Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Carlo Magno e la Successione di Ludovico il Pio - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page taken from the Latin edition of 1550 of Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri and part of Liber III dedicated to Germany. The text and the rich woodcut apparatus celebrate the great dynasties and rulers who have unified and governed the heart of medieval Europe. The narrative opens with a chronological list entitled Sequitur Catalogus Regum Christianorum Galliae (Cap. XVIII), which enumerates the first Christian kings of France starting from Clovis I (Clodoveus), Childeric, and Clotarius, describing their kingdoms and the monastic foundations. The chronicle then moves to the Carolingian dynasty with the chapter devoted to Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Cap. XIX), in which his birth, education under the guidance of Alcuin of York, and the glorious military campaigns against Lombards, Saxons, and Saracens are recounted. The page is embellished by the monumental official woodcut monogram of Charlemagne (Signum Caroli) and by two solemn royal portraits: the first depicting the crowned emperor and the second introducing his son and successor Louis the Pious (Ludovicus), described in his gentle temperament and in the subsequent dramatic family intrigues orchestrated by his sons that led to his temporary imprisonment.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
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