CartTYPUS COSMOGRAPHICUS UNIVERSALIS
GRYNAEUS, SIMON / HOLBEIN, HANS, 1555
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"Typus Cosmographicus Universalis" also known as "Cranking the World" was published by Simon Gyrnaeus and Johann Huttich in their 1532 Novus Orbis.
This map of the world was a collaborative effort between Sebastian Munster, cartographer, and Hans Holbein the Younger, the artist and engraver. First appearing in 1532 as a supplemental map to Novus Orbis, a collection of travel reports, it is notable not only for its decorative representation of the sixteenth century world, but also for the two angelic figures at the top and bottom of the world, cranking it on its own axis. The idea that the earth turned on its own axis was a rather new concept for the time.
Sebastian Munster was born in 1489 in Hesse Germany. A noted scholar of Hebrew (he taught at Heidelberg then Basel), he also studied Greek, mathematics, cosmography, and geography. Munster became especially interested in creating a collection of maps and descriptions of Germany he wrote to numerous friends and acquaintances to enlist their help. Munster is often given credit for a resurgence in German regionalism in the sixteenth century.
He received such an outpouring of information, not only from Germany but from all over the world and he was obliged to expand his project. What started as a fairly small-scale project soon grew into Munster's most famous contribution to the cartographic world, the Cosmographia. The Cosmographia. was first published in 1544 and in 1650 was its last official printing. It went through forty-six editions in six languages. Even one hundred years after Munster's death in 1552 the Cosmographia. remained enormously popular.
Munster's map, "Typus Cosmographicus Universalis" as it is entitled, was published by Simon Gyrnaeus and Johann Huttich in their 1532 Novus Orbis for which Munster himself provided the commentary. It is a highly decorative view of the prevailing European beliefs about the world they inhabited. Strange and fanciful creatures encircle the map. Human figures, engaged in hunting, even cannibalism, can be found along the borders of the map as well. Embedded in the map itself are sea monsters and mermaids inhabiting the same waters as European sailing vessels.
This map perpetuates many of the common sixteenth century misconceptions of the world. For instance, Japan (Cipangri) is located much too close to North America (Terra de Cuba) which itself looks misshapen. The Pacific Ocean is likewise too small. Notice as well the inclusion of a strait between North and South America -- this particular erroneous feature would be perpetuated throughout later editions. But despite these shortcomings the map was ahead of its time in some ways as well. The earth's rotation on its axis looks forward to more modern ideas about the earth.
This map of the world was a collaborative effort between Sebastian Munster, cartographer, and Hans Holbein the Younger, the artist and engraver. First appearing in 1532 as a supplemental map to Novus Orbis, a collection of travel reports, it is notable not only for its decorative representation of the sixteenth century world, but also for the two angelic figures at the top and bottom of the world, cranking it on its own axis. The idea that the earth turned on its own axis was a rather new concept for the time.
Sebastian Munster was born in 1489 in Hesse Germany. A noted scholar of Hebrew (he taught at Heidelberg then Basel), he also studied Greek, mathematics, cosmography, and geography. Munster became especially interested in creating a collection of maps and descriptions of Germany he wrote to numerous friends and acquaintances to enlist their help. Munster is often given credit for a resurgence in German regionalism in the sixteenth century.
He received such an outpouring of information, not only from Germany but from all over the world and he was obliged to expand his project. What started as a fairly small-scale project soon grew into Munster's most famous contribution to the cartographic world, the Cosmographia. The Cosmographia. was first published in 1544 and in 1650 was its last official printing. It went through forty-six editions in six languages. Even one hundred years after Munster's death in 1552 the Cosmographia. remained enormously popular.
Munster's map, "Typus Cosmographicus Universalis" as it is entitled, was published by Simon Gyrnaeus and Johann Huttich in their 1532 Novus Orbis for which Munster himself provided the commentary. It is a highly decorative view of the prevailing European beliefs about the world they inhabited. Strange and fanciful creatures encircle the map. Human figures, engaged in hunting, even cannibalism, can be found along the borders of the map as well. Embedded in the map itself are sea monsters and mermaids inhabiting the same waters as European sailing vessels.
This map perpetuates many of the common sixteenth century misconceptions of the world. For instance, Japan (Cipangri) is located much too close to North America (Terra de Cuba) which itself looks misshapen. The Pacific Ocean is likewise too small. Notice as well the inclusion of a strait between North and South America -- this particular erroneous feature would be perpetuated throughout later editions. But despite these shortcomings the map was ahead of its time in some ways as well. The earth's rotation on its axis looks forward to more modern ideas about the earth.
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