Nuremberg Chronicle

Nuremberg Chronicle
Woodcut of Nuremberg, Nuremberg Chronicle
AuthorHartmann Schedel
Original titleLiber Chronicarum
IllustratorMichael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff
LanguageLatin; German
SubjectHistory of the world
GenreUniversal history[1]
Published1493
PublisherAnton Koberger
Pages336

The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, and the histories of important Christian and secular cities from antiquity. Finished in 1493, it was originally written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, and a German version was translated by Georg Alt. It is one of the best-documented early printed books—an incunabulum—and one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.

Latin scholars refer to it as the Liber Chronicarum ("Book of Chronicles") as this phrase appears in the index introduction of the Latin edition. English-speakers have long referred to it as the Nuremberg Chronicle after the city in which it was published. German-speakers refer to it as Schedelsche Weltchronik ("Schedel's World History") in honour of its author.

  1. ^ Biddick 2013, pp. 45–46.