Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Il Ducato di Gheldria e la Linea dei Nobili di Jülich - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the inner sections of the third book of the Latin edition of 1550 of Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri. The front of the page hosts the solemn chorographic section titled LIBER III (page 625), expressly dedicated by Münster to the description of Germany and the territories of the Lower Rhine. The Latin text develops under the broad historical header De ducatu Gendrensi et quibusdam familiis quae in eo contigerunt (Cap. CCIII), offering a dense and detailed feudal chronicle focused on the origins, political development, and noble lineages of the Duchy of Gelderland. Münster traces with profound solemnity the succession of the first dukes, the tense jurisdictional negotiations, and the harsh territorial wars of the 15th century, paying particular attention to the powerful figure of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and to the complex dynastic events that led to the annexation of these territories. The visual composition of the front is enriched by a fine half-length woodcut depicting a duke in solemn Renaissance ceremonial attire with a heraldic shield and sword, and is accompanied by contemporaneous marginal glosses type-set in period (Gelriae comites, Duces Gheldriae, Carolus dux ultimus) and by ancient handwritten annotations in sepia ink that bear witness to the study and critical apparatus of the text through the ages.
Turning the page, the back (page 626) continues the development of the territorial chronicle under the header DE GERMANIA, opening the chorographic chapters Menapii et Sicambri (Cap. CCIIII) and Iuliacum, vulgo Gulch (Cap. CCV). The Latin text initially unfolds through an imposing schematic woodcut that illustrates the genealogy and the line of descent of the dukes of Gelderland, highlighting the ties with the houses of Jülich and Cleves. Immediately below, the historical narrative focuses on the ancient peoples described by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries, analyzing the migrations of the Menapii and Sicambri along the Rhine before the arrival of the Franks. The final chapter describes in detail the county of Jülich (Iuliacum), raised to a duchy in 1356 by Emperor Louis the Bavarian, examining its agricultural fertility and the intricate hereditary successions. The page is solemnly enriched by marginal typographical notes (Rainoldus dux primus, Franci apud Rhenum habitantes, Sicambri) and introduces the methodological motivations of the author, whose monumental work is aimed at offering 16th‑century scholars a universal guide to understanding the morals, geography, and the mutability of the peoples of the Earth across the centuries.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by means of courier