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The Cosmographia ("Cosmography") from 1544 by Sebastian Münster (1488–1552) is the earliest German-language description of the world.^[1]

It had numerous editions in different languages including Latin, French (translated by François de Belleforest), Italian and Czech. Only extracts have been translated into English. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after Munster's death. The Cosmographia was one of the most successful and popular books of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years. This success was due to the notable woodcuts (some by Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf, Hans Rudolph Manuel Deutsch, and David Kandel). It was most important in reviving geography in 16th-century Europe. Among the notable maps within Cosmographia is the map "Tabula novarum insularum", which is credited as the first map to show the American continents as geographically discrete.^[2]

Some of its editions also contain one of the earliest preserved texts in the Latvian language.^[3]

His earlier geographic works were Germania descriptio (1530) and Mappa Europae (1536). In 1540, he published a Latin edition of Ptolemy's Geographia with illustrations.

Editions

German: 1544 Basel, 1545 Basel, 1546, 1548, 1550, 1553, 1556, 1558, 1561, 1564, 1567, 1569, 1572, 1574, 1578, 1588, 1592, 1598, 1614, 1628
Latin: 1550 Basel, 1552, 1554, 1559, 1572
French: 1552 Basel, 1556, 1560, 1565, 1568, 1575 Paris (editor Francois de Belleforest).
Italian: 1558 Basel, undated Venezia, 1575 Koln.
Czech: 1554 Praha.

Excerpts only:

German: 1820 J.G.J. Seybold, Munchen.
French: 1779 Ruault, Paris (ed. Nicolas Gobet); 1872 Librarie des Philosophes, Paris; 1883 A. Quantin, Paris.
English: 1552 W. Marshall, London (abridged ed.); 1553 Edward Sutton, London (ed. Richard Eden); 1561 Lahon Awdely, London (ed. George North); 1572 Thomas Marche, London (ed. Richard Eden); 1574 Thomas Marche, London (ed. Richard Eden); 1577 Richard Jugge, London (ed. Richard Eden); 1885 Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh & Birmingham (ed. Edward Arber); 1895 A. Constable & Co., Westminster (ed. Edward Arber).

Gallery

Map of the Bavarian Nordgau
Ingelheim
Blemmye, a fantastic creature
Frankfurt (Main)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Map of Germany
Map of central and eastern Europe
Speyer
Skyline of Riga
Map of showing North and South America, or the 'New World'^[4]

References

^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 1974, ISBN 0-85229-290-2 [1]
^ Lepore, Jill (2002). Encounters in the New World: A History in Documents, Pages from History. Oxford University Press. p. 24.
^ "The Riga Skyline - Then and Now". Latvians.com. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
^ Munster, Sebastian (1544). Cosmographia.