Ein kurtze beschreibung des wercks der sechs tag von dem geschöpff der werlt die vorrede. Fo.

Title

Ein kurtze beschreibung des wercks der sechs tag von dem geschöpff der werlt die vorrede. Fo.

Title page from the Schedelschen Weltchronik. The sixth day: God saw everything that he had made: it was very good. It was evening and there was morning: the sixth day. The creation account describes how all living spaces - water, air and earth - are filled with life. All life is well taken care of. Drawn by Michael Wolgemut. Engraved by Wilhelm Pleydenwurff.

ca. 1493

Artist

Schedel (1440-1515)

Hartmann Schedel (1440–1515) from Nuremberg is best known for the 1493 publication of the Schedel’s World Chronicle (Liber chronicarum), a universal history featuring 1,809 woodcuts—making it the most richly illustrated book of early printing. The chronicle, written in Latin by Schedel for merchants Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, was translated into German by Georg Alt and printed by Anton Koberger. The illustrations came from the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. The work covers world history up to 1492/93, divided into eight ages of the world, and draws on numerous sources, including Jacobus Foresta and Enea Silvio Piccolomini. Notably, it features highly accurate city views, many depicted in detail for the first time. Pleydenwurff introduced a new perspective by portraying cities from a fixed viewpoint, emphasizing their unique architectural and landscape features. The project was funded in part by the patron Sebald Schreyer.

Historical Description

The Bible knows the ancient oriental idea of a creation through the victory of the divinity over a chaos power. The priestly scripture begins with the six-day work of creation: the separation of light and darkness, the creation of the firmament, the separation of land and sea and the growth of plants on earth, the creation of the heavenly bodies, the creation of the animals of the water and air, the creation of the land animals and the creation of human beings. The rest of God on the seventh day is the goal of the narrative. This is directly followed by the family tree of Noah and the Flood narrative. The creation and flood narratives complement each other. In the beginning, everything was barren and without life. Water covered the land and everywhere was dark. Only God was there and he created heaven and earth. On the first day he said, "Let there be light!". On the second day God said, "Let there be heaven above the earth!". On the third day God commanded, "Let the waters of the earth be gathered together!". On the fourth day God said, "There shall be lights in the sky to distinguish the day and the night. The sun by day, the moon and stars by night.". On the fifth day he said, "Fish shall swim in the water and all kinds of aquatic animals, in the air there shall fly birds!". But on the sixth day, God said, "On the earth there shall also be animals!" On that day God also created man, a man and a woman. But on the seventh day, God rested from his work. He had completed his work of creation.