His parents came from Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (present-day Germany). Although we’ve begun to dispel the misconceptions some notable distortions remain, as the good folks on The West Wing explained in their “Cartographers for Social Equality" episode. [aj], Apart from a revision of the map of Europe in 1572 there would be no more large wall maps and Mercator began to address the other tasks that he had outlined in the Cosmographia. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. If you have ever seen a map of the world in a classroom or in an atlas, chances are you have seen a version of a “Mercator projection.” You may not, however, be familiar with its creator, Gerardus Mercator. Further comments on magnetism may be found in an earlier letter to Perrenot[ab] and on the later world map. [t] Study of the Bible was something that was central to Mercator's life and it was the cause of the early philosophical doubts that caused him so much trouble during his student days, doubts which some of his teachers would have considered to be tantamount to heresy. Other maps may have followed in good order had not the misfortunes of life intervened: his wife Barbara died in 1586 and his eldest son Arnold died the following year so that only Rumold and the sons of Arnold were left to carry forward his business. If you have ever seen a map of the world in a classroom or in an atlas, chances are you have seen the work of Gerardus Mercator, a 16th-century Flemish cartographer (mapmaker). It is the only map without a dedicatee and in the text engraved on the map he pointedly denies responsibility for the map's authorship and claims that he is merely engraving and printing it for a "very good friend". Mercator continued his cartography work for the rest of his life, publishing parts of his atlas until his death in 1594. person who does calligraphy, a decorative handwriting or script. In 1554 Mercator published the long-awaited wall map of Europe, dedicating it to his friend, now Cardinal, Antoine Perrenot. It's lines and colors show the realization of great dreams.” Learn more about the basics of reading a map, creating a map, and choosing the best map projection. 's-Hertogenbosch (Duke's Forest) is Bois-le-Duc in French and Herzogenbusch in German, colloquially Le Bois or Den Bosch. As his reputation grew, Mercator published several maps of places around the world. [49] This huge volume (400 pages) was greeted with acclaim by scholars throughout Europe and Mercator himself considered it to be his greatest achievement up to that time. In the two online copies of the Chronologia listed under, sfn error: no target: CITEREFSullivan2003 (, Kultur- und Stadthistorisches Museum, Duisburg, Germany. [o] He certainly read widely but only succeeded in uncovering more contradictions between the world of the Bible and the world of geography, a hiatus which would occupy him for the rest of his life. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. In 1547 Mercator was visited by the young (nineteen year old) John Dee who, on completion of his undergraduate studies in Cambridge (1547), "went beyond the seas to speak and confer with some learned men". [37] On the other hand, no papal permit was required to establish the Akademisches Gymnasium where, in 1559 Mercator was invited to teach mathematics with cosmography. The illustration shows a similar clock made by the German craftsman Baldewein at roughly the same time. The 1595 Atlas has about 120 pages of maps and illustrated title pages but a greater number of pages are devoted to his account of the creation of the universe and descriptions of all the countries portrayed. There is some doubt about the relationship of Hubert and Gisbert. [59], Mercator was buried in the church of St. Salvatore in Duisburg where a memorial was erected about fifty years after his death. © 1996 - 2021 National Geographic Society. [55] That he should wish to do so may seem strange given that, at the same time, he was planning very different modern maps and other mapmakers, such as his friend Abraham Ortelius, had forsaken Ptolemy completely. Gerardus Mercator. The time origin was fixed from the genealogies of the Bible as 3,965 years before the birth of Christ. Gerardus Mercator (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a Flemish cartographer. The only known copy of the sale catalogue[63] perished in the war but fortunately a manuscript copy had been made by Van Raemdonck in 1891 and this was rediscovered in 1987. [s], In 1542, the thirty-year-old must have been feeling confident about his future prospects when he suffered two major interruptions to his life. It was essentially an act of reverence by one scholar for another, a final epitaph for the Ptolemy who had inspired Mercator's love of geography early in his life. See, Mercator's workshops produced items such as globes in a steady stream. Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator's most enduring contribution was his Mercator Projection or Mercator Chart. At the same time his well placed friends petitioned on his behalf,[v] but whether his friend Antoine Perrenot was helpful is unknown: Perrenot, as a bishop, would have to support the activities of the Inquisition. [10] Mercator was completely out of his depth but, with the help and friendship of Gemma, who was only four years older, he succeeded in mastering the elements of mathematics within two years and the university granted him permission to tutor private students. [51][48], As the Chronologia was going to press in 1569, Mercator also published what was to become his most famous map: Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata ('A new and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation'). As an adult Mercator had family connections to Molanus, a religious reformer who would later have to flee Leuven. Mercator was one of the pioneers of cartography and is widely considered the most notable figure of Netherlandish school of cartography in its golden age (approximately 1570s–1670s). He had worked at it for more than twelve years, collecting, comparing, collating and rationalising a vast amount of data and the result was a map of unprecedented detail and accuracy. [aa] The clock was provided with eight dials which showed the positions of the moon, stars and planets. For further comments on the inaccuracies of the 1569 map see, A facsimile of the Mercator contributions in the Atlas of Europe has been published by, The text around and below the Hogenberg portrait translates as "Great thanks are owed to the Pelusian (ie Ptolemaic) charts, and great thanks to you, Mercator, for having at last surpassed that ancient labour, and for having shown new stretches of the earth and sea, and the great, all-containing heavens. [ad] It "attracted more praise from scholars everywhere than any similar geographical work which has ever been brought out. March 5, 2015 Gerardus Mercator’s 503rd Birthday In 1569, cartographer Gerardus Mercator created the first map that portrayed sailing rhumbs as straight lines, a … During his time at the school the headmaster was Georgius Macropedius, and under his guidance Geert would study the Bible, the trivium (Latin, logic and rhetoric) and classics such as the philosophy of Aristotle, the natural history of Pliny and the geography of Ptolemy. Cost: 190 Euro; Order your Risk Report. However, there are some challenges to translating Earth onto a flat surface without adding bias or inaccuracies. [68] His construction of a chart on which the courses of constant bearing favoured by mariners appeared as straight lines ultimately revolutionised the art of navigation, making it simpler and therefore safer. [28] Apart from a possible short visit to Duisberg in 1562[29] the two men did not meet but they corresponded frequently and by good fortune a number of their letters are preserved. Originally intended solely for ocean navigation, the map has found its way into the classrooms of many western schools including those in the United States. As a child, called Geert, he was surrounded by adults who were possibly followers of Geert Groote, who placed meditation, contemplation and biblical study over ritual and liturgy—and who also founded the school of the Brethren of the Common Life at 's-Hertogenbosch. Almost 40 extra maps were added (including Spain and Portugal) and in 1606 a new edition appeared under his name but with full acknowledgement that most maps were created by Mercator. [ap] Recently Mercator's projection has been rejected for representations of the world[aq] but it remains paramount for nautical charts and its use stands as his enduring legacy. Despite the death of Ortelius in 1598 the Theatrum flourished: in 1602 it was in its thirteenth Latin edition as well as editions in Dutch, Italian, French, German and Spanish. [39] Rumold, the third son, would spend a large part of his life in London's publishing houses providing for Mercator a vital link to the new discoveries of the Elizabethan age. That made matters worse for he was now classified as a fugitive who, by fleeing arrest, had proved his own guilt. Students look at lines of latitude and longitude on United States and world maps, discuss why these lines are helpful, and identify landmarks with similar latitude and longitude. This volume has a noteworthy preface for it includes mention of Atlas as a mythical king of Mauretania. art and science of determining an object's position, course, and distance traveled. There is a Belgian bank note. 1512-1594. [2] Mercator would have attended the local school in Rupelmonde from the age of seven, when he arrived from Gangelt, and there he would have been taught the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic and Latin.[3]. No map was published at the time but Mercator did provide a single drawn copy for the Duke and later he would incorporate this map into his atlas. [26][27] Dee and Mercator were both passionately interested in the same topics and they quickly established a close rapport which lasted throughout their lives. A map is a symbolic representation of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface. Cartographers at National Geographic discuss how they select an appropriate map projection for the September 2012 issue. [7] He certainly could not effect a reconciliation between his studies and the world of Aristotle. In English the second syllable of Mercator is stressed and sounds as, Mercator's birth and death dates are given in, The full text of Ghim's biography is translated in. Their stay in Rupelmonde was brief and within six months they returned to Gangelt and there Mercator spent his earliest childhood until the age of six. Also he was a close friend and correspondent of Philip Melanchthon, one of the principal Lutheran reformers. [f] Hubert was a poor artisan, a shoemaker by trade, but Gisbert, a priest, was a man of some importance in the community. His sons were now growing to manhood and he encouraged them to embark on his own profession. The problem was the contradiction between the authority of Aristotle and his own biblical study and scientific observations, particularly in relation to the creation and description of the world. His marriage to Barbara Schellekens was in September 1536 and Arnold, the first of their six children, was born a year later.[12]. In addition they published the atlas in a compact form, the Atlas Minor,[ao] which meant that it was readily available to a wide market. Gemma and Gaspar Van der Heyden had completed a terrestrial globe in 1529 but by 1535 they were planning a new globe embodying the latest geographical discoveries. They could use latitude and longitude lines to plot a straight route. Mercator Museum (Stedelijke musea), Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. He was born in Rupelmonde in the County of Flanders. He struggled with the assistance of his family trying to complete the remaining maps, the ongoing theological publications and a new treatise on the Creation of the World. Mercator's birth place was in France; he then moved to Duisburg in the Holy Roman Empire, so naming both of those countries is the best solution. "[14] It also sold in large quantities for much of the rest of the century with a second edition in 1572 and a third edition in the atlas of 1595. Mercator wrote on geography, philosophy, chronology and theology. The map would have been used primarily to assist with intercontinental trade routes; most notably, the notorious Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Code of Ethics. Gisbert might have hoped that Mercator would go further in theology and train for the priesthood but Mercator did not: like many twenty year old young men he was having his first serious doubts. He then shows how to calculate the position of the pole if the deviation is known at two known positions (Leuven and Corvo in the Azores): he finds that it must be at latitude 73°2' and longitude 169°34'. distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees. These encounters may well have provided the stimulus to put aside his problems with theology and commit himself to geography. He set up a cartographic workshop there with his staff of engravers and perfected the Mercator projection, which he used in the map of the world he created in 1569. The commissions and patronage of such wealthy individuals would provide an important source of income throughout his life. [70] Chapter 6: "Globes in Renaissance Europe" by Elly Dekker. His family did produce another edition in 1602 but only the text was reset, there were no new maps. The title itself provides Mercator's definition of a new meaning for the word "Atlas": Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura which may be translated as "Atlas or cosmographical meditations upon the fabric of the world and the figure of the fabrick'd, or, more colloquially, as Atlas or cosmographical meditations upon the creation of the universe, and the universe as created. [22], Mercator was apprehended in Rupelmonde and imprisoned in the castle. This is called the Mercator Projection, named after the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who developed it in 1569 and inadvertently distorted our world view for the next 446 years. [19] This was the same Duke to whom Mercator turned ten years later. [ar] His name has been attached to ships,[as]buildings, universities,[at] insurance companies, small businesses, pizzerias, streets, schools and more. He took a new wife, Gertrude Vierlings, the wealthy widow of a former mayor of Duisburg (and at the same time he arranged the marriage of Rumold to her daughter). At the time of the birth they were visiting Hubert's brother (or uncle[e]) Gisbert de Kremer. Maps are fantastic visual tools that can help us communicate spatial concepts and patterns, tell stories, and analyze data. He was then 52, already an old man by the norms of that century, and he may well have had reservations about the undertaking. Walter Ghim, Mercator's friend and first biographer, describes him as sober in his behaviour, yet cheerful and witty in company, and never more happy than in debate with other scholars. The title page now included a picture of Hondius and Mercator together although they had never met. Gerardus Mercator, original name Gerard De Cremer, or Kremer?, (born March 5, 1512, Rupelmonde, Flanders [now in Belgium]—died December 2, 1594, Duisburg, Duchy of Cleve [Germany]), Flemish cartographer whose most important innovation was a map, embodying what was later known as the Mercator projection, on which parallels and meridians are rendered as straight lines spaced so as … After graduating, Mercator developed his skills as an engraver, calligrapher, and geographer, and then began making globes and scientific instruments. In 1585 he issued a collection of 51 maps covering France, the Low Countries and Germany. The Mercator Projection Mercator was a Flemish geographer and cartographer, known mostly for his attempt to represent the spherical earth as accurately as possible on a flat sheet of paper. Much to Mercator's grief, Bartholemew died young, in 1568 (aged 28). 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