GHDI logo


The Imperial Eagle and the Imperial Estates (1510)

In this woodcut, the oldest and most popular representation of the Holy Roman Empire, the coats-of-arms of the Imperial estates (both spiritual and temporal) are arranged in the form of the Imperial eagle. The coats-of-arms of the three spiritual electors (Mainz, Cologne, and Trier) and the papal coat-of-arms appear in the top row (to the left of the crucifix), completing this picture of the Holy Roman Empire as a fusion of the spiritual and the temporal. This woodcut was reproduced on everything from town hall murals to drinking vessels. Colored woodcut by David de Negker, 1510.

print version     return to image list previous image      next image

The Imperial Eagle and the Imperial Estates (1510)

© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Kupferstichkabinett, SMB / Jörg P. Anders
Original: Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin