Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils
Title
Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils
Alternative Title
Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation
Description
The star chart in Stephan Fridolin’s Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation is a woodcut print depicting Earth at the center of the solar system. Stephan Fridolin worked in a Franciscan monastery in Nuremberg, Germany where he wrote Schatzbehalter to spread knowledge of Christ’s passion. The maps and drawings in the 1491 book are attributed to Michael Wolgemut, who engraved 96 unique woodcuts for this book. Michael Wolgemut was a medieval artist who specialized in woodcuts as seen in Schatzbehalter. Michael was known to be a competent artist but is most well known for mentoring Albrecht Dürer who went on to be an extremely successful printer and painter.
The focus of the chart is Earth as the center of the universe. Earth is represented by an image of baby Jesus Christ lying on the ground. Jesus is surrounded by two women, one of which is Mary. Mary has a halo around her head while the other woman’s hair is covered by cloth. Rolling hills lie behind Jesus with houses and foliage as background detail. Ruffled cloth is drawn to surround this image of Jesus.
Outside Earth is a series of concentric circles divided into 36 segments. The outermost circle contains a symbol of each zodiac sign with Gemini at the top. The closest circle to Earth depicts the moon in the same segment as Taurus, the next contains Mercury which is portrayed between Sagittarius and Capricorn, the next contains Venus with Aquarius, followed by the Sun, again depicted between Sagittarius and Capricorn, Mars under Aries, Jupiter between Libra and Virgo, and lastly Saturn under Gemini. Each celestial body occupies a circle further from Earth at the center as the bodies presumably got further from Earth. The moon and sun have symbols of their own rather than the six-pointed star symbol used for the other five planets in the solar system.
Because the planets appear static in a constantly moving solar system and because Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of the chart, it can be assumed that this chart depicts Christ's horoscope from the day he was born. A hand is seen under the horoscope representing someone holding up the horoscope to the reader of the book. The rest of the page is left blank while a rectangular border encompasses the horoscope and the hand.
This chart was created by Stephan Fridolin and Michael Wolgemut as a guide for nuns at the Convent of Saint Klara in Nuremberg to enhance their passion for Christianity. The visuals in Schatzbehalter were created to be meditated upon by nuns which would give them enlightenment and knowledge through extensive observation of the woodcuts. Notably, the Schatzbehalter was published during the German reform period and was reproduced and shared by nuns to strengthen the spiritual life of the German people.
This chart symbolizes the massive progress made in astronomy during the medieval period. Most early medieval star charts, including this one, contained simple information based mostly on ancient texts rather than observation of the stars. Through the 16th century, much more emphasis was placed on observation of the night sky, and books such as star atlases were published that mapped the night sky and its constellations. The 16th century also saw the movement from geocentrism to heliocentrism disproving the planetary model depicted in the Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation.
The chart is an important example of evolving medieval technology as it relies on both printmaking techniques and astronomical practices. Michael Wolgemut was especially important to the printing community as he mentored Albrecht Dürer who was important in developing engraving technology and technique.
(Liam Atkins 2024)
The focus of the chart is Earth as the center of the universe. Earth is represented by an image of baby Jesus Christ lying on the ground. Jesus is surrounded by two women, one of which is Mary. Mary has a halo around her head while the other woman’s hair is covered by cloth. Rolling hills lie behind Jesus with houses and foliage as background detail. Ruffled cloth is drawn to surround this image of Jesus.
Outside Earth is a series of concentric circles divided into 36 segments. The outermost circle contains a symbol of each zodiac sign with Gemini at the top. The closest circle to Earth depicts the moon in the same segment as Taurus, the next contains Mercury which is portrayed between Sagittarius and Capricorn, the next contains Venus with Aquarius, followed by the Sun, again depicted between Sagittarius and Capricorn, Mars under Aries, Jupiter between Libra and Virgo, and lastly Saturn under Gemini. Each celestial body occupies a circle further from Earth at the center as the bodies presumably got further from Earth. The moon and sun have symbols of their own rather than the six-pointed star symbol used for the other five planets in the solar system.
Because the planets appear static in a constantly moving solar system and because Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of the chart, it can be assumed that this chart depicts Christ's horoscope from the day he was born. A hand is seen under the horoscope representing someone holding up the horoscope to the reader of the book. The rest of the page is left blank while a rectangular border encompasses the horoscope and the hand.
This chart was created by Stephan Fridolin and Michael Wolgemut as a guide for nuns at the Convent of Saint Klara in Nuremberg to enhance their passion for Christianity. The visuals in Schatzbehalter were created to be meditated upon by nuns which would give them enlightenment and knowledge through extensive observation of the woodcuts. Notably, the Schatzbehalter was published during the German reform period and was reproduced and shared by nuns to strengthen the spiritual life of the German people.
This chart symbolizes the massive progress made in astronomy during the medieval period. Most early medieval star charts, including this one, contained simple information based mostly on ancient texts rather than observation of the stars. Through the 16th century, much more emphasis was placed on observation of the night sky, and books such as star atlases were published that mapped the night sky and its constellations. The 16th century also saw the movement from geocentrism to heliocentrism disproving the planetary model depicted in the Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation.
The chart is an important example of evolving medieval technology as it relies on both printmaking techniques and astronomical practices. Michael Wolgemut was especially important to the printing community as he mentored Albrecht Dürer who was important in developing engraving technology and technique.
(Liam Atkins 2024)
Creator
Stephan Fridolin
Michael Wolgemut
Source
Stephan Fridolin. Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils. Nuremberg, Anton Koberger, 1491.
Format
Map in Book
Publisher
Fridolin, Stephan. Schatzbehalter. Portland, Or: Collegium Graphicum, 1972.
Date
1491
Medium
Wood Cut
Contributor
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Language
German
Type
Celestial Map
Cosmographical Diagram
Spatial Coverage
The Universe
Earth
References
Breitenbach, Almut, and Stefan Matter, “Image, Text, and Mind: Franciscan Tertiaries Rewriting Stephan Fridolin’s Schatzbehalter in the Pütrichkloster in Munich,” in Nuns’ Literacies in Medieval Europe: The Antwerp Dialogue, edited by Virginia Blanton, Veronica O’Mara, and Patricia Stoop. Brepolis Publishers, 2017.
British Museum. “Das buoch das der schrein od' schatzbehalter heisset.” Last modified June, 2011. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1904-0206-1-1-96Edson, Evelyn, and Emilie Savage-Smith. Medieval Views of the Cosmos. Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2004.
Herlihy, Anna Friedman. “Renaissance Star Charts.” In Cartography in the European Renaissance, 99–122. University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Wolgemut, Michael. 2018. In The Columbia Encyclopedia, by Paul Lagasse and Columbia University, 8th ed. Columbia University Press, 2018.
Hall, Cynthia Anne. “Treasury Book of the Passion: Word and Image in the ‘Schatzbehalter.’” ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2002.
Rights
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Collection
Citation
Stephan Fridolin and Michael Wolgemut, “Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils,” Mapping the World, accessed April 30, 2025, https://hist231.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/63.