Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Genealogia e Storia della Regione del Württemberg - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page taken from the Latin edition of 1550 of Cosmographia universalis by Sebastian Münster, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri and dedicated to the description of the historic realms of southern Germany. The front of the page, numbered 723, opens in the upper section with a branching genealogical diagram that traces the lineage of important local noble families (including the lines of the Counts Vuernherus). The lower part inaugurates the chapter on the Württemberg region (De regione Wuirtenbergensi, item de principibus & civitatibus eius, Cap. CCCXXVII), describing its ancient feudal subdivisions and the original comital lordships (including Calw, Tubingen and Urach) that gradually merged under a single lordship. The visual composition of the front is enriched by a woodcut showing the heraldic coat of Württemberg, characterized by the famous three branches of black stag antlers on a gold ground. Turning the page, the back, numbered 724, continues the treatment of the Swabian province by analyzing the ancient dynastic lines of the Counts of Teck and Calw, detailing monastic donations and the transfers of power that occurred under Emperors Rudolph of Habsburg and Maximilian I, who officially elevated Württemberg to the rank of duchy in 1495. The central and lower part of the page hosts the section titled Genealogia comitum & ducum Wuirtenbergensium, a detailed genealogical reconstruction tracing the lineage of the local counts and dukes, from the semi-mythical figures of Conrad and Bruno under Emperor Henry IV, to the rulers of the 15th and 16th centuries (such as Eberhard the Bearded and Duke Eberhard II), highlighting strategic marriages, years of death, and important biographical events of the dynasty.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by courier