Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 200

Title: GERMANIAE | VETERIS | "typus. | Ex conatibus geographicis | Abrah. Ortelij". [Map of ancient Germany. From the geographical efforts of Abraham Ortelius]. (Cartouche upper right:) "Cum Priuilegio | Imperiali, Regio, et | Belgico, ad decenn. | 1587" [With Imperial, Royal and Belgian Privilege, for ten years. 1587]. (Cartouche bottom right:) DN. IACOBO MONAVIO SILESIO | PATRICIO VRATISLAVIENSI, | VIRO ET ERVDITIONE ET HV:|MANITATE ORNATISSIMO, ABRA:|HAMVS ORTELIVS HOC MVTVÆ | AMICITIÆ MONVMENTVM LI:|BENS DONABAT DEDICABATQVE. [Abraham Ortelius freely dedicates and donates this monument in mutual friendship to Lord Iacob Monavus, Patrician from Silesia, a gentleman with the most splendid erudition as well as humanity]. (Cartouche bottom left:) DVBIÆ | POSITIO:|NIS QVÆ:/DAM. [Places of uncertain location] (followed by a two-column list. At the bottom of this list:) "Locorum vocabula circa Caroli | Magni tempora prima nata ,| inter vetusta non numero.| ea itaque nec in ipsa tabula | neque hîc seorsum nominare | visum fuit". [Placenames which first arose around the times of Charles the Great, which I do not include among the ancient placenames, nor are they shown here].

Plate size: 366 x 472 mm.
Scale: 1 : 3,500,000.
Identification number: Ort 200 (not in Koeman, Meurer or Karrow, vdKrogtAN: 2000H:31B).

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:
1595LH (500 copies printed) (last line, first text page, right aligned: nuper ; penultimate line: nas habere argenti auriue, uon audet negare Tacitus.&idem tradit,Curtium Rufum reclusisse specus in Mattiaco agro,quærendis venis argêti.Plinius tradit, ; last line second text page, left aligned: ctam,liberè fatetur.),
1601Lxv, xvj (200 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: ex regio- ; last line second text page, left aligned: ego me interpono Romanis? Sed & hæc de hoc Ariouisto prolixiùs,apud ipsum Cæsarem 2. Commentariorum de Bello Gallico.),
1602G14 (250 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned, in Gothic script like the entire text: deren ; last line second text page, left aligned: zum theil Panegyricus ein herzliche vnd löbliche beschreibung/so dem Keyser Aurelio Maximiano zugeschrieben.),
1603Lxv, xvj (300 copies printed) (text and page numbers, but not typesetting, almost identical with 1609/1612S/L; last line of first text page, right aligned: Germa- ; last line second text page, right aligned: hispida ; last line third text page, in cursive script, right aligned: "Gentis" ; last line fourth text page, left aligned: mentariorum de Bello Gallico.),
1606Exv, xvj (300 copies printed) (last line first of four text pages, full width, cursive like the entire text: "manie, which can say that he hath either heard of, or gone to the end of that wood, when he had beene in it threescore dayes together : there is not any man that euer | hath" ; second text page, right aligned: "molles" ; third text page, right aligned, in cursive script: "Want" ; fourth text page, left aligned, mostly in cursive script: "Romans? But these things of Ariouistus are more largely handled by Cæsar himselfe, in his" 1. Comm. de Bel. Gall.),
1608/1612Ixv (300 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: Questa ; last line second text page, right aligned: salica, ; last line third text page, right aligned: cap. ; last line fourth text page, right aligned: puro; ; last line fifth text page, right aligned: al cap. ; last line sixth text page, left aligned: uisto fia detto àsufficienza; piu distesamente narra l'istesso Cesare di lui nel 1. comm. della guerra Gallica.),
1609/1612Sxv (text in Latin) = 1609L/1612Lxv or xvj (600 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: merum; penultimate line: Batauoduri, castelliq; vnius aut alterius circa Rheni ostia,quæ citiùs Galliæ quàm Germaniæ adscribenda quis iudicauerit. Apud ceteros omnes, ; last line second text page, right aligned, in cursive script: "dedisse") ; last line third text page, left aligned, in cursive script: "nostra Germania? nam ego me interpono Romanis? Sed & hæc de hoc Ariouisto prolixius, apud ipsum Cæsarem 1. Commentariorum de Bello Gallico".
1619BertiusZZ (200 copies printed), (last line first text page, right aligned; Danubium ; last line second text page, right aligned : dam eius ; last line third text page, right aligned: id to- ; last line fourth text page, right aligned: rum ; last line fifth text page, right aligned, in cursive script: "Gentis" ; last line sixth text page, left aligned: Commentariorum de Bello Gallico.),
1624LParergon/1641Sxix, xx (1025 copies printed) (last line second column first text page: ad Tanaim vsque , P.Diaconus 1.cap. qui & Scan-|diam ; last line second column second text page: rumdem post hunc apud alios vlla memoria. De | Maxi-) , last line third text page, right aligned: nimè ; las tine fourth text page, right aligned: Recog. ; last line fifth text page, right aligned: tissimam ; last line sixth text page, left aligned: mo,anno CHRISTI 996. Ottonis III Imp. 1.).

States: 200.1 as described.
200.2: between 1595 and 1601 PYRENÆVS "Mons" was added above AMBISONTI at bottom centre.

Approximate number of copies printed: 3735.

Cartographic sources: made by Ortelius on the basis of the writings by the ancient authors Tacitus, Cæsar, Dionysus, Ptolemæus, Suetonius, Eutropius, Seneca, Plinius and Strabo.

References: P.H. Meurer "Ortelius as the Father of Historical Cartography", p. 133-159 in: M. van den Broecke, P. van der Krogt and P.H. Meurer (eds) "Abraham Ortelius and the First Atlas", HES Publishers, 1998.

Remarks: *Bertius bought a number of sheets with this map and included the map in his historical 1619 atlas "Theatrum Geographiæ Veteris".
From 1595 onwards this plate replaces Ort 199. This plate Ort 200 has grade numbers inside the frame. They are outside the frame on the early plate. This plate has "GAL:|LIÆ | PARS" in large capitals next to the lower left cartouche, which the early plate Ort 199 does not have.
Much of the text given below was also used for Ortelius' booklet "Aurei Sæculi Imago" [Image of the Golden Age] which appeared in 1596 as a separate publication of which 500 copies were printed. This publication describes the characteristics and habits of the Germans in Roman times. Notably the § 23-24, 26, 46-47 and 51-72 of the text below reappear in (almost) the same wording in the booklet "Aurei Sæculi Imago", which was recently translated into Dutch by Joost Depuydt and Jeanine De Landtsheer, see Ortelius bibiography.

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Bibliographical sources

Topographical names