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Scottish Geographical Magazine Ptolemy's Atlas This article was downloaded by: [Universitaets und Landesbibliothek] On: 20 December 2013, At: 02:29 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Scottish Geographical Magazine Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsgj19 Ptolemy's atlas: A study of the sources G. Schütte a a Eskjær in Sallingland Published online: 30 Jan 2008. To cite this article: G. Schütte (1914) Ptolemy's atlas: A study of the sources, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 30:2, 57-77, DOI: 10.1080/14702541408555155 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14702541408555155 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub- licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions THE SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. PTOLEMY'S ATLAS: A STUDY OF THE SOURCES. By G. SCHUTTE. ( fUith i~e2~roductions of PloIemy'8 Maps.) § 1. Introduction. PTOLEMY'S work is the main foundation of our geographical know- ledge of the classical world, and our whole modern cartography has developed from his atlas. It would seem a matter of course that this enormously important document and its sources had been seriously examined already long ago. But it has not. The MS. atlas especially has been neglected by the critics. Most of thera, deny categorically that it can be Ptolemy's own work (so H. Kiepert, Berger, Christ, Henry Zondervans, and even Wieser in 1912). None of these critics, however, has taken the trouble to compare the MS. atlas with the acknowledged remnants of classical cartography. Downloaded by [Universitaets und Landesbibliothek] at 02:29 20 December 2013 Still more remarkable is the proceeding of Ptolemy's editors, such as Wilberg, 1838 ; Miillenhoff, 1873 (partial edition); Mtiller, 1883-1901. These expert philologists profess to give ~he sum-total of the divergent readings known to them. Anxious to be exhaustive, they quote Latin translations and even fifteenth and sixteenth century printed editions. But the readings of the atlases in MS. from the thirteenth century are conscientiously ignored. Sometimes improvements are introduced e conjec- tufa which are actually found in the despised MS. atlases, e.g. Lugodunon, Atuatukon instead of Lugodinon, Atuakuton! Such a "criticism " is unsatisfactory. VOL. XXX. E 58 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. The Ptolemaic MS. atlas was defended by Brehmer in 1822 and by Heeren in 1828, but its most effective rehabilitation is due to Jos. Fischer, S.J., in Feldkirch, who has made a collection of photo- graphic reproductions from more than forty MSS., supported by the "Istituto Austriaco dei studii storici." 1 A report of Fischer's results, together with new observations, is given by Dinse, Zentralblalt f. Bibliothekswesen, 1913, xxx. p. 379. The only MS. atlas which has hitherto been published is the M~tnt Athos Codex Fatopediensis, published by Langlois and Sewastionoff, " La G~ographie de Ptol4m~e " (Paris, 1867). § 2. Ptolem~j vindicated as AutIwr of the MS. Atlas. Dinse in the above-mentioned treatise, p. 392, refutes the arguments of the sceptical critics. He urges especially that the task of constructing an atlas on the base of the descriptions and figures in the text was enormously difficult. As the erudition of the mediaeval cartographers was piteously low, how could they have undertaken this gigantic task, and carried it out so admirably ? Such an idea is simply an absurdity. We may supplement Dinse's arguments by a series of new observa= tions, tending to show in detail the classical origin of the Ptol. MS. atlas. For this purpose we shall compare the atlas with the existing remnants of classical cartography, viz. the insignia of Roman governors in Brittany and Egypt, 2 the Tabula Peutingeriana executed by Castorius about 365 A.D., and the Mosaic Map from Madaba in Palestine, dis- covered by Pater Cleophas in 1896. 3 1. Colouring.--The theoretical lines, expressing exact measurements, are designed with red colour, viz. in the Ptol. MS. atlas the longi- tudes and latitudes, in the Tab. Peut. the high-roads. 2. Illusbutions.--The signs and vignettes of the Ptol. MS. atlas are meagre and schematic, pointing to an early stage of develop- ment; no naturalistic portraits of buildings and monuments, no living beings, etc., are present. Exactly similar is the insignium of Brittany. The insignium of Egypt, the Tab. Peut., and the Madaba Map represent a later stage, with rich pictorial variation, naturalistic images of build- ings, monuments, plants, men, and animals. Downloaded by [Universitaets und Landesbibliothek] at 02:29 20 December 2013 1 Cf. " Die handschriftliche Ueberlieferung der Ptclemaus-Karten," Ver]~andl. d. XVIII. deutschen Geographentags, 1912, and " An Important Ptolemy Manuscript," Cathbl. Hist. Records (New York, 1913). J. Jeli5 also defended the Ptol. MS. atlas (see "~Vissenschaftl. Mitteil. aus Bosnien u. Hercegovina," 1900, p. 173, with reproduction of the map of Dalmatia from the Codex Urbinas 82). Reproduced in the Danish Folkenes Historic, iii. p. 28. 3 K. Miller (see Die Welt~arte des Castorius (Ravensburg, 1888), with coloured repro- duction, price 6 Rink., and his Mappae Mundi, die altesten Weltkarten, vi. p. 148, with reproduction of the Madaba Map in Latin transcription). C£ also Comptes rendus de l'Acad~mie des inscriptions et belles lettres, 4me s~rie, t. xxv. p. 140 (Paris, 1897). The correspondence between the Ptol. MS. atlas and the Madaba Map has already been noticed by Jelid. PTOLEMY'S ATLAS: A STUDY OF THE SOURCES. 59 3. Physical Outli~tcs.--Coasts and rivers are represented with curves which are not all found in the text, so e.g. on the Cimbrian Peninsula and in Germany. Cf. the meagre schematic reconstruction in Mfillen- hoff's Deutsche 31tertumskunde, ii., 1887 (2nd ed., 1906); Mfiller's edition of Ptolemy, 1901; v. Erckert's fYa~Merungen und Siedlu~gen der germ. Sti~mme, 1901. 4. Ethnic Signs.--¥arious signs, placed in front of tribes or provinces, reappear under or after their respective towns. A similar system appears in the nomenclature of the Tab. Peut. : "F1. Arnum" means the river Arno, whereas "Arnum ft." is a river-station or town. Cf. K. Miller, Die IKeltkartc des Castorius, p. 98. 5. Statistical Signs.--Three classes of towns are distinguished: I. has vignettes with three towers; H. has vignettes, with battlements; IiI. has vignettes with smaller battlements or without. The first class is re-found in the text, Book vIH., with the addition of astronomic observations, but there is no trace of a distinction between Classes H. and m. The distinction of three classes, however, is re-found on the insignium of Brittany--eight with battlements, six with none--whereas the insignium of Egypt, the Tab. Peut., and the Madaba Map distinguish a much larger number of classes. Cf. K. Miller, ibid. 6. Size of Letters.--Another distinction of classes is expressed by the size of letters. Countries or greater provinces are written with large capitals;tribes or smaller districts with smaller capitals or large interspaced italics ; mountains, rivers, towns with small italics. The same distinction of three classes appears in the Tab. Peut. and on the Madaba Map ; and the Tab. Peut. also agrees in the distribu- tion of capital letters and italics. 7. Readi~gs of A~tmes.--Several superior readings of the MS. atlas could scarcely have been introduced by a mediaeval constructor or correcter. So e.g. Atuatokon (instead of Atuakuton), already in the Roman period replaced by Tungri, now Tongern; Artekuia (instead of Setuia) z. *Arsekuia ; Karkum, a vernacular, early lost name of the Egyptian town Babilon (J. Fischer). The conclusion is that the Ptol. MS. atlas agrees with the hitherto known classical milieu in every possible respect. There is not the slightest reason for doubting that the atlas is due to the author of the famous Geography. Downloaded by [Universitaets und Landesbibliothek] at 02:29 20 December 2013 § 3. Prot'isional Sy~o_p.~is of MSS. As to the selection of the text readings, Mfiller prefers MS. x., the Codex Vaticanus 191. Cf. his treatises in the Archives des Mi%ions scientifiques et littc:raires, 2 sdr. t. iv. p. 290 (Paris, 1867), and in Hermes, xv.p. 301 (see also the treatise of Mommsen, ibid., p. 298). This pre- ferenee is undoubtedly justified. As to the criticism of the atlas, Fischer prefers the following MSS., nearly all executed in Asia Minor or Greece :-- 60 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. I. Version with 68 maps--Mfiller's ~tsiatic Family. S O ~ X Laur. Plut. gr. Mediolan. Ambros. gr. 527 Urbinas gr. 83. Constantinop. gr. Londin. gr.
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