Eivsdem Saturnaliorum Libri VII

1528

Shoults Itb 1528 M

[Venice]: Aldi, et Andreae Asvlani Soceri

Above is a stylised version of Macrobius’s (5th Cent. AD) world map, which first appeared in his treatise on the cosmos, In Somnium Scipio. The image has endured through manual transcription and printing over the centuries and is thought, along with Macrobius’s writings on astronomy and geography, to have been influential on early European explorers such as Columbus. Even J. C. Beaglehole made use of the image in his introduction to Cook’s Endeavour voyage journals. The map shows the Northern Hemisphere, which includes Britain, France, Africa and India, separated from the Southern Hemisphere (Incognita) by an enormous oceanic trough.