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The Representations of Constantinople in Hartmann Schedel’s World Chronicle , and Related Pictures

1998; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 22; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1179/byz.1998.22.1.1

1749-625X

Albrecht Berger, Jonathan Bardill,

Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics

The Liber chronicarum that was written by the humanist Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514) from Nuremberg, and which appeared in 1493, is one of the most sumptuous printed works of the fifteenth century, largely because of its wood-cut illustrations by Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Among these wood-cuts there is a panorama of Constantinople on fol. 129 v and 130 r (fig. 1) that is repeated later in the chronicle three times in a slightly simplified form with small variants. The panorama appears where the chronicle describes the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great, although the text also gives some information about the history of the city until the conquest by the Ottomans in 1453. Since the account is of little interest and contains a number of incorrect details, we will confine ourselves to an analysis of the illustration.