In the center of the upper margin, the classic allegory of the
The source for these images was probably the four seasons by
sun stands out for its glare. The figures of planets, seated on
Antonio Tempesta, published by Giovanni Orlandi in Rome in
the clouds, orbit around him drawing rainbow stelae, each
1592. The inclusion of the four seasons links time to space (the
one characterized by its classical attributes: Mercury with a
map), and the temporal dimension of the earth’s annual orbit
winged petasos and carrying the caduceus; Venus with Cupid
around the sun and the movement of the planets come into play.
and holding a heart; Mars as a warrior; Jupiter topped with
Marginalia in maps contributed to spread the knowledge of
a crown and holding a scepter and a thunderbolt; and Saturn
advances in astronomy and also in the understanding of natural
with a scythe, which alludes to the passage of time. The earth,
phenomena. Johann Baptist Homann (1663–1724) stressed in his
represented through the double-hemisphere map, also orbits
Planiglobii terrestris cum utroq hemisphaerio caelesti generalis
around the sun, as shown by the cloudy stele between Venus
repraesentatio (Nuremberg?, ca. 1716) the earth’s physical and
and Mars that seems to hold it. The moon, between both
atmospheric forces (plate 32). In the upper margin, with the
hemispheres, alludes to its rotation around the earth. The
moon alluding to the night on the left and the sun to the day
integration of the map in the border decoration emphasizes the
on the right, cherubic wind heads that in the Middle Ages and
close relation that exists between marginalia and cartography.
Renaissance appeared in symmetric order at the borders of maps
Moreover, it reveals the close union of the heavens and the
(plates 5 and 7) are here responsible for chaotic winds. Snow
earth, or of astronomy (symbolized through a bearded sage
or hail is falling on the left and lightning strikes on the right. In
on the left who holds an armillary sphere) and geography (the
the lower margin other natural forces are displayed, including,
figure on the right that points at a globe and measures distances
on the left, the ebb and flow of the tides under the effect of the
with the divider).
moon, an earthquake destroying a city, and the eruption of
In the lower margin, the four seasons appear in
Mount Etna in front of a group of people raising their prayers,
chronological order in their distinct classic iconography (as
reminding us of human frailty; and on the right, a whirlpool
in Blaeu’s Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis, plate 27): Spring as a
that is sinking a boat, waterspouts, and a rainbow formed by the
young woman who holds flowers; Summer as a nude woman
refraction of the light from the sun (on the upper corner) as it
with a sheaf of wheat; Autumn, a Bacchic figure holding a
encounters the droplets of water from the rain. Along the bottom
cluster of grapes and a cup; and Winter as a shivering old
margin a text offers to the “friendly reader” (Benevole Spectator)
man with a hat and wrapped in a blanket, huddled by the fire.
a theorical explanation of all this.
26