Brabant and Guelders – Sebastian Münster, 1540-1550

“Brabantia u(traque) Rheni et x(tra) nova tabvla.” Woodcut published in Basel by Sebastian Münster, ca. 1540–1550, from his Geographia universalis vetus et nova (or later Cosmographia editions). Size approx. 28.5 × 37.8 cm.

This early modern map of Brabant, Guelders, and the adjoining regions is among the first printed attempts to define the Duchy of Brabant cartographically within the framework of the humanist re-edition of Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia. The title, “Brabantia V. Rheni et X. Nova Tabula,” literally means “New map of Brabant on both sides of the Rhine.” The addition nova tabula (“new map”) indicates that Münster presents a contemporary, non-Ptolemaic depiction, based on recent descriptions and local sources.

The woodcut covers a vast region between the North Sea and the Rhine valley, extending from Zeeland, Holland, and Antwerp in the west to Cologne, Aachen, and Bonn in the east. The map is rich in place names, river systems, and wooded areas, rendered in Münster’s distinctive style: schematic forests, fortified towns shown as miniature city views, and meandering rivers serving as the main geographic framework.

The Duchy of Brabant occupies the central portion, with major towns such as Brussels, Leuven, Mechelen, Antwerp, Breda, ’s-Hertogenbosch, and Maastricht. To the east lie Guelders (Gelria) and Limburg (Limpurg), while to the west the coastal islands of Zeeland are indicated. The surrounding territories of Hainaut, Namur, Jülich, Cleves, and Cologne are also included, illustrating Münster’s effort to show the geographic and political coherence of the Lower Rhine and Meuse principalities.

On the verso, Münster provides a historical account of the duchies of Brabant and Guelders—from their origins as medieval counties to their elevation to duchies by the emperors Henry, Louis, and Charles IV. The text also traces the succession of rulers, from the dukes of Lorraine and Louvain through the Burgundian dynasty to the marriage of Mary of Burgundy and Emperor Maximilian I, by which Brabant, Holland, and Zeeland ultimately passed into Habsburg hands.

This combination of map and historical commentary reflects Münster’s humanist ambition to unite geography and history within a single universal vision of the world. His Geographia (from 1540 onward) and later the immensely popular Cosmographia (from 1544) were the first systematically illustrated world descriptions of the Renaissance and became the foundation of early modern cartography in Northern Europe. The woodcut of Brabant and Guelders was likely based on earlier manuscript maps and regional descriptions circulating among the Antwerp and Leuven humanist circles that Münster knew through his contacts in the Low Countries.

Although the map’s geography is still imperfect—Zeeland is placed too far west, and the Meuse and Rhine flow unrealistically close together—it remains a key milestone in the visual representation of the Low Countries before Abraham Ortelius. It marks the transition from medieval textual geography to the precise, scientific atlases of the later sixteenth century.

Price: Euro 350,-