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.