Opus Magnum of Claudius Ptolemy

Ptolemy Atlas

The astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria composed a concise treaty on the mathematics of geography in the 2nd century, which contained a projection theory as well as the names and coordinates of 8,000 locales of the world as it was then known. His treatise, which was appended with maps at a later time, counts among the first maps or atlases of the world. Long considered to be lost, Ptolemy’s treatise – known by the title Geographia – reemerged ca. 1400 in Italy. Under the title Cosmographia the manuscript was translated from Greek into Latin by Jacobus Angelus de Scarperia and initially distributed across Europe in numerous transcripts and reprints. The edition at hand is a Ptolemaic atlas of the Biblioteca General e Histórica de la Universidad in Valencia.

Claudius Ptolemy the Scholar

Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer, music theorist, and philosopher. His three works on astronomy, geography, and astrology in particular were considered to be important collections of data and standard works of science in Europe during the early modern period. Aside from the comprehensive canon of important cities, in his Geographia, Ptolemy composed a geographical treatise in which the known world and its inhabitants are recorded. His definition of latitudes in the work is still good today. Ptolemy merely transmitted written instructions and tables for the creation of maps, but only made a few rough sketches himself. Later, geographical treatises were written in his name and were appended by numerous maps over the centuries. The Ptolemy Atlas is one of the most splendid and precious reprints of his work.

A Renaissance Masterpiece

The handwritten atlas from the library of the University of Valencia was most likely produced in Naples. This illuminated codex is a transcript of the geographical treatise by Ptolemy from the Royal Library of the Castello Nuovo in Naples. The manuscript was illustrated with uniquely beautiful maps of land and sea. The maps shimmer in luminous colors and are hemmed by glimmering frames of noble gold leaf. The maps are accompanied by painted angels presenting the royal crown and escutcheon of Alfonso V of Aragon. He was the patron of the unimaginably expensive manuscript. All of the map titles are recorded in colorful, gilded script and the text of the work is structured by numerous luminous red initials and markings at important points in the text.