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Ortelius

Name: Abraham Ortelius

Nickname/Alias: born: Abraham Oertel, or Abraham Wortels

Achievements: First atlas.

Born: April 14, 1527; Antwerp (now in Belgium)

Died: July 4, 1598; Antwerp (now in Belgium) (Aged 71)

Field & Discipline: Cartography; Geography; Cartographer; Geographer

Language: French

Father: Unknown

Mother: Unknown

Siblings: Anne; Elizabeth

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: Unknown

Major Work:

“Theatre of the World” (1570)

Life & Times:

In 1547, at the age of 20, Ortelius was admitted as an illuminator of maps into the guild of St. Luke in Antwerp, and soon afterwards he began trading in maps and geographical charts,  buying as many valuable maps as possible, mounting them on canvas, coloring and re-selling them.  This work was probably the reason for his extended trips to Germany, England, Italy, and particularly for his annual visits to the great fairs at Leipzig and Frankfurt.

In 1559-60 Ortelius travelled through Lorraine and Poitou in the company of the great cartographer and geographer [a pal of] Mercator*, who encouraged him to become a cartographer and draw his own maps.

In 1564 Ortelius published an 8-sheet map of the world based on a heart-shaped projection (the only copy of which is in the library of the University of Basle), which he followed in 1565 with a 2-sheet map of Egypt, and in 1567 a 2-sheet map of Asia.

Then, in May 1570, Ortelius published first  a 6-sheet map of Spain, and then his great work, on which he had been working for a decade, a comprehensive single-volume atlas of the world entitled “Theatrum orbis terrarum” (“Theatre of the World”), printed by his friend [a pal of] Plantin* in Antwerp.

This was the first uniformly-sized, great modern atlas, a gridded and systematic collection of 53 double-folio map sheets containing 70 copper engravings of all the known countries of the world put together from 87 of the latest authorities and engraved in one style (it was also the first map to exclude Paradise on the basis that its exact location was unknown).

Unlike Mercator, Ortelius was more an editor of maps than an original mathematical cartographer, buying the rights to other people’s maps,  reducing them to a uniform size, and updating them.

The “Theatrum” was an immediate success.  In 1587 Ortelius added a section on ancient geography (the “Thesaurus geographicus”), and a catalogue of map-makers (“Catalogus cartographorum”), listing the names and works of 87 cartographers of the 15th and 16th centuries.

The work went through seventy-five editions in twenty years, so he revised each new edition, adding new maps and reediting the old ones with the  latest knowledge brought back to Holland by sailors from all over Europe. By the time of his death the atlas contained 119 contemporary map sheets and 36 classical maps.

Ortelius had dedicated the first edition of his “Theatrum” to [dedicated work to] Philip II* of Spain, and in 1575 he was appointed royal geographer to the Spanish monarch.   His income now allowed him to travel to collect new material, first around the Low Countries in 1575 and in 1577 to England and Ireland, where he met, among others, the geographer and mathematician John Dee, the antiquarian and historian [met] Camden*, and the geographer and historian [met] Hakluyt*.

During his later years, Ortelius spent much time on classical and antiquarian studies. He also continued his work on ancient geography.

By the late 1570s, thanks to his publications and collections, Ortelius was one of the best European cartographers and was considered a great authority on ancient and historical cartography. “Theatrum” was only superseded in 1630 by [superseded by] Blaeuw's* “Atlas.”

Extra Connections:  Knew painter [knew] Peter Brueghel the Elder*,  and courtier-poet [knew] Fulke Greville*

Assessment: Most famous for his comprehensive atlas of the known world, the

first of its kind.

Oneliner: Abraham Ortelius, creator of the first atlas

Bibliography:

Attachments