Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Pena di Morte / Palificazione / Regno d'Ungheria - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the 1550 Latin edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri and dedicated to the historical chronicle of Central Europe. The front of the page, marked 1035, opens with the chapter focused on the kingdom of Ladislaus II of Hungary (Vladislavs rex Vngariae), son of the King of Poland, analyzing his rise to the throne after the death of Matthias Corvinus, his complex royal marriages with Queen Beatrice, and the dynastic agreements concluded with Emperor Maximilian I of Austria. Just below, the narrative introduces the tragic reign of the successor Louis II of Hungary (Lvdovicvs rex Vngariae), describing the terrible and bloody peasant uprising led by György Dózsa in 1514, sparked by the preaching of a crusade against the Turks, a dramatic event illustrated by a woodcut showing the ruthless execution and torture of the Hungarian rebels. Turning the page, the back, numbered 1036, delves into the chapter on the tragic fate of the Hungarian sovereign and the famous Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman forces in 1529 (Lvdovicvs rex Vngariae perit, et Vienna Austriae obsidetur). The text recounts the catastrophic defeat and death of the young king Louis II at the Battle of Mohács against the Turks of Suleiman the Magnificent, the rise of the rival John Zápolya, and the ensuing advance of the immense Ottoman army led by the Sultan to the walls of Vienna, describing in detail the ferocious assaults, the devastation of the suburbs, the mining of subterranean tunnels, and the valiant resistance of the Christian defenders that finally forced the Turks to retreat before winter.

Size 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by courier