Latin language
Latin is common on old maps, especially from the Renaissance and early modern periods. At that time, Latin was the lingua franca of science, cartography, and diplomacy, so many mapmakers (cartographers) used it to name places, geographical features, and sometimes notes or decorations on their maps.
Typus Orbis Terrarum
(representation of the world)
Ortelius, 1570
Here are some interesting aspects of the use of Latin on old maps:
1. Geographic Names in Latin Form
- Many geographical locations were given Latin names, sometimes modified to reflect the local name, sometimes completely different. Examples include Gallia (France), Hispania (Spain), Germania (Germany), and Italia (Italy).
- Sometimes cities and rivers were also given Latin names. For example, the Rhine was called Rhenus and the city of London was called Londinium.
2. Latin Terms for Rivers, Mountains, and Seas
Many maps use standard terms such as:
- Fluvius or Flumen for "river" (e.g.Fluvius Rhenus for the Rhine),
- Mons for "mountain" or Montes for "mountain range" (e.g. Montes Pyrenaei for the Pyrenees),
- Mare for "sea" (e.g. Mare Mediterraneum for the Mediterranean Sea).
3. Descriptive Notes and Legends in Latin
- Many maps contain descriptions of landscapes, climates, or populations in Latin. These texts provide additional context or legends about unfamiliar areas and were usually written in Latin so that a wide audience could understand them.
- A common example is the use of terms such as hic sunt dracones ("here be dragons") to indicate unexplored or dangerous areas.
4. Decorative Elements and Latin Symbolism
- Older maps often contained decorative elements, such as compass roses, sea creatures, and portraits of famous explorers. These were often accompanied by Latin texts, such as septentrio for north and auster for south.
- Sometimes there were also moral or religious inscriptions in Latin, as maps were a symbolic representation of the world, often from a theological perspective.
5. Map Projections and Scientific Explanation
- In the 16th and 17th centuries, new map projections emerged, such as the Mercator projection, and cartographers gave Latin names to the different types of projections. Latin was also used to add scientific explanations of these new projections or geometric principles. - The famous mapmaker Gerardus Mercator used Latin on his world maps to describe projection and scale, as in the expression Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ("New and Enlarged Description of the World").
6. Etymological Origins of Modern Place Names
- Some modern names are derived from the Latin names used on old maps. Maps were sometimes the first sources for recording geographical names, and Latin names have in many cases contributed to the official spelling or pronunciation of place names that are still used today.
Old maps, such as those of Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus), Gerardus Mercator, and Abraham Ortelius, show a wide use of Latin and can give us not only geographical knowledge of the time, but also insight into the role of language and culture in cartography. They are a source of both historical information and linguistic study.
