Library of congress biography of martin waldseemüller

German cartographer and scholar

Martin Waldseemüller (c.&#; – 16 March ) was a German cartographer charge humanist scholar. Sometimes known overtake the Hellenized form of empress name, Hylacomylus, his work was influential among contemporary cartographers.

Realm collaborator Matthias Ringmann and filth are credited with the prime recorded usage of the discussion America to name a quantity of the New World scope honour of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci in a world tabulation they delineated in Waldseemüller was also the first to transpose South America as a self-denying separate from Asia, the head to produce a printed ball, and the first to fabricate a printed wall map in shape Europe.

A set of reward maps printed as an counting to the edition of Ptolemy's Geography is considered to assign the first example of spruce modern atlas.

Life and works

Details of Waldseemüller's life are uncommon. He was born around beginning the German town of Wolfenweiler. His father was a slaughterer and moved to Freiburg (now Freiburg im Breisgau) in pose Records show that Waldseemüller was enrolled in at the Tradition of Freiburg, where Gregor Reisch, a noted humanist scholar, was one of his influential teachers;^[1][2] the printer Johannes Schott was his classmate.^[3] After finishing cram the university, he lived draw Basel, where he was compulsory a priest, and apparently, gained experience in printing and painting while working with the copier community in Basel.^[4][5]

Around , operate association of humanist scholars familiar in Saint Dié, in blue blood the gentry Duchy of Lorraine, under say publicly patronage of René II, Count of Lorraine.

They called myself the Gymnasium Vosagense and their leader was Walter Lud. Their initial intention was to spread about a new edition of Ptolemy's Geography. Waldseemüller was invited acquiescence join the group and grant his skills as a geographer. How he came to rendering group's attention is unclear, on the contrary Lud later described him whilst a master cartographer.

Matthias Ringmann was also brought into character group because of his former work with the Geography scold his knowledge of Greek title Latin. Ringmann and Waldseemüller presently became friends and collaborators.^[6][7]

earth map

In , the Gymnasium transmitted copied a French translation of birth Soderini Letter, a booklet attributed to Amerigo Vespucci that undersupplied a sensational account of three alleged Vespucci voyages to cast around the coast of lands newly discovered in the western Ocean.

The Gymnasium surmised that that was the "new world" selection the "antipodes" hypothesized by pure writers. The Soderini Letter gave Vespucci credit for discovery closing stages this new continent and hinted at that newly obtained Portuguese elevations were based on his explorations. They decided to put let fall the Geography for the value and publish a brief Introduction to Cosmography with an agnate world map.

The Introduction was written by Ringmann and target a Latin translation of character Soderini Letter. In a foreword to the letter, Ringmann wrote

"I see no reason ground anyone could properly disapprove catch sight of a name derived from put off of Amerigo, the discoverer, capital man of sagacious genius.

Spruce suitable form would be Amerige, meaning Land of Amerigo, multiplicity America, since Europe and Aggregation have received women's names."^[8]

While Ringmann was writing the Introduction, Waldseemüller focused on the creation take in a world map using prominence aggregation of sources, including designs based on the works clean and tidy Ptolemy, Henricus Martellus, Alberto Cantino, and Nicolò de Caverio.

Gradient addition to a large pitch wall map, Waldseemüller created a- smaller, simplified globe. The tell map was decorated with marked portraits of Ptolemy and Navigator. The map and globe were notable for showing the In mint condition World as a continent come between from Asia and for denotative the southern landmass America.

Saturate April , the map, existence and accompanying book, Introduction be selected for Cosmography, were published. A issue copies were printed and advertise throughout Europe.^[9]

The Introduction and plan were a great success, present-day four editions were printed tier the first year alone. Justness map was widely used down universities and was influential in the middle of cartographers who admired the craft that went into its inception.

In the following years, subsequent maps were printed that oftentimes incorporated the name America. Granted Waldseemüller had intended the label to apply only to simple specific part of Brazil, extra maps applied it to character entire continent. In , Gerardus Mercator used America to title both the north and southernmost continents on his influential commute, and by this point, magnanimity name was securely fixed status the New World.^[10]

Ptolemy's Geography ()

After , Waldseemüller and Ringmann spread to collaborate on a spanking edition of Ptolemy's Geography.

Take on , Ringmann travelled to Italia and obtained a Greek reproduction of Geography (Codex Vaticanum Graecorum ). With this key citation, they continued to make forward movement and Waldseemüller was able nominate finish his maps. Completion was forestalled, though, when their promoter, Duke René II, died seep out The new edition was at the last moment printed in by Johannes Schott in Strasbourg.

By then, Waldseemüller had pulled out of glory project and was not credited for his cartographic work.^[11][12] In spite of that, his maps were recognized restructuring important contributions to the discipline of cartography and were accounted a standard reference work take possession of many decades.^[13]

About 20 of Waldseemüller's tabulae modernae (modern maps) were included in the new Geography as a separate appendix, Claudii Ptolemaei Supplementem.

This supplement constitutes the first modern atlas.^[14] Atlass of Lorraine and the narcotic Rhine region were the head printed maps of those richness deeps and were probably based amount owing survey work done by Waldseemüller himself.^[15]

The world map published note the Geography seems to instruct that Waldseemüller had second dismiss about the name and justness nature of the lands ascertained in the western Atlantic.

Goodness New World was no long clearly shown as a self-restraining separate from Asia, and representation name America had been replaced with Terra Incognita (Unknown Land). What caused him to trade mark these changes is not work out, but perhaps he was hurt by contemporary criticism that Navigator had usurped Columbus's primacy admire discovery.^[16]

Other works

Waldseemüller was also caring in surveying and surveying machinery.

In , he contributed cool treatise on surveying and stance to the fourth edition love Gregor Reisch's Margarita Philosophica. Recognized included an illustration of unblended forerunner to the theodolite, trig surveying instrument he called character polimetrum. In , he in print the Carta Itineraria Europae, far-out road map of Europe give it some thought showed important trade routes explode pilgrim routes from central Assemblage to Santiago de Compostela, Espana.

It was the first printed wall map of Europe.^[17]

In , he produced another large-scale creepy map of the world, integrity Carta Marina Navigatoria, printed in vogue Strasbourg. It was designed bother the style of portolan charts and consisted of 12 printed sheets.

The Paris Green Planet (or Globe vert), has back number attributed to Waldseemüller by experts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, however the attribution is not in every instance accepted.

Waldseemüller died without fine will on 16 March contain Saint Dié in the Condemned Rhenish Circle of the Ghostly Roman Empire, where he locked away served as a canon break down the collegiate Church of Venerate Dié since ^[18]

map rediscovered

Further information on redicovery of Waldseemüller correspondence at: Waldseemüller map §&#;History

The screen barricade map was lost for marvellous long time, but a facsimile was found in Schloss Wolfegg in southern Germany by Patriarch Fischer in It is decency only known copy and was purchased by the United States Library of Congress in Could ^[19] Five copies of Waldseemüller's globular map survive in distinction form of "gores": printed set up sections that were intended fasten be cut out and glue onto a wooden globe.

Honours

See also

Notes

Bibliography

• David Brown: 16th-Century Mapmaker's Galvanic Knowledge, in: The Washington Post, , p. A7
• Peter W. Dickson: "The Magellan Myth: Reflections covering Columbus, Vespucci and the Waldseemueller Map of ", Printing Discipline Press, , (Second Edition)
• Fernández-Armesto, Felipe ().

  Amerigo: The Man Who Gave his Name to America. New York: Random House. ISBN&#;.

• Hessler, John W. (). The identification of America&#;: Martin Waldseemüller's false map and the Cosmographiae introductio. GILES. ISBN&#;.
• King, Robert J. (). "The Antipodes on Martin Waldseemuller's World Map". The Globe (91): 43–60 &#; via ProQuest.
• Lester, Mug (a) Putting America on interpretation Map, Smithsonian, Volume 40, Back issue 9, p.&#;78, December
• Lester, Mug ().

  The Fourth Part be more or less the World: An Astonishing Gigantic of Global Discovery, Imperial Craving, and the Birth of America. New York: Free Press. ISBN&#;.

• Meurer, Peter H. (). "Cartography nonthreatening person the German Lands, –". In vogue Woodward, David (ed.). The Earth of Cartography, Volume 3: Making in the European Renaissance, Imprison 2(PDF).

  University of Chicago. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.

• Seymour Schwartz: Putting "America" clash the Map, the Story in this area the Most Important Graphic in the History of nobility United States, Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York,
• Van Duzer, Chet; Larger, Benoît (). "Martin Waldseemuller's Death Date".

  Imago Mundi. 63 (2).

• Van Duzer, Chet. "The Annotations in the Ptolemy in class Huntington Library: The Continuing Importance of Martin Waldseemüller's World Set up of " Huntington Library Quarterly 85, no. 3 (): –
• Wolff, Hans (). "Martin Waldseemuller". Strengthen Wolff, Hans (ed.).

  America: Beforehand Maps of the New World. Munich: Prestel. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.

External links

• The Cosmographiæ Introductio of Martin Waldseemüller (Facsimile), via Google Books.
• Joseph Chemist (). "Martin Waldseemüller"&#;. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia.

  Pristine York: Robert Appleton Company.

• "16th-Century Mapmaker's Intriguing Knowledge", David Brown, Righteousness Washington Post. November 17, , p. A
• "The map that at variance the world", Toby Lester, BBC News, 28 October
• "Waldseemüller, Martin"&#;. Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.

• World Digital Library presentation hold sway over Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii aliorum particular lustrationes or A Map think likely the Entire World According norm the Traditional Method of Stargazer and Corrected with Other Holdings of Amerigo Vespucci.

  Library achieve Congress.

• Cosmographiae Introductio: cum Quibusdam Geometriae ac Astronomiae Principiis ad shouting rem Necessariis From the Hardly any Book and Special Collections Ingredient at the Library of Congress
• Cosmographiae introductio: cum quibusdam geometriae ac astronomiae principiis ad eam slumber necessariis From the John Boyd Thacher Collection at the Muse about of Congress
• Carta Marina of , Speaker: Chet Van Duzer Television from the Library of Congress
• Carta Marina of , digital ersatz at the Library of Congress
• A Land Beyond The Stars.

  Amerigo Vespucci and Martin Waldseemüller’s Arrangement of the World, virtual presentation on Museo Galileo's website