Hartmann Schedel
(1440-1514)
Liber Chronicarum, or Nuremberg Chronicle, or Die Schedelshe Weltchronik
[Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493]
Inc.1.5

 
The Nuremberg Chronicle, although also known as Die Schedelshe Weltchronik and Liber Chronicarum, is one of the best-known incunabula, a term used to denote books printed before 1501. Multiple assigned titles are a common characteristic of early printed book as they often lack title pages. By any name, this work is a medieval-style universal chronicle, relating history from creation to the present day through excerpts of texts from older sources.  This chronicle follows the Augustinian tradition of dividing all of world history into six ‘Ages,’ analogous to the six days of creation found in the Bible. Its renown, however, stems not from its ambitiously universal narrative but its place in history as an exemplar of early printing and literature during a time of transition from  manuscript to print culture.

The Chronicle is perhaps most recognizable for its lively and lavish illustrations. The book contains more than a thousand prints designed by the Nuremberg artists Michael Wohlgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, with their workshop in which was working a young Albrecht Dürer. Even with such a team of talented artists, the number of illustrations required for the Nuremberg Chronicle would have been a tall order. The solutions was simply to not have each print correspond to a distinct woodcut. The famous city views, while sometimes roughly accurate, are often repeated and can be quite fanciful, especially for the more exotic locales.

This quaint hamlet appears for a town in Germany and Spain (pictured above).
Historical figures likewise can do double (plus!) duty or take on less-than-obvious forms. Hercules, Aristotle, and Apuleius are identically portrayed , while Cleopatra (pictured left) seems to be modelling the latest late-fifteenth century style. 

The success of the Chronicle is not only due to its illustrations but also to its talented compiler. Hartmann Schedel was a man of universal interests, a quality which, along with a bit of bibliomania, enabled him to produce such a chronicle. Originally from Nuremberg, he studied medicine and the humanities in Leipzig and Padua. He received a doctorate in medicine in 1466 but remains most remembered as a bibliophile, collecting manuscripts and printed books in all subjects. From these sources come the text of the Nuremberg Chronicle; it is estimated Schedel’s original contributions (which consist of short commentaries and linking sentences) comprise less than 10% of the Chronicle’s text. Yet Schedel’s choices regarding texts, his dependence on classical materials, his additions and the framework in which he places his work all combine to provide an important illustration of the transition between the medieval and Renaissance world.

The Nuremberg Chronicle was extremely popular in its own time, with a print run of approximately 2500 copies and an unauthorized, smaller, more affordable ‘reprint’ copy meeting great success as well. Of the originally printed number, approximately 400 Latin and 300 German are extant. Despite being a mass-produced text, each surviving copy of the Chronicle carries with it a unique history hinted at through bindings, colouring, and provenance. The Christ’s College copy was presented by Ferdinand Pulton, a Fellow of the College from 1556-1557 and carries an inscription dated 1617. It is a Latin edition with uncolored illustrations, and there are textual notes, in different hands, throughout. The Nuremberg Chronicle is one of Christ’s College Library’s more fascinating holdings.

References, further reading, and more pictures:

Wilson, Adrian. The making of the Nuremberg Chronicle. Amsterdam : Nico Israel, 1978.

http://www.beloit.edu/~nurember/inside/about/index.htm

http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/Exhibits/Nuremberg/