Posts by Ina Nettekoven

Since the 5th century B.C., the area at the bend of the Rhine, on which the city of Basel now stands, has been inhabited. First by Kelts, but not much later, the Romans discovered the lovely and strategically beneficial spot. The actual name of the city Basilia was first mentioned in the 4th century. In our blog post, however, we will focus on another time, namely 15th century, when Basel became a European centre of book art. When we look at the festive lights around the hill of the cathedral and the Christmas market on Barfüsserplatz, it is not difficult to picture ourselves in the epoch of faith, hope, and - alas - unfathomable fears: the late Middle Ages.

In Luke's Gospel (2:1-20), the story of Christ's birth is told. Most of us have known it since childhood:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

The first book to be printed with movable type printing was a Bible - the Book of Books. Around 1454/55, Johannes Gutenberg from Mainz set about the daunting task of printing a Bible with 324 pages in folio format. Gutenberg's Bible was printed in Latin. Not long after his first printing adventure, other printed Bibles followed in Latin and in German.

Obviously, public demand was great.

Their story is known by more than a billion people all over the world: Three Magi travelled from the Orient to Bethlehem guided by a star. They found the Christ Child in a humble stable lying in a manger and brought him gold, incense and myrrh. Their story is told quite concisely in Matthew's Gospel 2:1-12. But there is another more detailed and far more embroidered narrative on the events before, during, and after the three magi encountered the Holy Family. It was written by a German Carmelite monk, called Johannes of Hildesheim. His tale is lesser known but very elucidating. 

The birth and especially the resurrection of Christ are the most important festive days for Christianity. They form the beginning and the end of the winter cycle during the ecclesiastical year. Many medieval liturgical books revolve around the celebration of saintly feasts throughout the year. Here we encounter a beautiful Swiss-German Breviary from the 15th century with a great number of decorated initials and a glorious page that tells the story of Christ's nativity in an entertaining and endearing way.

The present beautiful and well preserved old binding from the first half of the 15th century is not only a magnificent example of the rare and sublime technique of cuir-ciselé (carved leather), but also still has its original chain with which the book was attached to its lectern in the library. 

Many of you might have experienced the most bizarre and foolish of times in Basel: since four o'clock a.m. last Monday, "Frau Fasnacht" (Madame Shrovetide) ruled the city. Cliques were parading up and down the city centre as well as in front of the Antiquariat Dr. Jörn Günther, playing their music; stopping only occasionally to have a drink or a hot flour soup to refresh and restore themselves. 

The idea of the inverse world – where everyday laws are turned upside down and those who usually have to bow their heads and serve call the shots – reaches back to antiquity. The chasing away of winter, darkness, and evil spirits has been a tradition since ancient times.