Landtafel des Ungetrlands/ Polands/ Reüssen/Littaw/ Wallachei/ Bulgarei

Title

Landtafel des Ungetrlands/ Polands/ Reüssen/Littaw/ Wallachei/ Bulgarei

Map shows eastern Europe with Hungary, Poland, Litauen, Romania and Bulgarie. On reverse, title and ornamental decoration.

ca. 1550

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) was a leading Renaissance cosmographer. His most famous work, the Cosmographia (1544), was a comprehensive description of the world with 24 maps, based on research dating back to 1528. Continuously revised, the 1550 edition already included many new maps. It was the first scientific yet accessible world description published in German, illustrated with numerous woodcuts by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger. Between 1544 and 1650, the Cosmographia appeared in 46 editions (27 in German) and was translated into several languages. Münster’s work combined the knowledge of scholars, artists, and travelers and remained influential long after his death.

Historical Description

In the historical sense, Eastern Europe refers to Ukraine, the European part of Russia, Belarus and the Republic of Moldova. Occasionally, the Caucasian countries of Georgia, Armenia and, conditionally, Azerbaijan are also seen as part of Eastern Europe. By Christian Giordano and other scholars, one of the six historical regions of Europe is called "Eastern Europe." The Eastern European countries are historically and culturally largely influenced by the Orthodox Church (Islamic Azerbaijan excepted) and were - in contrast to the Ottoman-dominated Balkans - under the rule of the Russian Empire. Like the Balkan countries, the countries of Eastern Europe were for a long time backward agricultural states (cf.: Intermediate Europe) and had no or only a limited share in the social developments of the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment of the Western world.