What do human affairs mean when one considers the vastness of the world and all eternity?
—— Marcus Tullius Cicero
This is a famous saying taken from Cicero, the consul and philosopher of the ancient Roman Empire, It appears on several ancient maps we are going to introduce today. These maps come from the world's first modern atlas "The World" published by Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) in 1570. middle.
"Theatrum Orbis Terrarum", original text "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" English: Theater of the World, the atlas contained 53 maps when it was first published in 1570. It is currently generally recognized as the earliest modern map set. Judging from the English meaning, it should be translated as "Theatre of the World", but the etymology of Theater originally comes from the Greek θ?ατρον (théatron) thea, which means "seeing"; after entering Latin, it became theater, It means "a place to watch (a program)". Orbis here should mean "circle" or "region". Since the concept of the earth's "sphere" was not as clear as it is today, it is more reasonable to use orbis terrarum as a translation of "world region". To sum up, "The Great View of the Universe" It should be a Chinese translation that is closer to the original meaning.
Abraham Ortelius’s early career as a map engraver began as a map decorator in the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp (a guild, not a union), but he obviously had a business talent, selling books and Maps brought him a lot of income. As a professional map dealer, he traveled extensively throughout Europe, including the Netherlands and other low-lying countries, Germany, France, England, Ireland, Italy, etc. In 1554, while participating in the Frankfurt Book and Printing Exhibition, he met another big figure in the "Cartosphere" - Gerardus Mercator (we introduced him and his ink collector in a previous article). Cato projection), in 1560, while accompanying Mercator on his travels to Trier, Lorraine, Poibisse and other places (the names of places in England and France at that time), he seemed to be deeply attracted by Mercator Attracted and influenced, I began to seriously engage in the study of maps and geographical science. ? Since then, the world has lost a successful "map trickster", and mankind has gained an outstanding and great scientific geographer.
Ortelius published his first map after "abandoning business to pursue art" in 1564 - an eight-leaf map of the world (the only existing copy of this great map (in the library of the University of Basel), and later published maps of Egypt, Asia, Spain and other regions. Until May 20, 1570, Gilles Coppens de Diest of Antwerp published his-"The Grand View of the World", which It is a milestone work in the history of human maps.
Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)
The publication of "The World" is regarded by later generations as a landmark event, which completely changed the map It was a method of expression that was readily accepted and appreciated by the well-educated classes during the European Renaissance, and became a benchmark in the map production and publishing industry of that era. Later generations usually regard the publication of this atlas as the official beginning of the golden age of cartography in the Netherlands in the sixteenth century.
In 1575, Ortelius was appointed geographer to King Felipe II of Spain, the Spanish king of the Habsburg family who sent the famous Spanish Armada in 1588 ( Spanish Armada, mentioned in the article "The Lost Ship") tried to invade Felipe II of England. At that time, Elizabeth I, the last king of the Tudor dynasty of England, had been crowned in 1559. The Queen of England is leading profound changes in England. However, in her time, England was far from as influential as the later British Empire. She was also working hard to absorb the advanced scientific knowledge that flourished on the European continent during the Age of Discovery and the Renaissance. There are very few world map works in English from the 16th to 17th centuries. Most of them use Latin, Dutch, French, Flemish, etc. as the main language. This is an example. After the publication of "The Great View of the World", more than 40 This is also an example when the British cartographer John Speed ??called his atlas depicting the British mainland counties "A Grand View of the British Empire".
The fascinating maps we are going to introduce include the fifth map of the world and the map of the four continents. They are all extracted from the early edition of "The Grand View of the World".
In the center of the screen is a world map engraved with Cicero’s famous quotes, which is based on Gastaldi’s map work and Gerald Mercator’s famous 1569 First World Map. Zhang used the Mercator projection map. In fact, most of the maps in "The Grand View of the World" were extracted from the works of other map makers from around the world. Ortelius has never been shy about this, and he himself included it in the first edition of "The Grand View of the World". " provides a list of 87 authors. But this does not prevent "The Great View" from becoming a great work across the ages. In fact, it is precisely because Ortelius carefully searched for and selected the best regional maps of the era, and constantly compiled, added and updated them into his works that some authors and authors are almost impossible to recognize and understand by modern people. The work was handed down with the help of "Great View of the World" and can still be studied and appreciated by people today.
The map of the Americas in the upper left corner was probably the only widely viewed and copied map of the Americas in the 16th century. It is more accurate than many later maps in terms of the shape of the California peninsula.
The map of Asia in the lower right corner is taken from the map of Asia published by Ortelius himself in 1567 (the geographical information comes from Gastaldi and Albufeda). The map shows the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The characterization should come primarily from information recorded by traders and explorers of the era. ? In 1567, Emperor Longqing of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Zaiye opened the "sea ban" and the "silver ban" at the same time, and ordered "the government and the public to use silver at the highest rate." From then on, China began to import silver on a large scale. According to statistics, from the mid-16th century to the early 19th century, the silver transported by Spain across the Pacific from its American colonies to China via the Philippines accounted for 3/4 of the total silver production in the New World of America, attracting the attention of the "Dutch" sea coachmen. Already starting to pay attention to the distant east.
The map of Africa in the lower left corner is also based on Gastaldi's 1564 version of the map. In the picture, on the east coast of Africa and the southeastern part of Madagascar, a sea battle in the era of sailing warships is in full swing. On the west coast of Africa, the Atlantic Ocean is dotted with several fish-like and strange creatures. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, there are still areas under the equator. Portions of Brazil's eastern coastline mapped.
Most of the maps of Europe in the upper right corner are from Mercator's works, but some of Russia is taken from Jenkinson's map works, and Scandinavia is taken from Olaus Magnus. works. In the upper left corner of the European part, a half-naked Europa* is sitting on the back of a bull incarnate as Zeus. They all look back and stare in the direction of Europe, but Europa's eyes are a little worried.
Europa, the Phoenician princess in Greek mythology, was taken to another continent by Zeus who loved her, and this continent was later named Europa.
In June 1598, Abraham Ortelius, who passed away, was buried in St. Michael's Monastery in Antwerp. By this time, the Atlas of the Universe had been published 25 times in 28 years. Several versions, including those in Latin, Italian, German, French and Dutch, were widely circulated. In the monastery, on his epitaph is engraved "Quietis cultor sine lite, uxore, prole." which means "quietly performing his duties without reproach, wife, or descendants."
Without wives and descendants Ortelius, in addition to leaving behind epoch-making map works, also left behind a great "prophecy" - the theory of continental drift. He was the first to emphasize the geometrical correspondence between the American coast and the continents of Europe and Africa. In his work "Thesaurus Geographicus" he wrote: "America was torn from Europe and Africa by earthquakes and floods, … If one takes out a map of the world and considers the outlines of the coasts of the three continents, traces of the rupture will be revealed." More than three centuries later, Ortelius's geographical hypothesis of continental drift has been proven. is correct.
St. Michael's Abbey in Antwerp
The University of Amsterdam Library continues to provide online exhibitions about Abraham Ortelius. If you would like to learn more about the master's life and works, the website address is as follows (You can take it away without any thanks!)
http://cf.uba.uva.nl/en/collections/maps/ortelius/?