1561 Munster Leaves: Spain Portugal Towns
1561 Description of Spain and Portugal
from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster
Divisions, Provinces, Towns, Administration, Income, Military Orders, Estates
Three Leaves; Watermarked
Three authentic woodcut leaves from
"Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster. German edition; Basel printing
house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1561. Book II ("Von Hispania"), pages
LXXV-LXXX (75-80).
 Sebastian
Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and
Hebrew scholar whose Cosmographia (1544; "Cosmography") was the earliest
German description of the world and a major work
- after the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 - in the revival of
geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. Altogether, about 40 editions of the
Cosmographia appeared during 1544-1628.
Although other cosmographies predate Münster's, he is given
first place in historical discussions of this sort of publication, and
was a major influence on his subject for over 200 years.
In nearly all works about Münster, his Cosmographia is
given pride of place. Despite this, we still lack a detailed survey of
its contents from edition to edition, during the years 1544 to 1628, and
an account of its influence on a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Münster obtained the material for his book in three ways. He used
all available literary sources. He tried to obtain original manuscript
material for description of the countryside and of villages and towns.
Finally, he obtained further material on his travels (primarily in
south-west Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace). Cosmographia contained not
only the latest maps and views of many well-known cities, but included
an encyclopaedic amount of detail about the known - and unknown - world
and undoubtedly must have been one of the most widely read books of its
time. Aside from the well-known maps and views present in the
Cosmographia (including
the first separate printed map of the Western Hemisphere),
the text is thickly sprinkled with vigorous woodcuts:
portraits of kings and princes, costumes and occupations, habits and
customs, flora and fauna, monsters and horrors. Münster divided
his material into six books. Book I is a useful summary of
astronomical-mathematical and physical geography. Book II deals with
England, Spain, France, and Italy. Book III deals with Germany and
surrounding lands. Book IV embraces northern, eastern, and south-eastern
Europe. Books V (Asia and America) and VI (Africa) are of modest
proportions.
These three authentic
leaves from the German
edition of Cosmographia deal with the Kingdom of Spain and Portugal.
Page 75 (top) talks about the main division of Spain, including
Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Castile, Cordoba, Toledo, Aragon, and Navarra.
Pages 75-79 contain the list of towns of Spain
and Portugal, grouped according to regions:
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Andalusia/Betica (including Guadix/Cadiz,
Corduba/Cordoba, Palma)
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Granada (including Malacha/Malaga)
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Aragon (including Sarragosa/Zaragoza)
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Catalon (including Barcelon/Barcelona, Perpignan)
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Valencia
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Cartagena
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Navarra (including Pampilon/Pamplona)
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Portugal (including Lisibona/Lisbon, Cohimbrica/Coimbra, Ebora/Evora)
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Galicia (including Corunia/La Coruna, Oren/Orense, Compostel/Santiago de Compostela)
-
Asturias (including Oviedo)
-
Biscay (including Bilben/Bilbao, San Sebastian)
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Castile and Leon (including Salamanca, Segovia)
Thereafter follows interesting table of administratve
division od Spain (including income in ducats!):
archbishoprics, bishoprics, military orders (Alcantara,
St. Jacob, Calatrane/Calatrava, St. John), and noble estates.
See scans
for more details; click image to view larger version.
Pages measure 8" x 11 3/4".
Printed on laid paper; page 79/80 is watermarked.
The leaves are in good condition.
Imperfections: soiling and handling, mainly in margins.
A small cut in the bottom margins, far from the print.
It is rare and exceptionally interesting historical document which
will look great with a mat and frame.
-
This item is unconditionally guaranteed to be original and as described. We do not sell reproductions or
copies.
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I am a member of
the International Map Collectors' Society (IMCoS)
and
the Washington Map Society.
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