COMPASS-CHARTS 



" Moreover the upper arm of the ocean [i.e., the southern arm, the Baltic, 

 as the south is supposed to be at the top of the map], which cuts through and 

 past Dania, washes the south coast of Gothia [Gotaland, i.e., Sweden] with a 

 bay of fair size; but the lower [northern] branch, which goes past the north 

 coast of Gothia and Noruagia, turns towards the east with a considerable 

 widening, and is bounded by a curved coast. This end of the sea was called 

 by our ancient primaeval inhabitants Gandvicus. Between this bay and the 

 southern sea lies a little piece of continent, which looks out upon the seas 

 washing it on both sides. If nature had not set this space as a limit to the 

 two almost united streams, the arms of the sea would have met one another, 

 and made Suetia and Noruagia into an island." 



It seems not improbable that the delineation on Vesconte's 

 map may have a connection with this description; it has also 

 very nearly the same forms 

 of names. The regions far 

 in the north and east on his 

 map are pure fancy, and 

 the "rifei montes" are still 

 found there. 



Eight other MSS. (in vari- 

 ous libraries) of Sanudo's 

 work are known, accom- 

 panied by maps, and six of 

 them have the circular map- 

 pamundi; but the repro- 

 ductions differ considerably 

 one from another, especially 

 in the representation of the 



northern coast of Europe.^ The mappamundi in the MS 

 Queen Christina's collection in the Vatican (Codex Reginensis, 

 548), and the exactly similar map in the MS. at Oxford, have a 

 remarkably good delineation of the Scandinavian peninsula 

 (see map on p. 224), with the names "Suetia" (Svealand), 

 "Gotia" (Gotaland), and "Scania" on the east, "Noruegia" 



1 On Marino Sanudo and Pietro Vesconte's maps cf. Hamy, 1889, pp. 349 

 f. and pi. VII.; Nordenskiold, 1889, p. 51; 1897; pp. 17, 56 f.; Kretschmer, 

 1909, pp. 113 f.; Bjornbo, 1909, pp. 210 f.; Bjornbo, 1910, pp. 120, 122 f.; K. 

 Miller, iii. 1895, pp. 132 f. 



223 



Northern Europe in Vesconte's mappa- 

 mundi (1320) in the Vatican [Kret- 

 schmer, 1891] 



m 



