Tolosa / Das funft altere

Title

Tolosa / Das funft altere

Description

A depiction of the city of Toulouse in France; the reverse side shows six depictions of prophets and statesmen. Printed by Anton Koberger in Nuremberg in 1493.

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

Toulouse, under the name of Tolose, was an important Gallic city, located at that time eight kilometers south at Vieille-Toulouse. In 413 Toulouse became part of the Visigoth Empire. In 1271, the county of Toulouse came under the rule of the French crown, but retained some special rights. From 1444 to 1790, Toulouse was the seat of the Parlement de Toulouse, which had jurisdiction over most of southern France and exercised legislative, judicial, and executive powers there on behalf of the crown. At the time of the Renaissance (about 1450 to 1550), Toulouse was among the wealthiest cities in France. Woad or pastel (Isatis tinctoria), a plant that provided the only consistent blue dye at the time, thrived particularly well on the calcareous soils of Lauragais, located southeast of the city. The city's dominant position gradually ended after 1550, when the Portuguese began importing the less expensive indigo from their colonies.