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Night of the Assassins
17C Engraving, Night of the Assassins, Zurich
This marvelous 17th Century copperplate engraving
by Conrad Meyer shows a furious battle scene in the city of Zurich
on the famous "Night of the Assassins" or Mordnacht in 1350. The signature "Conrad Meyer fecit" appears in
the plate, and there is also a date, 1676. Printed in strong relief
on handlaid chainlinked paper. The Night of the Assassins: In 1336, the knight
Rudolf Brun succeeded ousting a group of Zurich city council members
in order to give greater equity to guild members in running the
affairs of Zurich. He then proclaimed himself mayor of Zurich for
life. But the exiled council members continued to seek to return
and capture the city. On the night of February 23, 1350, the former
council members tried unsuccessfully to overthrow Rudolf Brun and
were defeated by the citizens of Zurich. The butchers of the “Guild
Zum Widder” played an important role in this defeat. Widder
means ram in German, and you can see the guild's symbol, a prancing
ram, on the flag in the background. Conrad Meyer (1618 - 1689) was one of Zurich's most prolific and famous painters and engravers and the member of a famous family of Swiss painters. One of the outstanding artists of his time, Meyer worked as an engraver for Matthias Merian's famous print making enterprise. He is listed in all the major artist references, from the Benezit to the Dictonary of Art.
We believe this print comes from the series of New Year's Engravings (Neujahrsblaetter) published for the youth of Zurich by the Zurich library. Conrad Meyer started this series together with the poet Johann Wilhelm Simler who wrote the verses that appeared under the images. The tradition was later continued by his son, Johannes Meyer. The rhyming text in German is difficult to decipher
because of the old script, but I believe it reads something like
this: Hier, an Sanct Mathias Nacht, als von ..Schlaff, ueberfallen
lag, ploetslich Mord ...betraft, Zurich, die Uralte Statt, dann
Graff Hans von Habsburg sich mit der aus gejagten Ross heimlich
hin und her verstriech....etc. . Essentially it tells the story
of the attack of the city on the eve of St. Matthias. Count Johann
II von Hapsburg-Laufenberg, the lord of Rapperswyl, participated
in the attack against the city. Later Rudolf Brun laid siegeto Rapperswyl
in revenge. Dimensions: Platemark: 6 X 10.75 (15 cm X 27 cm), Sheet, Around 14 X 10.5 (Around 36 X 27 cm)
Condition: Nice handlaid chainlinked paper (see photo detail) Very good condition inside plate mark. Light smudging of text. Nice clear lines and strong imprint in illustration. There is some staining in the margins (see photo below). Some tape has been applied to the back outer edges (see photo of back below)
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