Recto Description
Folio LXXXIX Recto begins by telling the story of the great and generous philosopher Arcesilaus, who studied in Athens in during his childhood. He first studied rhetoric but soon found philosophy was his calling, thanks to his mentors Theophrastus and Crantor. After the death of the latter, Arcesilaus became the chair at the Academy. During his years there he revolutionized the philosopher's mindset, and reinstated the Socratic method of teaching at his New Academy. His enemies, mainly the Stoics, accused him of blasphemous things, but some truth could bee seen in their accusations as he died at age 76 after a drunken fit. The text then goes into the beginnings of the Punic Wars, when Aemilius of Carthage waged war against the Tarentines who were aided by Pyrrhus of Greece. After four years of warfare a peace treaty was made. Pyrrhus lost great numbers of men despite his victory in many battles, the term 'Pyrrhic victory' then came to mean a victory that was so costly it was deemed a loss. The text then describes the story of Marcus Valerius, a brave solider who took on a Gaul who was significantly stronger than him. A raven landed on his shield before the battle and stayed with him during the battle and pecked at the Gaul until he was dead. Afterward the raven vanished, and Marcus earned the nickname Corvinus, corvus meaning raven in Latin. Corvinus was consul six times and dictator twice, and through his leadership greatly aided his country. The text then talks of Lucius Papirius, elected dictator of Rome by the senate. He hired Quintus Fabius as Master of Calvery. As dictator he waged war against the Samnites, but when business brought him to Rome, he left Fabius in charge and instructed him not to engage in battle. Fabuis heard through intel that the enemy was weakened and against the dictator's rules he attacked. Although the dictator sentenced him to death, but was released before his execution. The following year the Romans defeated the Samnites under Papirius' dictatoriship.
Illustration Descriptions
Upper Left
Portrayed here is the philospher Arcesilaus
Middle Left
Portrayed here is Marcus Valerius, or Covinus
Bottom Left
Portrayed here is Lucius Papirius
Left Side
Here is a continuation of the Lineage of Roman Dictators
- Torquantus and Decius, both aided Alexander against Egypt
- Gemicius and Sempronius, The former conquered the Africans and the Tarentines and the latter conquered the Pisans
Sources:
Schedel, Harmann 1440-1514, Schmauch, Walter W., Hadavas, Kosata. First English Edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle: Being the Liber Chronicarum of Dr. Hartmann SchedelÖ, University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center, Madison, WI, 2010. Accessed 5/4/2020 http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/nur.001.0004