Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...

and

cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...

. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universiti ...

. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, '' Cosmographia'', sold well and went through 24 editions. Its influence was widely spread by a production of woodcuts created of it by a variety of artists.

Life

He was born in Ingelheim, near

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, the son of Andreas Münster. His parents and other ancestors were farmers. In 1505, he entered the

Franciscan order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

. Four years later, he entered a monastery where he became a student of Konrad Pelikan for five years. Münster completed his studies at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

in 1518. His graduate adviser was

Johannes Stöffler Johannes Stöffler (also ''Stöfler, Stoffler, Stoeffler''; 10 December 1452 – 16 February 1531) was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen. Life Jo ...

Munster Tabula Novarum Insularum 1540 UTA

He left the Franciscans for the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

in order to accept an appointment at the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

-dominated

in 1529. He had long harboured an interest in

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, and during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositi ...

, as a monk, he had been repeatedly attacked. A professor of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, and a disciple of Elias Levita, he edited the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

translation and a large number of annotations. He was the first German to produce an edition of the Hebrew Bible. He published more than one Hebrew grammar, and was the first to prepare a ''Grammatica Chaldaica'' (Basel, 1527). His lexicographical labours included a ''Dictionarium Chaldaicum'' (1527), and a ''Dictionarium trilingue'' for Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in 1530. He released a ''Mappa Europae'' (map of Europe) in 1536. In 1537, he published a Rabbinical translation of the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew which he had obtained from Spanish ''

Converso A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert", () was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of his or her descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian p ...

s''. In 1540 he published a Latin edition of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's '' Geographia'' with illustrations. The 1550 edition contains cities, portraits, and costumes. These editions, printed in Germany, are the most valued of this work. Other writings that followed are ''Horologiographia'' (a treatise on dialling – constructing

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a f ...

s, Basel, 1531), and ''Organum Uranicum'' (a treatise on the planetary motions, 1536). Back side of map Novae lnsulae XXVI Nova Tabula

His '' Cosmographia'' of 1544 was the earliest description of the world in the

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

. It had numerous editions in different languages including

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Italian,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and even Czech. The ''Cosmographia'' was one of the most successful and popular works of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years. This success was due to the fascinating

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s (some by

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest por ...

Urs Graf Urs Graf (c. 1485 in Solothurn, Switzerland – possibly before 13 October 1528) was a Swiss Renaissance goldsmith, painter and printmaker (of woodcuts, etchings and engravings), as well as a Swiss mercenary. He only produced two etchings, one ...

, Hans Rudolph Manuel Deutsch, and David Kandel), in addition to including the first to introduce "separate maps for each of the four continents known then – America, Africa, Asia and Europe."National Library Board of Singapore. ''Visualising Space: Maps of Singapore and the Region. Collections from the National Library and National Archives of Singapore'', 2014, p. 42 It was most important in reviving geography in 16th-century Europe. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after his death. Münster was also known as translator of the Hebrew Bible (''Hebraica Biblia''). His edition was published in two volumes (1546) in Basel. Th
first volume
contains the books from Genesis to 2 Kings, following the order of the Masoretic codices. Th
second volume
contains The Prophets (Major and Minor), The Psalms, Job, Proverb, Daniel, Chronicles, and the Five Scrolls (The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther). His ''Rudimenta Mathematica'' was published in Basel in 1551. He died at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in 1552. Münster's tombstone describes him as the

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe ('' sofer'') and priest ('' kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρ ...

and the

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

of the

German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Gallery

Several paintings with oil on canvas, woodcuts and copper etchings depict Sebastian Münster, by Hans Holbein d. J. (Basel, c. 1530), Willem de Haen (1615), as rector of the

(by Christoph Amberger, um 1547), and on the 100- DM-bill as used 1962 to 1991. Image:Remigius-Muenster.jpg, Statue of Sebastian Münster in front of St. Remigius Church, Ingelheim Image:Cosmographia titelblatt der erstausgabe.JPG, Cover of first edition of '' Cosmographia'' Image:Saal-Ingelheim-Cosmographia-1628.jpg, His home town Ingelheim in ''Cosmographia'' Image:Porträt Sebastian Münsters in der Cosmographia von 1628 .JPG, Portrait of Sebastian Münster, edition of 1628 Image:Europe_As_A_Queen_Sebastian_Munster_1570.jpg, '' Europa regina'' in Münster's "'' Cosmographia''", 1570. Image:100 DM Serie3 Vorderseite.jpg, Old 100 DM banknote, 1962–1991, depicting Münster.

References

External links

* * *
Lateinische Werke im Internet
- Umfangreiche Dokumentensammlung des Sebastian-Münster-Gymnasiums in Ingelheim.

* ttp://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/mapmakers/munster.html ''Historic Cities: Sebastian Münster''br>Schreckenfuchs 1553 Oratio Funebris de Obitu Ssebastiani MunsteriOnline Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
High resolution images of works by and/or portraits of Sebastian Munster in .jpg and .tiff format.
"The Strange Career of the ''Biblia Rabbinica'' among Christian Hebraists, 1517–1620"

The Munster Map - Simcoe County ArchivesMaps by Munster
Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

Digitized high-resolution images of the 1540 first edition of the ''Geographia Universalis''
- from RareMaps.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Munster, Sebastian 1488 births 1552 deaths German cartographers Christian Hebraists 16th-century cartographers 16th-century German translators

Life

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links