Globes of the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century
Certain striking tendencies exhibited in the matter of
globe making in this period.--The Gottorp
globes.--Weigel's globes.--Carlo Benci.--Amantius
Moroncelli.--Castlemaine's immovable globe.--The armillary
of Treffler.--Armillary sphere of Gian Battista
Alberti.--The numerous globes of P. Vincenzo
Coronelli.--Certain anonymous globes of the
period.--Joannes Maccarius.--Jos. Antonius Volpes.--Vitale
Giordani.--George Christopher Eimmart.--Giuseppe
Scarabelli.--Giovanni Battista.--Joseph Moxon.--The
Chinese globes of Peking.
Among the globes constructed in the second half of the seventeenth
century there were none which surpassed in scientific value, if indeed
any equaled, those sent out from the workshops of the Netherland masters
in the first half. The work of P. Vincenzo Coronelli, the Venetian monk,
crowns the period. His abilities were of a high order, and entitle him
to a place among the world's great map and globe makers, but the traces
of his influence seem not to be so pronounced as were those of his
immediate northern predecessors.
The period was one which lent encouragement to some extravagance in
globe making. The earliest of those constructed in the post-Columbian
years, as has been noted, were of small size, but before the close of
the sixteenth century we occasionally find one of large dimensions, as,
for example, that of the great Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Blaeu's
globes of the year 1622 were thought to be of extraordinary size, but
the half century here under consideration furnishes us with examples of
globes having gigantic proportions, globes such, for example, as would
have pleased the Greek geographer, Strabo,[61] who thought that one to
be of value should have a diameter of at least ten feet. The Gottorp
globe, the globes of Weigel, the Coronelli globes constructed for Louis
XIV, were not such as would lend themselves to easy duplication,
certainly not as to size, ranging as they did from about nine to fifteen
feet. Of real value they possessed but little. They were interesting
mechanical curiosities, representing a tendency in globe construction
which might be referred to as the ultrapractical. In the following
century we find the opposite extreme exemplified in what were known as
pocket globes.
The so-called Gottorp globe, constructed in the years 1654-1664, at the
instance of Duke Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, we may refer to as the
first one of importance of the period, as it was one of the largest,
being, however, rather an object[62] of interest by reason of its
peculiar construction, than one of great scientific importance for the
study of astronomy and geography. This globe, about eleven feet in
diameter, was prepared by Andreas Busch of Limberg under the direction
of Adam Oelschläger (Olearius)[63] (1599-1671), Duke Frederick's
librarian and court mathematician. The world map on the outer surface of
the sphere included a record of the recent discoveries according to the
most reliable sources of information. It was furnished with a brass
meridian circle, and within this it was so adjusted as to make one
revolution every twenty-four hours. The pole elevation could not be
altered, it being permanently set for the latitude of Gottorp, that is,
for latitude 54° 30'. Its horizon circle was broad, and served as a
platform upon which an observer might walk, he being thus enabled to
examine the terrestrial map to the best advantage. A door was provided
which could be opened and closed, permitting not less than twelve
persons to enter the sphere at one time. On its inner surface was
represented the entire expanse of the sky with the several
constellations properly located, having their figures carefully
outlined; the several stars being placed according to calculation for
the year 1700, and each star was gilded that it might the more easily be
seen. From the inner axis was suspended a circular gallery or platform
from which the machine could be set in motion, and from which, as
representing the horizon, one might observe the rising and the setting
of the stars. The whole interior was lighted by two small lamps. At the
center of the sphere, the inner surface of which, as stated above,
represented the starry heavens, was placed a small ball, about 15 cm. in
diameter, representing the earth. The great globe, driven by water
power, was therefore made to appear to revolve around this central
terrestrial globe. A representation of the sun, made of glass, had its
own proper motion along the circle of the ecliptic, and a representation
of the moon likewise was made to move in its own proper course. This
globe, in the year 1713, was presented by the grandson of Duke Frederick
to Czar Peter the Great of Russia.
A note in the Royal Geographical Journal refers to this as a
seventeenth-century globe, adding in substance that the St. Petersburg
Academy of Sciences has lately installed at Tsarskoe Selo this large
globe, weighing some three and one half tons, constructed in the
seventeenth century for Duke Frederick of Holstein, under the
superintendence of Olearius, the astronomer and traveler. On its
completion it was placed in the castle of Gottorp, from which fact it
became known as the Gottorp globe. It was presented to the Academy in
the year 1725 and up to the present has remained in the Zoölogical
Museum.[64]
Information has been kindly given by the director of the National Museum
of Copenhagen that an exceedingly fine armillary sphere (Fig. 104) may
be found in the Museum of National History in the Friedricksborg Castle.
From the catalogue of this institution we learn that it was
constructed in the year 1657 by Andreas Busch, under the guidance of
Adam Olearius, for Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. As will be noted
from the illustration it is an elaborately constructed piece of
mechanism. What we may term the globe proper is composed of six great
circles on which are the fixed constellations, having the several stars
represented in silver. Through the mechanism passes a steel bar which
carries a ball of brass representing the sun, which is at the center of
the complicated system of circles. Around the sun are six circles of
brass representing the orbits of the planets each carrying a small
silver angel. That part of the mechanism which represents the equator
and the zodiac is calculated to make one revolution in 25,000 years. In
the base of the globe has been placed the clockwork by which the several
movements of circles and planets are effected, and time is told by the
striking of hours and quarters. Topping the piece is a small armillary
sphere representing the Ptolemaic system.
[Illustration: Fig. 104. The Gottorp Armillary Sphere, 1657.]
We are likewise informed that in the National Museum's collections may
be found a celestial globe which is attributed to Petrus Theodorus. It
is of gilded brass, having a diameter of 24 cm., and while undated
presumably is of the last quarter of the seventeenth century. The globe
ball is supported by a bronze figure of Atlas, the whole standing 86 cm.
in height. Tycho Brahe is the accredited authority for the
representation of the several fixed stars.
Erhard Weigel (1625-1699)[65] has place among the globe makers of the
period as one who sought to reform, and, in some measure, to popularize
both astronomical and geographical science, particularly the former,
applying his own inventive ability to that end in the matter of globe
construction. In this he appears to have been rather more ingenious than
practical. He seems to have achieved special distinction in his day as
theologian, philosopher, astrologer, and mathematician.
Weigel was a native of the Rhenish Palatinate. Under many difficulties,
on account of the poverty of the family, he acquired the necessary
educational training for admission into the University of Halle. Here he
soon found himself in favor with Professor Bartholemeus Schimpfer,[66]
who was counted one of the leading astrologers of the time. In addition
to the youthful student's general duties as secretary to the professor,
there was assigned to him the task of calendar making. This was a task
which especially appealed to him, and he soon had a following, as a
tutor, among those students who like himself found the astrological
science one of absorbing interest. Led by the fact that students from
the University of Leipzig came to him for instruction, he transferred
his residence from Halle to this University, thinking thereby to improve
his opportunities for mathematical studies. Here he continued his
astrological work, not so much, it appears, because of a genuine belief
in the practical value of the science, as such; the rather because he
found in its pursuit a good source of income.[67] His theological bent
soon led him to a conclusion that the science of astrology rested upon a
very unsubstantial foundation. "If God be the creator and supporter of
the universe, what an insignificant part," thought he, "can the stars
play in determining the destiny of the individual."
In the year 1654 he became a professor of mathematics in the University
of Jena and sprang immediately into favor as a lecturer.[68] Naturalism,
as heralded in his day, appealed to him and he became an outspoken
opponent of the Latinists and of the Scholastics. When his knowledge of
mathematics failed him he was inclined to resort to theology as a
subject furnishing endless themes and illustrative material. From his
early belief in astrology he turned to astronomy, but he remained a
visionary, making some contribution to the science but none of lasting
value. He appears to have been particularly distressed over the heathen
names of the several constellations and the figures which so long had
been employed to represent them, regarding such representations as
sacrilegious and wholly unworthy the great inventive genius of man. All
this he wished to have swept from the heavens, proposing to substitute
for the same the coats of arms of the ruling houses of Europe.[69] For
Ursa Major he proposed the name Elephas with the figure of the Danish
elephant, for Orion the name Aquila biceps and the Austrian double
eagle, for Hercules the name Eques cum districto gladio and the insignia
of Poland, for Leo the name tria Castella cum Aureo Vellere and the
insignia of Spain, for Erichthonius the name Lilia tria and the insignia
of France, for Lyra the name Citharae and the insignia of Britain,
running thus through the entire list. In assigning his new names to the
constellations he endeavored, in so far as possible, to assign them to
such relative position in the heavens as the respective countries or
houses occupied on earth.
In one of his publications[70] Weigel describes his several mechanical
devices, including his globes, to which he refers as "Globus Mundanus,"
"Viceglobus," "Globus coelestis perpetuus," and "Geocosmus," the latter
being referred to by the author as a useful terrestrial globe, which
exhibits not only all countries, but the time of the day and of the year
in all localities; also the wind and the rain and volcanic eruptions.
Coronelli gives a brief description of the same, which he calls a
"Pancosmo, o Mondo Universale," from which, in the main, the following
is taken.[71]
This machine, he says, has a circumference of thirty-two feet, being
constructed in the form of an armillary sphere. On its surface the stars
are represented, each in its proper size and place, and Coronelli,
perhaps indirectly quoting Weigel's own opinion of his production, notes
its real superiority to nature, for he states that the stars, as
represented, can be seen at all hours of the day and night and as well
in sunshine or rain. This "Pancosmo" was made to appear, in its
mounting, as if standing or resting on the clouds, the whole being
supported by two statues each eight feet in height, the one
representing Hercules and the other Athene. Through a door, which was
practically invisible, the great sphere could be entered by a
considerable number of persons at one time, and be enjoyed by them,
implies Coronelli, some standing and some sitting. It was so arranged
within that when one half of the celestial sphere was lighted the other
half remained in darkness, the revolution of the sphere giving a
representation of the rising and the setting of the stars. At the center
was placed a small terrestrial globe within which was a reservoir; this
could be made to serve in a representation of the subterranean fires
which issued, at times most opportune, from the craters of volcanoes
represented, such as Vesuvius and Aetna in the south of Italy, others in
the East Indian Islands and still others in America. "They give out
steam, flames, and pleasant odors," says Coronelli, "which please the
spectators." By means of a screen and lantern it was made possible to
represent the inhabitants of any country desired, moving about as in
actual life, even "the antipodes," says the author, "with heads downward
and feet upward." At pleasure a breeze could be made to blow from any
desired quarter, meteors could be made to flit across the sky; rain- and
hailstorms, lightning and thunder, could be imitated. On the surface of
the terrestrial globe were represented the several countries of the
earth, likewise the several seas. Coronelli notes that which Weigel
seems to have regarded an especially commendable feature, the grouping
of the stars into new constellations, which grouping was particularly
designed to aid the memory. This of all the large globes constructed in
the period seems especially to have represented the ultrapractical, and
we have no knowledge that it was ever regarded in any other light than
as a great mechanical wonder. The final disposition of this "Pancosmo"
is unknown. Günther doubts that globes such as Weigel proposed to
construct are still in existence. He, however, refers to a globe in the
collection of the Germanisches Museum which exhibits the constellations
somewhat after Weigel's plan.
That a certain preference manifested itself in Italy, during the greater
part of the sixteenth century, and among certain individuals interested
in geographical and astronomical matters, in engraved metal globes or in
globes with manuscript maps, has been previously noted. An argument
frequently advanced in opposition to that favoring the use of printed
maps was that the manuscript globe could the more easily be made of
large size, indeed could easily be made of any desirable size. The later
years of the seventeenth century furnish us with excellent examples in
proof that a preference for such globes lingered in certain circles in
the peninsula.
Carlo Benci (1616-1676), a Silvestrian monk, born in the Tuscan town of
Montepulciano, may be named as one of the foremost among the manuscript
globe makers of the period.[72] At the age of twenty-one he entered the
monastery of S. Benedetto of Fabriano, receiving in the ceremony
attending his admission the name D. Doroteo. One year later we find him
in the monastery of S. Giovanni in Montepulciano, and in the year 1652
in the convent of S. Stefano del Cacco of Rome, on entering which he
changed his name to D. Carlo Benci, we are told, attained to a place of
eminence among men of learning in Italy on account of his philosophical
and theological studies. In the year 1645 he was chosen for an
administrative office in his order, and later he successively became
sacristan, curate prior, and titular abbé of S. Bonifazio near Cingoli
in the Marche, retaining to the end of his life the headship of the
parish of S. Stefano.
To his fame as philosopher and theologian he seems to have added that of
expert cosmographer, winning through the wide extent of his interests
the special favor of Pope Clement X, who selected him as his spiritual
adviser. It must be noted, however, that his name nowhere appears
especially conspicuous among contemporary writers on philosophical,
theological or scientific subjects, and we have only the tangible
evidence of his cosmographical interests in a fine pair of globes
constructed in the year 1671, now belonging to Prince D. Camillo Massimo
of Rome.
These globes have a diameter of about 1 m. and still retain the greater
part of their original mounting, which, in each, consists of a meridian
circle (this in the terrestrial globe is modern) not graduated, within
which they are adjusted to revolve on their equatorial polar axes, of a
horizon band, likewise not graduated, being circular on the inner edge,
but octagonal on the outer, the whole being supported by four turned
legs joined by crossbars at their lower extremities. Both spheres are of
papier-mâché and are well preserved, the terrestrial having suffered
slightly more injury than the celestial. The spheres are covered with
somewhat irregular pieces of paper, though carefully matched, which are
yellow with age. On this paper surface the maps terrestrial and
celestial were drawn with a stylus.
On a plate attached to the terrestrial globe we find a dedication to
Pope Clement X, this being surmounted with a coat of arms of the Altieri
family, of which family Pope Clement was a member. This dedication
reads:
"Beatissimo Padre. Non si debbono questi due globi rappresentanti il
Cielo e la Terra da me con diligente studio composti consecrare ad altri
che alla S^{ta} V^{ra}, come quella, che dell' uno maneggia le Chiavi e
dell' altra regge lo Scettro. Considerava io, che l' Imperio di V^{ra}
Beatit^{ne} per non avere confini, che lo restringano, è contanto vasto,
che non può quasi essere da humano intendim^o compreso, poichè non ha la
Terra, nè monte, nè fiume, nè l'Oceano istesso, che i termini gli
prescriva, nè ha il Cielo, nè Asterismo, nè gruppo di stelle sì folto
che faccia sbarra et impedisca che l' autorità della S[=t]a V.[=r]a non
giunga alle porte dell' Empireo, che chiude e disserra a suo talento.
Quindi riflettendo io sopra l'ampiezza o per così dire incomprensibilità
del suo sacro Regno, per agevolare il suo conoscim^o mi disposi di
portare quasi in compendio de l' uno e l'altro orbe, cioè Celeste e
Terreno, in queste due moli di giro non ordinario la descritione dove
possa l'occhio con un semplice sguardo ravvisare ciò che non può la
nostra mente con la sua acutezza comprendere, e dove la S.[=t]a V.[=r]a,
sollevata tal' hora dal peso delle cure gravissime, possa rivolgere le
luci per contemplare la D. grandezza del suo Sacro dominio. Di qui spero
che V.[=r]a Beatitudine sia per gradire queste mie deboli fatiche, come di
un suddito che porta il carattere di suo servitore attuale, e che sia
per misurare dalla grandezza di queste Sfere l'eccesso delle
obbligazioni che le professo. E. qui augurandole l'età e gl' anni di
Nestore, le bacio humilmente prostrato a terra i Santissimi piedi.
"Di S. Stefano del Cacco di Roma li 28 di Dicembre 1671
"Di V.[=r]a Beatitudine.
"Hum^{mo} Devot^{mo} Oblig^{mo} serv^{re} e Suddito
"D. Carlo Benci Mona^{co} Silvestrino."[73]
"Most blessed Father. These two globes, which represent the heavens and
the earth, constructed by myself with painstaking industry, ought not to
be dedicated to any one but to Your Holiness, who with one hand controls
the keys and with the other wields the scepter. I reflect that the
empire of Your Holiness, having no boundaries to restrict it, is so vast
that it scarcely can be grasped by the human imagination, since earth
has not mountain, river, or even ocean that can set limits thereto; nor
is there sky, or planet, or star, or constellation so dense as to check
or hinder Your Holiness from reaching the gate of empyrean which You
open and shut at will. Reflecting therefore upon the expanse, and so to
speak, upon incomprehensibleness of Your Holiness' Empire, I determined,
with a view to furthering the knowledge of it to give a representation
of both worlds (that is of the celestial and of the terrestrial), much
reduced, as it were, upon these two spheres of no mean size, on which
the eye will be able at one glance to recognize what the human
intellect with all its powers is impotent to grasp; and over which Your
Holiness, when at times relieved from the pressure of overwhelming
responsibilities, will be able to cast your glance in order to view the
aforesaid vastness of Your Dominion.
"Wherefore I trust that Your Holiness will be inclined to accept these
my feeble labors, as those of a subject whose real capacity is that of
Your Holiness' servant, and that You may be willing to take the great
size of these globes as the measure of the vastness of the obligation
which I avow myself under to Your Holiness. And now wishing Your
Holiness the age and the years of Nestor, I humbly prostrate myself upon
the ground, and kiss Your Most Holy Feet.
"San Stefano del Cacco, Rome, 28, December 1671.
"Your Holiness' most humble, most devoted, and most
obliged servant and subject,
"Dom Carlo Benci
"Silvestrin monk."
Near this dedication is a portrait of the Pope, the subscription reading
"Clemens Decimus Pont. Max."
The terrestrial globe shows the parallels at intervals of ten degrees,
and the meridians at like intervals counting from that passing through
the Island of Ferro which has been taken as the prime meridian. The
polar circles, the tropics, and the ecliptic are made especially
prominent. Place names and legends are given either in Latin or in
Italian, some of the briefer legends taking note of geographical
discoveries of special importance, and clearly indicating that the
author was well informed on the progress of discovery.
The celestial globe has represented on its surface both the equator and
the ecliptic with their respective poles indicated; circles of latitude
and of longitude are omitted. The year 1600 was selected as the normal
year for recording the position of the stars, and a statement is made
noting the corrections becoming necessary by reason of the precession of
the equinoxes. Only the Ptolemaic constellations are given, and the
figures representing the same are very artistically drawn. The famous
star which appeared in the year 1572 and the position of numerous comets
are indicated, with the date of the appearance of each.
Until the year 1862 these globes were preserved in the Altieri Library,
when they were offered for sale and were purchased by Prince D. Camillo
Massimo, finding a place in his palace at the Villa Peretti.
If Benci, through his cosmographical studies, as well as through his
other studies, brought fame to himself and to his order of Silvestrin
monks, to Amantius Moroncelli, likewise a member of this order and a
contemporary, no less credit should be given for his achievements as a
maker of manuscript globes.[74] It has been noted that but one pair of
Benci's globes can now be located, but no less than ten constructed by
Moroncelli may today be found in Italian libraries and museums, most of
which possess both scientific and artistic value of a high order.
A pair of his earliest globes is in the possession of the Biblioteca di
S. Marco of Venice (Fig. 105). These were probably constructed as early
as the year 1672 for the monastery of Cassenesi, located on the Island
of S. Georgio Maggiore. The director of the S. Marco Library informs the
author[75] that they have a diameter of more than 2 m., and that through
want of proper care they are in a very bad state of preservation, being
so darkened with age as to render their maps quite illegible. On the
terrestrial globe there is a portrait, opposite which is a
representation of the coat of arms of a bishop. The celestial globe is
somewhat better preserved, having a title, only a part of which can be
deciphered, reading "In hoc coelesti globo adnotantur omnes stellae
fixae ad annum ... ac cometae," and concluding "Extruxit D. Silvester
Amantius Moroncellus Fabrianensis benedictinus sub congregationem
Silvestri Abbatis. Venetiis in Augustissima bibliotheca S. Georgii
Majoris...." The director of the library reads the date as 1683, others
have thought it to be 1672.
[Illustration: Fig. 105. Terrestrial Globe of Silvester Amantius
Moroncelli, 1672.]
In the Biblioteca Alessandrini of Rome may be found two manuscript
globes of Moroncelli, a terrestrial and a celestial, each having a
diameter of about 88 cm. These spheres are covered with paper gores
fashioned as are printed gore maps, eighteen in number, the polar space
being covered with semicircular sections, two in number for each pole.
On this paper covering the maps were drawn by hand. Each of the globes
is furnished with a brass meridian circle and a horizon circle of wood,
the whole being supported by a plane base. Under the portrait of Pope
Innocent XI is the following inscription: "Regnante Innocentio XI. Hos
cosmographicos globos toto studio construxit, calamoque conscripsit, D.
Silvester Amantius Mon. Benedictinus Cong. Silvestrin. Ann. D.
MDCLXXVII." "In the Pontificate of Innocent XI these cosmographic
spheres were constructed with all zeal, and completed with the pen, by
D. Silvester Amantius a monk of the Benedictine order and of the
Silvestrin Congregation. In the year 1677." The legend containing the
usual address to the reader is taken from Greuter's globe of 1632 or
from Blaeu's globe of 1622,[76] concluding, however, with the following,
"D. Silvester Amantius Moroncellus Fabrianensis Monachus Silvestrinus
auctor, construxit et notavit. Aetatis suae an. 27. 1679." "D. Silvester
Amantius Moroncelli of Fabriano, a monk of the Silvestrin order;
constructed and lettered (this globe) in the 27th year of his age.
1679." On the terrestrial globe meridians and parallels are indicated at
intervals of ten degrees, the prime meridian passing through the Canary
Islands.
On the celestial globe is the following legend or inscription:
"Laudatissimum Astronomiae studium atquum sit difficilimum, jucunditas
tamen cum difficultate conjungitur, prospere ut homines et coelum potius
quam calcata intueri. Creator noster omnipotens cetera animantia per
terram sternere jussit, at homines non sic, sed totum ad sidera extolli.
Pronaque cum spectent animalia cetera terrae Os homini sublime dedit
coelumque videre Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus. Et ideo
optimum erat ut aliquod exemplum sub oculis hic opponeretur quod non
immerito in medio sapientiae sistit, ut sciant non aliter quam et per
sapientiam ipsum posse cognosci.
"In isto igitur per ipsum coelestium siderum ordinem cognoscent et
nomina astrorum juxta exactum observationem Hipparchi, Ptolomei,
Alphonsi, et Copernici per Ticonem Brahe ad trutinam examinatiae, et ne
octium me opprimeret, in istud quod cernunt per me accurate delineata.
Ita ut omnes cognoscant in vita quod post mortem omnibus opto valeant.
Romae apud S. Stephanum supra Caccum die VI men. Jan. MDCLXXX. D.
Silvester Amantius Moroncellus Fabrianensis Mon. Cong^{is}
Silvestrinorum." "The much lauded study of astronomy, although it is
very difficult, yet pleasure is joined with the difficulty, for it is a
happier lot for men to look at the sky, than to look at the road trodden
by their feet; our Omnipotent Creator ordained that other living beings
should be prone on the earth, that man should not be so, but should be
wholly lifted up to the stars. For while other living beings look
earthward, He has given man an uplifted countenance and bidden him look
heavenward, and raise his uplifted face toward the stars. And therefore
it was good that some example should be placed here under his eyes,
which might assist him to stand in the midst of wisdom, so that men
might understand that God could be known in no otherwise than by wisdom.
On this globe therefore, and by its aid will be known the order and the
names of the celestial stars according to the exact observations of
Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Alfonso, and Copernicus, and arranged for general
use by Tycho Brahe; and that idleness might not oppress me, accurately
depicted by me, according to their discoveries. This I have done in
order that all men may know in their lifetime what I hope they may all
attain to know after their death. At Rome, from S. Stevens on the hill,
January 6th, 1680. D. Silvester Amantius Moroncelli of Fabriano, a monk
of the Silvestrin Congregation."
The tropics, the polar circles, and the ecliptic are represented, and
the figures of the several constellations are artistically drawn, the
effect being heightened by skilful shading.
The Biblioteca Municipale of Fermo possesses a fine manuscript
terrestrial globe made by Moroncelli and dated 1713. This globe is not a
perfect sphere, having a polar diameter of 180 cm. and an equatorial
diameter of 194 cm. The ball is composed of thin strips of wood
extending from pole to pole, having first, over the same, a covering of
heavy parchment paper, and over this somewhat irregular but well-joined
pieces of fine draughting paper. It is furnished with a meridian circle
of iron, a horizon circle of wood, the whole resting on a wooden base.
The author and date legend, placed in a shield-shaped cartouch, reads,
"Opus meccanicum hoc mirifice compositum ab Ill. [=m]o Domino Philippo
Antonio Morrono Archipresbitero Firm^{no} Mirificentius vere geographice
distinctum a Rev^{mo} P. Abb. D. Silvestro Amantio Moroncello
Fabrianensi. Anno a Redemptore nato MDCCXIII." "This mechanical work was
marvelously constructed by the Illustrious D. Philip Antony Morono,
Archdeacon of Fermo. Its geographical details were wonderfully inserted
by the Rev. Father Abbot D. Silvester Amantius Moroncelli of Fabriano,
in the year of Redemption, 1713."
In a cartouch similar to that containing the legend just quoted, though
much larger and resting on a representation of the imperial eagle of
Fermo, having a white cross on its breast and the motto "Firmum firma
fides Romanorum colonia," there is drawn a picture of the city of Fermo
with a red background. Near the Tropic of Cancer, on the meridian of 250
degrees, there is a shield with the coat of arms of the Morone family,
and below the Tropic of Cancer, on the meridian of 200 degrees, is the
coat of arms of the author, likewise within a shield and artistically
sketched. The picture of a Moor and of a black eagle, around which is a
band of blue with three golden stars, the whole surmounted by a
prelate's black hat with tassels, the Moor indicating the origin of the
name Moroncelli, and the prelate's hat honoring the author's intimate
friend, Gian Francesco Albani, who became Pope Clement XI and who had
nominated him a domestic prelate.
In longitude 113 degrees, in a shield, is the coat of arms of this pope,
at the right of which is the inscription, "Implebitur vaticinium," at
the left "Replebitur majestate omnis terra," and below "Irradiatibur
evangelio, studio recentis Clementiae et Successorum." There are two or
three additional shields, in one of which is an illegible inscription,
and one has been left blank. Although meridians and parallels are
indicated, loxodromic lines are wanting, which so generally appear on
those globes constructed in the Netherlands. The nomenclature is either
Latin, Italian or local. Mythological and allegorical figures are
numerous, as are also representations of sea monsters and sailing ships.
A pair of Moroncelli's globes, in excellent condition, may be found in
the Accademia Etrusca of Cortona. These are reported to have come to the
Academy in the year 1727 as a gift from the Abbé Onofrio Baldelli. They
have each a diameter of about 80 cm., are mounted on plain bases, and
are furnished with the usual meridian circles within which they may be
revolved. On the terrestrial globe a legend is placed within a
shieldlike cartouch surmounted with a coat of arms of the patrician
family Baldelli of Cortona, and reads, "Virorum probitas, eruditio et
virtus existimationem exigunt. Haec in Ill^{mo} D. Abb. Onofrio Baldelli
Patritio Cortonensi mirifice effulgent. Ne dum in Humanis Artibus
summopere praedito. Verum etiam in Magnanimitatem laudabili: Dum ad
complementum Bibliotechae, pro Studiorum Concivium utilitate et
eruditione, ab ipso erectae, globos etiam cosmographicos, licet etiam
dispendio trescentorum scutorum libenter auxit. Quamobrem tantis meritis
coactus D. Sil^r Amantius Moroncelli Fabrianens: Abb: Bened. Congr.
Silvestrinorum Auctor ad perpetuam rei memoriam Monumentum hoc posuit
Ann. Sal. MDCCXIV." "The uprightness of men, their learning and virtue
call for respect; these qualities marvelously shine forth in the
illustrious lord Abbot Onofri Baldelli of patrician rank of Cortona; not
only was he endowed beyond others in the humanities, but also he was
praiseworthy for his magnanimity. To furnish the library erected by him,
for the use and the instruction of his student fellow citizens, he
generously contributed these cosmographic globes, although they cost 300
scudi. Wherefore, being executed by his great abilities, D. Silvester
Amantius Moroncelli of Fabriano, Benedictine Abbot of the Silvestrin
Congregation, has erected this monument for their perpetual remembrance
of his generosity. In the year of our Salvation 1714."
A second legend in a less decorative cartouch reads, "Orbis Terraquei,
juxta presentem notitiam, cum multa adhuc invenienda remaneant, non
solum in Terra Australi incognita, verum etiam in Septentrionalibus
Americae Superioris ubi molta Jam occulta manent a D. Silvestro Amantio
Moroncelli Fabrianensi Abb: Bened: Congr. Silvest. Cosmographo Reginae
Svecorum, nec non Sapientiae Rom. Anno etatis sue, 64, Red. [=v=o].
MDCCXV." "In our present knowledge of the terraqueous world much yet
remains to be discovered, not only in the unknown lands of the south,
but also in the northern regions of North America where many things are
still undiscovered. D. Silvester Amantius Moroncelli of Fabriano,
Benedictine Abbot of the Silvestrin Congregation, Cosmographer of the
Queen of Sweden and also of the Roman Academy (made this globe) in the
64th year of his age, and in the year of Redemption, 1715."
The parallels and meridians are drawn at intervals of five degrees, and
one compass is placed in the southern hemisphere. Both Latin and
Italian have been employed for the geographical names.
The celestial globe contains the figures of the several constellations
exquisitely drawn, the name of each being given in Latin, in Arabic, and
in Greek. One finds on this globe but the one short legend reading
"Stella praeclara et peregrina Anno D. 1572 et per annum et quatuor
menses, scilicet a principio Novvemb. usque ad ultimum Martii 1573." "A
very bright and wandering star (appearing) in the year 1572 and for one
year and four months, visible from the first of November to the last of
March 1573."
Another fine pair of Moroncelli's manuscript globes, constructed in the
year 1716, is to be found in the Biblioteca Casanatense of Rome. They
have each a diameter of about 160 cm. and are mounted on plain octagonal
bases. The terrestrial has a graduated meridian of brass, a horizon
circle of wood, likewise graduated and having indicated on its surface
the several signs of the zodiac, the names of the months, and of the
principal winds. On the surface of the globe, the parallels and the
meridians are drawn at intervals of five degrees, the prime meridian
passing through the most western island of the Canaries. The address to
the reader, like that on the globe in the Alessandrian Library, is
practically a copy of the one to be found on the Greuter globe of the
year 1632. A lengthy legend relating to the prime meridian reads: "Ut
recta methodo ad cognitionem Geographie deveniamus, Principium desumere
a p^o Meridiano, a quo longitudo habetur, debemus. Unde sic. Quamvis
igitur Longitudinis initium arbitrarium sit, ab occasu tamen ejus
auspicium facere ideo Veteribus placuit quod illic aliquis Terre limes
esset inventus qui Ortum versus nullus expeditionibus deprehendi
potuisset atque eam ob causam Ptolemeus cujus sedulitati ac industriae
Geographie incolumitatem omnes vel inviti debent ab ultimo termino
Occidentis cognito que Insule in Atlantico mari Fortunate olim dicte
nunc Canariae vocantur auspicium fecit. In iisque Primum meridianum
defixit quod theticum principium deinceps fere omnes ejus auctoritate
moti retinuerunt. Nunnulli quidem Seculo transacto principium tenendum
censuere ubi Acus Magneti junctae recta in boream spectat: Sed multum
inter se dissentientes allucinantur. Nos autem Ptolomei vestigiis
insistentes easdem Insulas delegimus et Lineam meridionalem in Insula De
Ferro dicta que de Fortunatis ut olim et de Canariis nunc, una de
Principalibus est fiximus." "That we may come to the right method for
acquiring a knowledge of geography we must make a beginning from the
first meridian from which longitude is reckoned. Although the beginning
of longitude is arbitrary it pleased the ancients to make this beginning
from the west because there was found a limit of the earth which could
not be found by voyages toward the east. For this reason Ptolemy, to
whose application and industry all men owe the preservation of geography
though grudgingly, made the beginning from the farthest known bounds of
the west, which are the Fortunate Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, but now
called the Canary Islands. In these he fixed the first meridian, and
this hypothetical beginning almost all who have followed him have been
led by his authority to retain. Not a few in the century just passed
have thought that the beginning should be made where the magnetic needle
points directly to the north. But these, as they disagree among
themselves are mistaken. We follow in the footsteps of Ptolemy and have
chosen the same island, and placed the meridian line in the Island of
Ferro, one of the principal islands of the Fortunate group now called
the Canaries."
In addition to the one just quoted there are a few other legends
relating to geographical discoveries which contain allusions, very
similar to the many which may be found on certain other globes of the
period, adding little or nothing that is new.
The celestial globe, mounted practically the same as the terrestrial,
contains the following legend: "Ecce damus methodo Ptolemaica seu
Orteliana coelestium siderum quotquot hodie extare comperimus schemata,
situs et ut decet reperiuntur perfecta. Sunt enim ex descriptionibus
Hipparchi, Ptolomei, Alphonsi, Copernici, per Tyconem Brahe ad trutinam
examinata, nec non Joannis Bayeri, qui Uranometriam per imagines in
tabulis aeneis expressit. Et nunc per me D. Silvestrum Amantium
Moroncelli Fabriane[=n] Abbatem Bened. Congreg. Silv. calamo descripta
coloribusque effigiata adattataque ad Ann. 1716." "Observe that we give
after the method of Ptolemy or Ortelius the settings of the stars of
heaven, as far as they have, to the present, been discovered, and as far
as their positions have been made known. We have employed the
descriptions of Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Alfonso, and Copernicus, as tested
and confirmed by Tycho Brahe, and also by the observations of Johannes
Bayer, who expressed the star system (of Tycho Brahe) objectively in
brass tables, now by myself D. Silvester Amantius Moroncelli of
Fabriano, Benedictine Abbot of the Silvestrin Congregation. All these
have been expressed in letters and represented in colors, and
accommodated to the year 1716."
There is given a second legend of some importance reading, "Tabula
continens quantum quovis proposito anno vel addendum vel demendum sit
longitudini affixarum. Stellae enim spatio septuaginta Annorum et
quinque mensium unicum gradum secondum Asterismorum ordinem super Polum
Zodiaci progrediuntur ab Occasu ad Orientem. Ex hujusmodi Regula
invenitur Sidera migrasse a Mundi creatione usque ad hunc annum 6915,
Gr. 98, M. 47, S. 20. Et ab adventu D. N. J. C. usque ad hunc annum
1716, Gr. 24, M. 30, S. 25." "Table noting how much must be added to or
subtracted from the longitude of the fixed stars in any given year. The
stars move from west to east one degree in the space of seventy years
and five months according to the order of the constellations of the
zodiac. From this rule it is found that the stars have moved from the
creation of the world a period of 6915 years to the present 98 degrees,
47 minutes and 20 seconds, and from the advent of Our Lord Jesus Christ
to this year 1716, 24 degrees, 30 minutes, and 25 seconds."
In addition to the above-mentioned examples of Moroncelli's work, there
may be cited a number of allusions to others which cannot now be
located. Fiorini notes first a fine cosmographic sphere designed to
represent both the terrestrial and the celestial, having a circumference
of 2.62 palms, and probably constructed for the patrician family
Trevisiani.[77] It appears that it later passed into the hands of Prince
Lucio Odescalchi of Milan, and in the year 1849 was taken to Rome, after
which it appears that all trace of it was lost. It is said to have been
a very artistic piece, brilliantly colored with numerous pictures
executed in miniature, and to have been dated 1690. The anonymous
biographer of Moroncelli, whose account exists only in manuscript and is
frequently cited by Fiorini, notes that Moroncelli constructed a
manuscript globe for Queen Christina of Sweden.[78] This has been
thought by Porti to be the globe just referred to, but the identity is
doubtful. Again Fiorini makes allusion to the probable existence at one
time of a pair of Moroncelli's globes in the Monasterio Biblioteca of S.
Benedetto of Fabriano, and of still another pair in the Collegio De
Vecchi of the same city, but of these nothing at present is known.[79]
The anonymous biography likewise alludes to one of his celestial globes
which he constructed and dedicated to Cardinal Alessandro Albani of
Urbino. In this the author undertook, like certain others of his day, to
substitute for the Greek mythological characters or figures representing
the several constellations, pictures of biblical objects and characters,
or of individuals selected from Christian martyrology.[80] While this
particular globe cannot now be located, there is a small one of similar
character which belongs to the Accademia Etrusca of Cortona, having a
diameter of about 27 cm., its map being partly in manuscript and partly
printed. There is the following author and date legend: "Sacrometria
omnium asterismorum coelestium figuris Aecclesiasticis reformatorum a
Rev. Abb. D. Sil. Amantio Moroncelli Fabrianen. Silvestrino Ann. 1710."
"Sacred measurements of all the heavenly stars expressed in
ecclesiastical notation by the Rev. D. Silvester Amantius Moroncelli of
Fabriano, a Silvestrian, in the year 1710." A brief descriptive legend
reads, "In hac coelesti sphaera Stellae affixae majori quam hactenus
numero et accuratiori industria delineantur novis asterismis in
Philomateor[=u] gratiam de integro additis: quae omnia secondum
Astronomorum Principis Thyconis Brahe et aliorum observationem verae
suae Longitudini ac Latitudini ad annum Christi 1636 restituta sunt."
"In this celestial sphere the fixed stars are depicted in greater number
than previously and with more accurate care, the new stars being added
for the use of the student; all of which, according to the observations
of that Prince of astronomers Tycho Brahe, and of others, are given with
their true latitude and longitude, and accommodated to the year of
Christ 1636." This library of Cortona possesses a manuscript of
Moroncelli titled "Sacrometria omnium asterismorum continens schemata
figuris ecclesiasticis expressa Silvestri Amantii Moroncelli
Fabrianensis ecc. anno 1707." "Sacred measurement of all the stars being
a scheme expressing in ecclesiastical notation by Silvester Amantius
Moroncelli of Fabriano in the year 1707." The constellations he divides
into three groups: the boreal from 1-19, the zodiacal from 20-31, the
southern from 32-58, giving to each a new name. Hercules, for example,
he changed to Samson; Lyra to David; Cassiopeia to Eve; Virgo to Virgo
Maria Assumpta in Coelum. One can scarcely affirm that Moroncelli
exerted a wide-reaching influence, nevertheless he has, for his day, a
place of considerable prominence among globe makers.
Mr. William R. Hearst of New York possesses an exceedingly fine
manuscript celestial globe which circumstances have not left it possible
to identify. He has courteously furnished the photograph from which it
is here shown in illustration (Fig. 106). Once belonging to Mr. Stanford
White, it probably was purchased in Italy, passing in the year 1907 into
the hands of Mr. Hearst. In the sales catalogue of The American Art
Society it is referred to as a globe of the sixteenth century. There,
however, is reason for assigning it to the latter part of the
seventeenth century, as there is reason for attributing it to the Abbot
Silvester Amantius Moroncelli. If the authorship is correctly attributed
it may be counted one of great value. The figures of the several
constellations are well colored. The mounting is of wrought iron, with
gilt ornaments. The globe itself has a diameter of about 90 cm., while
its entire height, including the tripod base, is about 200 cm.
[Illustration: Fig. 106. Manuscript Celestial Globe (Moroncelli?), Late
Seventeenth Century.]
Roger Palmer (Fig. 107), Count of Castlemaine (1634-1705),[81]
published, in the year 1679, a work bearing the title 'The English globe
being a stabil and immobil one, performing what the ordinary globes do,
and much more.' In this he described a globe of his own invention,
having a diameter of about one foot. It does not appear that the Earl
especially distinguished himself in matters either geographical or
astronomical. As a diversion from his other interests which claimed his
attention, he appears to have turned to the construction of a globe for
which he claimed an especial superiority over all others, primarily on
account of its simplicity. He set forth in his descriptive text more
than twenty of its superior features, and it is interesting to note that
Moxon thought well enough of the work to reissue it in the year
1696.[82] (Fig. 108.)
[Illustration: Fig 107. ROGER PALMER _EARL of CASTLEMAIN._ _from an
Original by Sir G Kneller at Strawberry Hill._]
[Illustration: Fig. 108. Globe of Earl of Castlemaine, 1679.]
Coronelli gives us the following information concerning a rather
remarkable globe which he had occasion to examine in the city of
Augsburg, of which he made a drawing for the Venetian Academy (Fig.
109), as he tells us, afterward reproducing the same in his 'Epitome
Cosmografica.'[83] This globe he says was the invention of Christopher
Treffler of Augsburg and was constructed by Christopher Rad, jeweler
to His Majesty the Emperor, in the year 1683. He calls it an
"Automaton Sphaeridicum," that is, a celestial globe provided with an
automatic movement, so contrived as to exhibit accurately the course of
the stars, and to indicate the years, months, days, hours, and minutes,
together with the eclipses for seventeen years in advance. At the top of
the instrument was placed a little sphere by means of which one could
represent certain celestial phenomena, past and future. This mechanism,
says Coronelli, is ornamented with great ingenuity, good taste, and all
regardless of expense. In its construction eighteen hundred ounces of
gold and silver had been used. Its height was seven feet, and at the
bottom it measured four feet, the entire work rising in the manner of a
pyramid above its support of four artistically designed figures. This
globe, says Coronelli, which we have seen and handled, and of which we
have an exceedingly high opinion, was for sale at eight thousand thaler,
and had been fully described in a duodecimo volume printed by the House
of Koppmeyer, in the year 1683.[84] It is not known what became of this
globe which Coronelli found to be so worthy of his commendation.
[Illustration: Fig. 109. Globe of Christopher Treffler, 1683.]
The Atheneo of Brescia possesses an armillary sphere, having on one of
its armillae an inscription which tells us that it was constructed by
Gian Battista Alberti in the year 1688, for Count Martinengo.[85] The
graduated horizon circle, on which appear the names of the sixteen
principal winds or directions, rests upon two semicircles, which in turn
rest on a support of brass ornamented by six allegorical figures. In
this supporting base there has been placed a compass. Its graduated hour
circle is furnished with a movable index, such as had become common in
globe construction. Five prominent circles represent the equator, the
tropics, and the polar circles, to which is added a zodiacal band which
is graduated and bears the names and the symbolical figures of the
twelve constellations, and the names of the months. Two rings for the
purpose of indicating celestial latitude and longitude are placed within
the above-named circles and carry representations of the sun and the
moon.
A contemporary of Alberti, Giovanni Maccari of Mirandola, likewise a
maker of armillary spheres, is known to us through one only, but a fine
example of his work.[86] This sphere belongs to the Liceo Spallanzi of
Regio Emilia. The meridian circle, having a diameter of about 16 cm., is
graduated both for latitude and co-latitude by fives. Adjusted to this
meridian is a circle representing the colures, likewise graduated both
for latitude and co-latitude, but by tens, and adjusted to these are the
polar circles, the tropics, and the equator. On the zodiacal circle are
engraved the names of the twelve constellations, the names of the days,
and on the inner surface the inscription "Joannes Maccarius Mirandulanus
Feccit 1689." The supporting base is triangular in shape, having a
compass placed in the center. Within the three angles of this base
shields have been placed, the one bearing the inscription "Anno Domini
1689," the second the name "Jo Vulpis Mirandulanus Dom^{us}," by whom
the work was probably ordered; the third has a representation of a fox,
the emblem of the Volpi family. In addition to the above the base is
ornamented with a bronze scroll, to the points of which are attached
semicircles which support the horizon circle. This circle has a diameter
of about 15 cm., on which are engraved the usual zodiacal names and
signs, the names of the months, and of the principal winds or
directions. An hour circle is placed at the south pole with a movable
index, and within, at the common center of the circles, a small sphere
to represent the terrestrial globe, through which the polar axis is made
to pass.
In the Biblioteca Estense of Modena there may be found three armillary
spheres apparently of about the same date as the two just described.[87]
One of the three bears the inscription "Jos Ant^{us} Vulpes Mirandula
Domin. anno Domini 1689." The other two, somewhat larger in size than
the preceding, give us no particular indication of the maker, and no
exact date of construction. They may be the work of Alberti or of
Maccari.
In Italy's long line of illustrious geographers, cartographers, and
globe makers none has rank in advance of P. Vincenzo Maria Coronelli
(1650-1718).[88] His achievements within his field were prodigious.[89]
While, as noted above, there is wanting the evidence that his influence
was extended in striking manner into transalpine countries, he seems at
least to have won the enthusiastic recognition of contemporary men of
science, as one worthy of honor for his great achievements.
He was a native of Ravenna (Fig. 110), a member of the Franciscan Order
of monks, serving in the last years of his life as its general. It was
in his young manhood that he went to Venice, which city became the scene
of the greater part of his literary and scientific activities.
[Illustration: Fig. 110. Portrait of P. Vincenzo Coronelli.]
More than four hundred maps were drawn, engraved, and printed by him in
the Franciscan Convent located on one of the Venetian islands, and known
as the Gran Casa del Frari, where he lived with other brothers of the
Order. It was in this convent that Coronelli founded, in the year 1680,
the first geographical society, to which he gave the name Accademia
Cosmografo degli Argonauti,[90] which in its organization followed
somewhat that of certain other learned societies owing their origin to
the literary and scientific activities of the renaissance period. Its
membership, in the course of years, included men of distinction in other
cities of Italy and in the North; men famous for their achievements and
for their interest in geographical science, literary men, men who held
high rank in Europe's aristocracy, cardinals, prelates, princes, and
monarchs.[91] The society became one of the most active of the period,
and the list of publications which issued from its press, each bearing
the argonautic emblem or device--a ship on a terrestrial globe with the
motto "Plus Ultra" (Fig. 111)--is a long one.[92]
[Illustration: Fig. 111. Emblem of the Venetian Accademia Cosmografica
degli Argonauti.]
So great had become the fame of Coronelli as early as the year 1685,
that he was honored with the title Cosmografo della Serenissima
Republica, and was granted an annual allowance of four hundred florins,
and a copyright privilege protecting him in his right to print and
publish any of his works for a period of twenty-five years.[93]
We have no definite information as to the circumstances attending
Coronelli's first interest in globe construction. It appears that his
first work in this line, a pair of large manuscript globes, opened
immediately to him a path to fame, for these had come to adorn the
library of the Duke of Parma to whom the French Cardinal, d'Estrées, in
the year 1680 had occasion to pay a visit and they immediately won the
cardinal's interest. A pair of such globes, thought he, for so runs the
story, would be a source of great delight to His Majesty the French
King, Louis XIV. Learning that the construction of still larger globes
was altogether possible, but that their removal from Italy to France
would be attended with great difficulty, he persuaded Coronelli to
accept an invitation to take up a residence in Paris, there to direct
the construction of a terrestrial and a celestial globe, sparing neither
labor nor expense that they might be worthy of presentation to the Grand
Monarch. If Olearius could construct a globe ten feet and more in
diameter for Duke Frederick of Holstein, and Weigel one of similar
dimensions for the demonstration of his theories, why, thought
Coronelli, should I not undertake the preparation of those at least
fifteen feet in diameter, which in all the details of globe construction
should be made to surpass any that had hitherto been conceived? The
author himself has given us the first though brief description of his
completed work,[94] and the royal astronomer, La Hire, supplemented this
description in his little volume published in the year 1704, when the
globes had been placed in the Château Marly.[95] In the author's own
account he alludes to the globes as having been constructed at Paris
under his direction, and by order of the Most Eminent Cardinal
d'Estrées, for the service of His Most Christian Majesty. Great care was
especially exercised in the construction of the machinery designed for
the rotation of the spheres, the author being especially proud of the
fact that, so delicate was this mechanism, each could be set in motion
by a single finger. He further gives us to understand that each sphere
was so well fashioned "one could design upon its surface all the degrees
in the manner in which a turner designs any circle on a ball without
having it removed from the turner's lathe," and that the material of
which they were constructed was so solid and so well joined that each
was able to sustain the weight of thirty men. Each was furnished with a
door through which a considerable number of persons might enter at one
time, their presence within affecting in no wise the solidity of
construction. Each was covered with fine canvas so carefully laid on
that none of the joints could be seen, giving a surface smooth as ivory.
The meridian and horizon circles were of bronze, the whole being
supported by columns which were richly ornamented. In the base, between
the four columns supporting the meridian circles, large compasses were
placed, being so designed as properly to indicate the needle's
declination.
On the celestial globe the greater and the lesser circles were
represented in gilt bronze, and were so graduated for both latitude and
longitude, ascension and declination, that it was made easy for an
astronomer to pass from one co-ordinate to the other without the aid of
trigonometry. On a fine background of ultramarine the several
constellations with their respective figures were represented, each of
the planets and fixed stars being gilded in order to give it due
prominence. The author so designed his star map as to represent the
appearance of the heavens at the time of the birth of the Grand
Monarch,[96] as is told in the following dedication engraved on a brass
tablet and attached to the surface of the sphere: "A l'Auguste Majesté
de Louis le Grand l'Invincible, l'Heureux, le Sage, le Conquerant. Cesar
Cardinal d'Estrées a consacré ce globe celeste, ou toutes les etoilles
du firmament, et les planetes sont placées au lieu mesme, ou elles
estoient a la naissance de ce Glorieux Monarque, afin de conserver a
l'eternite une image fixe de cette heureuse disposition, sous laquelle
la France a receu le plus grand present, que le ciel ait iamais fait a
la terre. M.DC.LXXXIII." "To His August Majesty Louis the Great, the
Invincible, the Happy, the Wise, the Conquering. Cesar Cardinal
d'Estrées has dedicated this celestial globe, on which all the stars of
heaven and the planets are placed in the same position in which they
were at the birth of the Glorious Monarch, in order to preserve
throughout eternity a fixed image of that happy disposition under which
France has received the most noble present which Heaven has ever made to
earth."
On the terrestrial globe, which in its general features resembled the
celestial, the seas were painted blue and the land white, that the
several names and legends might appear the more distinct. A portrait of
the King was placed above a cartouch containing the dedication,
resembling that on the celestial globe, reading "A l'Auguste Majeste de
Louis le Grand l'Invincible, l'Heureux, le Sage, le Conquerant. Cesar
Cardinal d'Estrées a consacré ce globe terrestre, pour rendre un
continuel hommage a sa Glore, et a ses Heroiques Vertus, en mostrant les
pays ou mille grandes Actions ont esté executées et par Luy Mesme, et
par ses Ordres, a l'estonnement de tant de nations, qu'il avroit pu
soumetre a son empire, si sa Moderation n'eust arrestè le Cours de Ses
Conquestes, et prescrit des bornes a Sa Valeur, plus grande encore que
sa Fortune. M.DC.LXXXIII." "To His August Majesty Louis the Great, the
Invincible, the Happy, the Wise, the conquering. Cesar Cardinal
d'Estrées has dedicated this terrestrial globe, in order to render
perpetual homage to His Glory and to His Heroic Virtue in representing
the countries wherein a thousand great acts have been performed both by
Himself and by his Order, to the astonishment of all nations, which He
would have been able to bring under his subjection if his moderation had
not restrained the course of his Conquests and prescribed bounds to his
Courage yet greater than his Fortune. M.DC.LXXXIII."
Below this dedication, likewise below the corresponding dedication on
the celestial globe, we read "Cet ouvrage a eté inventé et achevé par le
Père Coronelli Venitien des. Min. Conv." "This work was conceived and
accomplished by P. Coronelli, a Venetian of the Minorite Order."
In his brief description, the author says that he has shown on his
terrestrial globe all ancient and modern discoveries, basing the same on
the maps, the observations, and the reports of the most renowned
geographers, to which he has added the results of his own studies not
recorded on other globes nor in other maps. Special mention is made of
information given concerning the interior regions of Africa, noting that
"besides outlining the Monomotapa and Abyssinia countries, we have been
the first to describe correctly the source as well as the course of the
Nile River correcting, by many degrees the errors of the ancients."
Andrea Baba, public censor and secretary of the Argonauts, notes, in his
letter to the reader appearing in the first volume of the 'Atlante
Veneto,' that the author of the two globes, constructed for the King of
France, had obtained numerous authentic reports of geographers and
explorers, which he had included in his work. Ludolf, writing in the
year 1691 concerning Ethiopia, records "Ethiopia: Nostram tabulam
chorographicam comunicavimus cum P. Vincentio Coronellio, nunc
cosmographo Veneto, qui eam adhibuit in globis quos Cardinalis Estresius
pro rege Galliae construi fecit, maximos, qui unquam visi fuerint. Ibi
in Globo terrestri Habessina et Nilus secundum nostram delineationem
visitur. Satis mature eam communicaverim Adamo Oleario, cum insignem
globum, qui Gottorfii cernitur, construeret, sed ille mihi, ut tum
temporis juveni, fidem non habuit." "Ethiopia: we made known our
chorographic record to P. Vincentio Coronelli now cosmographer of
Venice, who included it on his globe which Cardinal d'Estrées had made
for the King of France, the largest globe ever seen. There, on the
terrestrial globe, Abyssinia and the Nile are seen following our
representation. Quite a long time ago we made this known to Adam
Olearius, when he was making the renowned globe which may be seen at
Gottorp, but he, as I was then a young man, did not have confidence in
me."[97]
Marcel, in writing of the Portuguese in Africa, observed: "Si nous
examinons les cartes de Mercator, de Bertius, de Hondius, de Meursius,
de Sanson, de Duval, nous y trouvons un cours du Cuama ou Zanbèsi
absolument fantaisiste. Il faut arriver au fameux globe de Coronelli
pour y trouver en 1683 le cours de Zambèse tracé comme sur la carte que
nous reproduisons. Il est évident que ce géographe vénitien a pu
consulter des documents portugais aujourd'hui perdus, cartes ou
relations de voyages, qui viendraient jeter un jour infiniment précieux
sur les explorations des Portugais et les relations qu'ils entretenaient
avec les populations belliqueuses du bassin du Chiré." "If we examine
the maps of Mercator, of Bertius, Hondius, Meureius, Sanson, Duval, we
will find the course of the Cuama or Zambesi absolutely fantastic. One
must examine the famous globe of Coronelli to find in 1683 the course of
the Zambesi represented as on the map which we reproduce. It is evident
that the Venetian geographer had been able to consult Portuguese
documents which today are lost, maps or accounts of Voyages which would
throw light of great value on the explorations of the Portuguese and the
relations they had with the warlike people of the basin of the
Chiré."[98]
Coronelli adorned his globe map with very artistic representations of
merchant ships sailing over the ocean highways, and with elaborate
pictures of many naval battles.
It was in the year 1704 that these globes were placed in the royal
Château Marly,[99] where they remained until the year 1722, when they
were placed in the old Palace of the Louvre. A final resting place was
found for them in the Royal Library, now known as the Bibliothèque
Nationale, in a room especially constructed to receive them. Recent
information from the library notes that, on account of certain
reconstructive work, they have been placed in an inaccessible part of
the building, and cannot be photographed.
The success of this first endeavor to construct globes of large size led
other Princes to entertain the thought of adorning their palaces with
similar productions. It is not known, however, that the great Venetian
actually set himself to the task of duplicating his French masterpieces;
we have rather the assurance, as is noted below, that he thought better
of a plan for issuing globes of smaller size, whose map records should
contain practically all he had been able to include in his large work.
The Royal Estense Library of Modena possesses a manuscript, cited by
Fiorini, which assures us that Coronelli had been approached with a
proposition to construct for Francis II of Modena a pair of globes equal
in size to those he had prepared for the French King. This document
reads: "Rispondendo il P.[=r]e Cosmografo Coronelli alii di lei questiti
per la fabbrica delli globi, gli dice, che il farà tanto grandi, quanta
sarà la capacità della stanza, e bisognando fabbricare anco una stanza
dentro del Globo, resta solo che il Principe che la desidera, habbia
curiosità e volontà do spendere; limitandosi però il P. Cosmografo alia
grandezza di Globi di diametro di quindici piedi, dice, che per il solo
pagamento di materiali, e degli Artifici, si ricercano ducento doppie;
che per delineare la Geografia, scriveri, collocarvi le stelle, ed
assegnare il luogo alle figure vi vorrà di spesa quattrocento doppie.
Per accomodare il luogo che sia capace per la fabrica delli Globi di
questa grandezza, vi vogliono cinquanta doppie. Per gli ornamenti della
Pittura, Miniatura, Scultura, et altri, si potrà fare quella spesa che
parerà più propria al Principe, che desidera; mentre in questi si può o
meno. E perchè il Principe conosca il genio dell' autore in questa
materia, osserverà nella picciolezza delle due mostre, ch'esibisce,
confrontandole colle migliori carte, di qual perfetione e pulizia
sarebbe questa di quindici piedi. Il P. Coronelli per ricompensa
desidera una pensione annua sua vita durante di quella soma che parerà
propria alia generosità del Principe. S'aggiunge, un quinternetto della
supputazione delle stelle d'Orione, perchè il Principe osservi
l'accrescimento delle stelle di questa costellazione, come sono
accresciute di gran numero tutte le altro del Globo del Cielo del P.
Coronelli." "Father Coronelli, in reply to your questions regarding the
construction of the globes which you say you wish to have made as large
as the capacity of the room will allow, and with space in the globe
itself, says that all that is necessary is to know how much his
Excellency the Prince should wish to expend. However Father Coronelli
limits himself to the construction of globes of fifteen feet in
diameter, for which the cost of the material alone and of the
workmanship is two hundred doubloons. For outlining the geographical
map, for the proper placing of the stars, and the representation of the
figures, the cost will be four hundred doubloons. To arrange a place for
globes of this size another fifty doubloons will be necessary. For the
decorations, the miniatures and engravings His Excellency can spend as
much as he desires. In order that His Excellency the Prince may
appreciate the great genius of the author in this matter, he will please
take note of the two small globes which he exhibits, (and think) how
perfect and attractive those fifteen feet in diameter will be in
comparison with the best of maps. Father Coronelli desires, as
compensation, an annual pension for life, such sum as His Excellency the
Prince considers sufficiently generous. We enclose an account showing
the representation of the stars of Orion, in order that the Prince may
note the increase in the number of the stars in this constellation, and
also note how all of the other constellations as represented on the
globe of Father Coronelli show an increase in the number of stars."[100]
There is no evidence known that this work was actually undertaken by our
Venetian globe maker, the presumption being that the matter did not
receive further consideration.
As an expression of appreciation for the honors shown to him by the
Academy of the Argonauts, Coronelli decided to issue his Paris globes
reduced in size, choosing a diameter of three and one half feet or
about 107 cm. instead of fifteen feet. His globes, therefore, of the
year 1688 were the largest to date in which engraved gore maps had been
employed in construction. In one of his legends he thus alludes to the
Academy. "Il genio della virtù raccomanda all'eternità il nome di Cesare
Cardinale eminentissimo d'Estrées, Duca e Pari Francia, mentre fece
elaborare per Ludovico il Magno dal P. Coronelli due gran Globi l'idea
dei quali ha poi epilogata in questi per l'Accademia cosmografica degli
Argonauti. L'anno MDCLXXXVIII." "The genius of virtue commends to
posterity the name of Cesar, most eminent Cardinal d'Estrées, Duke and
Peer of France, since he had constructed for Louis the Great by P.
Coronelli two large globes, the idea of which he then summarized
herewith for the Cosmographical Academy of the Argonauts. In the year
1688." The dedication, the same as that on the celestial globe, reads as
follows: "Alla Serenissima Republica e Serinissimo Principe Francesco
Morosini Doge di Venezia Capitan Gen: de Mare. Vincenzo Coronelli M. C.
Suddito Cosmografo e Lettore publico." "To the Most Serene Republic and
the Most Serene Prince Francesco Morosini, Doge of Venice, Captain
General of the Sea, by Vincenzo Coronelli M. C., the above mentioned
cosmographer and public reader." Placed below this legend in a cartouch
containing the portrait of the author is the inscription "P. V.
Coronelli M. C. Cosmografo Publico." There is an inscription on the
celestial globe which reads, "Si presentano a V. Serenità li Globi del
Mondo, Teatro delle cospicue attioni de' Principi, perchè mentre corre
il terzo decimo secolo (ch'è quasi la quarta parte della vita d'esso)
ne' quali la Serenissima Republica agisse ugualmente e collo splendore
delle lettre e col luminoso dell'armi, Vede l'Universale delle genti col
mezzo di Stampa così reguardevole sin dove si vada sempre più estendendo
la gloria del Veneto Nome. Quella che se ne assume l'Accademia
Cosmografica degli Argonauti nella presente dedicazione e chi vive di V.
V. Coronelli Cosmografo della medesima." "There are hereby presented to
Your Serene Highness these globes of the world, the scene of the
remarkable deeds of Princes, in order that while the thirteenth century
is passing (which makes nearly a fourth part of the life of the world)
wherein the Most Serene Republic has proceeded equally with the splendor
of letters and the brilliancy of arms may be seen by the universality of
the races; by means of this so important publication however there is
more widely spread the glory of the Venetian name; of which glory a
portion is assumed by the Cosmographical Academy of the Argonauts, in
the present dedication, and by him who lives by our permission,
Coronelli, Cosmographer of the same."