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.
Source: Hans Burgkmair (the Elder). The imperial double-headed eagle
with the coats of arms of the cities and principalities of the Holy
Roman Empire. Woodcut, printed in Leipzig, Nickel N.F.. Original:
Kupferstichkabinett, SMB.
bpk-Bildagentur, picture number 00028340.
For rights inquiries please contact the bpk-Bildagentur:
kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de or Art Resource: requests@artres.com (for
North America).
Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Kupferstichkabinett, SMB / Jörg P. Anders