The Atlas Maior, by Joan Blaeu, is known as the most impressive and expensive 17th century manuscript. It was first published in 1662, in Latin. It has 594 maps, 3,368 pages of text, and is split into 11 volumes. Almost all of the maps use data from decades old surveys and maps. Blaeu redrew the maps in his style, with beautiful colors, scripts, and illustrations. Some maps have contemporary data that Blaeu collected himself. While Blaeu succeeded his father as the official map maker for the Dutch East India company, he was not allowed to use the maps and data from his job in his atlas.

The Atlas Maior has regional, country, and province maps, with detailed town names, plants, and buildings. Some maps have latitude and longitude, with detailed ships flying country flags on the oceans. There are regional maps of everywhere in the world, from South East Asia to the Arctic to South America – however most maps are of Europe. There are references to the Greek gods and classical mythologies, with the gods drawn around the first world map.

Blaeu’s atlases were part of a transition period of borders on maps. As attitudes around mapping territory changed, from a collection of peoples to land to have sovereignty over, atlases began drawing clearly defined borders. Many of Blaeu’s maps have borders, but not all - as would soon become the standard. 

The Atlas Maior was made to order, printed in the Blaeu printing presses - the biggest in the world. It was featured in atlas collections for the next several hundred years. From 1664 to 1672, there were also versions published with Dutch, French, German, and Spanish texts. There are varying numbers of volumes for the different languages. Carleton’s facsimile has selections in Latin, English, French, and German. 

(Kezia Sharnoff)

There are 13 maps in total, most of which are drawn in the classic portolan style with wind lines, wind roses, ships, and various decorations populating the land such as figures, banners, and geographical features. On these portolan charts, coastal locations are written perpendicular to the coasts in primarily Latin, Italian, and Spanish. There are maps of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, three maps devoted to the Mediterranean, and several other regional maps, including one of Italy. The final map of the atlas is an oval world map (image attached), which depicts five continents. A line stretches across the map, marking Magellan’s voyage. In typical Agnese style, the twelve winds—drawn as cherub heads on blue clouds—frame the map. In the creation of this atlas, Agnese was inspired by Spanish and Portuguese maps, as well as other Venetian sea charts and the works of Ptolemy. Geographic features distinguish this atlas from others from Agnese. Compared to some of his earlier work, this world map features the Californian peninsula and no longer separates England and Scotland by a channel. This is a testament to emerging geographic knowledge of the sixteenth century and Agnese’s reception of these discoveries.

Despite its technical detail, this atlas was not intended for navigational use, but rather to be a documentation of knowledge and tradition.

(Piper Henderson 2027)

The six illustrations (“rotarum”) are illuminated in red, yellow, and blue ink. They include a 12-month calendar, a depiction of the cosmos, and diagrams of the seasons and climate zones. In the cosmological diagram, the Earth– a flat circle labeled “Terra”--  is shown to be at the center of the universe, surrounded by the Sun, Moon, and various planets, which move around the earth in circular orbits of increasing size. In the seasonal diagram, a circle representing the year is divided into labeled sections by a series of overlapping arcs. 

The five climate zones are represented by five circles within the larger circle of the earth. The earth is oriented northeast and labeled with the cardinal directions.  The zones, labeled “first” to “fifth", begin in the north and continue clockwise around the world: the first and fifth zones are cold and uninhabitable, the second and fourth zones are habitable, and the third zone is hot and uninhabitable. These climate zones touch at the edges, but do not overlap. The space in the center of the diagram is left blank.

De natura rerum was created by Saint Isidore of Seville, an author from Visigothic Spain. Isidore is most famous for his Etymologies, an encyclopedia of knowledge from the ancient world. He is also known for popularizing the circular representation of the world that is shown in De natura rerum. Isidore dedicated De natura rerum to Sisebut, a Visigothic king who ruled from 612 to 620 and is thought to have commissioned the book from Isidore. A poem about astronomy composed by Sisebut is included at the end of the manuscript. (Clara Fields 2027)

Diogo Ribeiro was a prominent Portuguese cartographer of the early 16th century, known for his work under the Spanish Crown during a period of intense exploration and territorial expansion. His maps were celebrated for their accuracy and detail, as they incorporated information from Spanish explorers and navigators. However, the Castiglioni World Map is not one of his more famous works and is less studied compared to some of his other maps.

Geographically, the map covers a vast range of territories. It includes Europe, Africa, the Americas, and parts of Asia. The map presents the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, showing the new discoveries in the Western Hemisphere, particularly the outline of the American continents. North America is less detailed compared to South America, where the coastline and major features are more precisely mapped, reflecting the Spanish focus on this region. The Caribbean islands are also prominent, highlighting Spain’s colonial interests.

The map also prominently features the line of division established by the Treaty of Tordesillas, a crucial demarcation that divided the world between Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence. This line underscores the political and territorial stakes of the Age of Exploration and Spain’s claims over the Americas.

The Castiglioni World Map by Diogo Ribeiro features a highly detailed coastline, especially around South America and the Caribbean, reflecting Spain’s extensive exploration efforts. The coasts of Brazil, the Río de la Plata, and major Caribbean islands like Cuba and Hispaniola are accurately depicted. 

Important port cities such as Lisbon, Seville, and key harbors in the Caribbean and along the Brazilian coast are also highlighted. These cities are marked with small symbols, indicating their significance as hubs of trade and colonial expansion during the Age of Exploration. The coastline and port cities on this map emphasize both the growing geographic knowledge and the importance of maritime navigation.

The map also features navigational elements that enhance its visual and functional appeal. Compass roses are prominently placed, marking cardinal directions and serving as essential tools for maritime navigation. Rhumb lines extend from these roses, guiding sailors along consistent routes across the oceans. In the map’s corners, wind heads—depicted as faces blowing gusts of air—symbolize the important winds that helped propel ships during voyages. The lower left corner features a horary quadrant, a tool used to measure time based on the sun’s position, while the lower right corner includes an astrolabe, highlighting the scientific and practical instruments essential for maritime exploration. These elements not only aid navigation but also add artistic flair, blending functionality with the decorative style typical of Renaissance cartography.

It is widely believed that the map served as a diplomatic gift from Charles V to Baldassarre Castiglione in celebration of his marriage to Isabel of Portugal in 1526. By presenting this map as a gift, Charles V aimed to strengthen diplomatic ties with Castiglione, who was a prominent papal ambassador and influential figure in Renaissance politics. The map’s rich detail and accuracy not only highlight Spain’s growing imperial ambitions but also symbolize the importance of cartography as a tool for asserting power and influence during an era of exploration. The inclusion of navigational details and geographic features further emphasizes its significance as both a work of art and a political statement, reflecting the era's spirit of discovery and ambition.

(Lucia Caputo 2027)

The Imago mundi is made up of treatises intended to bring all geographical knowledge into a single manuscript. Manuscripts like this aimed to place the Earth within the universe, both physically (through celestial maps) and spiritually, with maps that tie elements to geography. These connections could show how God had created the world, as everything was tied together and connected. The Imago mundi also recorded estimates of the size of the earth and the Eurasian continent which allowed Columbus to believe that the distance from Portugal to India was much shorter than it was. 

The Imago mundi contains seven pages of printed maps with added color, mostly focusing on celestial and zonal maps. These maps tend to not focus on landmasses, but rather how the Earth functions within a broader universe. The earth is split into five sections in the zone map. The uppermost and lowermost parts of the north-oriented map represent uninhabitable zones, due to temperatures being too low. The central section, containing the equator, was thought to also be uninhabitable due to temperatures being too high. The two habitable zones, in this case north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn, are the spaces where humans can settle. 

The Imago mundi was written before d’Ailly had access to Ptolemy’s “Geography”, and d’Ailly later published more works that supplemented and complemented his Imago mundi with the information he had gained. He was very interested in Ptolemy’s ideas of climate zones, as they did not fully agree with his own; in particular, the habitable zones did not match fully. His later work, “Compendium,” acts as a summary of Ptolemy’s “Geography”, but with d’Ailly’s views superimposed as well. (Eleanor Lewin, 2027)

This mappamundi is relatively characteristic of other Beatus mappamundi from the time. It displays Arabic influence in Spain through its use of opaque colors and other decorative elements reminiscent of the Arab world. The map is oriented with east at the top and has Adam and Eve enclosed in a square paradise at the top with the snake curling around the edge of the box. The world is encircled by a large ocean with depictions of fish drawn in a noticeably Islamic style. This Islamic influence points to a conflict in the tenth century on the Iberian peninsula between Muslim space and Christian space. Beatus sought to fight back against the spread of Islam by solidifying the Christian space within his maps.

This Beatus mappamundi has the general shape of a TO map which was fairly common at the time, where Asia, Europe, and Africa are divided by different waterways, with Asia at the top, Europe on the bottom left, and Africa on the bottom right. However, this map (and other Beatus maps) differs because of the inclusion of a fourth continent on the right edge of the map, on the other side of the Red Sea. In this section of the map, Beatus informs the viewer that this continent is unknown because of the sun's heat but is inhabited by a race called the Antipodeans. Following the evangelical subject of the work the map appears in, the inclusion of this continent highlights the apostles' mission to bring Christianity to every corner of the earth. The mission of the apostles suggested in this map played a key part in reestablishing a comprehensive Christian realm.