Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1943, Page 12

X
the latitude of Iceland, calculating the latitude of the episcopal seat
Hålar approximately right at 65°44'. But it was of still greater value
that he drew the first map of Iceland based on actual measurements.
For that reason, and owing to his local knowledge, this map surpassed
all previous cartographic attempts1. Bishop GuSbrandur sent this map
to the Danish historian Anders Sørensen Vedel, and the latter passed
it on to the famous cartographer Abraham Ortelius who first pub-
lished it in 1590 (in Additamentum IV Theatri orbis terrarum). The
map was subsequently included in several editions of Ortelius’ Thea-
trum2. Another copy of the same original, or the original map of
GuSbrandur3, has been the model of the map of Iceland in Gerhard
Mercator’s Atlas of 1595. In both of these works the map is stated
to be derived from Vedel, while GuSbrandur borlåksson is not men-
tioned. But because his map was incorporated in these two famous
collections of maps, the work of GuSbrandur became the model of
Icelandic cartography in the time to come.
In both the editions mentioned above the map is accompanied
by an explanation, a kind of brief description of Iceland. Mercator’s
explanation is short, is based on earlier descriptions, and presents
nothing new of interest. Ortelius’ description in the edition of the
Theatrum 1595, on the other hånd, is considerably fuller and,
besides using older sources, also draws on Arngrimur Jonsson’s Brevis
commentarius. Ortelius, however, often juxtaposes the earlier ac-
counts and those of Arngrimur Jonsson, so that his description be-
comes a peculiar mixture of correct information and earlier and later
cock-and-bull stories. In addition he seems to have received with the
map some information from Anders Sørensen Vedel which can
probably in the last instance be traced back to GuSbrandur borlåks-
son himself. This account in Ortelius was later much used by various
geographers and is one of the main sources of descriptions of Iceland
from the 17th century.
After Mercator’s death the Netherlander Jodocus Hondius (1563-
1611) bought the copper plates for his atlas and published four
1 See Halldor Hermannsson, Islandica XVII p. 14 ff.
2 Islandica XVII p. 17. Of special interest here is the edition of 1595, on
account of the accompanying description of Iceland, see below.
3 Thus Halldor Hermannsson, Islandica XVII p. 20.