Burgundiae inferioris, quae ducatus nomine censetur, des. 1584.

Title

Burgundiae inferioris, quae ducatus nomine censetur, des. 1584.

Very decorative map showing the Duchy of Burgundy in France with a splendid title cartouche and a mileage scale cartouche. The detailed map shows many places such as Avalon, Auttun, Chalons, Beaulne, Chastillon, Noyers, Dijon, Saulieu, Ravières, Montbard, etc. The reverse with a French description.

ca. 1595

Artist

Ortelius (1527-1598)

Abraham Ortelius (1527–1598) was a Flemish cartographer and publisher from Antwerp. Originally a map colorist, he became a major figure in cartography through his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), considered the first modern atlas—a uniform collection of reliable maps in book form. Influenced by Gerardus Mercator, Ortelius published several maps before compiling the Theatrum, which clearly showed America as a separate continent. The work was published in 42 editions and 7 languages by 1612. Unlike many of his peers, Ortelius cited his sources, and his atlas became a milestone in mapmaking and geographic knowledge.

Historical Description

The present region was already inhabited by people in the Paleolithic Age. The Duchy of Burgundy was ruled by a side line of the French royal house, the Capetians, from 1032 to 1361. It passed to Philip of Valois in 1363, who founded the House of Burgundy as a collateral line of the French royal house of Valois. The duchy was dissolved after the French Revolution in the course of the division of the state into departments in 1790; with it disappeared the name Burgundy for a political-administrative unit.