Hello carabale-ga!
I'm pleased to be able to put this information together for you, and
thanks for your patience as we clarified exactly what you were
seeking.
Your original question was about the medieval term for a library or
depository for maps and star charts. I was unable to locate any such
specific term, as it seemed as though maps and charts of this nature
were both fairly uncommon and extremely valuable- they could not be
mass-produced like books could with a printing press, and one would
assume that they were often needed aboard ships for purposes of
navigation!
I spoke with a friend of mine who makes medieval studies and mapmaking
in particular his hobby, and he did some looking through a couple of
books and resources he had. His conclusion was essentially the same as
mine, which is that there was no specific term for a repository of
maps or charts. He did mention the "Catalan Atlas", however, and this
has led us to a new line of inquiry, namely Prince Henry the Navigator
and his School of Navigation, or Nautical School.
Prince Henry (Infante Enriques) was the son of King J'ao (John) I of
Portugal. He was born in 1394 and died in 1460. His life was a
remarkable one, and many credit him with opening the doors to
Portuguese dominance of exploration for quite some time.
In 1415, Prince Henry earned his spurs (knighthood) in battle by
capturing the North African city of Ceuta. After this conquest, Henry
turned his attention to exploration. Chroniclers of the time,
including Gomes Eannes de Azurara, described his motivations- the
following excerpt describes these motivations succinctly:
"As we have seen, there were a number of reasons that Prince Henry
began his voyages of exploration. Azurara, one of Prince Henry's
contemporaries and chroniclers, summarised them as:
1. The desire to know the country beyond Cape Bojador.
2. To establish trade relations advantageous to Portugal.
3. To determine the strength of his enemies in the region.
4. To seek allies to help wage battles against the enemies of Christianity.
5. To spread Christianity."
Excerpted from "European Voyages of Exploration: Lure of Trade",
Applied History Research Group, University of
Calgary.http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/henry2.html
One of the more interesting things about Prince Henry the Navigator is
that he never sailed out of sight of land himself- he financed and
managed fourteen voyages, including the first to sail around Cape
Bojador. This was a remarkable acheivement, because at the time it was
supposed by most that if one sailed to far south, the seas would boil,
your skin would blacken and everyone would die- this was based on the
thought that lands to the far north were uninhabitable due to extreme
cold, so lands far to the south must be uninhabitable due to extreme
heat. It took quite a lot of effort to get sailors to venture into the
"Sea of Darkness", which was what uncharted waters were called.
Also at the time, very few sailors ever ventured out of sight of land,
but to explore the coast of Africa, with its treacherous currents,
tides, mists and shallows that could rip the bottom out of a vessel,
this was pretty much a requirement.
Prince Henry is said to have founded a "School of Navigation" at
Sagres, Portugal in 1418 or thereabouts. However, my research has
indicated that this is not the real truth, or is a simplification of
what actually occured. Many accounts differ- some describe a formal
Nautical School founded by Henry, while others indicate that there was
no such entity. I believe the truth lies somewhere in between.
There probably was no formal School of Navigation, but Henry's
activities did attract a huge number of cartographers, navigators and
other nautical experts to him, forming a sort of community of study-
but this was probably an informal arrangement, not an actual
established school. One thing that most accounts agree on is that
there were a huge number of the most brilliant people of the age in
their fields that congregated there at one time or another- including
Christopher Colombus.
It is likely that there were quite a number of charts and star maps at
this location, because a number of cartographers and experts spent a
lot of time there. This brings us to the connection to the Catalan
Atlas, which I will describe in a moment. First, we should briefly
discuss the Catalan Atlas itself.
The Catalan Atlas was created in 1375 by Cresques Abraham (Cresques,
son of Abraham) (http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx3_05.htm), a
Catalan Jew who fled Spain due to persecution by Christians. The
Catalan Atlas is considered to be the finest work to come from the
Majorcan Cartographic School, founded in the 13th Century. Many of the
best maps and charts (called portolans at the time) were produced by
the mapmakers of this school.
The Catalan Atlas was originally 6 pages of vellum, but the pages have
since been cut in half. The leaves are mounted on wood panels. It
contains a wealth of information and illustrations used by navigators
of the time, including star charts, zodiac signs, tide tables and a
map of the known world.
Now, to the connection to Prince Henry and his school. The son of
Abraham Cresques, Jehuda Cresques (Jehuda, son of Cresques)
(http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/j/jehuda-cresques.html), came to
coordinate mapmaking activities for Prince Henry. I'm not certain if
the actual Catalan Atlas was ever present at Sagres, but it doesn't
seem likely, as the Catalan Atlas was in the library of Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) by 1380, fourteen years before
the birth of Prince Henry. At least one source
(http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/j/jehuda-cresques.html) says that
Jehuda worked with Cresques to create the Catalan Atlas, although most
sources only mention Cresques Abraham as the author of the Catalan
Atlas and do not mention his son as having had a hand in the creation
of the Atlas.
However, the son of Cresques Abraham was most likely the "Mestre
Jacome de Malhorca" who was in Portugal in 1419 with Prince Henry. He
is credited with bridging the gap between Catalan cartographic methods
and the new Portugeuse methods. He seems to have been charged with
coordinating the data brought back by the various expeditions sent out
by Prince Henry and creating maps, charts and portolans based on that
data. This is most likely the collection of maps you are referring to,
but there does not seem to have been a formal name for that
collection.
In conclusion, it seems as though there was a collection of the best
mapmakers, nautical and navigation experts and the foremost explorers
of the age present with Prince Henry the Navigator in Sagres, Portugal
during the 1400s. However, this does not seem to have been a formal
"school" but rather a method for Henry to come up with new techniques
for exploration and navigation in his quest to extend Christianity
into Africa and wrest some control of shipping from the Muslims that
dominated it during his time. Prince Henry's activities and influence
are credited with a huge number of advances in exploration, including
the development of the caravel, a shallow-drafted boat ideal for
exploration (two of Colombus' ships, the Nina and the Pinta, were
caravels), huge advances in navigation and exploration, and of course
in cartography. Some of these advances are probably not directly
attributable to Prince Henry, but his influence in these developments
cannot be denied.
As an example, the familiar techniques of using stars for navigation
did not work correctly south of the Equator, as the Pole star was no
longer visible below the Equator- this forced new techniques to be
developed, using tools such as the astrolabe and the development of
sun reckoning for navigation and position fixing. In the computer game
Civilization, the Sagres School of Navigation is one of the wonders
that a player can build as part of expanding his or her empire in the
game.
Because of his patronage, Portugal saw its captains in extremely high
demand for some time after his death- a result of his efforts to
increase the knowledge and skill of his fellows in navigation.
Portugal was a dominant force in the exploration of the world, and on
a slightly darker note, with the opening of the slave trade in Africa.
I have also compiled some supporting links to more information about
Prince Henry and his activities:
[Mappa Mundi Magazine]
This is an article from Mappa Mundi magazine about Henry the Navigator.
http://mappa.mundi.net/locus/locus_011/
[Prince Henry the Navigator- the Lure of Trade]
Describes Prince Henry's motivations for his expiditions, and goes
into some interesting background about his activities outside of
exploration.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/henry1.html
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/henry2.html
[Sagres History]
A synsopsis of the history of Sagres, Portugal. This is the location
where Prince Henry's Nautical School is said to have existed.
http://www.sagres.net/sagres/history.htm
[World And I Magazine]
An article from World and I Magazine entitled "Colombus and the Age of
Exploration". Contains a fairly detailed account of Henry's activities
and mentions the connection between the "school" and the Catalan
Atlas.
http://www.worldandi.com/public/1998/november/mike.cfm
[Commerce and Travel in Muslim Culture]
A PDF document that covers a wide range of topics, but does touch on
Prince Henry and his activities. Provides some context for his
explorations that may be of interest.
http://www.cie.org/pdffiles/smplren1.pdf
[World Mysteries- Strange Artifacts, the Catalan Atlas]
Describes the Catalan Atlas in detail with cross-references, including
images of the Atlas itself and descriptions of its contents. Also
covers the background of Prince Henry's school a bit, and describes
the Majorcan School of Cartography, which is where the Catalan Atlas
originated.
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_10.htm
[The Catalan Atlas, Bibliotheque Nationale de France (National Library of France)]
Images of the Catalan Atlas from the National Library of France, where
the Atlas currently resides.
http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/manuscrits/aman6.htm
[Map History]
A site dedicated to the history of cartography and mapmaking in
general. Contains a wealth of valuable material and cross-references
to many other useful sites.
http://www.maphistory.info
Search Strategies:
Cartographic History
Cartography
Cartographic History Maps OR Charts
Henry Navigator
Catalan Atlas
Sagres School
In conclusion, I hope that this information covers what you were
seeking appropriately, which I believe it does based on our
conversations thus far. If I can provide any additional clarification
or information, please do not hesitate to ask. I have truly enjoyed
this research project as it has been both challenging and stimulating.
I hope you find the information and resources I have provided useful.
Best Regards, and thanks for using Google Answers!
cyclometh-ga |
,
0 Comments
)