De Virga world map
The De Virga world map was made by Albertinus de Virga between 1411 and 1415. The map contains a mention in small letters:
- "A. 141.. Albertin diuirga me fecit in vinexia"
- "Made by Albertinius de Virga in Venice in 141.."
(the last number of the date is erased by a fold in the map)
Albertin de Virga, a Venetian, is also known for a 1409 map of the Mediterranean, also made in Venice.
Structure
The world map is circular, drawn on a piece of parchment 69.6x44 cm. It consists of the map itself, about 44 cm in diameter, and an extension containing a calendar and two tables.
The map is oriented to the North, with a wind rose centered in Central Asia, possibly the observatory of Ulugh Begh in the Mongol city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, or the western shore of the Caspian sea. The wind rose divides the map in eight sectors.
The map is colored: the seas are left white, although the Red Sea is colored in red. Continental land is colored in yellow, and several colors are used for islands. The mountains are in brown, the lakes are in blue, and rivers are in brown.
The extension shows a calendar with depictions of the signs of the zodiac and a table to calculate lunar positions.
The map is generally consistent with the Fra Mauro map (1457), also drawn before the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, and today visible in Venice.
Regions
Europia is mis-translated, it actually depicts South America, precisely Brazil and Argentina, both are at least 3 to 4 time the size of Europe and is accuratedly depicted--touching Europre or Finland area yet is not a continuous landmass with Europe--with a clear marking. Alaska is also depicted on the De virga map. the 1448 Andreas Walpergers map also, seen here http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/LMwebpages/245.html, have similarity with De Virga map, clearly its sources were from the Yuan or Arab/Chinese sources, because Europe is so very badly drawn while other areas are extremely well drawn like South America, and ofcourse North America including Canada and the Bering Straight, Japan and Korea are very well drawn, even Vietnam, indonesia and philipines are there. Africa and the Nile are on the left side of the globe while Asia is mainly on the lower-half and the right side of the map. Arctic sea is shown, and even Hudson Bay or some interior lakes of the USA is shown like lake Eries and other lake surronding Detroits or Chicago, Cleveland areas. Notice South America the way it is drawn is very consistent with the Albertin De virga 1400-1414 map shown here http://www.lauralee.com/gunnar2.htm , the jagged edges on the Brazilian and Argentine coasts of the 1448 map are similar to that of De Virga map, since De virga map 's South America was drawn in a "contracted" form and fashion, the jagged edges are very pronounces, but if that contraction is allowed to relax and extend back to its original shape of South America, the edges would become smoother and less severe, like one can see on Africa or other front-view continents presented on the maps- 1414 or 1448 maps. So it is concluded that uniform jagged or saw-like edges represent far away land-masses potentially could be extended behind the globe or wrap around behind the globe once it is allowed to be relaxed--similar to a spring coil analogy it can be elongated or contracted. The more contracted is the land the more severe and exaggerated the jagged edges and more compressed-as seen on the De Virga1414 map. The more the landmasses are in front view and actual size the more the edges or coastlines are drawn smoother or in actual normal representation. Thus South-America the way that it is presented on the De Virga map coincides with the theory that it was forcefully fitted on the map in that tiny space that is left of the map-an attempt to fit in more information, thus South America was very compressed and thus was drawn in an exaggerated jagged fashion on the East and West side coastline of South America, thus the part that will be allowed to extended behind the globe would be #1 to # 8 on the Dr. Gunnar Thompson's fascimile , and the adjacent side which is the Andes and Chile is drawn on jagged edge fashion also, so is Venezuela. #8 being Tierra de Fuego or Southern most part of South America ofcourse. #10 is the Caribbean Sea, islands like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica are all there, #11 is ofcourse the North Atlantic Sea. #5 is an island on Argentine. Also on the De Virga 1414 map it show Alaska and part of Canada: part of the coastline of Yukon Territory and North West Territory of Canada are also shown connected to Alaska(far right side of the map,) so that piece of land mass alone is very huge in size, as accurately represented on the 1414 map. Japan on the 1414 map: there is a row of 5 islands lining up in a straight line fashion, counting from top to down and right to left, I suspect the 2nd and 3rd islands represent Japan or WaqWaq or short people's land, Sea of Okhotsk and the wide North Pacific Ocean is shown. An island can represent a grouping of islands like the Philipinese or Indonesia on the 1414 map.
Even though the uniform jagged edges on South America as shown on the Andreas 1448 map are not as compressed and pronounced as that of the South America on the 1414 map it's still there and suggests to the navigators or those who read the map the time that South America should be placed behind the globe, thus a much further away landmass.
Now it has become clear to me that some geographical areas as presented by Chinese/Arab made maps were confusing to Europeans and have mislead readers and later copiers for at least several hundred of years and even until today. And am certain to say that today, people like Dr. Gunnar Thompson can easily misread them, like he has completely missed Alaska on the 1414 and that is very unfortunate for him as he thought that part is South America(far rightside of the 1414 map,) he even used Roman and Greek literature sources and informations to interpret the South America as North America, that ofcourse, is not the original intentions of earlier European map copiers, as North America is immediately connected to Alaska and is immediately wrapped behind the globe and thus hidden from view. though I can't entirely blame him as am sure earlier map copiers were more or less confused themself as things can not be easily interpreted on a 2-D piece of paper and I do give earlier map copiers credit that they really did their best in map copying and put together geographical informations from different Chinese/Arab sources. It is part of modern readers false that they can't interpret or don't know how to decipher them.
The 1414, 1418, and the 1448 maps are pleinty of evidences that the sources were of the Yuan Chinese/Arabs origines.
The 24 directional system is also shown on the 1448 map(with 24 empty circles, what is missing are the Chinese characters inside the circles, here left blank,) similar to the same system used on the 1418 map. no other European or Arabic maps had 24 compass direction representation except this European 1448 world map. This further rule out the possibility that 1418 map based on 24 compass direction representation was derived from European map, it is now certain that the 24 compass system was Chinese system/origine, so the European maps' geographical locations were of Chinese/Arab origine.
The regions of Asia, Africa, yet unexplored, are described with surprising accuracy. In particular, the contour of Africa is quite accurately rendered, even before the first Portuguese voyages of exploration along Africa (the Portuguese first rounded Cape Bojador in Western Sahara in 1434), and of course before the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
The ocean surrounding the continental mass bears the mention "Mari Oziano Magno".
Jerusalem is indicated (Jordan and Gorlan), although not at the exact center of the map. The three continents are rather clearly represented, and labeled "Europa", "Africa" and "Axia". The Indian Ocean contains many colored islands, in a style reminiscent of Arab map.
Atlantic Ocean
The island of the Canaries and the Azores are particularly well marked, although the Azores were not discovered until 1427 by the Portuguese.
Africa
Africa contains depictions of the Atlas mountains and the Nile river, with mention of the territory of Prester John ("Pre. Joanes") in Ethiopia.
The Garden of Eden is depicted at the southernmost tip of Africa with the symbol of two concentric rings, from which emerge the four rivers mentioned in Genesis.
Asia
The locations described in Asia are consistent with Mongolian rule: Medru, Calcar, Monza sede di sedre ("the Mangi of northern China"), and Bogar Tartarorum ("the Great Bulgarian" or "Golden Horde"). On the emplacement of Karakorum, fortifications are depicted, with the mention "M[on]gol". The names shown for Chinese rivers and cities are those used by Marco Polo.
The shores of the Indian Ocean contain the mention of the kingdoms of Mimdar and Madar (Malabar?) and probably Sri Lanka with the mention "Ysola d alegro suczimcas magna". In the eastern part of the Indian Ocean southeast, the large island of Java has the following note: "Caparu sive Java magna". The shape of the islands of Japan with the name "Cipangu" are also depicted at the east of the Asian continent.
Australia
The northern part of Australia (from Courier bay in the West to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the East) is rather accurately depicted and properly located in respect to the Asian continent.
Europe
Europe is quite clearly and accurately depicted. In northern Europe, various places are mentioned, such as "Ogama, Goga" Gog and Magog, "Rotenia" Russia, Naia, Samolica, and the kingdom of "Norveca" Norway beyond Denmark and Scotland. There is speculation that the landmass represented in the northwest is Greenland, or even the North American continent.
History of the map
The map indicates much knowledge of the world before the European age of exploration, and maybe the one mentioned by the Portuguese historian Antonio Galvao in 1563:
- "... It was told to me by Frances de Sousa Tavares that in the year 1528, Dom Fernando, the king's son and heir did show him a map which was found in the study of the Alcobaca (a renowned Cistercian monastery used as a library by Portuguese kings) which had been made 120 years before (ie 1408) which map did show forth all the navigation of the East Indies, with the Cape of Boa Esperanca as our later maps had described it; whereby it appeared that in ancient times there was as much or more discovered than now there is..." Antonio Galvao "Tratado Dos Diversos e Desayados Caminhos"
The map was re-discovered in a second-hand bookshop in 1911 in Srebrenica, Bosnia by Albert Figdor, a map collector. The map was analysed by Doctor Professor Franz Von Weiser, of the Austrian State University in Vienna. Authenticated photographs were taken, which are today in the British Library.
The map was stolen during an auction in 1932, and has never been recovered.
The map is discussed by Leo Bagrow in "History of Cartography", and Dr. Gunnar Thompson in "The Friar's Map".
Historical issues
Just as the Fra Mauro map, made in 1457, the De Virga world map gives a fairly accurate shape of Africa, at a time when the continent had not yet been rounded by European explorers: when the De Virga map was drawn circa 1415, the Portuguese were barely starting the Age of Discovery, occupying Ceuta on the northern tip of the African Continent, and none of their sailors had ever been beyond the Canary islands.
The source of such cartographic information is yet un-clarified, although it has been suggested they could be Muslim traders, or possibly Chinese cartographers under Admiral Zheng He.
References
- "Mappemondes, AD 1200-1500", Destombes