Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 176

Title: BARBARIAE ET BILEDVLGERID, NOVA DESCRIPTIO. [A new representation of Barbary and Biledulgerid]. (Bottom right:) "Cum Priuilegio" [With privilege]. (Texts on map: 5 lines west of Gibraltar:) Golfo de las ye:|guas, "id est Sinus e:|quarum: à demersis | inibi equabus, vt refert Fernandus Ouiedus". [Golfo de las Yeguas or Gulf of the Mares, because of the mares that drowned here, as Fernandus Oviedus tells.] (At the bottom of the page, from left to right:) "Azanaga, | Huius incolæ os veluti pu:|dendum coperiunt, neque | detegunt nisi sumendi cibi gratia". [Azanaga, whose inhabitants cover their mouth out of shame, only revealing it when taking food.] "Desertum Azoahad | aridißimû, in quo neque | aquam neque habitationem in | centesimo vix reperias milliario". [Azaohad desert, extremely dry, where you will fail to find water or habitations for a hundred miles.] "Guadem, vicus miser:|rimis incolis habitatus, | venationibus victum quærunt". [Guadem, a poor village, inhabited by people searching for food when hunting.] "Deusem op|pidum antiquiss. | ubi multa ad:|huc antiqua | monumê|ta extant". [Deusem, a very ancient city where until now many ancient monuments survive]. "Abuinam, incolæ mendicißimi". [Abuina, whose inhabitants are very mendacious]. "Tegazza, hic salis fodine, | vnde sal in vicinas prouin:|cias defertur. estaque eius | hic maxima negociatio". [Tegazza. Place of salt, from which salt is exported to adjacent provinces. This is an important trade for them.] "Zis | lacus. | Hic lacus situs est in | medio arenæ, omni habi:|tatione vacuum. Arabes | venatores tamen hic | maximas prædas agunt". [Lake Zis. Here is a lake amidst fully uninhabited sand dunes. Nevertheless, Arab hunters chase the biggest preys here.] "Guargala, ciuitas | eleganti structura, | dactilorû hic maxima | vbertas, Incolæ ditißimi sed | propter carnium inopiam. stru:|tionibus vescuntur". [Guargala, a city well built. There is an abundance of dates here. The inhabitants are exceedingly wealthy. But because of lack of meat, they eat ostriches here.] "Lemta desertum, aridißi:|mum est, et incolis latroni:|bus infestum". [The Lemta desert is very dry, and infested by robbers.] (Lower right:) "die vocatur | totus ille Africæ | tractus maritimus | qui olim vtramque Mauri:|taniam, et Africam minorem | continebat". [Now the whole coastal area of Africa is called like this [i.e. BARBARIA], which used to comprise Mauretania and Lesser Africa as well.] (Right centre:) "Lacus aquæ calidæ leprosos sanas" [A lake with hot water, healthy for lepers.] (Along bottom:) "Libyæ pars. quæ hodie Sarra appellatur. quæ uox, idem quod desertum significat". [Part of Libya, which is nowadays called Sarra, which means voice, as well as desert.] (Lower left:) "Ifran castel:|lum, hic prope | sunt æris fo:|dinæ". [The castle of Ifran. Close to this place are copper mines.]

Plate size: 332 x 504 mm
Scale: 1 : 8,000,000
Identification number: Ort 176 (Koeman/Meurer: 53, Karrow: 1/75, vdKrogt: 8610:31)

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:

1570L(AC)53 (225 copies printed) (first line ends: hanc Pri-; last line, centred like 4 lines above it: nus Curio ; hos consulite.)
1570L(B)53 (100 copies printed) (first line ends: hanc; last line, centred like 4 lines above it: nus Curio ; hos consulite.),
1571L53 (275 copies printed) (first line ends: hanc; last line, centred like 4 lines above it: nus Curio ; hos consulite.),
1571/1573D53 (350 copies printed) (last line, in Gothic script like the entire text, centred like 2 lines above it: een heel bot/maer goet volck.),
1572G53Koler (pasted over p.53 of a 1570L edition; few copies printed)(last line, left aligned, mostly in Gothic script: Curio sonderlich beschriben/bey denen mag mans suchen.),
1572/1573G53 (225 copies printed) (last line, centred like 11 lines above it: guet volckh.),
1572/1574F53 (225 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it: mais tres-bons.),
1573L(AB)69 (80 copies printed) (first text line after title ending with: hanc ; last text line, centred as 3 lines above it: Cælius Augustinus Curio ; hos consulite.),
1574L69 (175 copies printed) (large page number, 11 mm; last line, non-italic like the entire text and centred like 4 lines above it: psit Cælius Augustinus Curio;hos consulite),
1575L69 (100 copies printed) (small page number, 7 mm; last line, italic like the entire text and centred like one line above it: "psit Cælius Augustinus Curio; hos consulite."),
1579L(A)90 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: psit Cælius Augustinus Curio,hos consulite. ; 11th line from the bottom ends Ma-),
1579L(B)90 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: psit Cælius Augustinus Curio,hos consulite. ; 11th line from the bottom ends ma-),
1580/1589G90 (350 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it, in Gothic script like the entire text: es einer suchen mag.),
1581F90 (400 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: ce sont gents fort lourds,mais tres-bons.),
1584L100 (750 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: psit Cælius Augustinus Curio;hos consulite.),
1587F100 (250 copies printed) (last line, full width: tiennen pour chose miraculeuse. Bref,ce sont gêts fort lourds,mais tres-bons.),
1588S100 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: stino Curio. A estos podras leer.),
1592L108 (525 copies printed) (last line, centred like two lines above it, in cursive script like the entire text: "Cælius Augustinus Curio: hos consulite."),
1595L114 (500 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: dit librum de Origine & Successione Xariferum.),
1598F115 (525 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: raculeuse. Bref, ce sont gents fort lourds, mais tres-bons.),
1598/1610/1613D83 (100 copies printed) (last line, in Gothic script like the entire text, centred like 4 lines above it): maer goet volck.),
1601L114 (200 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: lingua edidit librum de Origine & Successione Xariferum.),
1602G117 (250 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it, in Gothic script like the entire text: es einer suchen mag.),
1602S117 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: Xariferos.),
1603L117 (300 copies printed) (text, but not page number and typesetting, identical with 1609/1612L; last line, left aligned: lingua edidit librum de Origine & Successione Xariferum.),
1606E114 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: and Succession of the "Xariffes".),
1608/1612I126 (300 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: dell'origine & succession delli Xarifi.),
1609/1612L127 (300 copies printed) (text, but not page number and typesetting, identical to 1603L; last line, left aligned: lingua edidit librum de Origine & Successione Xariferum.),
1609/1612/1641S127 (325 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: feros.).

Approximate number of copies printed: 8175.

States: 176.1 as described.
176.2: during or after 1581, the upper curve of the tail of the sea monster at right edge receives new diagonal hatching, running from lower left to upper right. Stippling of the sea has now been touched up and somewhat extended. Ship at left edge reworked: Back main sail has been re-engraved. The part near the rudder now has oblique hachuring where it used to have horizontal hatching. Stippling around the Canary islands, which used to be arranged in vertical columns is now distributed randomly.

Cartographic sources: anonymous publisher in Venice, about 1560, in turn based on Gastaldi's Africa (Meurer p. 87-88, 151).

References: W. Bodenstein "Ortelius' Maps of Africa", p. 185-208 in: Van den Broecke, van der Krogt and Meurer (eds.) "Abraham Ortelius and the First Atlas", HES Publishers, 1998.

Text

Bibliographical sources

Topographical names