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33-592: It is widely held to have been written by Matthias Ringmann although some historians attribute it to Waldseemüller himself. The book includes the reason for using the name America in the wall map and the globe, and contains a Latin translation of the four journeys of Amerigo Vespucci as an appendix. The full title of the book is: Cosmographiae introductio cum quibusdam geometriae ac astronomiae principiis ad eam rem necessariis. Insuper quatuor Americi Vespucii navigationes. Universalis Cosmographiae descriptio tam in solido quam plano, eis etiam insertis, quae Ptholomaeo ignota

66-559: A brief Introduction to Cosmography with an accompanying world map. The Introduction was written by Ringmann and included a Latin translation of the Soderini Letter. In a preface to the letter, Ringmann wrote "I see no reason why anyone could properly disapprove of a name derived from that of Amerigo, the discoverer, a man of sagacious genius. A suitable form would be Amerige, meaning Land of Amerigo, or America, since Europe and Asia have received women's names." While Ringmann

99-546: A master cartographer. Matthias Ringmann was also brought into the group because of his previous work with the Geography and his knowledge of Greek and Latin. Ringmann and Waldseemüller soon became friends and collaborators. In 1506, the Gymnasium obtained a French translation of the Soderini Letter, a booklet attributed to Amerigo Vespucci that provided a sensational account of four alleged Vespucci voyages to explore

132-739: A nuperis reperta sunt. (translation: Introduction to Cosmography With Certain Necessary Principles of Geometry and Astronomy To which are added The Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci A Representation of the Entire World, both in the Solid and Projected on the Plane, Including also lands which were Unknown to Ptolemy, and have been Recently Discovered ) The map of the world in 1507, entitled Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii aliorumque lustrationes ,

165-402: A printing press, and began to study Ptolemy's Geography . In 1505, Ringmann came across a copy of Mundus Novus , a booklet attributed to Amerigo Vespucci that described the explorer's voyage along the coast of present-day Brazil. Ringmann was familiar with the speculation of classical authors that a giant, unknown continent lay on the other side of the world and he became convinced that this

198-582: A tense, etc. Depending upon the teacher's questions a student would play the appropriate card or cards. Long believed to be lost, one copy of Grammatica figurata was found and reprinted in 1905. Martin Waldseem%C3%BCller Martin Waldseemüller ( c.  1470 – 16 March 1520) was a German cartographer and humanist scholar. Sometimes known by the Hellenized form of his name, Hylacomylus , his work

231-848: A will on 16 March 1520 in Saint Dié in the Upper Rhenish Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, where he had served as a canon in the collegiate Church of Saint Dié since 1514. The 1507 wall map was lost for a long time, but a copy was found in Schloss Wolfegg in southern Germany by Joseph Fischer in 1901. It is the only known copy and was purchased by the United States Library of Congress in May 2003. Five copies of Waldseemüller's globular map survive in

264-543: Is one of four, that form one of three zones. The map uses a modified Ptolemaic coniform projection with curved meridians to depict the entire surface of the Earth. Matthias Ringmann Matthias Ringmann (1482–1511), also known as Philesius Vogesigena was an Alsatian German humanist scholar and cosmographer . Along with cartographer Martin Waldseemüller , he is credited with the first documented usage of

297-551: Is what Vespucci had encountered. Ringmann republished the work under the title Concerning the Southern Shore Recently Discovered by the King of Portugal . In July 1507, he wrote to a friend calling Vespucci "a great man of brave courage" and included this letter in the introduction to his reprint. Later that same year, he traveled to Italy where he likely searched for more information about Vespucci and

330-527: The Duchy of Lorraine , under the patronage of René II, Duke of Lorraine . They called themselves the Gymnasium Vosagense and their leader was Walter Lud. Their initial intention was to publish a new edition of Ptolemy's Geography . Waldseemüller was invited to join the group and contribute his skills as a cartographer. How he came to the group's attention is unclear, but Lud later described him as

363-461: The New World as a continent separate from Asia and for naming the southern landmass America. By April 1507, the map, globe and accompanying book, Introduction to Cosmography , were published. A thousand copies were printed and sold throughout Europe. The Introduction and map were a great success, and four editions were printed in the first year alone. The map was widely used in universities and

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396-608: The Portuguese map was based on his explorations. They decided to put aside the Geography for the moment and publish a brief Introduction to Cosmography with an accompanying world map. The Introduction was written by Ringmann and included a Latin translation of the Soderini Letter . In a preface to the Letter , Ringmann wrote I see no reason why anyone could properly disapprove of a name derived from that of Amerigo,

429-400: The coast of lands recently discovered in the western Atlantic. The Gymnasium surmised that this was the "new world" or the " antipodes " hypothesized by classical writers. The Soderini Letter gave Vespucci credit for discovery of this new continent and implied that newly obtained Portuguese maps were based on his explorations. They decided to put aside the Geography for the moment and publish

462-466: The discoverer, a man of sagacious genius. A suitable form would be Amerige, meaning Land of Amerigo, or America, since Europe and Asia have received women's names. A thousand copies of the Introduction and the accompanying world map were printed on April 25, 1507. It was the first time that the word ' Americas ' had appeared in print. In a later edition after Ringmann's death, Waldseemüller dropped

495-482: The first to create a printed wall map of Europe. A set of his maps printed as an appendix to the 1513 edition of Ptolemy 's Geography is considered to be the first example of a modern atlas . Details of Waldseemüller's life are scarce. He was born around 1470 in the German town of Wolfenweiler . His father was a butcher and moved to Freiburg (now Freiburg im Breisgau ) in about 1480. Records show that Waldseemüller

528-528: The lands that he had explored. In 1506, he began another project, the first German translation of Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War . He used Ptolemy's Geography to identify the historic Roman place-names and associate them to their corresponding contemporary locations. His translation was published in 1507. Meanwhile, an association of humanist scholars was forming in Saint-Dié under

561-431: The maps for the new publication. In 1506, the Gymnasium obtained a French translation of the Soderini Letter as well as a Portuguese maritime map that detailed the coast of lands recently discovered in the western Atlantic. Ringmann again surmised that this was the "new world" or the "antipodes" hypothesized by classical writers. The Soderini Letter gave Vespucci credit for discovery of this new continent and implied that

594-411: The name and the nature of the lands discovered in the western Atlantic. The New World was no longer clearly shown as a continent separate from Asia, and the name America had been replaced with Terra Incognita (Unknown Land). What caused him to make these changes is not clear, but perhaps he was influenced by contemporary criticism that Vespucci had usurped Columbus's primacy of discovery. Waldseemüller

627-477: The name was securely fixed on the New World. After 1507, Waldseemüller and Ringmann continued to collaborate on a new edition of Ptolemy's Geography . In 1508, Ringmann travelled to Italy and obtained a Greek manuscript of Geography ( Codex Vaticanum Graecorum 191 ). With this key reference, they continued to make progress and Waldseemüller was able to finish his maps. Completion was forestalled, though, when their patron, Duke René II, died in 1508. The new edition

660-403: The new Geography as a separate appendix, Claudii Ptolemaei Supplementem . This supplement constitutes the first modern atlas. Maps of Lorraine and the upper Rhine region were the first printed maps of those regions and were probably based on survey work done by Waldseemüller himself. The world map published in the 1513 Geography seems to indicate that Waldseemüller had second thoughts about

693-459: The new Ptolemy was not published until after Ringmann's death. By 1509, Ringmann was seriously ill with tuberculosis but continued working. In 1509, he published a card game, Grammatica Figurata, to make the grammatical rules of Donatus' Ars Minor , more appealing to children. He died in 1511 in Sélestat . The Grammatica Figurata was first published by Mathias Ringmann in 1509. This work

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726-400: The patronage of René II, Duke of Lorraine . They called themselves the Gymnasium Vosagense and their leader was Walter Lud. Their intention was to publish a new edition of Ptolemy's Geography . Ringmann was brought into the group because of his previous work with the Geography and his knowledge of Greek and Latin. Martin Waldseemüller , a cartographer, was also hired to draw and illustrate

759-416: The term America and named South America "Terra Nova", but the name America was already established. After 1507, Ringmann and Waldseemüller continued working together on creating new edition of Ptolemy's Geography . In 1508 Ringmann returned to Italy and obtained a Greek Ptolemy manuscript ( Codex Vaticanum Graecorum 191. ). With this important reference they were apparently able to complete their project but

792-675: The word America, on the 1507 map Universalis Cosmographia in honour of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci . Ringmann was born in 1482 in the small farming village of Eichhoffen , Alsace . In 1498 he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg and then went on to study at the University of Paris . He pursued a course of studies typical for a humanist of the day, including Greek, Latin, classical literature, history, mathematics and cosmography. In 1505 he settled in Strassburg , worked at

825-570: Was also interested in surveying and surveying instruments. In 1508, he contributed a treatise on surveying and perspective to the fourth edition of Gregor Reisch 's Margarita Philosophica . He included an illustration of a forerunner to the theodolite , a surveying instrument he called the polimetrum. In 1511, he published the Carta Itineraria Europae , a road map of Europe that showed important trade routes and pilgrim routes from central Europe to Santiago de Compostela , Spain. It

858-408: Was an attempt to enliven Donatus' Ars Minor by printing up illustrated card sets for each grammatical rule. Apparently the children would have a card set. The rules are not explained at length, but a few hints are scattered here and there in the work. The final section on "Exclamations" has a sentence on how to figure out which student has won. Each card represented a part of speech, a gender, a case, or

891-627: Was enrolled in 1490 at the University of Freiburg , where Gregor Reisch , a noted humanist scholar, was one of his influential teachers; the printer Johannes Schott was his classmate. After finishing at the university, he lived in Basel , where he was ordained a priest, and apparently, gained experience in printing and engraving while working with the printer community in Basel. Around 1500, an association of humanist scholars formed in Saint Dié , in

924-465: Was finally printed in 1513 by Johannes Schott in Strasbourg . By then, Waldseemüller had pulled out of the project and was not credited for his cartographic work. Nevertheless, his maps were recognized as important contributions to the science of cartography and were considered a standard reference work for many decades. About 20 of Waldseemüller's tabulae modernae (modern maps) were included in

957-449: Was influential among cartographers who admired the craftsmanship that went into its creation. In the following years, other maps were printed that often incorporated the name America. Although Waldseemüller had intended the name to apply only to a specific part of Brazil, other maps applied it to the entire continent. In 1538, Gerardus Mercator used America to name both the north and south continents on his influential map, and by this point,

990-473: Was influential among contemporary cartographers. His collaborator Matthias Ringmann and he are credited with the first recorded usage of the word America to name a portion of the New World in honour of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci in a world map they delineated in 1507. Waldseemüller was also the first to map South America as a continent separate from Asia, the first to produce a printed globe, and

1023-713: Was published in an edition of 1000 copies, of which it seems only a single copy survives. The surviving copy was found in the library of Prince von Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee in the Castle of Wolfegg in Württemberg . It was bought by the Library of Congress in 2001. This preservation seems to be due to several sheets being bound into a single cover by the cartographer, Johannes Schöner . The map consists of twelve sections printed from woodcuts combined with metal types, each measuring 18 x 24.5 inches (46 x 62 cm). Each section

Cosmographiae Introductio - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-659: Was the first printed wall map of Europe. In 1516, he produced another large-scale wall map of the world, the Carta Marina Navigatoria , printed in Strasbourg. It was designed in the style of portolan charts and consisted of 12 printed sheets. The Paris Green Globe (or Globe vert ), has been attributed to Waldseemüller by experts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, but the attribution is not universally accepted. Waldseemüller died without

1089-448: Was writing the Introduction , Waldseemüller focused on the creation of a world map using an aggregation of sources, including maps based on the works of Ptolemy , Henricus Martellus , Alberto Cantino , and Nicolò de Caverio . In addition to a large 12-panel wall map, Waldseemüller created a smaller, simplified globe. The wall map was decorated with prominent portraits of Ptolemy and Vespucci . The map and globe were notable for showing

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