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The Earliest Printed Maps of Iceland and Ireland
Striking pair of maps on a single sheet (Iceland on the front, Ireland on the back), from Benedetto Bordone's Isolario, first printed in 1534.
These are generally regarded as the first printed maps of each island.
The text translates as follows:
Of Benedetto Bordone, Of All the Islands of the World Known to Us, to the Excellent Messer Baldassarre Bordone, his dear Nephew.
Having thus begun this discourse on the islands of the world, my dear nephew, it seems appropriate to start from one of the extremities of our continent, (although Europe is smaller than the other two parts) nevertheless, it has always surpassed the other two parts in strength, ingenuity, and wisdom. Therefore, from this part, as the most noble of the world, I will take my beginning, and first that which is more remote from us than others in the west, I will place in the first place, and then, following one after the other in order, I will reason, and so I want your excellency to know that Iceland is an island in the frozen sea, and located to the west, and in the northern part, beyond the Arctic Circle, one hundred and twenty miles, and it is the most remote that has come to our knowledge, which is well inhabited, and has many cities and mountainous island with many rivers, and has a long shape of one hundred and twenty thousand paces towards the north, and its circuit is two hundred and eighty miles, and it has some hills around it, which are of no value, and its longest day is three months, and this happens to them when the Sun is in the first degree of Gemini until its exit from Leo, which is on May twelfth until August fourteenth, and it has a night of similar length, which is from November thirteenth until February ninth, this island does not produce wine, oil, or grain, they drink beer, and instead of oil they use fish fat in their lamps, and it is in the thirtieth parallel.
HIBERNIA, presently called Ireland, is located in the western part between two seas, from the north to the Hyperborean sea, and to the south it faces the western ocean, and to the south it lies four hundred and twenty miles, and it is very close to Britain, especially to a place, which towards the north is placed, called Ilamnium by Ptolemy, by the common people, Cenofrit, which is opposite the River Dee, a river located in Britain, and this island has a long shape towards the south of four hundred and fifty miles according to our times. But Ptolemy places it at two hundred and forty, its length is uneven, and on the side that lies to the west, it has a gulf in which there are (according to moderns) three hundred and sixty-eight islands, which are called blessed, fortunate, and holy. Beyond this, there is nothing memorable, except that these islanders are great eaters, and among their foods, human flesh is very common, and their dead relatives, after they die, are eaten, and this is a great honor among them, no less do they value, mingling with their women in public, and with mother and sisters, these two islands, namely Hibernia, and Anglia, are overseen by five islands, called Hebudes by the ancients, small and deserted, and the one that is most to the west, is named Hebuda, the others, that follow to the east of this, are called Engaricena, Melos, and Epidium, towards Hibernia to the east of the Sun, there are Monarina, Mona, and Andros, in our times called Agrim and Aman, and the head of Hibernia, which looks north, has its longest day of nineteen hours, and is at the twenty-first parallel, and the one that lies to the south has eighteen hours, it lies at the eighteenth parallel, this island is flat, well inhabited, and the inhabitants hold more of the wild than the Britons, nevertheless they are good merchants, it does not produce oil, wine, or grain, they drink beer, use bread made from barley and rye flour, it is abundant in rivers, but small ones according to Pius, and some say that Hibernia is named after the great cold that is there or from the length of it, and it has such a custom that the poor, who stand at the churches asking
Benedetto Bordone (1460-1531) was a polymath who was born in Padua and worked in Venice. He was an illuminator, engraver, miniaturist, editor, and geographer. It is possible he made the first globe in Italy. His most famous work is the Isolario, or Book of Islands, which included many of the earliest printed maps of islands in the New World.
Bordone, a prominent Venetian manuscript editor, miniaturist, and cartographer, was born in Padua, a city that was then part of the Republic of Venice. Although his exact date of birth remains unknown, historical records indicate that his parents married in Padua in 1442, and he himself was married in 1480. Bordone's contributions to the field of cartography, particularly through his seminal work, Isolario, have cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in the Renaissance cartographic tradition.
Bordone's most renowned work, Isolario (The Book of Islands), printed in Venice in 1528, is a comprehensive compilation that describes all the known islands of the world. The book offers detailed accounts of each island's folklore, myths, cultures, climates, geographical situations, and historical narratives. It stands as a testament to the popularity of the isolario genre in 15th and 16th century Italy and serves as an illustrated guide for sailors, incorporating the era's latest transatlantic discoveries.
One of the notable features of Isolario is an oval depiction of the world, a map type invented by Bordone. This innovation was later formalized into the equal-area elliptical Mollweide projection three centuries afterward. Bordone's map portrays a distorted view of the New World, showing only the northern regions of South America and depicting North America as a large island labeled Terra del Laboratore (Land of the Worker), a likely reference to the region's active slave trade during that period, which also influenced the name Labrador.
The book also contains the earliest known printed account of Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, making it a significant historical document. Among the numerous woodcut maps included in Isolario, twelve are dedicated to the Americas. These maps feature a plan of "Temistitan" (Tenochtitlan, modern Mexico City) before its destruction by Hernán Cortés, and a map of Ciampagu, the earliest known European-printed map of Japan depicted as an island.
Benedetto Bordone's familial connections are also of interest; he is reputed to have been the father of Julius Caesar Scaliger, a noted classical scholar, and the grandfather of Joseph Justus Scaliger, who is recognized as the founder of the science of historical chronology. The original maps from Bordone's Isolario are highly valued today for their historical significance and intricate craftsmanship. Through his work, Bordone has left an indelible mark on the history of cartography, providing invaluable insights into the geographical knowledge and cultural perceptions of his time.
![(Ireland) Des Königreichs Ireland Provinz Ultser Mit dem nördlichen Teile der Provinzen Leinster und Conaught Nr. 91. [with:] Des Königreichs Ireland Provinz Munster mit dem südlichen Teile der Provinzen Leinster und Connaught. Nr. 90.](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/104515.jpg)
