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British Isles Map

Munster's Cosmographia

Type of object:

Maps and globes

Time period:

Denemarken & Belgie

Place:

Basel

Date:

1544

Maker / Author:

Sebastian Münster

Publisher / Printer:

Dimensions:

36,5 x 23 cm

Material:

Woodblock print on paper

Graduation:

Inscription:

Britannischen Insula

Provenance:

References:

Image by Austin Neill

Description

An unusual outline of the British Isles with Scotland jutting out to the west, influenced by Ptolemy. The eastward deviation of Scotland was due to a mistake of Pytheas’s imprecise coordinates ( a Greek explorer from the Marseille colony ( Massalia) who circumnavigated the Britisch islands in 325 BC!
Munster's Cosmographia (1544) by Sebastian Munster (1488-1552) was the first description of the world written in German. He wrote it for the rivival of geography in 16th century Europe. It was so successful it went through 24 editions in 100 years and was translated into many other languages such as Latin, French, Italian, English, and Czech.

Additional information

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