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Summary
WA. Ligtendag - Willem Barentsz and the cartography of the
far north
Keywords: history of cartography, survey
This article deals with the geographical knowledge and the
cartography of the Arctic during Medieval and Early Modern
times. In particular the role ofthe Dutch explorer Willem Ba
rentsz in the advancement of geographical knowledge and the
removal of non-existent Islands and incorrectly drawn coasts
from maps is examined. An attempt is made to answer the fol-
lowing two questions: What was the State of knowledge about
the geography of the far north on the eve of Barentsz's voyages
of discovery and what were the sources ofthis knowledgeWhat
exactly did Barentsz's voyages add to the knowledge about the
geography ofthe far north? During the Middle Ages, three dif-
ferent views on the geography ofthe Arctic existed next to one
another. After 1569, when Gerard Mercator published his fa-
mous map of the world, the one supported by this map gained
prevalence. In Mercator's view, the North Pole was marked by
an enormous whirlpool, surrounded by four large islands. For-
tunately, Barentsz was not solely dependent on maps illustra-
ting this view. He also had access to knowledge of the shores of
Scandinavia and Russia gained by English discoverers and
Dutch sailors, which, exactly in Barentsz's time, gave rise to se-
rious doubts about the existence of the four polar islands. The
first two voyages of Barentsz did not add much to the existing
body of knowledge, but his third and last voyage, on the other
band, altered the maps published afterwards almost unrecog-
nisably. Several important discoveries (Bear Island, Spitsbergen
and parts of Nova Zembla) were added, whereas a large part
of the items erroneously entered by Mercator and his predeces-
sors were discarded. Thus, Willem Barentsz's ejforts led to a
rather modern map of the Arctic, which presented the main
geographical features ofthis area fairly well.
Resume
WA. Ligtendag - Willem Barentsz et la
cartographie de l'Extreme Nord
Mots-cles: cartographie historique,
etude
L'article traite de la geographie et de la
cartographie de l'Arctique au Moyen-Age
et au debut des Temps modernes et en
particulier la contribution de l'explo-
rateur neerlandais Willem Barentsz la
meilleure connaissance geographique de
la region, par la suppression sur les car-
tes, des lies non existantes et la correction
du dessin du littoral. II s'agit d'un essai
de repondre aux deux questions suivan-
tes: quel etait l'etat de connaissance geo
graphique de l'Extreme Nord, la veille
des voyages d'exploration de Barentsz et
quelles etaient les sources de cette con
naissance, d'une part, et quelle est la
contribution particuliere de Barentsz a
la meilleure connaissance geographique
de la region, d'autre part. Au Moye-Age,
trois differentes visions existaient sur
l'Arctiqueapres la publication, en 1569,
de sa fameuse carte du monde de Merca
tor, la vision proposee par celui com-
mengait prevaloir savoir le Pole nord
represente par un enorme tourbillon est
entoure par quatre grandes lies.
Heureusement, Barentsz disposait d'aut-
res sources aussi, notamment la descrip-
tion des cötes de la Scandinavie et de la
Russie par des explorateurs anglais et des
marins neerlandais, connaissances met-
tant serieusement en doute l'existence des
lies polaires.
Les deux premiers voyages de Barentsz
n'ont pas opporte de connaissances nou-
velles, par contre, suite son troisieme et
dernier voyage, les cartes ont ete pro-
fondement modifiees aussi, d'importan-
tes nouvelles decouvertes y ont ete
ajoutees (par ex. lies des Ours, Spitzberg,
partiellement Nouvelle Zemble), tandis
que d'autres indications erronees de
Mercator et de ses predecesseurs ont ete
supprimees. Aussi les ejforts de Barentsz
ont conduit la realisation d'une carte
de l'Arctique assez moderne, presentant
les principaux elements geographiques de
la region assez correctement.
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