Catalan Atlas

This Catalan atlas became part of the Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor’s collection in 1380 and is attributed to the Majorcan Jewish cartographer Cresques Abraham, who was in the service of the king of Aragon during the 14^th century. It is one of the few surviving examples of medieval cartography. This type of map known as a portulan[1], indirectly formed the basis of modern maritime cartography.

In the texts included in the atlas, its author refers to himself as “the master of globes and compasses”. This atlas was obviously intended for a royal library and documents belonging to the kings of Aragon, Pedro IV (r. 1336 – 1187) and Juan I (r. 1387 – 1396) recount the payment of 150 Aragon gold florins and 60 Majorcan pounds to this cartographer for the atlas. Other documents mention that while he was prince in 1373, Don Juan desired a complete nautical chart showing everything between “the Levant and the West”. These are the origins of the gift given to Charles V.

The Atlas was drawn up between 1375, a date that appears several times on the piece and 1380, the date it entered Charles’ collection. It is the synthesis of material from several sources and at the time represented the known world.

It is basically a portulan-map, to which have been added extracts from travel accounts, the Bible, legends, astronomical works and astrological studies. It is richly illustrated and covers an area stretching from the Atlantic to China and from Scandinavia to the Rio Oro in Africa. This area is divided into six parchment covered, wooden panels. The first panel includes astrological, astronomical and cosmological texts and diagrams, the second consists of a large circle showing solar and lunar calendars, the planets the seasons and the zodiac. The third panel shows Western Europe, the Western Mediterranean and North-West Africa. The fourth illustrates Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea, North-East Africa and the Near East. The fifth panel shows Western Asia, the Caspian Sea, Iran, Mesopotamia, Arabia and the eastern areas of India. The final panel covers East Asia, the area between the East of India and China and unknown Eastern Asian regions populated by apocalyptic images.

The Islamic East was a huge empire where people travelled widely by both land and sea. The study of astronomy was highly advanced with developments such as astrolabes, celestial spheres and books illustrating the constellations. Early maps of known territories were soon drawn up as show the examples made by Ibn Hawkal (active 943 – 973), al-Idrisi, who worked in the court of Roger II of Sicily and in the 16^th century, the maps, atlases, nautical charts (eg. The Piri Reis) and street plans drawn up by the Ottomans.