Radziwiłł map

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Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae caeterumque regionum illi adiaciencium exacta descriptio („Exact description of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its neighbouring territories"), also known as the Radziwiłł map, is a map of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), engraved by Hessel Gerritsz and created under the tutelage of Mikolaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł. The map was published in 1613 in the Amsterdam printing house of Willem Jansz Blaeu.

Description[]

The map in its original form, including the two-part diagram of the lower Dnieper river, but not including the descriptive text below the image

The original version of the map includes a two-part diagram of the lower Dnieper river on the right as well as a geographical and ethnological description of the Grand Duchy on the bottom of the map. These additions were removed in later editions of the map.

A member of the powerful Radziwiłł family, Mikołaj was Grand Marshal of Lithuania from 1579. Having studied among others in Strasbourg and Paris, and having travelled to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage in 1601, he understood the need for precise information about the nature of his state and became interested in the creation of a map according to the contemporary standards of mapmaking. For this purpose he gathered a team including Kiev voivode Konstanty Ostrogski, mathematician James Bosgrave and artist Tomasz Makowski, who also possibly drew the map.[1] The measurements for the map were partly taken from the documents of the Volok Reform, initiated by Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, in 1547.

The map is distinctive in its extraordinary precision for its time as well as its richness in geographical detail. Analysis of the deviation of settlement locations reveals it to be as accurate or more than maps of the Grand Duchy made as late as 1770.[1] Another feature is the exceptionally detailed and exact hydrographical networks displayed on the map.[2] As a result, it was considered the most important source of information concerning the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for more than a century.[3]

Originally a Copperplate print, the map was initially only used as a wall map. In 1631, W. Blaeu included it in his atlas . To improve readability of the map - it was pressed from four copper plates and displayed on four separate pages - the diagram of the lower Dnieper was removed from the original map and the two parts of the map were henceforth published as separate maps in later editions of the atlas[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Česnulevičius, Algimantas (2013). "M. K. Radvila map in Middle Europe mapping context of the XVII century". Geografija. 49 (2): 145–153. ISSN 1392-1096.
  2. ^ Petrulis, Jokimas; Петрулис, И.; Petrulis, Jokimas (1965-01-01). "On Some Geographical Elements in the Map Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae of 1613". Geodezijos Darbai. 3 (1): 103–127. doi:10.1080/13921843.1965.10553059. ISSN 1392-1843.
  3. ^ Łuczyński, Jarosław (2012). "Przestrzeń Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego na mapie radziwiłłowskiej Tomasza Makowskiego z 1613 roku w świetle treści kartograficznej i opisowej". Zapiski Historyczne. 78: 73–100. ISSN 2449-8637.
  4. ^ Braziūnienė, Alma (2019). "LDK 1613 m. žemėlapio laidos: istoriografinis aspektas". Knygotyra. 72: 62–89. doi:10.15388/Knygotyra.2019.72.21. ISSN 0204-2061.
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