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MARTIN BEHAIM has been credited with having greatly advanced the art of navigation and with having made extensive voyages of discovery under the Flag of Portugal, but is best known as the author of a remarkable globe, which was making at Nuremberg whilst Columbus was crossing the western ocean in search of the riches of the East. The story of his life and life's work should consequently prove of great interest to students of the history of geography.
The materials for doing full justice to this subject are, unfortunately, very fragmentary, and there is little hope that the future will lead to the discovery of documents likely to shed additional light upon this matter. The legends upon the globe, supplemented by a short account in Hartmann Schedel's `Liber Chronicorum,'(1) give us Behaim's own version of a voyage along the west coast of Africa, when he claims to have commanded a Royal vessel; but diligent searches in the archives of his family and of his native town have failed to bring to light information on a subject which interests us equally much, namely, his claim to be numbered among the great mathematicians and cosmographers of his age.
My own inquiries at Nuremberg have enabled me to supplement to a slight extent the information already gathered by Ghillany and Dr. Günther, but neither the "archive" of the Behaim family, nor the search kindly undertaken by Lieutenant Hans von Imhof among old family letters still preserved by him, yielded anything calculated to throw light upon Behaim's doings whilst in Portugal. Baron Holzschuher referred me for information to Gatterer's `Historia Genealogica Dominorum Holzschuerorum' (Norimb., 1775),(2) but although that valuable work contains some details about George Holzschuher, who helped Behaim with his globe, it ignores the members of the family who resided at Lisbon.
Searches in the Torre do Tombo, the Record Office at Lisbon, were no more successful than at Nuremberg. Sebastião Francisco de Mendo Trigozo tells us that when he proposed to write a Memoir of Martin de Bohemia he thought that the Royal Archives might yield some notices of which he stood in need, but that all his research proved unfruitful.(3)
Dr. Friedrich Kunstmann, the tutor of Princess Amelia of Brazil from 1841-46, had free permission to search, but found nothing to aid him in his historical work.(4)
Prof. Carl von Reinhardtstöttner, the learned author of a work on Camoens' `Lusiadas' (Strassburg, 1874), applied for information to the Ministerio da Marinha, on behalf of Dr. S. Günther, but was regretfully informed that they had nothing to offer him.(5)
I am myself indebted to my friend Captain Ernesto João de Carvalho e Vasconcellos and to Sr. Gabriel Pereira of the Bibliotheca Nacional for valuable information, but none bearing upon Behaim's scientific labours.
It seems that the only official document discovered up till now which contains the name of Behaim is a Letter of Pardon-Carta de Perdão-of November 16, 1501, which King Manuel addressed to Fernão d'Evora, whom Joz d'Utra, jun., the Captain donatory, had sent in chains to Lisbon because he had "found him with one of his sisters, the wife of one Martin de Boeme."(6)
It is of course quite possible that documents referring to Martin Behaim may have existed formerly in the `Casa da Mina e India,' but like other documents of even greater interest they were either destroyed by fire or during the great earthquake of 1755, a loss now quite irreparable.
Not a single contemporary Portuguese writer mentions the name of Martin Behaim, not even Ruy de Pina(7) or Garcia de Resende, the authors of `Chronicas' of João II., who must have known him personally, if not intimately, if he really was such a persona grata with the King as is claimed on his behalf by all his biographers and by members of his own family.(8)
Valentin Fernandes, or Ferdinand,(9) the German printer, who settled at Lisbon before 1490, and acted as interpreter to Hieronymus Monetarius during his visit to Portugal in 1494, must have had personal knowledge of his countryman Martin Behaim, and heard about his African voyage and his supposed scientific attainments. Yet in the valuable accounts of Portuguese explorations which he collected up to the year 1540, the name of Behaim is not to be found.
Duarte Pacheco Pereira,(10) another contemporary, the "Achilles Lusitano" of Camoens (Canto x., 12), and author of an `Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis,' a sailing directory for the coast of Africa as far as the Rio de Infante, occasionally refers to Cão and other explorers, but not once mentions the name of Behaim.
As to Behaim's "correspondence with numerous men of learning," it only existed in the imagination of Carlo Amoretti,(11) the editor of Pigafetta's account of Magelhães' voyage. Some of these letters would surely have come to light had they ever been in existence.
Joachim Lelewel, one of the foremost authorities on the history of maps, would have us believe that "Behaim's renown was great in Germany, even in his lifetime," and that, though ignored in Portugal, "his name, in Germany, was in every mouth, occupied numerous pens, and the echoes of his glory resounded in Italy and in Spain."(12) These assumptions are not supported by a single fact. Except in Schedel's `Chronicle,' already referred to, his name will be sought in vain in the writings of his contemporaries. Conrad Celtes,(13) who visited Nuremberg repeatedly between 1490 and 1493, that is during Behaim's stay in his native town, in his delightful book describing the Imperial city and its inhabitants, makes no reference either to the now famous globe or its author.
Even Dr. Hieronymus Müntzer or Monetarius, who gave Behaim a letter of recommendation to King John, in 1493, and who during a visit to Lisbon in 1494 was actually the guest of Behaim's father-in-law, does not mention the name of his old acquaintance, either in his `Itinerarium' or in his `De inventione Africae.'(14)
The earliest Portuguese writer who mentions Behaim is the famous historian João de Barros,(15) and his statement in `Da Asia' (Dec. I., lib. IV., c. 2) is indeed the only authority which connects him with the `Junta dos mathematicos' appointed by King John II. It has been quoted, commented and enlarged upon by numerous later authors, and shall be fully dealt with by me in its proper place.
Almost equally controverted is the statement of Antonio Pigafetta,(16) the historian of Magellan's voyage, with respect to a chart showing a strait connecting the Atlantic with the South Sea, the authorship of which is ascribed by him to Behaim.
The only other early writer whom I need mention in this place is Dr. Gaspar Fructuoso,(17) a learned Jesuit, the author of `Saudadas da terra,' where are to be found a number of anecdotes, collected locally, and of doubtful authority.
The modern authors whom I shall have to quote as illustrating the history of Martin Behaim are very numerous. Foremost among them are Alexander von Humboldt, Cardinal D. Francisco de S. Luiz Saraiva,(18) Dr. Arthur Breusing,(19) Ernesto do Canto,(20) Oscar Peschel,(21) Dr. Sophus Ruge,(22) Dr. F. von Wieser,9(23) Harry Harrisse,(24) Eugen Gelcich,(25) and Hermann Wagner.(26)
I shall now mention the biographies of Martin Behaim which have been published up to this time.
Passing over the worthless biographic notice in the `Bohemia docta' of Bohuslav Balbinus,(27) published posthumously in 1776, the frivolous panegyric of J. Chr. Wagenseil,(28) and the equally worthless publications of his blind followers, which are dealt with at some length in c. IX, the earliest biographer deserving to be mentioned is Joh. Gabriel Doppelmayr,(29) the author of `Historische Nachrichten von den Nürnbergischen Mathematicis und Künstlern' (Nurnb., 1730). He, too, accepts Wagenseil's gross perversion of historic truth, but we are beholden to him for the first facsimile of the globe, which, though on a small scale, is accompanied by copies of the most important of its legends. Christoph Gotlieb von Murr's(30) `Diplomatische Geschichte des portugiesischen berühmten Ritters Martin Behaims' (Nürnb., 1773, 2nd edition Gotha, 1801), is the work of a conscientious author, well qualified for his task by preceding historian and antiquarian researches. His work is largely based upon documents; the claims put forward by Wagenseil on the false assumption that they would redound to Behaim's honour, are finally refuted, and even though the author mistook the birth-year of Martin Behaim the father for that of the son-a most inexcusable error considering that he had free access to the family archives -his little book fully deserved the honour of being translated into French and Spanish.(31) It supplied weapons to those who, in after years, stood up for Columbus and Magellan, when their claims as "discoverers" were called in question. Sebastião Francisco de Mendo Trigozo,(32) the author of a `Memoria sobre Martin de Bohemia' (`Memorias de Litteratura Portugueza,' t. VIII., 1812; 2nd ed. Lisbon, 1856) is almost wholly dependent upon Murr for his facts.
After a long interval Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Ghillany,(33) a man of learning and from 1841-53 Chief Librarian of the Town Library at Nuremberg, presented us with a `Geschichte des Seefahrers Ritter Martin Behaim' (Nürnberg, 1853), an ambitious work, to which is prefixed an Essay by A. von Humboldt on the oldest maps of the new continent and the name `America,' and which is illustrated by what claims to be an "exact copy of Behaim's globe on its original scale." Ghillany did his work with much industry; he dealt with Behaim's life and controverted points of his history as fully as the materials at his command permitted, and it might be supposed that the last word had been spoken on the subject. Such, however, was not the case, as is proved by Dr. Siegmund Günther's(34) `Martin Behaim' (Bamberg, 1890), which made known new documents which shed much light upon certain periods of Behaim's history, and thus produced a work at once popular and indispensable to the student of history. The account which Lucien Gallois renders of Behaim's life and work,(35) as we have a right to expect from its gifted author, is instructive, but fails to shed fresh light upon subjects in dispute; the article in the `Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie,' by J. Löwenberg(36) is disappointing, if not worthless, and it seems a pity that this biography was not entrusted to a more painstaking writer; whilst A. Reichenbach's `Martin Behaim, ein deutscher Seefahrer' (Leipzig, 1869) may be a good `Volksbuch,' but cannot be appealed to as an authority.
In the work which I now venture to present to the public I shall deal with sufficient fulness with Martin Behaim's private life, his supposed scientific attainments and his voyage along the coast of Africa, and I shall give equal attention to a full description of his globe, which is still preserved at Nuremberg, and which, whatever its defects, is one of the most valuable and interesting geographical monuments of the age immediately preceding the discovery of America. This globe, up till now, has not been fairly dealt with. Its legends, indeed, have in part been quoted and a few of its geographical names, but no real facsimile of it has ever been published, still less have the authorities been traced and analysed upon whom its delineation of the earth's surface is based. The facsimile which I now present to the public may not be the best that could have been produced, but it is at all events on the scale of the original, and contains all its legends, names and miniatures not to be found in any of the pseudo-facsimiles published hitherto. In my work I also deal in some detail with the materials available in 1492 for compiling a map of the known world, thus enabling the reader to form some judgment of the skill with which the cartographers of that period have availed themselves of the materials which were at their disposal.(37)
In conclusion I feel it my duty to express my thanks to a number of gentlemen who have kindly given me their assistance. At Nuremberg my thanks are especially due to the Barons F. and W. Behaim, who not only allowed me to take photographs of the globe, of the portrait of their kinsman, and of a letter written by him, but also permitted to be printed from an original block by Albert Dürer a design of their coat of arms. They likewise afforded to myself and my kind friend, Professor M. J. Rackl, repeated opportunities for examining the globe. Facilities for research were most courteously granted me by Dr. G. von Bezold, Director of the Germanic Museum, Dr. E. Mummenhof, Keeper of the City Records, and Dr. E. Reicke, city librarian. Dr. G. von Laubmann, Director of the Royal Library at Munich, and Sr. Gabriel Pereira, of the Bibliotheca Nacional, have most readily responded to my numerous inquiries for information. Dr. K. R. Scheppig, Director of the Anthropological Museum at Kiel, has generously placed at my service valuable information collected by himself for a work on Behaim upon which he is engaged. M. G. A. Marcel, Keeper of Maps at the Bibliothèque nationale at Paris, has afforded me every facility for making a copy of the real facsimile of Behaim's globe in his charge. Among many others my thanks are due more especially to Sr. Raphael Eduardo de Azevedo Basto, chief of the Torre do Tombo, Consul-general H. Daenhardt, and my friend Captain E. J. de Carvalho e Vasconcellos at Lisbon; the family of Count Mirbach of Schloss Harff, D. Jules Mees, Professor Albrecht Penck, Dr. Henry Vignaud and others.
(1) Dr. Hartmann Schedel (b. 1440, d. 1514) was an indefatigable collector of codices and inscriptions. He settled at Nuremberg in 1484. His library was sold in 1552 to Hans Jacob Fugger of Augsburg, and the bulk of it is now in the R. Library at Munich (R. Stauber, über die Schedel'sche Bibliothek in H. Grauert's `Studien u. Darstellungen a. d. Geb. d. Gesch.,' VI., 1908). His famous chronicle was published in 1493. back
(2) Joh. Christ. Gatterer, a distinguished historian and geographer, was born at Lichtenau, near Nuremberg, in 1727. He died 1799. back
(3) `Mem. de Litt. Port.,' VIII., 1812. 2nd ed., 1856, p. 365. back
(4) Ghillany, P. III. Kunstmann was born at Nuremberg, took Holy Orders, and died 1867. He is the author of `Die Entdeckung Amerikas' (Munich, 1859), and of several papers dealing with the history of Portuguese explorations. back
(5) On Reinhardtstöttner (b. 1847) see Manuel Bernaldes Branco, `Portugal e os Estraneiros' (Lisbon, 1879), with portrait. back
(6) Published by E. do Canto, `Arch. dos Açores,' IX., p. 195. back
(7) Ruy de Pina's `Chroniqua do Rey D. Joham II.' was first published in the `Collecçao de Livros ineditos,' t. II. (Lisbon, 1792). The author was Chronista mór of Portugal and Chief Keeper of the Torre do Tombo. He enjoyed the confidence of Kings John II., Manuel and John III., and died 1521. Garcia de Resende's `Chronica do Rey Dom Ioam o II.' was printed at Evora in 1554. Both chroniclers were present at the King's death. back
(8) His brother Michael wrote to J. Pock on November 12, 1518, that Martin Behaim, "when young, was much liked by the old King (John II.), but how his affairs ended when he grew old you may know better than I" (Ghillany, p. 112). back
(9) Valentin Ferdinand was at first associated with Nicholas of Saxony. Among other works he printed a `Livro das Viagens de Marco Polo' (1502). His accounts of Portuguese explorations are now in the Royal Library of Munich (Cod. Hisp., Cl. I., 27). The more interesting of the accounts referred to have been published by J. A. Schmeller, F. Kunst- mann, Gabriel Pereira, and S. Ruge (`Abh. d. phil. Cl. d. Akad. d. Wiss.,' Munich, IV., VIII., IX.; `Bol. da Soc. de Geographia,' Lisbon, XVII.; `Revista Portug. Col. e Maritima,' Lisbon, 1900, Nos. 32-36; `27 Jahresb. d. Vereins f. Erdk.,' Dresden, 1901). A letter, describing a rhinoceros which Garcia de Noronha had brought from India in 1513, was written by Ferdinand to his "friends" at Nuremberg and is published by Count Angelo de Gubernatis (`Storia dei Viaggiatori Italiani,' Livorna, 1875, p. 389). An engraving of this rhinoceros by Albert Dürer is to be found at the British Museum (Add. MSS. 5220, f. 19). Ferdinand was a squire (escudeiro) of Queen Leonor and (since 1503) official broker (corretor) of the German merchants. back
(10) Duarte Pacheco Pereira was born at Lisbon in 1450, served on the Guinea coast, 1482-83, went out to India with Cabral in 1500, and again with Affonso de Albuquerque in 1503; returned to Lisbon in July, 1505; was governor of S. Jorge da Mina, 1520-22, and died 1533. He wrote his `Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis' after 1505. It was published only in 1892 with an introduction by Raphael Eduardo de Azevedo Basto, Keeper of Records at the Torre do Tombo. back
(11) Carlo Amoretti, a learned priest, was born at Oneglia in 1741, was appointed head of the Ambrosian Library at Milan, and died in 1816. The `Primo viaggio intorno al globo terraqueo' was published in 1800. back
(12)`Géographie du moyen âge,' t. II., p. 137 (Brussels, 1852). Lelewel was born at Warsaw in 1786, had to fly Poland after the insurrection of 1830, and died in Paris in 1864. back
(13) Conrad Celtes, or Pickel, a peasant's son, was born at Wipfeld in 1459, won fame as a poet, patriot, geographer, and champion of Humanism. He died 1508. His `De origine, situ, moribus et institutis Norimbergae libellus' (1495) was dedicated to the City Council, who awarded him 8 gulden (£4) as an honorarium, which he returned in disgust, whereupon the Council in 1502 sent him 20 gulden. On Celtes see B. Hartmann `Konrad Celtes in Nürnberg' (Nürnb., 1889), and L. Gallois, `Les Géographes allemands de la Renaissance' (Paris, 1890), pp. 173-180, where his merits as a geographer are dealt with. back
(14) Hieronymus Müntzer was a native of Feldkirch in Vorarlberg, studied medicine at Pavia, and settled at Nuremberg in 1478. When Nuremberg was invaded by the plague in August, 1494, he fled the town and started upon a tour which, in November, brought him to Portugal. At Evora (November 16-26) he was introduced to King John and dined four times at the Royal table. He again left Lisbon on December 2, 1494, and was back at Nuremberg on April 15, 1495. He died in 1508. See Schmeller (`Abh. d. bayr. Ak.,' 1847), and Kunstmann (ib., 1855). Dr. G. von Laubmann, who examined Müntzer's MSS. in the Munich Library, informed Dr. Harrisse (`The Discovery of North America,' p. 397) that the name of Behaim is not to be found in them. back
(15) João de Barros was born at Vizeu in 1496, was appointed governor of Elmina in 1522, and held the post of treasurer of the India House from 1532-63. He died in 1570. His official position gave him access to documents no longer available. Decada I., which alone concerns us, was published at Lisbon in 1552. back
(16) Pigafetta was born at Florence in 1480, came to Spain in 1519, and after his return from the first voyage round the world, returned to Italy in 1434. Ramusio, in 1536, first published an account of his voyage. back
(17) Gaspar Fructuoso, S.J., was born at Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel, of wealthy parents, studied at Salamanca and was appointed parish priest of Ribeira grande, S. Miguel, where he died in 1591. His `Saudadas' were utilized by Antonio Cordeiro, S.J. (b. at Angra, Terceira, 1641, died at Lisbon 1722) in a `Historia insulana' (Lisbon, 1717). Manuel Pinheiro Chagas, `Os descobrimentos Portuguezes e os de Colombus' (Lisbon, 1892), p. 164, speaks of this Cordeiro as "one of those historians who think it allowable to state what they know to be false as long as it redounds to the glory of their country." back
(18) `Obras completas do Cardeal Saraiva' (Lisbon, 1875), t. V., pp. 180-3, 190-200, originally written in 1841. back
(19) A. Breusing was born at Osnabrück. From 1850 to his death in 1892, he was director of the Navigation School at Bremen (Wolkenhauer in `Verh. d. Ges. f. Erdk.' 1892): `Geogr. Jahrbuch,' XVI., 1893, p. 478). back
(20) `Archivo dos Azores,' 1878-94. back
(21) Oscar Peschel, one of the most fertile and original writers on geography, was born at Dresden, 1826; was appointed Professor of Geography at Leipzig University, and died there in 1875. back
(22) S. Ruge, one of the foremost authorities on the history of geographi- cal exploration, author of `Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen' (Berlin, 1881), was born at Dorum in 1831, held the post of Professor of Geography at the Technical High School at Dresden, and died there in 1903. back
(23) Wieser was born at Kufstein in 1840 and is Professor of Geography at the University of Innsbruck. back
(24) Harrisse, the author of numerous fundamental works dealing with Columbus and the discovery of America, was born in 1830, and is still indefatigably engaged upon his fruitful researches. back
(25) Gelcich, formerly director of the Nautical School at Lussinpiccolo, was born in 1854. back
(26) H. Wagner, Professor of Geography in the University, Göttingen, and the foremost authority on the History of Maps, was born at Erlangen in 1840. back
(27) B. Balbinus, S.J., was born at Königgrätz in 1621 and died at Prague in 1688. His `Bohemia docta,' edited by Raphaele Unger, was published in 1776. back
(28) Wagenseil, a man of much learning and great reputation, born 1633 at Nuremberg, died 1705. back
(29) Doppelmayr was born at Nuremberg, 1671, and died 1759. back
(30) Murr, the historian, antiquary and critic, was born at Nuremberg 1733, and died at Altdorf, 1811. back
(31) The French translation was made by H. J. Jansen, and was published in the `Recueil des Pièces intéressantes concernant les Antiquités, les Beaux-Arts, les Belles-Lettres, et la Philosophie,' t. I. et II. (Paris, 1727). It was reprinted in 1801, as an appendix to a French translation of Amoretti's edition of Pigafetta. A third edition, revised by Murr himself, was published in 1802 at Strassburg and Paris. The Spanish translation is by D. Cristobal Cladera (`Investigaciones historicas,' Madrid, 1796, pp. 173-218). back
(32) S. F. de Mendo Trigozo wrote in 1812. back
(33) Ghillany was born at Erlangen in 1807 and died in 1876. Already in 1842 he had published a pamphlet, `Der Erdglobus des Martin Behaim vom J. 1492, u. der des Johann Schoener vom J. 1520,' with a reduced facsimile of the Western Hemisphere by Heideloff, a drawing master. back
(34) S. Günther, Professor of Geography at the Technical High School of Munich, is one of the great authorities on mathematical and historical geography. He was born at Nürnberg in 1848. back
(35) `Les géographes allemands de la renaissance' (Paris, 1890), pp. 25-37. L. Gallois, Professor at the École normale supérieure at Paris, was b. 1857. back
(36) J. Löwenberg, a writer on the history of geographic exploration, was born at Strzelno (Posen), and died at Berlin, 1853. back
(37) The present work supersedes as a matter of course the author's essay, `Martin de Bohemia,' 8vo, pp. 68, published in the `Bibliotheca da Revista Portugueza colonial e maritima,' Lisbon, 1900. back
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