Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis...

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the inner sections of the third book of the 1550 Latin edition of Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri. The front of the page (bearing the heading LIBER III and the page number 773) opens by completing the ancient chronicles of the Dukes of Bavaria, then inaugurating the broad historiographical section entitled DE GVELFIS COMITIBVS, QVI AD DVCALEM ascenderunt dignitatem (Cap. CCCLXVI). The Latin text meticulously traces the origins of the famous Guelph dynasty from the progenitor Guelfo I di Altdorf (Guelfus primus comes Altorfensis), who lived in the time of Charlemagne. The visual composition of the front is superbly enriched by a woodcut profile of the count set into the capiterra and, in the lower portion, by the branched tree diagram of the Genealogia Guelforum, embellished with printed marginal glosses (Guelfus 1047 seu Kunigundis). Turning the page, the back (bearing the heading DE GERMANIA and the page number 774) continues the genealogical examination describing the subsequent branches of the house, including the figure of Enrico il Leone (Henricus Leo), his fiefs in Saxony and his alternating fortunes under the Empire. Immediately below lies the geographical chapter DE QVIBVSDAM CIVITATIBVS Bauariae and, in particular, the monographic section dedicated to the city of RATISPONA (Cap. CCCLXVII). The text describes the happy and ancient geographical location of Ratisbona along the banks of the Danube (ad ripas Danubij), recounting its Roman origins dating to the campaigns of the commanders Tiberius and Drusus, its importance as a camp site of the Legio III Italica (Legio tertia Italica) and its historic stone monuments. The facade is magnificently decorated by a colored heraldic woodcut bearing the crossed-keys emblem of the city of Ratisbona, flanked by exquisite contemporary marginal glosses (Augusta Tiberij, Augusta Drusi, Legio quarta italica, Riparij). Dimensions 30 x 20 cm Will be shipped by courier

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