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

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the inner sections of the third 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 section entitled LIBER III (page 625), expressly dedicated by Münster to the description of Germany and the territories of the Lower Rhine. The Latin text develops beneath the broad historical head 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 recounts with deep solemnity the succession of the first dukes, the tense jurisdictional negotiations, and the harsh territorial wars of the fifteenth century, dwelling in particular on the mighty figure of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and on the complex dynastic events that led to the annexation of these territories. The visual composition of the front is enriched by a fine half-figure woodcut showing a duke in ceremonial Renaissance robes with the heraldic shield and the sword, accompanied by contemporaneous marginal glosses (Gelriae comites, Duces Gheldriae, Carolus dux ultimus) and by ancient handwritten annotations in sepia ink that testify to the study and critical apparatus of the text through the centuries. Turning the page, the back (page 626) continues the territorial chronicle under the heading 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 diagrammatic woodcut illustrating 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), elevated to a duchy in 1356 by Emperor Louis the Bavarian, examining its agricultural fertility and the intricate hereditary succession. The page is solemnly enriched by marginal typographic notes (Rainoldus dux primus, Franci apud Rhenum habitantes, Sicambri) and introduces the author's methodological motivations, whose monumental work aims to offer XVIth-century scholars a universal guide to understanding the morals, geography, and changes of the peoples of the Earth through the centuries. Dimensions 30 x 20 cm It will be shipped by courier.

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