Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Diavolo / Duchi di Polonia e le Invasioni Imperiali - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the inner sections of the fourth book in the Latin edition of 1550 of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri. The page front hosts the solemn chorographic and historiographic section titled LIBER IIII (p. 1047), expressly dedicated by Münster to the description of the kingdoms of Eastern Europe and opening the chapter POLONIAE REGNVM REDIGITVR IN DVCATVM (Cap. IX). The Latin text opens by retracing the dramatic dynastic events of Poland in the eleventh century, describing the exile of Bolesław II and the rise to power of his brother Vladislaus I (Vladislaus), who ruled under the title of duke, refusing the royal crown out of respect for papal decrees. Münster narrates in detail the harsh civil wars that broke out between Vladislaus’s sons, the legitimate Boleslaus III Boccatorta and the illegitimate Zbigniew, whose plots and alliances with the Pomeranians and the Prussians led to bloody fratricidal clashes for control of the lands of Masovia, Silesia, and Pomerania. The visual composition of the front page is enriched by a fine woodcut showing in full figure the solemn portrait of a noble Polish sovereign or commander in Renaissance dress. Of extraordinary collectible interest is the presence of ancient marginal glosses printed contemporaneously and handwritten notes in ink (Polonis priuatur corona, Vladislaus, Dux Massouie) that testify to the critical apparatus of the work aimed at highlighting the most significant dynastic passages.
Turning the page, the reverse continues the development of the historical chronicle with the header DE POLONIA (p. 1048) and the opening of the next chapter BOLES LVS CRISPVS FIT DVX PRIMVS SIVE supremus in Polonia (Cap. X). The Latin text unfolds as a dense and erudite historiographic treatise focusing on the mid-twelfth century and the ascent of Boleslaus IV the Crooked (Boleslaus), who rose to supreme power after deposing and exiling his elder brother Vladislaus II. Münster analyzes the imposing geopolitical repercussions of this dynastic crisis, describing the armed intervention in Poland by the German king Conrad III and, subsequently, the massive military expedition undertaken in 1157 by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (Frider. imp. inuadit Polonia), intent on restoring the exiled duke. The narrative examines the skillful attrition strategies employed by the Poles, the diplomatic negotiations conducted near Poznań, and the complex peace agreements that saw the recognition of Boleslaus’s primacy in exchange for the payment of substantial tributes to the Empire. The page is solemnly enriched by important typographic marginal glosses and contemporary annotations (Vladislaus, Boleslaus, Conradus imp. imperator ingreditur Polonia, Frider. imp. inuadit Polonia) that guide the reader through the fiefs and the changes of the peoples of the Earth through the centuries.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by courier