Von österreich. / Das LLLuiii. Blat

Title

Von österreich. / Das LLLuiii. Blat

Description

Illustration shows an imaginary city in Austria. Text on the reverse side in two columns. From Liber chronicarum, the so-called “kleiner Schedel” (little skull) published by Johann Schönsperger the Elder, 1497. The first major pirated edition in the history of book printing.

ca. 1497

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 name Austria is first handed down in its Old High German form Ostarrichi from the year 996. The Latin form Austria was also used. In 1156 Austria became an independent duchy in the Holy Roman Empire. After the Babenbergs died out in 1246, the House of Habsburg prevailed in the struggle for rule in Austria. The area designated as Austria later included the entire Habsburg Monarchy and later the Austrian Empire, which was constituted in 1804, and the Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy established in 1867. The present republic came into being in 1918.