1595 Ortelius Map of Main River Valley (Bavaria) and Westphalia, Germany

Divergent Experiences of the 16th Century.

This sheet from the 1595 edition of Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum contains two old-color maps of areas in today's western Germany: the Main River Valley in Bavaria and the historic episcopates of Münster and Osnabrück in Westphalia. Though both in western Germany today, the two regions experienced the turbulent wars and religious struggles of the era very differently.

A Closer Look

The map on the left half of the sheet, oriented towards the east covers the Main River and environs, including the cities and towns of Frankfurt (Franckfort), Wertheim, Würzburg (Wirtzburg), and Bamberg, as well as nearby Nuremberg (Nurenberg), one of the most economically and culturally important cities in the Holy Roman Empire. Ortelius derived his map from a posthumously published map of the region by Sebastian von Rotenhan (c. 1478 - 1532), a local noble and humanist. Typical of Ortelius' maps, waterways, forests, towns, and villages are documented in great detail.

The map on the right half of the sheet, oriented towards the northwest, covers the episcopates of Münster and Osnabrück in northwestern Germany. The Lippe River flows in the foreground, while towns and villages, including the titular episcopal sees, waterways, and forests, are noted throughout. This map is based on one by Godfried Mascop (c. 1535 - 1577), published in 1568 by Remigius Hogenberg. A legend appears at bottom-left, while Latin text on the verso discusses the geography and culture of both regions.

Historical Context

These two regions had divergent experiences in the tumultuous 16th century, one suffering warfare and relative decline, and the other relative peace and stability. The Main River was especially impacted by the fallout from the early phase of the Reformation (1570 - 1648) and more general unrest in the early 16th century. Namely, it was deeply impacted by the German Peasants' War (1524 - 1526), with some towns being largely or completely destroyed by the conflict. In the wake of the Peasants' War, religious conflict, and other wars related to the infighting of European nobles, the historically prosperous region was set back for several generations.

Westphalia was evenly divided by the Reformation between Protestants (Lutherans, primarily) and Catholics, and local leaders often pragmatically allowed for diversity rather than purity. The region did not completely escape religious conflict either in the early phase of the Reformation or in later conflicts (the Bohemian-Palatinate War of 1618 - 1623, the opening phase of the Thirty Years' War, spilled over into Westphalia). But its relative neutrality in religious matters and ability to maintain local autonomy meant that it suffered less than other regions of the Holy Roman Empire and was an ideal location for negotiating the 1648 Peace of Westphalia (signed at Münster and Osnabrück), which ended the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648) and arguably established a new system of international relations.

Publication History and Census

This sheet was published by Abraham Ortelius in the 1595 Latin edition of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, of which 500 Copies were printed. It appeared in the Theatrum between 1570 and 1609, and in its various printings is well-represented in institutional collections and occasionally appears on the market. That being said, the present edition is only independently cataloged in the OCLC among the holdings of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar.

Cartographer

Abraham Ortelius (April 14, 1527 - June 28, 1598) also known as Ortels, was a cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer of Brabant, active in Antwerp. He was the creator of the first modern atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and is a seminal figure in the history of cartography. Along with Gerard Mercator and Gemma Frisius, he was a founder of the Netherlandish school of cartography. His connections with Spain - culminating in his 1575 appointment as Royal Cartographer to King Phillip II of Spain - gave him unmatched access to Spanish geographical knowledge during a crucial period of the Age of Discovery. Ortelius was born in 1527 in Antwerp. In 1547 he entered the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as an illuminator of maps. He began trading in books, prints, and maps, traveling regularly to the Frankfurt book and print fair, where in 1554 he met Mercator. He accompanied Mercator on journeys throughout France in 1560 and it was at this time, under Mercator's influence, that he appears to have chosen his career as a scientific geographer. His first published geographic work appeared in 1564, an eight-sheet cordiform world map. A handful of other maps preceded the 1570 publication of the first edition of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, which would prove to be his life work. Appearing with but 53 maps in its first edition, Ortelius' work expanded with new maps added regularly. By 1592, it had 134 maps. Many of Ortelius' maps remained the standard for nearly a century. He traveled extensively, but his genius was as a compiler, locating the best informed maps on which to base his own. His contacts throughout Europe and extending even (via the Portuguese) to the Far East were formidable. Moreover, many of his maps were based on his own scholarship, particularly his historical works. His theories of geography were particularly ahead of his time with respect to the notion of continental drift, the possibility of which he mused on as early as 1596, and which would be proven correct centuries later. In a sense his greatest achievement was his successful navigation of the religious and political violence endemic to his city throughout his adult life: The Dutch Revolt, or Eighty Years' War (1568 - 1648), fully embroiled Antwerp. Although outwardly and officially recognized as Catholic (Arias Montanus vouched for Ortelius' Catholic orthodoxy prior to his appointment as Royal Geographer), Ortelius was able to separate himself from the religious furor which characterized the war in the low countries. Ortelius showed a glimpse of himself in a letter to a friend, regarding humanist Justus Lipsius: 'I do not know whether he is an adherent of the Pope or a Calvinist, but if he has ears to hear, he will neither be one nor the other, for sins are committed on both sides'. Ortelius' own explorations of Biblical history in his maps, and the Christogram contained in his own motto, suggest him to be a religious man, but his abjuration of political religious authorities mark him as an individualist. His tombstone at St Michael's Præmonstratensian Abbey in Antwerp bears the inscription, Quietis cultor sine lite, uxore, prole. ('served quietly, without accusation, wife, and offspring.')   Further Details...

Source

Ortelius, A., Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, (Antwerp: Plantin) 1595.    

Abraham Ortelius' magnum opus, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, was the world's first regularly produced atlas, which 'set the standards for later atlases ... It was the first undertaking of its kind to reduce the best available maps to an uniform format.' (Koeman) A modestly-sized work of fifty-three maps in its first edition of May 1570, it was an immediate success: there were three further editions that year, and the work remained in print for a total of 32 editions, the last of which was 1641, well after its author's 1598 death. Ortelius added to his atlas constantly, and by 1595 the Theatrum contained 147 maps. Ortelius is renowned generally as an editor, and indeed much of the Theatrum is compiled from a variety of sources: in such cases, Ortelius was scrupulous in naming his sources. But Ortelius was also a mapmaker in his own right: many of his maps are a distillation of various sources into his own work, and there were many maps - particularly in his atlas of Biblical and ancient history Parergon - which were entirely Ortelius' work. In his role as an editor, Ortelius followed in the footsteps of Munster, whose Cosmographia was, until Ortelius, the best window on the world for the curious European reader. In terms of the artistry of his maps, Ortelius oversaw the first great flourishing of copperplate engraving in the service of cartography to occur in Northern Europe. Ortelius' work provided the model for the atlases of Mercator, Hondius, Blaeu and all their progeny in the 17th century - many of whom were to produce faithful editions of Ortelius' maps in their own productions.

Condition

Very good. Some uneven toning along centerfold and margin at bottom.

References

OCLC 551925630.