Name: The First Chronicle of the World with Printed Maps
Author: Anonymous

The Sunderland Collection

The world map in this book is ordered in the typical medieval T-O map schema with the world oriented eastward. The continent of Asia occupies the top semicircle, the central y-axis marked by Paradise appearing as a walled city enclosing two figures representing Adam and Eve. Europe occupies the bottom left quadrant (North) and Africa in the bottom right (towards the South). The overall design of the map is distinct from typical medieval T-O maps because of its distinct topography in that each place is cast name upon its own hill, capped with a city ideogram.

Like the Hereford and Ebstorf maps (c.1300), mythological creatures feature amongst the geography. Included are illustrations of the phoenix, the Trees of the Sun and the Moon - common on medieval maps - and the figures of the Devil. Traditionally, medieval maps extended west to the Pillars of Hercules and east to Paradise. The 'Rudimentum Novitiorum' places the Pillars astride the entrance to the Mediterranean and shows, at the other extremity, an enclosed mound from which flows the four rivers of Paradise. It is also worth noting that next to Sweden ('Gothia'), 'Vinland' is named on the world map. This is, however, likely to be Finland, as opposed to a representation of the Viking colony in the Americas. 

The map of the Holy Land is presented as an 'observed' bird’s-eye perspective and is the first known European printed map to use this projection. It is oriented with east at the top and extends from Damascus and Sion in the north to the Red Sea in the south. Jerusalem is shown as a walled city at the centre of the map, with Calvary nearby. Eight windheads around the periphery represent the cardinal winds or compass directions. As with the world map, each town or country is represented as a hillock bounded by either walls or waterways. The map likely originates from an account of the Holy Land by Buchard of Mount Sion, a Dominican priest who spent ten years in the region before it fell as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291. While no maps are known in manuscript copies, the 'Rudimentum Novitiorum' contains a version of Buchard’s travels in Armenia, the Holy Land, and Egypt, demonstrating considerable knowledge of his work, including the priest’s measurements of the stones of the Pyramids of Gizeh.

In addition to the maps, this book contains a large number of ornate and coloured diagrams that explain the lineage of Christ, as well as significant figures from the Old Testament such as Abraham, Issac and Noah. These diagrams follow medieval models that illustrate the same, such as those in Peter of Poitiers’s 'Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi', composed towards the end of the twelfth century.

The 'Rudimentum Novitiorum' ('A Handbook for Novices') is the earliest known printed European chronicle of the world. It was an educational work, conceived and written by an anonymous theologian, which describes six ages of the Earth; beginning with the Creation and culminating with the contemporary era. As part of this history, it features two maps: one of the world and one of the Holy Land. This hand-coloured volume is especially rare with only a few comparable copies known.

The chronicle’s world map is a fascinating blend of the traditional medieval T-O map with current geographic knowledge and awareness. Myths, legends, and historical characters wander the Earth in conjunction with more contemporary figures such as the Pope in Rome. Many actual places, such as Egypt, Greece, and Italy, are marked while simultaneously Paradise is depicted as a physical location to the far east, with it's four rivers; Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel (Tigris), and Euphrates (Perath).

The map of the Holy Land deliberately avoids the schematic formula of a bird’s-eye-view and instead uses a panoramic perspective. Jerusalem is depicted in the centre with Damascus and Sion to the north and the Red Sea to the south. The map likely originated from an account of the Holy Land by Burchardus de Monte Sion from Magdeburg (fl.1274–1291), whose work is quoted extensively in the 'Rudimentum Novitiorum'.

Anonymously composed and dated 5 August 1475, the 'Rudimentum Novitiorum' was intended for an audience of young clerics. As such, it was also conceptualized to be an affordable and accessible compendium of knowledge; as the colophon states: "so that the poor who cannot aﬀord many books have at hand a digest of many books in one". The author was almost certainly a cleric, presumably a member of the cathedral chapter of Lübeck.

The text demonstrates considerable theological learning and an extensive handle of authoritative sources. In addition to biblical and patristic texts, the author quotes frequently from Thomas Aquinas (d.1274) and Nicholas of Lyra (1270–1349) and makes extensive use of historical works such as Peter Comestor’s 'Historia scholastica' (completed c.1173). Contemporary regional historiography is presented including the 'Chronicon Slavicum' (c.1045) and the chronicle of the Lübeck Bishops (c.1214).

Hybrid mappa mundi world map

Lineage of Christ

Building Jerusalem 

Lineage of Jacob

Biblical lineage and city view

Lineage of Adam and Eve; illustrated letter A

Lineage of Noah; Noah's Ark

The building of cities; text leaf

Abraham and Isaac

Church lineage

Biblical lineage; illustration of tribal camp

The story of Moses

Biblical lineage and woodcut

Map of the Holy Land

Lineage and story of King David; illustrated letter D

Text leaves with woodcut illustrations

Biblical lineage and woodcut city views

Lineage of Mary and Christ; illuminated letter O

Church lineage; text page with marginalia

Lineage in the Church

The 'Rudimentum Novitiorum' is the first printed chronicle of the world and the first such work to contain detailed printed maps. It is also the earliest dated printed European work from Lübeck. Decorated with exquisite hand-coloured woodcuts, this exceedingly rare book is one of only a handful of known complete copies.

A Handbook for Novices

Rudimentum Novitiorum

The First Chronicle of the World with Printed Maps

The Epitome of the World Divided into Six Parts According to the Six Ages, Previously Unknown Anywhere, which is pleased to be called the Rudiments of Recent Things