Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

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whereupon, on May 7, I486,1 he despatched Joao Pero de
Covilha and Affonso de Paiva on the same errand.

BehainCs Own Accounts of his Voyage.

Behaim has transmitted two accounts of the voyage
along the west coast of Africa which he claims to have
made, and on the strength of which posterity has dubbed
him 1 the Navigator.' The first and more ample of these
accounts may be gathered from the legends of his Globe
and the geographical features delineated upon it.

The second account has found a place in the ' Liber
chronicorum,' compiled at the suggestion of Sebald
Schreyer2 by Dr. Hartmann Schedel,3 printed by Anton
Koberger and published on July 12, 1493, on the eve of
Behaim's departure from Nuremberg. The original MS.
of this work, in Latin, still exists in the town library of
Nuremberg, as also the MS. of a German translation
which was completed on October 5, 1493, by George Alt,
the town-clerk. The body of the Latin MS. is written in
a stiff clerk's hand, and is evidently a clean copy made
from the author's original. The paragraph referring to
Behaim has been added in the margin, in a running hand.
In the German translation, f. 285a, this paragraph is
embodied in the text. This proves that this information
was given to the editor after he had completed the Latin
original of his work, but before George Alt had translated
it. Behaim at that time was still at Nuremberg, and
there can be no doubt that it was he who communicated
to Dr. H. Schedel this interesting information, and is
responsible for it.

The Story as told on the Globe.

I shall now give the Story of the Voyage as it may
be gathered from the Globe. It is as follows :—

In 1484 King John of Portugal despatched two
caravels on a voyage of discovery with orders to proceed

1 Ruy de Pina, who may have been present when these messengers
took leave of the King, says May 7, 1486 (c. 21), but Alvarez (I.e.
c. 102) was told by Covilha, whom he met in Abyssinia in 1521, that he
departed on May 7, 1487. If Covilha left Portugal in May, 1486,
d'Aveiro's expedition must have returned in 1485, and such seems to
have been the case, for Frei Fernando de Soledade (' Historica Serafica da
ordem de S. Francisco,' t. III., Lisbon, 1705, p. 412) says that Frei
Antonio of Lisbon and Joao (Pedro) de Montarroyo were despatched
in 1485.

3 Sebald Schreyer, b. 1446, was a liberal supporter of art and science.
It was at his suggestion that the ' Liber chronicorum ' was compiled, and
he paid part of the cost of its publication.

3 Dr. H. Schedel was born 1440, settled at Nuremberg in 1488 and
died there in 1514. He was an enthusiastic pupil of Conrad Celtes, and
an indefatigable collector of codices and inscriptions. On f. 266 of the
Latin edition H. Schedel is named the author or editor, on June 4, 1493,
but at the end of the volume, f. 300, his name is omitted, and the
following are named instead : —Seb. Schreyer, Sebastian Kammermeyster
(mathematician), A. Koberger (printer), Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm
Pleydenwurff (draughtsman). M. Wolgemut, the famous artist, was
born at Nuremberg in 1434, and the illustrations of the volume were
executed in his workshop.

beyond the Columns of Hercules to the south and east.
Of this expedition the author of the Globe was a member.
The caravels were provisioned for three years. In addition
to merchandise, for barter, they carried eighteen horses, with
costly harness, as presents for Moorish (negro) kings,as also
samples of spices which were to be shown to the natives.

The caravels left Lisbon, sailed past Madeira and
through the Canaries. They exchanged presents and
traded with Bur-Burum, and Bur-ba-Sin, Kings of the
Jalof and Sin, on the north of the Gambia, stated to be
800 German miles4 from Portugal. Grains of Paradise
were found in these kingdoms. Notice was taken of the
current which beyond Cape Verde flows strongly to the
south. The caravels then followed the coast to the east,
past the Sierra Leoa (Sierra Leone), the Terra de
Malagucta, the Castello de ouro (S. Jorge da Mina) and
the Rio da lagoa (Lagos) to King Furfur's Country,
" where grows the pepper discovered by the King of
Portugal, 1485," and which is 1,200 leagues from Lisbon.5
" Far beyond this" a country producing cinnamon was
discovered. The place names along this part of the
coast, such as Rio de Bohemo (Behaim's river) are
absolutely original, and are not to be found on any
Portuguese chart. It is to be regretted that the original
delineation of the bottom of the Bight of Biafra, including
the island of Fernando Po, should have been destroyed,
for what we now see is merely the work of a restorer.

The islands in the Gulf of Guinea—S. Thome, do
Principe and the Insule Martini—were " found " by this
expedition, and they were then without inhabitants.

Sailing southward along the coast the explorers
passed the " Rio do Padrao," a " rio poderoso " or " mighty
river" (lat. 25° S.), distinguished by a flag placed on its
northern bank, until they reached a Monte negro, in lat.
37° S., the extreme Cape of Africa, where they set up the
columns of the King of Portugal on January 18, 1485.

Doubling this Cape the explorers sailed about 220
leagues to the east, as far as a Cabo ledo (lat. 40° S.) 2300
leagues from Portugal, and having set up another column
they turned back, and at the expiration of 19 months6
they were once more with their King. A miniature of
this cape shows the two caravels of the expedition. The
distance from Portugal, as measured on the Globe,
actually amounts to 2300 leagues.

The Story as told in the 'Liber chronicorum.^

I now proceed to give the story of Behaim's voyage as
given in Schedel's 'Chronicle.' After a reference to

* A gross exaggeration ! From Lisbon to the Gambia is only 450
German miles, or, as measured on the Globe, 560 miles.

s Of the identity of King Furfur's Country with Benin there can bo
no doubt. If we accept the date 1485 as correct, this country was
discovered on the homeward voyage. Of course I know that " furfur " is
the Latin for bran, and " fur " for thief or slave.

8 Nineteen months according to two legends on the Globe, one of them
close to Cabo Ledo.