Carta marina
Encyclopedia
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic people. He was reported as born in October 1490 in Östergötland, and died on August 1, 1557. Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stor “great”, is a Latin family name taken personally, and not a...
in the 16th century, is the earliest map of the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
that gives details and placenames. Only two earlier maps of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
are known, those of Jacob Ziegler
Jacob Ziegler
The humanist and theologian Jacob Ziegler of Landau, was an itinerant scholar of geography and cartographer, who lived a wandering life in Europe...
and Claudius Clavus.
The map was created in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by the Swedish ecclesiastic Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic people. He was reported as born in October 1490 in Östergötland, and died on August 1, 1557. Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stor “great”, is a Latin family name taken personally, and not a...
(1490–1557), who arrived on a diplomatic visit for the Swedish government
Early Vasa era
The Early Vasa era is a period that in Swedish history lasted between 1523–1611. It began with the reconquest of Stockholm by Gustav Vasa and his men from the Danes in 1523, and Sweden's consequent abandonment of the Kalmar Union, and continued with the reign of Gustav's sons Eric XIV, John...
and stayed on, likely because his brother Johannes Magnus
Johannes Magnus
Johannes Magnus was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and historian.-Life:Johannes Magnus was born in Linköping, son of the burgess Måns Pedersson and his wife Kristina...
became involved in a religious feud with King Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
.
The notes on the map in Latin were translated by Olaus into Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. It is generally considered that the "A description of the Northern peoples
A Description of the Northern Peoples
Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus was a monumental work by Olaus Magnus on the Nordic countries, printed in Rome 1555. It was a work which long remained for the rest of Europe the authority on Swedish matters. Its popularity increased by the numerous woodcuts of people and their customs,...
" (Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, Rome, 1555) is a much larger commentary on the map.
History
In production for 12 years, the first copies were printed in 1539 in VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
The map was printed from nine 55x40 cm woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
blocks to produce a document that is 1.70 m tall by 1.25 m wide.
All of the map's copies passed out of public knowledge after 1574, and the map was largely forgotten – perhaps because only a few copies were printed and because Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
asserted a 10-year "copyright." It was later widely questioned whether the map had ever existed.
In 1886, Oscar Brenner found a copy at the Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where it currently resides. In 1961, another copy was found in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, brought to Sweden the following year by the Uppsala University Library
Uppsala University Library
Uppsala University Library at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 12 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva...
; as of 2007 is stored at Carolina Rediviva
Carolina Rediviva
Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed by Axel Johan Anderberg and Peter Celsing...
.
A faithful reproduction of the map was printed in Rome by Antoine Lafréry in 1572.
External links
- CIPHER Project - Exploring the Carta Marina
- Carta Marina (Uppsala University Library)
- "University of Minnesota Carta Marina" - the original or Pope Paul IIIPope Paul IIIPope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
(1468–1549) map from 1539, in jpeg images. The site contains more information on early printing process. - Carta Marina, Lafreris edition 1572 at the World Digital LibraryWorld Digital LibraryThe World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide...
(Antoine Lafréry's (1512 - 1577) edition from 1572 digitized by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm