Chartres & Châteaudun, by Braun & Hogenberg. 1581-88
CHARTRES
TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Autricum, according to Ptolemy, a city in Gallia Lugdunensis; in French, together with Villa novano, Chartres.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "It is said that Druids inhabited the countryside west of Paris, namely the countryside of Carnutum, which is very large and wide. The city's noblest church is dedicated to Our Lady and was converted from the superstitious idolatry of pagans into a holy and chaste practice of the true religion. Bishop Gancellinus hung the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is reverently preserved there, on a long lance, and when he was harried by a mob of lansquenets, he rode away with it victoriously."
Chartres, situated on the Eure, is seen in a bird's-eye view from the southeast. Rising above the city with its numerous gardens and fields is the famous cathedral of Notre Dame, erected in the 13th century on the foundations of the previous Romanesque church following the fire of 1194. It represents the oldest High Gothic cathedral still almost entirely preserved today and served as the model for many other Gothic churches. Measuring over 130 m long, the church arose on the site where in pre-Christian times, a Virgo paritura (a virgin about to give birth) had already been venerated. Under Charles the Bald, the church was consecrated in AD 876 with the reliquary of the tunic of the Virgin Mary; Chartres subsequently became an important pilgrimage site of Marian worships in medieval Europe, which also brought the city economic prosperity. The cathedral school also became an important learning centre in the Middle Ages. (Taschen)
CHÂTEAUDUN
CARTOUCHE: Châteaudun, capital of the Franch County of Dunois.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The city looks as if it were clinging to a cliff and is indeed so artfully constructed that one might say it hangs aloft like a swallow's nest. That this city was once much larger than it is today is evidenced by the many ruined churches that can now be seen in the outskirts."
Châteaudun, situated not far from Orléans and Chartres, is presented in a bird's-eye view from the east, clearly showing how the city leans up against the ridge on the right. The château, visible top right, with its dominant 12th-century donjon, achieved fame as the residence of Jean de Dunois, the companion-in-arms of the Maid of Orléans: repeatedly reconstructed and expanded over the years, by the 16th century the medieval fortress above the Loir (a tributary of the Loire) had evolved into a palace in the Gothic and Renaissance style. On the upper left-hand edge of the engraving is the church of La Madeleine. (Taschen)
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the most excellent book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. Many plates were engraved after the original drawings of a professional artist, a professional artist, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel made those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.
Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and 1612. The subsequent volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.
Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. 1561, he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562, he received his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.
By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568, he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.
Autricum, Prolemeo in Gallia Lugdunensis Urbs; vulgo, cum Villa nouano, Chartres. [on sheet with:] Chasteaudunum, Comitatus vulgo Dunoys in Gallia Oppidum primorium.
Item Number: 21377 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > France
Old, antique map with two bird's-eye plans by Braun and Hogenberg: Chartres and Châteaudun.
Title: Autricum, Prolemeo in Gallia Lugdunensis Urbs; vulgo, cum Villa nouano, Chartres. [on sheet with:] Chasteaudunum, Comitatus vulgo Dunoys in Gallia Oppidum primorium.
Date: 1581-88.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 335 x 480mm (13.19 x 18.9 inches).
Verso: Latin text.
Condition: Old coloured.
Condition Rating: A.
From: Civitates Orbis Terrarum. . Liber tertius. Köln, G. Kempen, 1581-88. (Koeman, B&H3)
CHARTRES
TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Autricum, according to Ptolemy, a city in Gallia Lugdunensis; in French, together with Villa novano, Chartres.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "It is said that Druids inhabited the countryside west of Paris, namely the countryside of Carnutum, which is very large and wide. The city's noblest church is dedicated to Our Lady and was converted from the superstitious idolatry of pagans into a holy and chaste practice of the true religion. Bishop Gancellinus hung the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is reverently preserved there, on a long lance, and when he was harried by a mob of lansquenets, he rode away with it victoriously."
Chartres, situated on the Eure, is seen in a bird's-eye view from the southeast. Rising above the city with its numerous gardens and fields is the famous cathedral of Notre Dame, erected in the 13th century on the foundations of the previous Romanesque church following the fire of 1194. It represents the oldest High Gothic cathedral still almost entirely preserved today and served as the model for many other Gothic churches. Measuring over 130 m long, the church arose on the site where in pre-Christian times, a Virgo paritura (a virgin about to give birth) had already been venerated. Under Charles the Bald, the church was consecrated in AD 876 with the reliquary of the tunic of the Virgin Mary; Chartres subsequently became an important pilgrimage site of Marian worships in medieval Europe, which also brought the city economic prosperity. The cathedral school also became an important learning centre in the Middle Ages. (Taschen)
CHÂTEAUDUN
CARTOUCHE: Châteaudun, capital of the Franch County of Dunois.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The city looks as if it were clinging to a cliff and is indeed so artfully constructed that one might say it hangs aloft like a swallow's nest. That this city was once much larger than it is today is evidenced by the many ruined churches that can now be seen in the outskirts."
Châteaudun, situated not far from Orléans and Chartres, is presented in a bird's-eye view from the east, clearly showing how the city leans up against the ridge on the right. The château, visible top right, with its dominant 12th-century donjon, achieved fame as the residence of Jean de Dunois, the companion-in-arms of the Maid of Orléans: repeatedly reconstructed and expanded over the years, by the 16th century the medieval fortress above the Loir (a tributary of the Loire) had evolved into a palace in the Gothic and Renaissance style. On the upper left-hand edge of the engraving is the church of La Madeleine. (Taschen)
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the most excellent book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. Many plates were engraved after the original drawings of a professional artist, a professional artist, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel made those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.
Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and 1612. The subsequent volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.
Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. 1561, he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562, he received his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.
By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568, he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.