Catalan Atlas
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The Catalan Atlas of 1375 is the work of the Mallorcan Jews Abraham and Jehuda Cresques, made under assignment by Prince John of Aragon. It is considered the master work of the 14th Mallorcan cartographic school, and one of the finest works in medieval cartography. It is also the first atlas to incorporate a wind rose.
Contents |
[edit] The Atlas
The Catalan Atlas was originally composed of 6 vellum leaves folded down the middle; the leaves are now cut in half. They are painted in various colors, gold, and silver; each half-leaf is mounted on one side of five wooden panels, the first half of the first leaf and the second half of the last leaf are mounted on the inner boards of a brown leather binding. Each leaf measures approximately 65 x 50 cm, for an overall size of 65 x 300 cm.
[edit] First leaf - Cosmography
The work begins with a summary of the 30 days of a lunar month, and two circle diagrams. The first one comprises a rose of 16 winds to calculate the high tide at important sites during the full moon. The other one is assumed to have had a mobile index, which allows the calculation of the Golden number and thus, the movable feasts of the year, Carnival, Easter, and Pentecost.
After that there is a graphic on medical astrological anatomy with a table to find out the location of the Moon in the Solar Zodiac. In this second table there is an extensive text about the Earth, its origin, dimensions, and the interpretation of natural phenomena.
The Earth, spherical, was considered to have a maximum circumference of 180.000 stadia. Calculating at 185 m each stadium, that is around 7776 km under the actual circumference of the Earth. Still, these dimensions well suited the advantage of the Catholic Kings of Spain in the following century.
[edit] Second Leaf - Calendar
This leaf comprises a great solar and lunar calendar, bordered by the four seasons of the year, and with the cosmographic text continued from the previous leaf on the superior and inferior margins.
Besides the calendar, there is some astronomical data based on Ptolemy's geocentric model, which is a compilation of that time's scientific cosmography. Mankind on Earth is surrounded by the other three basic elements, air, water, and fire. On the successive blue rings one finds the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and the firmament with 18 stars. The next circle contains the houses and the explanation of the Sun, the Moon, and the rest of the planets mentioned before, along with classical allegories: the Sun is a king, Venus is a maiden, and so on, until concluding with Mars as a warrior.
Following that, one can find the names and symbols of the 12 divisions of the Solar Zodiac; above that there are the 28 symbols and names of the of the Lunar Zodiac. After that, one finds the Moon phases, with New Moon to the North, Full Moon to the South, Waning Moon to the East and Crescent Moon to the West. This composition is a reminder of the importance of the first new moon of Spring, and its relation with the first sacred month of the Jews.
Further on, five circles of the perpetual calendar with the Sunday marked out by a letter; to determine the day of the week and the 12 months with the number of days in each. Then the various astrological characteristics of the 12 zodiac signs, with Roman divisions in intervals of V until completing the 12 groups of XXX, and corresponding to these, other divisions of one degree for the 28 signs of the Lunar Zodiac. There are also four quadrants of 900 crescents and decrescents, inscribed with a legend and illustrative examples.
It is easy to prove how precise every season is. Thus, Spring in the NE angle is limited by Aries and Cancer, and the corresponding Lunar signs of Alnatha and Alvatra, and includes three XXX divions, corresponding to Aries, Tauro and Gemini, in all comprising a crescent quadrant of 90º.
This great calendar is made with exceptional beauty of expression and colours, and as in other cultures, contributed to enhance the calculus of dates and astronomical knowledge, which were so important during the Middle Age.[citation needed]
[edit] Third and Fourth Leaves - Finisterre and the Mediterranean
These leaves include all the known lands in the 14th century, from 10º to 60º North latitude. From West to East and South to North, there is a deviation of maritime knowledge and interests towards the obliged continental routes. That is why the wind lines or directions which identify the whole work have their better place in these charts of Finisterre and the Mediterranean.
In the Mar Océana all the known islands and points of reference are found, by explicit desire of Prince John. The same way, in the island of Tenerife a white dot is found, representing the Teide. The toponomical saturation of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the perfect juxtaposition of both charts let one consider them as an extension of a classical port map which includes in its limits Iceland, the Canary Islands, the Red Sea, and the Don River
The representation of the Mediterranean shores is correct, reflecting the Aragonese hegemony during that period. The settlements and vassalage relations in the three peninsulas and the dominion of the islands from the Balearic Islands to Cyprus made real the saying of even fish wearing the four stripes of Aragon.
One of the characteristics of the Mallorcan cartographical school is the presence of many banners and legends with physical, economical and human geography data, of great interest. These explanations remind us of the maps by the National Geographic Society. In some occasions, they also note literary traditions, like it happens with the paradise-like Fortunate Islands and their golden fables which have survived from classical times. In the symmetry that existed in classical maps, this Elysium represented the complement of the Western Paradise.
The wind rose in this chart is the first seen in cartographical representation. It contains the 32 directions and the rotulations of the 8 winds; this denotes the mastering in nautical instruments of the Cresques. It is known that in their workshop sea needles. And, precisely, the model of the 32 directions and 8 winds has stood as prototype till nowadays. In this order of ideas it is necessary to think that the North in the work is the magnetic North, with 10º of deviation towards the East.
The continuity in the tracing of courses N-S and E-W allows us to observe a mix of the course networks and rectangular coordinates in these charts. By the way the distance between parallels is reduced towards the North Pole and the Equator, it reminds us of Lambert projection. Mercator's geniality was to increase the distances between parallels towards the poles.
The first course N-S crosses the island of El Hierro, with that they were ahead the revival of Ptolemy's tradition. Remember in 1634, the most eminent mathematicians of Europe, reunited in Paris, adopted as original meridian the one of the island of Hierro.
Finally, in the wind rose, the North and the East are indicated with symbols. We find a representation of the Northern Star on the north. It is a singularity that instead of the classical Latin Cross found on the East in other charts, we find a stylisation of a cross that reminds us of the sacred Jewish candelabra, the Menorah. Checking this symbol in other charts of that period, we can identify other anonymous works of the Cresques.
Geographical names are written perpendicularly regarding the coast, and on inland, Southern names are written in one direction, and Northern names, in another. In some cases, due to lack of space or due to accommodation, rotulations and symbols cross. This way are found the names in England or Ireland, or the towns of the Hansa, the Oder River, the Nile River, and the Red Sea.
Christian towns are differentiated from Muslim towns by a cross. The exception to this is Granada, which has the cross but bears a flag with Arabic writings, possibly alluding to the vassalage of the Nasrid dynasty to Castile.
The colour of the orography is ochre, and in case vegetation was found, green. Norwegian fjords and the Atlas Mounts are ochre, the mountains of Bohemia and the Pyrenees are green.
Hydrography is all green. The Nile, following the tradition, is born in a lake to the West, without doubt based on the confusion with the Niger River basil.
[edit] Fifth Leaf - Chart of Delli
Following from the West the third chart begins with the low course of the Volga river and its characteristic mouth in the Caspian Sea. The Caucassus, the Euphrates River and the Arabian Peninsula complete, North to South, the geograhy of immediate identification in this chart.
When uniting the Aral Sea to the Caspian Sea, the Amu-Darya flows into it, being born in the Pamir Mountains. To the South, Delhi deserves the attention, with its Sultans who governed India from 1206 to 1320. Keeping in mind most of the data in this region comes from Marco Polo's voyage, the names must be identified with those in his famous book, The Million.
The mountain range to the North, where we can see the caravan on the way to Cathay corresponds to the asian mountains of Tian Shan. All the coastal lines are made with a continuous and lineal trace, that is, with a knowledge far more continental than maritime.
Amongst the cities, stands out, for its explanations and importance, Mecca. Other significative cities are Baghdad, Samarkand and Astrakhan, which work as southern, central, and northern routes towards Beijing. On the limit of this chart and the SW end of India there is the city of Colombo. Since in 1173 Benjamin of Tudela travelled through part of these lands to study and relation the existinc Jewish communities, it is very likely the Cresques had data from this trip too, as well as from the scripts of the missioner Jordanus of 1340 and from other Christian communities.
The identifiable islands by the Persian Gulf and the Aden Gulf are the islands of Hormoz and Socotora. On the SW end stands out the Aden Gulf inside the Persian Gulf.
[edit] Sixth Leaf - Chart of Catayo
This one was probably the hardest to be compilated. The lack of geographical information is solved through a rich decoration. The fear of empty spaces is taken over, and maybe these images were probably even more important and enduring for the Middle Age man in his curiosity for the fabulous and huge lands of Catayo.
Orography and Hydrography aren't the typical from other charts. Now it contributes to frame spaces. Vegetation also serves this purposes. Cities are the best cartographical information. The most important is Chanbalech, the city of the Great Khan, nowadays Beijing. Also we find on the coast the most important ports, which are, from north to south, Fuguí, Zayton, Cansay and Caynan, being Zayton and Caynan the most important.
The Indus River marks the limit of Catayo, and as it was tradition, it is born in a valley on a mountain area of huge proportions, a possible allusion to the Himalaya.
In the Indian Sea we find two big islands, Iana, in a possible allusion to Java, and Trapobana (alluding toCeylon). The first appears in some reproductions as a peninsula, while the second is always surrounded by mountains.
On the rest of the islands the richness are mentioned, as well of their number, 7.548. Marco Polo noted 7.459. On November 14, 1492 Columbus said "these islands are those unnumbered that on the Mapamundis lie to the end of the East" and when he found the island of Cuba he expressed: "I found it so big, that I thought it would be dry land, the province of Catayo".
