Etas prima mundi Folium VII

Title

Etas prima mundi Folium VII

Description

Illustration of Adam and Eve eating the apple from the tree of knowledge and being driven out of the Garden of Eden by the angel of the Lord. Latin text page with a large woodcut and one of the most sought-after prints from the richly illustrated incunabulum, the famous: Nuremberg Chronicle, published in the year Columbus returned to Europe after the discovery of America. In May 1493 it appeared in Latin as one of the earliest voluminous books, fully illustrated with 1809 woodcuts, printed from 645 woodblocks. With the help of others, including the globe maker Martin Behaim, Doctor Hartmann Schedel compiled a chronicle of the world, known today as the Nuremberg Chronicle. Printed by Anton Koberger and financed by Sebald Schreyer in Latin and German editions.

ca. 1493

Artist

Schedel (1440-1515)

Hartmann Schedel (1440 -1515) settled in Nuremberg 1484. He published the famous Nuremberg Chronicle 1493, Schedel's library has been sold in 1552 to Hans Jacob Fugger. Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle must have been one of the most popular of incunables, judging by the number of surviving copies. Some 800 copies of the Latin edition have been traced and 400 of the German. This is not surprising considering that this compilation of sacred and profaned history was the most elaborate printed book of its time, illustrated with more than 1800 woodcuts. Among these were a number of double-page city views, a folding map of the world and another of northern and central Europe. The text is an amalgam of legend, fancy and tradition interspersed with the occasional scientific fact or authentic piece of modern learning. Hartmann Schedel, a physician of Nuremberg, was the editor-in-chief; the printer was Anton Koberger, and among the designers the most famous were Michael Wolgemut and Hanns Pleydenwurff, masters of the Nuremberg workshop where Albrecht Durer served his apprenticeship. The first edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle in July 1493 was in Latin and there was a reprint with German text in December of the same year. World Map: His Ptolemaic world map with the figures simbolizing the three sons of Noah's: Sem, Ham and Jafet. The world map was included in the Chronicle of the Nuremberg physician, Hartmann Schedel to demonstrate the world after the Deluge. The hundreds of the woodcuts used for printing the illustrations of the famous German work were cut by Wolgemut and Pleydenwurff. The young Albrecht Dürer could contributed to the book as he apprenticed the Nuremberg printers. The panel to the left side, showing the monstrous races, is an illustration of the tales, fables and antique works, first of all Pliny the elder. Note that this panel is the best identification mark of our edition, there was another panel with the map of the 1493 edition.

Historical Description

According to the biblical account in Genesis (chapters 2 to 5), Adam and Eve were the first human couple and thus the progenitors of all human beings. According to this, God formed Adam from earth and breathed into him the breath of life. Subsequently, Adam gave names to the animals, but found no partner counterpart. Thereupon God let Adam fall into a deep sleep, took from him a rib and created from this his counterpart Eve. While in the narration up to this point always of "the man" (Adam) one speaks, Adam recognizes now in the meeting with the new being itself as man and opposite him Eve as woman. Adam is also mentioned in the Koran, the holy scripture of Islam. The biblical account of creation says: "And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; and he created them male and female." Adam and Eve first live in the Garden of Eden. There Eve is persuaded by the serpent to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, despite God's prohibition. The turning away from God's commandments expressed in eating the forbidden fruit is considered disobedience to God in both the Jewish and Christian religions. Christianity speaks of the fall of man. As a result of the rebellion, the Bible describes Adam and Eve realizing their nakedness, whereupon they make themselves an apron of fig leaves. God confronts them, whereupon Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent. Both are expelled from the Garden of Eden, but God makes them fur clothing as protection. Eve must henceforth bear children in pain, and Adam is given the hard and laborious task of farming. The classical words : "For dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" express, according to the Christian interpretation, that death has now entered the world, since men have remained mortal. In the biblical narrative, after the expulsion from Paradise, Adam begets Cain, Abel and Set with Eve.