Truth represented as the word of God assailed by persecution, superstition, tradition, betrayal and violence. Etching by C. Murer after himself, c. 1600-1614.

  • Murer, Christoph, 1558-1614.
Date:
1622
Reference:
26703i
Part of:
XL Emblemata miscella nova
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Description

Accompanies a speech in Murer's play on the persecution of Christ. Here, Truth is crowned and holds an open book bearing the words "Verbu(m) dei". A soldier bears a shield marked "Persequution"; a man carries a bellows marked "Superstit". A figure on the ground in the centre leans on a book marked "Traditio". Cannons bear the words "Proditio" and "Violentia". On the right Time carrying an hour-glass holds Truth by the wrist

Publication/Creation

Zurich : Johann Rudolf Wolf, 1622.

Physical description

1 print : etching.

Lettering

Veritas ...

References note

Thea Vignau-Wilberg, 'Christoph Murer und die "XL. Emblemata miscella nova"' (Bern : Benteli Verlag, 1982)

Reference

Wellcome Collection 26703i

Notes

This series was originally intended by Murer to serve as illustration to his play 'Edessa', but he died before completing it. The play concerned the politics surrounding the Arian controversy in the fourth century Christian church. In her book (cited below), T. Vignau-Wilberg demonstrates that Murer used the story of the persecutions in Edessa of non-Arians by Arians as a cipher for the persecution of Protestants by Catholics in his contemporary Europe. However, the play was never published and the etchings were published as emblems eight years after his death, with a different text written by Johann Heinrich Rordorf, sometimes at variance with the intention of the original

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