Swiss Chronicle of Wernher Schodoler

The most significant illustrated chronicle from Switzerland comes from the author and illuminator Wernher Schodoler. This work is guided by earlier chronicles, principally the Bern Chronicle by Diebold Schilling. The Swiss Chronicle of Wernher Schodoler consists of three parts. In the first volume, the history of the federation up to the Council of Constance in 1415 is portrayed. The second volume deals with the history of the Old Zurich War and is decorated with numerous color illustrations. The third volume is concerned with the Mühlhausen War, the Burgundian War, the Swabian War, and the Italian Campaign. This volume contains colored drawings, which possess a completely innovative quality that clarifies the methodical transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Wernher Schodoler Fulfills his own Dream

The chronicler Schodoler, who was born in the Swiss city of Bremgarten in 1490, came from a highly esteemed family. His forefathers faithfully rendered service to their city municipality. He himself was active in the city council of Bern at the beginning of the 16th century, where he gained insight in to the politics and the valuable chronicles of the city. Furthermore, he participated in multiple military conflicts on behalf of his home. He compiled his Swiss Chronicle not at the wish of his employers, but instead he fulfilled therewith his own desire, namely to record the glorious military events and everyday life of his hometown for his descendants.

Critically Documented History

As a model for his great chronicle, Schodoler used the chronicles of other Swiss authors, above all others he relied upon the works by von Etterlin and Diebold Schiller. He did not incorporate these chronicles without commentary, but rather he critically reworked the models, got rid of unimportant passages or changed them according to his own judgement. He did not shy away from making his opinion known, even when it contradicted his predecessors. In addition, he added his own essays concerning the civil and everyday life of his home and made his corpus into a comprehensive historical source.

The Dawning of a New Age

The illustrations are of great significance to art history, which are found in the three volumes of the chronicle. In the first volume, colored ornamentation is sparingly applied, but the second volume is already decorated with 130 colored pen and ink drawing and golden initials. Schodoler himself belonged to the three illuminators involved here. The illuminators succeeded in recording their keen observation of their surroundings in atmospherically poetic and surprisingly realistic miniatures. In the third volume there are 196 pen and ink drawings with sepia, which originated from an unknown and highly talented illuminator. The artist depicts his landscapes in a completely innovative perspective, lending him depth and breadth that was unusual in the Middle Ages. These depictions of people, who were pertinent to the text, mostly found in martial situations, are of an innovative quality. The human figures, who are supposed to combine the warrior and the artist, mark a new mentality that documents the way from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance.