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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=PT link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I fully endorse Matthew’s opinion below. Cartometric analysis in only helpful when its results are confronted and harmonized with historical evidence. In this particular case, any explanation which does not take into account the extant written sources describing the construction of charts, the navigational methods of the time and the spatial distribution of magnetic declination is most probably wrong. The alleged resemblance to Mercator’s projection is old news, as well as the Greek/Roman origin of nautical charts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The abstract in here: <a href="http://www.descartescentre.com/index.php?page=newsandagenda&agenda=804">http://www.descartescentre.com/index.php?page=newsandagenda&agenda=804</a> doesn’t help either. Its reading suggests that the author is not fully aware of what has been done in the last years, for example by Ramón Pujades. The historical research of Ramón suggests, for example, that portolan charts were developed from the beginning of the 13<sup>th</sup> century on, not at the end. This was confirmed by myself when associating the tilt of the Mediterranean on the early charts with the magnetic declination around 1200 in the area (see here: <a href="http://www.e-perimetron.org/Vol_3_4/Gaspar.pdf">http://www.e-perimetron.org/Vol_3_4/Gaspar.pdf</a> ). The idea that portolan charts are very accurate is not correct as we all know. Not only they show large direction distortions due to magnetic declination but also there are significant scale differences among the various areas depicted. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Finally I wonder how the author conciliates his “new” theory about the use of an explicit map projection in the construction of the charts with their use in navigation. As well as with the extant written sources describing how early nautical charts were made in the Renaissance. Anyway I really hope that this thesis bring new and valuable material to the discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Joaquim Alves <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Joaquim Alves Gaspar<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="http://www.ciuhct.com/"><span style='color:blue'>CIUHCT</span></a> – University of Lisbon<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Homepage: <a href="http://lisboa.academia.edu/JoaquimGaspar"><span style='color:blue'>Academia.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Gaspar<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> ishm-bounces@lazarus.elte.hu [mailto:ishm-bounces@lazarus.elte.hu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Matthew Edney<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, March 15, 2014 1:04 PM<br><b>To:</b> ishm@lazarus.elte.hu<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ISHMap-List] A critical review of the hypothesis of a medieval origin for portolan charts<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Dear All:<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>It is always very difficult to respond to a press release, mostly because in my experience PR people routinely seek the "sexy" aspects that appeal to the lowest-common cultural denominator. (See the fourth of Luis's bullet points.)<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The third of Luis's points exemplifies the problem: there, the reference to Mercator indicates a populist hook around which PR people can readily construct a narrative.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Overall, the press release suggests that the candidate undertook a numeric analysis of early portolan charts and concluded, in part, that such charts were based on some kind of projection similar to a Mercator projection. Yet one can fit a set of functions to any map; does that mean the creator actually used those functions in creating the map (especially when portolan charts lacked indications of latitude and longitude!)? A numeric analysis of an early map cannot stand by itself and I very much hope that the full dissertation provides the necessary contextual information to support such a conclusion.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Matthew<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Mar 15, 2014, at 3:36 AM, Luis Robles <<a href="mailto:luis.a.robles.macias@gmail.com">luis.a.robles.macias@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>I received this news last Wednesday through from Frank Jacobs's "Strange Maps" blog in BigThink (<a href="http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/648-portolan-charts-too-accurate-to-be-medieval">http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/648-portolan-charts-too-accurate-to-be-medieval</a>). I assume that many of you must have received it too but just in case I thought I should post it here for general information.<br><br><b>Roel Nicolai</b>, a PhD student at the University of Utrecht, presented last March 3 his doctoral dissertation entitled <i>A critical review of the hypothesis of a medieval origin for portolan charts</i>. He reached several provocative conclusions that I expect will stir debate among the members of the list. The book is not available online yet, but in the University's website there is a <a href="http://press.uu.nl/origin-of-medieval-sea-charts-disproven/">press release</a> in English from which I have extracted the following statements:<o:p></o:p></p><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"A mathematical analysis of the oldest surviving portolan has revealed that its source data must have been derived from a portolan chart - instead of the other way round."<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"it is unlikely that the nautical compass was available in time and that navigational methods used at that time were sophisticated enough to determine distances at such a degree of accuracy"<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"Nicolai has also established that portolan charts were drawn on the Mercator projection, or a similar type of projection."<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"they were much further advanced in terms of knowledge in the Middle Ages than we think"<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"An Arabic-Islamic origin is highly unlikely, according to Nicolai."<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>"It therefore seems plausible that portolan charts originated from a tradition that is now lost. It is an intriguing question from what culture that tradition stemmed. Further research will be required to establish whether or not Greco-Roman antiquity is a realistic option, says Nicolai."<o:p></o:p></li></ul><p class=MsoNormal>The university does not say whether Mr Nicolai was awarded the doctorate or how to get access to his publication.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><br>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Luis A. Robles Macías<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Profile in <a href="http://independent.academia.edu/LuisRoblesMac%C3%ADas" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Blog: <a href="http://historiaymapas.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://historiaymapas.wordpress.com/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________<br>ISHM mailing list<br><a href="mailto:ISHM@lazarus.elte.hu">ISHM@lazarus.elte.hu</a><br><a href="http://lazarus.elte.hu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ishm">http://lazarus.elte.hu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ishm</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:13.5pt'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>---------------------<br><br>Matthew Edney<br><br>Osher Professor in the History of Cartography (USM)<br><br>Director, History of Cartography Project (UW)<br><br>See <a href="http://www.maphistorydirectory.org/index.php/User:Edney.Matthew">http://www.maphistorydirectory.org/index.php/User:Edney.Matthew</a><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></body></html>