Britannia Ducatus. Duche de Bretaigne.

Title

Britannia Ducatus. Duche de Bretaigne.

Description

A magnificent map shows the French region of Brittany, featuring the cities of Brest, Rennes, Vannes, Saint-Malo, Saint-Brieuc, Quimper, Lorient, etc. It includes a title and scale cartouche, three compass roses and two ship staffages.

ca. 1644

Artist

Blaeu (1571-1638)

Joan Guilliemus Blaeu was the eldest son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), and was probably born in Alkmaar in the province of Noord-Holland in the final years of the 16th century. He was brought up in Amsterdam, and studied law at the University of Leiden before going into partnership with his father in the 1630s. Although his father Willem had cartographic interests, having studied under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and having manufactured globes and instruments, his primary business was as a printer. It was under the control of Joan that the Blaeu printing press achieved lasting fame by moving towards the printing of maps and expanding to become the largest printing press in Europe in the 17th century. By the 1660s the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (or Atlas Maior as it had became known by this time) had expanded to between 9 and 12 volumes, depending on the language. With over 3,000 text pages and approximately 600 maps, it was the most expensive book money could buy in the later 17th century. The translation of the text from Latin into Dutch, English, German, French, and Spanish for several volumes created enormous work for those involved in typography and letterpress activities. It is estimated that over 80 men must have been employed full-time in the Blaeu printing house in Bloemgracht, not including engravers who worked elsewhere, with over 15 printing presses running simultaneously, and in 1667 a second press was acquired at Gravenstraat. At the same time as producing the Atlas Maior, Blaeu was also publishing town plans of Italy, maps for globes, and other volumes. At its peak the Blaeu press managed to produce over 1 million impressions from 1,000 copper plates within four years.

Historical Description

Brittany was already populated in the Paleolithic. The Iron Age, which began comparatively late in Brittany, namely from the 6th century BC, was characterized by the immigration of the Celts, who called Brittany Aremorica or Armorica (land by the sea). n 56 BC, Iulius Caesar and his legions defeated almost the entire Venetian fleet in a devastating naval battle, thus ending the economic prosperity of this tribe as well as the Gallic supremacy in shipping. The Romanization of Brittany began immediately after the conquest and consisted, in addition to the triumph of Roman administration, architecture and road layout, primarily in the founding of Roman cities such as Portus Namnetus (Nantes), Condate (Rennes), Darioritum (Vannes), Vorgium (Carhaix-Plouguer) and Fanum Martis (or Civitas Coriosolitum, today Corseul). However, it was finished only towards the end of the Late Antiquity. At that time, the Celtic language of Gaul, Gallic, had probably also almost completely disappeared. Already at the time of the Roman colonization there had been intensive contacts between the aremorican peninsula and Great Britain. After the withdrawal of the Roman army at the beginning of the 5th century under Emperor Honorius, the provincials expelled the Roman administrators around 409 and declared themselves independent. In the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire, from about 450 AD, mainly Christianized Britons migrated to the Breton peninsula. At the same time, the settlement areas of the still pagan Saxons, Angles and Jutes on the island of Britain continued to expand. Thus, for about two centuries, so-called island celts crossed into Brittany at irregular intervals to escape the uncertain political conditions of their former homeland. They settled and Christianized Aremorica and brought their language to Gaul, which had already been Romanized for a long time. Thus, Breton does not go back to the Celtic idiom still spoken in Brittany during Caesar's time. In 497, the Bretons submitted to the Frankish king Clovis I. The territory of the Duchy of Brittany maintained a relative independence in warlike conflicts with Normans, French and English until the 15th century. Within France, Brittany was of maritime importance. From 1631, Brest advanced to become the best and most heavily fortified war port in France. The Breton port cities and coastal towns became the cradle of many outstanding naval officers of the French Navy.