Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map – ArtCodex – Ricc. 1774 – Biblioteca Riccardiana (Florence, Italy) / Library of Congress (Washington, USA)

Florence (Italy) — 1470–1480; 1507

Two masterpieces of medieval book and map art: the gold-decorated "Flower of Virtue" and Waldseemüller's famous world map with the first designation of the Americas as "America"

  1. Two of the most important works of the European Gothic and Renaissance combined into one codex

  2. The famous 1507 map on which the term "America" first appears was a benchmark of cartography

  3. The "Flower of Virtue" is a collection of texts for moral edification and meditation from 1310–1325

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map

Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€€
(3,000€ - 7,000€)
  1. Description
  2. Detail Picture
  3. Single Page
  4. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map

This compendium of the popular text collection Il Fior di Virtù, Eng. "Flower of Virtue", and the famous Waldseemüller Map unites two important works of the European Gothic and Renaissance. The main part of the splendid codex was created between 1470 and 1480 and initially contained only Il Fior di Virtù, an anthology of texts by various medieval authors for moral edification and meditation. It contains, for example, parables and proverbs about virtues and vices and is an important part of European literary history. The moralizing texts were decorated with numerous gold-decorated miniatures, diagrams and marginal illuminations in intense colors. Around 1507, the pioneering world map by the German Renaissance cartographer Martin Waldseemüller was subsequently added to the manuscript, labeling the American continent as "America" for the first time in the history of cartography.

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller Map

The work Il Fior di Virtù is a collection of dictums about virtues and vices with examples and parables from antique and medieval literature. The work, which is attributed to various authors, goes back to the 13th century in its original form. In the exciting new edition of the historical manuscript, the medieval text is combined with the famous atlas by Martin Waldseemüller. Two literary and geographic masterworks were combined here in one outstanding codex.

The Origin of Il Fior di Virtù

The flowers of virtue, called Il Fior di Virtù in the original Italian, is a collection of texts for moral edification and meditation, which was written between 1310 and 1325. Each chapter of the work concerns itself with a virtue or a vice that is elucidated through philosophical opinions and important Bible verses. A few of the most gifted Italian writers of the Middle Ages are said to have taken part in the work, among them Cherubinus de Spoleto, Tommaso Gozzadino, Tommaso Leoni, Francesco Sachetti, and Giovanni Antonio Traversagni. The widely-read manuscript was translated into numerous European languages and today is an important part of the literary history of the Middle Ages.

Waldseemüller’s Map

Martin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer during the Renaissance. He constructed the first world map whereon the land masses to the west were named “America” after Amerigo Vespucci. Waldseemüller was a true pioneer in the field of cartography. The significance of his famous for the scholarship and world view of that time was enormous. At first met with disapproval in conservative circles, it was soon adopted by scholars and similarly minded people. It was the benchmark that every other cartographer had to measure up to. The high-quality map is furnished with gorgeous colors and thrilling embellishments in the present codex.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Universalis Cosmographia
Amerigo Vespucci map
Waldseemüller-Karte + Il Fior di Virtù
Size / Format
1 map consiting of 12 sheets; 226 pages / 233.0 × 128.0 cm; 23.0 × 16.0 cm
Origin
Italy
Date
1470–1480; 1507
Language
Script
Humanistic minuscule
Illustrations
Numerous miniatures edged with gold
Content
Collection of texts for moral edification and meditation + World Map
Artist / School
Previous Owners
Tommaso Cavalcanti

Available facsimile editions:
Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map – ArtCodex – Ricc. 1774 – Biblioteca Riccardiana (Florence, Italy) / Library of Congress (Washington, USA)
ArtCodex – Modena, 2015
Limited Edition: 999 copies
Detail Picture

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller Map

A Bear Stealing Honey

Much like the beloved British cartoon character Winnie-the-Pooh, real-life bears also have a sweet tooth for honey. They are omnivores that actually consume more plant than animal matter and as such, their diet includes berries, leaves, roots, and insects in addition to meat and fish. This miniature shows a bear paying the price for its raid on a beehive as it is swarmed by the angry defenders who have worked so hard to collect the pollen and create the liquid gold.

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map – ArtCodex – Ricc. 1774 – Biblioteca Riccardiana (Florence, Italy) / Library of Congress (Washington, USA)
Single Page

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller Map

Waldseemüller Map

In addition to the beautifully illuminated moralizing text, this manuscript is remarkable due to the addition of a copy of the famous Waldseemüller Map from ca. 1507, which is famous for being the first to identify the New World as “America” and also depicted it as a continent entirely separated from Asia.

Martin Waldseemüller (ca. 1470–1520) was a German cartographer and humanist scholar who modified Ptolemy's second projection, expanding it to accommodate the Americas and the higher latitudes. Curved meridians aid in the depiction of the entire surface of the Earth. In the upper-mid part of the main map there is inset another, miniature world map representing to some extent an alternative view of the world.

Il Fior di Virtù + Waldseemüller map – ArtCodex – Ricc. 1774 – Biblioteca Riccardiana (Florence, Italy) / Library of Congress (Washington, USA)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Il Fior di Virtù

ArtCodex – Modena, 2015

Publisher: ArtCodex – Modena, 2015
Limited Edition: 999 copies
Binding: Richly decorated leather binding with 3 clasps
Commentary: 1 volume by Giovanna Lazzi
Language: Italian
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size). Waldseemüller Map: ca 70 x 50 cm Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€€
(3,000€ - 7,000€)
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