“Palus meotidis” [the Sea of Azov] is marked as a lake due east of the Baltic. Along the north coast of Europe (and Norway) is indicated a ridge of mountains, somewhat similar to that in the Sanudo-Vesconte maps of the world. The delineation of Denmark (“dacia,” with “koppenhan” and “londoma,” i.e., Lund), the straight south coast of the Baltic, and a long-shaped island called “Suecia” (with “Stocholm” and “ipsala”) on the north, remind us a good deal of Edrisi’s map ([p. 203]), and also somewhat of the Cottoniana (vol. i. p. 183). To the north of the island of Suecia “the very great kingdom of Norway [‘Norwegie’]” projects to the west as a long peninsula bounding the Baltic, with “brondolch” [Bornholm ?] and “nydrosia metropolis” [the capital Nidaros] as towns on its south coast, and with the land of “Yslandia” [Iceland] and the town of “Pergen” [Bergen] on its extreme promontory.
The Borgia map, after 1410
Another peculiar type of the round mappamundi is the so-called Borgia map of the fifteenth century (after 1410). Its representation of Europe, with the Mediterranean on the southern side of the earth’s disc, is very imperfect and far removed from reality. The same is the case with its delineation of the North, but curiously enough its Scandinavia, which is different from that of the compass-charts, and in which Skåne forms a peninsula on the south, to the east of Denmark, has a greater resemblance to reality than that of other maps of this time. This map, too, has a chain of mountains along the north coast of the continent, as in the Vesconte maps [see Nordenskiöld, 1897, Pl. XXXIX.].
North-western portion of Fra Mauro’s mappamundi
(of 1457-59), preserved at Venice. The legends and most
of the names are omitted. (The south should be at the top)
Fra Mauro’s map, 1458
The best known fifteenth-century map of the world is that of Fra Mauro (1457-59), which is also drawn in wheel-form and is preserved at Venice. The coast-lines are taken to a great extent from the compass-charts, but a great deal of new matter has been added. As regards Norway, this consists of information from Querini’s voyage in 1432, as well as from other sources which are unknown to us; this is indicated by, amongst other things, an inscription on the sea to the north of Russia [“Permia”], which relates that a short time before two Catalan ships had sailed thither [cf. Vangensten, 1910]. On this map the Scandinavian Peninsula has been given a more reasonable extension to the north; but the west coast is very imaginatively supplied with peninsulas and islands, while the ocean outside is full of fabulous islands and contains many legends.
Denmark [“Datia”] has been made into an island (which is also called “Isola islandia”), and the Baltic [“Sinus germanicus”] has been widened into an inland sea with islands. In its northern part is a note that on this sea the use of the compass is unknown [cf. Vangensten, 1910]. Could this inscription be due to a misunderstanding like that on the Walsperger map in the ocean to the north-west of Norway, that it could not be navigated on account of magnets (cf. [p. 283])? There is no hint of the name of Greenland on this map; on the other hand, Iceland appears in three or four different places: besides Denmark, as mentioned above, there is in northern Norway or Finland a peninsula named “Islant,” “where wicked people dwell, who are not Christians”; also a large island, “Ixilandia,” north-west of Ireland, and finally an intricate peninsula in the middle of Norway called “Isola di giaza” [i.e., the island of ice]. On the north of Norway or Finland a peninsula projects into the Polar Sea with the name of “Scandinabia.” The map does not contribute anything new of importance about the North, but points to a few fresh pieces of information about Norway, which are not to be traced in the older compass-charts; thus Bergen comes nearly in its right place on the west coast, and Marstrand appears to the east of Christiania fjord.
Genoese mappamundi, 1447
A picture of the North of a wholly different type is given on the elliptical Genoese mappamundi [of 1447 or 1457], which is still more fantastic than any of those hitherto mentioned. The Scandinavian Peninsula has a very long extension to the west, and ends in a promontory projecting northwards. To the north of this Scandinavia there is another fantastic peninsula where Lelewel thinks he can read the name “Grinland,” which is probably due to a misunderstanding, since, as pointed out by Björnbo [1910, p. 80], the name cannot be seen on the much-damaged original, or on Ongania’s photographic reproduction [Fischer-Ongania, Pl. X.]. Many imaginary islands are scattered about in the sea round these peninsulas.