Walsperger World Map
Title
Walsperger World Map
Alternative Title
Weltkarte des Andreas Walsperger
Description
The map displays Europe, Africa, and Asia and is oriented with south at the top of the page. It marks Christian cities with red dots, and all other cities with black dots. Christian cities are marked in Europe, eastern Asia, and on the island of Taprobana, associated with the burial place of the apostle Thomas; there is one unlabeled red dot on the west African coast.
There is a large illustration of a fortified city on the eastern edge of the map. It is probably represents Paradise, as it is larger and considerably more detailed than any other city on the map, although it is not labelled. It sits across from the four rivers thought to originate in Paradise.
Around the outside of the map, a series of rings represent other bodies in the solar system that were thought to orbit Earth, including the Sun.
The text that accompanies the map refers to Ptolemy (2nd century CE) and the portolan charts as sources, though scholars struggle to find elements drawn from these sources.
There is a large illustration of a fortified city on the eastern edge of the map. It is probably represents Paradise, as it is larger and considerably more detailed than any other city on the map, although it is not labelled. It sits across from the four rivers thought to originate in Paradise.
Around the outside of the map, a series of rings represent other bodies in the solar system that were thought to orbit Earth, including the Sun.
The text that accompanies the map refers to Ptolemy (2nd century CE) and the portolan charts as sources, though scholars struggle to find elements drawn from these sources.
Creator
Andreas Walsperger
Source
Vatican City, Vatican Library. Palatinus latinus 1362 B (1448).
Format
Sheet Map
Publisher
Weltkarte des Andreas Walsperger. Zürich: Chr. Belser AG, 1981.
Date
1448
Medium
Manuscript
Contributor
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Relation
https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Pal.lat.1362.pt.B
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/5150/
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/5150/
Language
Latin
Type
World Map
Spatial Coverage
Europe, Africa, Asia
References
Edson, Evelyn. The World Map, 1300-1492: The Persistence of Tradition and Transformation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
Meurer, Peter H. “Cartography in the German Lands, 1450-1650.” In The History of Cartography, vol. 3, edited by David Woodward, 1172-1245. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Meurer, Peter H. “Cartography in the German Lands, 1450-1650.” In The History of Cartography, vol. 3, edited by David Woodward, 1172-1245. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Rights
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Collection
Citation
Andreas Walsperger, “Walsperger World Map,” Mapping the World, accessed April 30, 2025, https://hist231.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/44.