Mundus Novus
Mundus Novus (" New World ") is the title of a travel report that Amerigo Vespucci sent as a letter to the Florentine nobleman Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici in 1502 .
In the travel report Vespucci tells of his third trip to South America (May 1501 - September 1502). He had made this trip from Lisbon on behalf of the Portuguese king. After a long and stormy crossing, he reached the north Brazilian coast on August 7, 1501, along which he sailed south for several months. During this time he visited the locals more often when going ashore and got to know their exotic customs and traditions. Vespucci describes this in detail in his report, with cannibalism , piercing and sexuality of the Indians in particular being described in very detailed and drastic directness.
Vespucci's original report, written in Italian, has been lost. The authoritative version is the Latin translation, published as early as 1503 , which after its publication as a pamphlet found many readers all over Europe and was translated into several languages (German, French, Dutch, Italian). So wore Mundus Novus significantly to make the fact of the existence of a newly discovered continent and the name of Amerigo Vespucci known to the public and to recommend him as a name for the newly discovered continent.
In 2019, in the 600th anniversary year of the University of Rostock, a folio edition, which had been printed in 1505 by Councilor Hermann Barckhusen , was bought from private ownership for € 200,000 and shown in the anniversary exhibition.
Today, Mundus Novus is used as a starting reading in school Latin lessons because of its fairly simple Latin and its interesting content .
Text output
- Joachim Klowski, Eckart Schäfer : Mundus novus (= old-language text editions, Klett collection ). Latin texts on the conquest of America. Improved and expanded edition, Klett Schulbuchverlag, Leipzig et al. 1991, ISBN 3-12-656610-3 ; in addition teacher comment . Klett Schulbuchverlag, Leipzig et al. 1991, ISBN 3-12-656630-8 (German translation and commentary)
- Joachim Klowski: Mundus Novus. Amerigo Vespucci's letter about the discovery of the "New World". (Disputanda), Klett Schulbuchverlag, Leipzig a. a. 2002, ISBN 3-12-643260-3
- Robert Wallisch (Ed.): The Mundus Novus of Amerigo Vespucci. Text, translation and commentary. 3rd, revised edition. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-7001-3069-7
- Norbert Schulz (Ed.): Amerigo Vespucci: Mundus Novus (with second texts) (= Neo-Latin texts for ancient language teaching. Vivarium, Series neolatina. Volume 2). MMO Verlag for the Promotion of Middle and New Latin, Butjadingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-9811144-2-3
Web links
- Early print of the "Mundus Novus"
- Facsimile and English translation
- Digitized of the folio edition Rostock 1505 (with title woodcut and map)
Single receipts
- ↑ J. Mangler: Rare prints from the New World back. Schweriner Volkszeitung, June 15, 2019, accessed on June 19, 2019 .