The maps in this volume have two types of perspectives: aerial, showing the city from a great height, and bird’s-eye, looking directly down on the city. The aerial views show the cities from a distance, while the surrounding areas are shown in greater detail. Topographical lines mark the hills encompassing the cities, an artistic development that appeared during the Renaissance and was quickly adopted by cartographers. The maps from a bird’s-eye view are from a top-down show the city streets in detail, sectioning off the city from the countryside with thick, bold lines. This bird’s-eye view was developed during the Renaissance, and Hogenberg uses this engraving technique to defy perceptual limitations and portray the cities as God would see them.

The borders between the city and the agricultural land are a visual means of separation, highlighting the cities’ understandings of urban identity. These borders are a physical form of separation, while the humans depicted in the foreground of the maps show cultural separation. The people drawn in the foreground range from representations of farmers to soldiers, and their scale is larger than that of the city buildings in the background, placing an emphasis on their presence. Along with these larger figures, there are smaller scenes depicting battles and trade. Braun’s inclusion of these scenes communicates the towns’ histories and economies in an informational, yet enjoyable, form for travelers and readers.

The readability of the volume sets it apart from traditional wall maps. By reading through this volume, readers from the 16th century would have had a greater understanding of their world than if they were looking at a single map. The time and resources necessary for this single atlas are also far greater than a sheet map. By owning all six volumes, one would not only be highly educated, but they would be displaying a high degree of wealth.
]]> https://clemson.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=ba6fb42c256746f1ae96136087b1e752]]> Ballon, Hilary, and David Friedman. “Portraying the City in Early Modern Europe: Measurement, Representation, and Planning.” In The History of Cartography 3, vol. 3:680–704. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Elliot, James. “Braun & Hogenberg and after: the Town Plans of the 17th Century.” British Library, March 15, 2017. https://www.bl.uk/picturing-places/articles/braun-and-hogenberg-and-after-the-town-plans-of-the-17th-century. 

Năiduţ, Petruţa. “A Book of Cities: Mapping Urban Space in Braun and Hogenberg’s Civitates Orbis Terrarum (1572-1617).” American, British, and Canadian studies 34, no. 1 (2020): 8–25.

]]> Carleton College Library Special Collections (Folio) G140 .B715]]>
Uranometria’s more than 1200 stars (expanded from a stellar catalogue of 1005 stars compiled by Tycho Brahe in 1598) are labeled with a Greek or Latin character in order of descending brightness. Each star can therefore be identified by its constellation and letter--Alpha Draco, Epsilon Orion, and so on. This novel system is still in use today, and represents a clean break from the Ptolemaic system in which stars were identified by lines of prose. The constellations are placed on a grid that allows any given star to be located in the night sky to within a fraction of a degree.

Plate 49 shows 12 southern constellations only recently described by Europeans at the time of publication in 1603. Plates 50 and 51 are planispheres for the northern and southern skies respectively, used to show what stars are visible in the sky for any given time and date. Though the first edition included a table of stars on the verso of each plate, in later editions they were published separately as the Explicatio characterum aeneis Uranometrias and are not included in this particular text. (Scott Shafer ‘22)]]> Uranometria: omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa, 1639]]> Uranometria: https://bridge.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01BRC_INST:CCO&search_scope=BOOKS&tab=BOOKS&docid=alma991005304779702971]]>
Kana, Nick “Alessandro Piccolomini and the First Printed Star Atlas (1540),” Imago Mundi, 58:1, 70-76, DOI: 10.1080/03085690500362355]]> Carleton Library Special Collections (Horizontal Shelving) QB6 .B34 1639]]> La Cosmographia di Claudio Tolomeo]]> The geographical markers on the maps are all in Latin, as are each of the paragraphs of information about each regional/subsectional map that can be read on the preceding page. These paragraphs are helpful for learning more about the region and can show us how Europe thought about various reaches of the world in the 1460s. Each map in the atlas displays country names in gold, region names in red, regional boundaries as dotted red lines, and cities as small golden dots accompanied by their respective names. Rivers and seas are deep royal blue and mountain ranges are swaths of light and dark brown.
Perhaps the most eye-catching and noteworthy of all the features on these maps, however, is the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinate system that borders each. This is information that Germanus took directly from Ptolemy’s Geography (which was one of many new manuscripts that had just recently been brought west from Constantinople) and plotted visually. Ptolemy had noted in his work that maps of such a large scale as the entire known world would require “curved and inclined” lines to properly mimic the form of the earth, so Germanus listened. These curved lines can be best seen on the first map in the atlas, which really shows the projected shape of Earth better than any of the smaller, regional maps in the rest of the atlas that seem to neglect Earth’s curvature altogether. The first map also shares the same shape as one of Ptolemy’s earliest graticules (drawn in his Geography), adding confusion and suspicion to understanding whether or not Germanus copied these maps from Ptolemy’s work or if he crafted them himself. Regardless of this ambiguity, this atlas is still one of the earliest examples of Ptolemy’s theory in praxis, and was quickly adopted as a “visual companion” for Ptolemy’s work and thought.]]>
Roberts, Sean E. "Printing a Mediterranean World: Florence, Constantinople, and the Renaissance of Geography" 22-25. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.32250. EPUB.]]> Special Collections (Horizontal Shelving) G1005 1466 .F4 2006]]> This illustration of Magdeburg is one of the thirty-two realistic town views included in the incunable. This illustration covers the bottom half of a two-page spread below German text. The woodcut itself depicts the city of Magdeburg spreading up from the banks of the river Elbe on which it sits. A large ship sits in the water, as well as a mill with two wheels and two figures on docks. Turreted walls surround the city at the water’s edge. Behind it, each building has been rendered with careful detail, including landmarks of the city such as several gothic churches, a statue, and buildings with towers. These landmarks seem to have been highlighted because of their slightly larger than realistic size. In the background beyond the buildings a pastoral area is visible. There is some damage along the middle of the spread where the two pages meet, but the woodcut is in otherwise good condition. (Astrid Steiner-Manning ‘22)
]]>
Nuvoloni, Laura. “Nuremburg Chronicles” University of Cambridge Digital Library, Treasures of the Library. Accessed April 23, 2021, https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-INC-00000-A-00007-00002-00888/404.
]]> Peter H. Meurer, “Cartography in the German Lands, 1450-1650.” In The History of Cartography Vol. 3, edited by David Woodward, 1193-1194. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Nuvoloni, Laura. “Nuremburg Chronicles” University of Cambridge Digital Library, Treasures of the Library. Accessed April 23, 2021, https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-INC-00000-A-00007-00002-00888/404. 

 

]]> ]]> Special Collections (Flat Files) ; G5700 1400-1800 Map 01]]>
This unsigned map has highly contested authorship. Charles de La Ronciere attributed it to Christopher and Bartholomew Columbus, though others have suggested it may have been commissioned rather than created by them, or the creator may have only had an indirect connection to the Columbus brothers. The map was created sometime between 1492 and 1500, based on the limits of geographic discoveries and the political demarcation of a Spanish flag in Granada.]]> http://expositions.bnf.fr/marine/grand/por_013.htm]]> http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b59062629]]> Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Galicia. “Carte marine de l'océan Atlantique Nord-Est, de la mer Baltique, de la mer Méditerranée et de la mer Noire, accompagnée d'une mappemonde circulaire.” Accessed June 4, 2018. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b59062629/f1.item.r=carte%20christophe%20colomb.zoom
Astengo, Corradino. “The Renaissance Chart Tradition in the Mediterranean” In The History of Cartography, Volume 3, edited by David Woodward, 174-177. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007.
La Carta De Cristóbal Colón: Mapa Portulano, Ca. 1492-1500. Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, S.A., 1995.
Siebold, Jim. “The Christopher Columbus Chart.” Map Index #257. Last updated May 28, 2018. http://www.myoldmaps.com/late-medieval-maps-1300/257-the-christopher-columbu/257-columbus.pdf ]]> Carleton Library Special Collections Map (Map, Rolled) G3201.P5 1492 .C3 1995]]>
God the creator is cloaked in red and has elaborate gold and jewels around the neck. Their deep red cloak embraces creation and gives the impression of great power over the cosmos. Concentric circles of gold and red radiate from the creator’s head as bright rays.

The material cosmos occupies the center of the image beneath the creator and consists of three concentric circles, reflecting the Italian tradition of placing the spheres of the cosmos concentrically (Cosgrove 90). The first ring of the cosmos is blue-green with tightly stacked and fluid wavy lines. Perhaps it reflects the billowing cloud symbols used in medieval, religious, cosmographical diagrams to represent a boundary where human senses are obscured, or perhaps it is the waters above the firmament as outlined in the Genesis creation narrative (Cosgrove 90). Next is the second ring of the cosmos which is twice as thick as the first. This ring contains celestial bodies, clouds, and birds in flight, all of which can be perceived by man. Varying shades of blue dominate the ring and yellow is used as a sharp contrast to denote the celestial bodies—sun, moon, and stars.

The final sphere is a central Eden landscape which two human occupants, likely Adam and Eve. The figures are unclothed and surrounded by a green landscape and diverse wildlife. A body of blue water surrounds the landmass, and a sharp toothed sea creature occupies the bottom left waters. Four rivers radiate from the center of paradise (the Phison, Gehon, Tigris, and Euphrates). (Kaitlin Schaible '19)]]> Biblia, Das Ist, Die Gantze Heilige Schrifft Deudsch, ed. Stephan Füssel. Köln: Taschen, 2003.]]> https://www.smu.edu/~/media//Site/Bridwell/Exhibitions/ProthroBibles/Reformation/B-234Luther_1000.ashx]]> The History of Cartography, vol. 3, part 1, Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.]]> Carleton Gould Library, Special Collections (Books, Quarto) BS239 2003]]>
The central section of the map richly depicts the continental areas of Europe, Asia, Africa, as well as numerous small islands. Over 3000 beautifully lettered red, blue, and gold inscriptions provide a wealth of encyclopedic information. Physical and geographic objects, such as cities, mountains, forests, oceans, and rivers are depicted in an  elaborate style.

The mappamundi is heavily influenced by a number of sources, including Islamic cartography, as demonstrated by the southern orientation of the map. The mappamundi is also heavily influenced by Christianity and Biblical stories, as demonstrated by the image of the Garden of Eden in one of the four circular depictions outside of the central frame. Another of these depictions, a cosmological diagram of the solar system, reveals another source of information for the mappamundi: Ptolemy’s Geography. The last two depictions are of the four elements and of the earth as a globe, separated into sections by the North and South poles, the Equator, and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. (Ezra Ward-Packard '20)]]> Il Mappamondo di Fra Mauro. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Libreria Dello Stato, 2002.]]> Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward, 285–364. Vol. 3 of The History of Cartography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Cosgrove, Denis E. “Images of Renaissance Cosmography, 1450–1650” In Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward, 55–98. Vol. 3 of The History of Cartography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Woodward, David. “Medieval Mappaemundi.” In Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, ed. David Woodward and J. Brian Harley, 286–370. Vol. 1 of The History of Cartography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Falchetta, Piero, Jeremy Scott, Caterina Balletti, and Marino Zorzi. Fra Mauro's World Map : With a Commentary and Translations of the Inscriptions. Terrarum Orbis 5. Turnhout : Brepols; Venice: Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, 2006.]]> Carleton Gould Library Special Collections (Horizontal Shelving) G1026 .M35 2002]]>
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Die große Ansicht von Florenz, http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=944067&viewType=detailView, 899-100.
]]> http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=944067&viewType=detailView]]> Altcappenberg, Hein-Th Schulze. "The great view of Florence (The "Chain Plan")." In The Berlin Kupferstichkabinett: A collection handbook, edited by Alexander Dückers. Berlin: Hatje Cantz, 1994.
"La Veduta della Catena – Florence and its Monuments." Google Arts and Culture, accessed June 1, 2018. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/JAIiVU6eaWEIJQ]]> Special Collections (Folio) DG733 .K738 1998 , Special Collections Map (Map, Rolled) DG733 .K738 1998]]> The Agas Map of London or Civitas Londinum, a woodcut printed from 8 blocks, presents a city view of London and its surrounding environs designed to be displayed on a wall. This 1633 work is a possible reproduction of an older copperplate map (of which only two plates survive), offering an explanation to the Agas Map’s lack of a clearly defined border.

The River Thames runs the entire width of the map, dividing the map and city into two sections; it is filled with numerous boats, London Bridge divides the river, containing ocean going ships on the right and numerous small barges and rowboats to the left. The mapmaker affirms London’s importance as a trading hub, the entrepot between the English hinterlands and the world, through the inclusion of such a diversity of vessels. Men lead encumbered pack animals into the river near the Styllyyarde and Tower of London. Large swans ply the river in the bottom left corner. The river’s current and waves are represented by numerous lines and hummocks, highlighting its tidal nature.

The map depicts the layout of the city streets separating blocks filled with small stylized homes. The mapmaker names the larger buildings like churches, guildhalls, and palaces, reproducing them as faithfully as possible. The map fans out upon leaving the city center, showing the surrounding roads, towns, and fields. The major roads and towns are named; the busiest roads and crossroads contain people. London’s position as a thriving and expansive city is emphasized by downplaying the city walls and highlighting the fertile outlands. Numerous people doing a multitude of activities (including dancing, milking cows, laundry, building, playing games, strolling, or hunting) populate the fields.

The mapmaker chooses to present the Royal Arms in the top left corner and the City of London’s arms in the top right corner, hoisted by two cherubs. The Corporation of the City of London may have played a role in the creation of the original map, attested to by the elaborate frame coupled with the map’s focus on London and de-emphasis of Westminster. The map highlights the wealth, power, and size of the City of London. (Benton Franklin '19)]]> Agas Map of London. London: Kodak Limited, 1976.]]>
https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/agas.htm


]]> On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities. Translated by Geoffrey Symcox. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2012. 

Worms, Laurence. "The London Map Trade to 1640." In History of Cartography, vol. 3, part 1, Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward, 1693-1721. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

]]> Carleton Gould Library Special Collections (Flat Files) G1819.L7 C59 1976]]> Liber Floridus. It is so large, in fact, that the top fifth or so of the circle goes off the page, and an additional piece of parchment needed to be added in order for the circle to be complete. This piece of parchment folds into the book when closed. Filling in the blank space around the outside of the map is text, and along the inside edge of the circle there are labelled rings. The outermost ring has the zodiac signs, then Saturn, Mars, sun and Venus. The innermost ring is the moon, and in between Venus and the moon there is a ring the label of which is no longer legible.

Within the rings there is a recognizable zonal map of the world, with the known world of Europe, Africa, and Asia on the left page and a southern temperate zone on the right. The northern habitable zone is strongly reminiscent of T-O maps in the division of land.

In between the two temperate regions is the inhospitable hot zone, but in this particular zonal map the hot zone is occupied by a red pathway. This equatorial track has a chart of the sun's movements over the course of a year on top of it. The combination of this pathway chart and the circles of the planets circling the earth on one map is interesting in that it would have provided viewers with two different ways to visually situate themselves in the heavens.

The map is mostly uncolored parchment, but the second most common color is a green that comprises both two planetary rings as well as what appears to be water surrounding the equatorial pathway and that encircles the world map, as well as coloring in rivers. Red is used for a single planet ring, the pathway chart, and two mountains in the northern temperate zone. There is a single blue planet ring, that of Mars. (Audrey Kastner '20)]]> Liber Floridus, 1121. archive.ugent.be:018970A2-B1E8-11DF-A2E0-A70579F64438]]>  Lamberti S. Audomari Canonici Liber Floridus: Codex authographus bibliothecae universitatis Gandavensis, ed. Albert Derolez. Gandavi: In aedibus Story-Scientia, 1968.]]> The Making and Meaning of the Liber Floridus. Turnhout: Brepols and Harvey Miller Publishers, 2015.]]>
Carleton Gould Library Special Collections (Horizontal Shelving) AE2 .L36 1968.
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