THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA MERCATOR'S CHANGING CONCEPT OF THE NATURE OF THE NORTH POLE by URTE E. DE REYES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMEI{TS FOR THE DEGREE \J-r MASTER OF ARTS HISTORY DEPARTMENT I{II\ll{IPEG, IVTAN ITOBA october L973 '' I '' ' ' t. *¡.--\- ,f =Ë*F7"lt-.,., ..re, .ê' ÀC Kl'i O-i',iL E D GE ilrä t'i T S I v¡ould lilce r'irsL 'bo Lhank si-ucerely P::ofessor i{enry Heller for the unflagging ínterest he has taken Ín my worl< and for his valuable advice and consiructive cri.bicism, I am very gratefulu Loo, to Professor John L, FÍnlay tdho,without thought for his own time or trouble, vJas always readl'to help arlcl encourage me in my t"¡ork' I am parLicularly 'inoebL.ed to Professor iriarvin K. singleton r,¿ho introduced ne to the study of the historl' of ideas anci guicìed me to I'1e::cator the humanisL" To Doctor RÕman Drazniorvsky, i,llap Curator of the ,\nrerican Geographícal Society of l{er"¡ York, T v'rísh to the aclvíce he has givet: me from e,LÈ/r!rJUêr¿rrrêqq ^.'Jm\/ oratiLude for his greaL store of carLographical knor,vledge and for allovring me to photograph the l"lercator maps ø And-fwanttotlranktire¡l'mericanGeographícal Society of i$er,v York for giving me access to their valuable 'l i l¡r¡rr¡ ;¡n¡*-^- -.tcl!',rnîh \-uJ!Euç¡vrf^^1 I a¡ì-.ì nn ¿v!fnr mr¡ rêsea-I: Ch" I also tvould like to avail rnyself of this opportu-nity to extend my síncere appreciation to all the members of the ui cl-nrr¡ a€ {-heIÇ ur¡r v l'.anicoi:a for !/eflô, v s!-r+-mon.t- n.í: i-r-L Þ UUI ) V¿ uI Tlniversitv of having guicìecl and encouraged me in the pursuit of my >^l-,.-l; LLlLlI(JÐ ^A @ tll TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES. INTRODUCTION ! Chapter T MERCATOR AT LOUVATN" 13 His education and first successes II MERCATOR AT DUISBURG 58 His major cartograPhical work, his humanist writings, his corres'oondence f IT T.{ERCATOR'S REPRESENTATION OF THE ARCTIC. 98 Description of three maPS and one qlobe IV MERCATORIS CHANGING CONCBPT OF THE NORTH 137 Analysis and discussion of Mercatorrs concePt of the nature of the North Pole V MERCATOR, THE EXEGETE" TjL Analysis and d.iscussion of Mercatorrs Genesis coNcLUSroN lBB APPENDÏX I Nomenclature and Inscriptions" " 195 II The "septentrionalium" of 1595 2I0 BIBLI9GRAPHY 2T9 l_v LIST OF FTGURES Figure Page I Mercatorts sysLem of the universe. B7 (PhoLographic copy of: H. Averdunk and J. Mueller-Reinhardr "Gerhard Mercator und d.j-e Geographen unter seinen Nachkon'rneo", Petermanns Mittei lungen, Supp lem:renE-TB7-fcotha, L9L4), plate XX) Tycho Brahers system of the universe B9 (Photographic copy of: Th. S. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution. Planetary Astronomv in the Development of We sEêEn-rrrougñt t cãffiEî@e, ryoo _l , Fïs "--37) Mercatorr s Orbis Imago,1538 L02 (Original photograph, courtesy of the American Geographical- Society, New York) The Arctic Reqions of Mercatorrs Orbís r05 (Detail of the original photograph) The Arctic on Mercator's Globe, 154L L12 (Photographic copy of: J. van Raendonck, Les Sphères Terrestre et Céleste o.e Gérard lvlercator lBt" ñïõõTas, TE75J7 no pIãEe- number) vl- Figure Page 6 The Arctic inset on Mercator's map of the world, 1569 l1B (Photographic copy of : E. G. R. Taylor, "A letter dated 1_577 from Mercator to John Dee " , Imago llundi, XIII [ 1956] , Fig" 2) 7a The Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptiq in Mercatorrs Atlas of 1595 125 (Original photograph) 7b The Polar Islands, detail of the Septentrionalium Terrarum sçÐv!-¡,;io,¡^^^-'i^lio, 1595 L25 *ttt"* thotograph) B Detail of the Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio, 1595. L29 (Original photograPh) 9a Detail of the SePtentrionalium Terrarum descriptio, l-595. 131 (original photograph) 9b Detail- of the Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio, 1595. 131 (original photograph) lOa Detail of the Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio, 1595. I33 (Original photograPh) V]. I Figure Þ¡ na l0b Detail of the Septentríonalium Terrarum descriPtio, 1595. 133 (Original PhotograPh) 11 Detail of the Septentrionalium Terrarum deeç¡iPtic' I595. 135 (original PhotograPh) T2 Northern voyages of exPloration r61 undertaken uP to 1595 " I3 Detail of Ioannes RuYsch t^ð 165 tr{orld-Map, 1508 " (PhotograPhic coPY of: B" G" Taylor, "A letter dated l-577 fram l4ercator to John Dee", Imago Mundi, iiri [rgso] , Fis. 3) L67 L4 The North Pole bY H. Gilbert (PhotograPhic coPY of: The World EncomPassed I 1952) , ñil-TB;-pTãEãTE) l5 The Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio of circa 1595 2LL (original PhotograPh) L6 Detail of the Septent'rionalium Terrarum descg¡g!þ of circa 1595 2l-3 (original photograPh) INTRODUCTTON Gerhard Mercator (1512-I594) was the greatest cartographer of the Renaissance. Indeed, his contem- poraries bel-ieved him to be the tPtolernyt of his age. I Unquestionably, his attempt to represent the earthrs surface in the n''.ost accurate \^iay possible and his studies in geomagnetism had an abiding impact upon the devefop- ment of cartography. It is not surprising, therefore, that his life, his beliefs and his work have been exten- 2 qir¡a'lrz q#rrÁi orl ì-rr¡ hn#lr l'r'i q*nri rnc :né ñô^'-'-^*L^-^^,-ographers. - But' Lr^^ LIIç EI[[I/IIq,Jf^-^r^^^'r ^J hasllOÞ remainedIçltldI¡lËLt onLrIl Mercator,fIEILTOL\JJ- t theLIIS cartographer, without paying much attention to }4ercator, the humanist..J This study will attempt to ans\^/er the question whether Mercator can be considered a representative of 'ê'. L. Humphreys, Decorative Printed lrtaps of the .-.;-=-.----=-=-=-]--15th to l8th Centuries, a revised edition by R. A" Skelton (London, 1967), p. 3, and L. Bagrow, "Abraham Ortelii Catalogus Cartographorum", Petermanns Mj-ttej-Iungen, Supplement L99 (Gotha , LT2BI;-23. ô 'R. Kirmse wrote a detailed review of the more recent studies on Mercator: "Neue Arbeiten ueber Mercator, seinen Sohn Arnold und Christian Sgroten" Eine Betrachtung der Mitteilungen von l-945 bis 1960", Duisburger Forschungen, v (1961) , 52-80. 1 -Kirmse, too, indicated. the necessity to view Mercator, the humanist , cf. "Die grosse Flandernkarte Gerhard Mercatõrs-lT5Z0 ) --ein Politj-kum? " Duisburger Forschungêtr, I (1957), 4. the Northern Renaissancer'A, and if sor to what degree his life and work are representative of a particular humanist trend in the sixteenth century. His changing concept of the nature of the North PoIe has been chosen to illustrate the practical-cartographical as weII as the theoretical- and humanist consideratíons which influenced his work. The relationship between Mercatorrs representation of the North and voyages of exploration in northern l-atitudes will- receive attention; it should clarify the question whether Mercator was interested more in the usefulness of his geographical and cartographical theories or in the humanist value of his endeavors. When Gerhard Mercator started his career as carto- grapher during the first half of the sixteenth century the knowledge of the earthrs surface had considerably expandeo" Europeans coul-d no -longer conceive of their world as one inrrnense island comfortably enclosed and protected by an all--surroundinq ocean. That ocean had been conquered" 4lt seems necessary to differentiate between the "Italian" and the "Northern Renaissance". They are not only separated in time but they also differ in character- istics. Growing in and itself to its environ- rtNf^rthern adapting man.r-, {-hae¡¡v Renaissanceil found. an earlier foothold at princely courts and at some universities than in the cities, almost reversing the development in Italy i cf " L. W. Spitz (ed. ¡ , The Northern Renaissance (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., I972T, pp.--FTz; -ã-Tu?mer characteristic of northern humanists appears to be their pre-occupation with theological reform, cf. H. Hornik, "Three Interpreta- tions of the French Renaissance", French Humanism. I470- 1600 (W. L. Gundersheimer, ed" ) (New York, L970) , p" 4l'" 3 Africa, Iong thought-of in terms of one of the possible land-routes-tr to oriental- spices and as the seat of that fabulous kingdom of Prester John, had been circumnavigated" Among other results, this feat had unlocked the springs for even more adventurous enterprises which in turn resulted in the encircling of a previously believed limitless ocean. AJ-though one may be tempted to ascríbe this release of energy to a so-called "enterprising spirit of the Renaissance", to a shaking off of the shackles of the Middle Ages, the underlying impulses were in great part of a different nature, namely economíc" The spices and luxury articles which the Orient could offer were much sought after and the desire to obtain them was a spur to the more daring minds of the time.o ÏIere, monarch, merchant, and mariner combined played together int.o each others' hand. Portugal took the lead in the quest for new routes to the spice-markets of the Orient; Spain followed -Africaà as a land-route naturally has to be under- stood as referring solely to the caravan routes through the north African deserts. 'Altered^ political situations in the Near Bast and Levant had hampered the continual flow of oriental spices into western Europe. Venice and Genoa still \^/ere important trading ports for the luxuries of t'he East, but Portugal had begun to wrest that monopoly from the Med.iterranean ports, aiming not only at the profit from the spice t.rade but also at replenishing its cash-resources with gold from the African west-coast. Cf. F..Braudel' La Méditerranée et le ivionde Méditerranéen ä I'Epoque de -Tg Þ'-ni riæ+ r F, 6zl, p p:--m=Tß:- 4 close on her heels" By the end of the fifteenth century, the competition had reached a stage where only an official- agreement could keep the contenders in check" The Treaty of Tordesillas of L494 tried to ans\^/er this need: Portugal and Spain agreed henceforth not to invade each otherrs assigned sphere.' The possibilíty of demarcation over the ocean had become available after the revival of the works of Ptolemy and their widespread propagation d.uring the second half of the fifteenth century.B Cartographers again used a grid on their maps according to the examples in Ptolemy's Geographia.