Michael Wolgemut: The Nuremberg chronicles; The map of the world (1493)

(Cornell University Library, New York, USA)

A woodblock made by the German artist Michael Wolgemut ( 1434 – 1519). This piece comes from the book 'The Nuremberg Chronicle', an illustrated encyclopedia comprised of world-historical accounts written by Hartmann Schedel (1440 – 1514). This map shows the world as it was understood by educated Europeans before the discoveries of Columbus in the Americas. It is a reproduction of a world map produced by the Greek mathematician, astronomer, geographer and astrologer Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 100 – 170) in his famous book Geography. The world is surrounded by twelve windheads and the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. All the people in the three known continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe were believed to descend from these three sons. On the left are depiction os various fantasy creatures believed to inhabit the edges of the world. Map from 1493.