Jacob Roelofs van Deventer (c. 1500/1505 in Kampen – 1575 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

) was a Netherlandish

cartographer Cartography (; from , '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 imagined reality) can ...

of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. He is today best known for his work in systematically cartographing all towns and cities of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

of his time. Van Deventer was among the first to make systematic use of triangulation, a technique whose theory was described by

Gemma Frisius Gemma Frisius (; born Jemme Reinerszoon; December 9, 1508 – May 25, 1555) was a Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day ...

, one of his teachers at the University of Leuven.

Biography

Little biographical information exists about Jacob van Deventer. His patronage would suggest he was Catholic. Despite his name, he was probably not born in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, but in Kampen in the north of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His mother married a man called Roelof in Deventer in 1510, and Jacob probably grew up there. He first appears in the sources on 24 April 1520, when he enrolled at the University of Leuven under the name of "Jacobus de Daventria". On this basis, his date of birth is conjectured to have been around 1500–1505. In Leuven, Jacob's interests were first directed towards medicine and philosophy, but he then began to take an interest in geography and cartography. He later moved to

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, from where in 1572 he relocated to

to flee the upheavals of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

against the Spanish rule. During his career as a cartographer in the Spanish royal service, he earned himself the title of "Imperial Cartographer" from emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

in 1540 (later changed to that of "Royal Cartographer", after the emperor's abdication in 1555).

Works

Jacob van Deventer was among the first to make systematic use of

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle m ...

, a technique whose theory was described by his contemporary

in his 1533 book, ''Libellus de locorum describendorum ratione''. In 1536 he produced a printed map of Brabant, the first such map to be published in the Netherlands. He then launched into an impressive career as a mapmaker. In 1559, he was tasked by King Philip II with the project that was to become his life's work: the systematic cartography of all cities of the Netherlands. The resulting maps were kept unpublished because of their military value. As a result, they later became forgotten and were rediscovered only in the late 19th century.Wouter Bracke, ‘Jacob van Deventer e l'atlante di città dei Paesi Bassi’, in ''Le città dei cartografi. Studi e ricerche di storia urbana,'' ed. Cesare de Seta and Brigitte Marin, Naples: Electa, 2008, pp. 38–48.
/ref> Jacobus van Deventer worked on this monumental project until his death in 1575. In the course of fifteen years, he created between 250 and 260

city map A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduce ...

s, covering an area from

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

to what is today the north of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and reaching into

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the west of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. All maps were made according to the same scheme, using a scale of c. 1:8,000. Most were made in three versions: the first was a "minute" version or first draft of the city in its nearer surroundings, based on topographical data that was collected by surveying on the site, with texts in Dutch. Of these draft versions, 152 were discovered in 1859 in various provincial archives in the Netherlands and in the Royal Library of Brussels. (A number that were kept in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

were later destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and are preserved only as copies). The second stage was a "main chart" (''netkaart'' or ''hoofdkaart''), representing a cleaned-up elaborated version of the previous minute map, with texts in Latin. A third map, termed a ''bijkaart'' (ancillary chart) was produced that showed only the city itself, without the surroundings. It contains only the fortification works and canals, and the principal buildings and streets. The main charts with their ancillary charts were preserved as a three-volume atlas in the National Library of Madrid. Of this, one volume has been lost; 179 maps are preserved (in addition to 152 drafts).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Deventer, Jacob 1500s births 1575 deaths 16th-century Dutch cartographers 16th-century Flemish cartographers People from the Spanish Netherlands Old University of Leuven alumni People from Kampen, Overijssel Year of birth uncertain

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links