Several
illustrated chronicles were created in the
Old Swiss Confederacy in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were luxurious
illuminated manuscripts produced for the urban elite of
Bern and
Lucerne, and their copious detailed illustrations allow a unique insight into the politics and daily life of late medieval
Switzerland on the eve of the
Reformation. The most important of these chronicles are the works of the two
Diebold Schillings, their luxurious execution, as well as their content reflecting the growing confidence and self-esteem of the leaders of the confederacy after their spectacular successes in the
Burgundian Wars.