A Special Collections Exhibition
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The influence of Ptolemy |
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Map
of the British Isles, from the Geography of Ptolemy, 1490
Claudius
Ptolemy of Alexandria had about 290 AD compiled a “Geography,” which gave
the latitude and longitude of many places in the then known world (see also
exhibit 11). This work was long unknown to western Europe – though not to the
Byzantines – until a manuscript copy began to circulate in the early fifteenth
century.
Further manuscript copies were made throughout the fifteenth century, and
many of these often splendid productions may still be found in the great
cartographic libraries, mostly of Europe. The first of many printed editions was
made in 1477; the map shown here came from the Rome edition of 1490. It seems
remarkable that Ptolemy should have known so much about the remote British
Isles, and even more extraordinary that he had some knowledge of the main
features of Scotland (detail).
© Special Collections Division
The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
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