BARTOLOMEU VELHO, CARTOGRAPHER,MATHEMATICIAN & ASTRONOMER. HIS FOUR EXTANT WORKS ANALYSEDINTRODUCTION; THE BEGINNINGS. (The text has 8 pages and 21 diagrams.)
In 1539 a “Deed” was written which named a Bartolomeu Velho and from statements made it was determined by “Cortesao and Da Mina” that he was still young and the child of Catarina Nunez and Diogo Fernandes, an illuminator. No explanation is given in PMC as to why his surname is Velho? Thus as a child in 1539 it indicates an age of 7 or 9 when he would be proficient enough to be so named and of that age , ready to take-up an apprenticeship. Thus it gives us a possible birth date of 1530 and schooling plus apprenticeship from 1540 to 1551, his majority, thus providing several years for preliminary works culminating in the four charts of 1561.
With the only other work dated at 1568, and definitely his last work, “ Principi da Verdadeira Cosmographia”, as stated, dated from the obituary appended and inscribed by Jaques de Bongy, it opens up another time line. He arrived in France, being there by September 1567 and his death is given as 20th February 1568 at Nantes France. Thus a mere 38 years of age?
Lt Commander Avelino Teixeiro da Mota finished his biographical text on Bartolomeu Velho as follows; Did Bartolomeu die a natural death on 20 February 1568, a few months after he had arrived in France?19 (19; Sousa Viterbo diligently sought the tomb and registration of Bartolomeu Velho’s death in France. The tomb was not found in Nantes and the year 1568 is missing from the register.)
Thus we know he added several pages of handwritten text to the Cosmographia which has many spare pages and was thus a work in progress. That text, written in French and addressed the King of France in 1567 means the bulk of the work which is quite onerous must be dated from the latest 1566 to 1567, which allows for the tables there-in dated 1568 to 1571 to be of use to the recipient and not out of date.
That leaves the years 1562 to 1565 for other works, the Atlas in particular which has to be drawn from a “World Map” and the Gores diagram which is obviously part of the Cosmographia, but never included.
THE DATES OF THE WORKS QUANTIFIED.
Within PMC the dates are given as follows;
Page 93; ANONYMOUS- BARTOLOMEU VELHO, CHART IN GORES OF c1560
Page 95; BARTOLOMEU VELHO, GROUP OF FOUR CHARTS OF 1561
Page 103; BARTOLOMEU VELHO, “COSMOGRAPHIA”, 1568.
Page 107; ANONYMOUS- BARTOLOMEU VELHO, ATLAS OF C1560.
To date the four charts we must realistically allow one to two years given their size and complexity. Thus they were in all probability drawn in 1559/1560
The Atlas requires a “Planisphere” to illustrate the world on small sheets and place each in the correct place to its neighbour. It is possible that Bartolomeu Velho produced another planisphere in the years 1551 to 1559. But that means to produce the atlas , at least a year of work, the date would be 1557/8 and the original planisphere 1551 to 1556 (non-existent).
But the Gore set is obviously for the “Cosmographia” of 1566/7 and would thus in all probability either part of it in those dates or previously drawn so that the text can be written. Thus it could be as early as 1551/1556 as he formulated his ideas for the “Cosmographia”.
THE SCALE OF THE CHARTS AS DRAWN EXAMINED.
ChBV/1/D01
I have used PMC plate 203, the Mediterranean Sea Basin to investigate the charts scale bars. Each scale bar is divided into blocks of 50 units and are an overall 400 units long. Thus comparing it to the Latitudinal side scales the league is 5 Miliaria of 1.2326KM and thus 18 leagues per degree.
However in the diagrams of the first chart (Pacific Ocean) Bartolomeu clearly uses 17 ½ leagues in the “Proporcao Dos Paralels” and his last statement in the circular diagram is;
O GRAO DE NORTE Y SUL VAL 17 ½ LEGOAS PE. ( Leagues foot or foot leagues)
The 17 ½ Leagues per degree is a Spanish measure and analysing the Jaime FERRER letter to their Majesties of Spain, the 700 stades per degree is thus 87.5 miliaria where-as 720 stades equals 90 Miliaria or 75 Roman Miles, that is one degree of Latitude.`
THE SPECIAL DIAGRAMS ON PLATE 201, PMC, PACIFIC OCEAN CHART
THE NORTHERN DIAGRAM; LEGOAS D IIV Mi GRAO;
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This diagram is a simple draughting exercise to convert a latitudinal degree of 17 ½ Leagues into the corresponding longitudinal degree at a given latitude.
It is a method of transferring the Cosine of a given degree by dividing a semi-circle into 90 parts, that is the 90 degrees of latitude, based upon a diameter divided into 17 ½ parts. At the junction of the Diameter, the zero league point and the 90 degrees corner, a curve is plotted projecting each and every degree up onto the league scale, which has a secondary division ( in red on the chart) with 60 divisions marking the “Minutes” of a degree. Hence there is a direct visual reading of the length of a degree of longitude at the latitude chosen.
Obviously the larger the diagram the greater accuracy obtained. This one is c200mm.
THE SOUTHERN DIAGRAM; SIX SECTIONS IN A CIRCULAR FORMAT.
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This circular diagram has six different sections which are A) quadrennial tables of solar declination (5) ; B) a table of tides around the perimeter of the wheel.
In the centre we read first the six rules for calculating the latitude from observations of the Sun. Then a table (?) of distances traversed to travel one degree of latitude when sailing off due north/south, the shortest route.
Where-as translating the 6 rules was relatively easy, translating the “ Regiment of Leagues of Degrees” was in the end for me carried out by a Portuguese Archivist as the scribal abbreviations were OTT, even though it was obvious what the main figures represented.
O GRAO DE NORTE Y SUL VAL 17 ½ LEGOAS PE
I could not understand why it was a League foot? That is of course if PE is meant to be a foot?
LA PMa QUARTA 18 Y PLA 2a 19 E PELA 3a
21 Y PLA QRTA 24 ¾ E PLA 5a 31 ½ E PE
LA 6a 46 E PLA 7a 88 LEGOAS.
Thus the small a on some figures obviously meant something, but what? (?ordinals)
E Pela 3a” giving me “and for the threea 21” I asked for assistance. ? But, quarta 24 ¾ obviously meant the quarta represented fourth (4).
Thus we have 7 x 11/1/4 degrees, “7 Quarta” and Bartolomeu Velho’s distances to be sailed I have added a calculation sheet which converts B V’s figure into actual degrees to illustrate the accuracy achieved. As can be seen the first quarter is the main problem being close to the original 17 ½ leagues and in fact should be 17.5 divided by Cos 11.25 + 17.8428. Unfortunately a small adjustment to that figure to 18 makes for a large angular change.
Given that there are 32 compass points divided by 4 (quarta) we have the eight principal winds which are at 45 degrees to each other, and with 4 quarters each of 11 .25 degrees.
And this task was considered mental arithmetic by the writers of the Four Marteloio featured in text Ch Ma.1.
BARTOLOMEU VELHO; PART ONE OF CHART DESCRIPTIONS.
FOUR CHARTS FORMING A PLANISPHERE DATED 1561 ( C800 X 1200MM EACH)
Originally held in the Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence from the end of the 1800’s and are presumed to have been given to the Accademia when the Tuscan Religious Orders were suppressed. In 1898 they were discussed by F L Pulle at the “Congress of Orientalists” in Paris and this lead to Antonio de Portugal De Faria, the Portuguese Consul in Leghorn (Livorno) supposedly having the charts reproduced by Zincography in 20 copies? I have not traced a single copy and the text he has written ( see later) actually only contains two photos of “India” from the charts, which he noted were taken by F L Pulle.
The next mention of them is when they were lodged in the Museo Tecnico Navale, at La Spezia, Italy in 1931 and then in 1953 during the revamping of the Museum then soon to be Director, Professor Luigi Monti prepared new facsimiles which are superior to the photos in the PMC Volume two as Plates 201 to 204. My only regret is that the M T N la Spezia has no information on how these facsimiles were made, but suspect it was in the Arsenale Militare Marittimo, the Naval Yard at La Spezia, who had a photographic Section. (See Appendix).
The charts shown in PMC as plates 201-204, with the text on pages 95-101 includes an appendix pages 98-101 which is a list of the toponyms on these charts with the exception of Europe, N Africa, the Antilles and other Atlantic islands and the interior of Asia. Thus the coastline of America, North and South; the Asian coastline; the African coasts and India with the Pacific Islands are covered.
Plate 201, the Pacific Ocean.
ChBV/1/D04
I have already covered the two technical diagrams. To be specially noted on this chart is the north westerly line from the” Estreito de Fernao de Magalhaes, Canal de Todos os Santos” which has the following along its length; “CAMINHO QUE FIZER AM AS NAOS DO MAGALHAES”. The COLURES are named as Colurus Ae.quinoctij, and Colurus Solstitij Aestiualis.
ChBV/1/D05
The diagram following shows the route of Fernand de Magellan, from Sanlucar de Barrameda, Southern Portugal through the Estreito de Todos Santos and then North Westerly across the Pacific Ocean passing several small islands to arrive at the Islas de los Ladrones and then through the spice islands to MACTAN where he was slain in a fight against the population on the 27th April 1521.
The Ecliptic and the Stars are dealt with separately.
ChBV/1/D06
Geographically the chart shows the Japanese Islands in the N West and south of them the Spice Islands which by using the colure as the Anti-Meridien of Tordesillas, the Spice Islands claimed by Portugal and Spain as in their 50% of the world sphere are clearly in the Portuguese half! Politics on a chart as usual!
Using the scale bar as the measuring device it is so very apparent that Velho has followed the previous cartographers in drawing a SQUARE chart. That is, each degree of latitude is equalled by the degrees of longitude.
In the east is the California Coast of N America, with Baia, Cape St Lucas geographically at 110west.
Plate 202; The America’s North and South.
ChBV/1/D07
There is a single main text on the chart which states; “Christoforus Columbus Italis Hercule Maior Novum Terrarum Orbem Hispanis Primus Monstravit Elsque Posidendum Reliquit Anno 1492”
In the south we read “ Estreito Que descubem Fernao D Magalhaes Ano Do Sur 1592” and from this to the N West; “Caminho que Fizeram As Naos do Magalhaes”
The colures are named; “Colurus Solstitij Aestiualis” and Colurus Aequino ctijs”
The Ecliptic and Stars are dealt with separately.
ChBV/1/D08
Geographically the chart is from Baia California to Cape San Roque N East S America. I have appended the geographical co-ordinates of main coastal points which indicates the same basic layout of them as shown on preceding cartographers charts. Included is an extra diagram indicating the Colure through the mouth of the River Amazon which geographically is 50West and is at least 5 degrees west of the most accepted actual alignment. I have included the range of longitudes that can be argued, and were argued some 600 years ago with the east and west island positions of the Cape Verde’s. An appendix quantifies this positioning.
ChBV/1/D09
This description of Brazil is continued on Plate 203.
Plate 203; the Atlantic and Europe and Africa.
ChBV/1/D10
There are no text passages upon this chart.
Being a square chart it equates to many other planispheres drawn in this period be they Portuguese or Spanish.
ChBV/1/D11
The Mediterranean Sea basin and Africa are as most portolan charts with the Mediterranean Sea slewed in an anti-clockwise direction and Africa much increased in size longitudinally. The Latitudes are basically correctly drawn.
One striking feature of the Brazilian section of the chart as discussed above is the position of the Colure through the mouth of the Amazon River. Again this is politically advantageous to Portugal as it enhances the land in S America they can claim under the Treaty of Tordesillas. In this enhanced section B V clearly indicates that he considers a River flows from the Amazon Estuary to Lake Evpana with its three islands and it then flows south linking to the Rio da Prata ( River Plate) which is in effect a water boundary for the Line of Tordesillas and a clear delimitation of Land in Brazil. This has been described by another researcher as follows: “This conception of an island of Brazil surrounded by the ocean and two large rivers, united by a lake, probably the Tocantins of today, “” are connected by the Evpana Lagoon to the south of which one can see the Mar Grande or Paraguay, that we identify with the Pantanal of the Xarais””. From this same lagoon started the Sao Francisco River, “” Which joins by a smaller lake to the Parnaibo and further down to the Parana, which in turn meets the Evpana Lagoon””.
Other Portuguese Cartographers such as F Vaz Dourado have similar schemes on their charts. This is covered in PMC Volume 3, pages 3-29. Plate 260 from the atlas mimics B V , but on the 1568 and 1571 Atlases it does not exist.
ChBV/1/D12
However, the interior of Brazil, to determine these facts was not explored until after 1561 and hence we are witnessing cartographers trying to make sense of coastal information and thus guessing what may be there. This has been a feature of charts since their first concept some 3000 years ago to avoid vast empty spaces in the interiors of their coastal profiles.
Plate 204 Middle and Far East
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Written in Latin is the following;
“Bartolomeu Velho, Royal Hydrographer, student of Mathematics composed this in Lisbon in the 64th year after India submitted to the Portuguese”.
That unfortunately is open to conjecture for the date.
ChBV/1/D14
The second text reads; “Vasco da Gama commanding the Portuguese Fleet, having sailed with great toil across the unknown ocean, first showed and opened Oriental India to the Portuguese in the year of salvation 1497”.
Vasco Da Gama departed Portugal in 1497, sailed the East coast of Africa, from 11/01/1498 to 24/04/1498 and arrived at Pantalayini, 21 /05/1498, some 20km from Calicut, but did not beach until 28/05/1498. Thus it was not submission merely first encounter and it took several more years for Portugal to establish a safe permanent base.
Completing the 360 degrees and extending from the Mediterranean Sea to Japan, 36E to 145E, it follows the Claudius Ptolemy tradition of Asia and China. It is well annotated for the regions and toponyms and thus shows the culmination of exploration c1550. From the west, S America we have “Magellan 1520/21”, “Loaisa 1526”, “Saavedra 1527” and “Grijalve, 1536”. Thus this chart shows the situation in 1543-1549 when the first Europeans ventured further East.
The first Europeans to arrive in Japan did so by accident rather than design, being blown off course in a Typhoon, shipwrecking the sailors on the Island of TANEGASHIMA, just off the SW tip of Japan. But, eager to trade with Japan the Portuguese soon established more formal traffic through the port of NAGASAKI and in 1549 the Jesuit Priest Francis Xavier (1506-1552) arrived in the country to found the first Christian Mission.
It appears that Bartolomeu Velho being highly placed cartographically received the latest exploration data to arrive and hence his charts are able to show Japan from the 1543 shipwrecking of Antonio da Mota and the NAGASAKI visits soon afterwards.
GENERAL COMMENTS
The above words are surely enough to have sorely tried the Portuguese and when Bartolomeu Velho absconded to France no doubt wished to stop his intelligence being freely given to France. This knowledge was priceless to them!
The four charts have significant overlap, but by aligning the Colures, a single chart of 360 degrees can be achieved and represents a considerable advance in certain areas, but retards to Claudius Ptolemy in others.
Preceding this set of charts we have works by; Diogo Homem, Joao Freire, The Reinels, The Homems, The Fernandes etc., thus all or any could be the fore-runner of these charts and be the TEACHER of Bartolomeu Velho?
PMC AND TREATY OF TORDESILLAS
In a foot note the PMC author state as follows; “This colure is 385 leagues ( measured on the nearest league scale) from Ilha de Santos Antao and converting the distance by means of the table in the Pacific Chart ( since the representation cannot have served a purely decorative purpose), we obtain on the 14th parallel where the Island is situated precisely the distance of 370 leagues specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas”.
In fact the island is set at 17 ½ degrees north, well above Cape Verde and hence the actual distance if the Longitudes were translated, given that these are square charts, would be 385 Cos 17 ½ = 367 leagues and at 14N it is 373.56 leagues. The intent is clear but the actual “Proporcao des Paralels” is perhaps too small to be accurate and choosing the 14N latitude when it is drawn at 17 1/2N is not exactly scientific, more hopeful of a matching outcome!
ChBV/1/D15
But the Spanish League, Legua Legal, abolished by Philippe V in 1568 was divided into 3 Milles and is 15000 feet with 26.62 per degree which are 2.3943 statute miles or 4.1750Km.
Portugal; The league was 18 per degree or 5 miles or 18709 feet. That is 3.8365 statute miles or 6.1741 Km as shown on the previous diagrams.
Thus it is open to opine that Bartolomeu had intended the colure to mark the treaty line.
THE ECLIPTIC , STAR SIGNS AND STARS ON THE FOUR CHARTS.
ChBV/1/D16
ChBV/1/D17
To explain just what Bartolomeu Velho is illustrating on his four charts, appended here are 2 diagrams of explanation. The first illustrates the ecliptic with its star signs shown in their correct position apropos the Equinox and Solstice positions which is where the ecliptic crosses the Geographical Equator and it positions the colures. The second diagram plots Bartolomeu Velho’s setting out using all four as drawn and then compared to the actuality of the geographical Earth. Thus the Spring Equinox in March commences our understanding of the Star Signs, but naturally as the Earth rotates once every 24 hours through the whole twelve signs the Spring Equinoctial position varies. From Japan at 145 degrees East merely because he can as the ecliptic moves 15 degrees per hour it obviously suited his layout of the four charts to illustrate the Portuguese possessions in the East.
Chart Plate 201 Astronomy.
ChBV/1/D18
The ecliptic commences at the Equinoctial Colure (145E) and rises to the Tropic of Cancer at the AETIVALIS SOLSTITIAL COLURE. Note that the star sign of ORION, although not named, has what is termed ORION’S BELT, the three stars aligning and taken by some as a metaphor for the three Pyramids of Egypt, at Gaza.
In TAURUS he has singled out “OCULUS TAURUS” (Aldebaran) with Taurus forming the profile of a Bull’s Face, a “V” or “K” shaped asterism of Stars. This outline is created by prominent members of the “HYADES”, the nearest distinct star cluster after the URSA MAJOR moving group. In this profile, ALDEBARAN, forms the BULL’S BLOODSHOT EYE which has been described as “glaring menacingly “ at the “Hunter ORION” and there are three named stars in the constellation ORION.
Chart Plate 202 Astronomy.
ChBV/1/D19
The colures are Solstitial AETIVALES and AEQUINOCTIL, with the ecliptic commencing in Neuva Galizia on the Tropic of Cancer in Gemini and finishing on the Equator in September and Libra. All except two stars are named, those being too close to other texts to name.
Chart Plate 203 Astronomy
ChBV/1/D20
The colures are AEQUINALIIS and Solstisti HIEMALIS, with the ecliptic commencing on the Equator in Libra and finishing on the Tropic of Capricorn in Sagittarius. However there is rather less data appended on this sheet than the preceding two, merely Star Signs, 3 stars and the months of the year.
Chart Plate 204 Astronomy
The colures are Solstitii HIEMALIS and AEQUINOCTIL, with the ecliptic commencing on the Tropic of Capricorn and returning to its start position on the Equator. The star names on this chart are quite curious, other than two being illegible, from left to right it should read Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius Pisces, and Aries, with Pegasus above Pisces and then Andromeda above Pegasus. The two illegible names above Pegasus are thus named here-in. In the heavens above Andromeda is Cassiopea and Ursa Minor with the POLE Star.
ChBV/1/D21
BARTOLOMEU VELHO PART 2; HM44 ATLAS; HUNTINGTON LIBRARY USA.
(The text has two pages and eight diagrams.)
This atlas comprises 18 folios of which 16 are charts and the first two tables having Solar Declinations and Cosmographical information. The Solar Declination tables which link from sheet 1 to sheet 2, cover 4 years; 2 1/3rd years on folio one and 1 2/3rd years on folio two. The inset text amplifies the tables, being cosmographic rules which cover the Regiment of the Sun, Conversion Table for fractions of a degree, Regiment of the Southern Cross and Regiment of the North in the shape of a wheel. Note; this is the information given on Plate 201, the first main chart.
In Portugaliae Monumenta Cartographia, pages 107-109 and on plates 227-236 is a complete description of the atlas which I do not intend, nor think necessary, to copy and include in this text.
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ChBV/2/D23
ChBV/2/D24
ChBV/2/D25
ChBV/2/D26
My concern is one of presentation in the order of the sheets, with each chart being a half page as the diagrams illustrate. These are photographs kindly taken by the Huntington Library so that a full understanding of its layout can be appreciated. The pages are numbered f2 and then f2v for the verso or left hand side. Thus folios f2 and f3v, which are, or should be naturally facing each other as Recto/Verso because they link correctly by scale and layout to form a larger chart are in fact set f2 with f3v on its reverse. Thus if the photos are folded along the centre line and backed to each other they will be as drawn.
ChBV/2/D27
Quite frankly, that is a ridiculous form of presentation for an atlas as the actuality of the world cannot be seen with adjoining sections linking properly. I have thus set down on four sheets with four folios per sheet all 16 as drawn which allows the next diagram which has all 16 folios at thumb size there-on and are set next to each other such that an open page would have on the left “V” and on the right “R”, verso recto, in such a manner as sheets which join and form a larger chart are adjacent.
If the atlas had been so drawn and drawn geographically for sense of place the f2v/f3 would be handed, thus the northern west coast of S America could link to its southern portion. Folio 7r and 6r should be so handed, again west to east coast of Africa. It is also practical to join f5 to f6 forming a complete Mediterranean Sea and then f6v to f8, west coast of Africa and f7v to f7, east coast of Africa to the residue of the east coast of Arabia/India.
Immediately the atlas will take on a geographical content not just 16 folios of charts which do not appear cohesive.
THE SCALE OF THE ATLAS
ChBV/2/D28
On folio f6, western and central Europe etc., I have set down the latitudinal scale as drawn and traced the latitudes which are the most important to discovering the scale measures. Basically they vary from 89 to 85 units per degree and it is thus open to opine that the base measure is 90 Miliaria per degree of latitude. That is the same scale measurement as found on the four sheets which make the planisphere already discussed.
A HIDDEN STORY
ChBV/2/D29
There is a hidden story drawn on Folio2, West USA and Mexico.
The coast line clearly shows Mexico from its coast on the Gulf of Mexico to Southern California and what is referred to as Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur, the peninsula of Baja. However a later adjustment to the south coast of Mexico has been made and Acapulco moved from its original coast position south-easterly to the new coast. By studying the latest atlas page it can be seen that this alteration brings the coastline closer to the geographical.
But adjacent to the name MEXICO is a circular object which represents TIMITISTAN or TUTUMINIS, now Mexica City. From TUTUMINIS (TIMITISTAN) tracking north west are a series of dot/circles ending in a small pair of hills.
Bartolomeu Velho has cleverly indicated the position of the Spanish Silver Mines, possibly the richest vein ever found at ZACATECOS. Note, the photo of BUFA HILL has in the background the second hilltop, hence the information concerning Silver found in 1546 with mining in 1548 and several mines being used indicates that the atlas date would be much later than the 1560 proposed in the PMC.
However, without exposing the possible origins of the data, Velho has succeeded in exposing its position in Mexico, but, did he really know as there is no attempt on this folio at placing toponyms even though some are already shown on folio 3v.
Zacatecas City is at 22° 46’ 25” north and 102° 34’ 25” west and using geographical features to plot longitudes Velho has place the “HILLS” at 104° west and Mexico city is 19° 10’W, thus drawn correctly.
COMMENT
As already surmised the Atlas followed the 4 sheet planisphere dated 1561. On the planisphere sheet plate 202, from Costa Perdida in the N W on the folio there are c38 toponyms and they do not include “Acapulco”, but under the sub-head “Neuva Spania” there is Tutuminis, Mexico City.
Therefore from the Spanish treasure find of Silver in 1548 and as the new Spanish Charts of the coast of Mexico etc., became available, this atlas of 1562/64 could be updated with the alterations we see on the folios and the addition of the “Silver Route”. Hence I suspect the Atlas was deliberately left unfinished as the rumours of exploration no doubt swirling around the Portuguese Cartographical Industry meant that it was prudent to hold off completion hoping thus to produce the most up-to-date Atlas possible.
BARTOLOMEU VELHO, PART 3, THE 24 SECTION GORE DIAGRAM.
(The text is one page and has three diagrams)
ChBV/3/D30
Held in the BnF Paris as GE D-7824 (Res), this idea of forming a projection of the Globe World onto a flat sheet of parchment was obviously meant to impress with its luxurious backing design, shown as Diagram One. It is however fraught with difficulty.
The second paragraph page 93 of PMC has the following text; “Drawn and illuminated on parchment, 365 x 433mm it is pasted to a sheet of cardboard and considerably faded. The Gores stand out against a background decorated with gold flowers and black rosaceae, in which Jose de Figueiredo, the former director of the Museu de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, saw indications of Persian influence”.
In his declarations folio 34r of the “Cosmographia” (see next Part 4), Bartolomeu Velho states to the King of France “he intended to draw charts to determine which of them is closest to the round body”. Thus we may consider that this Gore set is one of a number of charts produced to amplify the text he was aiming to present to the King of France.
However at c370mm diameter from the tip to tip of the Gores (BnF give size 43 x 37cms), and given that an A3 sheet is 297 x 420mm with an A2 sheet 420 x 594mm, it is minute and thus if translated into a globe would have an equatorial circumference of 370mm with each gore being 185mm long. Diagram two illustrates the situation drawn.
Given the way that it has been drawn and visually it is obvious the Gores above the Equator, then the Tropic of Cancer, are in fact over wide and disappearing to a single line this facilitated the drawing of the land mass from the Mediterranean Sea east and the North American continent.
ChBV/3/D31
On the second diagram the Gores have been released from the background and a typical gore set drawn to illustrate at gore length 185mm, globe circle 370mm, the actual globe produced would be only 117.775mm diameter.
ChBV/3/D32
To illustrate the Globe properly and enable an actual globe to be constructed in a meaningful way, the gore size would require to be drawn at c700mm and then the globe would be c450mm diameter and each gore c58mm. The second diagram has the gores set out in a traditional manner and indicates the plot as drawn has a length at the equator of unequal distances when based upon the 15 degree divisions of the equator.
The third diagram illustrates the geographical points as taken from the four charts forming the planisphere and the fact that thus drawn it becomes a visible chart, ready to form a globe.
BARTOLOMEU VELHO PART 4; “PRINCIPIO DA VERDADERIA COSMOGRAFIAE GEOGRAPHICA UNIVERSEL DE TODOS TERRAS”. (One page and three diagrams.)
The text is in the BnF Paris as GE EE 266 (Res) and contains 33 folios of which 9 are blank, two folded leaves and one leaf folded in four, all on paper.
Bartolomeu arrived if France September 1567 and on 2th February 1568 is deceased. Hence, the obituary which has been inscribed in the text is dated 1568 and that is used.
Again in PMC pages 103-105 there is a description of the text which was intended for the King of France, but on page 103 it is stated it was never delivered and was in fact finally given to the Grand Duke of Tuscany to somehow end up in Portugal. It was auctioned in March 1950 and purchased by the BnF Paris.
ChBV/4/D33
The cartographic interest is in the globes drawn at the head of four folios as shown and in the centre of “Figura dos Corpos Celestes”. Each , even at this small scale, the pages being 235 x 225mm, the globes are highly detailed and have longitudinal lines set at 15 degree centres; i.e., hourly centres. Comprising both equatorial and polar projections, each having the ecliptic appended, they show the skill of Bartolomeu Velho in the art of illustration and the understanding of projection. His Father Diogo Fernandes was an Illuminator and the Fernandes family cartographers.
ChBV/4/D34
However, on the second diagram Velho endeavours to illustrate another form of projection with hemispheres and polar circles intended to make a complete globe. Unfortunately if these were to be used to form a globe, as the photo attached, because of a mis-dimensioning of the Pole to the Equator they form two cones which in turn form a flat polar Earth and certainly not a globe.
ChBV/4/D35
Was it intentional or is it a mistake as the distance from the Equator to the Pole must be one quarter of the equatorial circle. Thus the “gore” would be c408mm based on a circle of 816.814mm with the equatorial diameter of 260mm. But I suspect the diagram has been scaled to fit the page size, as Velho has shown he is aware of the correct dimensions.
The photograph of the two cones shows one with the overlapping 5 degrees still attached and the other cut to the Equatorial line, hence they can be temporarily joined to form a double cone.
APPENDIX
There are three usable sets of photos concerning the four charts of Bartolomeu Velho. The first set dated c1960 is to be found in PMC Volume2, Plates 201 to 204 ( black and white)
The second set dated c1953 are to be found in the Museu Tecnico Navale, La Spezia Italy.
The third set dated after 1975 are to be found in the Museu Galileo, Florence who also now hold the originals belonging to the Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence. The first and third sets are actual photos of the original charts and suffer from two obvious problems. They are in a poor state of preservation and thus the Toponyms are hard to read.
However , the set held in the Museu Tecnico Navale, are different. In 1953 Professor (ING) Luigi Monti ( soon to be Director) found that these originals in the possession of the Museum since 1931, was only temporary, and he had the opportunity to produce facsimiles, not complete photos as such. If the original photos are compared to these facsimiles it is immediately apparent that a large amount of rewriting and retouching has taken place. Hence, they are all signed by Professor Luigi Monti and are his work of restoration. Diagrams ChBV/1/D36 to D39
They are obviously based upon photographs of the original charts and we can assume the task was as follows;
1)Large glass plates were used to photograph the original charts, which are all c800 x 1200mm and thus required a special camera, which we know from the reports available was used militarily. Thus during the First World War those cameras had plates being 70 x 120cms and were particularly good when used from both Balloons and later Aircraft.
2)Professor Luigi Monti was an “Ingeneur” and thus no doubt knew of these and had access to them for the purpose of photographing these charts. The probable place of photography was the Naval Base, Arsenale Militare Marittimo della Spezia, where it is known such work took place, but there is no evidence available.
3)However, the photographs, if just of the charts, would not have been adequate and they required to be “Doctored”, that is partly visible texts rewritten, colours enhanced and various age marks removed, dirt etc., on them since 1561. That work is best carried out by screen printing. A photo is used to prepare the first Screen and then the areas not wanted, dirty, illegible and poorly coloured can be masked off and the partial screen then printed on the base parchment, ready for the new work to be carried out.
4) Unfortunately as already mentioned the Museu Tecnico Navale has no records of this work or where the plates are now. But from 1931 when they were loaned to it until 1954 when the Museum had been revamped, no doubt much information was lost.
ChBV/4/D36
ChBV/4/D37
ChBV/4/D38
ChBV/4/D39
5) But the most intriguing point of the new photos is the paper on which they are produced. It has a background of small black “Script E’s”??? covering it. In fact that is part of the structure of PIG SKIN, from which this parchment is made. It cannot be Goat or Sheep the normal skins for parchment as the size at 800 x 1200 would be unattainable. The photograph attached indicates the background and the signature of Professor Luigi Monti.
ChBV/1/D40
5) But the most intriguing point of the new photos is the paper on which they are produced. It has a background of small black “Script E’s”??? covering it. In fact that is part of the structure of PIG SKIN, from which this parchment is made. It cannot be Goat or Sheep the normal skins for parchment as the size at 800 x 1200 would be unattainable. The photograph attached indicates the background and the signature of Professor Luigi Monti. Diagram ChBV/1/D40
6) “Parchment” is translucent, a skin, as normal parchment would be, by photographing the original and amending it on a screen print the under-lying structure of the skin is apparent in the finished article and is those little “E’s”..
7) All that remains to discover is the place of preparation of the Pig Skin, the actual Photograph plates, the Screen Printing facility that was used and exactly when and where it was all carried out?