Hartmann Schedel / Wohlgemut / Pleydenwurff / Durer - The...

This original sheet is an incunabulum from 1493, originating from the Liber Chronicarum, also known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the most celebrated and monumental works in the early history of printing. The text was drafted by the German humanist Hartmann Schedel, printed by the renowned publisher Anton Koberger in Nuremberg, and illustrated with woodcuts from the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. The page is part of the section titled "Sexta etas mundi," dedicated to the Christian era. The text masterfully interweaves biographies of the church’s leading doctrinal pinnacles with the complex dynastic twists of the Carolingian Empire, the conversions of the peoples of Eastern Europe, and the great ecumenical councils aimed at reorganizing the Church and its relations with the East. The front of the sheet (bearing the woodcut numbering CCXVIII in the upper right) celebrates the succession of the popes and the great doctrinal chronicles of the late thirteenth century. The right column hosts the solemn and finely engraved portraits of two successive vicars of Christ, identified by the marginal caption of the Linea summorum pontificum: Pope Nicholas IV (Nicolaus quartus), remembered for his Franciscan zeal and the tense geopolitical relations of the period; and the famous Pope Celestine V (Celestinus quintus), the hermit Peter of Morrone, whose pontificate is described with profound solemnity, recounting his election, his spiritual torments, and the memorable great refusal that led him to abdicate the chair of Peter. Beneath the papal figures unfolds a dense historical narration that shifts attention to the highest achievements of theology and Christian doctrine of the time, recalling the figures and writings of eminent Church doctors such as Cardinal and theologian Hugh of Saint-Cary (Ugo quoque bononiensis) and the Dominican theologian John of Paris. To the left of the text also stands out the profile and biography of the learned canonist and bishop Augustine Triumphus (Agolinus epus), inserted as a bulwark of ecclesiastical wisdom and the doctrinal concerns of that period. Turning the page, the back instead shifts attention to the supreme ruling authorities and the great dynastic events of late medieval Europe. The left column hosts the vertical and solemn portraits of illustrious rulers and scholars of the era: the king of Sicily, Charles II of Anjou (Carolus secundus rex Sicilie), seen in his dynastic and territorial schemes; the king of Bohemia, Wenceslaus II (Wenceslaus secundus rex Bohemie); the famous physician and scientist Taddeo Alderotti (Thadeus natione florentinus medicus), praised for his vast learning and his commentaries on Hippocrates and Galen; and the king of France, Philip IV the Fair (Philipus francorum rex), remembered for his famous wars against England and the very harsh jurisdictional clashes with the papacy. The lower part of the page contains the description of the venerable Augustinian theologian Egidius Romanus (Egidius romanus), depicted with tonsure and the habit of his order. The text describes in detail the important philosophical deliberations and doctrinal works of this master general, whose deep speculation on ecclesiastical and civil power has marked theology and academic canons through the centuries. Dimensions 42 x 29 cm It will be shipped by courier

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