Jehudà Cresques (, 1360-1410), also known as Jafudà Cresques, Jaume Riba, and Cresques lo Juheu ("Cresques the Jew"),"Cresques lo Juheu"
/ref> was a ''

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 their descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian popula ...

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 ...

from ''

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

'' in the early 15th century.

Biography

The son of Cresques Abraham, a famous

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cartographer, he was born in

, in the Majorcan-Catalan speaking part of

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

, in present-day

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Together he and his father were the probable authors of the famous

Catalan Atlas The Catalan Atlas (, ) is a medieval world map, or mappa mundi, probably created in the late 1370s or the early 1380s (often conventionally dated 1375), that has been described as the most important map of the Middle Ages in the Catalan language, ...

of 1375. Cresques' work was highly sought after. In 1390 John I of Aragon paid 60 livres and 8

sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...

for one of his maps. After the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese persecutions of 1391 he was forcibly converted to Christianity, at which time he took the name Jaume Riba, Jacobus Ribus, in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. He appears to have remained in Majorca for a considerable time and to have become known to the people there as "''lo jueu buscoler''", the map Jew, or "''el jueu de les bruixoles''", the compass Jew.

'Mestre Jacome'

It has long been believed that Jehuda Cresques is the same person as 'Mestre Jacome', a Majorcan cartographer induced by the Portuguese prince

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

to move to Portugal in the 1420s to train Portuguese map-makers in Majorcan-style cartography. 'Jacome of Majorca' was described as the head of Henry's legendary observatory and "

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

" at Sagres by

Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex, son of a yeoman. He graduated from St J ...

. The identification of "Mestre Jacome" with Jehuda Cresques" is principally due to the Catalan historian Gonzalo de Reparaz (1930). More recent research argues that Jehuda Cresques was dead by 1410,e.g. Jaume Riera i Sans, 1977 and "Mestre Jacome" must have been someone else, identity still indeterminate - Majorca had many skilled Jewish cartographers.

References

Bibliography

* Quadrado, in ''Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia,'' xix.299, 309; * Hamy, in ''Bulletin de Géographie,'' 1891, pp. 218–222; * Meyer Kayserling, ''Christopher Columbus'', pp. 5–8; * Jacobs, ''Story of Geographical Discovery,'' pp. 60–62. * Reparaz, Gonzalo de (1930) ''Mestre Jácome de Mallorca: Cartógrafo do Infante'' Coimbra (offprint from ''Biblias'' journal of the Faculty of Letters of Coimbra). * Rey Pastor and García Camarero, '' La Cartografía Mallorquina,'' 1960, pp. 56–61. * Riera i Sans, Jaume, "Jafudà Cresques, jueu de Mallorca", in ''Randa'' n. 5 (1977) 51-66. (English translatio
online
) * Riera i Sans, Jaume - Gabriel Llompart, "Jafudà Cresques i Samuel Corcós. Més documents sobre els jueus pintors de cartes de navegar (Mallorca, s. XIV)", in ''Bolletí de la Societat Arqueològica Lul·liana'' n. 40 (1984) 341-350. (English translatio
online
)
www.cresquesproject.net
��Translation in English of the works of Riera i Sans and Gabriel Llompart on the Jewish Majorcan mapmakers of the Late Middle Ages. They include very complete biographies of Jafudà Cresques and his father Cresques Abraham. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cresques, Jehuda 1360 births 1427 deaths Medieval Majorcan Jews Majorcan cartographers Spanish Roman Catholics 14th-century Aragonese Jews Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Conversos 15th-century cartographers 15th-century Spanish scientists 14th-century people from the Crown of Aragon

Biography

'Mestre Jacome'

See also

References

Bibliography