To the Editor,
In their ArtiFacts column, Ashmore et al. [1] covered a fascinating topic: Götz von Berlichingen’s “iron hand”, which added to the development of the artificial hand prostheses [1]. I would like to add some points of interest for the reader.
The cannon fire was not from the enemy but—strangely enough—from Götz´s compatriots. In the Landshut War of Succession, Götz von Berlichingen did not fight on the side of Bavaria-Landshut (but his two brothers did); the cannon fire came from the Nuremberg fellow countrymen and hit “friend and foe,” as Götz himself writes in his famous autobiography [9]. Götz´s injury was thus an unfortunate accident [8].
Götz’s right hand was almost completely cut off and hung only “a little bit on the skin,” whereas “... the arm was smashed back and front …” [9], but healed without consequences because it was protected by his armor [8].
The first iron hand was not a modest prosthesis, it was already ingenious and mechanically complicated. In this prosthesis, the artificial thumb and two finger blocks (index and middle finger, and ring finger and little finger, respectively) could be moved in their basic joints by a spring mechanism and released by a push button. Recently, we reconstructed the first iron hand by three-dimensional (3-D) computer-aided design (Fig. 1) and printed it (Fig. 2) with a multimaterial polymer printer (Stratasys J750, Eden Prairie, MN, USA) [2-4, 10, 11].
Fig. 1.
A 3-D computer-aided design reconstruction of the first artificial iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen. Picture credit: Offenburg University.
Fig. 2.
A 3-D-printed polymer replica of the first artificial iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen. Picture credit: Offenburg University.
It was not possible to grasp objects with the first iron hand because it was a passive prosthesis that required the help of an active (healthy) hand. However, holding was possible for many everyday tasks (Fig. 3) [5, 6].
Fig. 3.
A polymer replica of the first artificial iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen holding a bicycle handlebar grip. Picture credit: Offenburg University.
The second iron hand, in which the fingers could be moved passively in all joints and which was mechanically more elaborate than the first iron hand, presumably was the knight’s hand prosthesis most likely worn only on Sundays. It was mechanically too complicated and not robust enough for its military purposes. This can be deduced from the relative lack of wear on the second iron hand in contrast to the first one [7].
Footnotes
All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.
(RE: Ashmore K, Cialdella S, Giuffrida A, Kon E, Marcacci M, Di Matteo B. ArtiFacts: Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen-The "Iron Hand" of the Renaissance. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2019;477:2002-2004.)
The author certifies that neither he, nor any members of his immediate family, has funding or commercial associations that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
The opinions expressed are those of the writer, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR® or The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.
References
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