Carta marina

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Carta marina et descriptio septentrionalium terrarium (Latin)
English: Marine map and description of the Northern lands
Carta Marina.jpeg
Composite from 1949 facsimile

Carta marina et descriptio septentrionalium terrarum (Latin for Marine map and description of the Northern lands; [1] commonly abbreviated Carta marina) is the first map of the Nordic countries to give details and place names, created by Swedish ecclesiastic Olaus Magnus and initially published in 1539. Only two earlier maps of the Nordic countries are known, those of Jacob Ziegler (Strasbourg, 1532) and Claudius Clavus (15th century).

Contents

The map is centred on Scandia, which is shown in the largest size text on the map and placed on the middle of Sweden. The map covers the Nordic lands of "Svecia" (Svealand) and "Gothia" (Götaland) (both areas in Sweden), "Norvegia" (Norway), Dania (Denmark), "Fare" (Faroe Islands), Islandia (Iceland), Finlandia (Finland), Lituania (Lithuania), Livonia (Estonia and Latvia), and "pars" (parts of) "Scotie" (Scotland; including Orkney and Shetland) and "Anglie" (England). The map is framed with longitudes and latitudes running from 55° to the Arctic Circle. [2] The sea is filled with numerous animals, many recognisable, including various whales and walrus. [3]

The map is 1.70 m wide by 1.25 m tall, and was printed in black and white from nine 55 × 40 cm woodcut blocks sequenced from west to east and north to south, and identified in the centre with the letters A to I. [4]

History

Carta Marina on display at Carolina Rediviva. Carolina Rediviva - Carta Marina (1964).png
Carta Marina on display at Carolina Rediviva.

The map was created in Rome during 1527–39 by Olaus Magnus (1490–1557), who arrived on a diplomatic visit for the Swedish government and stayed on, likely because his brother Johannes Magnus became involved in a religious feud with King Gustav I of Sweden.

To construct the map, Magnus drew from a variety of ancient sources including Ptolemy's map in Geographia, and contemporary sources such as the work of Astronomer Jacob Ziegler. In addition to cartographic sources, Magnus also relied on the descriptions of sailors and his own observations. [5]

It took 12 years to make and the first copies were printed in 1539 in Venice. [3]

Olaus complemented the map with Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus ("A description of the Northern peoples") printed in Rome, 1555. These Latin notes were translated by Olaus into Italian (1565) and German (1567).

Surviving copies

Carta Marina greyscale original in Uppsala CartaMarina.png
Carta Marina greyscale original in Uppsala

All of the original copies of the map passed out of public knowledge after 1574, and the map was largely forgotten, perhaps because few copies were printed and Pope Paul III asserted a 10-year "copyright". It was later widely questioned whether the map had ever existed. [4]

In 1886, Oscar Brenner found a copy at the Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich, where it currently resides. In 1961, another copy was found in Switzerland, brought to Sweden the following year by the Uppsala University Library; as of 2007 it is stored there at the Carolina Rediviva library. [6] [4] The copies differ slightly from each other.

Adaptations

A downscaled adaptation of the 'Uppsala' copy or similar was printed in Rome by Antoine Lafréry in 1572. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Carta Marina". Olaus Magnus' Scandinavia. University of Minnesota. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Kleim, Uwe (1989). "Ein Kartenwerk der Nordlande vom Jahre 1539". Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Lucchesi, Emilie (2023-12-28). "This 16th-century map is teeming with sea monsters. Most are based on a real mammal". National Geographic History. Retrieved 2024-10-21. Magnus toiled over his map for 12 years until it was printed in 1539.
  4. 1 2 3 Kaiser, Reinhard. "Der Anfang - Glücklicher Zufall". Reinhard Kaisers Elektroarchiv (in German). Reinhard Kaiser. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Lynam, Edward. The Carta Marina of Olaus Magnus, Venice 1539 & Rome 1572, Jenkintown: Tall Tree Library, 1949.
  6. ↑ "Carta marina". Uppsala university (in Swedish). 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-10-21. Kartan var under flera århundraden försvunnen tills man 1886 fann ett exemplar av den i Hof- und Staatsbibliothek i München, där det fortfarande förvaras. 75 år senare påträffades ett andra exemplar som Uppsala universitetsbibliotek förvärvade 1962 från Schweiz.
  7. ↑ "Carta marina". The University of Minnesota Archives. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.

References

Digital copies of the first known 'München' original

Digital copies of the second known 'Uppsala' original

Digital copies of modifications and adaptations

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