Portulan C.G.A.5.d

This nautical map originated in Mallorca, home of the most important cartography school in Europe
The map shows the entire Mediterranean region, the British Isles, Central Europe, and Africa
It displays the entire world as it was known to the geographers and cartographers of the Renaissance

Portulan C.G.A.5.d

C.G.A.5.d Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Modena, Italy)

Description

Portulan C.G.A.5.d

This set brings together three remarkable portolan charts from the 15th century, offering a fascinating insight into the development of late medieval and early Renaissance cartography. The Portulans C.G.A.5.b and C.G.A.5.d, created around 1450–1460 in the renowned Majorcan school, testify to the height of its production, combining detailed coastlines with important trading cities such as Barcelona and Genoa, as well as significant landmarks including castles and mountains. While their decoration ranges from restrained to more elaborate, both maps were clearly intended for practical navigation at sea. The Portulan C.G.A.5.c, produced between 1472 and 1482 by an anonymous Portuguese cartographer, represents the earliest evidence of the emerging Portuguese school, famous for its striking realism. It incorporates recent discoveries along the African coast and highlights key centers such as Lisbon and Ceuta. Together, these maps, now preserved in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, vividly illustrate the transition from medieval to Renaissance cartographic practice.

Portulan C.G.A.5.d

In the 15th century, Spain and Portugal were the lands under whose flags the most expeditions into largely unexplored regions of the world were made. In the course of many expeditions and discoveries, the most renowned school of geography and cartography in Europe took shape in Spain. The maps, which originated during the time of the awakening Renaissance, belong among the most important geographical material of the entire Middle Ages. It is truly astounding, how true to detail and correct the Spanish and Portuguese cartographers could represent the regions of the world they studied, and completely without the modern technical aids of our time. Portulan C.G.A.5.d is an outstanding example of the excellent work of medieval scholars.

What is a Portulan?

The term portulan or portolan originally indicated a book with nautical information such as landmarks, lighthouses, currents, and harbor conditions. According to historical sources, such sea-books already existed in the 13th century. Beginning in the 16th century, the term broadened and from then on comprised not only the written descriptions, but also the accompanying nautical maps, which were contained in books. Today, the term “portulan chart” indicate a very precise type of map. The map Portulan C.G.A.5.d is one of these special maps.

The Medieval World of Navigation

Portulan C.G.A.5.d displays the entire medieval world as it was known to the geographers and cartographers of the Renaissance. The shores of the Atlantic from the British Isles to Cape Bojador in Africa are depicted along with part of Central Europe down to the territories of North Africa. The Alps in particular were decoratively rendered. Similarly, the Pyrenees Mountains and the most important cities of Europe such as Venice, Genoa, Prague, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, and the Balearic Islands are meticulously depicted. The depiction of the African continent is particularly interesting. There the Atlas Mountains tower in luminous colors and an inscription near the Red Sea reminds one of the Flight of the Hebrews from Egypt during which Moses parted that sea.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Portolano CGA5d
Portolan map C.G.A.5.d
Portolan-Karte C.G.A.5.d
Type: Map on parchment
Size / Format: 1 map / 59.0 × 76.0 cm
Origin: Spain
Date: Ca. 1450
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Renaissance
Genre: Geography / Cartography / Navigation
Language: Catalan
Script: Humanistic
Illustrations: The map is decorated with enthroned figures, detailed views of cities, medallions of the four winds and various colored flags, coats of arms, and landmarks
Content: Map of the Mediterranean including parts of North Africa, Europe, and the British Isles
Artist / School: Mallorcan school of cartography

Available facsimile editions:

Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte – Modena, 2002

Limited Edition: A total of 499 copies

Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte – Modena, 2002

Limited Edition: A total of 499 copies

Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte – Modena, 2002

Limited Edition: A total of 499 copies

Detail Picture

Portulan C.G.A.5.d

Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains stretch around 2,300 kilometres through the northwest of the African continent across the modern-day states of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. At 4167 metres, the Toubkal is the highest peak of the huge mountain range, which is made up of several mountain chains. The Portulan map shows it as a broad green strip stretching from the Atlantic coast in the west to the area of present-day Libya, where three other mountains are located: the Haruj, the Jebel Akhdar and foothills of the Tibesti Mountains. On the map, they correspond to the three eastern branches of the green strip that connects the Atlas with the Libyan mountains.

Single Page

Portulan C.G.A.5.d

Nautical Chart of the Mediterranean and North Africa

Created in Mallorca ca. 1450–60, this colorful map depicts the Mediterranean and Black Seas as well as the rivers that served as highways to the interiors of Western and Central Europe and North Africa. Both the Alps and the Pyrenees Mountains are drawn in a typical T-shape (the former green and the latter blue). The Atlantic coast ranges from the British Isles to Cape Bojador on the Moroccan coast. Other European locations highlighted by the map include Venice, Genoa, Prague, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, and the Balearic Islands.

The cities of Central Europe are labelled and drawn upside down so as to be more easily read from the upper margin, clearly designed to be laid in the center of a room and examined from all sides. Much detail is given to North Africa with depictions of the Atlas Mountains, various seated figures, and a caption next to the Red Sea describing the flight of the Israelites from Egypt. Human heads depicted in profile occupy the center of the 59 × 76 cm map’s various compass roses.