[s. E. DAWSON'] THE VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS 239 



the archbishop got ustruy in this part of his theory. He was using the 

 edition of Eertius, published in 1018-19, with Gerard Mercator's annota- 

 tions, 120 years after the events now in controversy. 



The Ptolemy maps then before the eyes of Soncino could be none 

 other than those published at Eome in 1490, and these may be readily con- 

 sulted in Nordenskiold's facsimile atlas ; but in it the great bend of the 

 Tanais is not south, but north of Bristol. It is in latitude 56° not only 

 on the special map of the region, but on the general map of the world. 

 The cit}' of Tanais is there, and, as the archbishop says, it is to the south, 

 and not in the country, as he supposes, of the Tanais. In the text of his 

 geography Ptolemy also gives its latitude as 54° 40', three degrees north 

 of 51° 30', the latitude of Bristol ; and the great bend of the Tanais, 

 where the Tanaitœ were located, is expressly stated in the text of 

 Ptolemy to be in lat. 5t)°. It is Cape Breton which the archbishop has 

 inexorably excluded as well as Newfoundland, and he has inadvertently 

 exploded his own landfall and assisted that of the advocates of northern 

 Labrador. In fact he might carry us to Greenland, if the word assai be 

 stretched as far north as he has stretched it south. 



It will be interesting to trace the origin of this singular error, for in 

 fact the great bend of the Tanais is in 56° in all the editions of Ptolemy. 

 Kind and ver}^ learned correspondents have examined for me in the great 

 libraries the series of Pt(-lemy atlases, and have sent me tracings, and it 

 is certain that in the edition of 1511 (Sjdvanus's), in that of 1535 (Ser- 

 vetus's), in that of 1542 (Munsters), in that of 1564 (Euscelli's), the 

 latitude is 56°. These are the chief editions until Bertius's. After 

 Bertius's edition Ptolemy ceased to have any weight, for then the modern 

 era had been firmly established, for it commenced in 1569 with Mercator. 



But even in the Ptolemy of Bertius this whole region is north 

 of Bristol. That edition is in reality a collection of geographical 

 treatises in two volumes, usually bound together. It contains, 1st, The 

 text of Ptolemy and the maps of Ptolemy ; 2nd, Annotations on 

 Ptolemy by Gerard Mercator ; 3rd, The Itineraries of Antoninus Pius ; 

 4th, The Peutigerian Tables ; 5th, An Atlas of Maps by Ortelius. The 

 work was printed by Hondins at Amsterdam and Ley den in 1618 and 

 1619. With the maps of Ortelius we have nothing whatever to do. The 

 Ptoiemj^ maps alone have any bearing on this question. 



Whoever consulted this atlas on behalf of the archbishop was unac- 

 customed to such documents, for he did not observe, or did not report it if he 

 noticed it, that bj^ a palpable error of the engraver 50° was put for 56°, 

 for 50° occurs below in its proper place. No expert could be deceived, 

 because reading the latitudes upwards on the margin they follow thus, 

 54°, 55°, 50°, 57°, 58°, etc., etc., and the line of what is in reality 56° 

 runs through the centre of the great bend of the Tanais. The edition 

 of Bertius thus corroborates the latitude of 56° in all the other editions, 

 and the same latitude of 56° is continued by the text of Ptolemy. Con- 

 venient reference may be made to Didot's edition (Greek, with a Latin 

 translation), where the latitudes ai-e as follows : Occidentale os Tanais 

 fl. 54° 20', orientale os 54° 30', inflexio fiuminis 56°. It will be seen 

 then that the whole river is north of 51° 30', the latitude of Bristol, for 

 the mouth is at 54° 30', and the great bend where the archbishop locates 

 the Tanaitte is at 56°. The oppidum (city) Tanais is in Ptolemy's text 

 at 54° 40'. 



The argument, therefore, of the address being based on an en*or falls 

 to the ground, and, besides, on the very majis upon which the discussion 



