Germania vulgo Teutschlandt.

Title

Germania vulgo Teutschlandt.

Description

Map shows the Kingdom of Germany with the whole of Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Lorraine, the Benelux countries, a title cartouche, a mileage indicator cartouche and three ship's staffages.

ca. 1672

Artist

Priorato (1606-1678)

Galeazzo Gualdo Priorato (1606 - 1678) was an Italian mercenary, historian, geographer and diplomat. He came from an old Italian family of counts. After a long military career, he wrote numerous historical works about European rulers and cities. He wrote, among others, the history of Emperors Ferdinand III and Leopold I and the first biography of Wallenstein. Priorato first embarked on a military career, which he ended after 1645. Subsequently, Galeazzo Gualdo Priorato shifted his activity to historical studies and diplomacy. In 1652 he was called to Vincennes in France to write a history of Cardinal Jules Mazarin. During his stay in Vincennes he was awarded the dignity of Knight of the Order of St. Michael. In 1656 he stayed again in Rome, where he was awarded the title of Nobilis romanus. During this time he entered the service of Queen Christine of Sweden as a chamberlain in Rome. In this capacity he made another trip to France in 1659 and to Regensburg in 1664. In the same year he became an imperial councilor and historiographer in the service of Emperor Leopold I. He returned to his native Vicenza, where he remained until his death. There he wrote his history of Leopold I.

Historical Description

Poland is bordered by the Baltic Sea, Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast and Lithuania to the north, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and Czech Republic, to the south, and Germany to the west. The establishment of the Polish state can be traced back to AD 966, when Mieszko I ruler of the realm coextensive with the territory of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented its longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its independence in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles. It was one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th-century Europe, with a uniquely liberal political system, which adopted Europe's first written national constitution, the Constitution of 3 May 1791.