Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 26

Title: PORTVGALLIAE | "quæ olim Lusitania, novissima | & exactissima descriptio, Aucto|re Vernando Aluaro Secco". [A very new and exact depiction of Portugal, once called Lusitania, by Fernando Alvaro Secco]. (bottom right corner:) "Cum priuilegio" [With privilege]. (Low left of middle cartouche with 17 lines of text:) "GVIDONI ASCA |...Anno MCCCCCLX". [Achilles Statius salutes Guido Ascanius Sfortia, S.R.E. Card[inalis] Camer[arius]. With dedication the Lusitania of Fernando Alvaro has been depicted for you, Guido Sfortia, because we call it the protectorate of our people: from here men have sailed out with incredible courage in foul and fair. They have frequented all parts of the world. They added a large part of Africa to our country; countless is the number of islands, known only by name or not even that, because they had no name, which they first discovered and took in their possession. The most fair lands of Asia they have made tributaries; the most distant lands they taught the service and religion of Jesus Christ. Fare thee well. Rome, on the 13th day of the calends of June, in the year 1560].

Plate size: 344 x 514 mm
Scale: 1 : 1,200,000
Identification number: Ort 26 (Koeman/Meurer: 8, Karrow: 1/13, van der Krogt AN: 6300:31A).

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:
1570L(A)8 (100 copies printed)(title: PORTVGALLIA.; last line, centred like one line above it: marittimas Insulasque adiacentes extenditur),
1570L(B)8 (100 copies printed) (title: PORTVGALLIA.; last line, centred like one line above it: maritimas Insulasque adiacentes extenditur),
1570L(C)8 (125 copies printed) (title: PORTVGALLIA | REGNVM. last line, centred like one line above it: maritimas Insulasque adiacentes extenditur.),
1571L8 (275 copies printed) (title: PORTVGALLIA | REGNVM.; last line, centred like one line above it: maritimas Insulasque adiacentes extenditur.),
1571D/1573D8 (350 copies printed) (last line, in italic script like the entire text, centred like one line above it: "voorwaer een sake is weerdich om te bedencken".),
1572/1574F8 (225 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it: grande consideration.),
1572G8Koler (pasted over p.8 of a 1570L edition; few copies printed) (last line, names not in Gothic script, left aligned: weit/dannes sich von Herculis Seulen/bis an Chinam und Lequios durch alle Provintzen des Meeres und beyligende Insulen ausbreittet.),
1572/1573G8 (225 copies printed) (last line, cursive like the entire text, centred like two lines above it: "wellichs furwar aine wirdige sach,vmb nach zu dencken,ist.),
1573L(A)12 (40 copies printed) (last line, centred like one line above it: maritimas Insulasque adiacentes extenditur.),
1573L(B)12 (40 copies printed) (last line, centred like 2 lines above it: Insulasque adiacentes extenditur.},
1574L12 (175 copies printed) (large page number, 11 mm; small closing dot after title detached from final M and above base line; 14th line ends: Parochiales , cum ; last line: centred like two lines above it: Insulasque adiacentes,extenditur.),
1575L12 (100 copies printed) (small page number, 7 mm; large closing dot after title almost touching final M and located on base line; 14th line ends: Parochiales , cum ; last line: centred like two lines above it: Insulasque adiacentes, extenditur.),
1579L(A)14 (250 copies printed) (last line: ad Chinam & Lequios per omnes Prouincias maritimas insulasq.adiacentes,extenditur. ; first R of second title line rightwards under first R of first textline.),
1579L(B)14 (250 copies printed) (last line: ad Chinam & Lequios per omnes prouincias maritimas insulasq.adiacentes,extenditur. ; first R of second title line leftwards under first R of first textline.),
1580/1589G14 (350 copies printed) (last line, centred like 6 lines above it, in Gothic script: Insulen.),
1581F14 (400 copies printed) (last line, full width: & authorité. Ce qui est bien vne chose digne de grãde consideration.),
1584L16 (750 copies printed) (last line, full width: ad Chinam & Lequios per omnes prouincias maritimas insulasq. adiacentes,extenditur.),
1587F16 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: digne de grande consideration.),
1588S16 (300 copies printed) (last line, full width: cules por todas aquellas prouincias maritimas y islas commarcanas hasta la Chinay Lequios.),
1592L17 (525 copies printed) (fifth line ends: carpit, ; last line: ad Chinam & Lequios,per omnes prouincias maritimas insulasq.adiacentes,extenditur.),
1595L17 (500 copies printed) (fifth line ends: car- ; last line: ad Chinam & Lequios,per omnes prouincias maritimas insulasq.adiacentes,extenditur.),
1598F17 (525 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: qui est bien vn chose digne de grande consideration.),
1598/1610/1613D16 (100 copies printed) (last line, centred like two lines above it: een sake is vveerdich om te bedencken.),
1601L17 (200 copies printed) (last line, full width, not in italic script: ad Chinã& Lequios,per omnes prouincias maritimas insulásq. adiacêtes extenditur.),
1602G17 (250 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it, in Gothic script like the entire text: sulen.),
1602S17 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: aquellas prouincias maritimas y islas commarcanas hasta la China y Lequios.),
1603L17 (300 copies printed) (last line, full width, in italic script: "ad Chinã & Lequios,per omnes prouincias maritimas insulásq.adiacentes extenditur".),
1606E17 (300 copies printed) (last line, italic like the entire text, left aligned: "called" Lequios.),
1608/1612I19 (300 copies printed) (last line, in cursive script like the entire text, left aligned: "in sin alla China, & à Lequij,per tutte le prouincie maritime & isole circonstanti si distende".),
1609/1612/1641S19 (325 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: das aquellas prouincias maritimas y islas commarcanas hasta la China y Lequios.),
1609/1612L19 300 copies printed) (last line, full width: ad Chinã&Lequios, per omnes prouincias maritimas insulasq.adiacentes extenditur.).

Approximate number of copies printed: 8175.

States: 26.1 as described above.
26.2 From 1579L onwards hairy face on sea monster. Douro river currents added/reworked. Many windows added to the Porto building cluster.
26.3 from late 1592L onwards stippling added behind sea names, which was absent in the two previous states. New, diagonal hachuring applied on top of the previous vertical hachuring on the scale at the bottom of the map. Early copies of this third state, e.g. in the 1595L edition, show the diagonal as well as the vertical hachuring. Formerly, I was of the opinion that this represented a new plate which I called Ort27, but it turned out to be the third state of plate Ort26.
26.4 in 1641 "Ioannes Galle | 1641" was added in the lower right corner.
26.5 after 1641 "Ioannes Galle | 1641" was covered by a slip of paper during printing.

Cartographic sources: Fernando Alvaro Secco, about whom we hardly know anything, made a two-sheet map of Portugal, engraved by Sebastiano de Re, and published by Achilles Statius (1524-1581), a Portuguese, at the publishing house of Michele Tramezzino in 1561 (Meurer p. 234, Karrow 67/1 p. 472-474).

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Bibliographical sources

Topographical names