Wall charts, history and European Identity

The picture shows five woodcarvings, which are known to be used since the 1400th century. After 1450 A.C., with the development of movable printing these woodcarvings were frequently used as book illustrations. The first colour woodcuts, after Durer’s monochrome graphics were created in the year 1486. In the year 1520 Albrecht Altdorfer executed a multicolour printing with six printing blocks. You can see depictions of 5 landsknechts wearing typical clothes (coloured shirts and trousers with slit puffy sleeves, wide brimmed berets with feathers, cow-mouth shoes, coloured socks, and some of them wearing chest protection or chain mails) and carrying typical weapons (Katzbalger, pike, halberds). These five landsknetchs stand for different posts and duties of the time: 1. „Drumelschlager“ (of Hans Guldenmundt); 2. „Schramhanns“ (H. Guldenmundt); 3. „Der mit dem handt Roer“; 4. „Branntmayster (fire chief) (Niclas Melzeman letter painter in Nurnberg near the Lange Brücken)“; 5. „Feldtschreiber“.