CHAPTER III 



CATALAN WORLD MAPS 



Another notable stage was reached in the fourteenth century, 

 when European cartographers made the first attempt since 

 classical times to include the continent of Asia within their 

 world picture on the basis of contemporary knowledge. The 

 results of these efforts are embodied in the series of Catalan 

 world maps. 



In the first half of the fourteenth century the Catalan 

 school, largely Majorcans, took over from the north Italians 

 the lead in cartographic progress, though rather as successors 

 than as innovators. During the preceding century the Majorcans 

 had earned a great reputation among the peoples of the western 

 Mediterranean for their maritime prowess. After their incor- 

 poration in the Aragonese confederation (1229), the three ports 

 of Palma, Barcelona, and Valentia formed the basis of a com- 

 mercial enterprise which extended to most of the north African 

 ports as far as Egypt, and beyond to Syria. Early in the century, 

 the population had been augmented by Jewish refugees from 

 the Almohed persecutions, and this element strengthened 

 commercial relations especially with Morocco. Trade was 

 also stimulated by the aggressive policy of the able rulers of 

 Aragon, and diplomatic agents appear by 1300 to have reached 

 as far afield as Persia. But these Jewish refugees also included 

 scholars who could interpret the works of Arab scientists, and 

 this contact between practical and skilled seamen and those 

 versed in cosmography and astronomy was fruitful. These 

 sciences were also encouraged by the enlightened House of 

 Aragon, under whose patronage Barcelona became a centre for 

 the diffusion of Arabic knowledge, and therefore of advance in 

 I mathematics, astronomy and the construction of instruments. 



This intellectual ferment was not without its influence on 

 cartography, as may clearly be seen in that masterpiece, the 

 Catalan atlas of about 1375. Some attempts to extend the range 



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