Donnus Nicolaus Germanus

Map by Nicolaus Germanus in the Cosmographia of Ptolemy, 1482

Receipt from Donnus Nicolaus Germanus, astrologer, dated December 11, 1477 for the receipt of 200 ducats for a work by his own hand for the Pope that can be seen in the library

Donnus Nicolaus Germanus (* approx. 1420; † approx. 1490) was a cosmographer and astrologer . In 1477 he made a celestial and a terrestrial globe for the Vatican Library . The terrestrial globe dates 15 years before Martin Behaim's " Erdapfel " .

Cosmographer and astrologer

All that is known about the life of Nicolaus Germanus is that he lived in Florence. The first name Nicolaus and his surname suggest that he was of German origin. He wrote eleven manuscripts on parchment from the third quarter of the 15th century, in which he re-edited the geography of Ptolemy . The magnificently painted and mapped manuscripts have been preserved in the Vatican Library. For high geographical latitudes, Germanus introduced a new type of trapezoidal projection, which proves his high level of cartographic competence.

Germanus also worked as an astrologer - astrology and astronomy were not yet strictly separated from each other. In this context he worked out astronomical tables in which the planetary positions were recorded years in advance. This work has been lost; On the other hand, a horoscope for Pope Paul II has been preserved.

Nicolaus Germanus , mentioned in a letter from Vincenz Lang to Conrad Celtis , was later interpreted as Nicolaus Copernicus .

Globes of heaven and earth

In 1477, Germanus made a globe of heaven and earth for the Vatican Library - just two years after its opening. Proof of this is a receipt for 200 ducats dated December 11, 1477 for “a work by my own hand”. A note from the next day mentions the payment of three more ducats for affixing the papal coat of arms on the two globes and for a world map. Another note dated December 20 was about four ducats for two covers. This note explicitly mentions two globes, one of which is the celestial sign and the other is a description of the earth ( cosmographia ). The globes are then listed in an inventory from 1481.

The Marchesa of Mantua , Isabella, wanted to have a copy of each of the two globes made, about which an exchange of letters from 1505 is available. In it the Marchesa wrote to her agent in Rome: “We learned that there are two globes in the Pontifical Library: on one the earth is depicted, on the other the signs of heaven, that is, the zodiac [...] . “( Intendiamo, che ne la libraria dil papa sono due spere solid: In una è depicto el Mapamundo, in l'altra li Signi Celesti, cio è el Zodiaco [...] ) The letter also shows that the Globes must have been two cubits high.

The globes were kept in the Salle Pontifica (Magna Secreta). Nothing more is known about the images on the globes. They were probably lost when Rome was sacked in 1527. The terrestrial globe of Germanus is the first terrestrial globe of modern times for which source material is available.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Johannes Papritz, Hans Schmauch, Alexander Berg: Germany and the East. Copernicus Research , S. Hirzel, 1943 [1]
2. ↑ H. Ruprich and, following him, H. Schmauch erroneously related V. Lang's communication about Nikolaus Germanus to N. Coppernicus - Ernst Zinner, Heribert M. Nobis, Felix Schmeidler: Origin and Spread of Copernican Teaching , 1988, p. 501

literature

• Józef Babicz: The Celestial and Terrestrial Globes of the Vatican Library, Dating from 1477, and their Maker Donnus Nicolaus Germanus (ca 1420 - ca 1490) . In: The Globusfreund . 1987, No. 35-37, pp. 155-168. (contains a two-page short version in German)

Web links

Commons : Donnus Nicolaus Germanus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Cosmographia Claudii Ptolomaei Alexandrini , 1467 - digitized version (Polish National Library)