Text: a short text version occurs in the 1581 French, 1598 French, 1601 Latin & 1606 English editions only:
144.1. {1581F[no title]{1601L & 1606E instead{The other map of ILLYRICVM}1601L & 1606E instead}.
144.2. {1601L & 1606E only{I intended, as I promised in the Preface of this book, to publish only one map for each country, and that as exact as it might be. Therefore}1601L & 1606E only}, {1581F{when the highly learned man Iohannes Sambucus sent to me a more accurate map of this country {1606E only{to be inserted into this Theatre of ours [than I had]}1606E only}, {1581F{I decided to leave the other one out. But since it is often both delightful and profitable to acquaint oneself with different opinions about one and the same thing, I persuaded myself for this reason that it will not be altogether unprofitable sometimes to see the different descriptions of different authors of one and the same country.
144.3. Again, lest the studious reader should miss in this most recent edition what was to be had in the first [edition], we have thought it good to retain one as well as the other, and to put it here in this place as an insert or appendix}1581F, 1598F & 1601L end here}. {1606E only{I do not doubt that it will be a thing well pleasing all students of Cosmography}1606E ends here}.
The scholarly text version from the 1573L1Add, 1573L(AB), 1574L, 1575L, 1579L(AB), 1580/1589G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S edition is the following:
144.4. {1573L1Add{ILLYRICVM.
144.5. Illyricum or {not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S(which pleases others better Illyris}not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S} is a country on the coast of the Hadriatic sea opposite Italy. The bounds of this province vary according to various authors. For Plinius assigns only a small area [to it] between the rivers Arsia and Titius. And Ptolemæus gives its confines a further extension, namely from Histria to Macedonia, along the entire coast, and inland towards its more central parts he makes it reach out as far as the borders of Pannonia {1580/1589G & 1602G have instead{Austria}1602G instead} and Msia the higher {1608/1612I has instead{Hungary, Bosnia and Sclavonia}1608/1612I instead}.
144.6. Pomponius Mela and Dionysius Alexandrinus make it even far larger, ascribing [as they do] to Illyricum all that part from the Hadriatic sea that there is between Triest and Montes Ceraunij, and say that the Illyrij dwell [even] beyond the river Danube. And Mela counts the river Danube among the rivers of Illyricum. Strabo also, in the seventh book of his Geography, says that the Illyrij border on Macedonia and Thracia.
144.7. But Appianus Alexandrinus makes it even larger than any of the writers mentioned, for he writes about the Illyrij like this: The Greeks, he says, call all those people Illyrij who dwell between Chaonia and Thesprotis (beyond Macedonia and Thracia) up as high as the river Ister {1580/1589G, 1602G instead, 1608/1612I additionally{Danube}1580/1589G & 1602G instead, 1608/1612I additionally}. For this is the length of this province. The breadth of it is the distance between Macedonia and the mountains of Thrace all the way to Pæonia and the Ionian sea, and [it also] borders on the Alps, which is a distance of a five day journey. {not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{Its length is trice as much as its width &c}not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S}.
144.8. And a little after the same author has these words: The Romans generally include under the Illyrij not only what has been mentioned before, but also the Pæones beyond these, together with the Rhæti, Bavarians and Mysij who inhabit Europe and whatever other nations border on these which they have on the right hand side when sailing up the river Ister {1580/1589G, 1602G & 1608/1612I have instead{Danube}1580/1589G, 1602G & 1608/1612I instead}. And again, to distinguish the Helleni from the Greek, they call them by various proper names.
144.9. Otherwise, generally they are with one name called Illyrij. For even from the head of the river Ister {1580/1589G, 1602G & 1608/1612I have instead{Danube}1580/1589G, 1602G & 1608/1612I instead} to the Pontick [Black] sea they commonly call them Illyrici. So far Appianus. Suetonius in the life of Tiberius Cæsar says in a similar way that the bounds of Illyricum are of this size.
144.10. {1574L, not in 1580/1589G & 1602G{Sextus Rufus who lived at the time of Valentinianus the emperor, attributes seventeen provinces to Illyricum: Two of the Norici, the two Pannonies, Valeria, Savia, Dalmatia, Msia, the two Dacias, Macedonia, Thessalia, Achaia, two Epirus, Prævalis and Creta}1574L, not in 1580/1589G & 1602G}.
144.11. Some think that these countries were named as they are after Illyrius, the son of Polyphemus. Others [say] after Illyrius, the son of Cadmus. Strabo writes that the whole sea coast of Illyricum, with the adjacent islands, is provided with very good harbours, whereas in contrast to this the whole opposite coast of Italy has none at all. It is a hot country, as Italy is, and very fertile for many sorts of grain, famous for olives and vines, except [for] certain places which are altogether rough and untilled. The high country above it is altogether mountainous, cold and snowy, especially the part towards the North.
144.12. The people of this country in old times were much given to robbery and thieving, but now they are somewhat more civil. They dwell mostly in houses of timber, thatched with straw, except for a few harbour cities in which their buildings are a bit more human. {1595L, not in 1602G{So far Strabo}1595L, not in 1602G}. Among which [cities] the main one is Ragusi, anciently called Epidaurus, a city famous for its market as well as for its political government of the commonwealth. Not long ago it was a free city but now it is tributary to the Turks, and for that [reason] (as Nicolaus Nicolaius says in his Observations) it pays yearly to the great Turk {1608/1612I only{Sborsa}1608/1612I only} 12,000 ducats of gold. {1602S{There is also a description of this area in Martin Barletius in his Life of {1608/1612I only{Georgio Castrioto, also called}1608/1612I} Scanderbergus, book 10}1602S}.
144.13. So far in general about Illyricum. Now I do not think it amiss to say something about our map which does not cover all of Illyricum according to the judgment of the authors mentioned except for Plinius who restrains its borders to a smaller area. There are on this map Histria, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Carinthia, part of Carniola and of Stiria, almost all [of them] tributary to the kingdom of Hungary, except for a few provinces bordering on the sea, which belong to the Venetians. The Turk has subdued most of them to his obedience. Almost all of these regions are described on the various maps in this Theatre of ours, and therefore we will not speak about them at all here. Only, I do not think it amiss to add this single story about Steiermark.
144.14. That this country breeds {not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{those Strumosi, that is}not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S}, a kind of people subject to tumours [goitres], and that you often see some with such huge large tumours that these impede their speech. And a woman allowing her child to suck (as Aubanus writes on hearsay) casts it [the tumour] over her shoulder like a bag, lest it should prevent the child from reaching the breast. And indeed, near Friesach where I saw {1595L, not in 1602G{in 1558 {1602S & 1609/1612/1641S have instead{1550}1602S & 1609/1612/1641S instead} on our way from Vienna to Venice}1595L, not in 1602G} a man whose chin [contained a tumour which] began at his ears and was almost as broad as from shoulder to shoulder and hung all the way to his breast. {1595L, not in 1602G{I say in great wonder in contrast to what Juvenalis has said: Who has not seen this tumour in the Alps?}1595L, not in 1602G}.
144.15. They commonly attribute the cause of the tumour to the water and air which the inhabitants here use. {1595L, not in 1602G{[There is] a specific description of Steiermark in Rithaimerus about its history in his book about the state of the world. About Bosnia, read D. Chytræus in his Chronicle on Saxony}1595L, not in 1602G}. About the Illyrians read for greater detail Dominicus Niger, Volaterranus and Ludovicus Vergerius in the Cosmography by Sebastian Munster, and {1574L, not in 1580/1589G & 1602G{Liber Notitiarum}1574L, not in 1580/1589G & 1602G}, and also Laonicus Chalcondylas who {1595L, not in 1602G{in his tenth book}1595L, not in 1602G} has written something about this country worth reading. The people in this entire area, except for those areas that border on Germany speak the Slavonic language which (to say something about this) is now called Windisch by some, considered to be the same as what the Romans called Lingua Illyrica, the Illyrian tongue, and at this day it is wide-spread, as it is generally spoken by all the nations inhabiting [the area] between the Hadriatic sea and the Northern Ocean.
144.16. For the inhabitants of Istria, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lusatia, Silesia, Polonia, Lithuania, Prussia, Scandinavia, Bulgaria and Russia, that wide and large kingdom, and many other neighbouring countries, almost up as far as Constantinople, [all] speak that language, and it is also frequently used much among the Turks}1573L1Add/1573L(AB), 1574L, 1575L, 1579L(AB), 1580/1589G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end here}.
The vernacular text version occurring in the 1573 Dutch 1st Add/1573 Dutch & 1587 French edition:
144.17. {1573D1Add/1573D{Slavonia or land of the Windisch.
144.18. This region is rather difficult to describe, partly because the ancient authors do not agree about its borders and the limits of this country, which in their times was called Illyricum and Dalmatia, and partly because they it is not well known since few foreigners visit it. And the reason why few people visit it is that it has been divided among many rulers who mistrust each other. The emperor holds part of it, as also the Venetians and Ragusians. The Turk also has part of it, and is feared by all. And therefore each of these rulers is diligent and vigilant, and takes care to guard its territory, and whenever a stranger comes, he is considered to be a spy.
144.19. This is the reason (in my opinion) that this region (situated between the Gulf of Venice, the River Saw, Istria and Greece) has until now not been described by anyone, as it should have been, and that no one can succeed in finding agreement between the ancient geographer and the contemporary ones. Nevertheless we will discuss these regions briefly, as they are presented on this map which shows part of Illyria, as we have collected from authors of our own time.
144.20. Thus, you see on this map Windischmark and Windischland, Steirmark, Croatia, Kernten, Krain, Karst & Istria. These countries all belong more or less to the house of Austria, except for Istria, of which the Venetians hold a part as well. This is a mountainous and woody region. The cities and houses are mostly built of wood and covered with straw, except for the part along the coast, which is somewhat wealthier. The rivers Save and Drau which empty into the Danube make these regions reasonably fertile.
144.20a. Steiermark abounds with iron mines. No better mines can be found in all of Europe, as Rithaimer says in his Geography. In this region there are also salt mines. It is here that many people have big goitres in their neck under their chin, {1587F{which we have seen to be as large and voluminous as a man's head}1587F}. The capital is Graz. {not in 1587F{The duchy of Ciley belongs to this land}not in 1587F}. In Kernten there is Villach, a pleasant town entirely surrounded by mountains. There is a stone bridge across the river Drau. Then Klagenfurt, where the inhabitants (as Rithaymer says) hate thieves so much that as soon as they are suspected of having committed this crime, are hanged without further ado, or speaking justice about them. And then, three days later, they come together to deliberate the matter. And in case the person is found to be innocent, they are taken from the gallows and buried honourably. But if they decide that he is guilty of theft, they let him hang.
144.21. This Windisch or Slavonic language [that they speak] extends itself very widely, in the sense that no other language in Europe extends itself so far and wide; for it begins at the Gulf of Venice and extends itself all the way to the Northern sea, and on one side to the Black sea once called Pontus Euxinus, and thus the Slavonic language is spoken in Istria, Croatia, Bosnia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lausnitz, Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Prussia, Russia & Moscovia and further North towards Sweden. And also in Bulgaria and its surroundings, all the way to Constantinople, where it is spoken frequently at the court of the emperor}1573D1Add/1573D & 1587F end here}.