Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

The earliest Portuguese writer who mentions Behaim
is the famous historian Joao de Barros,1 and his statement
in 1 Da Asia' (Dec. I., lib. IV., c. 2) is indeed the only
authority which connects him with the ' Junta dos
mathematicos' appointed by King John II. It has been
quoted, commented and enlarged upon by numerous later
authors, and shall be fully dealt with by me in its proper
place.

Almost equally controverted is the statement of
Antonio Pigafetta,2 the historian of Magellan's voyage,
with respect to a chart showing a strait connecting the
Atlantic with the South Sea, the authorship of which is
ascribed by him to Behaim.

The only other early writer whom I need mention in
this place is Dr. Gaspar Fructuoso,3 a learned Jesuit, the
author of' Saudadas da terra,' where are to be found a
number of anecdotes, collected locally, and of doubtful
authority.

The modern authors whom I shall have to quote
as illustrating the history of Martin Behaim are
very numerous. Foremost among them are Alexander
von Humboldt, Cardinal D. Francisco de S. Luiz
Saraiva,4 Dr. Arthur Breusing,8 Ernesto do Canto,e
Oscar Peschel,7 Dr. Sophus Ruge,8 Dr. F. von

four times at the Royal table. He again left Lisbon on December 2,
1494, and was back at Nuremberg on April 15, 1495. He died in 1508.
See Schmeller ('Abh. d. bayr. Alt.,' 1847), and Kunstmann (ib., 1855).
Dr. G. von Laubmann, who examined Miintzer's MSS. in the Munich
Library, informed Dr. Harrisse (' The Discovery of North America,' p. 397)
that the name of Behaim is not to be found in them.

1 Joao de Barros was born at Vizeu in 1496, was appointed governor
of Elmina in 1522, and held the post of treasurer of the India House
from 1532-63. He died in 1570. His official position gave him access to
documents no longer available. Decada I., which alone concerns us,
was published at Lisbon in 1552.

2 Pigafetta was born at Florence in 1480, came to Spain in 1519, and
after his return from the first voyage round the world, returned to Italy
in 1434. Ramusio, in 1536, first published an account of his voyage.

3 Gaspar Fructuoso, S.J., was born at Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel, of
wealthy parents, studied at Salamanca and was appointed parish priest of
Ribeira grande, S. Miguel, where he died in 1591. His 1 Saudadas' were
utilized by Antonio Cordeiro, S.J. (b. at Angra, Terceira, 1641, died at
Lisbon 1722) in a ' Historia insulana' (Lisbon, 1717). Manuel Pinheiro
Chagas, ' Os descobrimentos Portuguezes e os de Colombus' (Lisbon, 1892),
p. 164, speaks of this Cordeiro as "one of those historians who think it
allowable to state what they know to be false as long as it redounds to
the glory of their country."

4 ' Obras completas do Cardeal Saraiva' (Lisbon, 1875), t. V., pp. 180-3,
190-200, originally written in 1841.

5 A. Breusing was born at Osnabriick. From 1850 to his death in
1892, he was director of the Navigation School at Bremen (Wolkenhauer,
in ' Verh. d. Ges. f. Erdk.' 1892) : ' Geogr. Jahrbuch,' XVI., 1893,
p. 478).

6 ' Archivo dos Azores,' 1878-94.

7 Oscar Peschel, one of the most fertile and original writers on
geography, was born at Dresden, 1826 ; was appointed Professor of
Geography at Leipzig University, and died there in 1875.

8 S. Ruge, one of the foremost authorities on the history of geographical
exploration, author of ' Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen'
(Berlin, 1881), was born at Dorum in 1831, held the post of Professor of
Geography at the Technical High School at Dresden, and died there
in 1903.

Wieser,9 Harry Harrisse,10 Eugen Gelcich,11 and Hermann
Wagner.12

I shall now mention the biographies of Martin Behaim
which have been published up to this time.

Passing over the worthless biographic notice in the
' Bohemia docta' of Bohuslav Balbinus,13 published
posthumously in 1776, the frivolous panegyric of J. Chr.
Wagenseil,14 and the equally worthless publications of his
blind followers, which are dealt with' at some length in
c. /X, the earliest biographer deserving to be mentioned
is Joh. Gabriel Doppelmayr,15 the author of' Historische
Nachrichten von den Nurnbergischen Mathematicis
und Kiinstlern' (Nurnb., 1730). He, too, accepts
Wagenseil's gross perversion of historic truth, but we are
beholden to him for the first facsimile of the globe, which,
though on a small scale, is accompanied by copies of the
most important of its legends. Christoph Gotlieb von
Murr's16 ' Diplomatische Geschichte des portugiesischen
beriihmten Ritters Martin Behaims' (Nurnb., 1773,
2nd edition Gotha, 1801), is the work of a conscientious
author, well qualified for his task by preceding historian
and antiquarian researches. His work is largely based
upon documents ; the claims put forward by Wagenseil
on the false assumption that they would redound to
Behaim's honour, are finally refuted, and even though the
author mistook the birth-year of Martin Behaim the
father for that of the son—a most inexcusable error
considering that he had free access to the family archives
—his little book fully deserved the honour of being
translated into French and Spanish.17 It supplied
weapons to those who, in after years, stood up for

9 Wieser was born at Kufstein in 1840 and is Professor of Geography
at the University of Innsbruck.

10 Harrisse, the author of numerous fundamental works dealing with
Columbus and the discovery of America, was born in 1830, and is still
indefatigably engaged upon his fruitful researches.

11 Gelcich, formerly director of the Nautical School at Lussinpiccolo,
was born in 1854.

12 H. Wagner, Professor of Geography in the University, Gottingen,
and the foremost authority on the History of Maps, was born at Erlangen
in 1840.

13 B. Balbinus, S.J., was born at Koniggratz in 1621 and died at
Prague in 1688. His 'Bohemia docta,' edited by Raphaele Unger, was
published in 1776.

14 Wagenseil, a man of much learning and great reputation, born 1633
at Nuremberg, died 1705.

15 Doppelmayr was born at Nuremberg, 1671, and died 1759.

16 Murr, the historian, antiquary and critic, was born at Nuremberg
1733, and died at Altdorf, 1811.

17 The French translation was made by H. J. Jansen, and was
published in the ' Recueil des Pieces interessantes concernant les
Antiquites, les Beaux-Arts, les Belles-Lettres, et la Philosophic,' t. I.
et II. (Paris, 1727). It was reprinted in 1801, as an appendix to a
French translation of Amoretti's edition of Pigafetta. A third edition,
revised by Murr himself, was published in 1802 at Strassburg and Paris.
The Spanish translation is by D. Cristobal Cladera (' Investigaciones
historical Madrid, 1796, pp. 173-218).

B 2