not impossible; but it is highly improbable that all
the wood-cuts which are ascribed to them should have been
executed by themselves. If any wood-cuts were actually engraved by
Durer, Cranach, Burgmair, and other painters of reputation,
I conceive that such cuts are not to be distinguished by their
superior execution from those engraved by the professional
formschneider and brief-maler of the day. The best copper-plates
engraved by Albert Durer can scarcely be surpassed by the best
copper-plate engraver of the present day,—that is, supposing him to
execute his work by the same means; while the best of the wood-
cuts which he is supposed to have engraved himself might be readily
executed by a score of modern wood engravers if the subject were 323
drawn for them on the block. In the age of Durer the best wood-cuts
are of comparatively large size, and are distinguished more from the
boldness and freedom of their design than from any peculiar
excellence of engraving: they display, in fact, rather the talent of the
artist than the skill of the workman. Though wood engraving had
very greatly improved from about the end of the fifteenth century to
the time of Durer’s decease, yet it certainly did not attain its
perfection within that period. In later years, indeed, the workman
has displayed greater excellence; but at no time does the art appear
to have been more flourishing or more highly esteemed than in the
reign of its great patron, the Emperor Maximilian.

V.1 Chiaro-scuros are executed by means of two or more

blocks, in imitation of a drawing in sepia, India ink, or any
other colour of two or more shades. The older chiaro-
scuros are seldom executed with more than three blocks;
on the first of which the general outline of the subject and
the stronger shades were engraved and printed in the usual
manner; from the second the lighter shades were
communicated; and from the third a general tint was
printed over the impressions of the other two.
V.2 This print is one of the valuable collection left to the
Museum by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode, and the following
remark in that gentleman’s writing is inserted on the
opposite page of the folio in which it is preserved: “The
Presepe is a plain proof that printing in chiaro-scuro was
known before the time of Ugo da Carpi, who is erroneously
reputed the inventor of this art at the beginning of the
sixteenth century.” The print in question is certainly not a
proof of the art of engraving in chiaro-scuro; and Mr. Ottley
has added the following correction in pencil: “But the white
here is put on with a pencil, and not left in printing, as it
would have been if the tint had been added by a wooden
block after the copper-plate had been printed.”
V.3 Bartsch describes this print in his Peintre-Graveur, tom.
vi. p. 364, No. 4; but he takes no notice of Joseph holding a
candle, nor of its wanting a light.
V.4 Some single cuts executed in this manner are supposed
to be at least as old as the year 1450. The earliest that I
have noticed in a book occur in a Life of Christ printed at
Cologne about 1485.
V.5 In a folio of Albert Durer’s drawings in the Print Room at
the British Museum there is a portrait of “Fronica,
Formschneiderin,” with the date 1525. In 1433 we find a
woman at Nuremberg described as a card-maker: “Eli.
Kartenmacherin.” It is scarcely necessary to remind the
reader that the earliest German wood engravers were card-
makers.—See chapter ii. p. 41.
V.6 The following is Bartsch’s French version of this letter,
which is given in the original German in Von Murr’s Journal,
9er. Theil, S. 53. “Cher Michel Beheim. Je vous envoie les
armoiries, en vous priant de les laisser comme elles sont.
Personne d’ailleurs ne les corrigeroit en mieux, car je les ai
faites exprès et avec art; c’est pourquoi ceux qui s’y
connoissent et qui les verront vous en rendront bonne
raison. Si l’on haussoit les lambrequins du heaume, ils
couvriroient le volet.”—Bartsch, Peintre-Graveur, tom. vii.
p. 27.
V.7 In Durer’s Journal of his visit to the Netherlands in 1520
there is the following passage: “Item hab dem von
Rogendorff sein Wappen auf Holz gerissen, dafür hat er mir
geschenckt vii. Ein Sammet.”—“Also I have drawn for Von
Rogendorff his arms on wood, for which he has presented
me with seven yards of velvet.”—Von Murr, Journal zur
Kunstgeschichte, 7er. Theil, S. 76.
V.8 Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii. p. 442, second edition.
V.9 The Baron was the collector of the wood-cuts published
with Becker’s explanations, referred to at page 226, chapter
iv. The anecdote alluded to will be found in Dr. Dibdin’s
Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii. pp. 445, 446. The Baron sold a
rare specimen of copper-plate engraving with the date
m. cccc. xxx. to the Doctor, and it seems that he also sold
another impression from the same plate to Mr. John Payne.
There is no doubt of their being gross forgeries; and it is
not unlikely that the plate was in the Baron’s possession.
V.10 “Dieser Hieronymus hat allhier im breiten Gassen
gewohnt, dessen Wohnung hinten ins Frauengässlein ging.”
V.11 Neudörffer, quoted in Von Murr’s Journal, 2ter Theil,
S. 158, 159.
V.12 At the end of the first edition of the cuts illustrative of
the Apocalypse, 1498, we find the words: “Gedrukt durch
Albrecht Durer, Maler,”—Printed by Albert Durer, painter;
and the same in Latin in the second edition, printed about
1510. The passion of Christ and the History of the Virgin
are respectively said to have been “effigiata” and “per
figuras digesta”—“drawn” and “pictorially represented” by
Albert Durer; and the cuts of the Triumphal Car of the
Emperor Maximilian are described as being “erfunden und
geordnet”—“invented and arranged” by him.—Bartsch,
Peintre-Graveur, tom. vii. p. 28.
V.13 The time that a German artist spends in travel from
the expiration of his apprenticeship to the period of his
settling as a master is called his “wander -jahre,”—his
travelling years. It is customary with many trades in
Germany for the young men to travel for a certain time on
the termination of their apprenticeship before they are
admitted to the full privileges of the company or fellowship.
V.14 It has been stated, though erroneously, that Albert
Durer was a pupil of Martin Schongauer, or Schön, as the
surname was spelled by some writers, one of the most
eminent painters and copper-plate engravers of his day. It
has been generally supposed that he died in 1486; but, if
an old memorandum at the back of his portrait in the
collection of Count de Fries can be depended on, his death
did not take place till the 2d of February 1499. An account
of this memorandum will be found in Ottley’s Inquiry into
the Origin and Early History of Engraving, vol. ii. p. 640.
V.15 On a passage, in which Durer alludes to his wife, in
one of his letters from Venice, 1506, to his friend Bilibald
Pirkheimer, Von Murr makes the following remark: “This
Xantippe must even at that time have vexed him much; and
he was obliged to drag on his life with her for twenty-two
years longer, till she fairly plagued him to death.”—Journal,
10er Theil, S. 32.
V.16 Bartsch is decidedly of opinion that Michael
Wolgemuth was not an engraver; and he ascribes all the
plates marked with a W, which others have supposed to be
Wolgemuth’s, to Wenceslaus of Olmutz, an artist of whom
nothing is positively known.
V.17 This subject has also been engraved by Israel Von
Mecken, and by an artist supposed to be Wenceslaus of
Olmutz. It is probable that those artists have copied Durer’s
engraving. On the globe in Israel Von Mecken’s plate the
letters are O. G. B.
V.18 This caution is in the original expressed in the
following indignant terms: “Heus, tu insidiator, ac alieni
laboris et ingenii surreptor, ne manus temerarias his nostris
operibus inicias cave. Scias enim a gloriosissimo
Romanorum imperatore Maximiliano nobis concessum esse
ne quis suppositiciis formis has imagines imprimere seu
impressas per imperii limites vendere audeat: q’ per
contemptum seu avariciæ crimen secus feceris, post
bonorum confiscationem tibi maximum periculum
subeundum esse certissime scias.”
V.19 Von Murr says that the subject of this picture was the
martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, the saint to whom the
church was dedicated; and that the painting afterwards
came into the possession of the Emperor Rudolf II. and was
placed in his gallery at Prague. It seems that Durer had
taken some pictures with him to Venice; for in his fifth
letter he says that he has sold two for twenty-four ducats,
and exchanged three others for three rings, valued also at
twenty-four ducats.
V.20 In the Venetian dialect of that period Giovanni Bellini
was called Zan Belin; and Durer spells the name
“Sambellinus.” He was the master of Titian, and died in
1514, at the age of ninety.—Von Murr, Journal, 10er Theil,
S. 8.
V.21 Von Murr says that he cannot discover what Jacob is
here meant. It would not be Jacob Walsch, as he died in
1500. The person alluded to was certainly not an Italian.
V.22 Bilibald Pirkheimer was a learned man, and a person
of great authority in the city of Nuremberg. He was also a
member of the Imperial Council, and was frequently
employed in negociations with neighbouring states. He
published several works; and among others a humorous
essay entitled “Laus Podagræ”—The Praise of the Gout. His
memory is still held in great respect in Germany as the
friend of Albert Durer and Ulrich Hutten, two of the most
extraordinary men that Germany has produced. He died in
1530, aged 60.
V.23 The kind of engraving meant was copper-plate
engraving. Durer’s words are: “Ich hab awch dy Moler all
gesthrilt dy do sagten, Im Stechen wer ich gut, aber im
molen west ich nit mit farben um zu gen.” The word
“Stechen” applies to engraving on copper; “Schneiden” to
engraving on wood.—Von Murr, Journal, 10er Theil, S. 28.
V.24 The title at length is as follows: “Epitome in Divæ
Parthenices Marie Historiam ab Alberto Durero Norico per
figuras digestam, cum versibus annexis Chelidonii.”
Chelidonius, who was a Benedictine monk of Nuremberg,
also furnished the descriptive text to the series of twelve
cuts illustrative of Christ’s Passion, of which specimens will
be found between page 246 and page 250.
V.25 The cuts of these two works appear to have been in
the hands of the engraver at the same time. Of those in the
History of the Virgin one is dated 1509; and two bear the
date 1510; and in the Passion of Christ four are dated
1510.
V.26 The Latin title of the work is as follows: “Passio Domini
nostri Jesu, ex Hieronymo Paduano, Dominico Mancino,
Sedulio, et Baptista Mantuana, per fratrem Chelidonium
collecta, cum figuris Alberti Dureri Norici Pictoris.”
V.27 The Latin title of this work is “Passio Christi,” and the
explanatory verses are from the pen of Chelidonius. Durer,
in the Journal of his Visit to the Netherlands, twice
mentions it as “die Kleine Passion,” and each time with a
distinction which proves that he did not mean the Passion
engraved by him on copper and probably published in
1512. “Item Sebaldt Fischer hat mir zu Antorff [Antwerp]
abkaufft 16 kleiner Passion, pro 4 fl. Mehr 32 grosser
Bücher pro 8 fl. Mehr 6 gestochne Passion pro 3
fl.”—“Darnach die drey Bücher unser Frauen Leben,
Apocalypsin, und den grossen Passion, darnach den klein
Passion, und den Passion in Kupffer.”—Albrecht Dürers
Reisejournal, in Von Murr, 7er Theil, S. 60 and 67. The size
of the cuts of the Little Passion is five inches high by three
and seven-eighths wide. Four impressions from the original
blocks are given in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. ii. between page
730 and page 731.
V.28 Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of Engraving,
vol. ii. p. 782. The objections to the general truth of Vasari’s
story appear to be much stronger than the presumptions in
its favour. 1. The improbability of Albert Durer having
visited Venice subsequent to 1506; 2. The fact of Marc
Antonio’s copies of the cuts of the Little Passion not
containing Albert Durer’s mark; and 3. The probability of
Mark Antonio residing beyond the jurisdiction of the
Venetian government at the time of his engraving them.
V.29 There is a copy of this head, also engraved on wood,
of the size of the original, but without Durer’s, or any other
mark. Underneath an impression of the copy, in the Print
Room of the British Museum, there is written in a hand
which appears to be at least as old as the year 1550,
“Dieser hat ehaim gerissen”—“H. S. Behaim drew this.”
Hans Sebald Behaim, a painter and designer on wood, was
born at Nuremberg in 1500, and was the pupil of his uncle,
also named Behaim, a painter and engraver of that city.
The younger Behaim abandoned the arts to become a
tavern-keeper at Frankfort, where he died in 1550.
V.30 In the edition with Latin inscriptions, 1523, are the
words, “Excogitatus et depictus est currus iste
Nurembergæ, impressus vero per Albertum Durer. Anno
mdxxiii.” The Latin words “excogitatus et depictus” are
expressed by “gefunden und geordnet” in the German
inscriptions in the edition of 1522. A sketch by Durer, for
the Triumphal Car, is preserved in the Print Room in the
British Museum.
V.31 Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii. p. 438. Edit. 1829.
V.32 Ibid. p. 330.
V.33 The two last names are, in the first edition, pasted
over others which appear to have been “The Gate of
Honour” and “The Gate of Relationship, Friendship, and
Alliance.” The last name alludes to the emperor’s
possessions as acquired by descent or marriage, and to his
power as strengthened by his friendly alliances with
neighbouring states.
V.34 “Item wist auch das Ich K. Mt. ausserhalb des Tryumps
sonst viel mancherley Fisyrung gemacht hab.”—“You must
also know that I have made many other drawings for the
emperor besides those of the Triumph.” The date of this
letter is not given, but Durer informs his friend that he had
been already three years employed for the emperor, and
that if he had not exerted himself the beautiful “work”
would not have been so soon completed. If this is to be
understood of the Triumphal Arch, it would seem that the
designs at least were all finished before the emperor’s
death.—Von Murr, Journal, 9er Theil, S. 4.
V.35 In the process of etching the plate is first covered with
a resinous composition—called etching ground—on which
the lines intended to be etched, or bit into the plate, are
drawn through to the surface of the metal by means of a
small pointed tool called an etching needle, or an etching
point. When the drawing of the subject upon the etching
ground is finished, the plate is surrounded with a slightly
raised border, or “wall,” as it is technically termed, formed
of rosin, bee’s-wax, and lard; and, a corrosive liquid being
poured upon the plate, the lines are “bit” into the copper or
steel. When the engraver thinks that the lines are corroded
to a sufficient depth, he pours off the liquid, cleans the
plate by means of turpentine, and proceeds to finish his
work with the graver and dry-point. According to the
practice of modern engravers, where several tints are
required, as is most frequently the case, the process of
“biting-in” is repeated; the corrosive liquid being again
poured on the plate to corrode deeper the stronger lines,
while the more delicate are “stopped out,”—that is, covered
with a kind of varnish that soon hardens, to preserve them
from further corrosion. Most of our best engravers now use
a diamond point in etching. Nitrous acid is used for “biting-
in” on copper in the proportion of one part acid to four
parts water, and the mixture is considered to be better after
it has been once or twice used. Before using the acid it is
advisable to take the stopper out of the bottle for twenty-
four hours in order to allow a portion of the strength to
evaporate. During the process of biting-in a large copper-
plate the fumes which arise are so powerful as frequently
to cause an unpleasant stricture in the throat, and
sometimes to bring on a spitting of blood when they have
been incautiously inhaled by the engraver. At such times it
is usual for the engraver to have near him some powerful
essence, generally hartshorn, in order to counteract the
effects of the noxious vapour. For biting-in on steel, nitric
acid is used in the proportion of thirty drops to half a pint
of distilled water; and the mixture is never used for more
than one plate.—When a copper-plate is sufficiently bit-in, it
is only necessary to wash it with a little water previous to
removing the etching ground with turpentine; but, besides
this, with a steel plate it is further necessary to set it on
one of its edges against a wall or other support, and to
blow it with a pair of small bellows till every particle of
moisture in the lines is perfectly evaporated. The plate is
then rubbed with oil, otherwise the lines would rust from
the action of the atmosphere and the plate be consequently
spoiled. Previous to a steel plate being laid aside for any
length of time it ought to be warmed, and the engraved
surface rubbed carefully over with virgin wax so that it may
be completely covered, and every line filled. A piece of thick
paper the size of the plate, laid over the wax while it is yet
adhesive, will prove an additional safeguard. For this
information respecting the process of biting-in, the writer is
indebted to an eminent engraver, Mr. J. T. Wilmore.
V.36 The account of the naming of John the Baptist will be
found in St. Luke’s Gospel, chap. i. verse 59-64.
V.37 Durer’s Journal of his Travels is given by Von Murr, 7er
Theil, S. 55-98. The title which the Editor has prefixed to it
is, “Reisejournal Albrecht Dürer’s von seiner
Niederländischen Reise, 1520 und 1521. E. Bibliotheca
Ebneriana.” In the same volume, Von Murr gives some
specimens of Durer’s poetry. The first couplet which he
made in 1509 is as follows:
“Du aller Engel Spiegel und Erlöser der Welt,
Deine grosse Marter sey für mein Sünd ein Widergelt.”
Thou mirror of all Angels and Redeemer of mankind,
Through thy martyrdom, for all my sins may I a ransom
find.
This couplet being ridiculed by Bilibald Pirkheimer, who said
that rhyming verses ought not to consist of more than eight
syllables, Durer wrote several others in a shorter measure,
but with no better success; for he says at the conclusion,
that they did not please the learned counsellor. With Durer’s
rhymes there is an epistle in verse from his friend Lazarus
Sprengel, written to dissuade him from attempting to
become a poet. Durer’s verses want “the right butter-
woman’s trot to market,” and are sadly deficient in rhythm
when compared with the more regular clink of his friend’s.
V.38 Subsequently, Durer mentions having delivered to the
Margrave John, at Brussels, a letter of recommendation
[Fürderbrief] from the Bishop of Bamberg.
V.39 As Durer was at Cologne about the 26th July, it is
probable that he would arrive at Antwerp about the last day
of that month.
V.40 The maid, Susanna, seems to have been rather a
“humble friend” than a menial servant; for she is
mentioned in another part of the Journal as being
entertained with Durer’s wife at the house of “Tomasin
Florianus,” whom Durer describes as “Romanus, von Luca
bürtig.”
V.41 The Assumption of the Virgin is celebrated in the
Roman Catholic Church on the 15th August.
V.42 Albrecht Dürer’s Reisejournal, in Von Murr, 7er Theil,
S. 63-65.
V.43 This “gross Fischpein” was probably part of the back-
bone of a whale.
V.44 The stiver was the twenty-fourth part of a guilder or
florin of gold, which was equal to about nine shillings
English money of the present time; the stiver would
therefore be equal to about four pence half-penny. About
the same time, Durer sold a copy of his Christ’s Passion,
probably the large one, for twelve stivers, and an
impression of his copper-plate of Adam and Eve for four
stivers. Shortly after his first arrival at Antwerp, he sold
sixteen copies of the Little Passion for four guilders or
florins; and thirty-two copies of his larger works,—probably
the Apocalypse, the History of the Virgin, and the Great
Passion,—for eight florins, being at the rate of sixteen
stivers for each copy. He also sold six copies of the Passion
engraved on copper at the same price. He gave to his host
a painting of the Virgin on canvass to sell for two Rhenish
florins. The sum that he received for each portrait in pencil
[the German is mit Kohlen, which is literally charcoal],
when the parties did pay, appears to have been a florin.
V.45 In Von Murr the words are “Am Donnerstage nach
Marien Himmelfahrt,”—On the Thursday after the
Assumption of the Virgin. But this is evidently incorrect, the
feast of the Assumption being kept on 15th August. The
“Marien Opferung”—the Presentation of the Virgin—which is
commemorated on 21st November, is evidently meant.
V.46 Luther’s safe-conduct from Worms to Wittenberg was
limited to twenty-one days, at the expiration of which he
was declared to be under the ban of the empire, or, in
other words, an outlaw, to whom no prince or free city of
Germany was to afford a refuge. Luther, previous to leaving
Worms, was informed of the elector’s intention of secretly
apprehending him on the road and conveying him to a
place of safety. After getting into the wood, Luther was
mounted on horseback, and conveyed to Wartburg, a castle
belonging to the elector, where he continued to live
disguised as a knight—Junker Jörge—till March 1522.
Luther was accustomed to call the castle of Wartburg his
Patmos.
V.47 Durer, though an advocate of Luther, does not seem to
have withdrawn himself from the communion of the Church
of Rome. In his Journal, in 1521, he enters a sum of ten
stivers given to his confessor, and, subsequently, eight
stivers given to a monk who visited his wife when she was
sick. The passage in which the last item occurs is curious,
and seems to prove that female practitioners were then
accustomed both to dispense and administer medical
preparations at Antwerp. “Meine Frau ward krank,—der
Apothekerinn für Klystiren gegeben 14 Stüber; dem Mönch,
der sie besuchte, 8 Stüber.”—Von Murr, Journal, 7er Theil,
S. 93.
V.48 This inducement for Erasmus to stand forth as a
candidate for the honour of martyrdom is, in the original, as
simple in expression as it is novel in conception: “Du bist
doch sonst ein altes Menniken.” Literally: For thou art
already an old mannikin. Erasmus, however, was not a spirit
to be charmed to enter such a circle by such an invocation.
As he said of himself, “his gift did not lie that way,” and he
had as little taste for martyrdom as he had for fish.—In one
or two other passages in Durer’s Journal there is an allusion
to the diminutive stature of Erasmus.
V.49 Von Murr, Journal, 7er Theil, S. 88-93. In volume X,
p. 41, Von Murr gives from Peucer, the son-in-law of
Melancthon, the following anecdote: “Melancthon, when at
Nuremberg, on church and university affairs, was much in
the society of Pirkheimer; and Albert Durer, the painter, an
intelligent man, whose least merit, as Melancthon used to
say, was his art, was frequently one of the party. Between
Pirkheimer and Durer there were frequent disputes
respecting the recent [religious] contest, in which Durer, as
he was a man of strong mind, vigorously opposed
Pirkheimer, and refuted his arguments as if he had come
prepared for the discussion. Pirkheimer growing warm, for
he was very irritable and much plagued with the gout,
would sometimes exclaim “Not so:—these things cannot be
painted.”—“And the arguments which you allege,” Durer
would reply, “can neither be correctly expressed nor
comprehended.”—Whatever might have been the particular
points in dispute between the two friends, Pirkheimer, as
well as Durer, was a supporter of the doctrines of Luther.”
V.50 Corpus Christi day is a moveable festival, and is
celebrated on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
V.51 St. Margaret’s day is the 20th July.
V.52 Durer says that this astronomer was a German, and a
native of Munich.
V.53 Ulrich Varnbuler was subsequently the chancellor of
the Emperor Ferdinand I. Durer mentions him in a letter
addressed to “ Hernn Frey in Zurich,” and dated from
Nuremberg on the Sunday after St. Andrew’s day, 1523.
With this letter Durer sent to his correspondent a humorous
sketch, in pen and ink, of apes dancing, which in 1776 was
still preserved in the Public Library of Basle. The date of
this letter proves the incorrectness of Mr. Ottley’s
statement, in page 723 of his Inquiry, where he says that
Durer did not return to Nuremberg from the Low Countries
“until the middle of the year 1524.” Mr. Ottley is not more
correct when he says, at page 735, that the portrait of
Varnbuler is the “size of nature.”
V.54 It is supposed that Shakspeare, in alluding to the
“dozen white luces” in Master Shallow’s coat of arms,—
Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I,—intended to ridicule Sir
Thomas Lucy of Charlecotte, Wiltshire, before whom he is
said to have been brought in his youth on a charge of deer-
stealing.
V.55 Etliche Underricht zu Befestigung der Stett, Schloss,
und Flecken; Underweysung der Messung mit der Zirckel
und Richtscheyt; Bucher von Menschlicher Proportion. All in
folio. Those treatises were subsequently translated into
Latin and several times reprinted. The treatise on the
Proportions of the Human Body was also translated into
French and printed at Paris in 1557. A collection of Durer’s
writings was published by J. Jansen, 1604.
V.56 This letter is addressed to “Johann Tscherte,” an
architect residing at Vienna, the mutual friend of Pirkheimer
and Durer.—Von Murr, Journal, 10er Theil, S. 36.
V.57 Those three engravings are respectively numbered 1,
60, and 67 in Bartsch’s list of Durer’s works in his Peintre-
Graveur, tom. vii. The Adam and Eve is nine inches and
three-fourths high by seven inches and a half wide,—date
1504; St. Jerome, nine inches and five-eighths high by
seven inches and three-eighths wide,—date 1514;
Melancolia, nine inches and three-eighths high by seven
inches and one fourth wide,—date 1514.
V.58 Isaiah, chapter xxxv. verse 9.
V.59 One of the largest wood-cuts designed by Cranach is a
subject representing the baptism of some saint; and having
on one side a portrait of Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and
on the other a portrait of Luther. The block has consisted of
three pieces, and from the impressions it seems as if the
parts containing the portraits of the elector and Luther had
been added after the central part had been finished. The
piece altogether is comparatively worthless in design, and is
very indifferently engraved.
V.60 Burgmair also made the designs for a series of saints,
male and female, of the family of the emperor, which are
also engraved on wood. The original blocks, with the names
of the engravers written at the back, are still preserved,
and are at present in the Imperial Library at Vienna.
V.61
“Solche Gestalt unser baider was,
Im Spigel aber nix dan das!”
A small engraving in a slight manner appears to have been
made of the portraits of Burgmair and his wife by George
Christopher Kilian, an artist of Augsburg, about 1774.—Von
Murr, Journal, 4er Theil, S. 22.
V.62 The original title of the work is: “Die gevarlichkeiten
und eins teils der Geschichten des loblichen streytparen
und hochberümbten Helds und Ritters Tewrdanckha.” That
is: The adventurous deeds and part of the history of the
famous, valiant, and highly-renowned hero Sir Theurdank.
The name, Theurdank, in the language of the period, would
seem to imply a person whose thoughts were only
employed on noble and elevated subjects. Goethe, who in
his youth was fond of looking over old books illustrated with
wood-cuts, alludes to Sir Theurdank in his admirable play of
Götz von Berlichingen: “Geht! Geht!” says Adelheid to
Weislingen, “Erzählt das Mädchen die den Teurdanck lesen,
und sich so einen Mann wünschen.”—“Go! Go! Tell that to a
girl who reads Sir Theurdank, and wishes that she may
have such a husband.” In Sir Walter Scott’s faulty
translation of this play—under the name of William Scott,
1799,—the passage is rendered as follows: “Go! Go! Talk of
that to some forsaken damsel whose Corydon has proved
forsworn.” In another passage where Goethe makes
Adelheid allude to the popular “Märchen,” or tale, of
Number-Nip, the point is completely lost in the translation:
“Entbinden nicht unsre Gesetze solchen Schwüren?—Macht
das Kindern weiss die den Rübezahl glauben.” Literally, “Do
not our laws release you from such oaths?—Tell that to
children who believe Number-Nip.” In Sir Walter Scott’s
translation the passage is thus most incorrectly rendered:
“Such agreement is no more binding than an unjust
extorted oath. Every child knows what faith is to be kept
with robbers.” The name Rübezahl is literally translated by
Number-Neep; Rübe is the German name for a turnip,—
Scoticè, a neep. The story is as well known in Germany as
that of Jack the Giant-Killer in England.
V.63 Charaktere Teutscher Dichter und Prosaisten, S. 71.
Berlin, 1781.
V.64
Nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim:
“Fortunam Priami cantabo, et nobile bellum:”
Quid dignum tanto feret hic promissor hiatu?
 Parturiunt montes; nascetur ridiculus mus.
Ars Poetica, v. 136-139.
In a Greek epigram the Cyclic poets are thus noticed:
Τοὺς κυκλίους τούτους τοὺς αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
λέγοντας
Μισῶ λωποδύτας ἀλλοτρίων ἐπέων.
V.65 Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progres de l’Art de
Graver en Bois, p. 74. Paris, 1758.
V.66 The kind of character in which the text of Sir
Theurdank is printed is called “Fractur” by German printers.
“The first work,” says Breitkopf, “which afforded an example
of a perfectly-shaped Fractur for printing, was
unquestionably the Theurdank, printed at Nuremberg,
1517.”—Ueber Bibliographie und Bibliophile, S. 8. 1793.—
Neudörffer, a contemporary, who lived at Nuremberg at the
time when Sir Theurdank was first published, says that the
specimens for the types were written by Vincent Rockner,
the emperor’s court-secretary.—Von Murr, Journal, 2er
Theil, S. 159; and Lichtenberger, Initia Typographica,
p. 194.
V.67 The title of the volume is “Der Weiss Kunig. Eine
Erzehlung von den Thaten Kaiser Maximilian des Ersten.
Von Marx Treitzsaurwein auf dessen Angeben zusammen
getragen, nebst von Hannsen Burgmair dazu verfertigten
Holzschnitten. Herausgegeben aus dem Manuscripte der
Kaiserl. Königl. Hofbibliothek. Wien, auf Kosten Joseph
Kurzböckens, 1775.”
V.68 In the Imperial Library at Vienna there is a series of
old impressions of cuts intended for “Der Weiss Kunig,”
consisting of two hundred and fifty pieces; it would
therefore appear, supposing this set to be perfect, that
there are fourteen of the original blocks lost. Why a single
modern cut has been admitted into the book, and thirteen
of the old impressions not re-engraved, it perhaps would be
difficult to give a satisfactory reason.
V.69 Charaktere Teutscher Dichter und Prosaisten, S. 70.
V.70 Bibliographical Tour, vol iii. p. 330.
V.71 The subjects of those sixteen cuts are chiefly the
statues of the emperor’s ancestors, with representations of
himself, and of his family alliances. Several of the carriages
are propelled by mechanical contrivances, which for
laborious ingenuity may vie with the machine for uncorking
bottles in one of the subjects of Hogarth’s Marriage à la
Mode. In the copy before me those engravings are
numbered 89, 90, 91, 91, 92, 92, 93, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97,
99, 101, 102, 103.
V.72 Breitkopf, Ueber Bibliographie und Bibliophile, S. 4.
Leipzig, 1793. Von Murr, Journal, 9er Theil, S. 1. At page
255 I have said: “Though I have not been able to ascertain
satisfactorily the subject of Durer’s painting in the Town-hall
of Nuremberg, I am inclined to think that it is the Triumphal
Car of Maximilian.” Since the sheet containing the above
passage was printed off I have ascertained that the subject
is the Triumphal Car; and that it is described in Von Murr’s
Nürnbergischen Merkwürdigkeiten, S. 395.
V.73 Jobst and Jos, in this inscription, are probably intended
for the name of the same person. For the name Jobst, Jost,
Josse, or Jos—for it is thus variously spelled—we have no
equivalent in English. It is not unusual in Germany as a
baptismal name—it can scarcely be called Christian—and is
Latinized, I believe, under the more lengthy form of
Jodocus.
V.74 The printed numbers on those two cuts are 105 and
106, though the descriptions are numbered 120 and 121 in
the text. The subjects are, No. 105, two ranks, of five men
each, on foot, carrying long lances; and No. 106, two ranks,
of five men each, on foot, carrying large two-handed
swords on their shoulders.—Perhaps it may not be out of
place to correct here the following passage which occurs at
page 285 of this volume: “Bartsch, however, observes, that
‘what Strutt has said about there being two persons of this
name [Hans Schaufflein], an elder and a younger, seems to
be a mere conjecture.’” Since the sheet containing this
passage was printed off, I have learnt from a paper, in
Meusel’s Neue Miscellaneen, 5tes. Stück, S. 210, that Hans
Schäufflein had a son of the same name who was also a
painter, and that the elder Schäufflein died at Nordlingen, in
1539. At page 281, his death, on the authority of Bartsch,
is erroneously placed in 1550.
V.75 The name of Cornelius Liefrink occurs at the back of
some of the wood-cuts representing the saints of the family
of Maximilian, designed by Burgmair, mentioned at page
278, note.
V.76 In all the blocks, the tablets and scrolls, and the upper
part of banners intended to receive verses and inscriptions,
were left unengraved. In order that the appearance of the
cuts might not be injured, the black ground, intended for
the letters, was cut away in most of the tablets and scrolls,
in the edition of 1796.
V.77 That part of the flail which comes in contact with the
corn is, in the North of England, termed a swingel.
V.78 The substance of almost every rhyme and inscription
is, that the person who bears the rhyme-tablet or scroll has
derived great improvement in his art or profession from the
instructions or suggestions of the emperor. Huntsmen,
falconers, trumpeters, organists, fencing-masters, ballet-
masters, tourniers, and jousters, all acknowledge their
obligations in this respect to Maximilian. For the wit and
humour of the jesters and the natural fools, the emperor,
with great forbearance, takes to himself no credit; and
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