Hartmann Schedel / Wohlgemut / Pleydenwurff / Durer - The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum) - Martiri d'Oriente e Stirpe di Costantino (Folium - 1493

This original sheet is an incunabulum from 1493, drawn from the Liber Chronicarum, also known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the most famous and monumental works in the early history of printing. The text was drafted by the German humanist Hartmann Schedel, printed by the renowned publisher Anton Koberger in Nuremberg, and illustrated with woodcuts from the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. The page is part of the section titled “Sexta etas mundi,” dedicated to the Christian era. The text masterfully intertwines biographies of the highest doctrinal peaks of ancient Catholicism with the complex dynastic turnings of the Roman Empire and the great ecumenical assemblies aimed at reorganizing the Church and relations with the East.
The front of the sheet depicts an era marked by fierce anti-Christian persecutions under the Roman emperors, celebrating the sacrifices of eminent figures venerated for their unwavering faith. The right-hand column houses the vertical and finely hand-colored portraits of famous martyrs and saints of the era: the Virgin Christina, from Tyre, remembered for having destroyed her father’s idols and for resisting terrible torments before ascending to heaven; the martyr Menna, a noble Egyptian soldier who professed the Christian faith publicly and faced torments in Phrygia; the priest Julian, a citizen of Antioch who suffered under the imperial faction; and finally the martyrs Saturninus, a Roman priest, and the Dalmatian virgin Susanna, decapitated for refusing marriage to a pagan. Below the figures unfolds the succession of rulers, opened by the portraits of the martyrs and leaders who defended the Church’s dogmas. On the left stands a striking woodcut depicting a pope or a holy martyr, a devotional and penitential phenomenon that spread dramatically throughout Europe in that period, marked by deep religious and social tensions.
The back of the sheet (bearing the woodcut numbering CXXVII in the upper right) shifts attention to the highest papal authorities and the great imperial events, under the woodcut heading Linea Imperatorum. The right-hand column houses the vertical portraits of five rulers and emperors of the 4th century who shaped the fate of the empire: Constantine (Constantine), praised for his pacification efforts and his clemency; Galerius, described in his military ascent in the East; Severus, named Caesar for Italy; Maximinus, linked to the fortunes of the eastern provinces; and Licinius, protagonist of subsequent dynastic arrangements and clashes with Constantine the Great, followed below by the figure of Maxentius. The lower part of the page hosts a splendid woodcut illustrating the restless political successions and the military preparations that shook Rome and Byzantium. The text details the important deliberations of the sovereigns, including attempts at political union, preparations for strengthening borders against barbarian invasions, and reforms of the rules for the stability of imperial governance through the centuries.
Dimensions 46 x 33 cm
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