Although relatively few people are familiar with his name, Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514) was one of the most illustrious of Renaissance Polymaths, and one of the first European cartographers to make use of the printing press. Indeed, he was the creator of the magnificent early incunabulum, the Nuremberg Chronicle, a name far more familiar than that of its author. As creator of the Chronical, he occupies a prominent place in the intellectual and cultural history of late medieval Europe.
A physician, historian, humanist, and cartographer, Schedel is best known for his monumental work, the Liber Chronicarum, commonly referred to as the Nuremberg Chronicle. This richly illustrated incunabulum, printed in 1493, provides one of the most comprehensive overviews to be published of world history and geography from the perspective of late 15th-century Europe. Its combination of text, maps, and woodcut illustrations exemplifies the integration of humanist scholarship and the burgeoning technology of the printing press.
Schedel was born on February 13, 1440, in Nuremberg, a city that was among the most significant centers of commerce, culture, and art in the Holy Roman Empire. He hailed from a well-to-do family, which afforded him access to one of the finest educations available at the time. Schedel enrolled at the University of Leipzig in 1456, where he studied the liberal arts, developing a foundation in classical texts and the principles of humanist thought. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1457 and went on to pursue further studies at the prestigious University of Padua in Italy, a leading centre of Renaissance scholarship.
In Padua, Schedel immersed himself in medicine, earning his doctorate in 1466. On earning his doctorate in medicine and surgery, he undertook to develop a career as a physician, first in Nördlingen, then in Amberg. Finally in 1481 at the age of forty-one, he returned to his native Nürnberg (Nuremberg), where he would stay for the rest of his life, and where he would create his masterpiece.
His time in Italy had significantly influenced his intellectual trajectory, exposing him to a world of classical learning, manuscript collections, and the vibrant cultural exchange that defined the Renaissance. Schedel’s education shaped his broad intellectual pursuits, which extended beyond medicine to include history, geography, and the natural sciences. His studies in Padua also included learning Greek, collectig inscriptions from the many antiquities in the city, along with studying works by clasical authors such as Ovid and Cicero.
On his return home, he began to actively take part in the flourishing of the arts which the city was experiencing and would continue to experience for some decades. This great flourishing was to result in the city’s developing a reputation as an important centre of learning and innovation in the Western World, and in the publication of his huge opus, the Nuremberg Chronicle.
Schedel drew his material for the Chronicle from multiple classical, medieval and Renaissance sources and he incorporated geographical and historical information on European countries and towns. Its narrative is divided into eleven parts profusely illustrated by images of biblical and historical events, peoples in their native costumes along with topographical views of towns and countries throughout Europe and the Middle East, including Jerusalem (and its destruction). and Byzantium. 
Nuremberg in 1493
At the time the Chronicle was published, Nuremberg, located close to the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, was a prosperous and thriving imperial city. Its population of approximately 20,000 was close in size to the largest cities of the Empire. Its wealth and productivity as a trade centre meant it was one of the most important cities in southern Germany of its day, ably competing with Augsburg and Basel.
Its designation as imperial signified its autonomous status. Not owing allegiance to any local lord or prince, its only fealty was to the emperor himself. The city had the privilege of governing itself with a high degree of autonomy, usually including the right to mint coins, collect taxes, and to organize its own military; essentially, it answered only to the emperor and enjoyed special privileges within the empire. Among the most notable of the imperial cities were Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Augsburg, Cologne, and Strasbourg.
Nuremburg’s status was enhanced by its physical appearance. Sporting high, strong walls with 150 lookout towers, further fortified by a sixty-foot trench, approaching the city from any direction would have impressed even wealthy and seasoned travelers. Remarks made about the city often praised its physical beauty, its culture and its unique form of self-government. Its architecture was admired and praised, and the lure of the city kept merchants coming to it in a steady stream, bringing with them new ideas, art forms, and technical advances which evolved rapidly in the wealthy city.
The Nuremberg Chronicle was created in Nuremberg as a collaborative project of a group of citizens of the city. Its merchants, artists, and printers were all involved in the project, and the city's humanist culture provided a stimulating environment for the work. The city was a centre for northern humanism, and home to artists such as Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, who illustrated the book as well as numerous other artists, including Albrecht Dürer, who was apprenticed to Wolgemut. It was also home to home to Anton Koberger, the founder of the city's first printing house, one of the largest in Europe, with connections to other printing firms.
This vibrant intellectual climate along with the support of wealthy citizens such as Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, who funded the project, resulted in the creation of a world chronicle that strove to document a Christian oriented history from ‘The Creation to the Last Judgment'. With its combination of text and illustrations (1809 images), from the date of its first publication in 1493, the Nuremburg Chronicle has been known as a milestone in the history of publishing.
New World Cartographic