The Fasciculus temporum was the first world chronicle in print, a synthesis of Biblical and world history from Genesis to the era of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484). Rolewinck, a Carthusian monk, organized the text along a horizontal timeline and in a system of circles as though turning an ecclesiastical scroll on its side--a challenge for his first typesetters, but intended to be a "simple and friendly" presentation for lay readers. The book is also illustrated with small woodcuts.
"The Fasciculus temporum ...set out to give readers an overview of world history: a readable visual presentation that they could treat as both a memory system and as the spark for religious meditation." (Rosenberg, Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline, 28)
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How Tales of Blood Libel Travel: Depictions of Jews in Fifteenth-Century European World Chronicles
Rachel Bard
This paper considers the correlation between the popularity of Werner Rolevinck’s Fasciculus Temporum and other world chronicles, and the antisemitic tropes and blood libel accusations directed against Jewish communities in later medieval Europe.
The Fasciculus repeats many stock tales of Jewish ritual murder, including a relatively little-known story from Bern, Switzerland, that Rolevinck may have adapted from the Berner Chronik. This paper also considers the connection the first Spanish printing of the Fasciculus Temporum, in Seville in 1480, with the only known Jewish ritual murder accusation in Spain, which dates to 1490, and which in turn may have been instrumental in bringing about the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492.
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Vernacular Print, Johann Prüss, and the Fasciculus Temporum
Julia Hines
This research discusses biographical information on Strasbourg printer Johann Prüss and his vernacular German work, and offers a statistical and categorical comparison to other contemporary Strasbourg printers and their vernacular German works.
Using the British Library's Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) and other sources, I created a table in the appendix that lists all the known vernacular works of each printer and their date of publication. Lastly, this paper discusses the similarities and differences between the 1490 Latin edition of the Fasciculus Temporum and the following German edition printed by Prüss in 1492.
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Woodcuts of Human Oddities in the Fasciculus temporum
Brady Brick
This paper focuses on two woodcut images of human oddities in Portland State University’s edition of the Fasciculus temporum (Prüss, Strassburg, 1490).
One woodcut shows children with birth anomalies affecting their eyes, arms, and legs. The second is of a cynocephalus or dog-headed man. The history and context of these types of images and their significance within the text are both considered. This paper also examines possible medical explanations for the physical anomalies shown in the woodcut images.
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The Carthusian Influence on Werner Rolewinck’s Approach to History
Nathaniel Harris
The Carthusian Order was founded in 1084 by St. Bruno of Cologne and a small number of followers, all seeking greater solitude and a more austere, contemplative monasticism. Carthusian monks lived predominantly isolated lives, only coming together co-operatively for prescribed religious purposes.
The intellectual and separate life of a Carthusian monk appealed to Werner Rolewinck (1425-1502), the author/compiler of the Fasciculus temporum, one of the two texts (together with the Malleus maleficarum) included in Portland State University Library’s late fifteenth-century codex. With its structure modeled on early chronicles and biblical conventions, its inclusion of a variety of woodcut illustrations, and its short, direct entries, the Fasciculus, true to its monastic roots, was intended to provide historical examples of good and bad conduct in a manner accessible to medieval audiences.
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Manuscripts, Incunables, Books: How and Why the World Chronicles Changed
Philippe Kerstens
The basic purpose and outline of a world chronicle was to outline the history of humanity, the kingdoms, and Christendom for the reader. When the method of producing chronicles changed from manuscript to the printed page, there was a corresponding physical change in the layout and appearance of the final product. Whether through the use of cheaper material (paper), a shift in design and style, or a further customizability, these changes reflected and signified consumers’ evolving expectations of the product itself.
Incunables gradually transformed from heavily decorated, printed editions resembling earlier manuscripts to increasingly simple printings. PSU’s edition of the Fasciculus temporum allows us to shine a spotlight on a variety of changes in the production and layout of written narratives and world chronicles, from hand-written manuscripts to the age of print.
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Marginalia and Nota bene in the Fasciculus temporum: Frontispiece and Folios 4-23
Michael Jeremy Maly
The goal of this project was the creation of a catalogue of all marginal notes and nota bene intended to draw attention to specific passages within the Fasciculus temporum.
This catalogue is meant to be used as a quick reference for readers to assist in finding specific marginalia and nota bene with greater ease. It covers folios 4-23. This compilation of notes written in the Fasciculus temporum could also be used as a research tool for further study of this edition (Prüss, Strassburg, c.1490) of the Fasciculus temporum.
This catalogue describes the notations by folio and location on the page. In order to produce a better understanding of the notes taken, the Latin has been roughly translated.
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Noah’s Ark and Burning Sodom: Woodcuts in the PSU codex Fasciculus temporum
Amber L. Shrewsbury
Early printed books were illustrated by means of woodcut block illustrations. These illustrations frequently depicted well-known biblical events or stories and cities, and the woodcuts were frequently reused, sometimes within the same edition.
The focus of this paper is two woodcut illustrations in PSU’s 1490 edition of Werner Rolewinck’s Fasciculus temporum: Noah’s Ark and the destruction of Sodom. Comparisons are made between these two illustrations and relevant woodcuts in other editions of the Fasciculus temporum, as well as those found in a 1493 edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel.