1561 Munster Leaf: Austria Vienna Church 1 Woodcut

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1561 Description of Austria from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster
Geography, History, Church, Vienna
One Woodcut Picture

Single authentic woodcut leaf from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster. German edition; Basel printing house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1561. Book III ("Von dem Deutschen land"), pages dcccclxxv/dcccclxxvi (975/6).

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar whose Cosmographia (1544; "Cosmography") was the earliest German description of the world and a major work - after the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 - in the revival of geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. Altogether, about 40 editions of the Cosmographia appeared during 1544-1628. Although other cosmographies predate Münster's, he is given first place in historical discussions of this sort of publication, and was a major influence on his subject for over 200 years.

In nearly all works about Münster, his Cosmographia is given pride of place. Despite this, we still lack a detailed survey of its contents from edition to edition, during the years 1544 to 1628, and an account of its influence on a wide range of scientific disciplines. Münster obtained the material for his book in three ways. He used all available literary sources. He tried to obtain original manuscript material for description of the countryside and of villages and towns. Finally, he obtained further material on his travels (primarily in south-west Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace). Cosmographia contained not only the latest maps and views of many well-known cities, but included an encyclopaedic amount of detail about the known - and unknown - world and undoubtedly must have been one of the most widely read books of its time. Aside from the well-known maps and views present in the Cosmographia (including the first separate printed map of the Western Hemisphere), the text is thickly sprinkled with vigorous woodcuts: portraits of kings and princes, costumes and occupations, habits and customs, flora and fauna, monsters and horrors. Münster divided his material into six books. Book I is a useful summary of astronomical-mathematical and physical geography. Book II deals with England, Spain, France, and Italy. Book III deals with Germany and surrounding lands. Book IV embraces northern, eastern, and south-eastern Europe. Books V (Asia and America) and VI (Africa) are of modest proportions.

This authentic leaf from the German edition of Cosmographia is devoted to Austria. Page 975 gives some general facts on Austria. Münster writes about the establishment of the Duchy of Austria by Henry duke of Austria in 1156 (actually, the text quotes the year of 1158), invasions of the Huns, the union of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, about the Habsburg emperors, and about Vienna. Page 976 deals with the Catholic Church in Austria: orders, provinces, and bishops. A short paragraph talks about the Order of St. George founded in Austria by the Emperor Frederick III and approved by Paul II in 1464. This needy prince was unable to assure a sufficient endowment for the support of his knights, and the pope gave him permission to transfer to the new order the property of a commandery of St. John and a Benedictine abbey in the town of Milestadt, to which the emperor added some parishes in his patronage. Nevertheless the knights had to rely for support on their personal possession, therefore they did not make a vow of poverty, but simply of obedience and chastity, and, owing to this lack of resources, the order did not survive its founder.

The page contains one woodcut picture of the coat-of-arms of Lower Austria. The symbol of five eagles was first documented around 1335 as the heraldic device of the Babenberg Duke Leopold III. See pictures for more details; click image to view larger version.

Page measures 7.75 x 11.75 inches Printed on laid paper. The leaf is in good condition. Imperfections: minor soiling and handling in margins; small marginal repairs. It is rare and exceptionally interesting historical document which will look great with a mat and frame.

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