Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 173

Title: TERRA SANCTA, | "A Petro Laicstain perlustrata, et ab eius ore | et schedis ą Christiano Schrot in tabulam redacta". [The Holy Land, compiled by Peter Laicksteen, and from his mouth and documents made into a map by Christian Schrot]. (Middle right:) MARE MORTVVM, "olim Salinarum | vallis, predicatę foecundidatis, et amoenitatis : quam Iordanis | mediam irrigabat. adeņ vt ob felicitatem paradiso Dei | conferebatur. Post autem Sodoma euersa, et vicina | opida, mutata est in illam sterilitatem, qua hodie | adhuc conspicitur. Diuinę ultionis admiranda | vestigia". [The Dead Sea, once the salty valley, characterised by fecundity and abundance. It was through the middle watered by the river Jordan, such, that in its happiness it was considered Gods paradise. But after Sodom was destroyed, together with its neighbouring cities, it has become totally barren, as you can see, until this present day. Inspiring remnants of Divine wrath.]

Plate size: 369 x 504 mm
Scale: 1 : 600,000
Identification number: Ort 173 (Koeman/Meurer: 106, Karrow: 1/153, vdKrogtAN: 8150:31C).

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:

1584L3Addblank (100 copies printed) (identical with 1584L, but here without page number; last line, left aligned, in italic script like most of the text: "cium exequatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum,Amen".),
1584G3Add15 in upper right corner (75 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in Gothic script like most of the text: horsam sey/und sein ampt in alles sachen mit billigkeit außführe. Durch Christum unsern herren/Amen.),
1584L97 (750 copies printed) (identical with 1584L3Add, but here with page number; last line, left aligned, in italic script like most of the text: "cium exequatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum,Amen."),
1585F3Add17 (75 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: Par nostre Seigneur Iesu Christ, Amen.),
1587F97 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, small font: qu'il rende deuė obeissance ą son superieur, & s'acquite de son deuoir & office enuers tous. Par nostre Seigneur Iesu, Christ, Amen.),
1588S97 or no page number (300 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: Luego ; last line second text page, in cursive script like the lower half of this page, left aligned: "strum, Amen."),
1592L105 (525 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in cursive script like most of the text: "dat, pręposito suo in omnibus rectč obediat, & suum in cunctis iuste officium exequatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."),
1595L111 (500 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, italic: "tarem ordinem adsumantur,legere est in Leonharti Rauvvolfi Itinerario Orientali,Germanica lingua editi".),
1598F112 (525 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, small font: rende deuė obeissance ą son superieur, & s'acquite de son deuoir & office enuers tous. Par nostre Seigneur Iesu, Christ, Amen.),
1598/1610/1613D80 (100 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in Gothic script like he entire text: ghen worden.),
1601L111 (200 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in cursive script like the entire text: "stare debent antequam ad hunc sanctum militarem ordinem adsumantur,legere est in Leonharti Rauwolfi Itinerario Orientali,Germanica lingua editi".),
1602G114 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in Gothic script like the entire text: sein ampt in alles sachen mit billigkeit außführe. Durch Christum unsern herren. Amen.),
1602S114 (250 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: Luego; last line second text page, left aligned: lengua Germanica.),
1603L114 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in small cursive script: "sanctum militarem ordinem adsumantur, legere est in Leonarti Rauvvolfi Itinerario Orientali, Germanica lingua editi."),
1606E111 (300 copies printed) (last line, full width: ted to take this holy order of knighthood vpon them, thou maist see in the Orientall iournall written by "Leonard Rauwolph",in the Dutch tongue.),
1608/1612I123 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: tale di Leonardo Rauuolfi, stampato in Tedesco linguaggio.),
1609/1612L124 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: Itinerario Orientali, Germanica lingua editi.),
1609/1612/1641S124 (325 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: Luego ; last line second text page, left aligned: narde Rauvvolfi, imprimido en lengua Germanica.).

Approximate number of copies printed: 5425.

States: 173.1 has the top left ornament in the cartouche upper left blank.
173.2: from 1595 onwards, the ornament mentioned in state 1 receives vertical hatching. The text in the Dead Sea receives stippling behind the text. The sail of the leftmost ship receives additional hatching in the upper left. On all coastlines, the hatching is extended from 3 to 6 mm.

Cartographic sources: Petrus Laicksteen, a Dutch astronomer whose dates of birth and death we do not know, collected topographic material on Palestine during his stay there in 1556. This was used by Christian Sgrothen (abt. 1520-1608) who published a nine-sheet map of Palestine in 1570 at Hieronymous Cock (Karrow 70/10, p. 484, Meurer p. 180, 239).

Remarks: the text "on verso" is a rather tedious description which hardly relates directly to the map. No wonder a different text was used in the 1598D edition, which was aimed at merchants rather than scholars.

Text

Bibliographical sources

Topographical names