Sebastian Brant | Varia carmina, Basel, 1498, containing a poem about life as a chess game versus Death

Sebastian Brant

Varia carmina. Basel: Johann Bergmann, 1 May 1498

4to (199 x 141 mm), Collation: A–D⁸ E–H^4,8 I–K⁴ a⁸ b–c⁴ d–h⁸ i⁴ k–l⁸ n⁴ m⁴, 144 leaves (only, of 148: lacking n5-8); variant with the additional n signature dated 1 Sept. 1498, bound before m, title-page with large woodcut, four (of five) large woodcuts, modern boards, red speckled edges, lacking 3 leaves, marginal repairs to leaves A1–2, endleaves renewed, upper hinge cracked, washed, rubbed

"...Adsum nulla mora est: patere inviolabile schach mate" (De periculoso scacorum ludo)

Sebastian Brant (1458–1521) was born in Strassburg and educated in Basel, where he taught in the university, and both published and proof-read books for Froben and others. In 1494 he published his Narrenschiff, a satirical poem, and, like Lord Byron, became famous overnight: it was one of the most widely circulated books of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. He returned to Strassburg in 1500 and played an important role in the Alsatian humanist movement.

His Varia carmina contain poems on Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, the passion of Christ, and various contemporary figures and events. Amongst these poems is "De periculoso scacorum ludo inter mortem & humanem conditionem" (Concerning the dangerous chess game between Death and the human condition), a verse casting life as a perilous chess game against an unbeatable opponent. The poem includes an address by Death to his opponent, the emperor: "Kein zyt ich beitt, schachmatt ich sprich, | Kein alltt noch venden fristen dich" (I don't wait any time, I say checkmate | neither bishop nor pawns give you respite).

LITERATURE:

ISTC ib01099000