Nautical Atlas of the World, Folio 6 Verso, the Mediterranean Sea in 1519

The map presented here is from the Miller Atlas in the collections of the National Library of France. Produced for King Manuel I of Portugal in 1519 by cartographers Pedro Reinel, his son Jorge Reinel, and Lopo Homem and miniaturist António de Holanda, the atlas contains eight maps on six loose sheets, painted on both sides. This map (folio 6 verso in the atlas) shows the Mediterranean Sea. The region represented comprises the European coasts from Jutland to the Caucasus. The nomenclature starts at Frissa (Friesland) and runs across the southern coasts of England and Ireland. The Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts are shown as far west as Cape Bojador (Ansulim). Also shown are the Caspian Sea and the northern parts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The nomenclature that spreads out from the eastern coasts is in black and red cursive; the names of regions are in black capitals. The names of provinces are in golden letters on red and blue streamers. The map contains very rich decoration similar to that in the other maps of the atlas: the Red Sea is shown in in red, the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf in blue. Coasts are ringed with colors, islands with flat tints and gold. Rivers are in blue and green. Mountain ranges are shown in colors and in cavalier view. The map has about 50 miniatures of cities in cavalier view, with no apparent attempt at accuracy. Other objects depicted are the cross of Golgotha overlooking Jerusalem, the Tables of the Law on Mount Sinai, and the Tower of Babel between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In Africa, eight tents with flags and four individuals are shown, one of whom is on horseback. On the oceans are eight vessels, five of which bear the Portuguese Cross of the Order of Christ. The map has red and gold borders on three edges. A scale of lengths in an upright position is displayed east of the Azores. The left edge of the map contains a scale of latitudes from 28° north to 59° north. Each degree is divided into four parts with black dots and in three parts with red dots. The middle of each degree is indicated with a red circle. A draft of gradation in longitudes was attempted along parallels 33° 40', 43° 30' and 50° 50' where degrees are respectively equivalent to 18 millimeters (mm), 16.3 mm, 14.7 mm, and 12 mm. The origin of the longitudes lies outside of the map of the Mediterranean Basin, on the map of the Azores at 2° 16' on the latitude scale, which is 2° from the meridian of Cape Saint Vincent. The atlas takes its name from Emmanuel Miller, who purchased it in 1855 from a bookseller in Santarém, Portugal. Miller's widow sold it to the National Library of France in 1897.

Created by António De Holanda, Lopo Homem, King of Portugal Manuel I, Jorge Reinel, Pedro Reinel in 1519.

• Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
• Original resource extent: 1 map, vellum : illuminated ; 118 x 61 centimeters.
• Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Catherine Hofmann, Hélène Richard, Emmanuelle Vagnon, et al., The Golden Age of Maritime Maps: When Europe Discovered the World (Buffalo, NY: Firefly, 2013).
• Original resource at: National Library of France.
• Content in Latin.
• Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Map Tags

1519

António De Holanda

Coasts

Jorge Reinel

King Of Portugal Manuel I

Lopo Homem

Map

Mediterranean Region

Pedro Reinel

Portolan Charts