Zasady opisu geograficznego i rysowania map w Geografii Ptolemeusza redagowanej przez Nicolausa Germanusa - rękopis BOZ 2
Principles of a geographic description and map drawing in Geography by Ptolemy edited by Nicolaus Germanus – a manuscript BOZ 2

Summary/Abstract: A hand-written geographical treaty Codex in Bibliotheca Zamoiskiensi Latinus BOZ 2, edited by a Benedictine Nicolaus Germanus, is kept as a deposit in the National Library in Warsaw. It consists of two separate parts: the text on 80 sheets of paper in a folio format and a collection of 30 maps, including 1 map of the world and 26 regional maps by Ptolemy as well as 3 „tabulae modernae”. Th e books with the text by Ptolemy were conscientiously copied by Nicolaus. Th e text includes geographic data together with the geographic coordinates and an explanation of the principles of Ptolemy’s two map projections – the first useful in drawing regional maps, and the other used to edit a map of the whole world. Ninety one chapters include geographic descriptions of particular regions. Book II includes descriptions of Europe, from its north-western parts from Ireland (k. 13vb) to Germania reaching the Vistula in the east. Th e descriptions of book III include geographic information concerning eastern and south-western Europe – from the Apennine Peninsula (k. 24vb), across Sarmatia to Greece. Book IV includes data on Africa from which information to the maps was taken. It begins with a description of Mauretania (k. 36va) reaching the Pillars of Hercules in the west, and closes with a description of Egypt. Th e fourth map covers all Africa as known in ancient times as far as the Mountains of the Moon lying south of the equator. Book V begins with a description of Asia, with the region of Pontus (k. 41ra), across Asian Sarmatia and the countries of the Near East together with the Arabian Peninsula as far as Babylonia. Book VI discusses the countries of Central Asia: from Assyria (k. 55ra), across the regions of the South Caucasus as far as Persia and the regions dominated by the latter. In book VII, Ptolemy included information concerning south-eastern and eastern Asia: from India (k. 62va) as far as China and the Indonesian Islands as well as Taprobane island (end of description k. 67va). Book VII is finished with Epilogus (k. 69rb–69va). Maps constitute the second, physically separate, part of the treaty. Twenty six regional (chorographic) maps edited on the basis of geographic data included in books II–VII constitute a collection intended by Ptolemy as showing all known lands, including those that were only mentioned in the works of other ancient writers. A consequence of different scopes of the maps was the use of different degrees of reduction of the projected area. Th e territory of the Roman empire and the other parts of Europe were shown in a similar scale, while far-off lands, especially those situated in east Asia, were reduced three times in relation to the maps of the European regions. Ptolemy, and then Nicolaus, made a quantitative and qualitative selection of geographic objects, thus achieving a certain definite degree of the picture density. A comparison of the degree of particularity on the maps of Germania and Sarmatia through the analysis of selected elements of the natural environment such as hydrography and orography allows to draw the conclusion that those geographers created on the whole surface of the map a relatively even foundation for the elements with anthropogenic character – a network of localities and distribution of peoples. Against the background of presentations of the world known at that time which were contemporary to Nicolaus Germanus or earlier, his presentation of Ptolemy’s geographic data was – despite certain faults – much better than others. It should be admitted that Nicolaus was a conscientious interpreter of the writings of the Alexandrian scholar and, what is more, he won the trust of his contemporaries. Th e first printed versions of Geography appeared on the basis of his hand-written maps. Later editions usually differed with very small details or they were less successful.

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