The Laon Globe, 14--
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THE GLOBE.
MARTIN BEHAIM'S stay at Nuremberg in 1490-96 is memorable for the production of a globe with which his name is identified, and which has secured for him a place in the history of geography. Globes in his age, and even earlier, were by no means unknown. Giovanni Campano, a distinguished mathematician of Novara, who flourished in the time of Pope Urban IV. (1261-64), wrote a `Tractatus de Sphera solida,' in which he describes the manufacture of globes of wood or metal.(1) Toscanelli, when writing his famous letter in 1474, refers to a globe as being best adapted for demonstrating the erroneous hypothesis as to the small distance which he supposed to separate the west of Europe from Eastern Asia. Columbus, too, had a globe on board his vessel upon which was depicted Cipangu,(2) and which may have been the work of his brother Bartholomew, who, according to Las Casas, produced charts as well as globes. But only two globes of a date anterior to the discovery of the New World remain to us, namely, that still preserved at Nuremberg, and a smaller one at the Dépôt des planches et cartes de la marine, Paris.
The latter, known as the "Laon Globe" because M. Léon Leroux picked it up, in 1860, in a curiosity shop of that town, has been described by M. d'Avezac (`Bull. de la Soc. de Géographie,' XX., 1860). It is of copper gilt. Its diameter is 170 mm., and it seems originally to have formed part of an astronomical clockwork. The design of this globe dates back to a period even anterior to the age of Prince Henry the Navigator, but as the names "S. Thomas" and "Mons Niger" [Cão's "furthest" in 1485], and the legend "Hucusq: Portugalen: navigio: pervenere: 1493" are to be read upon it, it has been supposed that this globe, notwithstanding its antiquated geographical features, is in reality no older than the year named. I am not prepared to accept this explanation; I am rather inclined to think that the above legend was added long after the completion of the globe, this being a cheap and ready means of bringing it up to date, a proceeding by no means unknown among modern map publishers. But however this may be, this "Laon Globe" is too small to enter into competition with the fine globe produced at Nuremberg in 1492.
We are indebted to the public spirit and the interest taken in geographical discoveries by the chief magistrates of Nuremberg for the production of the globe now under review. The idea of executing such a work was proposed to Martin Behaim by the three "chief captains" or "triumviri" of the Imperial city. They appear to have done so at the suggestion of George Holzschuher, a member of the City Council, who had visited Egypt and the Holy Land in 1470. As a far-travelled man he may thus be supposed to have taken an interest in geographical matters, an interest enhanced by the discoveries reported to have been made by the Portuguese, and their commercial advantages, of which members of his family at a later period fully availed themselves. At all events, George Holzschuher(3) was entrusted by the City Council with the supervision of the work, and in the legend surrounding the city arms, his "help and advice" in producing the globe are acknowledged.
With regard to Behaim's qualification for the task committed to him, I shall have much to say in a future chapter. I may, however, state at once that I agree with Oscar Peschel,(4) who calls him a "cosmographical dilettante." It is quite possible, nay, probable, that Behaim took some interest in geographical subjects, that he may even have drawn maps, but we know nothing concerning him which would entitle us to describe him as a "great cosmographer" or an innovator in applied astronomy. His utter failure to portray the results of contemporary Portuguese discoveries upon his globe seems to me to be conclusive in that respect. I would rather class him with a man like Richard Thorne, an English merchant residing at Seville, who in 1527 sent a map illustrating the progress of Portuguese and Spanish discoveries to Dr. Edward Leigh, the ambassador of Henry VIII., for the "rudeness" of which Hakluyt apologises on the ground that "the knowledge of cosmography among, our merchants not having been as great then as it now is."(5)
We are happily in a position to follow the mechanical production of the globe through all its stages, for the accounts rendered by George Holzschuher to the town council have been preserved and have been published by Dr. J. Petz, the secretary of the Nuremberg city archives.(6)
The production of the globe involved first the compilation of a map of the world as a guide for the artist employed in painting the globe; secondly, the manufacture of the globe, together with its accessories; thirdly, the transfer of the map to the globe.
The compilation of a "printed mappa mundi, which was used for the globe," naturally fell to the share of Behaim himself. It cost the town council only £1 3s. 7d.,(7) out of which 13s. 7d. was paid to Behaim himself (probably for expenses out of pocket) and l0s. to a limner. This map was subsequently mounted upon two panels, framed and varnished, at an additional expense of £1 1s. 4d. and hung up in the clerk's office (Kanzlei) of the town hall. Johann Schöner, in 1532, was paid £5 for "renovating" this map and for compiling a new one, recording the discoveries which had been made since the days of Behaim.
The manufacture of a hollow globe or sphere can hardly have presented any difficulty at Nuremberg, where the traditions of the workshop of Johann Müller (Regiomontanus),(8) who turned out celestial spheres, were still alive.
The mould or matrix of loam was prepared by a craftsman bearing the curious name of Glockengiesser - bell-founder. The spherical shell was the work of Kalperger. Having covered the mould with successive layers of paper, pasted together so as to form paste-board, he cut the shell into two hemispheres along the line of the intended Equator. The hemispheres were then taken off the mould, and the interior having been given stability by a skeleton of wooden hoops,(9) they were again glued together so as to revolve on an iron axis, the ends of which passed through the two poles. The sphere was then coated with whiting, upon which was laid the vellum which was to bear the design. The vellum was cut into segments resembling the gores of a modern globe, and fitted the sphere most admirably. A smith supplied two iron rings to serve as meridian and horizon, a joiner a stand, and there was provided a lined cover as a protection against dust. All this only cost £3 7s. 7d., of which £1 was paid for the mould, £1 10s. 0d. to Kalperger, 3s. 2d. for vellum; 5s. for the iron rings; a like sum for the stand, and 4s. 5d. for the cover. Kalperger, however, was not paid the 3 gulden which he claimed for making the shell; for he had been given the linen of a tent which had sheltered the "beautiful fountain" (during repairs); he had moreover broken the first mould which Glockengiesser had made, and lastly he had promised to forgo his claim if Behaim would teach him "cosmography and the laying out (austeilen) of the sphere."(10)
In 1510 the iron meridian was displaced by one of brass, the work (as suggested by Murr, p. 19) of Johann Werner, the astronomer, for which £4 10s. was paid. The wooden stand was superseded about the same time by an elegant tripod of iron.
The important duty of transferring the map to the surface of the globe and illuminating it was entrusted to Glockenthon.(11) This artist spent fifteen weeks over this work, for which he was paid £7.(12) In addition to this his wife was awarded 10s., and both were supplied with dinners at an additional expense of at most 10s., though wine and beer were included.
All in all, and including Kalperger's claim, this fine work of art cost the city no more than £13 17s.
For over a hundred years the globe stood in one of the upper reception rooms of the town hall, but in the beginning of the sixteenth century it was claimed by and surrendered to Baron Behaim.(13) This was fortunate, for had it remained, uncared for, in the town hall it might have shared the fate of so many other "monuments" of geographical interest, the loss of which the living generation has been fated to deplore. In November 1907 the globe was removed from Baron W. Behaim's family mansion in the Egydienplatz to the Germanic Museum.
The globe, in its pristine condition, with its bright colours and numerous miniatures, must have delighted the eyes of a beholder. In the course of time, however, the once brilliant colours darkened or faded, parts of the surface were rubbed off, many of the names became illegible or disappeared altogether. The mechanician Karl Bauer, who, aided by his son Johann Bernhard, repaired the globe in 1823, declared to Ghillany, that it had become very friable (mürbe), and that he found it difficult to keep it from falling into pieces. In his opinion it could not last much longer.(14) Yet the globe has survived, and its condition seems in no manner worse than it was when it was under treatment by the Bauers. Indeed, on examining the globe, a beholder may feel surprise at the brightness of much of the lettering. This, however, is due to the action of the "renovators," who were let loose upon the globe in 1823, and again in 1847; who were permitted to work their will without the guidance of a competent geographer, and, as is the custom of the tribe, have done irreparable mischief. As a result numerous place-names have been corrupted past recognition, and Dr. Scheppig is quite right when he maintains that if we desire to recover the original nomenclature of the globe we must deal with it as a palimpsest. Such a process, however, might lead to the destruction of the globe, whilst the result possibly to be achieved would hardly justify running such a risk.
The globe has a circumference of 1,595 mm., and consequently a diameter of 507 mm., or 20 inches. Only two great circles are laid down upon it, viz., the Equator, divided into 360 degrees, and the Ecliptic studded with the signs of the Zodiac. The Tropics, the Arctic and the Antarctic circles, are likewise shown. The only meridian, is drawn from Pole to Pole 80° to the west of Lisbon. The sea is coloured a dark blue, the land a bright brown or buff with patches of green and silver, representing forests and regions supposed to be buried beneath perennial ice and snow. Perhaps the most attractive feature of the globe consists of 111 miniatures, for which we are indebted to Glockenthon's clever pencil. The vacant space within the Antarctic circle is occupied by a fine design of the Nuremberg eagle with the virgin's head, associated with which are the arms of the three chief captains by whose authority the globe was made, namely, Paul Volckamer, Gabriel Nützel and Nikolaus Groland, of Behaim and Holzschuher. There are in addition 48 flags (including 10 of Portugal) and 15 coats of arms, all of them showing the heraldic colours. The miniatures illustrate a great variety of subjects. Forty-eight among them show us kings seated within tents or upon thrones; full-length portraits are given of four Saints (St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Matthew and St. Iago), of missionaries instructing natives and of travellers. Eleven vessels float upon the sea, which is peopled by fishes, seals, sea-lions, sea-cows, sea-horses, sea-serpents, mermen and a mermaid. The land animals include elephants, leopards, bears, camels, ostriches, parrots, and serpents. Among the animals represented we miss flying fish and whales, which Behaim must have observed even if he got no further than the Gulf of Guinea. Even more curious is Behaim's faulty representation of the Portuguese arms. Such a mistake may be forgiven to Italians like Bartholomeu di Pareto (1455) or Nicolas de Canerio (1502), but Behaim had resided for years in Portugal and had repeatedly sailed in Portuguese ships.(15) The only fabulous beings which are represented among the miniatures are a merman and a mermaid near the Cape Verde lslands, and two Sciapodes in central South Africa, but syrens, satyrs and men with dogs' heads are referred to in some of the legends. Nor do we meet with the "Iudei clausi," or with a "garden of Eden," still believed in by Columbus. This is a commendable forbearance in an age which still rejoiced in "mirabilia."
The globe is crowded with over 1,100 place names and numerous legends in black, red, gold or silver. The author has not always been happy in the selection of these names. Even in Germany we miss such names as Hamburg, Lübeck, Antwerp, Brügge, Cologne and Frankfurt. Another curious omission is that of the island of Malta, which is likewise omitted by Giovanni Leardo (1448) and Waldseemüller (1507). A peculiar feature is the uncalled-for duplication of many place names. footnote
(1) Fiorini, `Sferi terrestri e celesti di autore Italiani' (Rome, 1899), p.40. M. Fiorini was born at Felizzaro in 1827 and died 1901 at Bologna, where he was Professor of Geography. back
(2) Journal, September 24, 1492. back
(3) George Holzschuher was a member of the City Council from 1484 to 1514. He died in 1526. back
(4) `Zeitalter der Entdeckungen,' 1877, p. 486. back
(5) R. Hakluyt, `Divers Voyages,' 1582, republished by the Hakluyt Society in 1850. back
(6) `Mittheilungen d. Ver. f. d. Gesch. d. Stadt Nürnberg,' Heft VI., 1886, pp. 168, 170, 172, reprinted with a translation in Appendix VII. back
(7) The gulden Rhenish contained 8 lb. 12 heller, and was worth about 10s. back
(8) Regiomontanus, `Epytoma in almagestum ptholemaei' (Venice, 1496), describes the manner of making these globes. back
(9) Ghillany, p. 73, mentioned these hoops. He depended for this information upon Karl Bauer. back
(10) Dr. Günther (`Erd- und Himmelsgloben von M. Fiorini bearb. von S. Günther,' p. 27) would have us look upon this Kalperger as the "Forefather of the guild of German globe-makers," but surely that honour, as far as Nuremberg is concerned, is due rather to Johann Müller. back
(11) No doubt George Glockendon, sen., a well-known illuminator, who is the author of a road map (`Das ist der Romweg') and, jointly with Erhard Etzlaub, a well-known mathematician and maker of sundials, of a map of the environs of Nuremberg. He died in 1514. back
(12) Or at the rate of about 1s. 6d. a day. The "writers" employed at Venice, in 1457-8, in copying Fra Mauro's map for the King of Portugal were paid 120-140 soldi or 1s. to 1s. 2d. (Zurla, p. 84). back
(13) 3 See J. Müllner's `Annalen.' back
(14) Ghillany, p. 73. back
(15) Compare the coat of arms p. 21, with that of the globe. back
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