The Carta Marina (latin: the book of the sea) is the earliest map over the Nordic countries containing details and placenames. Its dimensions are 1.70×1.25 m (height×width) and was created by the Swede Olaus Magnus (1490–1557), temporarily on diplomatic visit in Rome for the Swedish government. However, this situation turned out to be permanent (because his brother Johannes Magnus got in a religious feud with Gustav I of Sweden). Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Political map of the Nordic countries and associated territories. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... Olaus Magnus, or Magni (Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stora -- great -- is the family name, and not a personal epithet), reported as born in October 1490 in Linköping, and died on August 1, 1557, was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 8th century BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy based on a parliamentary system. ... Johannes Magnus, (before 1530 Johannes Magni, a Latin translation of his birth name Johannes Store) was born March 19, 1488 in Linköping, Sweden and died March 22, 1544 in Rome, and was the son of MÃ¥ns Petersson Store och Kristina Magnus. ... Gustav I of Sweden, commonly known as Gustav Vasa, but originally known as Gustav Eriksson (May 12, 1496 – September 29, 1560) was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death. ...

The Carta Marina, drawn by Olaus Magnus

The map is a result of very hard work and it took twelve years to finish. The first copies were printed in 1539 in Venice. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2508x1857, 3176 KB) w:Carta marina, a wallmap of Scandinavia, by w:Olaus Magnus. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2508x1857, 3176 KB) w:Carta marina, a wallmap of Scandinavia, by w:Olaus Magnus. ... Olaus Magnus, or Magni (Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stora -- great -- is the family name, and not a personal epithet), reported as born in October 1490 in Linköping, and died on August 1, 1557, was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) is the capital of the region of Veneto and the province of the same name in Italy. ...

The fact that only a few copies were printed and that pope Paulus III issued a "copyright" that lasted for 10 years, may explain why it was suddenly forgotten when it disappeared in 1574. People later questioned whether it was a myth or whether it had existed. However, in 1886, a copy was found at the Hof- and Staatsbibliothek in Munich, Germany by Dr. Oscar Brenner, where it currently resides. More recently, another copy has been discovered in Switzerland in 1961. It was, however, bought back to Sweden in 1962 by the University Library of Uppsala and is today (2004) stored at Carolina Rediviva. Pope Paul III (February 29, 1468 – November 10, 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope from 1534 to 1549. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München, pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ... Carolina Rediviva is the library of Uppsala University in Sweden. ...

The map is divided in 3×3 sheets with the dimension 55x40 cm (height×width) because they were used in the printing process to transfer it onto a wood carved stamps. The notes on the map in Latin were translated by Olaus himself into the Italian and German language. It is generally considered that the "A description of the Northern peoples" (Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, Rome, 1555) is a much larger commentary on the map. German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... The Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus was a monumental work by Olaus Magnus on the Nordic countries, printed in Rome 1555. ...

Besides Carta Marina, there are only two earlier maps over Scandinavia (or Schondia) known today, namely those of Ziegler and Clavus. Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe. ... Claudius Clavus (Suartho) also known as Nicholas Niger, (Danish: Claudius Claussøn Swart), (September 14, 1388-?), was a Danish geographer sometimes considered to be the first Nordic cartographer. ...

References

1. (Swedish)"Geografiens och de geografiska upptäckternas historia / Geography and The Geographical Voyager's history" (1899)
2. "Carta marina et descriptio : the commentary by Olaus Magnus to Map of the Scandinavian countries 1539", Provisional ed. (1988)

External links

• "Carta Marina"- Antoine Lafréry's (1512 - 1577) edition from 1572, digitalized by the Royal Library in Stockholm..
• "Michigan University Carta Marina" - the original or Pope Paul III (1468–1549) map from 1539, in jpeg images. The site contain more information on early printing process.