New and enlarged description of the world adapted for the use of navigators (Mercator’s 1569 world map on 18 sheets)
Nova et aucta orbis terrae descriptio ad usum navigantium emendate accomodata
Gerard Mercator, Duisburg
How we know
compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.
Compilation: Mercator's own synthesis of Ptolemy, Polo, Jenkinson (1562, for Russia and the Caspian steppe) and Portuguese charts, with long explanatory legends; no observation.
Research notes
- Only three complete copies survive (Basel, Paris, Rotterdam); the Basel copy is the one sampled. Northern Asia depends on Jenkinson 1562 and Polo; legends are Mercator's own commentary.
- Found via Gallica SRU (2 hits) which also pointed to e-rara.
Why it matters
The 1569 world map is the hinge between the Ptolemaic Scythia and the atlas Tartaria: Mercator's northern Asia carries the Great Khan, Tartar tribes and Jenkinson's steppe names with legends explaining his sources, and it is the direct ancestor of the 1595 Atlas Asia and of the Hondius Tartaria (see Rumsey 10534343 record).
Places named
Whole world; northern Asia: Tartaria, Cathay, Mangi, Ob, Caspian, Mare Scythicum, polar regions
Who copied whom
- this one was drawn from it (stated)Jenkinson 1562 is a partial source of Mercator 1569
- drawn from this one (stated)Mercator 1569 is parent of the Hondius Tartaria of 1606 (via the 1595 Asia)
Keep exploring
The maps drawn just before and just after this one.
